“I’m sorry, Melly. I’m truly… sorry.”

His voice trembling as it reached her ears.

His arms crossed in front of his chest exerted a more careful pressure than usual.

Though she thought she was the one who had done wrong, faced with this unexpected situation, Melly was momentarily speechless.

But soon she undid his arms and slowly turned around.

Edric’s cheeks were wet with tears.

“You… why are you crying?”

Melly asked as she wiped the remaining tears from his cheeks with her fingertips.

He gently clasped her hand in response.

“Because it pains me to think of how fiercely you must have lived during the three years I spent in helplessness.”

“What do you mean helpless? I know how difficult a time you’ve had…”

“I thought so too, but now I see that wasn’t the case.”

Edric shook his head.

“I was merely struggling to escape my own pain. While you were doing your best to live for yourself, our child, and your benefactor.”

“…”

“I dare not compare myself to you.”

Melly pondered his words for a moment.

‘Was I really like that? Did I live such a difficult and fierce life to deserve such praise?’

She had never thought of it that way before.

She had been too busy to even think about how hard it was, and even when such thoughts did occur, she hid any signs of difficulty, thinking it was what everyone did.

She thought it was only natural as someone raising a child.

But in this moment, Edric’s words made Melly reflect on her life over the past three years.

The incredibly difficult labor that made her faint twice.

The moment when she didn’t know what to do, feeling sorry for the baby crying because her milk wasn’t coming properly.

The frigid sensation of the snowy field as she ran to the village doctor, holding her feverish child on a cold winter day.

The moments of self-blame, clutching her chest in anguish every time the child fell ill.

Looking back now, it truly had been a tumultuous time.

“You’ve been through a lot, Melly.”

Edric said. His gentle voice stripped away the armor she had donned in the name of motherhood and responsibility, tenderly embracing the vulnerable parts within.

As the tension in her overly taut heart eased, tears suddenly welled up.

Now it was Edric’s hand wiping away her tears.

She spoke with a voice choked with sobs.

“Thank you. For saying that.”

“I’m the one who’s grateful, Melly. For raising my child… our child so well.”

Edric pulled Melly into his embrace.

Resting her head against his broad, sturdy chest, Melly continued to cry.

Hoping that along with her tears, all the sorrows of the past years would be washed away.

Melly now realized.

That she had wanted to cry like this at every moment.

That while she needed to be strong for the child, sometimes she too wanted to be protected.

That was why she would occasionally stand on the hillside, gazing endlessly at the ducal residence. Because she wanted to cry like this in his arms.

Edric continued to pat her back, allowing her to pour out everything inside.

As the sobs floating in the darkness intensified, the knots in their hearts were gradually loosening.

Soon after, the sobs faded, replaced by the faint smoke of candles and steam rising from teacups.

“I only found out later too.”

Seated across from Edric at the table, Melly began slowly recounting the story of the past three years, holding a warm teacup in her hands.

“Of course. We had been unable to conceive for so long, and in the end, I didn’t even take the medicine your mother prepared…”

“…”

Those words evoked different emotions in each of them.

She tried to focus on the good times, afraid Edric would feel overly apologetic and distressed. But Edric keenly perceived the hardships she left unspoken, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his brow.

“I told you before, didn’t I? That I don’t resent you.”

Melly said, looking at him with a much more relaxed expression.

“That was because of the child.”

“…”

“How could I hate you, the father, when I had a child who looked just like you?”

Edric sighed heavily with regret and said,

“I see. Not knowing that, I thought you had completely forgotten me, not even worth hating anymore.”

“I often wished I could forget.”

Melly said with a wry smile.

“But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. Like a part of myself. Wasn’t it the same for you?”

It was a question asked with the assumption that he would naturally agree.

“No. Not for me.”

But at the unexpected answer, Melly’s eyes widened in surprise. For a moment, she even felt a chill, as if he had reverted to the old Edric Pelton.

“You’re not a part of me, but my everything, Melly.”

But Edric smiled gently and placed his hand over hers wrapped around the cup.

“Thank you for forgiving me, Melly.”

“…”

“And for acknowledging me as your husband and the child’s father.”

The warmth felt simultaneously on her palm and the back of her hand made her feel even warmer. Melly suddenly wanted to ask.

