Looking at the research tools scattered about, he remembered his studious wife, someone who had never cared for the extravagant, frivolous parties of noble society. He felt a pang of grief, realising that she had severed all ties with the Yale family to live independently, making perfume for a living, a life that must have been terribly hard.
Suddenly his eyes fell upon a child's toy, and his pupils contracted in shock.
The door swung open, and Cecil stood stunned at the sight of Gina clutching her little daughter tightly, both of them cowering in fear. Gina cried out in despair, unable to understand how he had found this place, while Odell stared in confusion, calling for her mother. Cecil coldly announced that the village was surrounded, extinguishing every last hope of escape for mother and daughter.
He tried to reassure her that he only wanted to talk, but Gina bristled like a cornered animal, accusing him of coming here to snoop around and harm Odell. When Cecil asked about the child, Gina cut him off sharply, shouting that the girl was hers alone and had nothing to do with him. Cecil stood there in silence, his eyes betraying visible hurt at his wife's fierce resistance.
Odell's eyes went wide with innocent confusion, wondering why Theodore's father had suddenly appeared here. Gina forced herself to stay calm, telling her daughter to go back to her room so that the adults could talk. Odell obediently complied.
The room fell into silence, and Cecil finally spoke, asking whether she had been well over the past years. Gina coldly replied that she was fine and would be leaving the next day, then turned to walk away as if he had nothing else to say.
Cecil hurriedly grabbed her, confessing that he had spent all this time searching for her, hoping their whole family could finally be reunited. He earnestly told her that Theodore was waiting for her, and that he himself had always longed to see her again.
But Gina bitterly reminded him of her status as an enemy and her past as a spy, certain that sooner or later he would come to doubt her all over again, just as before. Cecil begged her to return to the palace, confessing his past mistakes. But Gina brushed him off, insisting that she had no need for his pity. She declared that she was living just fine, free and answerable to no one, and coldly proclaimed that whatever feeling she had once had for him had long since died.
Her words cut through Cecil like a knife to the heart, leaving him utterly frozen, his face etched with unbearable pain. In desperation, he ran after her and wrapped her in his arms from behind, swearing to protect her and to accept even her child from another man, no matter who the father was. Stunned by such reckless, all-consuming devotion, Gina cried out for him to come to his senses.
Deep down, Gina was terrified that if Odell's true identity were ever exposed, her ruthless father would surely turn the child into a pawn to blackmail Cecil. She told herself that she could not let her family be dragged into the royal power struggle ever again. She could not bear to endure the pain of losing a child a second time.
Gina firmly rejected his plea, declaring resolutely that she would never return to that place of suffering. She coldly reminded Cecil that it was he who had chosen to end their marriage back then, and insisted that their relationship was completely over. Cecil refused to accept this harsh truth, still clinging desperately, stammering his denial, insisting that their shared child remained an unbreakable bond between them.
Just then Ina rushed over, cutting them off, utterly astonished to find the noble prince here of all places. Her friend immediately stepped in to shield Gina, driving Cecil off, though he still stubbornly insisted on bringing Gina home with him. In the face of Cecil's stubborn resolve, Ina did not hesitate to threaten to alert the whole village that the crown prince of the realm was trying to use force to abduct a defenceless commoner woman.
She furiously scolded Cecil for once cruelly accusing Gina of being a spy and casting her out without mercy, only to shamelessly return now with hollow words of love, utterly oblivious to how hard Gina's life had been these past years. Ina looked the powerful prince straight in the eye and declared sternly that he had lost every right to interfere with or trample over Gina's life ever again.
Undeterred by the resistance, Cecil still gripped Gina's hand tightly, pleading with her to come to the estate with him tonight and promising that they would set out together the next morning. But Gina remained resolutely opposed.
With no other option left, Cecil humbled himself, begging her for just three months, bitterly comparing himself to a condemned prisoner who, even before death, was granted one last chance to plead his case. He looked at her with anguished, pleading eyes, confessing that he could not bear the thought of her disappearing from his life, never to be seen again. Cecil made one final vow, swearing on his honour that after those three short months, if her feelings still had not changed, he would respect her decision and never force her to stay.
Hidden nearby, Odell overheard the entire conversation, stunned as she pieced together the truth — that Theodore's father had not merely known her mother, but had actually been deeply in love with her for all these years. The girl silently cheered inside. This meant she would get to see her brother Theodore again in three months. Odell clenched her fists with determination, resolving to use this chance to help clear up every misunderstanding from the past.