Side Story 1

A June morning filled with the dream-like joy of reunion. Everyone except Ricard had withdrawn, leaving just the two of them inside the bedroom.

“Sleep a little more.”

Ricard whispered softly as he climbed onto the bed. He pulled the rustling summer duvet up to Renee’s chest, wrapped her in his arms, and lay down beside her.

In his embrace, as warm as a homeland she had long been away from, Renee comfortably closed her eyelids. Before long, she felt Ricard’s tender touch smoothing down her hair. That affectionate gesture continued until the very moment Renee drifted off to sleep.

“Have sweet dreams.”

The last thing she heard was words so sweet she could hardly believe they came from Ricard. Filled with a happiness so profound her chest felt ready to burst, Renee sank into a deep sleep.

And amazingly, Renee’s deep sleep lasted a full three days. Though she regained consciousness for brief moments here and there, it was only to murmur indistinctly before slipping right back into slumber.

Whether it was the family physician, Vigo Wedson, checking in to make sure Renee’s chronic illness hadn’t flared up, or Ricard shaking her body frantically asking if she was dead, none of it was true.

Renee was simply sleeping. After enduring a long, grueling ordeal, the tension had finally broken the moment she reached her happily ever after.

Four people frequently drifted in and out of the bedroom where the strawberry-haired beauty slept. Tatisha, Melda, Vigo, and Ricard.

Tatisha would wipe Renee’s body with a warm towel before dressing her in a new house dress, while Melda gently stroked her sleeping daughter-in-law’s cheeks and hair. Vigo checked Renee’s condition at regular intervals, tasked with reporting back to Ricard hourly.

In the dead of night when everyone else was asleep, Ricard monopolized Renee’s side. Lying beside her, he poured out all the confessions he hadn’t been able to make, and afterward, he would hold her close and sleep by her side.

***

And so, the morning of the fourth day arrived.

“Hah-aahm─.”

Finally waking from her long sleep, Renee stretched both arms up wide. The accumulated fatigue had been washed away without a trace, leaving her body feeling as light as air.

Renee looked around the bedroom, which was filled with early morning sunlight. The white curtains glowed translucent, and through the slightly open window, the sound of birds chirping drifted in.

“How long did I sleep…?”

Mumbling blankly as she checked her attire, she realized she was wearing a different house dress than the one she had fallen asleep in. The faint fragrance lingering in her hair suggested someone had washed and cared for her while she slept.

‘I feel like I had some vague conversation with Tatisha in my sleep, too…’

Fragmented memories were scattered about piece by piece. One thing was certain: she had slept soundly for at least two or three whole days.

Beside her, Ricard was visible, sleeping in the same bed. Watching his face as he closed his eyes and breathed evenly made her heart ache with emotion.

Though they had already shared a tearful reunion, it felt as though their married life was truly beginning only now.

At last, this world had become reality. She had no lingering attachments to the place she had left behind. The world she would walk and live in from now on was undoubtedly right here.

And her husband, Ricard Sainer. Renee couldn’t tear her gaze away from Ricard, who was sleeping with the face of a child.

‘It feels like our first day of newlyweds.’

A vague wave of emotion washed over her while her heart throbbed with excitement at the same time.

Roughly brushing back her tangled hair with her hand, Renee propped her chin in her hand and turned onto her side. Then, she began in earnest to admire her husband’s sleeping face.

Black hair scattered softly over sweet, strawberry-cream-colored bedding, and skin that seemed to emit a radiance beneath the morning sunlight. Delicately drawn features.

Ricard, who had been sleeping with a nearly expressionless face, suddenly frowned slightly.

‘Is he having a bad dream?’

Without thinking, Renee reached out a hand and gently stroked Ricard’s forehead. Then she pressed down softly on the wrinkled space between his brows.

At that moment, Ricard stretched out an arm without even opening his eyes. He pulled a startled Renee tightly against him and drew her down with force.

In an instant, Renee found herself draped face-down on top of his chest.

“Did you wake up, Lord Sainer?”

“No.”

Ricard murmured languidly into Renee’s chest. Through the thin summer house dress, she could feel his warm breath.

“Then are you still sleeping?”

“Mhm.”

“Haha…”

Renee laughed pleasantly. Ricard moved the hand that had been resting near Renee’s back down to wrap around her waist.

After being held still for a long while, Renee wriggled her body. Propping herself up on Ricard’s shoulders with both hands, she lifted her upper body slightly and lowered her head slowly.

It was a ticklish sound she hadn’t heard in a long time. Kissing Ricard’s lips, Renee flushed a soft pink.

Ricard gazed steadily up at his wife. The sight of her acting shy after having already done the deed was both cute and somehow provocative.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Yes.”

“How about tying your wrists up again?”

“……?”

At the out-of-the-left-field remark, confusion spread across Renee’s face. If he meant tying her wrists ‘again’—.

‘Is he talking about when I was imprisoned before?’

That fateful first encounter where the moment she leaped over the window sill, she ran right into him. Ricard had diagnosed Renee as a “lunatic” right then and there and locked her up with tied wrists.

“……Why would you?”

“Just in case you disappear again.”

Ricard couldn’t hide a fleeting look of anxiety.

“Lord Sainer,”

Renee called out to him in a rush and added, “I told you, I didn’t do that on purpose—”

Renee, who was about to try and explain her disappearance all over again, abruptly stopped talking.

“Hah…”

She ended up letting out a sigh. It was a story they had repeated several times already. That a sudden pain caused her to lose consciousness, and when she opened her eyes, she was in another world.

Ricard neither doubted her words nor pried any further, but truth be told, it didn’t seem like he fully understood either. In a way, that was only natural. Renee herself, who had traveled directly between the two worlds, sometimes found it hard to believe.

“So you’re saying you want to tie my wrists up because you’re worried I might vanish again?”

Ricard nodded.

“But that’s not the only reason.”

“Then what is it?”

Having completely wiped the anxious look from his face before she knew it, Ricard parted his lips. Sporting a somewhat languid expression, he suddenly grabbed Renee’s wrist.

“When you were tied up, you were kind of…”

“……”

“Hot.”

Finishing his sentence and lightly licking his lower lip with the tip of his tongue, Ricard squeezed Renee’s wrist with force, as though his hand were a pair of handcuffs. Then he began to gently knead the soft skin on the inside of her wrist.

Ricard sent her a gaze loaded with vivid implication. Avoiding his eyes, Renee blushed all the way to the tips of her ears.

‘In this era, too… I mean… is there a thing like roleplay…?’

Like, things involving sadomasochism and the like…

“You look like you understand.”

Ricard curved the corners of his mouth in teasing fashion.

“Wh-What?”

“Why is you getting your wrists tied so hot?”

“……”

“Answer me. Why is you getting locked up and punished because you tried to run away so hot?”

“……Saying it’s hot isn’t coming from me, it’s coming from you, Lord Sainer.”

Renee trailed off at the end of her sentence. Even as she said it, it was an excuse that felt pathetic.

With a look that suggested he would stop here for now, Ricard laughed lightly. Tapping Renee’s cheek playfully, he pulled her body tightly into a close embrace.

“You have no idea how much I wanted to wake you up these past three days.”

“I’m sorry. I heard you when Sir Wedson was examining me, and when Mother was calling my name. I heard all of it, but I just couldn’t snap out of it.”

It was true. Over the past two days, Renee had felt as though her body was deeply submerged in warm water. It was a bizarre yet comfortable sensation, like turning into a mermaid with closed eyes, swimming freely.

“What about my voice?”

Muffled slightly because he was speaking with his face buried in Renee’s chest, Ricard asked.

“I heard it. The part where you were yelling at Sir Wedson, asking if I was dead.”

“Is that all you heard?”

“Did you say other things?”

“You’re always like this.”

“Pardon?”

“You make me sound like some guy who only ever yells.”

“……”

Pfft, Renee burst into laughter a beat too late. Ricard’s disgruntled tone and voice sounded so much like a throwing a tantrum that it was both amusing and endearing.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Actually, I heard it. When you told me you loved me.”

More accurately, it wasn’t just that he loved her. The confessions Ricard had whispered by her side at random intervals over the past two days…

How grateful he was that she had returned. That he had wanted to die while waiting for her. But thinking she might return after he died meant he couldn’t even bring himself to die. So please, never leave again.

“I love you, too.”

Confessing in a slightly subdued voice, Renee wrapped her arms around Ricard’s neck. Sliding her hand between the back of his head and the pillow, she gently stroked the nape of his neck.

“Mmm…”

Ricard let out a languid, pleased sound.

It was a moment of such happiness that it made her wish time would stop. Without needing him to say it out loud, Renee knew Ricard felt the exact same way.

It wasn’t until a long while had passed that Renee checked the wall clock. Seeing the time, she was a bit startled.

“Lord Sainer. It’s almost 8 o’clock.”

Renee was supposed to take a break from working at the cafe until next week, but this was the time when Ricard should have already finished breakfast and started tending to his work. Yet here they were, lingering lazily.

“I know.”

“You need to get up and get ready.”

“I won’t. Not doing anything.”

“You can’t!”

“Just today.”

It was a stubbornness entirely unlike him. Had he reverted to a child due to the aftereffects of their recent forced separation?

“Let’s stay together until noon, so grant me this.”

“Lord Sainer. It’s not really up to me to grant—”

“I’ll grant your wish.”

“……A wish?”

At the sudden proposal, Renee fell into deep thought. It wasn’t long before she opened her mouth.

“I do have a wish.”

“What is it? Tell me.”

Ricard was quite intrigued by his wife’s prompt response.

She wasn’t one to ask for or demand things very often. If there was an exception, it would probably be related to her business—the cafe work.

“I figured you wouldn’t want to talk about work at a time like this.”

Seeing Ricard preempt her, Renee smiled slightly.

“No, it’s not about work.”

Hesitating for a moment, Renee parted her lips before lifting her gaze.

“I want to go visit my hometown.”

***

Renee’s hometown, Greenery Town, was located at the southern tip of the Hebaron Kingdom. It was a distant place, taking a full day by land from Sainer Castle.