“Don’t you resent me?”

“…”

“I hid the child for three years, and even until just a few hours ago, I deceived you completely. Are you not at all resentful of me for this?”

“Not at all.”

Edric shook his head.

“You were right to do so. Even I would have wanted to hide the child in a situation where I couldn’t be certain.”

‘And because you might have been trapped if you weren’t careful.’

He kept that thought to himself. He knew himself well. Before regaining his senses, he would have used the child’s existence to trap Melly.

No, in fact, even now he somewhat thought of the child’s existence as a powerful link binding Melly and himself together. Despite the child being so lovable, such a sinister thought lurked in a corner of his mind.

But he would not say that.

It wasn’t particularly helpful to say in the current situation, where their conflict had been resolved in an instant and Melly had fully opened her heart to him.

“I’ll take care of everything from now on. You can leave it all to me and rest.”

“Really? Is that really okay?”

Melly asked, narrowing her eyes as if to ask if he was sure, then soon broke into a smile.

It was a comfortable smile, as if she had finally set down the burden she had been carrying alone all these years.

It was exactly the smile Edric had longed to see.

“About Jade.”

Edric said just as they were about to go to bed.

“She resembles me a lot from when I was young. I recognized her at first glance. And…”

“…”

“She’s so cute and adorable. Fortunately, she takes after you in that regard.”

As he said this, he wore the face of a caring father without a hint of deception. But Melly had already seen something that made it difficult to fully believe this image.

‘A person should know when to stop at the right time, little one.’

Melly couldn’t forget how his expression had completely changed when left alone with the child, after being so affectionate in front of her. So she couldn’t be sure if this caring appearance now was also just an act.

To him, Jade might be nothing more than his own flesh and blood, the heir to the Pelton ducal family, no more and no less.

That thought weighed heavily on Melly’s heart.

“What’s wrong? Is there still something bothering you?”

“Ah… no.”

Melly quickly shook her head at Edric’s concerned inquiry.

“I’m just a bit tired after being on edge all day.”

She decided to put her mind at ease.

Time would resolve everything.

Affection grows in proportion to time spent together, after all.

As he spends more time with the child, he too will naturally come to love her without even realizing it.

Melly resolved to wait patiently until then without getting impatient.

The two of them entered the narrow room and lay down on the even narrower bed, holding each other tightly as they continued to talk for a while longer. At some point, Melly felt her eyelids grow heavy and closed her eyes for a moment.

“…”

And when she opened her eyes again, she realized she had been asleep for longer than she thought.

She tried to recall where they had left off in their conversation before she fell asleep.

Was it about moving plans? It seemed so.

‘We’ll move as soon as possible. We’ll bring the child too. If you want, we can bring Mrs. Louisa as well.’

Melly had been impressed, even in her drowsy state, that he hadn’t forgotten to consider Mrs. Louisa.

‘No. I fell asleep after that.’

Suddenly, she remembered the conversation they had after that.

‘Where does the name Jade come from? Did you choose it?’

‘Ah… yes.’

Melly carefully explained the naming process.

‘Actually, I had considered naming her after one of the former dukes, following the Pelton family tradition.’

‘…’

‘But somehow it didn’t seem to suit a child who chases rabbits and squirrels and climbs trees. So I chose a common name. I considered several names, but that one seemed to fit the child best.’

Melly looked at him and asked,

‘Do you not like it?’

‘No. I like it.’

He smiled and pulled her shoulder closer.

‘It’s a name that suits that child perfectly.’

Melly, who had been worried about what to do if he wanted to change the child’s name, finally felt relieved.

That was her last memory before falling asleep. And now, Edric was not beside her.

‘Where did he go?’

Melly got up, grabbed the cardigan hanging on the coat rack, and went outside.

A faint strip of reddish light was visible beyond the corner of the wall. Carefully approaching, she saw Edric sitting by the window with a candle lit.

‘What could he be thinking about?’

His face, flickering in the candlelight, seemed somewhat lost in contemplation. Melly took a step forward, intending to ask what was wrong.

At that moment, she suddenly noticed something in Edric’s hand.

A small, plump felt toy. He was quietly looking at it, fiddling with it.

“…”

Melly withdrew her foot.

What he held in his hand was the doll she had made for Jade herself.