Then, his brow naturally furrowed as he saw someone carefully running from far away.

He had ordered everyone to return to the mansion so she could walk in the garden alone, so who was disobeying his order and disturbing her time?

“……Miss! I’m sorry… from the mansion……”

He had thought about firing them for not following orders, but fortunately, the one approaching her was Eve, Lysith’s personal maid.

He had seen her face somewhere. Judging by her clothes, she wasn’t someone who worked at the mansion, so she must be Lysith’s person. Perhaps because of the maid who had come running as if something had happened, Lysith’s eyes were wide with surprise.

Through the slightly open window, the voices of the two women drifted in with the wind.

“……might want to, quickly……”

“It’s okay. What is it?”

“Just now… a letter……”

“From Ash?”

The maid’s voice wasn’t clear to his ears, but Lysith’s voice was firmly audible. As if she were whispering right next to him.

Therefore, Dietrich, who had heard the nickname she muttered without any error, exhaled through his tightly closed teeth.

At the same time, it was natural for memories from last time, at the imperial palace, to resurface. The reason he hadn’t protested or taken any action after being hit by the Tower Master was primarily due to political issues, and another reason was that he himself thought he might have deserved it.

While accepting the words that it was a hit on behalf of Lysith, he wanted to shout, “Who are you to step in?” but now it seemed their relationship was better than he had thought.

Of course, he was also aware of the rumors in social circles and what he had seen at the banquet hall.

But rumors were generally exaggerated, and at the banquet hall, it wasn’t so much Lysith clinging to him as the Tower Master seemingly hanging onto her. Therefore, Dietrich had thought that perhaps she didn’t consider him that close, or so he believed.

After hearing her naturally call him by a nickname just now, it seemed his thoughts were completely wrong.

Right now, she was calling him “Your Highness the Grand Duke” like everyone else.

On their wedding day, which was now becoming hazy in his memory, she had probably called him “Dietrich.”

Behind Dietrich, who was holding his forehead, the conversation between the two women in the garden continued calmly.

“I understand, you can go.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? What if His Highness the Grand Duke says something to you……”

“I met an old friend, so I’m having a conversation.”

After sending away Eve, who was still busy worrying about her, Lysith sighed lightly, “Whew.” The news Eve had delivered wasn’t something that needed to be checked so urgently. It was simply a letter from Ashites whining that his arrival in the empire would be further delayed.

However, this method was often used by nobles when they wanted to leave quickly. Making up excuses like an urgent matter at the mansion, or a sudden personal issue that required immediate attention, showing minimal courtesy and regret.

‘It’s like texting your mom for help when you want to leave a drinking session with classmates.’

Anyway, the garden was so vast that it was impossible to see it all. The area where Lysith usually stayed was the garden located below Dietrich’s office, and that’s where she was walking now.

She thought it might be because she wanted to see Dietrich. And from the beginning, Lysith couldn’t shake the feeling that someone from inside the office was staring intently at her.

Since she didn’t particularly want to turn her head to check—and she wouldn’t be able to see inside anyway—Lysith resolutely looked only at the well-maintained garden.

Her memories included memories of this garden. She had carefully designed everything, from which flowers to plant to which trees to grow.

Taking care of the garden was a typical duty of the lady of the house, but at that time, she wanted this residence to look beautiful whether seen from afar or up close.

Since the mansion’s appearance was perfect, the garden could dictate the overall atmosphere.

Having approached it with such a heavy sense of responsibility, it was naturally pleasant to look at. In particular, she had paid special attention to the view visible from below the office. So that when he was tired from work, looking at the garden would refresh his mind.

“How pointless……”

Lysith muttered quietly as she turned her steps, feeling her mood suddenly sink. While she wanted to see the garden she had decorated with her own hands, and had also come hoping to find one of her missing memories in this place of memories, there had been no results.

On her way back to enter the mansion, she twirled the parasol in her right hand, making the short white lace attached to its end flutter.

The bright sunlight of late August was breaking apart beneath it.

After August would soon come September, and after September passed and October arrived, there would be the autumn hunting festival.