A place where lush greenery thrived, with exceptionally abundant trees and grass growing thickly. It was named Greenery Town because especially in the summer, the entire village dyed itself in shades of green.

At the same time, Greenery Town was also bordered by a deep blue sea on one side. While the sea extending from the Pomfritz River was rough and dark blue, the sea at Greenery Town was characterized by being vast and calm.

Above all, the seawater had an emerald hue, which caused travelers from all over the empire to gather frequently to see the sea, as it sparkled like someone scattering emerald dust across the water when the sunlight hit it.

‘That’s why when I wrote the original novel, I set the Dainis family’s eye color to emerald.’

Sitting in front of the vanity, Renee smiled slightly. Seeing this in the mirror, Tatisha, who was fixing her hair from behind, smiled back.

“All done, Milady. Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable?”

Renee shook her head with a smile.

“There wouldn’t be anywhere else you’d want to touch up… of course not. How could there be? When I think about some insidious scoundrels laying eyes on you, it’s almost too frightening to let you out in public!”

With a slick and breezy delivery, Tatisha reeled off a flurry of praise. Behind Tatisha’s back, the bedroom door opened. Looking back with a slightly embarrassed smile, Renee saw Ricard stepping into the bedroom.

“Are you ready?”

He asked, looking completely polished and put together. Tatisha bowed in surprise, and Ricard gave a light wave of his hand as if to say it was fine.

“Yes, all done. I just need to grab my outer shawl.”

Renee stood up from the vanity. Tatisha handed over the summer shawl hanging from the rack and stood behind Renee.

“Shall we head out?”

Though phrased as a question, Ricard was already crossing the threshold of the bedroom. Renee and Tatisha exchanged glances and smiled quietly.

Trying to match Ricard’s pace, Renee found herself climbing into the carriage as swiftly as a secret weapon deployed to a battlefield. She had walked so briskly down the building’s stairs and out to the rear garden where the carriage was waiting that she was even slightly out of breath.

“Depart—.”

At Ricard’s urging, the carriage set off in a hurry. In the distance, Melda could be seen stepping out of the building with her maid just to see them off.

“Mother—!”

Renee poked her head out of the carriage.

“Lord Sainer. Could you please stop the carriage for a moment?”

“No time.”

“Even so, Mother is…”

Renee panicked and stamped her feet. Melda seemed equally flustered. She could be seen coming to an abrupt halt as she tried to chase after the carriage.

“We’ll have a safe trip, Mother! Make sure you eat well for the next two days!”

In the end, opening the carriage door wide, Renee shouted at the top of her lungs toward Melda.

“Yes, my dear! Don’t get hurt and don’t get sick… Mother and Father… have a wonderful time… bye now…”

Melda, too, yelled at the top of her lungs with unprecedented volume. Even so, most of the tail end of her words was lost.

Melda and her maids soon became tiny dots. The carriage passed through the castle gates in a flash.

‘Good grief, it’s not like we’re being dragged off to a battlefield for a tearful separation. All he had to do was stop the carriage for a second, why go to such lengths!’

Renee glared at Ricard.

“Lord Sainer. Mother came out to see us off this early in the morning.”

“And?”

“It would have been nice if we could have said proper goodbyes… Why are you in such a rush?”

Truth be told, ever since yesterday morning when Renee had mentioned wanting to visit her hometown, Ricard had been acting like someone being chased by something.

Last night. Hearing Ricard say, “We’ll leave as soon as the sun rises tomorrow, so get ready,” Renee had doubted her ears. She hadn’t expected to go right away like this to a place far enough that traveling there and back took two whole days.

“We don’t have time.”

Ricard answered as if she were asking the most obvious thing in the world. His words about lacking time were indeed true.

The time granted to the two of them was three days and four nights, and once you subtracted the travel time, they would only have about a day at most to spend in her hometown.

“Then why did you schedule the trip so unreasonably tight?”

“You said you wanted to visit your hometown.”

“That didn’t mean it had to be today.”

“If not today, then when?”

“Whenever we have a bit more leisure time…”

Before Renee could even finish her answer, Ricard let out a deep sigh.

“When you vanished overnight… Do you know what I thought about the most?”

“……”

At Ricard’s sudden mention of her disappearance, her heart felt like it plummeted. Ricard twisted his expression for a moment. He seemed to be recalling those horrifying days.

“That I should have eaten breakfast with you more often.”

“……”

“That I should have at least shared short tea times with you.”

“……Lord Sainer.”

“I should have walked the night streets with you on my way home from work. If there was good wine, I should have let you taste it before anyone else, even the ministers. I should have taken you to pretty places in the suburbs…”

“……”

“I thought things like that every single day.”

With a pained expression—as if he were re-experiencing the remorse and self-reproach he had repeated countless times during the hours without Renee—Ricard closed his mouth.

She wanted to say something, anything, but no words came to mind that could comfort his wounds. As Renee parted her lips with a pitiful look, Ricard spoke.

“That’s why I don’t want to put things off anymore. Not anything when it comes to being with you.”

Renee dropped her head. Regret and emotion mingled, making her eyes sting. Ricard added quietly, “Especially if it’s something you want.”

***

They had left Sainer Castle before the morning sun had even risen, and already it was deep night. Stopping twice along the way to grab quick lunches and dinners, the two of them felt profound fatigue.

“Look at me.”

Seeing Renee looking thoroughly battered and haggard by exhaustion as she turned her head toward him, Ricard winced at the sight of his wife’s dark circles hanging practically down to the tip of her nose.

“Get some sleep.”

“I’m fine.”

“If I take you looking like this, what on earth would Duke and Duchess Dainis think of me?”

Ricard wore a genuinely worried expression. Judging by his reaction, her face must have truly looked serious.

In the end, Renee obediently nodded. Ricard pulled Renee’s body against him, drew her head to rest on his shoulder, and then sat up straight to serve as a large, sturdy pillow.

While she dozed off in shallow sleep and woke up repeatedly amidst his considerate care, daybreak gradually approached. Looking out the carriage window with a somewhat ruffled appearance, Renee’s eyes suddenly widened.

The appearance of the trees along the road was strikingly different from the ones she usually saw. They were much bulkier, as if enlarged, their leaves grew thickly, and various summer fruits hung lusciously.

Straightening her posture, Renee began to take a serious look at the scenery outside the carriage. Now that she looked closely, even the shapes of the buildings and the stones paved on the road had a slightly different look to them.

‘We’re getting close to our destination.’

As if reading Renee’s thoughts, Ricard spoke up.

“We’ll be arriving soon.”

The moment she heard his words, her heart began to race as if waiting for it. Suddenly, memories of when she first entered the world of the novel resurfaced.

She remembered being overwhelmed upon seeing the grandiose, gorgeous yet antique Sainer Castle. It felt like the revival of that indescribable emotion when seeing and feeling a world that had previously existed only in print.

Soon, she would be able to see the beautiful scenery of Greenery Town, which had existed only in her imagination. Just thinking about it made her heart flutter faintly.

Finally, a large sign came into view outside the carriage window.

「Greenery Town」

Along with the welcoming words announcing their arrival, the fresh scent of grass washed over them. Following right behind, a refreshing yet savory sea breeze stimulated her sense of smell.

No longer able to hold back, Renee threw open the carriage window and stuck her head far outside.

“Wow—! The smell of the ocean!”

She stretched both arms out wide and shouted. Both Renee’s rounded, flushed cheeks and her shining eyes held rolling waves of joy.

A smile crept naturally onto Ricard’s face as he watched his wife.

***

The carriage turned onto a winding path.

“The road is a bit rough. Please be careful.”

Hardly had the coachman’s warning ended when the carriage body began to sway left and right. Renee’s head, poking out past the carriage window, bumped against the window frame.

“You’ll get hurt.”

Reaching out a hand over Renee’s head to create a shield, Ricard said, “Stop messing around and sit quietly.”

He acted like a stern father. Saying “Okay” like an obedient child, Renee popped back inside the carriage.

Thinking that his wife looked just like a squirrel returning home after an outing, Ricard quietly swallowed a laugh.

Renee placed both hands over her chest.

“I’m nervous.”

“About what?”

“It’s been so long. Coming back to my hometown.”

‘Technically, it’s my first time though.’

Tension similarly crept onto Ricard’s face as he faced the flushed Renee. In truth, ever since the moment she said she wanted to visit her hometown, Ricard had been in a somewhat tense state.

Ever since he decided to clear his schedule for three days and four nights with a bit of a stretch to visit his wife’s parental home, he had lost his appetite. His wife, whom he had come to love even more than himself before he knew it, and her parents who had given birth to and raised her.

Since the gathering when they promised marriage, Ricard hadn’t laid eyes properly on Duke Dainis even once. As for the Duchess, Renee’s mother Elizabeth, he had seen her once more at the last banquet, but because a poisoning incident happened to break out then, they hadn’t been able to have a proper conversation.

‘I was far too indifferent.’

Ricard diagnosed himself with a heavy heart. He felt a stabbing regret over the past time when he had taken away a flower-like daughter and failed to show his face properly even once. Not only had he been a poor excuse for a husband, but he was also falling far, far short as a son-in-law.

“We have arrived—.”

As the carriage slowed down, the coachman announced their arrival. Before Ricard could even open the door for her, Renee bounced out of the carriage first.

“Be careful, you’ll fall.”

Recalling how his wife had once nearly tripped over a stray stone in her haste, Ricard issued a gentle warning. Renee, perhaps too impatient at heart, quickly took the lead and began walking briskly down the wide path where the ducal estate was visible in the distance.

It was a hastily arranged schedule. Duke and Duchess Dainis couldn’t possibly have imagined their visit in their wildest dreams.

“They’re going to be so surprised. Right?”

It was a worried tone, but the excitement was written all over Renee’s face as she asked.

Passing a path neatly paved with small ivory-colored cobblestones, a vast garden immediately came into view. On one side of the lush garden, a gardener holding large pruning shears was trimming branches. Meanwhile, two strapping men with the sleeves of their working shirts rolled up were busy repairing a snow-white fence, each holding a hammer and chisel.

“It’s way too hot already, man!”

