It was a series of smooth daily routines.

The tea shop was consistently busy with customers, and everyone was kind.

Occasionally there were difficult customers, but when Melly listened to their requests with her characteristically calm attitude, they soon became docile.

Sometimes she felt a heavy weight on her heart from unfinished homework.

‘Please give me more time.’

‘As much as you need.’

She quickly shook off the pressure, thinking she didn’t need to rush to decide since there was no deadline. Melly decided to take her time and slowly examine her own feelings. And she resolved to focus only on work while working.

She thought she was doing well. At least until the day before yesterday.

“Hello.”

“Welcome, customers. What kind of tea would you like?”

“Ah, it’s our first time here today. What’s the most delicious?”

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a moment, Melly said:

“Herbal tea is good, and black tea is delicious too. If you don’t like caffeine, lemon tea might be nice.”

“Then please give us two lemon teas.”

Melly turned around with a gentle smile. Her shoulders, holding the menu to her chest, lowered in relief.

Thank goodness.

For not saying, ‘Darjeeling. Darjeeling tea is the most delicious.’

She had been saying that every time she was asked for a recommendation lately. As if it was the only tea she could make.

So Melly consciously recommended teas other than Darjeeling.

She mainly recommended teas with sour scents like lemon, orange, or lime, because the citrus aroma stimulating the nasal passages helped calm her confused feelings…

“…!”

Melly’s mind suddenly cleared at the subtle scent spreading through the air.

Without realizing it, she had been making Darjeeling. Not lemon tea.

When she lost consciousness for a moment, her body automatically made Darjeeling.

But it wasn’t just Darjeeling.

She had also unconsciously developed a habit of keeping the window seats empty.

‘I’d like to sit there.’

Two days ago, only when customers requested it did Melly realize with a start that she had been keeping those seats empty like sacred ground.

She would reach up high to grab the tea leaf jar, then gaze wistfully for a long time at the shelf that was lower than she had expected, and her heart would pound at the sound of the door chime as she turned around to look.

But when she turned, he wasn’t there. Only people who looked nothing like him were looking around the shop for a place to sit.

Then her pounding heart would settle, leaving a strange lingering feeling.

Good heavens. She never thought she would be this out of control.

It’s because they spent so much time together. Nearly two-thirds of her life, wasn’t it?

She shook her head.

‘This won’t do.’

She needed to divert the tendrils of thought that kept reaching out to him.

In the evening, after turning the sign to ‘Closed’, Melly went to her room and took out that frame.

She gazed at the photo in the frame with wistful eyes, stroking it with her fingertips. Then, with a resolute look in her eyes, she packed her bundle. Most of the items filling it were small trinkets she had made or collected in her spare time, so it wasn’t heavy.

She pondered for a moment at the sign on the door. She thought about writing that she was on vacation, but there was no need. She would only be gone for the night anyway.

With that, she left the shop.

Melly could see traces of sunset forming a faint band on the ridge of the mountain behind the shop.

‘Even the most difficult times become memories as time passes.’

Melly recalled Edric calmly reading the phrase she had handwritten on a fabric frame.

Did he know? That it was the very phrase she had written in tears in her diary back when he declared he would marry Rosalyn Adel.

‘Ah… not again.’

She was thinking about Edric again. This is what happens as soon as she loses focus for a moment.

Feeling hopeless, Melly shook her head.

She looked back at the shop one last time with a determined gaze.

As if she would return completely changed. And as if she would then make rational and reasonable decisions for everyone’s sake, rather than being swayed by emotions and making impulsive choices.

Perhaps it was possible. The precious and lovable being she was about to meet would surely brighten her eyes that had become clouded with regret.

Melly turned, hitched up her bundle once more, and took a strong step forward.

“…”

Wilson did not immediately recognize his surroundings.

‘Where am I?’

His eyes, which had been confusedly scanning the unfamiliar wallpaper, curtains, bed, and window frame, suddenly sharpened at the sight of the telescope on the table.

He had dozed off while monitoring the tea shop with it.

He had taken turns with the three assistants he hired to watch the tea shop, but two days ago they all fell ill at once, so he had to stay up for two nights straight to keep an eye on the shop himself. As a result, drowsiness overwhelmed him and he unknowingly fell asleep.

