‘If there’s even the smallest clue to curing Serena’s rare disease. It would be even better if I could see firsthand how much selindefirin can alleviate the condition. That’s why I agreed. That’s why.’

Arne nodded with a small smile. At that moment, the coachman’s voice was heard again.

“Cedric, we’re approaching a fork in the road. Which way should we go?”

“To Freya Orphanage.”

“Understood.”

Even as he spoke to the coachman, Cedric couldn’t take his eyes off Arne. He felt strange. It felt like he had made a very important decision. As if things like this would keep happening.

‘I’m overthinking.’

Cedric ran a hand through his hair. He was thinking too much. He needed to change the subject.

“By the way, Lady, you’re wearing ‘Sacred Prayer’ today. Did you like that dress?”

“Except for the ‘Return of Roa’ which is being tailored, it’s the most dignified and beautiful. I wanted to look like a beautiful noble lady.”

Arne parted her lips.

“…Of course, it’s deceitful since I’ve only worn black dresses every day.”

Just for today, she wanted to look like a noble lady. So she wore the finest and most valuable thing she had.

“I wanted to look well-off. Because it’s the orphanage where I stayed.”

Arne’s mouth opened heavily. It wasn’t an easy confession. Trying to change the heavy atmosphere, Arne drew a faint smile.

“Thank you, Cedric. Thanks to the beautiful dress you gifted me, I can be a beautiful and dignified noble lady today. It’s thanks to you.”

She forced a smile. Not realizing how much her casual smiles bothered him.

“You alleviated Serena’s illness. Compared to that, a dress is nothing. How could a mere dress compare?”

Arne blinked slowly. Cedric wouldn’t know.

How much this dress meant to her.

To him, it was just a dress, but she had longed to wear a decent dress so much.

“I don’t remember much from my childhood. But when I first came to the ducal residence, I was so happy. It felt like I was getting a family.”

But she soon realized. Her adoption was the Duke’s decision alone, it was opposed by the Duchess and Bianca.

“It was my misunderstanding. The Duchess didn’t want me, so she disliked me. It was understandable not to like an orphan with red hair and red eyes, especially when the war wasn’t over.”

Back then, she wanted to please the Duchess. She thought if she tried hard enough, the Duchess might give her some attention.

「Stay still. You’re so annoying. Really.」

She waited quietly in her room, doing nothing, so as not to be a bother. But she failed because of her growling stomach.

「Where are you touching? Your hands are dirty. They smell. Where did they pick up something like this?」

She washed her hands until they were chapped, but that didn’t last long either. When the Duchess muttered that it was a waste of water, the maids stopped bringing her water.

‘And what else did I do? Picked flowers, picked apples, drew pictures, and went to war.’

As a child, she thought it was because she wasn’t trying hard enough. Because she wasn’t a good girl. Because she was a bothersome child.

“But one day, I saw the Duchess smile brightly at Bianca in a pretty dress. She said, ‘Our Bianca is so beautiful.’ I remember that.”

That day, she thought she had to become a pretty child. A child’s thoughts were so simple.

「Mother, I also……」

But the moment she saw the Duchess’s cold face, she realized. Even if she became a pretty child, the Duchess wouldn’t like her. The Duchess disliked her because she was Arne.

「Child, you should call me Duchess. Seriously, you need to know your place.」

That radiant smile was reserved solely for Bianca.

“The Duchess never allowed me to wear anything other than black dresses.”

It was like a line drawn by the Duchess, a warning for her not to even dream of crossing it.

Children are truly foolish. She believed that one day the Duchess would allow her to wear a pretty dress too.

“You’d be surprised at the lengths I went to just to wear a pretty dress. Yet the Duchess never allowed it, telling me to know my place.”

Arne tightly grasped the hem of her white dress.

‘You effortlessly achieve what I have struggled my entire life to grasp.’

Looking back, the first time she took off her black dress in her previous life was at her wedding with Cedric. The white wedding dress felt so awkward.

‘It’s you again in this life. Life is truly ironic.’

Arne looked at Cedric’s face. Now, he’s a bit younger than back then, but still unbearably handsome.

“So this dress is very precious to me. Thank you.”

Arne smiled faintly. Her calm voice resonated, making her chest feel heavy.

Unaware of how his indifferent face unsettled her, he continued speaking nonchalantly.

“So today, you wanted to wear a pretty dress like any noble lady and bring a basket of cookies. Though there’s no cookie basket.”

