“You have Edric Pelton’s……”

“Give it back!”

Melly rushed to snatch it away, but Francis was faster.

He stood up and raised his arm high. The small and petite Melly jumped up and down trying to grab it somehow, but her fingertips couldn’t even brush the diary.

Melly pleaded with a face about to cry.

“Please, give it to me.”

“I will, of course. Why would I keep this? It’s of no use to me.”

Francis reassured Melly as he stepped back.

“Come on, let’s sit down and talk first. There’s something I want to ask you for sure.”

He sat back down on the bench. This time, instead of taking up the middle, he sat to one side.

The empty space was left for Melly, but she ignored his consideration by sitting in the armchair opposite.

“Ask quickly and give that to me. Then leave.”

Francis burst out laughing at her cold attitude even in her desperate state.

Francis went straight to the point without dragging it out any longer.

“Do you like Duke Pelton?”

“……”

Melly didn’t answer, but Francis didn’t ask twice.

There was no need. The answer was already in the diary.

“Have you told him?”

“……No.”

“Why?”

Melly was bothered by the informal speech, but arguing about that didn’t seem like it would help much in getting the diary back.

“Why would I…… say anything? What’s the point when the marriage has already been arranged?”

“That’s why you should say something more. He’s about to become someone else’s man, shouldn’t you at least take a stab at it?”

‘What a great reason.’

The more they talked, the more pathetic this man seemed to Melly.

“You’re cursing me inside right now, aren’t you?”

“No.”

“You seem to think you’re really good at lying.”

Melly lowered her gaze.

“If it were me,”

Francis continued, waving the diary.

“Instead of writing stuff like ‘I like you’ and ‘I love you’ in this thing, I’d try telling the person at least once. You have to let them know first for anything to happen, right?”

“……”

“And who knows? Your confession might shake Duke Pelton’s heart.”

“That will absolutely never happen.”

Melly said in a clear voice.

“I know Edric well, and there’s not even a one percent chance of that.”

Watching Melly speak with an attitude that left no room for doubt, Francis thought.

‘Is it that that guy hides his emotions well, or is this wench dull?’

The former was certain. And the latter…… seemed to be true as well.

‘What an incompatible combination.’

A combination where neither would ever know the other’s true feelings unless one of them spoke up openly.

There was a reason they had lived in the same house for over ten years and remained just friends.

‘Rosalyn and I fell for each other in an instant without either of us having to say anything.’

Because we detected the subtle currents of emotion emanating from each other’s gestures without having to speak.

He was tempted to tell the girl before him that she was mistaken, that from his perspective, the possibility seemed to be at least thirty percent. And he felt like teaching her the secret to shaking a man’s heart. It seemed like an interesting situation might unfold.

“And even if my confession could shake Edric, I would give up.”

Melly said, looking directly at her counterpart with a straight gaze.

“Because in the end, I’d just be in the same position as you.”

“……”

The playful laughter gradually faded from Francis’s eyes. He understood what she was saying. Melly spoke clearly once more.

“I wish you would stop your relationship with Miss Rosalyn at this point.”

“Why should I do that?”

Francis’s lips curved into a crooked smile.

“Rosalyn and I love each other, and Duke Pelton seems ready to turn a blind eye to anything for the sake of joining the families.”

“That’s exactly why you should stop.”

“……”

“Because once Edric decides not to overlook it, neither of you will be safe.”

At those words, Francis’s eyes narrowed.

‘She’s judging quite accurately. It’s not just rose-colored glasses.’

Francis felt a strange curiosity at this uncommon occurrence.

On the other hand, Melly wanted to end the conversation.

“Now that you know everything, please return my diary.”

But even as she said this, she didn’t expect much.

He would surely ask this and that, draining her patience.

She was prepared to answer a couple more questions. Now that the diary had been exposed, there seemed to be nothing left she couldn’t answer.

“Here−”

But surprisingly, he held out the diary without another word.

Melly looked back and forth between the diary and him with an expression of disbelief at Francis’s sudden action.

“Have you been deceived all your life?”

“……”

“Take it. Quickly.”

Francis wiggled the diary in his hand.

Though she didn’t understand what was happening, it seemed she should take it before he changed his mind.

Melly stood up. Then she took two steps forward and grasped the diary he held out without suspicion.