“Ugh, the sweat smell. Rooby, once you’re done fixing the fence, go inside and take a bath before you come back out!”

As a very large, brown-haired man grumbled while wiping away his sweat, an elderly maid watering flowers nearby lightly chided him. The silver-haired woman looked expressionless at first glance, but if you looked closely, she had warm, dark brown eyes and a smiling mouth.

“My thoughts exactly! When Rooby and Demon are out in the garden, you can’t even smell the flowers properly, can you?”

A young-looking maid holding a basket and picking plump pink peaches chimed in as if she’d been waiting for the chance.

It was a cozy yet peaceful scene. It looked so much like a natural work of art that she felt sorry to interrupt, so Renee momentarily held her breath and chose to wait until she was discovered.

And the wait wasn’t long.

“Good goodness, who is this!”

The silver-haired maid, who had just turned around to refill her empty watering can, spotted Renee. Although it was technically her first time seeing this face in reality, Renee knew her name.

She had studied up in advance ever since the hometown visit had been decided. Reviving her memories from the time of writing, Renee had familiarized herself with the names and quirks of the servants staying at the Dainis ducal estate. Since these were the people she lived with until she got married and left for Sainer Castle, she couldn’t afford to act like she was seeing them for the first time.

“Dora. I’ve missed you.”

Scarcely had Renee finished speaking when the maid named Dora grabbed her in a tight embrace. Having been brought along by Elizabeth when she married Duke Dainis, Dora was someone who had been with Renee since the moment she was born.

“Young Miss Mia. This old woman was so worried she might close her eyes forever without getting to see you again.”

Conveying her joy and affection with a familiar title, Dora stroked down Renee’s spine. Strangely enough, that touch evoked a vague emotion in Renee, as if she had just reunited with an aunt who had lived with her through her childhood.

At the sudden commotion, the servants in the garden gathered all at once. After showing proper etiquette to Ricard first, they looked at Renee with expressions that went far beyond mere gladness—they all looked teary-eyed.

After sharing a deep and emotional reunion with the servants who eagerly rushed forward to welcome her, Renee looked toward the inner chambers of the ducal estate beyond the garden.

“Oh, Dora. Where are Mother and Father?”

“Ah—. The two of them are out, Milady.”

Elizabeth might have gone out to a social gathering or to take care of other business. However, Duke Dainis was still working and had not yet retired. Yet for him to be out since this early in the morning…

As if reading Renee’s expression, Dora said, “Today is the start of the festival, you know.”

“The festival… Ah. Midsummer!”

Murmuring softly as if talking to herself or asking a question, Renee soon let out an exclamation of realization.

Greenery Town’s summer festival, Midsummer. Lasting a total of seven days, this festival was the village’s largest celebrated event, a day where all participants ate, drank, and enjoyed themselves day and night.

“The Duchess kept urging the Duke so much that they went out to enjoy the festival the moment the sun rose.”

Just hearing Dora’s words brought a girl-like Elizabeth vividly to mind, as if painted there.

“I see.”

A calm smile spread across Renee’s face.

Meanwhile, hearing about the festival, Ricard wore an inscrutable expression. His face looked so unfamiliar, as if he were hearing news for the first time, which seemed a bit puzzling to Renee.

Since he was the ruler of the kingdom, he naturally grasped the characteristics of every region inside and out. It was unlikely that he—who knew which family’s lord wielded particular influence where, and how the business started by so-and-so last month was progressing—was unaware of one of the kingdom’s premier large-scale festivals.

“As it turns out, this is a good thing.”

“What do you mean, Dora?”

“You should go enjoy the festival together with the Grand Duke.”

At the unexpected suggestion, Renee looked at Ricard. He wore a look that suggested he was pondering it for a moment.

“Shall we, Lord Sainer?”

Renee gently grabbed Ricard’s forearm. At her affectionate touch, Ricard finally nodded.

“We can look for Mother and Father while we’re at it.”

“Oh my. That would be wonderful!”

“Thanks for letting me know, Dora. We’ll be heading out then.”

“Wait a moment, Milady!”

As Renee turned around briskly, unable to hide her fluttering spirits, Dora called out to her.

“Change your clothes before you go.”

“Clothes?”

“You need to wear festival attire.”

It wasn’t until she was led into the dressing room by the hands of Dora and the young maid beside her, Emily, that Renee realized. About the time-honored dress code of Midsummer.

“Whoa… They’re all so colorful and flashy!”

The dresses the two maids had pulled out by the armful and lined up on the rack were all dyed in vivid colors like summer flowers, boasting a wide variety of patterns from the fabrics themselves.

‘These are completely different designs from the ones I wore back at Sainer Castle.’

The dresses she had worn until now were mostly elegant and innocent-looking. From the colors being monotone or neat pastel tones, to being decorated with expensive jewels, they generally exuded a sophisticated, restrained beauty.

However, the clothes the two maids pulled out to match the festival dress code were the exact opposite. Mostly primary colors like intense red, refreshing orange, and sapphire-like blue, they assaulted the eyes with tiny floral patterns, colorful checkerboards, and even unidentifiable geometric patterns.

“Try them all on!”

Emily, who somehow seemed more excited than Renee, urged her on.

Each time Renee changed into a dress and tried out a matching hairstyle, the two maids couldn’t hide their admiration. After quite a long time of rather serious deliberation, the three of them chose a dress with a clear topaz-like sky blue background sprinkled with tiny crimson wild strawberry motifs.

With her hair braided on both sides and a hat fitted on to block the sun, Renee looked precisely like a girl welcoming summer.

Finishing her styling after what felt like an hour of playing dress-up, Renee stepped out with a shy expression. Ricard, who had been quietly waiting while smoking a cigarette on one side of the garden, slowly lifted his head.

Thud—.

Dropping the cigarette he had been holding just between his lips, Ricard blinked blankly. Renee chuckled in amusement and flicked the hem of her awkward skirt with her fingertips.

Regaining his wits belatedly, Ricard bent down. Picking up the cigarette butt he had dropped while gaping like a fool, he roughly crumpled it in his palm.

“How is it?”

“……”

“It’s terribly tacky, right?”

Renee chuckled playfully and asked for Ricard’s opinion.

When it came to women’s clothing, Ricard could barely tell the difference between a banquet gown and a rag. Even to his eyes, the deep sky-blue dress Renee was wearing had a rustic charm that a country girl might wear.

Yet strangely, that made it all the more eye-catching. When she wore custom dresses made by Sainer Castle’s exclusive tailor, she had a distant quality to her—so much so that even he, bound to her as a husband, sometimes hesitated to approach her.

However, right now, with her hair braided on both sides, wearing a hat, and dressed in a gown scattered with unidentifiable dark pink berries—whether they were strawberries, mulberries, or perhaps fruit for brewing liquor…

“I want to eat you up.”

“……?”

It was a heartfelt truth that had slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. Caught in Ricard’s shocking remark, the garden—where roughly seven or eight people had gathered—was plunged into silence.

“You look delicious.”

“……”

Barely suppressing her horrified expression, Renee glared at Ricard so only he could see.

‘Are you actually out of your mind?’

When she reprimanted her husband with her lips, showing no sign of wanting to separate public from private affairs, Ricard shrugged his shoulders.

“That fruit on the dress, I mean.”

Having belatedly tried to smooth over his slip of the tongue, Ricard pointed indifferently at Renee’s dress. The servants, whose shock had left them with expressions close to a fading mind, finally regained their color after hearing his added words.

“Th-Then you two have a good trip!”

With an expression that still hadn’t quite shaken off a lingering sense of awkwardness, the bulky servant called Rooby shouted. He looked as though he felt embarrassed for having accidentally eavesdropped on the couple’s intimate conversation, but Ricard didn’t care in the least.

He simply offered one of his arms to Renee with a slick, unbothered expression.

“Let’s go.”

He spoke like a gentleman escorting a lady to a party. Renee linked her arm with his, pretending to be forced into it with a look that said she’d let it slide just this once.

“We’ll be back.”

With Renee bidding a warm farewell to Dora and the rest, she left the garden alongside Ricard.

The servants, huddled together in the middle of the garden, watched the backs of the two figures with identical, heartened expressions as if they had planned it.

“They look like completely different people.”

Said Jeff, Dora’s husband and a gardener who had watched Renee for as many years as she had. He wore an expression filled with deep emotion.

Everyone nodded in agreement. The Dainis estate’s Reneezmia had been a woman like a beautiful ghost. Her skin was always pale, her lips lacked blood, and above all, her green eyes—so strikingly like her mother’s—were lifeless and blank.

About a year and a half had passed since she suddenly married the ruler of the Hebaron Kingdom and left the ducal estate. After an absence that could be considered long or short depending on how you looked at it, seeing her again—Miss Mia, now turned into Reneezmia Sainer—she seemed like an entirely different person.

Dora opened her mouth with a heart-stirring expression.

“Really, now. It looks like the young miss has—”

Dora added, watching the backs of the two as they receded into tiny dots in the distance.

“—fallen in love.”

***

Greenery Town in the middle of the festival was bursting with colorful and sparkling sights wherever the eye could see. People roamed the streets with joyful expressions, as if dancing, while slow or upbeat music mixed and drifted in from all directions.

The scene of people holding glasses of champagne and strolling down the street in the middle of the day, completely detached from work and brimming with leisure, felt both unfamiliar and dreamlike. Everyone here seemed to be living in a timeline entirely separate from the rest of the Hebaron Kingdom.

Among the smartly dressed men and women, one particular couple stood out by far as they stopped in front of a clothing shop first.

“Lord Sainer.”

Renee’s eyes sparkled. Judging solely by her expression, Ricard already furrowed his brow as if sensing trouble.

“I feel like I want to refuse even before hearing it.”

“Try this on.”

Undeterred by Ricard’s defensive posture, Renee pointed to one of the mannequins lined up outside the shop. It was a men’s suit tailored to fit the festival dress code, with both the jacket and trousers featuring a vivid sky-blue paisley pattern set against an ivory background.

At a glance, it looked like a flashy banquet garment, but upon closer inspection, it had a somewhat tacky feel to it—very similar to the dress Renee had chosen.

