The last day of the proposal came.

Philen had told Leila that if she didn’t come by today, he would report her to the guards, but he had no intention of doing so. Because Leila would come anyway. Philen had no doubts in the slightest.

So Philen gave the butler an order.

“I will return to the estate as soon as Leila arrives, so prepare for it.”

“I understand.”

“And report to me as soon as Leila arrives.”

As the butler left to carry out his orders, Philen sat on the sofa and checked the document.

It was a wizard contract document.  He wanted to hire a wizard that had been delayed because Cecily had to give birth, even though it was a stillbirth.

“It’s more expensive than I thought.” 

He heard that the price of a wizard was getting higher as winter approached, but he didn’t expect it to go up like this.

Should I wait a bit and hire a wizard in the spring? It’s winter soon anyway, and there’s no farming in winter.

It was when he was thinking that it would be okay.

“Duke.”

The butler who had left came back. Philen rose from his seat with delight, putting the document down.

“Is Leila here?”  

“No, but we got a call from the Duke’s mansion in the estate.”

It’s the estate, not Leila.

Philen, dispirited, sat down again.

“Bring it.”

With Philen’s permission, the butler brought the magic communication tool.

When the butler touched the communication tool on the table, a blue light flashed and someone’s face appeared.

[Phil!]

It was Cecily.

After beckoning the butler to leave, Philen asked Cecily.

“Have you eaten lunch?”

[Yes, I have. Has Phil eaten lunch?]

“Not yet.”

[It’s already 2pm and you haven’t eaten yet?]

Is it already this time?

And Leila hasn’t come yet.

There were still 10 more hours left before the day passed, but he was worried about what would happen if Leila did not come.

It can’t be.

Leila was the type of person who hated seeing others harmed because of her. If she didn’t come, it would surely harm not only her but also the emperor, so she would definitely come. 

Therefore, even though he thought there was no need for him to be anxious, he couldn’t get rid of the anxiety that kept rising in his head.

Philen stroked his chin with deep wrinkles between his brows. 

[Your complexion looks bad, Phil. What happened?]

“…no, nothing.”

Philen breathed heavily and fixed his expression.

He didn’t want to show others, including Cecily, that he was thinking this way.

“So, what’s the matter?”

[Is something must happen to be able to contact you?]

“No way.”

Although the child was a stillbirth, Cecily was the woman who had his first child.

In addition, Philen continued to feel guilty for not being able to protect her first child. So, for the time being, he had to be nice to Cecily. At least, until this feeling of guilt that weighed on his heart eased. 

[So I…]

With that determination, Philen accepted Cecily’s whining, but gradually, the limit of his patience was exposed. It was because as time passed, his mind became more anxious.

Why hasn’t Leila come yet? Did she really decide to fight me?

Only thoughts of Leila filled his head. Not a single word from Cecily came to his mind.

[…what do you think I said?]

“…”

[Phil? Philen? Duke.]

Missing the timing, he was caught not listening to Cecily. 

“Sorry. What did you say?”

[Are you sure nothing happened?]

Just when Philen was about to say nothing, the butler came back and reported.

“Duke, Young Lady Leila is here.”

Finally!

Philen’s face brightened up. He jumped up from his seat. 

“Something urgent came up. I’ll call you later.”

[Wait, Phil…] 

Philen ignored Cecily and cut off the communication.

*****

The light that flashed through the blue magic sphere disappeared. The handsome face of Philen she had just seen before was no longer visible.

“Phil, Phil!”

Cecily panicked and anxiously called for Philen, but there was no answer from the communication tool that had already lost its connection. 

“Ha.”

Cecily gasped and clenched her fists.

Philen seemed to think Cecily didn’t hear it, but she did. The butler’s report that Leila was here!

At that moment, Philen’s face brightened as if he was hearing the news of the lover he had been waiting for. 

And yet, he was expressionless while I was talking to him!

Does he still have lingering feelings for that woman?

How can that be? Even though she had killed the child he had been waiting so much!

“The plan went awry.”

If everything went according to plan, after the loss of his child, Philen would be furious and take care of Leila.

When he came back, she would give him a warm hug and take the position of Duchess Williot.

However, things went awry when Leila left for a diplomatic mission. 

She still never doubted that Philen would take care of Leila, but she didn’t expect things would turn this way.

“It can’t be like this.”

Cecily walked around the room nervously, biting her nails.

At this rate, instead of becoming Duchess Williot, she would be kicked out of the duchy.

She had come this far, how could she only get kicked out?

I can’t let that happen. I definitely have to secure it. 

To do that…

“I have to kill her.”

