It was such a nice day to sit quietly in the office and look through the pile of documents.

My fiancée, Ravenne, mentioned the weather and set up a tea table on one side of the garden.

Whether the day was good or cloudy, it didn’t matter if it was a reason she’d make to escape from me.

Ravenne, drinking tea in the garden, seemed much more lively than when she was trapped in the office.

“No way! I’m sure I’m being hated! Tell me, Captain. Did the Duke have something he’s holding against you?”

“Th-That can’t be true!”

“Come to think of it, I heard rumors that the Sky Knight Order is the weakest among the five knight orders under the Duke…”

“What did you say? Who on earth is spreading such nonsense? The Sky Knight Order is the most courageous and loyal knight order in Celestine!”

As Lucas answered sternly, Ravenne grinned and asked back.

“Then why is such a competent knight order captain acting as my escort?”

“That’s because Miss is such an important person…”

“I’m stuck in the mansion all day, though? Does it have any meaning to escort me? Don’t you think you’ll lose muscle just following me around? What if you lose all your muscles while escorting me?”

Ravenne’s rapid-fire words were enough to bewilder Lucas, who lacked social skills.

As proof, Lucas, who had been responding boldly to Ravenne’s words until just now, was completely deflated.

“I-I have been undergoing rigorous training every day. My muscles won’t disappear easily…”

“The older you get, the easier it is to lose muscle. I heard somewhere that if you don’t exercise for more than five hours a day, you’ll lose muscle.”

“…Is that really true?”

“Are you doubting my words now? I’m saying this because I’m worried about you, Sir Lucas.”

“Th-That’s true… But if I lose muscle…”

“See, you’re worried too, right, Sir Lucas?”

“Lucy won’t like it.”

As expected, Lucas, who was swayed by Ravenne’s words, began to pout.

“…Pardon? Who is Lucy?”

“My wife. Lucy said she liked that I was muscular. But if I lose muscle, I’ll surely end up divorced…”

“Pfft…!”

At the unexpected reason, Ravenne started laughing, hitting the table with her palm.

“Hahaha, did your wife say she liked you because you’re muscular?”

“Yes… She said she dated me only because of my physique…”

“Then that’s a serious matter. No, I’m sorry for laughing. But… Pfft… Oh, sorry, sorry. I was just joking. What you’re worried about won’t happen.”

Ravenne’s wide smile was very different from the one Ilion knew.

The smile she showed him was always a well-polished smile. It was the first time he saw such an unrefined, genuine expression of emotion.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

Ilion greeted Sebastian while keeping his gaze fixed on the window.

Sebastian, carrying a bundle of documents, looked at the book on the desk. It was a book rarely seen on his bookshelf, so it was natural for Sebastian to be interested.

[Fifty Secrets of the Count’s Lady and the Knight]
[Your Grace, Confess Your Love to Me]
[Meet Me Every Night in the Greenhouse Garden]

“Is it Miss Ravenne’s book?”

“Oh, wait a minute…”

He paused momentarily and swallowed his words, then roughly mumbled the end. He hurriedly closed the book and cleared it from the desk. It was an uncharacteristic move for Ilion.

“Did you borrow it?”

“……”

By avoiding answering, Sebastian could guess the situation without needing to hear it. He smiled.

“I know what you want to say, so just keep quiet. I’m not reading it because I like it.”

“I haven’t said anything yet, though?”

“It’s already written on your face that you’re curious.”

Ilion made a perplexed expression.

When someone shows such an openly troubled expression, it naturally makes others want to know the reason. Of course, Sebastian was curious regardless of Ilion’s reaction.

Seeing Sebastian smiling broadly and not intending to leave, his master reluctantly raised his hand first.

“I’m investigating.”

“Pardon?”

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t find an answer, so I’m observing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her thoughts.”

Not long ago, he ordered another investigation into Ravenne.

Before deciding to marry into the Rischefeld Count family, he had already completed an investigation, so the report was not much different from before.

It was clean.

There was no noble who would join hands with a fallen noble, and his contact with the Count for his marriage with Ravenne was done secretly, so no one knew until it was publicly announced.

Even after the announcement, he had people monitoring to ensure the Count didn’t do anything foolish, so it was natural for the report to be clean.

