She showed a hint of sympathy for her father-in-law searching the air for Acel, but that was all. Leaving her still-muttering father-in-law alone, Thea surveyed the room.

Before she left, his condition hadn’t been this bad—why had it worsened?

She soon found the reason.

“It’s a wonder he hasn’t gotten sick.”

“Pardon?”

“How can anyone stay healthy without ventilation or cleaning?”

The door she’d always kept wide open was tightly shut, and mold had sprouted in patches where moisture had crept in.

On top of that, she noticed water and bedding that looked like they hadn’t been changed in who knows how long. In this sigh-inducing situation, Thea squeezed her eyes shut.

“Butler, bring three maids here immediately.”

“But… the master ordered us not to let anyone in.”

At his refusal that he couldn’t comply, Thea curled up the corners of her lips slightly. Since when had he been so actively managing household affairs to be giving orders?

If he’d stayed quiet, there wouldn’t have been any problems until they separated.

She couldn’t understand why he’d deliberately create trouble.

‘Surely he doesn’t think this is consideration?’

If so, he’s gravely mistaken.

Take the bedroom incident from a few days ago. His unnecessary concern only created an argument.

This seemed like a similar situation. Thea opened her eyes and looked at the butler.

“Do you find my words amusing?”

“No, Madam.”

“Then follow my instructions.”

Until she let go, the Winter household management was hers.

Not anyone else’s—mine.

But this kind of response was problematic.

“You seem confused about something… I’m the lady of this house.”

The right to command the maids belonged to her.

“If my words aren’t amusing, then do they not sound like proper words?”

“No, Madam.”

“Then bring three maids here immediately. I’ll be ventilating the room.”

Thea chased out the butler, saying they weren’t prepared to care for a patient, then threw open the window and gripped the frame with her hands.

She then spoke to her father-in-law, who only blinked.

“Father, I’m leaving here soon. I’ve arranged for a new caregiver, so you’ll be comfortable.”

“……”

She glanced at her father-in-law who didn’t respond and continued.

“They’ll certainly be much better than me. I’ve hired only veterans with over ten years of experience, so you’ll recover quickly.”

Just when she’d finished gently whispering about her departure, the butler returned with three maids.

“Madam, please tell us where to start.”

“Mm, first we should move Father to a dry spot and organize the bed. A foul smell is creeping up—he might have bedsores.”

“Understood. What should we do next?”

“We’ll need to lay out freshly laundered blankets. After that, there’s medicine from Dr. Brown, so make sure he takes it.”

At the naturally flowing commands, the butler glanced at Thea. Like something crucial was missing.

At that look, Thea lightly rested her hips against the windowsill and said, “What, were you hoping I’d personally attend to Father like before?”

“N-no, Madam.”

“Oh please. That’s exactly the face you’re making. Why is everyone so insistent that I attend to him? Noble ladies aren’t supposed to personally care for others.”

“You misunderstand.”

To the butler’s repeated denials, she smiled like she found it amusing and tilted her head slightly as she recited, “Even I don’t want to nurse someone with death hanging thick over them. Should I waste my youth here? Look at these lovely hands. The Yut family helped me so much—I barely managed to restore them.”

“…I see.”

“Sorry, but you’ll have to manage for now. Once the caregiver arrives, everyone will be more comfortable.”

No one could miss the shadow of death that had fallen. Even while sitting at the Yut estate, she’d heard talk that the former Count of Winter could go any day.

If word reached that distant territory, how could the people of this household not know?

After gently assigning the work, the moment she raised her eyes to gauge the butler’s reaction, she saw the Winter household staff colored with bewilderment.

By now they should have been working on their own and left, but they couldn’t manage it.

She curved her eyes like a bow at the dumbfounded scene.

This amusing scene was too precious to enjoy alone.

It would’ve been nice if Acel were here.

Would he laugh or cry at this mess of a household?

Either would be worth seeing. With that final thought, Thea said to the butler, “You’d better move quickly. The day will disappear soon—do we have time to dawdle?”

“Th-then, what will you be doing while we organize, Madam?”

“I’ll go for a walk, then visit the library to read a lovely poem. After that, when a delicious dinner comes out in the evening, I’ll taste it and go to bed, won’t I?”

Her face describing this peaceful routine looked extremely happy. Thanks to that, the butler couldn’t add any more unnecessary words and had no choice but to turn away.

When the maids and butler began organizing, she watched them for a while, then walked toward her father-in-law lying in a different spot.

“Father, you prefer where you’re lying now to that damp place, don’t you?”

“I see.”

“From now on, you’ll receive even better treatment.”

