Chapter 5.5

“You’re allergic to lilies. Isn’t it a doomed relationship from the start?”

“We’ve already promised to be friends.”

“How naive. Why make such a promise?”

Helen exaggeratedly pounded her chest in frustration. It was even more frustrating because Wendy smiled bashfully.

“I decided to think of it comfortably. Lucas is like a brother and will continue to be like family. So I want to get along well with Lady Seira too. I feel like there’s a lot I can learn from her.”

“……Have you swept away even the last speck of dust?”

Helen asked, and Wendy smiled lightly.

“You’ll understand when you see her.”

No matter how much she explained, Helen and Bestie wouldn’t understand. Competing with Seira or being wary of her felt so pointless.

***

Despite debuting at the end of the autumn social season after coming to the capital, Seira received a lot of attention thanks to the Dowager Duchess’s full support. The attention could have been overwhelming, but Seira handled herself calmly and elegantly, as if she had been part of the capital’s social scene for a long time.

“Wendy, you were right. With a woman like her, it makes so much sense.”

“Is it true that all northern women are like that?”

Helen and Bestie were impressed.

But soon, they watched Wendy’s reaction and changed the subject.

“But she seems too textbook, stiff and lacking warmth.”

“Right, Wendy? Isn’t she cold?”

“Not really.”

For a while, Wendy showed Seira around the capital.

Rather than being cold, Seira was reserved and not expressive with her emotions, so Wendy couldn’t tell at first if she genuinely liked something or was just being polite.

However, she wasn’t stiff or lacking warmth as Helen and Bestie described. She appreciated Wendy’s guidance and companionship and tried to show her gratitude.

Perhaps the lack of expression in her face and voice was a characteristic of the North.

“But why do the Duke and Lady Seira keep calling you? They should just meet alone.”

Wendy agreed with Helen’s words.

Both Lucas and Seira were the type to say only what was necessary, giving concise answers to each other’s simple queries. Being caught between them made her feel awkward.

Anyway, due to their similar personalities, they seemed to get along well yet not quite. Even when Wendy wasn’t around—since marriage was the premise, naturally—the two seemed to meet often, and she was curious about what they talked about.

“We should also go on a trip to enjoy the last of the autumn leaves.”

“No way, you again…”

“Yes. That’s how it is.”

Wendy, as if resigned, looked out the window.

On a day when autumn was gradually turning into winter.

Wendy went shopping with Seira and ran into Lucas, who had come to pick her up at the Dowager Duchess’s request. Just as she was about to head back, the two of them stopped her.

Feeling awkward in the quiet, almost silent atmosphere, Wendy counted the falling leaves outside the window and merely mentioned that it was a shame she couldn’t fully enjoy the autumn foliage as the season was ending.

Then Lucas proposed, and Seira agreed, and right then and there, they decided on a short weekend trip for “Wendy’s autumn sightseeing,” which was now just around the corner.

***

“A trip for me, huh.”

How absurd and unexpected.

Yet it was undeniably a reality. It was even that villa that she wanted to forget about from that day. The villa where the beautiful cherry blossoms had turned into a sorrowful sight.

The bedroom given to Wendy was the same as back then. The furniture remained, but it seemed they had changed the white, warm bedding, carpet, and curtains from spring to autumn tones for a special guest.

‘Why drag me into this when they could make an excuse to go somewhere alone, just the two of them?’

Well, recently, Wendy was the most convenient excuse for the two of them. The Dowager Duchess didn’t say much if it involved Wendy.

But for Wendy, it was a hardship. She didn’t mind seeing them separately, but meeting the three of them together was becoming uncomfortable.

Around that time, Wendy got acquainted with Joel, who accompanied Seira from the North as a guard. He was from a vassal family of the Brighton Marquis Household and was sent to report on the state of the border defense while also guarding the daughter when Seira came to the capital.

Unless something special happened, Joel usually accompanied Seira, and since he was also in a similar awkward position like Wendy, they often slipped away together.

Therefore, during this trip, Wendy planned to spend more time with Joel than with Lucas or Seira.

“Hmm. Should I just take a quick walk?”