Ilion felt like he was in a labyrinth.

He even collected the books and newspapers she had read, but he couldn’t find any clues.

He just felt like a stalker.

He often spent time contemplating why he was doing this.

“It’s a day when the master worries about a woman’s heart. Life is indeed worth living long.”

Sebastian smiled as he spoke to Ilion’s answer.

“Why didn’t you treat her well from the start?”

“Are you saying it’s my fault?”

Ilion asked, bewildered by Sebastian’s unexpected words.

“Then what other reason would Miss have for acting that way?”

Of course, it couldn’t be completely denied…

No, in fact, in a situation where no evidence is coming out, there seems to be no more valid reason…

But still!

“Are you taking Rischefeld’s side now?”

“I’m always on the master’s side.”

Ilion was speechless at Sebastian’s answer, which came out reflexively without a moment’s hesitation.

‘Goodness, she’s completely won him over.’

By now, Ravenne was impressive enough. He wanted to know how she had managed to win over Sebastian.

Ilion decided to change the subject and asked about the documents he brought.

“It’s the approval documents related to the servants’ salaries for this month.”

Ilion looked at the documents Sebastian handed over and asked in wonder.

“Why is there a bonus listed?”

“Miss Ravenne suggested giving a bonus.”

‘Why?’

Recently, while observing Ravenne, Ilion realized that the servants’ attitude towards her was not very good.

So, he couldn’t easily understand Ravenne’s idea of giving a bonus.

Could it be that she wasn’t aware of the servants’ attitude?

“I heard there are some with insolent attitudes. Shouldn’t they be re-educated instead of giving bonuses?”

Sebastian smiled awkwardly at Ilion’s question.

“Well… Miss said to just leave them be.”

“Does she know about their bad attitude?”

“Yes, she said if she fires them, her reputation will only worsen.”

An unexpected answer came out of Sebastian’s mouth.

‘It seems she’s not oblivious.’

But he still couldn’t understand why she wanted to give bonuses knowing that. Noticing Ilion’s unresolved doubt, Sebastian added an explanation.

“If their attitude becomes a real problem, she said to cut her allowance and give a bit of a bonus to the servants in her name.”

“Did she really say that?”

“Yes. She said loyalty is bought with money.”

“Ha…”

Ilion let out a hollow laugh at the unexpected answer.

But thinking about it, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Firing subordinates and replacing them with new people was easy, but it would inevitably cause noise. There would be those who rebel, and some would say they are quitting.

It would also take time to train new people.

However, if bonuses were paid to the maids in her name, they would realize that Ravenne could influence their salaries, which would soon reflect in their attitude towards her.

At first glance, she seemed like a lady with nothing to do but drink tea… Ilion glanced out the window.

In the short time that had passed, his ever-unpredictable fiancée was now swinging a sword.

“Do you know what baseball is?”

Flustered, Lucas looked at Ravenne worriedly.

“Grabbing the sword reminded me of when I used to play in a children’s baseball team, oh no, when I played in the neighborhood. It’s about swinging a stick of this size to hit a ball. I’ll teach you how to do it later. There are many people in the knight order, right? It’s perfect for playing baseball!”

Saying so, Ravenne swung the sword with force, which was no different from swinging a stick.

Her giggling and the way she swung the sword like a stick in front of Lucas was far from a well-mannered lady.

She was still immature, carefree, and enjoying life, a lady whose mind was a flower field itself.

The sword that had been swinging excitedly for a while slipped from Ravenne’s hand. And it flew straight towards Ilion.

Ilion, who slightly tilted his head to avoid it, looked at Ravenne outside, who seemed to have the world collapse on her.

“Um, um, are you okay, Duke?”

Without a word, he beckoned with his finger.

It meant that teatime was over and to return.

Understanding his intention perfectly, Ravenne trudged into the mansion, looking utterly dejected.

‘I really can’t figure out what she’s thinking.’

Ilion murmured to himself as he pulled out the sword stuck in the office floor.

As always, Ilion would not be able to understand Ravenne’s intentions this time either.

The fact that she opposed firing the servants because she didn’t plan to stay here long and firing them would only disturb her peace.