“Shall we head back?”

When Adeline extended her hand towards the duke, an extravagant carriage was entering the town.

Though it bore no crest, one glance was enough to reveal it as a high-class carriage.

The carriage, made of precious ebony wood and trimmed with platinum, drew closer to where Adeline was.

Eventually, as the carriage entered the center of town, its door opened.

The toe of an elegant shoe appeared through the door, followed by a man in a dark gray suit stepping out of the carriage.

After alighting from the carriage, the man adjusted his cravat and spoke to the knight following him.

“Beil, let’s do a brief maintenance before departing.”

The knight’s epaulettes, concealed by black cloth, bowed silently.

Adeline hadn’t paid much attention when the carriage first arrived. That is, until she heard that voice.

Adeline couldn’t take her eyes off the man.

Is that what it means to be without emotion? His grayish hair and eyes emitted an indifferent light.

Even without a family crest, his noble bearing and weighty presence were evident throughout his entire being.

Adeline could recognize him at a glance. It was her father, Marquis Severus Credion.

‘Why is Father here…’

Adeline’s heart began to pound as if it would burst.

What reason could he have for visiting this quiet Horn, so far from the capital? Adeline glanced furtively at the marquis.

The first thing that caught the marquis’s eye as he stepped out of the carriage was a doll with black hair and red eyes.

His indifferent gaze swept past the old man performing a puppet show for children and towards the fountain.

The moment the marquis’s gaze fell upon Adeline, she instinctively ducked her head.

“Hah.”

It felt as if her breath had stopped. The marquis’s cold eyes that she had inadvertently met emitted a chill that could freeze one to the bone even in midsummer.

Adeline’s motion to leave had long since halted with his appearance.

“Del.”

Seeing her frozen in place with her head bowed low, the duke called out to Adeline.

But even at the duke’s call, Adeline couldn’t move an inch.

The marquis’s gaze felt like an invisible noose, tightly constricting every part of Adeline.

It seemed as if she would be dragged away by the marquis and thrown before the crown prince at any moment.

Without realizing it, Adeline hugged her own neck with trembling hands as if to protect herself.

‘I should have left earlier.’

Unlike Adeline, who was a mess of regret and fear, the marquis withdrew his emotionless gaze.

Adeline was the only one who had been shaken.

As she escaped the marquis’s gaze, Adeline exhaled the breath she had been holding, as if a constricting noose had been cut.

‘Father wouldn’t recognize me anyway.’

Human emotions are truly complex. No sooner had Adeline felt relief than a corner of her heart ached bitterly.

A father who couldn’t even recognize his child would never protect her from the crown prince.

The marquis would surely throw her before the crown prince with those doll-like eyes that betrayed not a hint of emotion.

‘I need to escape. Right now.’

She didn’t want to be this close to the marquis. But the path home was blocked by the marquis’s carriage.

She didn’t have the confidence to pass by him and head home.

Adeline immediately pulled the duke towards a restaurant on the opposite side of the marquis’s carriage.

She wanted to get as far away from the marquis as possible.

Dragged into the restaurant without knowing why, the duke gave her a suspicious look.

“Weren’t we going to head back?”

Adeline decided to bide her time until the marquis left and it was safe.

Adeline made an excuse.

“Food! Let’s eat before we go. I’m hungry.”

Though Adeline’s urgency seemed odd, the duke decided to just go along with it.

Adeline was shocked by the appearance of the restaurant she had entered to avoid the marquis.

In her haste to enter, she hadn’t properly observed the restaurant’s exterior.

‘The windows are too big.’

A restaurant full of large windows letting in abundant sunlight. It was an interior anyone would like.

Except for Adeline, who needed to avoid being seen.

‘Of all places, I had to choose this one.’

She needed to secretly watch for the marquis’s carriage to leave town, but instead of being able to monitor, Adeline felt like she was advertising herself to be caught.

No matter where one sat, the large windows framed the center of town like a beautiful painting.

Unaware of Adeline’s concerns, the duke chose the prettiest spot for their impromptu restaurant date.

A seat where chiffon curtains with ruffles on either side were beautifully tied back, showcasing the large window even more.

‘The restaurant interior probably isn’t that visible from outside.’

Adeline reassured herself as she carefully took her seat.

As they were choosing the menu and the tableware and food were being set out one by one.

The duke was bothered by Adeline constantly glancing out the window.

Her gaze seemed to keep drifting towards the silver-haired noble man outside town. The same man Adeline couldn’t take her eyes off earlier.

‘Could it be… she came to the restaurant to steal glances at that man?’

The duke’s eyes wavered aimlessly.

As if aware of the duke’s uneasy feelings, Severus drew closer to the restaurant step by step.

The closer that man got, the more Adeline seemed to be greatly agitated, clutching at the tablecloth.

‘I don’t like this.’

Still at a distance, the duke frowned as he saw Severus through the window.

The marquis’s icy gaze and the duke’s fiery gaze clashed in midair.

The duke quickly untied the prettily bound curtains and closed them abruptly. He needed to turn Adeline’s attention back to himself before the man got any closer.

