The sound of galloping hooves had barely faded into the courtyard when Roman abandoned his ball in the center of the garden.

"Mama!" he shouted. He sprinted toward the entrance, his pace quickening the moment Eilika’s silhouette appeared.

Eilika was already dropping to her knees when Roman collided with her. He threw his tiny arms around her neck, hugging her with a strength that nearly toppled them both.

"I missed you," he whispered, burying his face into the soft fabric of her shoulder. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Eilika pulled him closer, her eyes closing as she breathed in the familiar, sweet scent of her son. The exhaustion of her journey seemed to evaporate the moment she felt his small heart beating against hers. "I missed you more than the stars miss the moon, my little knight," she murmured, pulling back just enough to cup his face in her hands.

Eilika gently wiped the dust from Roman’s cheeks, her thumb tracing the line of his jaw as Damian finally appeared from the shadows of the arched entryway.

"Good afternoon, Father," Roman said, stepping back to offer a formal bow to the Duke. His small stature made the gesture look both regal and endearing.

Damian didn’t maintain his usual stoic distance; instead, he dropped to his knees on the gravel, bringing himself down to his son’s level. Roman immediately moved into his father’s space, his expression shifting into a concerned pout.

"Did you take care of Mama well? The rain was scary yesterday," Roman asked, his voice dropping to a whisper.

Damian’s gaze flickered up to Eilika, a softened glint in his dark eyes. "Ask your mother if I took good care of her or not," he said.

Eilika met his gaze, a warm smile spreading across her lips as she leaned toward her son. "Your father protected me from the storm, Roman. He even arranged a shelter for us to spend the night safely while the rain passed."

"Young Master was quite worried for both of you," Louis added, stepping forward to greet the Duke and Duchess with a respectful nod. "He spent most of the evening watching the horizon from the window."

"Mama, Father, the sun is high. We shall go inside. You both must be tired and hungry," Roman stated with a gravity that made the adults smile.

"Yes, we are," Eilika agreed, rising to her feet. She took his tiny hand in hers, and together they began walking toward the shaded stone arches of the cottage.

Damian remained a few steps behind, falling into stride with Louis. "Did Roman cry?" he asked in a low voice, his protective nature surfacing now that the boy was out of earshot.

"No," Louis replied smoothly. He glanced sideways at the Duke, his eyes glinting with a mischievous curiosity. "Tell me about yourself. How was your night with the Duchess?"

Damian’s expression remained stoic, but there was a sharp edge to his gaze. "You made me take her to that hill intentionally," he countered. "You know the weather there acts strangely."

"Don’t tell me you’re upset about it," Louis said, his grin widening into something triumphant. "It was important to bring you and the Duchess closer. A little rain and a shared shelter have a way of clearing the air better than a dozen formal dinners."

Damian didn’t offer a rebuttal. Instead, he watched Eilika’s retreating figure, the way she leaned down to listen to Roman’s animated retelling of his morning.

Damian’s gaze remained fixed on the ground, his jaw tightened in a hard line. "Eilika should not have married me. I ruined her happiness," he said, his voice dropping into a heavy, weary sigh. Both men came to a halt in the shadow of the stone corridor.

"Her happiness hasn’t even started," Louis countered. "She wasn’t receiving any suitors because of the scar on her cheek. The world is shallow, Damian, but you are not. You two are destined to be together."

Louis stepped closer, searching his friend’s face. "Don’t you yearn for love and a family? You can lie to me, but you cannot lie to yourself. I know it feels like a betrayal to the memory of your first wife, the woman who gave you Roman, but you are no ordinary man. You are a Duke, and a Duke could never have remained a widower forever. The title and your son all required this."

Damian closed his eyes for a moment, the silence of the hallway amplifying Louis’s words. The guilt of moving on often felt heavier than his title, yet the warmth of Eilika’s hand in the storm still lingered on his skin.

"She deserves a man who doesn’t see a scar or a political obligation," Damian murmured, finally looking up. "She deserves someone who isn’t haunted by his past," he murmured. "What if I allow myself to fall in love with her, Louis, and she leaves me? I cannot go through that same pain again. I won’t survive it a second time."

Louis watched him, his expression softening from his usual mischievous glint to one of deep, long-standing friendship. "Damian, you told me once that you wanted to forget Liliana. Your nightmares have haunted you so much that you felt like dying many times," he reminded him firmly. "I know you were deeply connected to her, but she would not have wanted you to suffer like this. She loved you; she wouldn’t want her memory to be your prison."

Damian looked puzzled, his brow furrowing as he processed Louis’s words. The idea that his loyalty to the past was actually an act of self-destruction seemed to strike a chord he wasn’t ready to acknowledge. He had spent years equating grief with honor, and the suggestion that he was allowed to be happy felt almost foreign.

"You think she would have wanted this?" Damian asked, his voice barely a whisper. "To see another woman in her place, raising her son?"

"I think she would want Roman to have a mother who loves him, and a father who is actually alive inside," Louis asserted.

"But she told me how dare I even get married again?" Damian murmured.

"You speak with your imagination at night. Maurice told me about that night. The doctor advised you not to think about Liliana, but you keep doing so. The dead never return, Damian. That is a bitter truth of one’s life."