Despite the rain that kept pouring as if a hole had opened in the sky, mysterious carriages were continuously entering the duke’s estate.

Since morning, the front of the duke’s residence had been crowded with an endless procession of carriages.

The sound of carriages filling the front drowned out even the sound of rain.

The bustling noise eventually reached Adeline’s bedroom through the otherwise quiet corridors of the duke’s residence.

Adeline grew curious.

“Becky, what’s going on?”

Becky, who had been arranging the bedding, stood up and looked out the window.

“Ah, it seems carriages are arriving one after another.”

“Carriages?”

“At the banquet held at the imperial palace to celebrate the duke’s return, the joyous news about Lady Del was announced. It looks like congratulatory gifts are arriving.”

“Wasn’t the banquet held quite a while ago?”

To Adeline’s puzzlement, Becky kindly continued her explanation.

“It seems they were delayed due to the heavy rain.”

Adeline recalled the situation in the capital at Becky’s words. She had heard that the central region, which was the capital, had been in turmoil due to unexpected heavy rain for a while.

Because of that, it seemed the carriages full of gifts had been stuck midway.

As the rain subsided, they could no longer delay and were now flocking to the duke’s residence.

Adeline moved to the window.

The unexpected autumn downpour had now moved beyond the central region and was pouring copious amounts over the entire duchy.

The numerous workers seemed to have no time to shield themselves from the rain. They were just struggling to keep the gifts, more valuable than themselves, from getting wet.

Watching this scene, Adeline felt her heart sink even further.

“Would you like to go down and see?”

“It would be better to look later.”

Adeline didn’t want to see. Because there was no reason to congratulate her anymore.

Unaware of her feelings, news arrived that a gift from the imperial family had arrived.

“Shouldn’t you go down to receive it? All the gifts are for you, Lady Del.”

Not personally receiving a gift from the imperial family was tantamount to insulting them. Adeline had to go down and receive the gift herself.

Noticing Adeline’s somewhat gloomy mood, Becky carefully conveyed her words to her.

Adeline reluctantly turned her steps towards the lobby. A sigh escaped before she could stop it.

Her footsteps were heavy, as if trudging through mud.

When she arduously arrived at the lobby, a messenger from the imperial palace handed Adeline a letter as if he had been waiting.

“Her Majesty the Empress has personally sent this letter and instructed to confirm its receipt. Would you please confirm?”

The imperial messenger was incredibly rude. As a minor nobleman holding a title from the imperial family, he seemed greatly displeased at having to bow his head to a commoner.

At the messenger’s urging, Adeline immediately unfolded the letter. As soon as Adeline opened the letter, the messenger, as if having completed his duty, promptly left the duke’s residence without lingering.

I hear you saved the empire’s only duke when we nearly lost him?

Moreover, I hear you are with child, a rarity in the duke’s family. You have truly done a great service to the empire.

I am truly relieved that you have eased this empress’s concern about the continuation of the ducal line.

I hope you will hold a formal wedding ceremony as soon as possible, before your belly grows.

This empress looks forward to the day when I can see the young lord frolicking in the capital.

I have great expectations for you, my lady.

Bergamo Soltarius]

Upon reading the letter, Adeline barely managed to remain standing as her legs nearly gave out.

While it appeared to be a letter from the empire’s empress with kind words for Lady Del, Adeline knew better.

She knew that urging the duke to accept a known commoner as his duchess was an insult to him.

And that they were using her supposed pregnancy as a plausible pretext.

They must be laughing at Casius while ordering him to accept a commoner as his duchess.

Not even knowing if she was truly Adeline Credion.

Until now, the duke clearly had no intention of making her his duchess.

He would not take a commoner, let alone someone from the Credion family, as his wife.

However, since Adeline was said to be carrying the duke’s child, Casius’s attitude began to change.

Adeline was not unaware of this.

The fact that Casius had become as gentle towards her as he had been at the villa, and that he was easily accepting this procession of gifts, were all because he believed Adeline was pregnant.

Her legs, which had been barely supporting her, finally gave out. Adeline collapsed in the middle of the lobby.

The gazes of the busy workers carrying gifts and the maids helping them all fell on Adeline at once.

As everyone’s attention focused on her, Adeline felt her breath catch. It felt as if they were all giving her looks of reproach, asking why she had deceived everyone. Adeline squeezed her eyes shut.

