The echo lingered, trailing off before disappearing. The place where the gunshot had faded was replaced by a dense silence. An impact that would never be broken filled the stillness.

Jeina slowly lifted her face from her hands. She had summoned the courage to capture the final image of the man she admired. And her courage was rewarded.

Francis was unharmed.

The bullet had grazed his temple, creating a breeze as it passed by, and punctured her sketch hanging behind him.

It was the painting of Milord Square that she had drawn with Francis’s advice some time ago.

“Do as you please.”

Edric said, lowering the gun barrel that still had thin wisps of smoke escaping.

“I will turn the world upside down to find Melly.”

“…”

“I won’t do something foolish like letting my woman go for her happiness. Even if she’s unhappy, she should be unhappy by my side.”

As he spoke, a smile formed at the corners of Edric’s mouth. The shadow of his thick eyelashes beneath his downcast eyelids added a strange madness to his smile.

Francis, who had been frozen stiff, finally came to his senses.

Beyond help. Francis thought this but couldn’t say it out loud. It wasn’t because of the greedily gleaming gun barrel.

It was because of the sense of defeat.

Over the past five years, he thought he had become quite tough after giving up being the Viscount Adel and facing the world alone. He thought he was no longer swayed by Edric Pelton’s threats, but now he realized that wasn’t the case.

He still couldn’t handle Edric. Well, how could one defeat a madman? What use is reason in the face of a beast that charges forward instinctively without considering the consequences?

It was only natural that he would lose.

Edric turned around haughtily, alone in a place where everyone was frozen in shock, including Francis who was biting his lower lip in frustration.

He was in a good mood.

‘Of course not.’

He had wondered if Melly might be in cahoots with Francis, but that wasn’t the case.

That fellow was nothing more than a dog lingering around her, hoping for scraps to fall.

That certainty was the only thing that made him happy in this muddy situation.

He would find Melly.

No matter how long it took.

He would search every nook and cranny of the empire, not missing a single nameless village.

He would closely observe each person. If she were living with a different face and appearance, he would blindfold himself and find her by voice alone.

If she were living with even her voice changed by some legendary magic, he would erase everything that characterized Melly and find her by feeling alone.

It wouldn’t be difficult.

For Melly was the only woman he wanted.

Edric vowed.

That he would find her even if it meant destroying everything he had built. And then he would put shackles on her so she could never leave his side again.

The shackles she wanted most – children.

It’s possible now. Mother is gone too.

Thinking of Melly smiling lovingly while caressing her swollen belly, Edric felt happy.

He laughed out loud.

But his happiness was purely a product of his own mental state.

His happiness was not conveyed to Francis who watched him with a shocked face, Jeina who was rejoicing in the survival of the man she admired, or the soldiers and servants outside.

To them, it was just a chilling laugh with madness added to his obsession for his lost wife.

It seemed nothing could stop his rampage. Only Melly could.

The abundantly blooming dogwood flowers quickly fell, and lush green leaves densely filled the branches.

The sunlight was intense, and the wind was laden with moisture.

Summer arrived in that natural and certain form, thickly growing the down of the earth.

The vitality of youth spread its touch across the world.

But it didn’t reach the Pelton Duke’s mansion, which had reigned as another emperor of the empire for hundreds of years. Despite being higher and wider than anywhere else.

It was still stuck in the winter of three years ago. The grand mansion, the people, the atmosphere of walking on a knife’s edge.

“Hey guys.”

“…”

“I… I got proposed to by Robert. I’m so happy that I…”

“Shh!”

Even if someone had something joyful happen, they couldn’t fully express their joy.

If a happy expression appeared on someone’s face, another person would put their hand to their mouth and quiet them.

In the heavy and sensitive atmosphere, this had now become a sort of custom.

The servants still treaded the marble floors carefully as if walking on thin ice, and when they conversed, they lowered their voices. They couldn’t even remember when they had last laughed loudly.

Completely isolated from the world full of hot energy and verdant greenery, the Duke’s mansion was enduring endless tension and silence.

It seemed like an eternal silence that would never end. But.

Tap tap tap—

That too came to an abrupt end.

In the dead silence after the meal when all the servants were resting, the sudden sound of shoe heels broke the stillness.