Isn’t that the treatment he should rightfully receive?

“The maids and butler will attend to you devotedly.”

“Are you really going for a walk?”

“Of course. Can’t you see the coat in my hands? Still, I’m leaving after making sure you’re comfortable, so don’t worry.”

At Thea’s assurance that absolutely nothing would happen, her father-in-law began seeking God. He closed his weak eyes tightly, barely brought his hands together, and raised them toward the sky.

He seemed unaware of how pitiful that was.

“Father, God is dead.”

If God were alive, He wouldn’t let him writhe in such agony.

“Every night, nothing changed no matter how much I prayed to God. So you shouldn’t seek Him either, Father.”

He should know by now that holding onto hope was useless.

Feeling sorry for her father-in-law still unable to escape the fantasy of dreams, she turned and moved locations. Acel was dressed in outdoor clothes, seemingly about to leave.

Judging by his formal uniform, he seemed to be going to meet the imperial family or someone of high rank.

Just when she felt strange seeing the uniform after so long, he seemed to notice her while fastening his last button.

He looked at her with round eyes, slightly surprised.

“Madam. Where are you going?”

“I’m heading out for a bit. They say the weather is perfect for a walk today.”

“I see. Oh right, now that I think of it, I received word from Margaret. She asked me to pass along a message to you.”

“You’re saying Margaret sent you a letter?”

“Yes, apparently she heard the news that you were coming to Winter, so she sent it to me instead of Utro.”

As the explanation continued, Thea’s expression changed subtly. If Margaret knew she’d be coming to Winter, there would’ve been no need to send it to Acel.

So why did she send it?

No, before that—why did she make that choice?

It didn’t seem like she thought I wouldn’t receive it.

‘I don’t understand.’

No matter how much she considered Margaret’s actions, she couldn’t find an answer and couldn’t erase her sulky expression.

He, who couldn’t possibly know her thoughts, pulled out a letter from inside his coat.

“Please accept this letter. And the message she asked me to pass along separately was that she’ll return within the week, so please decide on the next destination.”

“She’s coming back already? Usually when she leaves, she travels around for months—what’s going on?”

“Something must be weighing on her mind.”

“Really, that’s not like her… It must be urgent.”

“When Margaret returns, please let me know what it’s about too, Madam.”

She flinched slightly at his attitude of being curious about Margaret’s whereabouts, which was unusual, but soon brushed it off like it was nothing.

“Sure. It’s not difficult, so I’ll gladly let you know.”

Letting him know wasn’t difficult, like she said.

It was just informing him, after all.

* * *

Four days had passed since her conversation with Acel.

The worry wouldn’t leave Thea’s face as she sat in her office chair.

Tomorrow would mark a week, but she still hadn’t heard news of Margaret’s arrival.

She’d asked the butler about Margaret’s whereabouts, but there was still no word.

She couldn’t even reply to Margaret’s letter, though she wanted to. In the letter she received four days ago, it said she’d be returning early because it was difficult to find special goods.

Since there wasn’t much else written, she now understood that sending the letter to him first meant it was fine for him to read it.

That’s why she was worrying even more.

Just when she’d reached the point of not knowing what to do with herself, wondering if something had happened, someone seemed to have noticed her feelings. Finally, traces of Margaret appeared before her.

“Madam, are you busy?”

“No. Come in. Did you look into what I asked?”

At her question, the butler nodded.

“The investigation into Margaret you mentioned is complete. The ship she was on during her return broke down, so she’ll arrive a bit later than planned.”

“The ship broke down? I’m sure she would’ve booked the sturdiest, best ship.”

When she couldn’t accept this absurd story, the butler held out the newspaper in his hand like he’d expected this.

“This.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s this morning’s fresh newspaper. It’s written in detail as gossip, so it might not be bad to read it once.”

“If it made the newspaper, there must have been a major accident… Put it on the desk. I’ll read it slowly.”

Reading it right now seemed too much. The butler gave off an atmosphere suggesting he had much more to handle besides this.

So as soon as his hand finished neatly placing the newspaper, she continued, “Did the caregiver arrive properly? I heard they started nursing yesterday afternoon.”

“Yes, Madam. Actually, I have something to tell you about that matter.”

“Go ahead.”

She’d been curious anyway. Thea looked up at the butler with her fingers interlaced, like this was perfect timing.

The butler, meeting her weighty gaze directly, spoke carefully.

“The caregiver was excellent, but the master seemed uncomfortable.”

“Why would he be uncomfortable? I received reports that he ate well and slept well. The caregiver also seemed to nurse him gently and well.”