“……”

Many noble ladies would visit orphanages with their mothers, who would discuss the orphanage’s operations or finances while the ladies distributed cookies.

It was a common practice to build a lady’s reputation before her debut in society. The Emperor also encouraged it due to the increase in orphans from frequent wars.

Though it wasn’t unusual for Arne, who was about six months away from her debutante, visiting the orphanage where she had stayed was a bit special.

“We’ll buy some cookies on the way. You just forgot. Coachman, stop by a bakery.”

“Ah…”

It wasn’t that she forgot. The chef at the ducal residence wasn’t kind to Arne. Under Bianca’s orders, they wouldn’t make her macarons or any desserts.

Besides, Arne didn’t have money to buy cookies.

“By the way, I promised to sponsor your merchant guild. Have you decided on a name?”

Cedric’s question came before she could answer. Maybe it was because she couldn’t bring herself to say she couldn’t afford cookies. It was laughable that the Lady of Ronia couldn’t buy a single cookie.

“Yes, it’s Mercedes.”

“Good name. We’ll sponsor it under the name of Renigrad. It’s your money, so you should use it as you see fit. I’m sorry for the delay in fulfilling my promise.”

“Pardon?”

“Use it as you wish and just send the statement or request the amount you need. Whatever you spend, it’s less than the price of Serena’s life.”

Cedric’s indifferent reply made Arne blink and ponder his words. Did he mean she should buy cookies with the sponsorship money?

‘Telling me to use it as I wish is like giving me a blank check. How much does he think I’ll ask for?’

Before Arne could open her mouth, Cedric spoke again.

“This is non-negotiable. Unless you intend to insult the honor of Serena Schopendha de Renigrad.”

“……”

Arne’s lips, which had been about to speak, closed. Since Serena’s illness had improved, if Arne called for a lower amount, it would seem like she was bargaining over Serena’s life.

Thud.

The carriage stopped.

“Cedric, we’ve arrived at the bakery. What should we do?”

“Load all the cookies from the bakery.”

“Yes, understood.”

The sound of the coachman getting off the carriage was heard.

“All of them?”

“Sorry, Lady. Today’s schedule has been unexpectedly tight, so I don’t have time to pick and choose.”

Cedric opened his pocket watch, but his gaze remained on Arne. As she opened her mouth, the watch snapped shut with a click.

“…This is your personal money, not for the guild’s operation, so I’ll repay you later.”

Cedric’s brow furrowed slightly. He didn’t like her response.

“It’s not my personal money; it’s for maintaining dignity, so there’s no need.”

“I’ll repay you anyway.”

“You… are quite stubborn.”

Cedric gave a lazy and arrogant smile.

“But the final approval is up to me. What will you do if I don’t accept it?”

“Then I’ll buy you something tastier than cookies.”

“That’s better.”

Cedric chuckled. That lazy and arrogant look suited him well. Maybe it was just that his smiling face was unbearably handsome, making it impossible to look away.

Just then, the sound of the horses starting up again echoed. The clattering of the hooves grew louder, which was a relief since it seemed like her heartbeat was growing louder too. Arne’s lips parted.

“…Thank you.”

“Not at all. It’s my fault for only giving you what you should have had all along.”

“Still, thank you for everything. The cookies and the dress.”

Arne’s eyelids fluttered slowly as she looked at Cedric.

“It’s all my first time.”

After finishing her words, Arne turned her gaze to the window. The rich, sweet smell of cookies wafted into the carriage. It was so sweet that she wished they could travel just a bit longer.

Unfortunately, the carriage soon came to a stop. The coachman’s voice followed.

“We’ve arrived at Freya Orphanage, Cedric.”

“I’ll escort you.”

Cedric’s gaze, which had been lost in thought, returned to Arne.

“Lady Raniarne Freya de Ronia, your hand.”

When Arne nodded, a graceful smile spread across Cedric’s lips.

Cedric leisurely opened the carriage door. And in that moment, his graceful smile vanished.

Under the sign of Freya Orphanage stood the headmaster and children, seemingly waiting to greet Arne and Cedric.

All the children were dressed in familiar black dresses, as if they had taken all of Arne’s black dresses.

‘…To know her place, she said.’

Cedric realized the true meaning of those words. Why hadn’t he noticed that even the name he had just recited for her was incomplete?

“Greetings to Lady Raniarne Freya de Ronia.”