Meanwhile, Ricard looked thoroughly disgusted, as if he had just witnessed something he shouldn’t have. His expression was as injured as if his very eyes had been assaulted.

Understandably so, given that he usually favored black suits. At most, he might wear dark blue, navy, or midnight blue, and the brightest he ever went was a pale brown or gray.

He had probably never worn anything like a bright ivory jacket in his entire life. To top it off, it was a striking sky-blue color adorned with loud patterns.

Renee gently tugged at the sleeve of Ricard, who stood there making a face of utter revulsion.

“Just try it on once, please?”

“I’d rather die.”

Ricard declared solemnly. Renee burst out laughing.

“Lord Sainer. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t put off anything if it’s something we do together?”

“……I’ll just put this off for once.”

“I’m disappointed.”

“……”

Though she said she was disappointed, Renee herself was grinning playfully. Torn as he faced that teasing expression right in front of him, Ricard closed his eyes tightly and opened them again as if resigning himself to fate.

Then, radiating extreme reluctance, he hoisted the mannequin up under his arm and walked straight into the shop.

“Wait, wait! You’re supposed to ask the owner for the clothes!”

Startled, Renee hurried after Ricard. The elderly, blond owner of the shop, who was working inside, looked momentarily surprised when a strapping fellow walked in carrying an entire mannequin, but soon chuckled good-naturedly and undressed it to hand the clothes over.

Accepting the jacket, trousers, and dress shirt, Ricard stepped into a makeshift fitting room set up in the corner of the shop. It was a cramped space—so much so that the top of Ricard’s head poked out visibly above the partition.

Thump.

Thump-thump.

Every time he moved to change clothes, his body seemed to bump against the walls from all sides. After making enough of a ruckus to draw worried glances from the elderly blond owner, Ricard finally shoved the door open and stepped out a moment later.

“……”

Renee, who had originally planned to tease her husband a little bit, completely lost her will to do so the moment she saw Ricard in his completed outfit. She already suspected there wasn’t an outfit in the world he couldn’t pull off, but she hadn’t expected it to be this good.

‘He used to look like an actor, but dressed like this, he totally looks like an idol.’

Specifically, the visual center of a mid-tier idol group whose company was too broke to buy them expensive clothes, so he just carried the whole concept with his face and height alone. The kind of member who constantly gets dragged online for nonexistent attitude scandals yet remains the most popular.

“I have never been this humiliated in my life.”

“Lord Sainer. You look genuinely amazing.”

“You’re just teasing me.”

Without properly listening to Renee’s awestruck words, Ricard paid the owner for the clothes. Then, without even waiting for his change, he turned on his heel and strode out of the shop first.

“Lord Sainer, look at me, won’t you? Bright colors suit you so well, why did you only ever wear black clothes all the time!”

“Quiet.”

As the two of them bickered while walking down the street, gazes from passersby poured over them. Some recognized Ricard and offered greetings, but mostly they were just witnessing a rare sighting of an exceptionally stunning couple, whispering amongst themselves or occasionally letting out audible gasps of admiration.

Walking through the bustling festival streets, the two of them made a picture-perfect pair. Even their festival-coded attire was beyond flawless.

At that moment, someone grabbed Ricard firmly by the forearm.

“Step right up, our handsome gentleman! Win the competition, and we’ll give a fantastic prize to our lovely lady!”

Wearing a flashy floral-patterned jacket and touting for customers, the man seemed completely unaware of who Ricard or Renee were. He likely just took them for a handsome couple out early to enjoy the festival.

Ricard’s expression hardened instantly at the man’s forward attitude. It only softened when Renee, standing beside him, gently stroked his forearm.

“What kind of competition is this?”

“Arm wrestling! Last year’s champion already got knocked out in the first round! Ha-ha!”

The man answered boisterously to Renee’s question. And within Renee’s line of sight as she looked up at her husband with a small smile was the look of unadulterated madness in Ricard’s eyes.

“Um… Lord Sainer? Should we just go? Ha-ha…!”

Prompted by the emergency sirens blaring in her head, Renee tried to pull on Ricard’s arm.

However, Ricard no longer seemed to hear a single word she said. Dragging her along by his side, his profile as he marched straight into the competition area felt downright resolute.

***

Two hours later.

Having suddenly appeared at the venue, the man had effortlessly subdued five opponents from the first round to the fifth in roughly three seconds each, sitting majestically at the front of the table. With an utterly unbothered expression, his name—heading into the finals—was, of course, Ricard.

“Lord Sainer. Please go easy on him, I’m begging you.”

To him, as serious as if heading off to war, Renee pleaded with an anxious face. She knew he hated losing, but his competitive drive far, far exceeded even her expectations.

His opponent was a massive man with sun-kissed skin and a bushy beard, looking as though he had been stretched out to double Ricard’s physical bulk.

The onlookers, who had slowly gathered as Ricard made his presence known at the venue, now numbered around two hundred, all waiting for the upcoming final with intensely eager faces.

“Alright, get ready.”

The referee clasped both of their wrists in one hand. Renee swallowed hard. It was absurd that this much tension could surround a simple game of arm wrestling.

“Start!”

No sooner had the referee spoken than the contest of strength began. From Renee’s vantage point watching the match from behind Ricard, she could see the opponent dead-on; his entire body was as red as a tomato, and he was huffing through his nose like a bull.

Unlike his opponent, who had even started shouting curses, Ricard didn’t make a single sound. Yet the momentum of the match had decisively tilted toward Ricard.

“RAAAAGH! You son of a—!”

The opponent shouted in a final desperate struggle. Following a grueling clash fierce enough to shove the table this way and that, Ricard poured a final burst of strength into his wrist.

Crack—!

An ominous sound echoed through the arena, followed immediately by dead silence.

“KYAAAAAAAH!”

What broke the quiet was the opposing man’s scream. Clutching his cleanly snapped arm, he collapsed flat on his back.

“Oh no, his arm looks like it broke!”

“Good heavens, how horrific!”

The spectators murmured in shock and dismay. The referee and the man who had been touting for participants rushed over to the poor injured man.

Scratching the back of his head with an awkward look, Ricard slowly stood up.

“My apologies.”

The thrashing man was loaded onto a stretcher and vanished out of the venue. While the onlookers were gripped with shock, they also began crowding around the freakishly strong man who had snapped the arm of an opponent twice his size.

Brushing off the attention showered upon him with an annoyed expression, Ricard walked over to the man who had been calling out for participants. Then he stuck out one hand firmly.

“The prize.”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t you say you’d give a fantastic prize to the lovely lady?”

“Ah—!”

Taken aback for a moment seeing Ricard demand a prize in the middle of all this, the man gestured toward a youthful-looking boy. The boy sprinted off somewhere and returned carrying a giant teddy bear made of cloth.

“Here.”

Handing the bear over to Renee, Ricard smiled brightly. Unable to laugh or cry, Renee was left saddled with a bear the size of her own body.

“It was just supposed to be a fun game. Who goes that intensely all for a silly game!”

“If you’re a member of the Hebaron Knights, you must never approach anything half-heartedly.”

“Does arm wrestling really call for invoking the Hebaron Knights?!”

“What on earth is the problem? I won first place because I wanted to give you a present.”

“I appreciate it, but still!”

Renee raised her voice in frustration. The darned bear was so huge she could barely see in front of her, causing her to walk unsteadily.

“You broke his arm!”

“It’s unfortunate, but what’s done is done with a broken arm.”

“Geez…”

“And that fellow lost already, yet foolishly kept resisting until he got hurt. In a war, if the commander misses the right moment to retreat, you lose all your subordinates and face total annihilation.”

Once he brought up talk of war, there was nothing more to say. Seeing Renee finally quiet down in defeat, Ricard glanced sideways at his wife.

Watching his wife walk while hugging the stuffed toy—the spoils of war he had proudly secured—he found it slightly amusing while a swell of pride warmed his chest. Though he couldn’t quite figure out why she was scolding him instead of offering praise after he won first place in a competition.

The two wandered wherever their feet took them, enjoying the festival. They browsed cute little knick-knacks, sat on outdoor terraces to enjoy tea and pastries, and even hired a street portrait artist to sketch them.

Before long, carrying the teddy bear had become Ricard’s job. Slinging the bear over one shoulder and wrapping his other arm around Renee’s waist, Ricard basked in a magnificent summer day with the feeling of having conquered the whole world.

After sharing a late lunch and wandering here and there, the hour was nearing evening. Pausing briefly at an outdoor venue hosting a long-table wine-tasting event, the two departed shortly after, pleasantly tipsy.

Walking toward the source of lovely music, they found a grand ball in full swing. Decorated with sparkling chandeliers and bright pink velvet drapes, the ballroom was packed with smartly dressed men and women. Some enjoyed light conversation while holding glasses of wine, while several couples pulled each other close in dance.

“Would you like to dance?”

At Renee’s suggestion, Ricard nodded readily, against all odds. It was likely due to the alcohol starting to kick in.

Looking around, he handed the teddy bear over to a man carrying a tray serving wine. Renee removed the hat she had been wearing and placed it atop a circular table.

Just then, the upbeat music came to an end, followed by a ripple of small applause. Ricard extended one hand toward Renee. Renee carefully placed her hand in his.

The first dance they shared together was a waltz. Naturally, Ricard didn’t care for dancing, but because he frequently found himself in situations where he had no choice, he had mastered most dances as a matter of basic refinement.

As the music struck up, he moved skillfully, leading Renee. Renee, who had initially been busy clumsily trying to follow his movements, soon relaxed her tension.

Moving fluidly and gracefully like water, trading intense gazes and beautiful smiles, the two drew the focused attention of everyone around them. Renee found herself paying more attention to the hand Ricard had smoothly wrapped around her waist than to the onlookers. While maintaining his trademark posture with unyielding stiffness befitting his usual self, he simultaneously flashed a sweet smile rarely ever seen by others.

Though many couples were dancing, Renee fell under the illusion that she was entirely alone with him in this vast ballroom. It felt as though she were holding him and strolling together above the clouds in a trance of ecstasy.

