“My lady, it’s been a while.”

Several noble young ladies greeted Mary as she entered the garden. She acknowledged them in turn, casting her eyes around the grounds as she did.

She had been here just a few days ago. It had been a beautiful garden then — but the feeling now was altogether different. If nothing else, the care House Felista had put into dressing it up was evident.

The hallmark of the Grand Ducal house of House Felista was not grandeur, but a composed and unhurried dignity. The estate reflected the house’s restrained way of living. Though the somber atmosphere that had settled over the family during the years Rafez had been sent to war had no doubt played its part as well.

But even after Rafez had returned, little had changed — until now.

“This is my first time in the Grand Ducal garden. I had no idea it was so lovely. Just a tea party alone is such a delight — if they ever opened the estate for a ball, it would be absolutely wonderful.”

“Might that day come sooner than we think? I’d say it’s not far off.”

Mary, who had been quietly listening, shook her head.

“I’m not so sure. His Highness the Grand Duke is still unwell — could a ball even be managed? Today’s tea party is being hosted by Her Highness the Grand Duchess, after all.”

“Ah…… I suppose you’re right. How unwell is His Highness, exactly? I do worry so.”

“Indeed. Miss Valerian — might you happen to know anything at all about His Highness’s condition?”

The young ladies took Mary’s words to heart and pressed her for news of Rafez.

Most of the nobility knew that Mary and Rafez went back a long way. The Valerian County and House Felista had always been on close terms.

Had the marriage to Lacy never happened, the one sitting in the Grand Duchess’s place might well have been Mary.

“I’m afraid His Highness hasn’t chosen to share it himself — it wouldn’t be my place to say anything first.”

Today’s tea party was no small affair. Lacy had invited a considerable gathering of young noble ladies and gentlemen — among them not only families close to the Grand Ducal house, but families close to the Emperor as well.

“Or perhaps you simply don’t know His Highness’s condition yourself. Isn’t that so?”

The voice came from beside Mary — none other than Eileen, the young noblewoman of House Schkotz.

Eileen had moved in the same circles as Lacy during her days as a young lady, so her presence here was hardly out of place.

“And what exactly do you mean by that, my lady?”

“His Highness is a married man now — how could you possibly know the details of his condition?”

“What does His Highness being married have to do with the fact that I am his friend?”

An invisible war of nerves played out between Mary and Eileen.

It seemed Eileen was intent on supporting Lacy in her apparent effort to step into her role as Grand Duchess.

“Of course it has everything to do with it. No matter how old a friendship may be, a married man keeping close company with another woman is hardly something that looks well.”

“I think you may be misunderstanding something, my lady. I——”

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

Just then, Lacy was making her way into the garden.

At the sight of her, every eye turned in that direction.

Lacy carried herself with her usual composed ease. The full blue dress caught the sunlight and shimmered — and yet it seemed as though Lacy herself outshone even the dress.

“We greet Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

As the mistress of the Grand Ducal house of House Felista, she was without fault.

When Lacy’s entrance hushed the gathering, she spoke at last.

“Thank you all for accepting such a sudden invitation. Please, take your seats.”

Several tables had been arranged throughout the garden, and as everyone settled in, tea and desserts began to arrive.

“Oh, is that orange I smell?”

“It’s a tea made from oranges brought up from the Grand Duchy.”

Mollys spoke at Lacy’s side. As the estate’s butler, he stood steadfast beside her.

“The fragrance is wonderful.”

“In truth, I hadn’t intended to hold a tea party of this scale — but once His Highness the Grand Duke took a hand in it, this is how it turned out.”

Lacy, who had been looking down at her tea, suddenly lifted her gaze and swept it slowly across the gathered guests. She hadn’t been particularly active in social circles — but most of these faces she had seen at Imperial Balls over the years.

Meeting their eyes now, she understood.

Today’s tea party had taken on the appearance of a declaration. A stepping forward.

They’re all thinking the same thing. That wasn’t really my intention.

And yet — wasn’t it becoming exactly what Rafez had said it would?

Living as the Grand Duchess in earnest.

Lacy had said it almost to herself, but every eye in the garden was already on her.

“But I did not arrange this gathering to say anything grand. You will all be aware, I’m sure — that His Highness the Grand Duke has not been well.”

And that was precisely what everyone most wanted to know about.

“We have decided to go down to the Grand Duchy for a time. It is nothing serious, so please don’t worry. That is the occasion for this tea party. Nothing more than that.”

Going down to the Grand Duchy?

No one was more surprised by those words than Mary. She hadn’t heard a thing from Rafez — not even what was ailing him.

“Then — does that mean Your Highness the Grand Duchess will be going as well?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Everyone appeared taken aback.

As all present knew, Louis Felista, the former Grand Duke, was in the Grand Duchy. Louis had gone down before Rafez and Lacy’s wedding — and had not even been present for the ceremony.

There were rumors that he had deliberately absented himself because he had no wish to see a marriage he hadn’t wanted.

And so Louis and Lacy had never once met as family.

“Well then — please, everyone, enjoy the rest of this time as you like.”

Lacy finished speaking and lifted her teacup for a sip.

And with that, Lacy had nothing more to say. The stillness that had fallen over the gathering gradually dissolved, and the tea party settled into an easy, relaxed air.

Eileen made her way to Lacy’s side.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

“Eileen — thank you for coming.”

“I feel as though I’m dreaming, that a day like this has come…… That we’re talking like this again, just the two of us.”

The two had been very close before Lacy’s marriage. Both daughters of ducal houses, they had been the kind of friends who understood each other best. Eileen remained a ducal daughter still.

“So when will you be heading to the Grand Duchy?”

“Probably within the next few days. His Highness going to the palace today was likely to inform His Majesty the Emperor.”

Rafez hadn’t said as much — but Lacy could sense it, in her own way.

Living under surveillance, unable to act freely, didn’t mean she was blind to what was happening around her. If anything, being watched had taught her to read situations more clearly. The people keeping watch were, after all, still people. It had always been that way.

“I see…… What’s wrong with His Highness, exactly?”

Lacy only shook her head.

Rafez had never told Lacy directly that he was unwell.

In other words, Lacy had simply heard it from somewhere, as everyone else had.

The Rafez she had observed all this time appeared to have nothing wrong with him. Except for that morning when he had come rushing in to tell her to stop dying.

Well — if he was suffering from anything, it was perhaps something of the mind or the heart. The man she was seeing now had clearly undergone a considerable shift within himself.

Lacy lifted her gaze toward the trees in the distance, then rose from her seat and walked away.

Eileen didn’t follow. She would need her space.

The Grand Ducal garden of House Felista was truly vast. Perhaps that was why Lacy had taken to it from the very first day she came to this estate. Walking through it without a single thought, time had a way of slipping past unnoticed. She even liked the way it made her feel as though she were alone in the world.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

That voice.

The kind that lingered at the edge of her hearing when the breeze passed through, the kind she found herself wanting to hear again when she closed her eyes.

Lacy turned toward it.

Hair catching the sunlight, scattered by the wind. A gleam of platinum blond, almost blinding.

Lacy smiled without realizing it. And then she met his deep green eyes.

“……Pierre.”