At some point, the sound of the shoes that let her know he was coming, halted.

As the Grand Duke sat down across from her, Emily, who was conscious of her place, went out to fetch the tea.

“I stopped by because I had something to tell you…”

He spoke to her like trying to make an excuse. Anne continued her knitting without looking at him, not caring whether he was there or not. Each time the crossed needles moved slowly, fine yarn came out, and the curled ball spun around.

The Grand Duke’s affectionate gaze moved to Anne’s fingers, which moved like they were dancing.

“You’re making it for the child.”

He murmured, looking at one short sleeve that was barely the size of a doll. The Grand Duke, who had been watching her fingers, sighed again slowly. All he was doing these days was sighing heavily like an old man who had lived his whole life.

He couldn’t even realize that there was a child inside that stomach, which was so thin. It was because he had never met a child up close in his entire life. He probably won’t believe it until the child is born, but at least his love for Anne was sincere.

His hot eyes seemed to warm her hands, but she ignored it, making excuses for the busy knitting.

“I’m thinking of decorating the flowers of this festival with Abelsis… Because the wife said it was her favorite flower.”

“What… Did you say?”

Anne stopped her frantic movement and raised her head. She was stunned. It was the name of a flower that she just spat out with the intention of provoking him.

“Are you going to brag that the Grand Duchess is planning to poison the Grand Duke?”

“…”

Anne’s words made the Grand Duke momentarily dazed. He prepared it because it was her favorite flower, but he didn’t know why she was so angry. His intention was to lighten the mood a bit, but she took it in a completely different way.

He sighed again and asked with a face that didn’t know what to do.

“Then, what flowers do you like? I will tell them to change it to the flowers you like right away.”

“That’s none of my business. It’s better if you just eat the flowers yourself.”

Anne responded coldly to the considerate question.

She could feel that the Grand Duke was looking at her, thinking that she was angry again at the stiff tone. Anne hated him asking questions while looking at her reaction, as if he had become a different person. But Anne had long since decided not to care about it.

“If you don’t like flowers, anything else is fine. I will tell them to prepare something else.”

“Daymond, it doesn’t matter to me what the theme of the festival is.”

She hated it even more that he thought that just by holding a festival, she would feel better. The problem between them could not be resolved enough to pay attention to what kind of flower it was.

“Don’t think about ignoring the core of it all. Gifts and festivals have no influence on my resolution. All you have to do is agree to me leaving this place. Don’t have the arrogant idea of doing anything for me.”

“Still… I will keep trying even if you hate it.”

“You’re just entertaining yourself.”

When she completely took her eyes off him, showing that she didn’t want to look at him, he spoke again.

“What I said is valid. I will do everything else as you ask me to do, except for leaving this place.”

In an instant, Anne’s fingers stopped being immersed in the knitting. Suddenly she had an idea. Do as she said? How far could she go? She wondered if he would take back his words on another whim?

She made up her mind to leave, but that didn’t mean she was satisfied. Can’t she just give back the amount of treatment she has been treated before? In other words, with physical pain.

Anne’s stiff lips curved up slightly.

“You will do whatever I ask you to do. Can you take it as a statement that you will endure any pain I give you?”

The Grand Duke nodded his head to those words with a willing expression.

Anne looked down at the needle hook held in her hand. It was long, and it was so sharp that it could pierce through human flesh. A cool smile formed on Anne’s lips.

“Give me your hand, then.”

With questioning eyes, he held out both palms in front of her without hesitation.

It was annoying. These hands had cost her life and her child’s life was on her nerves the whole time. Didn’t she have the urge to drive a knife into these hands before? These hands had to be punished for the crime it had committed.

Anne was swallowed up by an uncontrollable impulse.

It was an instant. The needle hook in her hand plunged into the center of his thick palm. Even though she didn’t apply too much force, the sensation of the sharp needle piercing the flesh was conveyed to her fingertips. Her heart thumped at the strong sensation as if she had stabbed herself.