As the waltz music concluded, the partners bowed gracefully to one another. Applause broke out softly once more, and someone in the crowd shouted “Bravo!” toward Ricard and Renee. Ricard responded to the praise with practiced ease, but Renee, unaccustomed to such attention, dyed the tips of her ears bright red.

The next piece of music began. This time, it was a lively melody.

It was a dance where partners were meant to swap, but every time a gentleman from the crowd innocently approached Renee, Ricard glared with such lethal intensity that the two of them gradually became isolated like an island in the middle of a vast sea.

“Please don’t embarrass me like this.”

Realizing how things were going, Renee hissed through clenched teeth to Ricard.

“That bastard was looking at your chest with filthy eyes.”

“Keep your voice down…!”

As the two bickered while dancing, someone stepped firmly in front of them to block their path. It was an elderly gentleman wearing a floral-patterned pink jacket; despite his advanced age, he was an extraordinarily handsome man.

“Beautiful lady. Would you do me the honor of the next dance?”

The elderly gentleman extended his hand toward Renee. The music continued to play and everyone else around them was dancing, but these three stood completely still.

Renee offered an awkward smile, worried for the elderly gentleman’s safety. However, contrary to Renee’s expectations, a dead-stopped Ricard bowed deeply at the waist toward the elderly gentleman as a sign of respect.

‘What?’

What answered Renee’s confusion was Ricard’s following words.

“It has been a long time, Your Grace, Duke of Dainis.”

“Ah…!”

Renee gasped in surprise. The father she was finally seeing in person—Duke Dainis—was a remarkably handsome man with tall stature, a solid build, light blonde hair, and green eyes. Though a soft smile played across his face, a deep, commanding charisma radiated from him all the same.

In the distance, Elizabeth could be seen holding a glass of champagne. As if she had spotted Ricard and Renee quite a while ago, she watched the three of them with a happy smile, entirely devoid of surprise.

“Father.”

Renee called out to Duke Dainis with a trembling heart. The love of a father she had never once received in her life—she felt she might finally be able to feel it from him.

“I thought this summer would pass by with nothing but longing for you.”

Duke Dainis placed a hand upon Renee’s shoulder. His touch, stroking down her delicate collarbone, was dripping with an inexpressible amount of affection, longing, and a multitude of other emotions.

“Welcome home, my gift of a daughter, Mia.”

It was a warm embrace. Within the miraculously familiar embrace of her father, Renee quietly shed tears of joy.

***

The four people who had miraculously crossed paths in the dance area returned home together. The servants waiting out at the front entrance of the path looked startled—first at the massive stuffed bear Ricard was slinging over his back, and a second time at the unusually friendly dynamic between Duke Dainis and Ricard.

A late-night dinner was served. The four of them began their meal in an atmosphere so warm and jovial that it was hard to believe this was their first gathering.

Partly it was thanks to the naturally fluid and gentle dispositions of Duke and Duchess Dainis, but that wasn’t actually the whole story. Given the timing, both husband and wife had been enjoying the festival and were quite tipsy.

“If you had given us a hint about your visit ahead of time, we could have prepared much better food. It breaks my heart that dinner was so meager.”

Elizabeth expressed genuine regret. Contrary to her words, today’s dinner spread was wonderful, despite their normally frugal lifestyle. It was simply that her desire to host them far outpaced the reality.

Ricard’s plate was already cleanly wiped. Given that he usually didn’t eat large portions and maintained a moderate pace while dining, eating through his share so quickly and without leaving a single scrap suggested he had gone out of his way.

‘Eating up every last bite of the food your mother-in-law gives you must be the universal law of sons-in-law across all time and space.’

“Heh-heh.”

When she chuckled to herself because her own thoughts amused her, the gazes of the other three converged on Renee. As Renee poked at a potato roasted in butter and laughed sheepishly, a smile spread across the faces of Duke and Duchess Dainis.

She was a daughter who had suffered from terrible pulmonary illness since childhood. Before she turned ten, she had cheated death several times over, which was why she had been raised like a princess locked inside a castle.

What if she caught a cold outside, or suffered a small wound that led to an infection? Driven by the desire to cherish and protect their daughter—a child they wouldn’t trade for anything in the world—there were countless days they spent consumed by self-reproach and regret, wondering if perhaps they had kept her too closely confined under the guise of protection.

They couldn’t even begin to count how many nights they had spent in tears after hastily marrying her off. Communication had practically ceased following the marriage, with only sparse letters arriving like a drought, and the last time she saw her daughter at the banquet, she had looked utterly out of her mind, calling out the name of her husband who had collapsed after drinking poisoned wine.

And today. Her daughter, Reneezmia, had transformed completely, as if she were a totally different person.

“Have you finished, Lord Sainer?”

“Yes. The food was so delicious I felt as though I could eat all day long, but I must leave some room in my stomach for the drinking session to follow.”

When Ricard delivered a hundred-point answer, Elizabeth looked immensely pleased, her cheeks flushing a soft pink.

“Mia. Did you finish yours, too?”

Renee nodded vigorously.

“Then I shall have them bring out more wine.”

“I’ve been waiting solely for this moment.”

Duke Dainis and Ricard hit it off quite well. A maid brought out a bountiful assortment of precious wine, along with fruits and cheese suitable as appetizers. The four of them began getting pleasantly tipsy together.

The two men, both heavy drinkers by nature, were especially so. Ricard, who was always impeccably dressed right down to his necktie, was now in his shirtsheet—who knows where he had shed the jacket he bought today. The tie they had bought together hung loose and crooked, and he had even undone two buttons.

“Aren’t you being way too sexy?”

Renee, propping her chin in her hand, said with a slightly slurred pronunciation. Following her gaze down to his own neckline, Ricard replied with a deadpan expression.

“Is that so?”

“Oh my—!”

At her son-in-law’s brazen reaction, Elizabeth laughed like a young girl. He was a son-in-law she had always found difficult to approach, perpetually rigid as though measured by a ruler, with not a single margin of error in his speech or actions. Seeing him sitting there with flushed cheeks and a dopey smile made him unbearably endearing.

He felt less like her daughter’s husband and almost more like a son.

When Elizabeth whispered something to Renee, Renee clapped her hand over her mouth and giggled. Watching the two of them whispering and laughing face-to-face, Ricard spoke up.

“In all my life, I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as my wife.”

“……”

“Though I just saw her today.”

Elizabeth wore a confused expression, failing to catch the meaning.

“My wife looks remarkably like Mother.”

“Oh my—!”

Understanding the meaning a beat too late, Elizabeth covered her mouth with both hands this time and let out an exclamation. Then she broke into a radiant, flower-like smile.

“You’ve had quite a bit to drink. Shall the men have one more glass?”

Duke Dainis suggested to Ricard, gesturing with his head toward somewhere. It was a lovely table arranged on the balcony.

“It would be my honor.”

Gathering the wine bottle and glasses himself, Ricard stood up with a slight stagger. Watching the backs of the two heavy drinkers heading out to the balcony one after the other, Elizabeth and Renee shared matching smiles.

“I can’t believe it.”

In the distance, Ricard could be seen refilling Duke Dainis’ wine glass. He was a man who, in life, never showed such affectionate attentiveness to anyone else. To say it was just because he was drunk didn’t quite fit—if anything, the more intoxicated he got, the rougher he tended to get.

“People really do change. Don’t they, Mother?”

Watching her daughter speak as if to herself or asking a question, Elizabeth quietly lowered her gaze. Raising a hand to stroke Renee’s hair, she nodded.

“Look at you, Mia. You’ve changed so much it’s astonishing.”

“……”

Surprise flickered in Renee’s eyes. Even her own hazy reflection held within her mother’s beautiful green eyes truly felt like something precious beyond compare to anything before.

Renee was waiting for Ricard in the bedroom personally prepared by her mother. He finally stumbled in well past midnight, completely plastered.

“Whoa—.”

Letting out a hot breath, he collapsed face-down right on top of Renee’s body. Because he reeked of alcohol, evidently having skipped washing up, Renee wrinkled her nose slightly.

“How much did you drink? We have to leave tomorrow before the sun rises.”

Hearing Renee’s scolding tone, Ricard rubbed his face against Renee’s chest like a pouting child.

“While your father kept pouring drinks, how am I supposed to refuse?”

“He’s not the type to give you dirty looks for refusing anyway, you should have known your limit.”

“I couldn’t. Because I was too happy.”

“……”

At the unexpected words that his time with her was happy, Renee closed her mouth. Then she gently combed her fingers through Ricard’s wildly disheveled hair.

“What were you two talking about?”

“It’s a secret between men.”

“Hmph…”

“I love you.”

It was a confession casually dropped at an entirely unexpected timing. Without even anticipating it, her heart throbbed as if someone had handed her a massive, beautifully wrapped gift.

Renee tightly pulled Ricard’s face against her chest. Remaining still for a moment, Ricard lifted his head and pressed a kiss to Renee’s lips.

“I ran into your mother on the way up, by the way.”

“Yes.”

“She mentioned it’s a room with great soundproofing.”

“Is that so?”

“She said even if someone screams while wrestling on the bed, no one outside would ever know.”

What he added at the very end was clearly a fabrication he had just made up on the spot. Realizing the meaning behind Ricard’s sudden mention of soundproofing, Renee blushed and laughed.

Her expression shifting in an instant, Ricard hoisted Renee up in his arms and placed her right on top of his abdomen.

“Take it off.”

Looking hazy-eyed with the full force of the alcohol, he commanded. Then, using his own hands, he began undoing his garments one by one.

Inside the bedroom that her mother had personally tidied and decorated, Renee shed her nightgown as if spellbound. Her smooth, pleasantly scented body pressed closely against Ricard.

Lying flat on his back, Ricard moved his waist in a slow, gentle motion. It was like dancing the waltz they had performed to the music earlier, but this time lying down—a movement both skillful and tender.

“Earlier today, watching you walk out wearing that colorful dress, I had such a vivid feeling, but it was hard to put into words.”

Ricard stroked down Renee’s slender spine. Trembling slightly, Renee looked back at Ricard as if urging him to continue.

