Due to being engrossed in work since morning, his eyes were tired.

Edric took off his glasses, pressed his eyelids firmly, and looked at the clock.

It was five o’clock.

He looked at the remaining documents. An hour would be enough to finish them. No, normally he would have finished the work neatly and risen from his seat in a good mood, even if it took several hours.

But he stood up now.

Strangely, today it felt like he should. It was as if something invisible was pushing his back, urging him to get up.

Edric left his office and boarded the carriage waiting at the entrance of the main palace.

Wilson, who got on after him, relayed a message that one of the promising up-and-coming businessmen wanted to treat him to dinner.

The dinner wouldn’t just be about sharing a meal. A proposal would be made to Edric, offering a massive profit in exchange for a small favor. Wilson had no doubt that Edric, who liked efficiency, would naturally accept.

“Home.”

But Edric overturned Wilson’s assumption with a firm tone. As Wilson’s eyes widened in surprise, Edric instructed the coachman again.

“Drive as fast as possible.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

The carriage sped through the streets, then suddenly got stuck near the end. It stood still, then moved bit by bit repeatedly.

Edric, recalling what happened on the last annexation day, asked:

“Is there some event in the neighboring village today too?”

“No, Your Excellency. This street is usually congested.”

Wilson answered.

‘Was that so? Why didn’t I know that?’

The unfamiliar feeling made him impatient.

The carriage was crawling like a snail. It seemed faster to get off and walk.

“Stop. Right now.”

Edric said. The coachman followed his instruction and stopped the horse in the middle of the road.

As he got off the carriage, Wilson tried to follow. Edric extended his hand.

“You stay in. I want to walk alone.”

Wilson had no right to refuse.

He quietly closed the carriage door. Edric crossed between the carriages and stepped onto the sidewalk. Once he realized he was no longer wasting time in the carriage and could go anywhere he wanted, he felt a bit less impatient.

Edric walked leisurely, observing his surroundings.

It was near a shopping street frequented by the middle class. Perhaps that’s why the clothes of passersby seemed modest by his standards.

But there were some who seemed quite showy among them. Probably those occupying the upper tier of the middle class.

Edric found himself laughing at their appearance, which looked rather unsophisticated and vulgar, with large gemstones dangling as if to show off their wealth, and adorned from head to toe with products bearing the logos of famous design shops.

He even felt proud thinking he had rescued Melly from such an undignified class.

He put a cigar in his mouth.

As he was about to reach into his inner pocket for a lighter, he suddenly noticed a flower shop at the end of the street.

He thought of Melly again. He had been thinking about her a lot today.

Should he buy Melly a bouquet of flowers?

In the early days of their marriage, he bought her flowers a few times and Melly liked it. Seeing her bury her nose in the flowers and smile quietly was so pretty that he bought flowers quite often.

Compared to women who pretended to like and be moved by gifts they didn’t really care for, Melly’s reaction was the epitome of genuine joy.

But when did he stop buying flowers so consistently?

As he approached the flower shop, Edric tried to remember, but he couldn’t quite figure it out. It seemed like it might have been a year ago, or two years ago. Or maybe even longer than that.

It might have been last on her twenty-second birthday…

“…!”

Suddenly, a memory came to him.

‘I’m pregnant.’

When she came to the bedchamber one day and whispered as if it were a secret. The next day was the last time.

‘Flowers aren’t good for pregnant women and babies. Buy me flower gifts later when the child is over three years old.’

Melly said, preciously holding the freesia bouquet he gave as a pregnancy congratulation gift. He agreed to do so.

Now, though he couldn’t guarantee when their child would be over three years old, Edric hadn’t bought flowers as if waiting for that time.

Now that he thought of it, why not buy flowers today?

Edric stopped in front of the flower shop.

“What kind of flowers are you looking for, sir?”

The middle-aged woman who seemed to be the owner greeted Edric with a fabricated smile.

Edric glanced over the flowers and asked.

“What flowers are good this season?”

“Well…”

The owner pretended to ponder, touching her chin, then said.

“Mansfield roses are nice. Especially white roses with slightly pink tips are very popular among ladies.”

Edric inwardly chuckled at those words. He knew it was the most expensive variety among the flowers, one that ordinary commoners couldn’t even think of buying a single stem.

But knowing this, he still said.

“Then give me a bouquet of those.”

He thought they would go well with Melly’s white skin that sometimes blushed.

“Yes, of course, sir. Just a moment! Please wait just a moment.”

