“That won’t happen. Not right now.”

The two had reached an agreement on that much at least.

No. Actually, it was Edric who wished for it.

‘I want to be faithful to Jade for the time being.’

“Well, since you’ve been apart for three years, I suppose you’d want to shower her with love even more.”

“I suppose so.”

Melly nodded at Mia’s words, but couldn’t fully agree.

She knew that Edric’s desire for contraception wasn’t solely about bonding with the child.

He often had nightmares, perhaps due to lingering trauma from when he heard she had died. Waking up in a cold sweat, he could only fall back asleep after repeatedly confirming that Melly was alive and well.

Even while sleeping, he would hold Melly tightly or at least grasp her hand. He couldn’t feel at ease unless some part of their bodies was touching.

It was unlikely that such a man would risk another potentially difficult childbirth to have a child.

“What about you, my lady? Don’t you want a second child?”

“Me? I…”

At Mia’s question, Melly quietly reflected on herself.

The memory of the difficult birth was terrible for her too, but it vanished like a lie as soon as she gave birth to Jade.

She sometimes thought about having another beautiful child like this, feeling wistful as her child grew day by day. She thought it would be nice for Jade to have a sibling too. But.

“If he doesn’t want it, I don’t want it either.”

Melly said.

Having another child just for self-satisfaction, or to give the child a sibling, didn’t seem like a very good reason.

She decided to cherish the happiness she had now rather than trying to add more.

As she always had.

Wanting to surprise Edric and Jade, Melly left the store to Mia and returned home early.

She parked the carriage far away and quietly opened the front gate, heading for the backyard.

That was the official playground for Edric and Jade.

But when she stepped into the backyard, Jade wasn’t there. On the log bench where Edric and Jade would often sit eating ice cream, Edric was seated with Crown Prince Lucius.

‘What brings His Highness the Crown Prince here…’

Melly was about to move to pay her respects when she suddenly checked her appearance.

She looked too shabby to greet the Empire’s Crown Prince. She turned to go back and change into proper clothes.

“I’m sure I made it clear.”

But Edric’s resolute voice that suddenly rang out stopped her in her tracks.

“I said I would no longer be involved in any palace matters.”

“Don’t be like that, please reconsider.”

At Lucius’ earnest plea that followed, Melly slowly turned back.

“We really need you there. Their attitude is completely different when you’re present versus when you’re not. Just your appearance at the negotiating table makes them extremely nervous, you know?”

“That’s not true, Lucius.”

Edric said in a calm tone.

“You and His Majesty the Emperor are overestimating me. Besides, the Nereis Kingdom delegation aren’t fools.”

“…”

“They simply want to buy quality raw materials at a reasonable price. They’re not people who would agree to an absurd price just because of my presence.”

“I know.”

Lucius didn’t back down.

“That’s why I want you there. There’s no one else who can set an accurate and fair price like you can.”

“…”

Melly focused on Edric’s expression. A momentary anguish flashed across his face. He seemed to be forcibly suppressing the sense of achievement rising within him.

Lucius didn’t seem to notice, but Melly saw it clearly.

“I’m sorry, but my answer remains the same.”

“I’ll wait anyway. Send a letter if you change your mind. Anytime.”

“I’ll see you to the village entrance.”

Edric stood up, as if Lucius’ words weren’t worth responding to.

Melly quickly hid her body behind the corner.

Creak-.

She heard the sound of the front gate’s hinge opening and closing.

After confirming that Edric and Lucius had gone outside, Melly sighed and entered the house.

Various complex emotions flashed across her face.

‘He wants to work like before.’

It was an undeniable fact. Edric was suppressing his desires due to the preciousness of what he had regained.

He must believe that being devoted solely to his family would protect him from the pain of loss and regret, from those terrible, disastrous things.

‘He doesn’t have to go that far.’

Melly paced the living room with a troubled feeling, then climbed the stairs. She thought seeing Jade’s face might settle her uneasy feelings.

Just as she reached the second floor after turning at the landing.

“Young master, have some snacks. Today we have egg brioche.”

“Wow-, that sounds delicious.”

Jade’s suddenly cheerful voice made Melly smile.

Now freed from household chores to focus solely on her role as Jade’s nanny, Louisa was able to care for the child with more ease. She treated Jade with an even more affectionate attitude than before.

But there was a problem.

“Aunt Louisa, eat with me too.”