“Seeing you now without anything on at all, it suddenly makes sense.”

“What were you thinking?”

Ricard parted his lips. After a brief pause, he spoke.

“If a little girl wearing that dress you wore, with her hair braided in two and wearing a picnic hat, were standing right in front of me… I’d be as happy as if I had the whole world.”

“……”

“I want her.”

***

Dawn was breaking faintly outside the window.

Even though they had been told the room had great soundproofing, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down. Renee had to swallow back screams several times throughout the night.

Looking side-by-side with equally hollowed-out, exhausted faces, the two quickly finished packing to leave. Once they gathered their luggage and stepped outside the building, Duke and Duchess Dainis were already standing there neatly dressed.

“At least have some breakfast before you go.”

Elizabeth grabbed Renee’s forearm with lingering reluctance.

“Both of us have work tomorrow, so we need to get back to the castle as soon as possible.”

Renee gently stroked Elizabeth’s back to soothe her.

Their carriage was already waiting. After hugging Renee, Duke Dainis patted her on the back and urged her to hurry.

After exchanging goodbyes one by one with the servants who had come out to see them off, Renee boarded the carriage first. Ricard, having shared a long embrace with Elizabeth, stepped in front of Duke Dainis.

Duke Dainis extended his hand. Clasping his hand, Ricard bowed his head deeply.

Duke Dainis pulled Ricard into a brief embrace, drawing him close. Then he whispered something in a voice too low for anyone else to hear.

Renee looked somewhat surprised when she saw the expression on Ricard’s face as he turned around. Overcome with emotion, he even looked slightly choked up, the rims of his eyes reddened.

“Let’s go.”

Regaining his composure during the short walk over to the carriage, Ricard wrapped his arm around Renee’s shoulder. Outside the carriage, Duke and Duchess Dainis and the servants could be seen standing affectionately close together.

“Be on your way now.”

Duke Dainis urged them off once more. Everyone could feel both the consideration for his son-in-law who needed to return to state affairs and the bittersweet reluctance of sending off his daughter.

The moment of parting flowed naturally and comfortably. Looking back blankly at the ducal estate receding outside the carriage window, Renee leaned her head against Ricard’s shoulder.

***

One week since returning to this place. Counting from the day she had collapsed and left, it had been a full hundred days or so since she last went to work.

With Renee’s return, the midsummer vitality, which had seemed as though a shadow of death had settled over it, returned once more to Sainer Cafe. Even before opening time, guests were swarming the cafe, which had narrowly avoided the threat of closing down.

“Oh my, goodness. You’ll have to wait!”

Tatisha, wiping away sweat as she managed the customers, finally massaged her temples. The line, which stretched past the garden and wrapped twice around the cafe building, showed no signs of clearing up anytime soon.

Renee’s carriage pulled to a stop. As she stepped down alongside Adonis, the customers rushed forward as if waiting for this exact moment.

“Goodness me! I’ve missed you so much, Madam Sainer!”

“Milady! You really were alive!”

Returning the welcoming greetings one by one, Renee stepped into the main hall looking half-exhausted even before starting work. The few employees who had arrived early also wore somewhat dazed expressions, yet amidst it all, they couldn’t hide their delight.

Since the owner, who had vanished like a lie, returned like a gift, it was only natural for customers to flock in. However, contrary to expectations that things would soon settle down, the number of people visiting the cafe showed no signs of decreasing.

And so, on the fifth day, an emergency meeting was called for all cafe staff.

“As you all know, we are in a situation where we simply cannot accommodate all the customers anymore.”

Those were Renee’s opening words. Everyone nodded in vehement agreement.

“It seems to be partly due to the massive success of the second branch. The number of people seeking us out not just from our own kingdom, but from neighboring countries as well, has increased dramatically.”

Brad was right. Word had it that Sainer Cafe’s second branch in the Portican Kingdom, with Ceciana as its owner, was riding an unprecedented wave of success. In the wake of that, Sainer Cafe’s first branch in the Hebaron Kingdom also seemed to be attracting the attention of surrounding nations.

“It looks like we’ll need to start talking about a third branch. And before that, it’s time to open up all the way to the fifth floor of our building, which we haven’t been using until now.”

While previously they had only used roughly the first and second floors of the five-story stone building, the judgment was that it was time to open up the entire floor structure. Seeing concern ripple across the employees’ faces, Renee added, “Of course we’ll be hiring more staff, so don’t worry.”

Sighs of relief burst out from here and there. Renee smiled faintly, as if she understood their feelings without them having to say a word.

“I’m thinking it might be best to place another kitchen on the third floor. Since we’ll be operating all five floors, having only one kitchen on the first floor is inefficient when we have to carry drinks and food up and down five flights of stairs.”

“Then that means we’ll be undergoing remodeling work?”

“Yes. We plan to proceed while seeking advice from the officials at Sainer Castle.”

After answering Joanna’s question, Renee shifted the topic.

“And this is a personal suggestion, but how about tearing down the roof and creating a rooftop space? A place where people can drink beverages and enjoy food up there.”

“A rooftop?”

Unfamiliar with the term, the sous-chef raised a hand and asked a question. The rest of the employees seemed equally unable to follow Renee’s words.

“A rooftop is—.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah. Basically.”

Her explanation stalled for a moment. The picture Renee was painting in her mind was a modern rooftop cafe.

It seemed there was nothing quite like a rooftop to enjoy the picture-perfect Pomfritz riverside, the green meadows, and a sky as clear as crystal without a single speck of fine dust.

“Still, drinking coffee up on top of a roof seems a bit… We aren’t chickens…”

However, the employees all looked reluctant. They seemed incapable of grasping the concept of tearing down a roof to build a rooftop space.

After brief deliberation, Renee opted for drawings. Asking Adonis to pin a large piece of paper to the wall, she began sketching the rooftop cafe in her head, and soon the employees began watching what she was doing with curious expressions.

“Like this.”

Having finished the drawing, Renee stepped aside slightly.

“You can think of it as moving the terrace to the very top floor, so to speak. We can put tables, cultivate a small garden on one side, play musical performances, and so on.”

“What if it rains?”

Tatisha asked, her eyes sparkling with cleverness.

“On days like that, we simply don’t open, or else… isn’t drinking coffee out in the rain rather romantic in its own way?”

Starting with Renee’s answer, out-of-this-world ideas began pouring out, such as placing parasols at every table or requiring customers to enter wearing summer swimsuits.

All the employees were engaged in the discussion with bright, glittering eyes. They looked overflowing with motivation while simultaneously finding the work too enjoyable to contain.

Renee surveyed the hall with a satisfied expression. It was a thought she’d had before, but how should she put it…

‘It feels like playing a game.’

A mobile game she used to play occasionally when she was bored. Games where you decorate cafes or bathhouses and receive customers. Accumulating coins to buy and resell things, expanding your territory. The kind where before you know it, you’re spending real money on microtransactions.

The only difference was that now she could do it in real life. There was no need to suffer from the sudden post-purchase regret of spending real money, and there were no worries about funding whatsoever. Why?

Because her husband was the ruler of the kingdom. Young, rich, handsome, and big enough to wipe his bottom with money…

Roughly five days ago. The hot night she had spent in the bedroom of the Dainis ducal estate suddenly invaded Renee’s mind.

In fact, right up until this morning, she had been subjected for quite a while to him persistently pressing himself against her from below. Because Renee—who had been suffering from an unknown malaise ever since visiting Greenery Town—firmly refused, Ricard’s desired act had ultimately fallen through.

Caught lost in her own thoughts in front of the employees, the owner secretly blushed.

‘Anyway, thinking about Ricard makes that man visible outside the window look like Ricard.’

Renee’s gaze drifted toward the window. Amidst the blazing early morning summer sunlight, a towering man was drawing closer.

“Huh.”

…He didn’t look like Ricard; it actually was Ricard.

Jingle—.

The door opened with a cheerful chime. Just then, as it was close to opening time, the gazes of the customers who had been swarming around poured unanimously into the cafe.

“Lord Sainer! What brings you here?”

Renee, who had run over in delight, came to an abrupt halt when she saw the person following behind him. Maintaining a distance of about two paces, the man who had entered alongside Ricard was Theon Del Bernst.

“Priest Bernst…”

Renee muttered blankly, close to talking to herself. Smiling and offering a light bow in greeting, his eyes flickered not just with gladness, but with emotion. Amidst it all, his face somehow looked a bit drawn and thin.

‘In the original work, he was the second male lead. It’s not even that his weight was comparable to Ricard’s—if anything, there were more readers buying stocks in Theon.’

Theon had been reduced to a mere passerby supporting character #1 because the female lead—who was originally supposed to stab the male lead to death and die herself—ended up falling in love with the male lead instead. Watching him, Renee had felt a secret sense of regret.

‘For a supporting role, he really has visuals that are too good to waste.’

“Ahem.”

Ricard gave an obvious fake cough. His expression seemed to accuse her of why she was staring so intently at another man, causing Renee to startle and pull back her gaze.

“Did the two of you come together?”

“No. We happened to run into each other outside.”

“No chance.”

Theon’s answer overlapped right on top of Ricard’s. As Theon smiled, Ricard smiled back.

Though both were smiling, it felt as though blue flames were crackling between the two men.

“What brings both of you here?”

“I dropped by for a moment because I missed you.”

“I came because I have something to tell you.”

This time, Ricard’s answer came first.

“What business do you have with my wife?”

“I’ll tell her directly.”

“Go ahead.”

Though he was acting unbothered, to Renee, Ricard looked like a dog baring its teeth and growling.

Renee flusteredly looked back and forth between the two men. Convinced that Ricard wouldn’t yield his spot for even a second, Theon turned toward Renee with a helpless expression.

“I’ll just say what I came to say and be on my way. I have a busy schedule today, too.”

“Yes, Your Reverence.”

“I’m sorry.”

Communicating her apology through the shape of her lips, Renee smiled with an expression that was both mortified and troubled. Smiling sweetly as if to say it was fine, Theon opened his mouth.

“I had a dream about the Milady.”

“A dream?”