The owner went into the shop with an excited face.

A moment later, Edric resumed walking, holding the bouquet she had made while even humming a tune.

Before he could take ten steps, raindrops suddenly began to fall.

The clouds that had been uneasily covering the night sky since he left the palace finally resulted in this.

Edric unbuttoned his jacket. Then he hurried his steps, hiding the bouquet in his arms to protect it from the rain.

“Your Excellency!”

Wilson suddenly appeared and opened the carriage door.

“Your Excellency, please get in quickly.”

Now the street congestion had cleared, the rain was pouring, and he was holding a bouquet of flowers.

There was no reason not to get in the carriage.

“Your Excellency, why are you so soaked… You’ll catch a cold.”

As he got in the carriage, Wilson fussed, brushing off the moisture on his collar. Meanwhile, Edric looked out the window towards the direction of the duke’s residence.

The roof of the duke’s residence, briefly visible through the heavy rain, soon disappeared into the thickening haze. Even as they got closer, it didn’t reveal itself. Like a mirage that could never be reached.

The mansion that had been invisible for a long time suddenly appeared before his eyes when they were less than a meter away from the main gate.

As the huge iron gate opened, Edric’s carriage rushed towards the main building, splashing water.

When the carriage stopped, the butler ran over, not minding his clothes getting wet, and opened the door.

“Your Excellency, how did you get so soaked…”

He fussed, brushing off the remaining moisture on his clothes, just as Wilson had done.

“I’ll have a bath drawn for you, please take a bath quickly. You’ll catch a cold at this rate.”

But Edric noticed that Melly hadn’t come out to greet him.

“Where’s Melissa?”

“The lady hasn’t returned home yet.”

At the butler’s words, Edric took out his pocket watch.

It’s six o’clock. She had never been out of the house at this time since the days when she met with her Roines Girls’ School classmates.

“Where did she go?”

“She said she was going to Duchess Andert’s house.”

“…”

He had heard that the two had become quite close since Melly accurately interpreted the meaning of a difficult painting at the last appraisal meeting.

No, he had heard that Duchess Andert was showing great fondness for Melly. So she probably urged her to stay a little longer, using the rain as an excuse.

Melly wasn’t the kind of woman who would shamelessly stay until dinner time of her own accord.

“I see.”

A smile of relief appeared on Edric’s lips.

He walked towards his quarters with the bouquet, feeling much more at ease.

Edric leisurely bathed and came out, drinking beer as always.

Just as the refreshing sensation of carbonation pleasantly stimulated his throat, the outside became as bright as day.

The ominous weather seemed to have finally brought in a thunderstorm.

The eerie light quickly disappeared, and the anger of the raging sky sharply shook the earth.

It was the weather Melly disliked. Edric called for the butler.

“Is Melissa in her quarters?”

He asked, assuming she would have naturally returned by now. But the butler’s words were unexpected.

“She hasn’t returned home yet.”

“…”

Edric’s expression hardened. No matter the weather, staying out this late was inconsiderate.

‘She should know to come home on time.’

He absolutely detested being inconsiderate.

Tsk-.

Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Edric ordered the butler.

“Prepare the carriage.”

It seems he’ll have to go fetch her.

Getting into the carriage again after two hours, his eyes were stern. He thought he should firmly warn Melly about this incident.

That no matter how scared she is of thunder and lightning, it’s not polite to stay at someone else’s house until late in the evening. If she can’t overcome it, she should take Oz with her from now on. He will tell her to hold Oz’s hand tightly and make sure to return before dinner without fail.

With such firm resolve, he arrived at the Andert mansion.

Jeina appeared, dragging the hem of her elegant indoor gown on the floor. Alone.

Edric scanned the corridor behind her and asked.

“Where is Melissa?”

Jeina opened her eyes wide as if she had heard something unfamiliar.

“The Duchess hasn’t come here.”

“I was told that my wife said she was coming here.”

“We did have an appointment to meet. But she didn’t come.”

“…”

“I was quite surprised too. The Duchess of Pelton has never broken a promise before. I was going to contact her first, but thought there might be some unavoidable circumstances, so I didn’t. Has something happened to the Duchess?”

Edric didn’t answer. He was confused. This was unlike Melly.

Melly was a woman who always said where she was going when she went out.

Suddenly, lightning flashed, illuminating Jeina Andert’s face in white.

The following thunder beat the earth ominously.

Anxiety began to seep into Edric’s heart.

Where on earth had Melly gone?