“Young Master Jade. As I’ve said before, that’s not allowed anymore.”

At Louisa’s words, Jade whined.

“Why? Why not? We used to do it before. We used to eat together and bathe together before.”

“That’s because, young master.”

Louisa explained in a calm voice.

“You are now Young Master Pelton. I am your nanny, Louisa. You and I now belong to different worlds. You must accept that fact now.”

“…”

Melly stopped in her tracks, just as she had when she was about to approach Edric and Lucius earlier.

‘Belonging to different worlds.’

The words her mother once instilled in her, and later she herself had internalized, were now being explained to Jade by Louisa.

But Jade is different from her past self who blindly accepted it.

“No! I don’t like nanny! I like aunt, I’m telling you.”

The child, uncharacteristically throwing a tantrum, firmly rejected the social order.

“…”

Melly turned away from the door after hearing Louisa patiently trying to persuade the child.

She had become even more troubled in the place she sought to ease her unsettled feelings.

After all, Louisa was sometimes an even closer presence to Jade than her mother.

When she was exhausted from childbirth and couldn’t even muster the strength in her hands, Louisa had held Jade, comforted him, and bathed him on her behalf.

When Melly would be carrying the fussy child all night long.

‘I’ll take care of the child, you go get some sleep. You’ll collapse at this rate.’

Saying that, she would take the child instead. How many times had she felt a touching emotion in her heart at such kind consideration.

Not just Jade, but Melly too felt equally sorry about the changed relationship with Louisa.

If only they hadn’t revealed their identity.

Then Jade wouldn’t have lost his Aunt Louisa, and Melly wouldn’t have had to place a family-like benefactor beneath her…

“…!”

At that moment, Melly paused at a sudden thought that occurred to her.

It was quite a good solution.

She immediately turned back.

“Oh my!”

Louisa, who had just managed to calm Jade down and come out, was startled to see Melly standing outside the door.

“Why are you back so early, my lady? Did something happen?”

“Nothing like that… I just finished early and came back.”

“I see. I was worried you might be feeling unwell.”

Louisa’s eyes scanned the area under Melly’s eyes as she said this.

Seeing that both Mia and Louisa were worried about her condition, Melly thought she must have overdone it last night.

Thinking she should take it easy from now on, Melly suggested to Louisa.

“Shall we have a cup of tea for a moment?”

“Yes, of course.”

Taking Louisa to her quarters, Melly handed her a cup of tea she had made herself. After savoring the aroma, Louisa said.

“The fragrance is really nice. I think it’s even better than before.”

She was referring to when they lived together in the mountain village.

“Yes, the taste of the tea has certainly improved since then.”

Melly calmly acknowledged and continued.

“But the relationship between Louisa and Jade isn’t as good as it used to be.”

“…”

“I’d like Louisa to treat Jade like before. To have snacks together, pat his head, and kiss him freely. Both Jade and I desperately want that.”

“My lady, that’s…”

Melly cut off Louisa as she tried to say something.

“I’ll talk to my husband about it. I’ll ask him to let Louisa and Jade interact comfortably, at least in our home.”

Louisa fell into thought for a moment. Then, with a smiling face, she held the teacup with both hands and said.

“Thank you for saying that.”

But the look in her eyes as she raised them from the teacup was firm.

“But we can’t do that, my lady.”

“…”

“It’s not good for the young master. After all, he must continue to live as the heir to the Pelton duchy. Unnecessary exceptions could make things more confusing for him.”

She continued in a voice that revealed her deep experience.

“My lady. Living like this is the best we can do right now. When there are set rules and we try to go against them, everyone suffers. We should just live fulfilling our duties in our respective positions.”

“Can Louisa… do that? Jade doesn’t seem to want to.”

And neither do I.

“Why wouldn’t I be able to? I cherish and love him whether he’s Jade or Young Master Jade. I’m certain that Young Master Jade will soon understand these feelings of mine.”

“…”

“That even if the way we address each other changes, our fundamental feelings don’t change.”

As the firm resolve in her quiet voice calmed Melly’s confusion, Louisa continued.

“So let’s just wait, Lady Melly. Until someday, some great person comes along and removes the partitions between us.”

“Will such a person ever exist? Even if they do, it would probably be a hundred years from now.”

To Melly’s skeptical words, Louisa shrugged and said.

“We never know.”

“…”

“It might not be a hundred years later, but one year later.”