“Yes.”

At the sudden and audacious sentence declaring he had dreamed of Renee, Ricard could be seen sharpening his blade. No man could remain indifferent upon hearing that another bastard had dreamed of his wife.

Theon closed his mouth for a moment as if choosing his words. He seemed to be refining his expression so as to avoid any misunderstandings.

“Take good care of your body, and examine yourself closely.”

“Pardon? My body?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of dream did you have? An ominous dream… like a prophetic dream that I’m going to die, or something like that?”

“Haha. No. It’s not a dream about anyone dying.”

Watching Renee instantly adopt a terrified expression, Theon smiled brightly.

“If anything, it’s closer to the exact opposite.”

***

The meaning of the cryptic words Theon had delivered only became clear more than a month later.

“You are pregnant.”

Upon hearing Vigo’s words, silence swept through the bedroom. Having suffered from a consistent malaise over the past month, Renee had recently been struggling with an unexplained fever and indigestion for the past two weeks.

Today, she had even collapsed in a cold sweat on her way to work, prompting them to hastily turn the carriage around and return to the castle. Melda, who had been holding Renee’s hand and anxiously awaiting the diagnosis; Tatisha, pacing nervously beside her; Adonis, who had brought Renee back to the castle; and finally Ricard, who had rushed over midway through his duties—a total of four people, along with Renee herself, were unable to utter a single word.

“My dear!”

The first to break the silence was Melda. Bursting into tears of emotion, she pulled Renee into a tight embrace.

Though she reflexively reached out her arms and let Melda embrace her, Renee was simply dumbfounded. It was something she hadn’t even imagined, and above all else.

‘Why is he making a face like that?’

Ricard’s expression, standing blankly by the bedside, bothered her to the point of driving her mad. Though he had worn a deeply shocked expression immediately after hearing Vigo’s words, he was now maintaining silence with an inscrutable face.

“This is the period when you must be most careful, so you must take good care of your body.”

Vigo spoke gently yet firmly. While Melda listened to his instructions listing the things to watch out for and eventually began taking notes by borrowing paper from Adonis, Renee found it hard to focus at all.

It was because of Ricard, who was acting as emotionally detached as if it were someone else’s business. She felt a strange sensation so bizarre it couldn’t even be adequately explained by calling it hurt feelings. Looking down at her own belly, which she still couldn’t possibly believe held something inside, Renee was gripped by an inexplicable sense of incongruity.

***

Though Renee had been cautious about letting those around her know about her pregnancy, the news spread rapidly both inside and outside the castle. Gifts began pouring in from all over the country to celebrate the joyous occasion.

Meg Valond and the noble ladies sent precious, nutritious foods good for pregnant women, and customers who had received help through the cafe sent handwritten letters along with various gifts. The castle officials and servants also handed gifts directly to Renee or had them delivered through Ricard.

Renee spent about a week in a still somewhat dazed state. She continued to go to the cafe, but accepted Vigo’s advice and decided to move up her closing time.

It was when Renee had returned home alone without Ricard, just having finished changing her clothes and getting ready to eat dinner. When told that someone had come to visit, she stepped out to the reception room and found a familiar face.

“Lady Maydiland!”

Looking slightly thinner than when she last saw her, Ceciana smiled brightly and hugged Renee. Handing over gifts she had packed with both hands, she affectionately stroked the back of Renee’s hand.

“I ran over the moment I heard the news. My sincere congratulations, Milady.”

“Thank you, Lady Maydiland. I was actually thinking I wanted to see you. It’s been so long since we last met.”

A maid brought out tea. Renee sat facing Ceciana at the tea table in the center of the reception room.

“I heard the profits of Sainer Cafe’s second branch might soon surpass our first branch?”

Offering tea to Ceciana, Renee asked playfully.

“Not might, it probably already has. You’ll need to step up your game, Milady.”

Ceciana chimed in as if waiting for it. The two of them, who had been exchanging lighthearted jokes for quite a while, paused their conversation for a moment and shared matching smiles.

“Craig Reistin finally lost his position as ruler of the Portican Kingdom as of last month. He put together a defense team and resisted to the end, but I suppose he had no choice but to pay the price for attempting to assassinate Grand Duke Sainer.”

Ceciana delivered the recent updates with a fairly serious expression.

“So Emperor Lucius Reistin won’t be far behind, either. For the exact same reason, of course.”

Ceciana added.

Lucius and Craig. Renee had never forgotten them—the final villains of the original work and the root causes who had made the young Ricard suffer.

Although she had settled the matter with her own hands during the time she had to briefly spend in the real world, Renee had continued to receive updates on them through Adonis even after returning to this place. If by any chance those two regained power through any means, it was obvious that an even greater danger would befall Ricard.

“In truth, it wasn’t a legal battle. Everything ultimately comes down to the logic of power.”

“So the officials of various countries judged that siding with Lord Sainer would give them better odds of winning.”

“As expected, you’re brilliant. Completely to my taste, you know?”

As if trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit, Ceciana grinned.

“Oh, and. Theon Bernst, the priest from the Janox Temple, played a huge role as well.”

“Really?”

“Yes. At a gathering where priests from all nations had assembled, he publicly declared that he would side with the Grand Duke.”

Renee could not hide her surprise. Since priests traditionally did not step directly into politics, the action Theon was said to have taken was an extremely exceptional occurrence.

Serving the gods, they possessed immense power while remaining unattached to any specific nation. Above all, with Theon—who was universally respected and promised as a next-generation priest representing the empire—siding with Ricard, the scales of power naturally tilted even further in Ricard’s favor.

Two hours flew by like an arrow while they exchanged various stories back and forth. Renee urged her to stay for dinner, but Ceciana politely declined and stood up.

“See you again, Milady. Please take good care of your health.”

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you came all this way to visit. Safe travels, Lady Maydiland.”

After sharing a long embrace, the two parted ways in front of the castle gates.

***

Because Renee was late for dinner due to her tea time with Ceciana, Ricard was sitting with a thoroughly angry expression. Without even touching his own share of the food, he glanced sideways at Renee, who had just arrived, and left his seat without a word.

Having finished a belated dinner with Melda—who had stepped in for her husband, whose inner thoughts remained completely unreadable ever since the pregnancy—Renee headed to the bedroom. After finishing her bath with Tatisha’s help, changing clothes, and drifting off into a daze before waking up again, it was already deep in the night.

“Lord Sainer.”

Ricard’s back came into view within her hazy field of vision. Deep in the night when he should have been sleeping. For some reason, he had his back turned to the bed and was sitting in a large armchair, looking out the window.

“Yeah.”

Even at Renee’s voice calling to him, he didn’t turn around immediately, answering only after a belated pause. Looking at that endlessly cold back of his, a sudden surge of sorrow welled up inside her.

Ricard had been acting like an affectionate husband, as if he had become a completely different person. It felt as though he had reverted back to his original cold and unfeeling self.

“How did you spend your day today?”

Renee, barely suppressing the surging sorrow, asked about Ricard’s daily routine. It was a trivial yet affectionate question she had wanted to ask him so badly lately.

“I attended the trial. Luke Shaw, do you remember him?”

Ricard answered without turning back. It was a tone that felt almost administrative.

“The drunk patron who caused a rampage in your cafe and got caught, then broke out of prison.”

It was an incident she had completely forgotten about. That night when the castle was turned upside down. The prison-breaker who had slipped out of a magically sealed prison from which escape was supposedly impossible and vanished without a trace.

“Turns out that was also the work of Galael Haksen.”

Ricard continued in a voice devoid of even anger.

“Luke Shaw confessed to everything. It was supposed to be his job to slip poison into the drink going to another customer’s table.”

“And that was ordered by Sir Haksen?”

“Yeah. He used his brains to try and ruin your cafe and land you in trouble. But his fatal miscalculation was failing to realize the fact that Luke Shaw was an absolute heavy drinker. Thanks to that fellow getting blindingly drunk that day, he never even thought to poison the drink, and ended up getting caught while just causing a ruckus instead.”

“Then… he must have broken him out of prison because he was afraid Luke Shaw would spill all of those facts.”

Ricard nodded.

“He subverted a wizard to break Luke Shaw out and locked him up in the basement of his own residence.”

“Which wizard?”

“Kinsley Ben. Word is he was a student of Rob Lugentia, but after getting expelled for dabbling in forbidden black magic, he wandered the streets like a vagrant. How he managed to track that fellow down, Haksen apparently went looking for him himself and hired him with a massive sum of money.”

“……Sir Haksen was up to a great many things.”

“He must have been busy. It’s truly a wonder he never missed a single state council meeting while he was alive.”

Ricard said dryly in a flat tone. Renee felt a somewhat complex mix of emotions. Although he had chosen death after leaving a will, strictly speaking, it was a conclusion determined by the tip of her own fingers.

‘No. Let’s not harbor pointless guilt.’

Shaking her head as if persuading herself, Renee brushed the thought away.

Once the talk about the trial ended, the bedroom was captured by silence, just like other days lately. Ricard did not show his face to Renee even once.

“Um, Lord Sainer.”

“Speak.”

Renee finally bit her lip. Then, unable to keep her trembling voice hidden, she spoke.

“Won’t you show me your face for a moment?”

She had tried not to cry. But in the end, her tears burst forth.

Perhaps due to the hormones, lately she was experiencing emotional highs and lows several times a day, bouncing between heaven and hell over trivial matters. A husband so unfeeling, failing to soothe an emotional state that was already overwhelming enough without any extra burden.

“Sob…”

At the sobs that burst out before she could stop them, Ricard twitched his shoulders in a start. Finally turning his head and discovering the weeping Renee, he sprang to his feet.

Walking straight to the bedside, he didn’t actually sit down in his place, instead standing there like a statue. Watching Renee drop silent tears, he massaged his brow.

“Ha.”

Letting out a short sigh, Ricard ultimately sat down beside Renee. Fidgeting awkwardly, uncharacteristic of him, he cautiously reached out a hand.

And all he did was wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks. Renee was rendered speechless, moving past hurt feelings straight into absurdity.

