It was a child I almost didn’t get to meet.

If the herb gatherer hadn’t saved me when I nearly got crushed by a lightning-struck fallen tree, surely.

I realized I was pregnant exactly ten days after leaving home.

Just as I was about to leave the herb gatherer couple’s house where I had been staying briefly, Melly suddenly felt dizzy and lost consciousness. When I woke up, the couple was looking down at me with worried faces.

The wife held my hand tightly and said.

‘If you want, we can cleanly resolve what’s blocking your life, young lady.’

It took me a while to understand what she meant.

‘Just think of it as an accident. Accidents can happen to anyone.’

The couple thought Melly had suffered a terrible incident. It was understandable. Melly had hidden her identity from them and acted like a wandering maiden with unavoidable circumstances.

And they judged that the cause of those unavoidable unfortunate circumstances was the child growing in her belly.

It took quite some time to accept the reality.

Melly couldn’t believe it. She had experienced 4 years of infertility. It had been a painful time when no child came no matter how hard they tried.

To think that she was now pregnant. Moreover, after leaving the duke’s residence.

‘Drink this medicine and get a good sleep, and your body will be clean again, young lady. Then start anew.’

The husband came with a decocted medicine. The moment Melly saw the steaming dark brown liquid, she finally came to her senses.

‘No. This child wasn’t conceived that way.’

Melly shook her head vigorously and pressed against the wall.

‘No one can touch this child.’

Melly covered her mouth and adamantly refused. The wife looked at Melly with a puzzled face, then soon grasped the situation.

‘I was mistaken. I understand. Don’t worry. No one will do anything you don’t want.’

They withdrew the medicine. And feeling sorry for her like their own daughter, they offered to let her stay until the child was born.

Seven months later, the wife carefully cut the umbilical cord connecting Melly and the child. And they, who had already become like family, continued to live together, watching and rejoicing in every moment of the growing child.

The child was still there now. Like a lighthouse illuminating the night sea, the child was shining a bright light for the mother who had left her comfortable life and plunged into the world.

Now Melly sensed it was time to shine that light for Edric as well.

“……”

Melly waited for the right timing to come. But.

“Um, Edric. Can we talk for a moment……”

Ding−.

Whenever she was about to bring it up, someone from the village would come by, or an urgent matter would arise.

And.

“What were you trying to say earlier?”

“That…… it’s nothing.”

When there was time to talk, her heart wasn’t ready.

As the days stretched longer than expected, Edric also became puzzled.

“Do you still have a lot to organize? Should I help?”

“It’s okay.”

Melly shook her head with a faint smile.

Whenever she felt impatient thinking she should tell him about the child as soon as possible, Melly soothed herself.

‘Don’t rush. If I hurry, I might only confuse him.’

She decided to carefully watch for an opportunity again.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Edric and Melly spread widely through the village by word of mouth.

“So you’re saying the handsome owner of Lumière and the young lady from the tea shop Jade are dating?”

“Not just dating, they’re married. Married.”

“Oh my.”

But Melly didn’t suffer any disadvantages because of this fact.

“I wondered why a high-class tea shop opened in our not-so-famous village. So it was all a ploy to ruin his wife and make her come back?”

“It seems so.”

“What a scoundrel!”

People were angry, but they didn’t stop visiting the tea shop. Rather, they came more often, sipping tea and glancing at Edric. And each time, their faces flushed with excitement.

None of them knew Edric and Melly’s real identities, so everyone could freely enter the shop, order tea, and observe them at their leisure.

That day was also one of those ordinary days.

Taking advantage of a brief lull, Melly took out rarely used porcelain teacups and glass pots to wash and dry in the sun, while Edric sat by the window doing work.

Suddenly the chime bell rang and a middle-aged lady entered the shop. She was an occasional visitor, but one who hadn’t left a particularly good impression. Today she was with her son who looked about nine years old.

“It’s so hot out, do you mind if we sit for a bit?”

“Of course. Please have a seat, madam.”

Melly said kindly. She brought a glass of water and set it down in front of her.

“What would you like to drink, madam?”

“Never mind.”

The lady said without even taking the menu Melly offered.

“Water is enough for today. We’ll just sit for a moment. Is that alright?”

“Of course.”

Despite the lady’s not-so-pleasant tone, Melly answered kindly and turned her gaze to the child. The boy was holding a leather ball as big as his face.

