The manager trailed off while carefully watching Alexis’s expression. It had only been a few hours since a knight of House Ceres had caused a commotion at the gambling den.

It was common for gamblers who lost their bets to cause a scene, claiming that the game had been rigged. The problem this time was that the person involved was connected to House Ceres.

The rumor that Evelyn had declared their relationship over with Alexis had already begun to spread.

After all, she had chosen a coffeehouse crowded with people as the place to make the announcement.

At a time when the relationship between their two families was hardly strong, an incident that could easily escalate into a dispute between the houses was certainly not a good sign.

And that was not all.

When the security guards had been sent in to subdue the knight of House Ceres who was causing the disturbance, Evelyn had been there as well.

Judging from the circumstances, it seemed she had gone there to stop the knight from causing an even bigger incident. How she had obtained the information and acted on it remained unclear.

“…How about we look into them?”

The manager cautiously asked, still gauging Alexis’s reaction.

“That sounds good.”

Alexis slowly nodded. Then his eyes lit up as though he had just thought of something.

“It wouldn’t be a bad thing if the investigation happened to reveal that they were spies from an enemy nation.”

As though he had understood what Alexis meant, the manager gave a meaningful nod.

Then he smiled slyly.

“In that case, what should I do about the… dispute with House Ceres?”

“I’ll take care of that myself.”

“Understood.”

The manager bowed deeply and left.

For quite some time afterward, Alexis remained where he was, lost in thought. It was only after emptying an entire bottle of wine that he finally left the gambling den.

***

A quill thoroughly soaked in ink moved swiftly across the parchment, tracing elegant lines of flowing script.

[Hello, it’s Evelyn.

I hope you are both keeping well.

I am safely getting through each day. I suppose I have the two of you and the soldiers at the front to thank for that…]

The words she had been writing without hesitation suddenly stopped.

“Is that enough for a greeting…?”

Evelyn murmured softly to herself and looked around.

Soon, her gaze settled on the scenery beyond the window. Her eyes lingered over the clusters of lavender blooming in vivid purple before returning to the parchment.

Trying to imagine, even vaguely, the desolate battlefield where soldiers were dying every day, Evelyn dipped her quill generously into the ink once more.

[The lavender flowers in the garden are in full bloom. This summer, having such a beautiful view all to myself feels almost unbearably luxurious…]

A mind worn down by exhaustion would inevitably have a harmful effect on the body as well.

Evelyn had experienced that truth all too painfully in her previous life, so she deliberately added a few more words to remind herself of the beauty around her and lift her spirits.

[I hope you can find even a brief moment to smile at a single wildflower blooming by the roadside.

I shall end my letter here.

Evelyn.]

After making sure the ink had dried completely, Evelyn carefully folded the parchment and placed it inside an envelope.

Just then, Lena’s voice came from beyond the bedroom door.

“I brought your meal, my lady.”

The meal was certainly better than before.

It was still simple, but at least there were no signs that it consisted of leftovers that should have been thrown away or fed to animals.

After finishing her meal, Evelyn carefully wiped her hands with a damp cloth.

Then she handed Lena the letter she had prepared earlier, along with a note bearing Harrison’s address.

“Take this to Sir Harrison.”

Lena carefully tucked the envelope into the inner pocket of her clothing before leaving the bedroom.

Now, all Evelyn could do was wait. She could only hope that the letter she had sent through Harrison would reach her family safely.

Evelyn was putting away the quill and ink she had used when a maid’s voice came from outside.

“My lady, you have a visitor.”

Evelyn tilted her head in confusion.

‘A visitor for me…?’

Who could it be?

***

“Welcome home.”

Countess Osment spoke as Alexis entered the mansion.

Alexis had been on his way to his bedroom, but when he saw the Count and Countess Osment sitting on the sofa in the drawing room and staring directly at him, he bowed politely.

“I’m home. Mother, Father…”

“Come sit down for a moment.”

Alexis smiled faintly and answered quickly.

“Before that, I’d like to change my clothes. Would that be all right?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

The Countess readily nodded, unlike Count Osment, who cleared his throat with a displeased expression.

The reason Alexis had insisted on buying himself some time despite irritating his father was to get rid of the strong smell of alcohol still clinging to him.

Once he reached his bedroom, Alexis handed his jacket to the butler.

“You returned early. I thought you would be late.”

The butler neatly folded the jacket as he replied.

“Perhaps… in light of the recent rumors, they found it difficult to remain there any longer.”

“Ah…”

A low groan escaped between Alexis’s teeth as he slipped his arms into a fresh shirt.

“So that’s why they wanted to see me. I was wondering what it was about. Tell them I’ll be there shortly.”

“Yes, young master.”

Having learned through the butler what his parents wanted to discuss, Alexis rinsed his mouth.

After doing what he could to remove the lingering trace of alcohol, he immediately left the bedroom.

“I actually had something I wanted to tell you as well.”

Alexis sat down on the sofa opposite his parents.

The Countess immediately brightened, as though she had been waiting for him to say that.

“Did you properly make up with Lady Ceres?”

“Hmm… Unfortunately, that isn’t what I wanted to talk to you about.”

The Countess’s shoulders drooped slightly. Her disappointment was obvious.

“That doesn’t mean it has nothing to do with Evelyn.”

At Alexis’s words, Count Osment, who had seemed displeased only moments earlier, suddenly showed interest.

“Very well. Tell us what happened.”

“Actually, I went to Metton Street today. There was a bit of a disturbance there.”

There were always disturbances of one kind or another on Metton Street. It was nothing unusual, so neither the Count nor the Countess was particularly surprised.

“The person who caused that disturbance was a knight of House Ceres.”

“…What?”

“My goodness…”

The expressions of both Count and Countess Osment changed the moment Alexis mentioned House Ceres.

“Evelyn happened to be there as well.”

The moment Alexis finished speaking, the Countess exclaimed in shock.

“What on earth was she doing in a place like that?”

“Don’t tell me… you ran into Lady Ceres there?”

Count Osment asked, his brow deeply furrowed. It was not strange that the two of them were so alarmed.

Through illicit channels, it was possible to drastically reduce the taxes that had to be paid to the imperial family, and the Count of Osment’s establishment on Metton Street served that purpose extremely well.

But they could not openly reveal it. Metton Street was hardly clean or respectable.

That was why House Osment had always kept silent about the fact that they operated an establishment there.

In other words, they were perfectly willing to reap the profits it provided, but they could never openly admit that they had a business on Metton Street.

“Yes, of course not. Evelyn wouldn’t have seen me. Absolutely not.”

“Are you certain?”

Count Osment asked again, apparently unable to put his mind at ease.

“I can guarantee it. You know I’m not careless, Father.”

Only after reassuring his deeply worried parents could Alexis explain what had happened on Metton Street that day.

“That brings me to the reason I’m telling you this. The incident caused some damage to the establishment. There were no casualties, but quite a few people were injured…”

When Alexis reached that point, Count Osment’s eyes gleamed.

“You intend to demand compensation from House Ceres?”

“I was thinking about it… What do you two think?”

“I think it’s a good idea. Of course, rather than actually demanding compensation, it might be better to use it as a bargaining chip.”

“I agree with Mother. What do you think, Father?”

“Until the marriage alliance is secured, it would be best to maintain a good relationship with them as much as possible. But they suddenly changed their attitude and caused considerable damage to our family’s honor. We cannot simply overlook it.”

“If that’s the case, don’t worry too much. I have a way to win Evelyn’s heart back.”