“Lady Del, are you alright?”

At Becky’s call, Adeline came to her senses. She struggled to her feet, refusing Becky’s support, and made her way back to her bedroom with trembling legs.

Once back in her bedroom, Adeline once again sat down wherever she could.

As time passed, her guilt over the unintended situation grew stronger.

Like a swamp where the more one struggles, the deeper one sinks, Adeline’s mood was sinking lower and lower.

After that day, Adeline gradually began to avoid spending time with Casius.

Even the dinner time they had shared without fail since returning from the villa, she completely avoided from a certain point on.

After avoiding him like this, Adeline was now lingering in front of the duke’s office.

It had been a week since she started hovering around the duke’s office while avoiding all time spent together.

A maid carrying a tea set caught Adeline’s eye. Adeline offered to deliver it instead, taking the tea set. She could no longer postpone it.

‘Yes, I’ll go in and tell him honestly.’

That there was no child, that she hadn’t meant to deceive him but had believed it herself due to the circumstances.

Adeline thought she needed to resolve this situation before people’s misunderstandings grew even larger.

Adeline took heavy steps into the office.

The duke, who had been attending to his work, paused at the unexpected visitor and gazed at her.

“I feel like I haven’t seen your face lately…”

“Indeed.”

The duke was not unaware that Adeline had been avoiding him for some time for unknown reasons. The duke resumed his work, paying her no mind.

But Adeline, who should have left after setting down the tea, was lingering hesitantly without leaving the office.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Well…”

Casius addressed the hesitating Adeline, but she still couldn’t bring herself to speak.

She couldn’t even look directly into the duke’s eyes. Adeline averted her gaze to the window.

Outside, the sky was obscured by the tremendous rain. The weather was quite chilly due to the continuing downpour.

“The tea smells good. It’s cold out, so drink it before it gets cold.”

Unable to say what she meant to, Adeline hurriedly tried to leave the office, blaming the weather.

Casius called out to stop her.

He approached her with quick, long strides.

“You don’t look well. Do you have a fever?”

Startled by the large hand covering her forehead, Adeline met Casius’s eyes directly.

Seeing Adeline rolling her eyes, not knowing what to do, Casius let out a small sigh.

“You always overthink things. Don’t think unnecessary thoughts and focus on prenatal care.”

Casius, who still spoke unkindly, suddenly went to his desk and pulled out a familiar scented candle.

“Take this and light it. It will chase away all the idle thoughts running through that head of yours.”

Adeline left the office holding the scented candle.

The herb scent that helped calm the mind and body stimulated her nose.

Though his words and actions were rough and brusque, this was the gentle Casius who placed the scented candle in Adeline’s hand.

Even as she left the office, Adeline couldn’t take her eyes off the candle.

In the end, Adeline returned to her bedroom today without being able to say anything again.

No matter how many times she resolved to, when she actually stood before him, her mouth just wouldn’t open.

Adeline was not unaware of why her lips wouldn’t part as if they were glued shut.

She knew full well. If he learned it wasn’t a pregnancy, Casius would be furious, and they would undoubtedly return to their previous cold relationship.

Adeline didn’t have the confidence to endure Casius’s coldness again.

As she repeatedly rubbed her dry face with her complicated feelings, the scented candle Casius had given her caught her eye.

The cool scent of herbs rising abundantly.

Seeing the candle he had given her out of concern, tears welled up in Adeline’s eyes.

Through her recent experiences with Casius, Adeline had realized many things. She now knew that his true feelings were not as cold as the words he always uttered.

Tears flowed endlessly from Adeline’s eyes.

“I didn’t mean to deceive him.”

From the moment the doctor first mentioned the pregnancy, Adeline had denied it for a while.

It hadn’t been her intention, but Adeline felt so resentful of this situation where she had ended up deceiving him again.

Her increasingly heavy heart was suffocating Adeline.

Just as she had finally started to feel stable by Casius’s side, like the memories of her time with Mel, it seemed they had come too far to turn this situation back.

‘Do I have to run away again?’

She couldn’t risk being caught having hidden the truth even after knowing it.

It didn’t seem like she could bear seeing Casius turn cold again when everything came to light.

Adeline had no choice left but to run away.

Adeline felt utterly miserable at her predicament of having to flee once more.

Sitting in a corner of the bedroom, just clutching the scented candle tightly, time flowed endlessly that day.