Due to the removal of cumbersome furniture to avoid disturbing the master’s mood, the footsteps echoed very clearly through the emptied mansion.

“What’s this commotion, Wilson? Can’t you walk quietly? Moreover, these footprints…”

Oz reprimanded Wilson while looking at the muddy footprints on the shiny marble floor with an astonished face.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Oz. There’s an urgent matter.”

Wilson apologized as he hurried by. His tone had become polite again, just like when he first came here as a page boy ten years ago.

He was no longer Edric’s personal secretary.

It was a fitting punishment for avoiding his broken master for a while.

Even after being scolded by Oz, he continued leaving footprints on the floor and receiving rebukes from various people before finally reaching Edric’s office.

In front of the door, he took a deep breath to calm his panting. Then he knocked.

“Come in.”

A deep, heavy voice pierced through the solid door and reached Wilson’s ears.

Wilson grabbed the doorknob with slightly trembling hands and turned it.

Edric was facing the window. His fine hair fluttered like golden threads in the breeze coming through the open window.

Wilson, like a servant facing his master alone after a long time, awkwardly paid his respects.

“I… I’ve come to see Your Grace.”

“What is it?”

Wilson swallowed hard before speaking emphatically.

“…We’ve found the Madam.”

He was tasked with receiving information from people Edric had planted in various places, sorting out whether it was meaningful or not, and then passing it on to the butler.

He had now fallen to a position where he couldn’t reach Edric without going through the butler. However.

‘Is… is this really true?’

‘I’m telling you it is.’

When he heard the most certain news from Edric’s confidant with whom he had built a rapport, he ran straight to Edric instead of the butler.

Why should I tell the butler this news? This is a golden opportunity to make up for my past mistakes to the Duke.

Wilson waited for Edric’s reaction.

He had no doubt that Edric would turn around with a surprised face and let out a sigh of emotion.

“…I see.”

But his reaction was lukewarm.

He didn’t even turn around.

Wilson, feeling perplexed, hurriedly laid out the facts he had discovered.

“Well, um… that is to say, where we found the Madam…”

“…”

“The Madam is currently running a tea shop in the Lothria territory… And she’s also doing volunteer work in nearby villages…”

This wasn’t what Wilson had expected. He had planned to reveal information bit by bit as Edric asked questions with an aching heart. He wanted to feel important again.

But Edric showed no reaction, as if he wasn’t even listening to Wilson’s words until the end.

‘Is he not curious anymore?’

For Wilson, who had rarely had the chance to serve Edric closely over the past three years, this was a natural assumption.

Feeling somewhat dejected, thinking he had taken on an unnecessary task, Wilson concluded his story.

“That’s all I know. And this is the address.”

He placed a piece of paper on the desk.

The paper fluttered in the wind coming through the open window. Looking anxiously at the paper that seemed about to fly away at any moment, Wilson briefly wondered what to do with it.

Suddenly, the paper flapped greatly. He reached out his hand.

“Wilson.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Wilson withdrew his hand like someone caught trying to do something wrong.

Edric turned around.

“Have the car ready.”

His expression was still blank, but his eyes sparkled with life. Like a beautiful statue that God had just breathed life into.

Wilson realized.

Winter was over. And the stopped time of the Duke’s mansion had started flowing again.

“Yes, Your Grace. I’ll have the car ready right away.”

Feeling proud that he had contributed to this desirable change, Wilson turned around. That’s when it happened.

“Before that.”

Wilson paused at Edric’s words.

“Tell the head of security to gather all the family troops in the Lothria territory.”

“The troops… how many, sir?”

Wilson asked, turning around with an unnatural movement.

Edric replied without hesitation.

“All of them.”

“…”

Wilson found it chilling that even in this situation, rather than being happy, Edric was thinking about surrounding her so she wouldn’t escape. He even thought it might be better to evacuate Melly now.

But he had no right to do that.

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Wilson bowed politely and went outside.

It was at that moment that a smile spread across Edric’s lips.

“Melly.”

Picking up the paper fluttering like a butterfly in the wind, Edric whispered in a pleased voice.

“It’s time to come home now, isn’t it?”