He quickly grabbed the telescope and focused it.

Fortunately, the lady’s tea shop looked no different than it had an hour ago.

The sign was turned to ‘Closed’, and the lights were off.

The lady would also be resting in her small room. That’s how it had been yesterday and the day before.

The lady always spent her days in the same pattern. So if he wanted to, he could have taken a nap somewhere else and said he had been keeping watch the whole time. But.

Since gaining Edric’s trust, Wilson believed and acted on his words as if they were gospel.

He didn’t question why Edric gave his wife freedom in front of her, but secretly built fences to keep other men from approaching her behind her back.

If the master did it, he must have his reasons. He is wise, after all. Able to see several moves ahead.

Knock knock−.

At the sudden knock, Wilson got up with a puzzled look and opened the door.

A young boy was standing there holding a note.

“My brother told me to give this to you, sir.”

Wilson took the note from the boy.

It seemed one of the three had recovered. Wilson felt the tension melt into fatigue.

Once this night was over, it looked like he could rest starting tomorrow.

In a relaxed mood, Wilson kept watch on Melly’s shop. Her lodgings remained quiet all night.

Even the light that occasionally turned on was absent.

It seemed she was in a deep sleep.

“Thanks to you, the matter was settled well, Edric.”

Crown Prince Lucius, who had just finished a difficult negotiation, said to Edric with a sigh of relief.

“I can’t even begin to describe how much of a mess things were during the time you were gone.”

“You flatter me, Your Highness.”

Edric replied humbly. Lucius frowned.

“Didn’t I tell you not to be so formal when it’s just the two of us? I’m starting to feel hurt.”

“You also said not to be disrespectful during work hours.”

“Then I’ll specially let you off early today. How’s that?”

Lucius said with a good-natured smile. Edric shook his head as if he couldn’t be helped.

“You shouldn’t use your privileges so carelessly, Luce.”

Now as before, Lucius was indecisive and soft. It was no wonder the Emperor trusted Edric more than his own son.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re back, Edric. It feels like everything has returned to normal now.”

But Lucius didn’t know competition. Jealousy was a foreign concept to him. He didn’t mind that his capable friend Edric was more trusted by his father. Rather, he was happy that it meant less work for himself.

Tired of hearing the Emperor’s nagging, he sincerely welcomed Edric’s return.

“Can I relax now that you’re here, Edric? I’m only saying this now, but I really struggled while you were gone.”

Lucius looked at Edric with eyes seeking confirmation.

“Probably.”

Edric nodded and replied plainly.

There was no reason not to say so. He intended to slowly put everything back in its place. Work, household, Melly…

Some time had passed, and her resentment towards him would have lessened considerably, so he thought it might be time to slowly reach out.

According to Wilson’s reports, she often left his seat empty and occasionally stared blankly at it.

So it seemed like it was time for him to appear. And he planned to gradually drive out old feelings and build new times and memories.

He had been patient for this.

Melly would return to her place as the Duchess. And he would never let her slip from his grasp again.

“Daddy−!”

“…”

At the sudden sound of a child’s voice, both their gazes turned to the end of the corridor.

A chubby little girl of three or four was running towards Lucius with a beaming smile.

“Ouch!”

The child tripped, unable to control her speed midway.

Lucius quickly ran over and scooped her up. The child, who had been pouting, finally burst into tears in her father’s arms.

“Waaah!”

“Shh−. There, there, my princess.”

Lucius patted the child’s back to soothe her. Edric watched quietly and thought.

‘She takes after him.’

Lucius used to cry at the drop of a hat as a child too. The soft and tender genes must run in the family.

Lucius, who had been gently rocking the child, turned to Edric and said:

“You should have an adorable child like this too, you know?”

“…”

“For that, you’ll need to find a partner first. Shall I introduce you to someone nice?”

Not knowing that Edric had already found Melly, it wasn’t an unreasonable thing for Lucius to say. But.

“No need. I’ll take care of my own affairs.”

Edric coldly refused, then added:

“And I think you’ve got the order wrong. The partner should come first, not the child.”

“Well, that’s true, but.”

Lucius gave the child a quick kiss on the crown of her head and spoke again.

“It’s just that you seem to want a child.”