“No!”

Melly denied with a resolute attitude.

“I absolutely don’t think that way.”

“…”

“How could we be people of the same world? You’re officially listed in the marquis family register, while I’m not a Pelton but an Enwood. Just a fringe noble hardly different from a commoner.”

At a glance it might have sounded like she was elevating him, but in truth she said it because she found it unpleasant to be lumped together with this man.

Melly quickly changed the subject before he could say something strange again.

“So instead of saying such nonsense, why don’t you say something useful? Time is precious, after all.”

“Something useful…”

Francis, who had been briefly repeating Melly’s words, suddenly burst into self-deprecating laughter.

“Is this enough?”

“…”

“I told Rosalyn not to marry Duke Pelton.”

Melly’s eyes widened. Trying to calm her heart that kept fluttering with vain hope, she carefully asked.

“…And then?”

“She said she couldn’t do that even if it meant ending things with me.”

“Ah…”

So that’s how it is. Right. That makes sense.

She felt pathetic for having harbored hope even for a moment. Melly said with a wry smile.

“From my perspective, that seems much more sensible than suggesting to continue the relationship after marriage.”

“I know.”

Francis’s calm voice of acknowledgment somehow sounded pitiful.

“But it was sad.”

“…”

“What was saddest was…”

Melly found herself unwittingly listening for this man’s next words.

“That everything she gave me was her ‘first’. Her first embroidery, first lace, first drawing, first piano performance, first love, first kiss, first…”

“Wait!”

Melly, not wanting to hear what came next, hurriedly interrupted.

“That… isn’t that a good thing? Are you… perhaps bragging to me right now?”

“At first, I thought so too. After all, ‘firsts’ are supposed to be meaningful. But one day, when I suddenly looked back, I realized. Everything I had was just practice work.”

“…”

“Nothing made after she became skilled was given to me. Those were given to others, people she wanted to impress more, people whose attention she wanted to catch. That was the saddest part.”

Suddenly, in Melly’s mind, a handkerchief that Edric had carelessly stuffed into his drawer upon returning from the hunting competition flashed.

It was a beautiful handkerchief with a delicate crimson bougainvillea embroidered in the corner. And at the end, Rosalyn Adel’s initials were written.

Edric had piled that handkerchief on top of the numerous handkerchiefs he had received so far, never using it.

Melly no longer found this man pathetic.

He had sincerely loved Rosalyn and given her everything. Though it might be immoral, he had been true to his feelings and done his best at every moment.

‘In contrast, what about me?’

Melly reflected on herself.

What had she done for Edric besides Darjeeling tea?

After practicing embroidery so much, why hadn’t she given him even one handkerchief she had embroidered herself?

Was it because she was intimidated, thinking that if even those noble ladies’ handkerchiefs were treated so carelessly, how much worse would it be for something she made? Was it right to think she had known her place and acted wisely?

As this man said, shouldn’t she have spoken directly to Edric instead of just confiding in her diary?

The reason her friendship with Edric had continued smoothly for ten years was not because she had made an effort, but because she had done nothing.

It was natural that nothing would happen if one did nothing.

Melly now realized this simple yet certain truth.

But.

‘It’s too late.’

It was far too late.

Edric had already decided on marriage. And by now, he would be spending a pleasant time with Rosalyn at the Adel marquis’s house, envisioning their future married life.

There was nothing more she could do.

If there was anything…

“Excuse me, Lord Adel.”

It would only be to clear away the impurities before Edric’s eyes so that he could form as much of a family-like home as possible, even if it was a political marriage.

Seeing as this impurity also seemed to be coming to a realization about himself, it might not be too difficult.

“From what I can see, you don’t seem like a bad person either. No, actually, you’re a capable and decent person. You were chosen as the next head of the Adel marquis family, after all.”

“…”

“Moreover, being able to love someone as they are is a quality that’s hard for most people to have. So…”

Melly spoke while looking at the person before her without blinking once.

“Use that passion for someone better. Don’t waste it like pouring water into a bottomless jar.”

Objectively, he was truly a fine man.

Black hair with reddish amber eyes. An almond-shaped gaze that created various atmospheres, sometimes playful, sometimes serious.

A tall and slender build.