“The sunlight is too dazzling.”

As he suddenly drew the curtains, Adeline looked at the duke with startled eyes.

“It’s harmful to the eyes.”

In the duke’s mind, it wasn’t the sunlight that was harmful. That man receiving Adeline’s attention was too harmful.

The duke had completely misunderstood Adeline’s fearful glances.

Just when he thought he had completely blocked Adeline’s view.

‘Why of all places does he choose to sit at the terrace outside our window?’

Through the fluttering chiffon curtains, the silhouette of a man with a sturdy build was cast. The duke tied the fluttering chiffon curtains even more tightly. His jealousy flared towards the man with the perfect silhouette.

Not knowing that he was Adeline’s father, Marquis Credion, the duke resented the thin curtains.

“Haah.”

Adeline, who had been agitated by the marquis’s approach, felt deflated by the duke’s actions.

She let out a sigh without realizing it.

This sight further fueled the duke’s misunderstanding.

‘Is she sighing because I’ve hidden that man from view?’

He had heard she had fled from someone…, but now he looked at Adeline with reproachful eyes, thinking she was already eyeing another man.

Outside the restaurant.

The knight approached the marquis’s side.

“Your Excellency, preparations are complete. Shall we depart?”

The marquis was looking at the suddenly drawn curtains when he reached the front window of the restaurant.

He was irritated by the rude behavior of the man inside the restaurant.

However, at the knight’s words that they needed to leave now to meet the deadline for the appointment with the crown prince, the marquis left without lingering.

“Let’s go.”

Not long after the curtains were drawn, as the marquis’s figure disappeared, the duke and Adeline relaxed their guard in different ways.

Today, the duke received a great shock.

It was Adeline who had stayed by his side continuously even after he lost his memories.

Until now, he had never thought that she might set her eyes on another man and leave him.

But Adeline’s behavior today was enough to make the duke uneasy.

She was greatly agitated upon seeing that man, and clutched at her neck. At the end, she even seemed wistful.

For the first time, the duke felt fear.

He couldn’t lose Adeline to anyone. He wanted to confirm that she was entirely his.

Today’s events made him desperately want his lost memories back.

‘If I had my memories, Adeline wouldn’t have reason to look elsewhere.’

“By the way, why are we still just lovers?”

“Ah. We were going to submit it to the temple, but you fell ill…”

‘The marriage vow!’

He resolved to hasten the process of writing a marriage vow with Adeline.

When they came out of the restaurant, the sun was already touching the horizon.

“The sun has set already.”

“Indeed. We should head back now.”

She started to worry as it would be quite a distance if they set off too late.

Though being with the duke meant the path back to the villa wouldn’t be scary.

Walking through town while gazing at the red sunset coloring the sky, Adeline stopped in front of an inn.

‘Come to think of it, Hailo must have sent a letter.’

Adeline recalled the time when she had fled in the night and come to Horn.

She remembered sending a letter to Hailo from this inn where she had stayed briefly.

She had intended to contact him again soon, but Adeline had completely forgotten.

She had been so busy with eventful days, what with the duke pointing a sword at her as soon as they met and then losing his memories.

‘Should I go into the inn and ask? Or not?’

Adeline hesitated, stopping in her tracks.

She wanted to go straight into the inn and retrieve the letter, but Adeline was conscious of the duke who was with her.

“What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”

It was then that the duke approached Adeline, who had stopped, and asked curiously.

“Oh my, isn’t it Del? It is, right?”

An affected voice was heard from behind the two.

Turning around, they saw a middle-aged woman who had somehow approached closely. It was the owner of the inn where Adeline had stopped.

“It’s been a month. Oh, there are some letters for Del, you should take them!”

Adeline tried to leave hurriedly, but the inn owner told her to wait and disappeared.

After a short while, she returned and handed Adeline some pristine white envelopes.

“They’ve been sending letters steadily every week! Hoho. There’s no one here to reply to, though. I was wondering how to deliver these to you.”

For a moment, Adeline thought ‘oh no’. She had momentarily forgotten that the inn owner was a woman who talked too much.

Glancing at the duke, she saw his expression, which had been puzzled at first, gradually hardening.

All she could think about was getting away from here quickly.

“Y-Yes, indeed. Thank you. Well then, this…”

Just as she was about to say goodbye.

“That’s why I thought the owner of the letters was Del’s lover. I thought it was because you were worried about a lover in a foreign land, but is this gentleman your lover?”

The inn owner’s tactless questions continued. At the word ‘lover’, the duke’s brow furrowed.

He shifted his gaze from the inn owner to Adeline. His piercing look seemed to be asking what this meant.

‘Friend! Just a friend!’

Adeline hastily stuffed the letters into her bag, took the duke’s hand, and quickly left the place.

She couldn’t show him the letters, not knowing what might be written in them.

She could feel the duke’s suspicious gaze boring into her, but Adeline pretended not to notice.

Under the duke’s blazing gaze, Adeline felt like her face was about to burn up.