Contrary to her anxious resolve, Marquis Lotus was the only one at the vast table.

“Beate, come and have a seat.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

Beate quickly walked to the seat set across from Marquis Lotus.

A maid pulled out the chair for her, and she sat down.

Why was the marquis alone?

“You must be hungry. Go ahead and eat.”

This wasn’t the first time Beate had experienced dining at a long table with just one other person.

She’d gone through it in both of her previous lives. On the first day she was adopted into the grand duke’s residence, she had expected to meet the family, but ended up dining alone with the Dowager Grand Duchess.

The grand duchess had deliberately not invited her son to the meal.

[You must never encounter Blair in the mansion. If you ever tempt him, I will not forgive you, so always be careful and watch your behavior.]

After that day, Beate never ate in the dining room again.

The dowager grand duchess not only refused to acknowledge Beate as family, she went to great lengths to prevent her son from even crossing paths with her.

Beate ate alone in her room until she was twenty, and even then, her meals were strictly planned for appearance’s sake.

In the grand duke’s residence, she never once experienced the joy of eating or the happiness of sharing a meal with others.

‘Even the kind marquis may not want to show me to his family after all.’

The fact that it was just the two of them at the vast table made her throat tighten, even before she swallowed a bite.

Perhaps the marquis was only putting on a show out of guilt for rejecting a pitiful child’s empty hopes.

Maybe he hadn’t called the family because he planned to send her back to the orphanage tomorrow.

As these thoughts crossed her mind, Beate’s shoulders drooped, her discouraged fingers trembling slightly.

She carefully tried not to let the dinner cutlery touch the plates.

With just the two of them in the large dining room, every little clink seemed to echo even louder.

Despite the delicious food in front of her, her nerves made her pick at her meal.

Watching her, Lotus paused his meal and spoke, as if reading her mind.

“It’s not easy for the family to gather all together.”

He almost added, “since my youngest daughter passed away,” but stopped himself.

Bringing up such a heavy topic at the table would be inconsiderate.

“It’s a bit much for just the two of us to eat here, isn’t it? Normally, we don’t dine in this room. The family has a separate dining room for daily meals.”

Why hadn’t he invited her there from the start? Most likely because Beate wasn’t family. Maybe she wasn’t worthy of being one.

Reading the doubt on her face, Lotus kindly explained.

“I did wonder if such a formal and spacious place might make you uncomfortable. But it’s customary to receive honored guests here at the marquisate, so I chose this room for your first meal.”

Even without saying anything, the staff would understand.

A guest invited to the main dining room of the manor was someone to be treated with the utmost respect, regardless of age or status.

Lotus was keeping his promise to treat Beate as an honored guest.

“Don’t worry about formalities or table manners. You can learn them slowly if you need to, and the maid will help you, so don’t be nervous and just enjoy your meal.”

The marquis was a courteous man who never looked down on or neglected someone just because they were young. He respected Beate.

The circumstances might have been similar to her first meal at the grand duke’s house, but the intention was completely different.

“Thank you for your consideration in so many ways.”

Moved by the marquis’s genuine kindness, Beate took a larger bite of steak. It wasn’t just the food melting in her mouth.

Though Lotus told her not to worry about etiquette, Beate’s table manners were flawless, making his words unnecessary.

She used the correct spoon, fork, and knife for each course, matched the sauces and seasonings to the dishes, and was familiar with the order of the meal.

Even the maid watching her seemed quietly surprised.

‘I’ve heard that Larre educates children for noble adoption, but I doubt they teach them such refined manners. Just who is this child…?’

Lotus too, letting his own food grow cold, watched Beate eat intently.

When he first saw her, her appearance had been a mess, but now, clean and dressed up, she was as pretty as Riley.

There was something about her that kept reminding him of Riley, making it hard to look away.

The clothes fit her well, but that wasn’t the only reason. It wasn’t that she looked like Riley, and yet…

When Beate looked up, her eyes met Lotus’s. Embarrassed at being caught staring, he hurried to speak.

“It’s nice to see you eat well. Though you couldn’t join the family today, I’ll arrange a day soon for everyone to gather.”

“Don’t your family members live here together?”

“The children are attending the Imperial Academy in the capital, so they stay at the townhouse and only come home on weekends.”

“Then are you the only one living here, Marquis?”

“My wife is here too. Her health isn’t good, so it’s better for her to stay at the main house away from the city. I only stay at the townhouse when I have to go to the palace; otherwise, I’m here.”

In her past life, the marchioness rarely attended palace banquets due to health issues. Since they never met, Beate didn’t know much about her.

She remembered rumors that the marchioness disliked social gatherings, was gloomy and frail, and was difficult to approach.

“My wife usually eats in her room unless the children are home. I often eat with her there as well. Since it’s late today, visit her tomorrow to introduce yourself. I’ll tell her about you in 

advance.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

Beate resolved to make a good first impression when meeting the marchioness.

*   *   *

On her first night after returning for the second time, Beate had the same dream as the first night she returned in her previous life.

The beautiful mansion from her childhood was engulfed in flames, and she ran desperately to survive.

Left alone in a place turned to ash, not knowing where to go, she stood frozen until someone took her hand and led her away.

She didn’t know where she was being taken, and pulled her hand away to ask: Who are you? Where is this?

Just as the hazy figure began to answer, she woke from the dream.

‘Where am I…?’

She looked around as she came to her senses. Fortunately, it was the marquisate’s bed, not the grand duke’s.

The traces of her struggle to escape the fire in her dream were clear on the bed. The sheets were a mess, the blanket and pillow scattered everywhere.

She’d hoped to wake up looking as neat as a pretty strawberry on a whipped cream cake.

In reality, it was like a cake that had fallen out of the box and been smashed to one side.

“Oh… no…”

She didn’t want to be labeled a restless sleeper on her very first day at the marquisate.

Beate moved quickly to erase the evidence, drawing on her experience from two lifetimes.

Three years of making her own bed at the orphanage, seven years at the grand duke’s, two years as the emperor’s maid making his bed.

Twice the experience from two lives, plus this one—twenty-six years of skilled hands restored the bed perfectly and swiftly.

Casey came to wake Beate at just the right time, and all traces of the night’s chaos had vanished.

“Did you sleep well? Oh my, the bed is just as I left it.”

The sheets were crisp and smooth, the bedding neatly arranged—no one would suspect a child had done it.

“I don’t toss and turn when I sleep, so I stay in one spot all night.”

As long as she didn’t have strange dreams, anyway. Beate smiled innocently.

“Really? You’re not feeling unwell, are you?”

At her age, it was normal to toss and turn in her sleep, so Casey was actually a bit concerned.

“No, I slept very well.”

“That’s a relief. The marquis had breakfast early and went to the training grounds to observe the knights’ drills. You’ll have to eat alone—should I bring breakfast here?”

“Yes, please.”

“The marquis said you can greet the marchioness this morning. After breakfast, I’ll take you to her room.”

Casey quickly explained Beate’s morning schedule and hurried off to fetch breakfast.

After finishing her meal, Beate got ready with Casey’s help.

Several new outfits had been purchased from the nearest dress shop early in the morning, and she changed into one of them.

“Today, the physician from the imperial palace is coming to examine the marchioness. The checkup should be finished by now, so I’ll take you to her room.”

‘A physician from the palace?’

Beate followed Casey to the marchioness’s bedroom on the second floor of the main house. Just then, the physician who had just finished the examination was coming out.

‘That person!’

She never imagined she would run into him here, of all places.