He was a man who would boldly pull her by the waist and burrow under her nightgown whenever the mood struck him. He was a man who would pull her close forcefully, press her down, and refuse to let go.

A man who looked gorgeous while acting like a low-class prodigal son, making it so she could never say no to any demand in bed. Her husband, who had been like that, was now acting the moment he touched her body as though he might catch a contagious disease.

“What on earth is wrong with you?”

“……”

“Is the fact that I’m carrying a child what made you like this?”

“What do you mean by ‘like this’—”

“You’ve become a terrible husband.”

The hurt and resentment she had bottled up tightly for nearly a month poured out incoherently. The moment he heard the crude word ‘terrible husband’, Ricard’s expression twisted.

“When I first found out about the pregnancy, you didn’t say a single word. And it’s been the same ever since. Have you ever once said a word like ‘congratulations’ or ‘I’m glad’?”

In truth, rather than congratulations, there was something else Renee wanted to hear more.

“Have you ever said you were happy about it? No, you haven’t even shown me a smiling face since that day……”

Words saying you’re happy a child is coming. Words saying that even though it was unexpected and arrived at a time you hadn’t prepared for, you were beyond happy all the same. Renee wanted to hear words like that from Ricard.

Over the past month, precious gifts had flooded in from all over, and people she met inside the castle, at the cafe, or in the town square would grab her hands and offer words of congratulations. Yet she couldn’t extract even a single reaction from her own husband. Since not even a sliver of emotion that could be mistaken for happiness was visible, Renee had spent sleepless nights alone turning over countless thoughts in her mind.

“Did you not want a child?”

In the end, she let out the words she least wanted to say. The thin, precarious tears were now pouring down like a waterfall.

Defeated by misery, Renee dropped her distorted face. Her body dragged heavily with fatigue rolling over her at random intervals, compounded by the morning sickness that had started in earnest some two weeks prior. She could endure the physical pain, but the wounds inflicted by an unfeeling husband were utterly impossible to bear.

Meanwhile, faced with a wife sobbing so hard her shoulders shook and finally asking if he hadn’t wanted a child, Ricard looked as though he was suffering even more than she was. Biting down on his lips and letting go repeatedly with a face dark with deep dismay rather than mere pain, he finally forced words out.

“I was scared. Scared I’d lose you.”

“……”

Renee, who had been crying with her face covered in both hands, lifted her head. As she looked up at Ricard with wet eyes, Ricard squeezed his eyes shut.

“I still dream of you disappearing every single night.”

Renee let out a soundless gasp.

“If, for some unknown reason, you evaporate from my side once again.”

“……”

“Whether you vanish along with the child in your belly, or whether you vanish all alone, leaving the child behind with me. Either way, I wouldn’t be able to bear it.”

Ricard opened his eyes, which he had kept shut. Red-rimmed, bloodshot whites of his eyes were visible.

While Renee hadn’t been getting a proper night’s sleep lately, he seemed no better off, if not worse. The image of his back turned to her as he slept over the course of many nights crossed her mind. He was often lying there motionlessly and silently until morning. Perhaps he had been awake every single time.

“Besides, you’re already someone with a weak constitution to begin with, so if something were to go wrong with you, I—”

Ricard ultimately failed to finish his sentence properly. Burying his face in his palms, he let out a shaking breath.

Before him, unable to do anything and filled with anxiety, Renee stood stunned. The trauma of having her abandoned seemed to have remained like a scar.

In a way, it was only natural. The wife who had promised him love had vanished without a trace overnight. Even if she reappeared like a miracle, how could he simply forget those hours of shock and agony?

‘Besides, Ricard already went through the pain of being abandoned during his childhood.’

He was someone who had spent a bitter childhood. Even the mother to whom he had given his sole affection within the castle where he had to endure harsh bullying had abandoned him and taken her own life.

“I’m sorry. For being such a terrible husband.”

Ricard dropped his head as though confessing before a deity.

“No, Lord Sainer.”

“……”

“I’m sorry.”

Unable to hold back, Renee pulled Ricard into an embrace. Wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest, Ricard wrapped his arms around Renee’s waist with a desperate hunger, like someone who had been waiting for a long time.

She had thought of him as a man cruelly indifferent. She had hated him enough that she hadn’t even wanted to bring up the topic today like this.

Yet she realized that the one who had been truly indifferent was none other than herself. From the moment of their first meeting, she had given him her heart without fully understanding the secrets she herself had hidden, and when that ultimately resulted in a massive betrayal—she had been far too indifferent to the immense wounds he must have suffered.

And above all, what was miraculous was that right now, sharing an embrace with him after a month apart, all the resentment she wanted to pour out, the countless questions she wanted to demand answers for, and the doubts that had tormented Renee herself—such as her suspicion that perhaps he hadn’t wanted a child—all melted away without a trace.

In the moment when everything else was rendered meaningless by a single deep embrace, ironically, Renee could feel her love for Ricard deep down to her bones.

“I’m… truly, so, so happy, Reneezmia.”

Ricard poured strength into his arms hugging Renee. She could feel his entire body trembling minutely.

“Happy enough for it to be terrifying.”

***

Perhaps due to the release of tension, Renee experienced mild abdominal cramps, prompting Vigo to urgently visit the couple’s bedroom.

He examined various parts of Renee’s body for a long time with great care.

“It doesn’t seem to be a major issue, but just in case, please ensure she does not work and takes time to rest for the next week, Your Grace.”

“Understood.”

Realizing by now that if he were to suggest taking time off work directly to Renee, she would stubbornly refuse, Vigo asked Ricard on Renee’s behalf.

After Vigo told them he would return tomorrow to check on her again and left the bedroom, Renee was completely exhausted from crying and even being startled by the sudden pain.

“Go to sleep quickly.”

Unable to hide his stiff, hardened expression, Ricard stroked Renee’s cheek. Renee drifted off to sleep almost simultaneously with nodding.

The dawn sun rose outside the large window.

Renee lifted her eyelids. The first thing she saw was Ricard’s face, sitting by her side and watching over her.

“How do you feel?”

He had stayed by her side without sleeping a wink, keeping watch over her condition. Inhaling deeply and exhaling a long breath, Renee opened her mouth.

“I’m fine.”

She truly meant it. The unpleasant pain twisting her lower abdomen last night had vanished completely.

“That’s a relief.”

Letting out a long sigh as though it were his final breath, Ricard covered his face with both hands. Rubbing his face roughly enough to make a dry sound, he lifted his haggard face.

“Get some sleep.”

Renee reached out a hand to stroke Ricard’s face. When her hand couldn’t quite reach and she strained slightly, Ricard lowered himself down beside the bed.

Then, for some reason, he knelt on the floor and buried his face near Renee’s waist. Taking Renee’s hand and pressing it against the nape of his neck, he remained quietly still as if inviting her to stroke him to her heart’s content.

“Haha—.”

Laughing pleasantly, Renee smoothed down Ricard’s fine hair. As she stroked the back of his handsome head, she occasionally caressed the nape of his neck exposed beneath the sunlight.

After accepting his wife’s affectionate and comforting touch for a long while, Ricard slowly lifted his head.

“Ricard…!”

Startled to that degree, his name popped right out of Renee’s mouth. Tears were pooling in Ricard’s eyes.

Renee, who had been lying with her head propped high on pillows, hastily hoisted her upper body up. As she lowered both legs over the edge of the bed and tried to stand up, Ricard—who was clinging to Renee’s legs—buried his face in her thighs this time.

“This is a child more precious than my own life. I raised it with love, so now I ask that you love it for the rest of your life, Your Grace.”

“……”

Though she hadn’t heard the rest of his explanation, she knew. It was the words Duke Dainis had handed to Ricard on the day they left Greenery Town.

Murmuring in a wet, low voice, Ricard slowly lifted his head.

“I don’t really know what a good father is like.”

“……”

“I’ll be a good husband.”

“……”

“I swear on my life. I’ll be a good husband to you.”

It was the absolute maximum confession a lonely man who had never received anything like a paternal love could possibly muster.

Thump—.

A transparent tear passed over his cheek and lips in turn, dropping down onto the tip of his chin. He wore a face as sincere as a penitent confessing his sins, yet as beautiful as a lover swearing a single, eternal love.

Renee wiped away Ricard’s tears with trembling hands.

“Ricard. You are already more than a good husband right now.”

“……”

“Since you’re a good husband, you will undoubtedly be able to be a good father.”

Affectionately yet firmly, Renee spoke.

Ricard—a boy who would routinely let his mind wander during prayer time—made a vow at this very moment to revere his wife as his one and only god. He himself had been a miserable child and a violent boy, and had thus grown into a terrible man, but if his wife, Reneezmia, said he was a good husband, then that must be true, and if she asserted with certainty that he could therefore become a good father, then that must be true as well.

Just like that time when he had encountered Renee in the corridor of the Great Chamber, the sunlight outside poured down like a torrential downpour.

Brighter than that glowing sun—nay, shining brighter than the sum of all existing things—was his wife. And right at this very moment, growing within her belly, was the child of himself and her.

Ricard drew in a deep breath. It felt as though he could do anything for the two of them. He was already prepared to do anything.

A world of infinite happiness, whose existence he hadn’t even known of somewhere out there, had opened up before his very eyes. He wanted to say he loved her, but his chest was so overwhelmed that even voicing the words proved difficult.

“I love you, too.”

As if by a miracle, Renee said. Her green eyes, which seemed to capture the very vitality of this midsummer day, sparkled.

Ricard realized it with the certainty of destiny. His wife, Reneezmia, was his world. Infinite happiness and sorrow, pain and joy, self-reproach and ecstasy—all those meaningful and meaningless things could only exist if she was with him.

Now, he could not live without her. Therefore, he had to love her with his life on the line.

He finally understood what that man had meant when he said the child was more precious than his own life.

<Story END>

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That is the end, everyone! Truthfully, this slow burn was so frusrating to me that I wanted to quit the story several times but I’m glad I pushed through because the two ended up being so heartwarming. I loved the yearning and devotion. I’m a bit sad we don’t get to see them as parents but I also love the way it ended. I hope you guys enjoyed the story! See you in the next one.