“You there, bring me some cold water. With ice.”

“Oh, yes! Please wait just a moment!”

The maid set down the basket she was carrying, excused herself, and entered the mansion.

Cardel slumped down in the shaded outdoor corridor.

Dignity and everything else be damned—his mind had gone completely blank.

“…I’m such an idiot, really.”

Cardel sat there, roughly running his hand through his hair.

He stayed that way until the maid returned with the cold water and looked at him questioningly.

Left behind after he bolted from his seat, Evolaine blinked her eyes.

“Was it that hot…?”

A chilly breeze blew near the bench.

Feeling somehow cold, Evolaine shivered.

* * *

After that day, Cardel avoided Evolaine.

At first, it wasn’t particularly noticeable, so not only Evolaine but those around them failed to detect the change.

Evolaine still had much to learn as a knight squire of the Lacrel Knights, and Cardel had officially begun his activities as a member of high society and the Radelica family, which meant he had work to handle.

Thanks to this, the two naturally had fewer opportunities to run into each other, and the only time they were completely together was during external activities that required an escort.

Evolaine had no thoughts about this, but the one with the problem was Cardel.

Even while working, his gaze kept drifting toward the window overlooking the training grounds.

‘But the catch is that Evolaine doesn’t even notice.’

Whether he deliberately avoided her or acted obviously, Evolaine had no clue.

What made it more irritating was that she wasn’t pretending not to know—she genuinely didn’t know.

Cardel stared holes into the innocent documents.

Even when he blinked, even when he reopened the documents from the beginning, the words wouldn’t register.

He felt like he was going insane. No matter what happened, he’d never failed to concentrate on his assigned work.

But why was he like this now?

Cardel gripped the documents so hard they crumpled, then quickly regained his composure and smoothed out the wrinkled parts, repeating this cycle.

“Hah…”

Thinking this wouldn’t do, he leaned back in his chair. As he relaxed into a comfortable position, his gaze naturally turned to Heron.

At the desk positioned diagonally, Heron was processing documents like a machine.

Normally, he should have been in the Duke’s office, but while recovering his health, he’d been assigned the role of teaching Cardel how to handle work first.

Evolaine also needed to learn document work as Cardel’s assistant, but because her literacy lessons overlapped with her knight squire training, Heron was temporarily filling that position as well.

“Sir Heron.”

After being absorbed in his work for a while, Heron looked up a beat late when his name was called.

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Have you ever had an unrequited love?”

Pfft—!

Having stopped working just in time to take a drink of water, Heron spat it out.

“…”

Should he be grateful that he sprayed the floor instead of him?

Cardel looked at the wet floor with distaste.

“Un…requited love…?”

Water dripping down his chin and onto his documents, Heron stared blankly at Cardel, seemingly oblivious to the papers getting wet.

“I said something pointless. Just get back to work.”

But his ears had already heard it, and in Heron’s mind, instinct trampled reason and claimed victory.

“No, Young Master. You asked out of curiosity, so I should answer.”

“…Sir, your eyes are unfocused.”

“It’s your imagination, Young Master.”

The mountain of work that had piled up was finally showing some bottom.

With a deep smile, Heron set down his pen without hesitation.

“But I never expected you to ask such a question, Young Master. You seemed to have no interest in love, or even the letter ‘L’ in love.”

“…”

There was nothing wrong with Heron’s words.

Cardel truly had no interest in people.

He rarely even spoke to Ashili, who was two years older, or his younger sister Lucia, who was six years younger.

Their interactions mostly consisted of Ashili and Lucia dragging him around as they pleased, so that said it all.

“Do you happen to have someone you like?”

“…No.”

“Or are you just curious?”

“Yes.”

Heron coughed after grinning wickedly at Cardel, seemingly spreading his wings of imagination on his own.

“Ahem! I was sixteen, I believe. That’s when I first had an unrequited love.”

“Sixteen?”

“Yes, it was a woman I met because of an engagement arranged between families. Although we met without feelings, I fell for her at first sight.”

“…How romantic.”

Heron’s jaw dropped at the unexpected reaction.

He never thought Cardel would use the word “romantic.”

“What?”

“No, nothing.”

Though flustered, Heron calmly continued his story.

“Before meeting her, my heart always pounded. It was the first time I’d felt such emotions in my life, which made it even more memorable.”

“…”

“Her smile was truly beautiful. Just being by her side made me happy…, and for the first time, I was grateful that the engagement had been arranged.”

Heron, recalling that time, looked happy.

If it remained a good memory, did it have a good ending?

“…I know you’re unmarried.”