At that moment, a meaningful smile formed on Francis’s lips. By the time she realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

“Ah!”

Her wrist, caught off guard, was strongly pulled, and in an instant, Melly fell on top of him.

“What… what are you doing?”

Melly said in a flustered voice.

Francis grinned and tightly hugged her waist to prevent her from getting up.

“Buy me a meal later.”

“……”

“Because you’ll be grateful to me.”

A meal? Something to be grateful for? What was all this about?

But Melly had no time to properly consider those words. She was already overwhelmed trying to escape from his embrace.

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, an inexplicable sense of discomfort swept over her entire body. Melly stopped struggling. And slowly turned her head towards the source of the murderous aura.

The feeling was as if all the blood in his body had turned ice-cold.

[This is the timeline separator]

‘Why hasn’t Mother arrived yet?’

Edric carefully rolled up his sleeve, making sure Rosalyn didn’t notice.

It wasn’t even eleven o’clock yet. Though it felt like a long time had passed, not even an hour had gone by. This realization left him feeling dazed.

He would have to kill another hour or two until his mother returned.

This had never happened before.

Although he had dealt with countless people to the point of boredom, he had never found conversation itself to be such a struggle due to a lack of topics.

What could be the problem? Was it because of what happened earlier this morning?

‘I’m asking you to accept me as your legal family.’

Yes. That could be it.

If one were to describe his state of mind at the moment he heard those words, it was like a desk swept by the wind. Just as when facing a pile of documents, not knowing where to begin organizing, his mind went blank for a moment.

“……”

He felt slightly dizzy.

He wanted to get some fresh air alone for a moment.

As he was looking for the right timing, his fiancée helpfully provided an opportunity.

“Francis is quite late. I wonder what’s going on?”

“I’ll go out and look for him. The manor’s layout is a bit complex, so he might have lost his way.”

“No, that child wouldn’t…”

Before Rosalyn could finish her sentence, Edric stood up and left the reception room.

Just leaving that place made him feel like he could breathe again.

The sunlight streaming through the corridor windows felt much warmer and more comforting than before, though it was surely the same, and the air seemed far fresher.

As he was just walking along the corridor for a while, a passing butler spotted him and approached.

“Your Grace, is there anything you need?”

“Nothing, go about your business.”

“Ah, then this…”

The butler, seizing the opportunity, held out something. It was a small piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

“Lady Melly asked me to give it to you. Well then.”

As the butler bowed and withdrew, Edric unfolded the twice-folded note.

[Forget about what happened this morning. I was rash.]

Sigh—

He felt as if the headache that had just subsided was coming back.

Edric paced the corridor again, mulling over the morning’s events.

Family. Family, huh…

Thinking about it, there was nothing wrong with it.

He had always thought of Melly as family. Rather, he had been frustrated by the limitations imposed because she wasn’t actually family.

For instance, whenever there was a gathering of family members at the duke’s residence, Melly was confined to her room. Or when they received invitations to parties, she had to be left at home because her name wasn’t on the list. His parents pretended to be kind on the surface while anxiously trying to get rid of her behind the scenes, and so on.

Yes. If she became family legally, he could keep her by his side without any problems and protect her.

‘It’s such a simple matter, so why am I hesitating? Isn’t it just putting the name ‘family’ on this already close bond we have?’

As he rationally thought it through, Edric couldn’t help but laugh at how he had been worrying over something so trivial.

Yes. He must have just been surprised. Taken aback by such unexpected words…

There was nothing more to ponder.

He should tell her now.

It seemed Melly had retracted her words thinking she was being presumptuous, but there was no need for that.

He should tell her right now that he would make her a member of their family, a lady of House Pelton.

He immediately set off towards Melly’s quarters.

His heart felt lighter, as if a long-standing indigestion had been cured.

He even felt happy imagining Melly’s face when she heard what he had to say.

She would probably put on an indifferent face on the outside, but inside she would be overjoyed.

She had always longed for a family, and now he could become that family for her.

“Melly.”

He flung open the door to Melly’s room.

And the scene that unfolded before his eyes caused the warmth in his chest, created by anticipation and joy, to turn frighteningly cold.

Suddenly, he couldn’t think of what to say.

“……”

Inside her room, Melly was embracing Francis Adel.