Laila’s parents were executed by nobles right in front of her. The reason was that their eyes had offensively met when a carriage was passing by.

Laila also seemed to find it difficult to meet Melissa’s eyes, unable to even lift her head. Seeing her awkwardly jerking her neck, Nora grabbed her hand tightly.

She was about to tell her to endure just a little longer. As she tried to quell the anxiety… Laila, unable to hold back even for that moment, shot forward like a bullet.

It happened in an instant.

“Madam!”

She prostrated herself in front of Melissa Grey’s table and broke into loud sobs.

“I’m so sorry! I, I have committed a sin worthy of death!”

Nora put her hand to her forehead.

‘That fool.’

What did she think would change by doing this?

Nothing good would come from provoking a noble.

Begging forgiveness like this first meant completely admitting fault. Even if they made a mistake, they should have assessed the situation first before acting.

‘Now we’re done for.’

She knew that girl Laila would cause trouble, but who knew it would be today of all days.

Nora made a distressed face as she contemplated their bleak future.

Seeing this, Melissa Grey rose gracefully from her seat. Unlike the rumors about her legs being impaired, her movement was light.

Mrs. Hover quickly stepped in front of Laila and Nora.

“It’s my responsibility.”

Melissa’s steps halted at Mrs. Hover’s words.

“It’s my responsibility for not properly teaching the children, so please show mercy and punish me instead.”

“No, Mrs. Hover!”

Nora went in front of Mrs. Hover and knelt down. She couldn’t let Mrs. Hover take the blame even if it was fine for Laila and herself.

Nora said, “Mrs. Hover has a sick husband and young children! If you must punish someone, punish me. I’ll give my life if I must. Madam, I’m truly sorry…”

Laila’s crying grew louder because of Nora who was willing to give even her life for everyone.

“No, Nora. Don’t do this…!”

When Laila tried to crawl forward while crying, Mrs. Hover firmly blocked her way.

The thick lenses of the madam’s glasses were fogged up white, hiding her eyes. Her tightly closed lips showed determination.

She tried to calm the two with a deliberately steady voice. Her face said not to worry, that everything would be fine.

“…There seems to be some misunderstanding.”

Melissa Grey said. Her voice was quiet but each word was clearly enunciated.

“I just wanted to have tea together…”

At that moment, the crying maids’ sobs stopped.

Looking at the hand pointing to the table, they belatedly noticed four teacups.

“Please get up.”

Melissa Grey carefully approached and helped Laila and Nora up one by one. Her fingers were thin like tree branches.

Up close, she was about the same height as Laila. Not as tall as her presence suggested.

Her skin was snow-white, making her wounds clearly visible. Her lips were cracked with scabs, and small injuries covered various parts of her face.

“I wanted to apologize for causing you trouble. I also wanted to explain why I couldn’t use Lady Miellin’s room. But…”

Her red eyes slowly dropped downward. Her long black eyelashes trembled.

“My explanation was insufficient.”

A deep sigh escaped as if about to sink into the floor.

‘Have tea with us?’

Nora’s eyebrows twitched in disbelief. But there really were four teacups prepared on the table.

It wasn’t a lie. Unless they were set out to taste different teas, she must have been waiting for guests. That’s how Nora made sense of it. And…

‘I don’t have to die?’

The innocent Laila took the words at face value. She blinked her eyes which were welling up with tears. It was a look of infinite gratitude toward the madam.

Finally, Mrs. Hover…

“…”

Calmly took off her glasses to clean them while clearing her throat as if nothing had happened.

Nora thought she was unmatched when it came to brazenness.

***

The first conversation started awkwardly over floral teacups. The situation was so uncomfortable that everyone just kept touching their cups until the tea went cold.

But the atmosphere changed after the topic shifted to Lady Miellin’s room.

“Is that really true?”

Mrs. Hover was surprised to hear that Melissa Grey had been Lady Miellin’s dance student when she was alive.

“I heard there was a pair of disobedient twin students back then, so that was you, madam!”

She said Lady Miellin would always talk about the mischievous twins whenever she returned to the territory.

“At first I thought she was just complaining about difficult work. But you know how people who knew the lady for a long time could tell.”

Climbing out windows to escape every day, catching frogs and butterfly caterpillars from the garden to put on the piano.

Mrs. Hover remembered everything about the quite tomboyish twin sisters from their childhood.

“She would complain but with a smile on her face. Every time she came to the territory, she would always talk about how lovely you children were.”

“I see.”

Melissa’s throat tightened as she listened.

“But human affairs are truly unpredictable. She wouldn’t tell us who you were, saying she had to protect the privacy of the high-born. To think that I would end up serving that very young lady I only heard about…”

Of course, it wasn’t under good circumstances that she had drifted all the way to this rural territory.

Melissa was grateful to be able to talk with people who had long served her former teacher, in her teacher’s home. It made her feel like she had briefly returned to her past self, before any pain.

She smiled faintly.

The two young maids also gradually recovered their smiles, caught up in the atmosphere. By then, the tear stains had disappeared and sunlight had come in. Light gathered on the gold-plated teacups and sparkled. It was a dazzlingly beautiful afternoon, just like a certain man’s hair.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Melissa’s ears like an auditory hallucination.

“If you had explained your situation like that, the maids would have understood perfectly.”

She thought no one would listen. That’s why she had tried to die alone, bearing all her emotions…

She was glad she had listened to his advice. Just being able to have a pleasant conversation with someone made her want to try holding on, at least for today.

***

Since Reizen had been cooped up in the study for days without rest, even the butler started cutting back on his dawn sleep to visit. As he served tea that was supposed to be good for sleep, he said, “It seems the madam is adapting well.”

Contrary to their worries, she had called the maids and forgiven them, and even had a pleasant conversation with them.

“That’s good.”

It was clearly good news, but when he spoke, his brain vibrated with a headache. That was why he couldn’t smile even hearing the good news.

Reizen quietly closed his eyes and endured the pain. He hadn’t slept a wink for a week since the wedding. It was due to the effects of the brand.

At first, it was manageable by submerging in cold water six times a day when the heat rose. But the symptoms that worsened with each passing day slowly gnawed at his sanity like an insect.

It felt like lava had filled his stomach and was melting his internal organs in real time.

Since the heat wouldn’t subside, even a breeze made his whole body sting like he had a fever. He also had hallucinations of hundreds of sharp blades scraping at the surface of his skin.

Meanwhile, his lower half that had swollen at will wouldn’t shrink for four hours…

In short, it was the perfect state to drive a person mad.

Reizen groaned and covered his face with his large hands. His beautiful features were distorted with pain.

The old butler wore a worried expression.

“Perhaps it would be better to tell the truth to the madam…”

“If I tell her.”

What would happen if he told her? Would he beg a woman who startles at the slightest touch to sleep with him?

Reizen stubbornly bit his lip. Though he was smiling, his gaze was fierce enough to appear threatening to onlookers.

“But we don’t know either the cause or the solution.”

The butler shook his head as if frustrated.

Though they had investigated, there wasn’t a single historical case of the goddess’s blessing not taking effect.

They had searched through old documents and asked everyone who might know, but they all said it was ‘absolutely impossible.’