Chapter 1.4

In contrast, the morning meal at the Earl Rosewood’s Household was bustling and noisy.

“Mom, I’ll have that!”

“Mom? Remember to be mindful of your titles. Don’t forget you’re an adult now.”

The Countess frowned as she was about to pass the bread basket. Wendy stuck out her tongue, then straightened up and lifted her chin with elegance.

“I’m sorry, Mother. Could you please pass the basket?”

Once she spoke politely, the Countess handed over the basket. Watching this, the Earl intercepted the basket mid-way and placed Wendy’s favorite round morning bread on her plate.

“Isn’t it strange to change overnight? Wendy, I prefer you call me Dad.”

“You keep saying that, so she’s still like this.”

“What’s the harm? I saw yesterday that our Wendy handled herself quite well.”

Right?

The Earl winked at Wendy, who smiled brightly while chewing her bread. Seeing this, the Earl grinned broadly and placed the last remaining morning bread on her plate.

“Is it good? Have some of Dad’s too.”

“Seriously.”

Of course, the Countess raised Wendy less strictly than Karen. Being the youngest and naturally bright, she felt it was better to raise Wendy freely.

So, the Countess hoped Wendy would meet a man who wasn’t the heir but perhaps a second son who could live freely. Someone with financial and time freedom, who could spend a lot of time with Wendy and be a kind, family-oriented man.

In that sense, the Devon Ducal Household was not suitable for Wendy. The responsibilities and duties of being the lady of the house were immense, and the Devon Ducal Household was known for its strictness. Despite knowing Lucas for a long time, even like a son, she had never seen him lose his composure.

‘Moreover, the Dowager Duchess of Devon is even more formidable.’

The Countess recalled meeting the Dowager Duchess at the cathedral last week. Even in her old age, the Dowager Duchess sat straighter than the young ones, enduring the long weekend mass. She was also known for her high and demanding standards of etiquette, making conversations difficult as each word had to be chosen with care.

No matter how naturally bright Wendy was, she was likely to be intimidated by the Dowager Duchess, unable to perform well under pressure. In other words, she would not meet the Dowager Duchess’s expectations.

“Brother, are you meeting Lucas today?”

Whether she knew the Countess’s concerns or not, Wendy continued to seek out Lucas. The Countess gave Wendy a disapproving look, but Wendy, oblivious, stared at Jayden, waiting for an answer.

“We didn’t plan to meet, but he’ll be at the unit. He’s not very sociable.”

“Jayden, you shouldn’t talk about others.”

Before the nagging began, Jayden quickly snatched the bread the Earl had placed on Wendy’s plate and split it in half.

“Really, what should I do with you two?”

The son who cared only about work was just as troublesome. With a sigh, the Countess handed Jayden a white plate with strawberry jam.

***

Wendy gazed absentmindedly at the garden, where the leaves were turning red and yellow. A few days of rain had left the ground covered in fallen leaves.

‘I haven’t even enjoyed the autumn leaves properly. What a waste.’

While staring blankly out the window, Wendy was startled when her side was poked, prompting her to hold her book upright.

The Countess, seeing Wendy sitting properly, returned her gaze to her book.

“……They say autumn, when every leaf becomes a flower, is a second spring. What a waste of time not to go out.”

That’s exactly what I think.

Grumbling inwardly, Wendy glanced at the Countess. They were at a reading club, where the author of the book Wendy held was passionately reading aloud.

Wendy loved books, but she preferred reading them herself and letting her imagination soar freely, rather than listening to someone else read.

“Mother, I’ll go out for some air.”

Eventually, Wendy used a break to step outside.

Sitting on the stairs leading to the garden, she rested her chin on her hands, watching the falling leaves, quickly enveloped by the autumn atmosphere.

‘This must be what the loneliness of autumn feels like.’

It wasn’t like this before. Wendy used to love winter, so autumn was the enjoyable beginning of waiting for winter. When the wind started to chill, she knew winter was coming.