If she stayed at the villa, she would end up awkwardly stuck between Lucas and Seira until mealtime again. A walk seemed better.

While the maid at the villa was organizing her luggage, Wendy changed into a light and comfortable coat and went downstairs.

“Miss. Are you going out? It’s almost mealtime.”

“It’ll be quick. I’ll be back before then.”

Despite the butler’s attempt to stop her on the first floor, Wendy left the villa.

Buttoning up her thin coat, Wendy walked briskly. Having explored the area thoroughly in the spring, it wasn’t hard to find the path hidden by fallen leaves.

The gentle hill where cherry blossoms had bloomed, and the hill where unnamed wildflowers were shyly preparing to bloom, greeted Wendy in a different way than her memories. There was the unique atmosphere of late autumn, but it felt somewhat lonely.

“This path was really beautiful.”

Following this path leads to an abandoned cabin, and further down, there’s a small clearing overlooking the village on the opposite side. Beyond that, the hill continues, and if you follow the path, you reach the village.

On a cloudy and chilly day like today, she didn’t have the courage, but in the spring, she had once walked down to the village along this path.

Recalling that memory, Wendy walked slowly.

***

“Rain?”

Lucas, who was quietly reading a book in his bedroom, looked up at the sound of rain hitting the window. The raindrops were getting heavier.

Suddenly, he realized how unusually quiet it was outside. It couldn’t be this quiet if Wendy were around.

Closing the book, Lucas got up.

He knocked on Wendy’s door, but there was no response. She might be in the drawing room. She liked it because the garden view was so nice in the spring.

Descending to the first floor, Lucas spotted the butler coming out of the dining hall.

“Where’s Wendy?”

“She went for a walk but hasn’t returned yet.”

“A walk? This isn’t rain that will stop soon.”

Assuming she would stay quietly within the villa since it was her second visit and she had explored the area enough to memorize it, was a mistake.

Then he saw Joel, who was about to leave with an umbrella.

“Joel. Where are you going?”

“Ah, Your Grace.”

Lucas quickly reached Joel, who was walking faster than usual.

“I was about to go look for Miss Wendy, as she hasn’t returned.”

“Really? I’ll go.”

“Pardon?”

“Give me the umbrella.”

Caught off guard, Joel handed the umbrella to Lucas.

As he opened the door and stepped out, Lucas opened the umbrella.

“I’ll go too.”

“You stay here. We can’t leave Lady Seira alone.”

“The rain seems to be getting stronger. It’s better to find Miss Wendy quickly.”

“…Suit yourself. Check around the villa. I’ll go a bit further.”

“Understood.”

The rain was getting heavier. The two men hurriedly parted ways, each holding an umbrella.

***

“A shower, maybe?”

Wendy, crouched under a tree, looked up at the sky. But the dark clouds that had suddenly covered the sky didn’t seem ordinary.

She had hurried toward the villa as soon as the rain started falling, but the rain became fierce before she could even descend the hill. Unable to see well ahead, she first sought shelter under a tree, but the trees, having shed most of their leaves, couldn’t block the rain.

“What should I do? Everyone will be worried.”

Causing trouble from the first day.

Feeling gloomy, she curled up, shivering from the cold penetrating her soaked body. But more than the cold, she was worried about catching a cold and having to spend the entire trip bedridden.

Would there be anything more regretful than someone offering to nurse her or being unable to enjoy the autumn because they were worried about her being sick?

“I’m already wet, so should I just go?”

Already soaked, staying here wouldn’t make it worse.

But the heavy rain made it hard to see ahead, and the wet leaves covering the mountain path were slippery. If she moved carelessly and fell, it would be a bigger problem. So she watched a little longer, but the rain showed no sign of letting up.

Instead, it pounded the ground more fiercely, expanding the puddles.

“I can’t stay. It’ll get dangerous.”

Deciding, Wendy stood up.

Her dress was heavy with water, and her soaked shoe heels kept sinking into the softened earth. She hadn’t moved far from the tree she had leaned on when the sky suddenly lit up brightly above. Thunder soon followed, hitting her eardrums sharply.

“Ahh!”

Wendy covered her ears and sat back down.