It was about three months ago.

While running an errand for an acquaintance, Melly happened to visit the Lotria territory and discovered a modest, charming single-story building.

A large paper sign reading ‘For Rent’ was attached to the front gate.

As if it had previously been a tea house, dusty tea sets and cups filled the space beyond the frosted glass windows. It seemed to have been vacant for a long time.

‘What a shame. Should I try taking it over?’

Melly thought absentmindedly. But upon careful consideration, it didn’t seem impossible.

Brewing tea was one of her few talents, and she had some money on hand.

She went to the owner’s address listed below ‘For Rent’ intending to negotiate the rent. In place of the absent shop owner, her drunkard husband opened the door.

In his intoxicated state, he named a price.

“5 silver.”

“Um… really?”

Melly’s eyes widened in surprise.

5 silver was such a low price that she could not only pay the rent with her savings but also completely renovate the interior and have money left over. In short, it was practically free.

Well, it might be because it had been vacant for quite a while. It would be better to let someone in at a cheap price than to leave it abandoned like that.

While she was feeling pleased with how smoothly things were going, there was another knock at the door. The milkman and grocer who had visited the house asked him for payment. In his hazy state of mind, he paid on behalf of his wife.

“3 silver… 1 silver….”

“This man’s at it again. It’s not silver, it’s gold. 3 gold…”

Melly realized that in his drunkenness, he was mistaking gold for silver.

So the rent wasn’t 5 silver, but 5 gold. An amount far exceeding the money she had on hand.

“I’ll… be going now.”

Melly stood up weakly and left the owner’s house. The owner’s husband was too drunk to notice her leaving. He probably wouldn’t even remember her face.

‘It’s such a nice place.’

Unable to shake off her regret, Melly revisited the shop a moment later.

From its location, which wasn’t too bustling yet had a steady stream of people, to the modest and subtly stylish exterior of the wooden building, it was a place she liked at first sight. To the point where she thought it might be fate.

But it seemed it was just a misunderstanding after all. She let out a long sigh of disappointment.

It was then.

“Excuse me…”

Startled by a voice suddenly calling out to her, Melly slowly turned around. A couple was studying her intently.

“Are you perhaps interested in renting this place?”

The man with brownish-gray curly hair and a friendly expression asked. Seeing Melly’s wary expression, he waved his hands reassuringly and said,

“I overheard your conversation with Mr. Norton earlier. About wanting to open a tea house…”

Ah… so that’s what this is about.

Melly let her guard down and replied with a tone of regret.

“Yes, that’s right. But unfortunately, it didn’t work out. I don’t have enough money.”

“We might be able to help with that.”

The man said with a smile. And the woman immediately added,

“If the tea tastes good, that is.”

“…”

They introduced themselves as Leon, the chairman of the town development committee, and Elsa, the secretary. They were engaged and planning to tour the entire empire right after their marriage. Before that, they wanted to see this small town of Planère in the Lotria territory develop as a tourist destination.

“As you know, this place was founded by foreigners, right? If we capitalize on its regional characteristics, we can give visitors the feeling of traveling to another country within the empire. There are already tourists attracted by such exotic scenery.”

And they thought there should be at least one decent tea house to capture the taste buds of tourists.

They took Melly to their association building, and Melly brewed them her most confident Darjeeling tea.

“This is delicious!”

Leon immediately praised with a bright expression after taking a sip. Elsa savored the taste a bit more carefully, but she also had no disagreement that it was delicious.

Both agreed that Melly was the right person for that shop.

They immediately moved on to the next plan. That plan was…

“You’ll be a single mother raising a child without a father.”

“…Pardon?”

The people of Lotria territory were very compassionate. They couldn’t just pass by someone in need, and if there was a child going hungry, they would always bring them home, feed them a meal, and send them back.

If they knew that a fragile woman like Melly was struggling to raise a child alone, even the stingiest person wouldn’t be able to resist lowering the rent.

“But even so…”

As Melly hesitated and trailed off, Elsa said,

“Are you worried about finding a child? You don’t need to worry about that. I know a little kid who’s good at acting. We just need to show them to Mrs. Norton once.”

Elsa’s confident attitude, as if telling Melly to trust her, made Melly even more reluctant.

She wasn’t the type to deliberately deceive someone, except when she hadn’t taken the medicine Eida used to give her.

“Even if it’s not you, that shop will have to lower the rent soon anyway. It’s been empty for too long.”

“…”

“So grab it before it falls into someone else’s hands. We don’t have time to hesitate like this.”

