Mary packed diligently, filling the boot with evening dresses, expensive jeweled accessories, bespoke hats from a luxury milliner, and satin shoes.

However, Kyla took all these items back out of the boot.

“My lady! Why are you taking everything out?”

Mary looked distressed, almost on the verge of tears.

“Mary, I’m sorry. You worked hard to pack them. But a piano teacher probably won’t attend balls or banquets dressed in elaborate gowns.”

Kyla’s voice was calm.

She instructed Mary to pack only the simple dresses in modest colors that she wore at home, along with plain hats without any extravagant decorations.

“But still! What if you’re asked to play the piano at a banquet or ball held by the ducal family? Please, my lady….”

“You’re right.”

Kyla nodded slightly.

“Then pack the navy evening dress and two pairs of long gloves.”

“Yes! I’ll do that.”

Mary answered enthusiastically, her voice bright again—only for her expression to fall moments later.

“But still… just one pretty one! Can’t we add just one?”

“Mary.”

“Y-yes. I understand.”

Pouting, Mary began packing again.

“Well, my face isn’t too bad, is it? What does it matter what dress I wear?”

Kyla laughed carelessly.

Mary shook her head in disbelief.

“Everyone on Simon Street knows how beautiful you are, my lady. But why do you think people say that clothes make the person? Still… I’m glad you’re smiling.”

Mary sighed heavily.

“There’s no use crying about it. And besides, this is nothing.”

Kyla spoke calmly as she instructed Mary to place the final items of her belongings in the boot: all her piano music, her Meissen textbooks, and the portrait of her late mother.

As Mary closed the lid, Kyla quietly said farewell to the version of herself who had lived as the Feildings’ young lady for the past five years.

The next morning, just as Lady Feilding had said, a carriage from the ducal household arrived.

While the coachman loaded the luggage, Kyla said goodbye to Lady Feilding and Mary. She pulled the sniffling Mary into a tight embrace.

Lady Feilding held Kyla’s hand and gently patted it as she said her farewells.

Looking at her adoptive mother’s face, Kyla gave a faint smile.

Ultimately, she was leaving this house.

Yet it was undeniably true that Lady Feilding had taken care of her — someone who had lost everything — and raised her without her wanting for anything.

After all, who else would take in a complete stranger, treat her like family and provide her with an education? Lady Feilding had arranged Kyla’s debut and hosted a ball in her honor.

Kyla believed that the brief resentment she had felt towards her adoptive mother had stemmed from her own greed.

From now on, she decided, she would remember only gratitude and forget everything else.

After climbing into the carriage, Kyla gazed out of the window at the Orland mansion, where she had spent five summers and five winters.

‘Will I ever return here again?’

She slowly closed her eyes.

She regretted leaving without saying goodbye to Jayden, who was probably studying hard in Portsmouth, and to her father, who was working in Ashton.

He would probably already know that she was leaving.

Nothing was ever decided in the Feilding household without his approval.

Despite not spending much time with her, he had always been kind and warm towards her.

She had never imagined that he would send her away like this.

For some reason, this thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

‘Does my brother even know that I’m leaving?’

He probably didn’t know.

Had he known, even if he couldn’t rush back immediately, he would have at least sent a farewell letter expressing his sorrow.

Kyla missed gentle Jayden terribly.

While she was staying at the Lester ducal household, she might see him at least once.

Maybe she would see her father again, too.

She leaned back against the carriage seat, comforting herself with that thought.

***

The Lester ducal estate far exceeded anything Kyla could have imagined.

After passing through endless stretches of dense forest and lush greenery, a vast lake came into view at the end of the long, straight carriage road.

At the end of the long, straight carriage road stood a massive mansion.

Surrounded by forest, the three-storey manor stood proudly, its white exterior walls blending perfectly with the brilliant blue sky and expansive green lawns of the garden.

This place had been home to the Lester ducal family for more than three hundred years.

It was called Chatsworth.

As Kyla stepped down from the carriage, a middle-aged woman came forward to greet her.

“You must be Miss Kyla Feilding. You must be tired after such a long journey. I oversee the household affairs of the Lester ducal residence. You may call me Mrs Gerald.”

She had a warm appearance and a clear, gentle voice.

“Yes, Mrs. Gerald. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Kyla offered a small smile.

“Miss Feilding, please follow me. Her Ladyship has been waiting for you.”

Kyla followed Mrs Gerald past the marble staircase and into the mansion.

Mrs Gerald led her to the morning room on the second floor.

Adelaide Lester, the former Duchess and mother of the current Duke, was seated on a sofa waiting for her.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Miss Feilding. I’ve heard a great deal about you. Just as they said—you’re a very pretty young lady.”

“Hello…?”

Kyla hesitated.

She wasn’t sure whether to address her as Mrs Gerald had, calling her ‘Madam’, or to call her ‘Lady Lester’.

After a moment of uncertainty, she simply stood in the middle of the morning room, looking at her.

Lady Lester looked nothing like her son, Silas.

With her soft brown hair and light brown eyes, she had a small, slender frame that made her seem almost delicate.

It was hard to believe that she was the mother of the tall, solid, unbreakable man she had met the previous day.

“Please take good care of my daughter, Riona. She does have a governess, but the woman is rather elderly. I think Riona, who has only just turned ten, will feel more comfortable with someone like you.”

“Yes, Ma…dam.”

