Melly would think it had been a long time… but in fact, Edric had visited her every day.

Through the slightly open glass window, Edric had to fight countless times against his inner desire to invade her world as he gazed at her shop.

His desire lost every time.

‘You’re the worst, Edric Pelton.’

To that one sentence of hers that kept repeating endlessly in his head.

But today, for the first time in over ten days, he was able to get out of the car and face Melly’s shop head-on.

Because he had something to give her.

He looked down at the yellow envelope containing the consent form for the transfer of ownership of the shop building.

He thought she might not have accepted the Renesis villa, but she would accept this.

He entered the shop, hoping that with this, she would forgive his past misdeeds even a little, as she probably wouldn’t be able to stubbornly refuse that dilapidated teahouse building with the sign of still unknown origin.

As soon as he opened the door, Melly’s small back figure came into view.

She was so lost in thought about something that she didn’t even hear the chime bell ringing.

“…”

Edric was about to call out to her but changed his mind and looked around the shop.

It seemed quite a while since a customer had visited, but there was nothing to make visitors hesitate.

People had an uncanny ability to recognize shops that weren’t doing well. Such places had a uniquely gloomy, sunken atmosphere that permeated everywhere. Something that couldn’t be driven away even with the brightest decorations.

But Melly was doing her best to nurture the shop so that a listless and lazy atmosphere wouldn’t swallow up her precious place.

Edric could tell at a glance.

He shifted his gaze back to Melly.

Her small shoulders, deeply immersed in thought, slowly rose and fell with deep breaths.

Occasionally, she would let out a short sigh and drop her head.

She was probably thinking about the fate of this shop.

She was probably grieving at the thought of having to part with the things she had nurtured with care. Edric wanted to relieve her worries as soon as possible.

“Mel…”

“I’ll have a cup of Darjeeling tea here, please.”

“…”

What’s this? Is she playing customer?

Just as he was about to be puzzled by this unexpected behavior, she added.

“To my taste.”

At that moment, Edric’s eyes watching Melly trembled slightly.

He couldn’t call out to her. No, he didn’t call out to her.

Until now, Melly had been to him like the steam rising from her teacup, which would dissipate even if he looked at her straight on.

Something that would surely disappear without a trace if not frozen with cold air. That’s why he had been anxious all along. But… not anymore.

The possibility that suddenly arose made him more relaxed.

‘To my taste.’

Because of some emotion clearly unbeknownst even to her, contained in that one sentence.

“No… when on earth…”

Now he could comfortably observe Melly’s expression as she looked at him in bewilderment.

Her habit of chewing her lips when embarrassed was still there, and the sight of her fingertips turning white from gripping the menu tightly as if diving into it was incredibly cute.

He had to make a little effort not to break the tension of this atmosphere with a smile that didn’t fit the situation.

“Here you are.”

Melly brought the tea. But there was only one cup.

‘Let’s have tea together.’

‘I don’t have time.’

Once when she brought two cups of tea and asked for a conversation, he had coldly pushed her away.

That was what he regretted most after Melly left home. And now he wouldn’t regret it.

“Stay seated.”

Edric stood up and headed to the counter.

He had seen Melly make tea countless times, so he could follow the process even with his eyes closed. But while Melly briefly turned her gaze away, he put in more tea leaves than the standard amount.

It would probably be the first failure in his life, but he was satisfied.

Because he could show her that the taste of tea born from her time and effort was entirely her own.

‘So this man has things he can’t do too.’

…The corners of her mouth twitching as if thinking that pleasantly soothed his first failure.

It felt refreshing to think that showing vulnerability for someone else could be this enjoyable.

After briefly exchanging greetings, he handed her the documents.

Although he didn’t expect Melly to readily accept them.

“I don’t need them.”

As expected, when she firmly refused, his stubbornness was triggered again.

So he pushed her to accept them, while also soothing her so she wouldn’t doubt his pure goodwill.

“Don’t think too hard about it, Melly. You just need to happily accept my goodwill.”

For a moment, it was too obvious what she was thinking as she looked at him warily.

She would surely think he had some scheme. She would know better than anyone his character of never providing anything without compensation.

But on the contrary, he was prepared to pay any price if only he could make her accept his gift… except for divorce.

“Then divorce me first. I’ll take it as alimony.”

But Melly still wanted a divorce.

At that unchanging attitude, he silently looked at Melly for a while.

Suddenly this thought occurred to him.

‘What if it had been me an hour ago?’

Would he have just quietly looked at her like this even if it had been him then?

No. Absolutely not.

‘Kill me. And take it as inheritance.’

He would have surely said that.

And as the price for her not being able to kill him, he would have continued the name of husband and wife for life. Even if she resented and hated him, he would have kept her by his side. Because he would have thought that was the only way to hold onto her.

But.

‘A cup of Darjeeling tea, please. To my taste.’

Edric, who had discovered a ray of hope in those words, reflected with a somewhat more relaxed mind.

If he could make her look back at the emotions beyond the tightly closed door of her heart. If he could make her realize that just as she was deeply imprinted on him, he too was an existence she couldn’t shake off even if she tried, like a part of her own body.

