Due to the main road being blocked, the carriage was redirected to a side road.

The carriage jolted greatly for a moment due to the unpaved road. Wilson pressed down on the lid of the box on his lap to prevent it from flying open.

As a result, the neatly tied ribbon was crumpled under his unrefined hand. Edric, who had been watching, reached out his hand.

“Give that here.”

“…Pardon?”

Wilson looked back and forth between Edric’s hand and face, not understanding.

Edric nodded his chin toward Wilson’s lap.

“Ah…”

Wilson, embarrassed at his uncharacteristically slow comprehension, handed over the gift box.

The box now rested stably on Edric’s lap, receiving careful and cautious pressure.

No matter how much the carriage shook on the rough road, the box remained intact. And Edric’s gaze fixed on the box remained equally unwavering.

As if there were a string connecting the box and his eyes, Edric’s gaze simply refused to leave the box.

A heavy silence stretched on. Wilson opened his mouth, trying to brighten the mood.

“Her Highness the Crown Princess will be pleased. It’s the first baby clothes the Duchess has made for someone, isn’t it?”

“…”

Edric remained silent.

Wilson spoke again.

“If we go ahead and make some for other noble ladies as well, it would further increase awareness…”

“Wilson.”

A deep voice cut off Wilson’s words.

“Shut your mouth. Before I throw you out of the carriage.”

His voice was calm, yet menacing.

Wilson bowed his head, his face pale.

“I… I’m sorry, Your… Grace.”

He wasn’t quite sure what he had done wrong. But he knew that if he said anything more, he really would be thrown out of the carriage. After that, he did not open his mouth again until further instructions were given.

Eventually, the carriage stopped jolting and regained stability, then came to a smooth stop not long after. A guard saluted and opened the door. Edric stepped out of the carriage with the box.

He walked along the stone path towards the main palace, which held a thousand years of majestic history intact.

It was when he was about to reach the entrance that he encountered the Crown Prince and Princess out for a walk.

“Hey, Edric.”

Crown Prince Lucius grinned broadly and raised his hand to Edric. Crown Princess Juliana, standing beside him, rolled her eyes at her husband’s undignified behavior and chided him, then greeted Edric demurely.

“Welcome, Duke Pelton.”

“I greet You, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

Edric bowed with one arm across his chest.

His eyes fell on her belly.

Though still in the early stages, the Crown Princess was supporting her back and pushing out her belly as if to show it off.

“Is Melly well?” Juliana asked about Melly in a friendly tone.

She and Melly had many opportunities to be together due to their husbands’ close relationship. Juliana favored Melly more than other noble ladies. And there was a reason for that.

“She is well, Your Highness.”

“Melly should get pregnant soon too.”

Juliana said with a look of concern.

Edric inwardly sneered.

She, like Melly, had not been able to conceive for a long time. That’s why she liked Melly more than her peers.

Among her peers whose bellies repeatedly swelled like balloons and then deflated, only Melly, who consistently maintained a slim figure, was the sole existence that did not make her feel miserable.

Pregnancy was a taboo word in their conversations.

But now that she was pregnant, she freely uttered that word.

“Melly is young, so she’ll get pregnant soon. Besides, she’s been pregnant once before, hasn’t she?”

Furthermore, she wanted to savor her miraculous happiness through Melly’s envious gaze.

“I haven’t seen Melly in a while. I miss her.”

“…”

“Please tell your wife that I miss her and want her to visit soon, Duke Pelton.”

‘For whose benefit?’

Edric thought.

But he did not voice his thoughts.

It was the natural duty of noble ladies to visit and congratulate on the conception of an imperial heir.

Edric had no intention of ruining official matters with personal feelings. He would send Melly.

“I will do so, Your Highness.”

Edric replied politely. Juliana nodded in acknowledgment and then noticed the gift box in Edric’s hand.

From the neatly tied ribbon and the fact that he had brought it to the imperial palace, she seemed to realize it was for her.

Juliana looked at him with clear eyes, hoping he would speak first.

But Edric simply bowed his head to both of them and said,

“Then I shall go in first. Enjoy your walk.”

What he offered was not the gift, but merely those words.

The gift box remained in his hand. All the way as he passed by the Crown Prince and Princess and headed to his office.

It was something even he didn’t understand. He had brought it here to give it to them. He never dreamed he wouldn’t be able to give it.