Normally, only someone like Dietrich would have attended casually, but this time, things seemed a bit different.

‘Since Verheigen said he would participate.’

Traditionally, the emperor’s role was to congratulate and encourage the winner of the hunting festival, and it was extremely rare for him to participate. After all, it was an event with the possibility of injury.

No wonder Serul had reacted that way.

Retracing her steps in reverse, Lysith entered the residence, conveyed her intention to leave, and then stood in front of the carriage with Eve.

And Dietrich, who had immediately come down upon hearing her news, was uncharacteristically hesitating as he faced Lysith, who had said her goodbyes and was about to leave.

“I was thinking of leaving the garden as it is, if the lady wishes.”

“……Is that necessary?”

“Well, you were the one who decorated it and cared for it…… Honestly, I don’t know much about garden aesthetics.”

“Well, if that’s what you want, it’s fine. After the next Grand Duchess comes in, it will be up to her anyway.”

Dietrich looked like he wanted to object to her mention of the next Grand Duchess, but ignoring such a man, Lysith simply got into the carriage.

* * *

The situation was similar when Lysith visited the Grand Duke’s residence later.

It was a succession of days spent teaching the Grand Duke, whose dexterity seemed cursed to converge at minus levels, while occasionally engaging in conversations of little substance.

And when those strange meetings finally reached the third time…

“At last……”

“Is this passing grade?”

It was truly remarkable progress.

She had never understood why school teachers cried at graduation ceremonies! So this was why they cried. Now she could understand. Lysith swallowed her rising tears as she looked down at the completed embroidery.

Although there were some misshapen parts and protruding areas, it was still a respectable apple.

“Yes. You’ve improved a lot.”

“It seems my regular practice has paid off.”

Wait, he even practiced this?

It was a bit absurd, but since he had put in such effort, there was no reason to criticize him, so Lysith nodded and offered praise.

“From a teaching standpoint, you’re the best student.”

After all, isn’t a teacher happiest when their student comes prepared with both preview and review? Lysith rummaged through the embroidery cloths to select an appropriate one and handed it over again.

This time, she gave him a ribbon pattern that was more difficult than the apple.

Dietrich’s brow furrowed slightly as if he had expected something different, but then he accepted what Lysith handed him and began to consider where to start.

Finally, as he seemed to have made a decision and began embroidering, Lysith quietly watched while stroking the embroidery with the Gronevelt ducal family crest. The already completed embroidery rolled smoothly under her fingertips.

After contemplating something for a moment, Lysith carefully posed a question.

“I have something I’d like to ask, may I?”

“Sure. Like the location of the safe……”

“I’m not asking about that, so don’t worry.”

“I was just saying you could ask.”

“……”

Please don’t say things like that……

Noticing Lysith’s incredulous “please don’t do that” gaze, Dietrich reluctantly nodded. She couldn’t understand why he nodded as if he couldn’t help it, but anyway.

“Since it might be awkward to just answer… if it’s alright with you, how about I give you a handkerchief with my embroidery? Despite appearances, my skill is……”

“Go ahead.”

“……I’ll embroider the grand ducal family crest on it for you.”

“Alright. ……I should mention now, I lost the previous one you gave me.”

Lysith just nodded vaguely. She hadn’t expected him to have treated it preciously anyway. With low expectations, there was nothing to be disappointed about.

Ahem, Lysith cleared her throat softly, rolled her eyes around, and then spoke in a small voice.

“I was wondering why you maintain the Imperial faction while having a bad relationship with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“……Ah.”

Dietrich looked quite surprised, as if it was an unexpected question.

But on the other hand, he smiled slightly, seemingly understanding why she was asking such a question.

“Many people wonder about that.”

“I suppose so. Usually, if you dislike someone… it’s common not to support them. So I’ve been curious about it for a while.”

He had expected her to ask questions related to their married life, but surprisingly, she seemed to want to resolve a curiosity that had arisen recently. Meeting her sky-blue eyes that seemed to ask for an answer to her curiosity, Dietrich opened his heavy lips that never opened to others.