But now, autumn felt lonely, solitary, and regretful.

“It’s not autumn’s fault.”

Wendy buried her head in her knees, curling up.

She thought that when she became an adult, her days would be like a dream. Falling in love with Lucas, getting married, things like that.

However, reality flowed in a completely different direction from Wendy’s expectations, precisely in a direction she didn’t want.

At the ball last week, Wendy asked Lucas to dance and was refused.

“Sorry, Wendy. I don’t really like dancing.”

Sure, that’s understandable.

She was happy he had kept his promise from long ago by dancing at her debut, even though he disliked it. But at the same time, she was disappointed, thinking he wouldn’t dance with her again.

And at the horse race two weeks ago, Lucas said he had tickets, so she expressed her desire to watch.

He agreed readily, so she assumed they’d watch together. But when she arrived at the racetrack, a servant from the Ducal Household was waiting at the entrance with the tickets.

[Enjoy the viewing.]

– along with a note.

Thinking back, Lucas had said he had tickets, but he hadn’t said they’d watch together. So, Wendy stood there, holding the ticket, feeling dazed for a while.

And what happened before that?

In any case, they weren’t pleasant memories to recall.

“No, there’s no need to be discouraged already. There are still many opportunities.”

Her love wasn’t so weak as to be discouraged by just a few rejections. It was something she had sincerely built up over many years.

– Even though she tried to strengthen her resolve, she couldn’t help but feel drained. After all, she needed to meet Lucas to do anything, but the opportunities to meet him rarely came.

Previously, Lucas would come over for meals with Jayden or stay at the Earl’s Household to finish work he couldn’t complete due to working late. But recently, he rarely came, and at social gatherings or balls, where she expected to see him often, he either disappeared after showing up briefly or didn’t come at all.

He was just like Jayden in that way, showing their close friendship.

Before, she was frustrated because she couldn’t do anything as she wasn’t an adult. But now that she was an adult, he felt more distant and harder to approach. Moreover, Wendy herself had to spend busy days since her debut. There were so many places to go and people to meet.

As the time to meet Lucas decreased, she had to spend even more time elsewhere. Even if she didn’t want to, she had to go and greet unfamiliar people warmly. Like today’s reading club.

‘I want to go home.’

Wendy buried her face in her knees again, feeling drained. Nothing seemed to go her way.

***

“Where has she gone now?”

The break was almost over, but Wendy hadn’t returned.

In the end, the Countess of Rosewood wandered the salon where the reading club was held, searching for Wendy. Then, she encountered the Dowager Duchess of Devon in the hallway leading outside.

“Oh my, Dowager Duchess. Hello.”

“Countess of Rosewood.”

The Dowager Duchess nodded slightly, acknowledging the Countess’s friendly greeting. Considering how stern the Dowager Duchess usually was, that was almost a show of goodwill.

“Are you leaving?”

“I plan to. It’s getting harder to sit for long periods as I age.”

“I see. Are you going out alone? Shall I assist you?”

The Countess reached out to the Dowager Duchess with a cane, but the Dowager Duchess lightly raised her other hand to stop her.

“Don’t treat me like an invalid. I’m slow, but my legs are still fine.”

“That’s not what I meant….”

Although flustered, the Countess chose silence over excuses. She recalled Lucas’s mother saying the Dowager Duchess disliked additional chatter.

“Your daughter debuted recently, didn’t she?”

“Yes, her name is Wendy.”

“I saw her with Lucas.”

“Oh, did you?”

The Countess smiled awkwardly.

Using a retreat as an excuse, the Dowager Duchess had been staying at a coastal estate in the somewhat warmer southeastern region. The Countess easily guessed why she had suddenly come to the capital and sensed the reason behind the Dowager Duchess’s sharp gaze.

As expected, the Dowager Duchess leaned on her cane with both hands and stared directly at the Countess.

“Do you desire the Devon Ducal Household?”