But the moment he encountered the Crown Prince and Princess, his hand couldn’t present the box to them, as if someone was gripping it tightly.

He could make Melly pay a congratulatory visit. He could make her say the words the Crown Princess wanted to hear, and let the Crown Princess see her own happy reflection in Melly’s eyes.

But he couldn’t give this.

Entering his office, Edric placed the box on the desk. Pulling one string, the line crossing the four sides disappeared, revealing the smooth top surface of the box lid.

Edric opened the box once more.

A neatly folded baby gown with adorably tied chest strings lay inside.

It was that very baby gown made from the cotton cloth that Melly had regularly aired out to prevent moth damage even after her miscarriage.

Even Edric, as emotionally barren as he was in such matters, was not unaware of the feelings with which she had cut and sewn it.

So he couldn’t give it away. No matter if it was for the imperial heir, no one deserved to wear clothes exchanged for Melly’s tears.

This garment could only be worn by their child.

Edric closed the box lid again, retied the ribbon, and locked it in the bottom drawer of his desk.

“Did you give it?”

Upon returning home, Melly asked as she followed Edric into the dressing room.

His hands, which were unbuttoning his jacket, paused for a moment, but Melly didn’t notice.

She asked again with a tense face.

“Did she like it?”

“It was alright.”

Edric answered stiffly as he took off his jacket.

It wasn’t a satisfactory answer, but Melly tried to be content with it.

She took his jacket and smiled faintly.

“I see. That’s good. I hope they dress the baby prettily in it.”

As Edric unbuttoned his shirt one by one, Melly continued speaking.

“I wonder how beautiful the baby will be, taking after both of them?”

“…”

“I hope it’s a daughter who takes after Her Highness the Crown Princess. A daughter who takes after her would be so pretty.”

She wasn’t usually talkative, but today she kept chattering.

As if desperately trying not to leave even a moment’s gap between words.

“Next time, please tell her I’ll make some underwear too. I’ll make it even prettier than what I made this time…”

At that moment, Edric turned around. Melly couldn’t finish her sentence.

His eyes had sunk coldly. He seemed angry, or perhaps annoyed.

Along with his firm upper body visible through the open front of his shirt, it was an extremely hard and dangerous expression.

“Melly.”

“…”

“Instead of wasting time making such useless things, why don’t you do something more beneficial?”

It was a cold and biting remark, but being called Melly made it a little less painful. It seemed like he was acknowledging her as the Duchess again.

But it was only for a moment.

“Rather, meet your old friends. Don’t make clothes for other people’s children.”

Not knowing how much those words saddened Melly, Edric continued coldly.

“The Crown Princess has more than enough baby clothes and underwear. The child will be running around before it can wear yours. So don’t waste your effort.”

“…”

Wasted effort.

Those words pained Melly’s heart so much she could hardly breathe.

So the clothes she had made shedding tears all night, the effort she had put in with a piercing heart, was all in vain. It was just one among many clothes.

She desperately wanted to go back and retrieve it. For herself, she certainly would have done so.

But she had made it for Edric. Therefore, asking for the clothes back would mean making him lose many things he possessed.

Melly managed to smile and said,

“Yes, I will.”

“…”

“From now on, I’ll try to do more beneficial things.”

She smiled brightly as if she had been praised.

Edric suddenly felt anger rising.

Though it clearly wasn’t alright, her pretending to be fine made her seem like a very different, alien being to Edric.

Then the destructive instinct that always welled up when facing such beings was revived in Edric.

Edric wanted to shatter that smiling mask covering her face. He wanted to make her true to her emotions, her instincts. He felt he couldn’t bear it otherwise.

“Please wear this.”

Melly held out Edric’s neatly arranged indoor clothes.

But instead of taking the clothes, Edric grabbed Melly’s wrist forcefully.

Melly’s body was helplessly pulled into Edric’s embrace. The indoor clothes fell to the floor.

Faced with Edric’s intense gaze up close, Melly instinctively became frightened. The smile disappeared from her face.

‘Yes, this is better.’

Edric pulled up the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.

Now he would engrave something else on her face instead of that disgusting pretense.

If his reproach only made her pretense thicker, he would shatter it with something else.

He wrapped one arm around Melly’s waist and lifted her skirt with his other hand.

The rough texture of the petticoat enveloped his long, delicate hand.