Under Elsa’s earnest persuasion, Melly finally compromised with her conscience. She needed the work.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

A broad smile spread across Elsa’s face, who had been hoping for a good tea house in a prime location. She turned to Leon and urged,

“Then hurry and contact Mr. Thompson to borrow his youngest child for a moment…”

“No.”

Melly interrupted Elsa.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to make a child lie.”

“Then how…”

“I’ll do it alone. The lie.”

As the two looked at each other in confusion, Melly said with a determined look in her eyes.

“I’ll play the role of an unmarried pregnant woman.”

“P-Pregnant? That’ll be really tough. Are you sure you can do it?”

Leon asked with a worried expression. Melly nodded with a faint smile.

“Yes, of course.”

She was confident. If it was playing the role of a pregnant woman…

“So… you weren’t really pregnant?”

Edric, who had been silently listening to Melly’s story, asked in a low voice.

“No, I wasn’t.”

“It was all a lie to get this shop.”

“Yes.”

Melly answered.

But as soon as she said it, she felt embarrassed for sounding so bold. It was actually a very petty thing to do.

For a moment, she felt terribly sorry for the kind lady who occasionally brought her food, thinking she was a real single mother. Melly lowered her head with an ashamed expression.

After staring at her for a long while, Edric shifted his gaze to the basket placed between them. It was filled with oranges covered in dirt.

He smiled as he recalled the miserable feeling he had when buying them.

‘Of course.’

To think he had imagined Melly being intimate with another man. Even though he knew her, how could he have thought such a thing?

Now he could look at the oranges with ease.

‘As long as she’s not pregnant, it’s fine. The rest is just a matter of time.’

Edric returned to his usual arrogant and leisurely self and looked around the shop he had followed her into.

The shop bore Melly’s touch everywhere. From the cute floral tea sets, to the hand-knitted coasters, and even the small, adorable decorations – everything was undoubtedly handpicked by her.

Yes. If it weren’t for that, this place wouldn’t be worth a second glance.

To think she pretended to be pregnant to get this place, which wasn’t even as good as the servants’ quarters in his house. If she was short on money, she should have contacted him. He could have set up a shop twenty times the size of this one.

To think a duchess was living so shabbily.

“You really went through a lot.”

Edric clicked his tongue and sneered, but he was struggling to keep the corners of his mouth from rising, creating an odd expression.

Melly anxiously looked back and forth between the clock and the door before saying,

“Now that you know everything, please leave. It’s time for customers to arrive.”

She anxiously looked at the clock and the door. As if Edric was some kind of obstacle to her work.

“Is that all you have to say to your husband whom you’re meeting after three years? You’re quite cold-hearted.”

“Husband?”

Melly’s eyes widened as if she had heard an unfamiliar word.

“Weren’t we divorced?”

Edric tilted his head to one side. As if to say, what nonsense are you talking about?

Melly said,

“I even signed the divorce papers and gave them to you. Didn’t you submit them?”

“…”

Edric finally understood what Melly meant.

The frown that had formed at the word ‘divorce’ smoothed out.

“So that’s what it was.”

He suddenly felt at ease. It seemed that if he could just clear up her misunderstanding about the divorce papers, everything would fall back into place.

“Those papers weren’t written with the intention of getting a divorce.”

“…”

“I was just testing to see if I could actually write them.”

Melly, who had been confused for a moment, eventually let out a short sigh.

Edric was still honest and bold. He never tried to dress up or package his actions with plausible words.

Melly once loved this aspect of Edric. Compared to the gentlemen of high society who concealed their vile and ugly emotions with lies and sweetness, Edric seemed so honest. But not anymore.

Now his honesty just left Melly feeling dejected.

“Anyway, you were able to write them.”

“I could write them. But I couldn’t submit them.”

Edric spoke as if there was a significant difference between the two, but to Melly, it was the same. The moment he wrote his name on the divorce papers, the divorce was as good as finalized.

“Please leave.”

Melly said as she stood up.

“Go and submit the divorce papers now, remarry someone else, and hurry up and continue the ducal lineage.”

“You’re the one who should continue the ducal lineage.”

Melly, who had turned around intending to open the shop door herself to send him out quickly, stopped in her tracks. She asked with an astonished expression to Edric, who was speaking confidently with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Why… me?”

“Because you’re my wife.”

Melly felt dizzy with bewilderment. She was no longer his wife. From the moment she saw the divorce papers in the desk drawer, Melly had made up her mind about that. So there was no reason for her to continue the ducal lineage.

Melly replied with that intention.

“I’m… not. I can’t do it.”

But Edric’s ears heard her words differently. He thought that Melly’s reason for not returning to him wasn’t just hatred for him.

She must have another reason. And he intended to remove all the obstacles that were hindering her from returning to him.

“You can have children.”

He said with utmost clarity.