‘It might be possible.’

To have her again without further damaging her world.

He leisurely showed generosity.

“Alright. If that’s the only way to make you know my sincerity, I’ll divorce you as you wish.”

The morning sunlight streaming through the high window of the tiny room about one pyeong in size drew stripes on the opposite wall.

Somehow the intensity of the sunlight seemed stronger than usual…

“Ah… oh no.”

Melly realized she had slept much longer than usual.

Even though she had set the alarm clock, she hadn’t heard it.

This was all because she had tossed and turned all night worrying about the homework Edric had left her with.

‘Please divorce me. I’ll take it as alimony.’

‘Alright. If that’s the only way to make you know my sincerity…’

What was going on with him who had acted like he would never give her a divorce even if he died?

Though dumbfounded by the suddenly arrived opportunity, she hesitated.

Because to seize this opportunity, she absolutely had to accept this shop building.

‘I’ll just give him the divorce.’

It felt uneasy to receive something in order to divorce, but if she didn’t accept it, she worried he would try to dominate her as the owner of this place. She seemed to be caught in a dilemma where she could neither do this nor that.

Whew-.

She got up from her seat to shake off the complicated thoughts and tidied herself up.

It was good that the preparation time was short now that she didn’t have to wear a corset.

Melly changed into a blue-green dress that came down to her shins and went outside.

Her head felt heavy from not getting enough sleep. The temptation to go back in and take another nap was strong, especially since there probably wouldn’t be any customers anyway.

‘No. I can’t allow that.’

She fought against the inertia trying to make her lazy and opened the door. It was when she had taken a couple of steps outside the entrance that she heard human voices in the place that had been quiet for over a month.

The murmuring heard from beyond the entrance blew away her drowsiness.

‘What’s this?’

Melly tilted her head and opened the entrance door. Then the young woman standing at the front frowned and said,

“Why are you opening so late? We’ve been waiting since earlier.”

Melly became bewildered at the sight of her and the group of people visible behind her. They were all unfamiliar faces.

“I heard this was quite a good tea house in the area, but if I had known it would open this late, I should have just left.”

“That’s right. It’s almost time for the horse-drawn carriage.”

At the mention of a horse-drawn carriage, Melly finally remembered hearing that there was a fall flower festival in the neighboring village.

These must be travelers going there.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Please come in.”

Melly quickly stepped aside.

“We’ll have two coffees.”

“I’ll have black tea.”

As customers kept coming in and ordering tea, Melly was still dazed by the unexpected visitors after a long time, but she quickly gathered her wits and started brewing tea. Though she fumbled a bit at first due to being busy after a while, she soon recovered her routine.

By the time Elza and Leon arrived, she was in quite a stable state.

“Wow, there are a lot of customers today.”

Elza rejoiced at the sight of the bustling customers.

“Is there anything I can help with? Sister Serra… no, should I call you Sister Melly now?”

“You can call me whatever you like.”

Melly said with a gentle smile. Leon immediately looked apologetic and apologized.

“I’m sorry. Elza and I caused you trouble. Making you lie…”

“You two did nothing wrong. It happened because of my mistake.”

As it was still embarrassing to think about that incident, Melly quickly changed the subject.

“There is something you two can help with.”

“What is it?”

“If you have time, could you sit at that table over there and have a cup of tea each? I’ll treat you.”

Melly pointed to an empty 2-person table by the window as she spoke.

The two of them waved their hands almost simultaneously.

“We can’t do that. Rather, please give us cleaning work or serving work.”

“I’ve already finished cleaning and I can do the serving myself. What I need more than that is for you to fill up the inside of the shop. It makes it look like a famous restaurant.”

The two said they would rather pay and drink, but Melly didn’t accept that either.

They resigned themselves and sat at the empty table. Then they started whispering to each other while drinking the tea Melly brought.

Melly knew that the two of them were feeling guilty about her situation and couldn’t do what they needed to do.

From today, they would be able to discuss wedding preparations with much brighter faces.

Melly, who had been watching the young lovers with satisfaction, turned her gaze to look contentedly at the shop full of vitality after a long time.

What was this all about? She wondered if someone had pulled some strings for her, but quickly dismissed the thought.

Once you start doubting, there’s no end to it.

She decided to just enjoy it. This miraculous moment that could disappear at any time.

But the miraculous moment lasted unexpectedly long.

It was thanks to the travelers who were satisfied with Melly’s tea taste and spread the word.

Melly was happy with the steady stream of out-of-town customers. But what made her even happier was.

“I’m coming because I have nowhere else to go.”

The villagers who had been turning their backs on her were visiting the shop again.

“It’s not because you’re pretty, young lady. The Lumière tea house is gone too, and also…”

Although the neighborhood ladies were still grumbling, the expressions on their faces as they sipped their tea were not bad at all.

Melly’s heart swelled at being able to reconnect with good people whom she thought had been completely cut off.

“Thank you. Really, thank you…”

Melly wiped away tears as she turned around.

Her shop began to bustle again with people who had forgiven her, just like before.

Everything was perfect. Except for one thing.

“I’m going to rent out this entire shop for the next hour.”

Edric came and suddenly announced.