The Grand Duke withdrew his hand in embarrassment and fell into place next to her as if it hadn’t happened. He intentionally shortened his usual stride length by half in order to match her speed.
Previously, Anne had had a hard time keeping up with his long legs, but he was walking slowly now, matching her strides instead. Once again, she didn’t know why such a small change felt so big.
The two were silent the entire time they walked along the riverside. The knights following them kept a reasonable distance between them so as not to disturb them.
Anne either stared at the ground or the quietly flowing river, while the Grand Duke only stared at her face. He turned slightly each time the small protrusion in her stomach appeared in his line of sight. It was a consideration which allowed Anne to notice that he was not putting his hands on her body.
Her heart was touched when she saw him. He had become increasingly silent recently. Perhaps because she had shouted at him not to touch her body, he did not carelessly reach out and only stood next to her, maintaining a moderate pace.
Anne’s lazy gaze followed the waves of the river flowing like running water. The snow on the snowy mountain had melted, and soft moonlight broke down on the clear water. Anne stared endlessly at the shadows of her and the Grand Duke swaying in the calm water.
“I hope you come to the festival next year.”
He suddenly started speaking. Next year. He still seemed to be looking forward to an unpredictable future.
He glanced at Anne and wetted his lips several times.
“I was inexperienced this time, but I plan to prepare better next year. Every year there will be a flower festival in the north… Even if you have to leave, I want you to come after the child is born.”
When Anne didn’t answer, he took a step back and added that he hoped she would stop by even after she left. However, his lowered voice was trembling slightly.
“Are you going to live alone like this after I leave?”
Anne suddenly remembered the portrait in the library and asked a cruel question. This was a man who had lived with that portrait for over four hundred years. Did he plan to continue to live like that in the future too?
The Grand Duke’s expression stiffened awkwardly at her question. He had been living alone all this time, so it was nothing he couldn’t bear. For him, the passage of time was fleeting and meaningless. Because he was an unnatural existence that shouldn’t exist, his heart may have stopped from the beginning.
However, now that he had lost Anne, the longing and resentment he felt toward her would follow him for the rest of his life.
“I want you to be happy this time. Just seeing you holding our child, even from afar . . . it’s enough.”
He put on a half-hearted smile. The smile, which anyone could tell was forced, was cast sadly under the red sunset. It was unbecoming for a grown man, whose physique was several times her size, to make such an expression.
After that, they walked for about half an hour and returned to the Grand Duke’s castle.
When the carriage stopped, the Grand Duke got up first and opened the carriage door. He was about to extend his hand, but quickly took a step back and instructed the maids to support her carefully.
* * *
The night after the festival, Anne sat alone in the unlit room, deeper in thought than ever before.
The words of the theater actor she saw at the play burned in her ears all night long. Because she, too, lived with a lot of resentment and hatred.
“Baby… What do you want me to do?”
Anne asked the sleeping baby, as she was caressing her round stomach. It returned her call, kicking her stomach as if it understood its mother’s distress.
“I guess so…”
Anne smiled bitterly and stroked her stomach, which had now become quite firm. When she had finally made her decision, the sun was already rising.
Anne looked out the window as she walked down the hallway across the quiet castle. A red light appeared in the darkness, as the sun was about to rise.
Anne knocked on the Grand Duke’s room, dressed in a negligee. He must have heard that faint sound right away, for something rustled inside. Then the door was opened by a man with messy hair.
“Angroranne, what’s going on?”
Those red eyes, widened in surprise, alternately moved between Anne’s face and her stomach. Since she had come so early in the morning, his eyes were filled with worry that something had happened.
“We have to go to the greenhouse now.”
“… Wait a minute.”
When she came to him out of nowhere and told him that they had somewhere to go, he went into the room without any hesitation and came out straight away with a shawl made of thick silver fox fur.
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