“She had a chronic illness. A rare disease, they said.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s in the past.”

Heron smiled bitterly.

“I was very sad at one time, but I’m okay now. She was delicate but strong, and she gave me many good words.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Yes, it is fortunate.”

Cardel quietly fell into thought.

Heron must have truly loved his fiancée.

His face was beaming.

Though he himself didn’t seem to realize it.

And that face closely resembled the one he himself had made a few days ago.

“…”

His mouth tasted bitter.

Cardel finally decided to admit it.

That a damned unrequited love had begun.

“She was my first love. An unrequited love, and my first love…”

Heron’s melancholy voice continued.

“Young Master, do you know? They say first loves can never come true.”

“…What?”

“They say it’s superstition, but… seeing how my fiancée left like that, it seems credible. In the end, it didn’t come true.”

Heron sniffled and picked up his pen again, starting to read through the documents.

Seeing him frantically pulling tissues from time to time, he seemed to be crying.

“Sniff, sob. Sniffle…”

“…”

Meanwhile, frozen like a statue, Cardel roughly tousled his hair.

“D*mn…”

He felt like he’d received a death sentence the moment his unrequited love began.

* * *

When the sun was reigning high in the sky.

The Marchioness, who had been quiet since the banquet, invited Verit to tea time.

“The Madam said she would like to have tea time together.”

At the butler’s message, Verit forgot her hurt feelings and began preparing with an excited heart.

‘I should apologize for getting angry at the banquet.’

Encountering the illegitimate child was certainly not something she had intended at all.

The Marchioness had also frozen on the spot the moment she saw Evolaine, and even after Verit hit her and poured out resentment, hadn’t she held her in her arms and comforted her?

Verit knew well that her mother loved and cherished her family dearly, so after her emotions had settled, she thought about that situation even more.

“Miss, how shall I dress you up?”

“Hmm…”

Verit examined the jewelry displayed on the vanity with familiarity.

“I want to dress a bit differently today. I’m seeing Mother after a long time.”

“It was only a few days, but it felt like such a long time. But you must be happy to see her.”

“Right… I want to reconcile with Mother at tea time today. I want to apologize for what happened that day too.”

“…”

The maid maintained her smile and didn’t open her mouth further.

Like the subject wasn’t for her to add more words to.

‘She’s quick-witted.’

Normally, people would unconsciously add another word or two.

But this maid stepped back from the conversation at exactly the right moment.

“Are you new here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

“Yes, Miss. I saw the job posting last month and was hired.”

“…Really?”

Verit looked at the maid reflected in the mirror.

Sky-blue bob cut with brown eyes.

Her sharp eyes brought to mind a black cat slipping into the night.

“Everyone except you, leave.”

At Verit’s command, the two maids waiting nearby left the room with tearful faces.

From now on, the two would never attend to Verit again.

“I didn’t like those two anyway. So I was going to replace them…”

“…”

“And just the right person appeared?”

Even though a situation had unfolded where she too could be fired, the maid’s expression didn’t change at all.

A calm attitude. Verit liked her boldness.

“I’m going to put a jeweled pin in my hair today. Try picking out what would suit me.”

It was a kind of test. She’d confirmed there would be no discomfort in her service, so what remained was her eye for style.

For a noble lady, the external appearance was extremely important.

From dresses to accessories, and even small details.

The maids who had just left had served well too.

But they lacked discernment.

“I think this jewel would suit you, Miss.”

The pin the maid chose was a brooch crafted with green peridot.

“You think this brooch suits me?”

“Yes, your hair is reddish-brown and your eyes are violet. Since the reds are intense, I think a green brooch would be good to neutralize them.”

“Even so, it doesn’t match my current dress, does it?”

“When I was bringing out the dresses with the other maids earlier, I saw a green dress in the dressing room. How about wearing it with the beige dress with light green accents?”

Unlike what Verit expected, the maid answered quite specifically.

‘She found what suits me right away.’

Not just brown but reddish-brown, so Verit had always worried about her hair, and she quite liked the maid’s suggestion.

The maid immediately brought the dress and helped Verit change, then braided her hair with a green ribbon, pinned it up, and secured it.

She finished the styling by inserting the brooch she’d chosen earlier diagonally into her hair.

“…!!”

Verit stared curiously at her reflection in the mirror.

Resembling the beautiful Marchioness, she had a beauty that bloomed even at a young age, but after the maid attended to her, Verit’s strengths came alive even more.

Thanks to the green tones, her intense hair color was subdued, and her violet eyes were instead emphasized, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

“…I like it, very much.”

There was nothing to criticize.