Thinking that way, there was no longer any reason to slow down his steps.

Edric hastened his pace.

He gripped the basket of oranges tightly so it wouldn’t shake and strode forward with large steps.

Seeing him buy an entire basket of oranges, the hawkers clung to him even more.

“Sir, try this too. It’s sweet and perfect as a snack.”

“Sir, ours too…”

But since he paid them no attention, most gave up and fell away on their own.

He was now facing the final alley. If he passed through there and kept going straight, he would reach the teahouse where Melly worked.

‘The lady is said to be the owner of that place.’

When he heard those words, Edric wondered if the person he found was really Melly.

He had never once thought that Melly could set up a shop and be self-sufficient.

He thought she would either be taken in by a family and treated like family due to her uniquely serious nature, or even if she worked, at most she would be doing something like being a tutor.

He never dreamed she would be running a teahouse.

‘I really am narrow-minded.’

If he hadn’t limited her to being a weak woman who couldn’t do anything on her own, if he had just broadened his thinking a little, he could have found her much sooner.

If he had, the child also wouldn’t have been conceived…

At this moment, Edric couldn’t feel more deeply the pain of his mistake.

He gripped the basket of oranges tightly, so much that blue veins bulged on his hand.

It was then.

“Oh my, what are you doing here, darling?”

“Just stay still for a moment, Elsa.”

The sound of lovers whispering sweet nothings came from a corner of the alley.

The following smacking sound irritated Edric even more.

“Darling, do you love me?”

“That goes without saying. I can’t live without you.”

Why was it?

Why did couples that were usually hardly seen appear at the precise moment he was falling into despair, highlighting the contrast between him and them?

Thinking that coincidences were truly mischievous, Edric unconsciously turned his head towards them.

In the corner of the alley, a man had a woman trapped in his arms and was kissing her. It was quite clumsy. Seeing how he didn’t know what to do with his hands and just kept fiddling with the woman’s clothes, Edric couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘How pathetic.’

Edric shook his head and turned his gaze away. But.

“…!”

Led by something belatedly recognized, he turned his head again to look in that direction.

The faces of the woman and man crossed just as they brushed noses. Edric’s eyes hardened.

A man with faint grayish-brown hair and thin bones, looking like a bookworm.

It was him.

The man who had smiled happily face-to-face with Melly in the square, her second husband. The man who had made her flat stomach round. That man, that bastard was now kissing and groping another woman…

Thud-.

His hand suddenly felt empty, and oranges that had escaped from the fallen basket rolled in all directions.

But now the oranges didn’t matter at all. A few oranges were crushed under his feet, their juice bursting out. And…

“Kyaak-!”

The woman pressed against the wall covered her mouth with both hands and screamed.

Because it looked like Edric was going to kill her lover.

Edric Pelton was originally a man who punished others in an elegant and noble manner even in moments of anger.

There was no such thing in his dictionary as losing dignity and decorum by being swayed by emotions. He had trained himself that way.

But when it came to Melly, he often became emotional. She completely demolished and stripped bare everything he had built up through effort. Long ago, and now.

“Help! Someone’s dying here!”

The woman ran off screaming, calling for people.

Perhaps because it was a deserted alley, the sound of the woman’s clicking heels continued far into the distance.

Meanwhile, the man continued to be beaten under Edric.

How dare you trifle with my woman.

Edric had no intention of killing him simply with a pistol.

Sending off such a bastard cleanly would be an insult to himself and his woman.

Still, it was fortunate. That this bastard wasn’t a good man. Knowing that, Melly would return to him more easily. Certainly.

“Ugh… Why… are you doing this to me…”

“Shut up.”

Thinking to give another punch to the guy who still had words left to mumble, Edric raised his fist.

“…Edric?”

At that moment, a familiar voice magically caught his wrist.

Edric felt the strength leave his fist as if it were a lie.

Disheveled appearance. Oranges scattered everywhere. New husband in a half-dead state.

He didn’t want to reunite like this.

He wanted to appear before her with a more mature image.

And he had planned to say with a gentle smile and generous tone.

‘I’ll forgive everything that happened. I’ll take responsibility for that child in your womb too.’

