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But just as Davion was about to call Cecilia’s name, someone called out to her first.

“Darling.”

A man was standing at the top of the stairs, waving at her.

His face was hidden in the shadows, but Davion was certain that the man was wearing a warm and loving smile.

“……”

Davion slowly sat back down.

The bartender, who had been making drinks behind the counter, looked at him strangely.

“Sorry. I guess I got a little drunk.”

It wasn’t Cecilia.

It wasn’t you…

With a sigh, Davion took another banknote from his pocket and pushed it across the table.

Then he rested a hand against his tired forehead and spoke gloomily.

“I’ll pay for the glass.”

Cecilia thought there were unusually many people at the inn today.

Far away, a man with black hair was sitting at the bar.

He looked very much like Davion.

Of course, there was no way it could be him.

A young master who had grown up surrounded by love and luxury would never come to a shabby place like this.

As Cecilia walked past the man and started going up the stairs, Arkan appeared from above and waved at her warmly.

“Darling.”

He was using crutches under both arms.

While Cecilia had gone out to buy a few things, Arkan had gone to the hospital.

Perhaps he had received an injection, because he looked much healthier than before.

As they walked back to their room together, Cecilia muttered quietly.

“If someone saw us, they would really think you’re my husband.”

“Did you forget already? I am your husband.”

Arkan smiled brightly like the sun and moved his left hand slightly.

A cheap temporary ring was shining on his ring finger.

“You need to get used to it. If you react like that every time I call you, even the most innocent person will start to suspect something about us.”

“I know.”

Cecilia had already been suffering from unpleasant looks whenever she walked around with Arkan.

A handsome man who looked like an actor and a woman with a badly scarred face claiming to be husband and wife naturally made people suspicious.

As Cecilia received the key that Ruby had brought through the hallway window, she asked,

“What did the hospital say?”

“They told me not to use the muscles in my left leg for a while. Basically, they told me to use my crutches properly.”

“Oh, right. Here. Your change.”

While Cecilia unlocked the door, Arkan searched through his pocket and took out some coins.

As soon as Cecilia entered the room, she pointed toward the top of the fireplace with her chin.

There was an empty can there that they were using as a sort of savings box.

Even though they had been together for less than a day, they had already made a few rules between them.

While Arkan took care of the animals and cleaned the room, Cecilia wrote down their expenses and counted the money they had left.

Now that their little family had four members, they were spending more money than she had expected.

“Tomorrow, we should get identification papers and move to a slightly bigger place. We need to save money, but we can’t keep sleeping in the same bed.”

“That sounds like a good idea. But don’t push yourself too hard, Cissy.”

Cissy.

It was Cecilia’s nickname, the one her grandmother used to call her.

The name of the Countess of Winterhall was too well known, so she could not use her real name.

Arkan was not a bad partner.

The only information they knew about each other was their names, except even Cecilia’s name was fake.

But Arkan never asked questions.

Cecilia also did not try to learn more about him.

They silently agreed to respect each other’s secrets.

Besides, unlike Davion, Arkan liked animals.

He did not mind Nagi or Ruby at all.

Davion, on the other hand, had pointed his gun at Nagi as soon as he saw her.

By now, snow had started falling again.

Cecilia checked that the window was completely closed and looked outside.

A black-haired man was walking along the sidewalk below the inn.

It was the same man who had been sitting at the bar a little earlier.

Perhaps he was trying to catch a taxi.

The man stood at the side of the road with both hands inside his coat pockets.

Every time he breathed, white breath came out and covered his face.

After making sure the window was properly closed, Cecilia took a medicine box from her travel bag and gathered several pills into her palm.

Arkan counted the number of medicine bottles with his eyes and looked surprised.

“Maybe you were the one who should have gone to the hospital instead of me.”

“I’ve been taking these medicines for a long time.”

Cecilia gave an embarrassed smile and began explaining them one by one.

“This one is like a vitamin for my strength. Actually, I had a pretty serious operation not long ago.”

“This one helps with depression, and this one is for sleepwalking.”

“This medicine in particular is important. I have to take at least two pills every day.”

The round white sleepwalking pill was so large that it looked difficult to swallow in one bite.

Arkan was even more surprised after hearing her explanation.

“You have sleepwalking problems? But you sleep so quietly that you look almost dead.”

“I’ve had it for a while.”

“The doctor said that severe stress can suddenly cause sleepwalking. But I’m much better now.”

“Still, don’t be surprised if I sometimes cry or scream in my sleep.”

“Could it be because of your husband?”

Arkan’s expression became fierce.

In his imagination, Davion had already become a horrible man who abused his sick wife.

“I hope that man didn’t receive much of a dowry.”

“Was it a political marriage? Or perhaps… were you forced into the marriage?”

“No, it wasn’t like that.”

“We got married because we loved each other.”

Cecilia rubbed her pinkish nose and smiled shyly.

But when she looked outside the window again, her smile slowly faded.

“Still, people change as time passes…”

Cecilia had changed because of the time she spent with Davion.

She had never liked snow originally.

On a day when heavy snow was falling, her mother had abandoned her at the entrance of an alley.

“You useless girl.”

Her mother had said those words and walked away.

Cecilia could only watch her mother’s back disappear.

It had been an especially harsh winter.

At that time, Cecilia had been only about ten years old.

But perhaps it was proof that the world was not always cruel.

Not long afterward, while Cecilia was trembling from hunger and cold, an elderly woman came to her.

The woman took Cecilia’s small hand and led her to the huge mansion of a noble family.

That elderly woman was the nanny of the Duke of Thistledown.