I should never let her get in my way again.

Cecily’s blue eyes flashed dangerously.

*****

At first, I was planning to take Sarah to the Williot estate. However, taking Sarah, who had just returned to the capital, back to the Williot estate was a heavy burden on her body.

Above all, I didn’t want to take Sarah to a place where I didn’t know what was going to happen myself. So I decided to leave Sarah in the capital because if I were to be arrested by the guards, Sarah could be at a disadvantage.

Sarah said she would follow me, but I still decided to leave her in the capital until my name was cleared. 

I also returned the carriage that Kalian lent me, rented a public carriage, and headed to the Duke of Williot.

Since it was a public carriage, the ride was not very good. Every time the wheels rattled on something, my butt hurt a little.

All the way to the duke’s residence, I put together the information I knew in my head.

What Cecily drank was the abortion drug Countess Thebesa gave me.

Why did Cecily drink the drug that I had clearly said to throw away before leaving the mansion?

Also, I had to find out why the person who gave her the drug became Misa. Because Misa was never the culprit!

The carriage, which had been moving diligently for a while, stopped.

It had arrived at the Duke of Williot.

Out of the window, I could see the majestic mansion of the Duke of Williot.

I never thought I would come back here with my own feet.

The knight guarding the main gate approached and opened the carriage door.

I couldn’t remember his name, but it was a knight I met a few times.

“My Lady!”

The knight recognized me and greeted me politely with a very moved face. The other knight also greeted me and hurriedly entered the mansion.

He’s going to report to Philen, right? 

My mouth was dry at the fact that I was going to see Philen soon. I clasped the spirit stone necklace and looked at the Duke of Williot.

In the meantime, the driver who took my luggage out of the luggage compartment asked.

“What should I do with your luggage, Young Lady?”

“Bring it here.”

The knight answered for me and took my luggage. Then I stopped him from paying for the carriage.

“I will pay for it.”

“No, My Lady. Of course, we…”

“Of course not. Because it’s my matter.”

I cut him off and said flatly.

“And don’t call me My Lady anymore.”

I pointed out his mistake. 

“As you may have heard, His Majesty has officially given me the baron title. So, from now on, call me Baron Aster.”

“I apologize, Baron. The word ‘My Lady’ stuck in my mouth… I will be more careful in the future.”

“It’s enough if you know now.”

I didn’t intend to scold him too much in the first place, so I gladly accepted his apology and paid the carriage fee. 

“Leila.”

Philen appeared. I looked back at him nervously.

Philen came to me with a bright smile on his face. As the distance got closer, the tension grew.

“You’re late.”

“I am a little late because I have been sorting this and that out.”

“You’re sure you’ve sorted everything out, right?”

“Yes.”

It seemed that the sorting he thought and the sorting I thought was different, but I didn’t let it out of my mouth.

“Great.”

As if satisfied with my answer, Philen smiled contentedly and nodded.

“Is that your luggage?”

Philen asked, pointing to the luggage the knight was holding.

I nodded and Philen tilted his head.

“She doesn’t have as much luggage as I thought. Is it because she doesn’t have much from the beginning?”

He muttered to himself, but it stuck in my ear clearly.

Philen instructed the knight.

“Put it on the carriage.”

“Yes, Duke.”

Carriage?

“Wait.”

I called the knight, who was about to leave and asked Philen.

“Do you mean to the carriage that the Duke and I will ride together on the way to the Williot estate?”

“Yeah, why?”

Philen asked what the problem was.

Ha. Together? 

It took four days from here to the Williot estate, and in the meantime, I had to ride a carriage with Philen?

“I will ride a separate carriage.”

Philen’s eyebrow rose in dissatisfaction.

“You mean you don’t want to ride the carriage with me?”

“Yes.”

It’s a fact we all knew anyway, so there was no need to hide it.

When I answered honestly, he gave me a smirk.

“You…”

Philen looked around, trying not to say anything.

Countless people were looking at me and Philen. Not only the people of the Duke of Williot but there were passersby as well.

If he said something wrong in such a situation, our story would be published in the evening newspaper right away.

“…do whatever you please!”

As if Philen noticed that too, he shouted briefly, then entered the mansion.

The knights didn’t know what to do with Philen’s behavior, but I looked back at the driver without paying any attention to it.

“Is it possible to take me to the Williot estate?”

“It is possible, but it would be uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay.”

Traveling long distances in a public carriage was definitely uncomfortable, but it’s better than riding a carriage with Philen.

“Then I’ll ask you to take me to the Williot estate.”

I took my luggage from the knight and put it back on the carriage.