He intended to reveal in his own elegant way that the arrogant and selfish appearance that had made her decide to leave him was now gone, so there was no reason she couldn’t return.

But this ambitiously prepared moment of reunion had transformed into an ugly and ridiculous form.

Edric burst into laughter at the truly absurd situation.

“Hey, you.”

He said, slowly rising from her new husband.

“Why don’t you improve your eye for men? You’ve been playing house with this kind of guy and didn’t even contact me once?”

Edric turned his head abruptly, spewing out self-loathing sarcasm. But the mockery that had filled his eyes soon disappeared.

Melly was just as she was in his memory. Round brown eyes, plump lower lip chewed between even teeth. Curly dark brown hair reaching down to her waist, small and delicate body, and… even the flat stomach.

For some reason, her stomach was slim.

It was almost the end of break time.

Just as she was about to fill up the lacking tea leaves to prepare for the afternoon business, and neatly stack the teaware after wiping them clean with a dry cloth to prevent moisture buildup.

“Unni-!”

Because of Elsa who suddenly burst in, she almost shattered all the teaware.

Melly said, smoothing down her chest.

“What’s the matter, Elsa?”

“B-big trouble. Unni. Please help. Leon, Leon…”

Elsa was in no state to speak properly due to her rough breathing and confused mental state.

Melly pushed a glass of cold tea she had just brewed in front of her.

“Drink this and calm down, Elsa.”

“There’s no time for this now!”

She urgently said, pressing down on her racing heart with her hand instead of the cold tea.

“Leon is dying right now. Beaten by some crazy man…”

“No, beaten? For what reason would such a kind person…”

“I don’t know that either, what I need right now is…”

Elsa looked around with a half-crazed expression and picked up a mop leaning against the wall.

“Unni, I’ll borrow this.”

“…”

Melly stared blankly at the door that kept rattling open and closed. Then she soon came to her senses and came out from behind the counter.

If Leon was truly being beaten by a thug as Elsa said, the single mop Elsa took wouldn’t be nearly enough.

She picked up a sharp-ended poker from the corner of the shop. Then just as she was about to go out right away, she suddenly realized her body wasn’t suitable for running.

‘What should I do about this?’

She hesitated for a moment, but it didn’t last long.

Saving a person should come first for now.

She stripped off everything weighing her body down and ran out the door.

Running with a light body after a long time was unexpectedly refreshing. Her hair that she hadn’t had time to tie up fluttered in all directions in the cool summer breeze.

She soon caught up with Elsa.

And turned the corner to arrive at the alley where Leon was said to be beaten to death by a crazy man.

Half of Elsa’s words were right and half were wrong. Leon was clearly in a situation where he might be beaten to death, but it wasn’t by a crazy man.

He wasn’t a crazy man, but a man she knew well. A very noble one at that.

“…Edric?”

She couldn’t believe it.

Even as she called out his name, she believed it wasn’t him. That it was just someone who looked similar from the side.

But the moment she met the sapphire-like blue eyes of the man glaring at her while saying strange things about improving her eye for men, Melly could no longer deny it.

He was Edric Pelton. Her… ex-husband.

“How… did you…”

“Leoooon-!”

As Edric got up, Elsa rushed over like an arrow and rescued Leon.

Leon made a groaning sound as he got up and touched his cheek, then his eyes widened at the blood soaking his hand. But there didn’t seem to be any broken bones. Judging by how he immediately ran off with Elsa.

A few oranges were crushed and bounced under their feet.

‘Come to think of it, why are there oranges here?’

Amidst all these incomprehensible situations, Melly stared at the oranges with bewildered eyes. That’s when Edric called out to her.

“You…”

His gaze had been going back and forth between Melly’s face and her stomach since earlier. Melly couldn’t understand the reason for that either.

“You, did you already give birth?”

“…?”

What kind of nonsense is this after meeting for the first time in so long? Melly tried to understand on her own, but when she couldn’t, she carefully asked.

“…Pardon? What did I give birth to?”

“The child.”

Edric pointed at Melly’s stomach and said in a clear voice.

“The child that was inside your stomach just five days ago.”