For the time being, Kyla decided to address Lady Lester in the same way she had addressed Lady Feilding.

As Lady Lester showed no sign of objecting to the title, Kyla felt she had made the right choice.

Saying the title out loud also made her fully aware of the nature of their relationship.

The child named Riona must be the duke’s younger sister, whom Kyla would be teaching.

Ten years old.

What kind of child would she be?

Would she be gentle and graceful, like a spring flower or Lady Lester?

She certainly didn’t resemble Silas.

Kyla tried to imagine the face of a ten-year-old girl with Silas’ features.

The thought was so dreadful that she frowned instinctively, even though it was only in her imagination.

‘Please don’t let her resemble her brother.’

“Mrs. Gerald, please show Miss Feilding to her bedroom. Miss Feilding, you must be tired today, so we’ll begin the piano lessons tomorrow.”

Kyla lowered her head in greeting and followed Mrs Gerald.

Her bedroom had been prepared in the room at the far end of the third floor.

Her trunk was already inside.

“Miss Feilding, you should get some rest. Dinner is at seven, so please come down to the dining room then. But you don’t know where the dining room is yet, do you? I’ll send a maid to show you.”

Mrs Gerald spoke quickly, flashed a bright smile, and left the room without waiting for Kyla to reply.

Kyla stood silently in the middle of the room for quite some time.

The room seemed to have been empty for a long time. Even though it was summer, the air inside felt cold and empty.

She slowly walked to the window and opened it wide.

The orange glow of the late afternoon sun poured into the room.

She had once vaguely believed that if she never married, she might live in the Feilding household until the day she died.

Yet she had only stayed there for five years.

‘How long will I remain here?’

‘Will I get along well with the little lady named Riona?’

Since the girl seemed to enjoy the piano, Kyla thought they would probably get along well.

Kyla was lost in such thoughts, smiling faintly to herself, when suddenly a sharp voice came from the doorway.

“What are you doing here?”

Kyla turned towards the voice.

In the doorway stood a young girl wearing an orange one-piece dress with a red ribbon tied neatly in her hair.

With her jet-black hair and dark eyes, Kyla could easily tell that this was Riona Lester, Silas’s younger sister.

Unlike the dreadful image Kyla had conjured up earlier, the girl was actually very pretty.

However, her face was twisted with irritation as she stood there with the door flung open.

Kyla had imagined the youngest daughter of the family to be sweet and lovable, growing up surrounded by affection.

Instead, Kyla let out a small, helpless smile and stepped towards her.

“Hello, Miss Riona. My name is Kyla Feilding. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be teaching you the piano.”

She bent slightly at the waist to meet Riona at eye level and spoke as gently as possible.

“Oh. Piano.”

The little lady frowned deeply.

“Ugh. That’s so annoying. I was so happy because I didn’t have to play the piano for a while.”

‘What?’

Kyla blinked in confusion.

‘Didn’t she like the piano?’

Kyla stared blankly at Riona, who was standing with an expression of displeasure etched on her face.

Kyla recalled what Lady Feilding had said.

Aside from remarking that Lady Lester’s young daughter played the piano fairly well, Lady Feilding had made no other mention of Riona.

Assuming that a young lady from a ducal household would naturally enjoy the piano had been her own foolish misunderstanding.

It was absurd.

Kyla let out a hollow laugh.

“Why are you laughing? That’s rude.”

The little lady pouted, crossing her arms.

“I’m sorry, Miss Riona. I laughed because I felt foolish. I wasn’t laughing at you.”

Looking into Riona’s eyes—eyes that clearly hated the piano—Kyla wiped the smile from her face and spoke seriously.

“Foolish? You mean you, teacher?”

Riona tilted her head and looked up at Kyla.

“You don’t look foolish. Rather than foolish… you look like a pretty princess. Hmm… well, except for those clothes. Ah, right. Like Cinderella.”

Kyla glanced down at her clothes again.

All she wanted was to dress modestly and neatly. But did she really look like Cinderella, the girl covered in ash who worked as a servant in rags?

She stared blankly at Riona.

She sincerely regretted ignoring Mary’s advice to pack prettier clothes.

The piano lessons had been a disaster from day one.

Riona showed no interest in the piano whatsoever and had no desire to improve.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

Riona seemed determined to drive Kyla out of the ducal household. Otherwise, why would a young lady go out of her way to torment someone who was nothing more than her piano teacher?

Three days after Kyla arrived at Chatsworth, the portrait of her mother, which had been carefully placed on top of a cabinet, disappeared.

She searched the entire room for it.

When she still couldn’t find it, she began to think it was lost.

Kyla was nearly out of her mind with shock.

It was the only precious portrait she had left.

She could not possibly lose it.

Her vision darkened.

She felt as though she had lost her mother all over again.

‘I should have taken better care of it.’

She thought she had put it away safely in the cabinet.

Had she been mistaken?

She sat on the edge of the bed, tears falling one after another.

Then Riona appeared, holding the portrait. She said she had found it lying in the hallway and smiled brightly.

Kyla was overwhelmed with joy at having recovered the portrait that she had thought she had lost.

With tears in her eyes, she clasped Riona’s hands and thanked her repeatedly — more than ten times.

At the time, she never imagined that Riona had orchestrated the whole thing.

She simply assumed that a maid must have knocked it down by accident while cleaning, and that Riona had found it.