Lowly shepherdess. Illegitimate daughter. Disgraceful duchess. Although she had married her beloved Duke Izar, Freesia lived as though she was trapped at the bottom of a bleak, hapless abyss. Her family took complete advantage of her, and the people of the duchy hated her for being a stain on the household’s honor. And then there was her husband, Izar. Even after she had suffered a miscarriage, he remained cold. “To be born to parents like us—happiness would forever elude that child.” At Freesia’s funeral, he had shed not a single tear. But Freesia wished for one last thing. Please, cry for me. Shed even a single tear. Dearly, I hope that your feelings might change. Even if it means living for just one more year, that’s fine. Once that time has passed, then. Come and cry at my funeral. * For the first time, Freesia dared to glare at this man. The dreadful document in her hand fell to the ground. “How could you do something so cruel to me, to treat me worse than an animal!” She was mistaken. She thought, finally, this man held affection for her. That he trusted her. That, perhaps… it could even be love. But it was nothing like that. He deceived her. “You ruined my life.” There were only five months left before her demise.