If Edric was the type of man one would want to lean on, he was the type of man that ladies who desired a comfortable lover like a friend would like.

Moreover, that keen sense and excellent memory.

Above all, that was what was most regrettable.

Melly sincerely hoped for his success.

“There are plenty of good people out there. Right now it might seem like you can’t like anyone but her, but as time passes, you’ll be so embarrassed by that thought that you’ll want to hide in a mouse hole. Without fail.”

While Melly continued her persuasion with a caring attitude, Francis rested his chin on his hand and stared at her intently.

Her desperate tone, as if urging a criminal to turn himself in, seemed quite adorable.

He wondered if perhaps this was the aspect that made even the great Duke Pelton like this woman.

‘Maybe that’s it.’

“Indeed, no one appears as lovely as a woman who genuinely cares for oneself.”

Especially for someone like him who had lived a life full of responsibility as the heir to a great noble family from an early age.

While Melly’s eyes were briefly directed towards the clock tower, Francis looked her body up and down.

‘She’s too thin. She’d be much prettier with a bit more flesh on her bones.’

“Ah!”

At that moment, Melly turned her head from the clock tower with a shocked expression.

“I must go. It’s already almost evening time. We’ve far exceeded the hour thou spoke of.”

Melly tried to rise from her seat.

“Wait a moment.”

Francis pressed down on her shoulder, making her sit back down.

“Wait. I shall buy thee ice cream.”

“Ice cream? Why suddenly ice cream…?”

“Thou likest it.”

Melly flinched at Francis’s words.

‘How did he know? I didn’t write anything like that in my diary.’

She had merely glanced at a passing ice cream cart just moments ago.

And that too, for a fleeting moment that most people wouldn’t even notice.

But that man had clearly noticed it.

He was far more perceptive than she had imagined.

‘Perhaps he would have discerned my feelings even without the diary.’

Melly stuck out her tongue as she watched him disappear down the alley over her shoulder.

The sky had already turned mostly navy blue, and the eastern sky was completely indigo.

Only the sky stretching from one end of the western mountain ridge to the other retained a flesh-like hue, and the darkened mountains appeared even more undulating.

It was a peaceful afternoon moment.

Although it was an outing she had been practically forced into, it wasn’t a bad excursion at all.

The musicians began to play romantic tunes befitting the evening atmosphere, and people jostled to secure good spots to enjoy the music. Everything, though lacking in formality, never appeared vulgar.

Thinking that this must be what a human life is like, Melly found herself reflecting on her own life.

How ambiguous a life was she living now?

Neither noble nor commoner, placed in an ambiguous position, unable to fully assimilate into either world.

Well, that wasn’t entirely Melly’s fault.

Her mother had brainwashed her daily, saying “Thou art a noble” more than ten times a day, but simultaneously instilling “Thou art not of the same world as the young lord.”

Her identity couldn’t help but be ambiguous.

Melly felt that perhaps she should clarify her position now.

Living as she was now, she might be treated as a noble in name only, but she couldn’t live without depending on someone. On the other hand, if she were to give up her noble title…

‘I could become independent.’

Melly’s eyes sparkled like brown topaz placed under sunlight.

Why hadn’t she thought of this method before?

Why had she thought that her noble title was something she must never give up? What was it really?

Melly felt a deep joy in her heart at this suddenly emerged new path.

A way to live without depending on Edric had opened up.

‘What should I do? Tend to gardens? Brew tea? Or…’

There weren’t many things she could do, but she didn’t feel discouraged.

‘It’s fine. I can learn anything.’

She was still only nineteen, after all.

Suddenly, several paths appeared in what had seemed like a long and lonely life stretching endlessly before her.

Each path looked uncertain and rough, but far more attractive and exciting than the single path she had to walk regardless of her own will.

Melly’s heart raced at this first active decision she had made about her life with a sense of ownership.

She was willing to view anything that appeared before this wondrous joy in a positive light.

Rustle-.

Suddenly, the sound of rustling clothes came from behind her.

‘He’s back faster than I thought.’

Melly stood up with a smile and turned around.

With a goal in mind and ice cream to look forward to, there was no reason not to smile.

“…”

But her smile quickly faded.

“…Edric.”

He was standing right before her eyes.