Louisa invited Daniel for dinner tonight.

They sat facing each other at the table set with a simple salad and bread prepared by Laura, along with pasta and wine.

Louisa brought up an issue she had been pondering since coming here.

“By the way, elder brother, how are things with Evan these days?”

“Nothing particularly good or bad. Why, are you concerned?”

“A little.”

Louisa said with a gloomy expression.

“I’m still a bit uncomfortable with Evan. But he keeps trying to get close…”

Daniel smiled softly and served some salad on his sister’s plate. He patted Louisa’s shoulder and said,

“Don’t worry too much. Whether they’re trying to get something from me, or expecting something from you, they’re making their own investments. You know that well.”

“I know, but that’s why I’m even more concerned. I have nothing to give, nor do I want to.”

“Evan will see and judge that for himself. You know how unpredictable human affairs can be. Even our own choices don’t always go as planned.”

Daniel spoke lightly as if it were really no big deal, and brought a forkful of rolled pasta to his sister’s mouth.

Louisa gave him a sidelong glance at this action, reminiscent of when she was very young. Daniel’s fork hesitated for a moment, but he stubbornly held his hand out in front of her.

“Whatever it is, I respect your choice.”

“Like when I married Ed?”

Daniel looked at her for a moment before replying a beat late.

“Yes.”

In that moment, her elder brother looked extremely regretful. Louisa finally gave in to Daniel.

She accepted the pasta rolled on the fork, chewing and swallowing the mouthful.

She decided to open up about past stories with her elder brother as well.

“Actually, I knew. That you didn’t particularly like Edward.”

Daniel asked with a slightly surprised look.

“You knew?”

“Of course. How could I not know after growing up with you for years?”

Louisa smiled painfully, lowering her eyebrows. Feeling a bit sorry at her expression, Daniel spoke gently.

“To be honest, it wasn’t exactly that I disliked your husband.”

“Then what?”

“I thought the hierarchy established between you due to Benjamin Allen wasn’t good for forming a marital bond. That’s what bothered me.”

“I see.”

Louisa felt a bit bitter. Daniel had accurately seen through her marital problems since their time in Greenburgh.

Seeing her face, Daniel belatedly added.

“Of course, don’t worry about me, whether it’s Evan or Edward. It’s fine whether you marry or not. Look at me.”

He spread his arms wide and said jokingly.

He joked that it’s hard to find such an old bachelor like him these days. Seeing him throw out such lame jokes, he was clearly regretting bringing up Ed, even if she had asked.

Louisa, seeing right through her elder brother, said,

“Yes. I’ll do as my heart desires, so you shouldn’t say otherwise later, elder brother.”

“I didn’t say otherwise last time either.”

At Daniel’s offhand joke, Louisa gave her elder brother a sidelong glance.

[This is the timeline separator]

Despite the very successful results of the exhibition, Allen Company remained quiet without much movement.

Their seemingly unstoppable progress had no news after the first day’s unveiling of the device, and people around were saying this and that about it.

And those who paid as much attention to Allen Company’s movements as they did were the nobles who had invested there.

Gerard Ernst, commonly known as Lord Ernst, pestered Guilford relentlessly this time as well, and he barged into the Allen Institute again without notice.

“Edward Allen!”

Of course, this time too, he was accompanied by his daughter who had begged to come along.

Gerard burst through the door of the laboratory.

However, when they opened the door and entered, Edward was already dressed in his coat and ready to go out.

As he put on his gloves for going out, he said,

“Why are you suddenly looking for me here?”

“You make something good and then there’s no news at all, so I came directly because I was frustrated!”

Gerard shouted at him.

Edward, undisturbed by the outburst, nodded towards Emily standing beside him and asked,

“And the young lady here?”

“Ah, I think I lost my lipstick case here last time. I dropped by again just in case.”

Having heard that much, Edward silently packed up his bag.

Gerard, watching him, asked with a bewildered look,

“What’s this? Where are you going?”

“I have an appointment in Tanasevanian, so I need to leave now.”

He said, clicking the lock on the bag he was holding.

“So next time, please contact me in advance and make an appointment. Oh, and.”

He looked around the lab once and said,

“We recently did a major cleaning and threw away all useless items. So if you have something to find, it would be better to look in the nearby dump rather than here.”

“…Pardon?”

Emily let out a shrill voice, startled by the unexpected answer.

She quickly covered her mouth and lowered her head, her face turning red.

