Episode 26
After leaving Emilia’s house, the knights kept stealing glances at Edwin, quietly gauging his mood.
That first day, when the two had met again, things had looked bad. The tension between them felt like a wall that
would never melt. Edwin had finally found Emilia after searching so long, and yet he’d seemed swallowed by despair.
When he’d said he was going to see where she worked, they’d all been on edge, unsure what might happen.
And sure enough something had happened. Edwin had tried to help her with her work, only to end up being pulled
to her house. After that, none of them had been able to guess how things had gone inside.
But then Edwin had come out with his hand wrapped in bandages.
“You’re hurt, sir?”
One of the knights, who had been dying to ask since Edwin stepped out of her home, finally spoke up. Edwin had
looked like he didn’t want to be bothered, so the man had held back until now.
“There was poison in the grass,” Edwin replied.
“Is that true?”
“It was a person who’s lived here for over a year who told me, so I’ll take it as fact.”
The knight’s eyes widened. That ordinary-looking grass had poison in it? If news had spread that the Duke of House
Casper had been poisoned here, it would’ve caused an uproar.
Thankfully, Emilia had stepped in and treated him, so it wouldn’t come to that.
“If she truly hated me,” Edwin muttered, “she would’ve let me suffer.”
She could have left him to writhe in pain, maybe even felt satisfaction seeing him weakened—especially if she’d
wanted him to taste some of what she’d endured.
The village folk avoided House Casper like the plague; they would scatter at the mere sight of him. When Edwin had
approached Emilia earlier, people had actually backed away on their own.
If she hadn’t spoken up, the poison from the plants would have entered his cuts, and he’d have been in agony for
days.
The knights, who had spent the past year at Edwin’s side, could tell—he was in a good mood. And now they
understood why.
If she truly despised him, she would’ve run the moment she saw him.
Hearing she had personally tended to him, they felt relieved too.
After all, they hadn’t tracked her down just to return empty-handed. Every one of them hoped they could repair the
relationship and bring her back to the ducal estate.
But they also knew what she’d gone through. They weren’t just sword-swinging muscle—they paid attention. Emilia
was their mistress, and they’d seen how she had suffered.
Still, they’d been caught between duties. They were guards, not meddlers in household affairs. And defying Beati, the
aide Edwin himself had assigned to her, had been… difficult.
In the end, they’d failed to act and simply left her alone—something they now regretted, much like Edwin did.
“Did things go well with the lady, sir?”
“I’d say so,” Edwin replied.
As he said it, his fingers brushed his lips. That impulsive kiss had happened when she bit hers—a habit of hers—and
he’d acted before thinking.
It was the sort of thing the old Edwin would never have done, especially to someone with such bitter feelings toward
him. He might have even regretted it afterward.
But this time was different. Remembering her reaction… it almost made him smile. She’d been startled, but it gave him hope—maybe things could be mended.
Of course, he had no intention of telling the knights about that part.
“Your Grace, maybe you should repay her kindness?” one knight suggested.
“Repay?” Edwin turned to look at him, intrigued. The man, whose romantic experience came entirely from books,
looked oddly pleased with himself as he explained:
“Well, you two never really had those small, thoughtful exchanges, right? If you start showing appreciation—even for
little things it might win her over faster.”
Edwin understood what he meant. Rare as those moments had been, he’d always been grateful when she’d been
there for him. So he nodded.
“But right now… I don’t have much I can give her.”
The knight assumed he meant there was nothing available in this rural place.
What Edwin was actually thinking of were grand gestures—like gifting her Arnold Castle, or one of the three Andrew
Jewels that existed in the world.
And of course, the wedding ring… someday.
That, however, would only happen once her heart was completely open to him.
For now, he couldn’t think of anything suitable. The knight, sensing his hesitation, made another suggestion.
“Starting small might be better anyway. What about flowers? Something she likes.”
“That won’t be enough…” Edwin began.
“People like getting gifts, sir. And I don’t think she’s the type to care about the price tag.”
True. If she were the sort who demanded luxury, she’d never have stayed in this so-called wasteland. A simple
gesture might be the right call.
Edwin thought back to a year ago, when he’d bought her a bouquet of anemones for their first little celebration together.
“Can you get me some anemones?”
“I’ll find them right away.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me it’s my job.”
The knight smiled awkwardly and left. Edwin couldn’t help comparing him to Beati, who had been stubborn and self-
serving despite her loyalty to him.
He still regretted ever entrusting Emilia to her.
Soon, Edwin was walking toward Emilia’s house with a bouquet in his arms. The knights had wanted to accompany
him, but he refused—he didn’t want her to feel pressured.
As he approached, he glanced down at the flowers in his hands.
I hope this makes you smile.
In the ducal gardens, she’d always smiled when these flowers were in bloom. Edwin, who could barely remember her
smiling at him, wanted this to be one of those rare moments.
But before he could even reach the door, his mood was crushed.
“Hah.”
There, right in front of Emilia’s house, was someone he’d never forget—loitering with something like a weapon in hand, pounding on the door.
The sight made Edwin drop the bouquet.
He very nearly lost all control right there, but the thought of startling Emilia kept him in check.
“Hey.”
“It’s been a while. I was wondering why there seemed to be one corpse missing…”
So it had been you.
The body they’d thought was Henry’s hadn’t been intact, and though the clothing, hair, eyes, and build all matched,
Edwin had still felt uneasy about it.
Henry Herman infamous even among the marquisate’s own for being rotten to the core.
Edwin still remembered the things Henry had said right before Edwin’s marriage to Emilia… the things that had led to a year-long misunderstanding between them.
Without another word, Edwin wrenched the weapon from Henry’s grip and hurled it away, shoving him back.
Henry, caught off guard, scowled up at him.
“A knife, huh… So you do know where you are.”
Even if Henry had denied it, Edwin wouldn’t have believed him. Just showing up here to find Emilia was enough to condemn him.
Edwin might not see himself as someone with the right to judge others, but when it came to Henry… this was
different.
He didn’t want to make a scene in front of her house. He didn’t want her to have to face a man who had treated her
like a tool.
From the sound of footsteps inside, she was already approaching the door.
“Want to live?” Edwin asked, his voice low, tightening his grip around Henry’s throat.
Henry made a strangled noise, struggling, until Edwin’s fingers cut off his air. When his eyes went wide with panic,
Edwin saw him nod—desperate.
“Then turn around, right now, and disappear. Don’t look back.”
Edwin all but threw him away from the house.
Henry staggered up, breathing hard. He wanted revenge, but he knew pushing it now would only end badly.
So he did as told—he ran without looking back.
As Henry disappeared down the road, Edwin bent to pick up the bouquet, brushing the dirt from the petals—just as the door opened.
And there was Emilia, holding a kitchen knife, eyes wide in shock.