“Don’t you want some juice? I’ll make you juice. Tell me anything you’d like.”

The lady showed signs of wanting to say something. So Melly spoke first.

“It’s on the house. The child is just so adorable.”

The lady closed her mouth and left the choice to the child. The boy thought for a moment while tossing and catching the ball, then ordered the most expensive fruit juice in the shop.

“Okay. Got it. Just wait a bit.”

Melly smiled and returned to the counter. After that, the boy carelessly tossed his ball aside and stood up.

The child looked around the shop with curious eyes. Then he enjoyed roughly tossing and catching the cute ornaments as he had done with the ball.

But he soon grew bored and precariously placed objects on the edge of corners before turning away. That’s when Melly’s sun-dried dishes caught his eye.

Following his naturally curious nature, the child picked up the largest glass pot without much thought. And he casually tossed it in the air, but due to the moisture remaining on the surface, the glass pot slipped past the child’s hands and fell straight to the floor.

Crash−, at the sound, the startled lady and Melly rushed over simultaneously.

“Oh my goodness, are you alright, my baby?!”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

The child shrugged his shoulders as if to prove his toughness.

“You might hurt your feet, so please stay over there for a moment, madam and young sir.”

Melly said this to the two and bent down.

Just as she was about to pick up the broken shards on the floor.

“Leave it.”

Edric, who had approached unnoticed, raised Melly back up.

“I’ll do it, you stay out here.”

He grasped her shoulder and led her to a place where shards hadn’t scattered.

Then he swiftly gathered the broken glass pieces into an empty sack and neatly swept up the remaining fine fragments with a broom.

Though he had clearly never done such a thing before, he did it so skillfully.

So much so that it even made one think all his clumsy appearances until now might have been false.

While Melly watched with admiring eyes, he disposed of what he had swept up, then even took the carpet outside to shake it thoroughly before bringing it back.

He laid the carpet flat and sat down next to the lady, turning towards the restless child.

“If it’s alright with you, may I take him out to play for a bit?”

At this unexpected offer, the lady wore a puzzled expression. But she had already heard things about him. If he was wealthy enough to open a large tea shop like Lumière and then close it without hesitation for his wife, he probably wasn’t a strange person, so it seemed okay to entrust the child to him for a moment.

Watching Edric take the child out to the shop’s yard, Melly tilted her head.

‘He’s never played with children before. I wonder if he can do well?’

Melly couldn’t take her eyes off the window.

He made a gesture indicating the child should throw the ball he had brought out to him.

The child threw the ball with wary eyes, and Edric returned it by receiving it on the top of his foot. The child’s eyes sparkled more and more with each repetition.

Because he realized that the skills of this seemingly impressive adult man were not much better than his own.

Edric occasionally received the ball the child kicked precariously, or missed it. It was the same when passing by hand. The ball the child hit up with his palm often grazed Edric’s hand edge.

“Wow, mister, you’re really bad at this.”

The child mocked him but was delighted at the fact that he was superior.

His appearance playing with the child shone brightly. It was also reassuring.

Melly gazed at that sight as if entranced.

Suddenly, a certain conviction welled up inside her.

The right timing to confess the truth to him. That it was today. She wanted to tell him right away, but.

“Um…… I’ve been thinking. I’ll just have that tea after all. Is that okay?”

The lady, who seemed to have changed her mind about leaving soon after seeing her child playing well with Edric, said.

“Ah, yes. Of course. What would you like?”

Melly replied cheerfully as she turned her gaze from the window.

“Yaaah−!”

The child kicked the ball energetically.

But Edric, who glanced at the shop window, let the ball pass without even touching it with his foot.

“Ah, really. Why didn’t you catch it? Don’t tell me you’ve given up? That’s really cowardly, you know?”

The child pouted and mocked Edric.

Without any particular response, Edric turned around and walked towards where the ball had rolled. As he walked leisurely, he completely left Melly’s line of sight. At that moment, his eyes changed.

The child, unaware of this, followed Edric while teasing mischievously.

“My dad said you were an amazing person, but now I see you’re nothing special.”

The child giggled for a moment, then spread his arms wide.

“Are you frustrated? Are you upset? Then come at me. You should get revenge.”

“Little one.”

Edric’s voice was so chilling it was hard to believe it belonged to the person who had been laughing and playing happily until just now.

“Don’t you want to leave feeling good about winning?”

“……”