“If you have any other questions, ask Lord Theodore or Curtis here. They will answer everything. Well then.”

Edward quickly said what he had to say and left.

[This is the timeline separator]

Edward came to Tanasen again.

A city that’s far yet close, requiring a train ride.

Until recently, he never thought he would be visiting such a place so often.

‘But things will be different now.’

Because Louisa was here.

As he always did, he hailed a cab as soon as he got off at the station.

This was his third visit to this city.

The day he came to deliver the invitation to Louisa, the day Evan Winston left after irritating him, and today.

To be honest, today’s visit wasn’t something he had intended. More precisely, he had hoped for such an opportunity, but didn’t know it would take this form today.

Today, Edward visited as an invited lecturer at Tanasevanian College. Jeffrey said it was nonsense to suddenly talk about a lecture at the college, but the circumstances stemmed from his second visit.

[I want to select a few scholarship students under Allen’s name to teach at the prestigious Tanasevanian. While I’m at it, I’d like to deposit some operational support funds as well.] [That’s certainly something we’d welcome. But then, how much were you thinking of depositing…?] [I’m thinking about 5 million eta. Wouldn’t that be enough to generate sufficient interest income?] [My goodness! Are you sure it’s alright to give such a large amount so readily?] [It’s fine, that’s why I came. More than that, I’m curious about something… How is the hospital here?]

Although he gave a plausible reason, the true purpose was quite impure in fact. He was curious about the hospital his wife worked at, and it was also a way for him to protect his wife as businessman Edward Allen.

Of course, his wife rejected even this sentiment of his, saying she didn’t want to accept it, but Edward couldn’t leave her alone.

Thus, he became an honored guest of the school. The story they conveyed was that, since a new scholarship system was being created in his name, it would be nice if he could give a lecture on educational philosophy or achievements.

He agreed right away upon hearing this, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he might be able to see Louisa from afar.

Anyway, that’s how he ended up with an unscheduled Tanasevanian business trip today.

The streets were filled with the atmosphere of the end of the year. Everyone was wearing thick clothes with wool scarves and earmuffs. Edward walked alone, taking in the passing people.

And among the many people walking there, he spotted a light blonde woman walking upright.

At that familiar back view, Edward felt his heart drop.

A figure he could never forget or mistake.

“Louisa.”

It was his wife.

Louisa was walking slowly, looking at the sky, then at the dried leaves on the street trees, then at a sparrow passing by.

A leisurely appearance quite different from when she was by his side in the capital.

He was reminded of her walking home together on late nights during their time in Greenburgh.

His wife, showing interest in the whole world like a curious child as she walked. Even that look of her glancing around now, overlapping with her from back then, was lovely.

Edward followed behind her, unable to bring himself to catch up.

Among people quickly going their own ways, only the two of them walked at the same pace.

From about twenty paces behind, Edward walked the same path, matching his steps with Louisa.

He was happy for the moment of walking. If only time would stop like this. It was his desperate wish.

Now they were in front of the fork leading to the affiliated hospital. It was time for Edward to part ways as he had to head to the auditorium.

Louisa glanced back quickly, as if about to cross the street. Having confirmed there were no vehicles entering the road to the hospital, she started to cross.

But then, a black vehicle approached quickly from behind.

Honk―!

The car sounded its horn installed under the steering wheel, signaling to get out of the way.

Edward turned his head as soon as he heard it. The car was approaching at high speed, and Louisa was crossing the street without hearing it.

There was no time to think. His feet moved on their own.

As he suddenly ran out, people who finally noticed the surroundings cried out.

“Oh no, that!”

“My goodness. What should we do.”

‘Please…!’

Edward rushed forward and lunged towards his wife.

“Oh my!”

Louisa cried out in surprise at the sudden weight tackling her from behind.

Due to Edward’s momentum as he rushed in, the two rolled onto the road. Edward embraced her with his whole body to prevent her from getting hurt. As they fell, Edward’s right arm from shoulder to forearm was scraped against the ground.

Only after rolling several times did the two come to a stop. Finally raising his upper body, Edward immediately checked his wife’s condition.

“Louisa! Are you alright?”

The black vehicle that almost hit his wife was still speeding towards the hospital.

Louisa was still looking around, unable to grasp the situation, and Edward checked her body. Fortunately, there were no visible injuries.

Only then did he relax, slumping down on his knees on the ground. And he unconsciously looked at his wife.

“Ed…?”

The light blue eyes he loved, staring directly at him.

He finally realized he had made a mistake.