“It was simply a small gathering of those who were once part of the Resias assembly. Please don’t misunderstand.”

Benyamin, ears gone red, scrambled to smooth things over.

“It started as an informal meeting among heirs of the eastern great vassal families. Someone brought up the old days when we all gathered under one name, and the name Resias came up naturally. We had actually been thinking of inviting the western families this summer as well…… and there was quite a lot of sentiment that Miss Rosemaria should be the one to lead a gathering of heirs.”

Anne’s eyes held a faint look of exasperation as she watched the two brothers preen at the flattery.

“……Since Sir Benyamin is kind enough to say so, I would be glad to lend whatever small help I can, should the opportunity arise.”

Surface-level warmth was better than nothing.

Making peace face-to-face, even if only on the surface, and reminding each other of basic human decency was a hundred times better than fighting on all sides.

Rose offered Benyamin a genuine smile.

The flustered color in Benyamin’s cheeks deepened into something different from before.

“Y, you’re promising? Oh, I’m very much looking forward to it. To be honest, I’ve personally been wanting to meet with you for some time and ask for advice on various matters……”

Oh ho, a spring breeze is blowing! Anne’s eyes lit up and she drew a long, triumphant breath through her nose.

“Now, how old is Sir Benyamin this year?”

Anne leaned toward Vivi and murmured.

“Nineteen, I believe, my lady.”

“In any case, a perfectly marriageable age. I’ve been noticing he’s been looking more and more like a man. Quite dashing, isn’t he? Rather like his income, which they say grows by the day. Ho ho ho.”

“They’re calling him the prince of the mining world, and he’s got a sharp head for business too, haven’t they? Shall I add him to third place on your list of son-in-law candidates, my lady?”

Rose let the two schemers’ hushed whispering wash past her and looked over at Shurelli, who was hopping along behind her.

Shurelli held her mother’s hand in her left and her father’s in her right, smiling as though she owned the whole world.

The spring she came to her father’s house and the autumn she went to her mother’s were the only seasons the child could see both parents at once.

Anton and Eva, who had divorced on the grounds that they couldn’t possibly live together because their soup-eating styles were incompatible, shared a meal together just twice a year, when they brought their daughter to the other family’s home.

The two families had nearly become mortal enemies, each trying to pin the blame for the divorce on the other, with no particular fault on either side. They had reached a peaceful agreement only because Shurelli, who carried the blood of both families, had been born.

“Shu loves Ordo and Basil both so, so much. Being Mama and Dad’s child makes me the happiest person in the whole world.”

The child expressed boundless love for both her parents’ families equally.

In response, the parents, though separated, had sworn with one heart to protect Shurelli and formed an alliance.

“Shu……”

How did you find your way to us just when we needed you, like a miracle?

Because you’re here. Because you exist as Shurelli Ordo……

Maybe that’s why I can’t give up on Ordo, even as it drives itself to the edge of a cliff.

Rose gazed with tender longing at the miraculous child who resembled neither of her brawling parents.

“Don’t you want a daughter like that too?”

Anne’s voice drifted into her ear, sly and knowing, clearly misreading what was on Rose’s mind.

“You can have one! But marriage comes first. You cannot turn twenty-three as a dishonorable spinster. Somehow! With desperate resolve! You absolutely must get married this year, understood?”

A late marriage being called a dishonor.

If that were the only dishonor House Ordo had to its name, things would be so much simpler.

“I’ll do my very best, Mother.”

Rose summoned a dutiful smile from the deep well of her filial devotion.

“Oh, best isn’t good enough, my darling. What are you going to do with eighteen of those embroidered handkerchiefs? A proposal handkerchief is completely useless if there’s no one to give it to.”

“It’s Melos rosemary, not barley, Mother.”

“Oh my! Look at how Sir Benyamin keeps sneaking glances at you. You’ll be kind to that poor young man, won’t you, my sweet?”

The pressure to be kind enough to marry him came through clearly in every muscle of Anne’s beaming face.

Just get married! Right now! Before that big, brainless Camelot beast overtakes you!

“Oh, what a perfect day for an engagement! If you hurry just a little, you could still be a May bride.”

“It’s already April, Mother.”

“That’s exactly why it’s fine. May hasn’t passed yet, so there’s still plenty of time to be a May bride.”

Anne pinched Rose’s lightly rose-tinted cheek with an adoring look and nudged her toward the guests.

❀❀❀

Anne seethed inwardly as she listened to news of House Basil’s latest triumphs, how every venture Benyamin touched lately turned to gold, how talks of a match with the king’s own cousin’s family were apparently underway.

Good news about a prospective son-in-law should have been welcome. The problem was that her plan to put him forward as candidate number three had been stalled by Rose’s ironclad resistance.

“My, being invited to the Red Canary Club, how wonderful, Sir Benyamin. There are many fine ladies from distinguished families in that circle, so it should be a lovely place to find a match.”

If he wasn’t going to become her son-in-law, what did she care whether another family’s heir thrived or not!

A rival among the ten great vassal houses, and nothing more than a former in-law at that. The higher his standing rose, the greater the risk of him becoming an obstacle in Ordo’s path.

And there was Rose, oblivious to her mother’s quietly burning frustration, sitting there with her pleasant face and offering nothing but congratulations.

The one daughter she had managed to have, and the girl couldn’t even find herself a man. What a hopeless fool!

“It was so lovely to see you after so long. Take care on your way home, Eva.”

Anne finally collected herself and found her smile again only when the guests were preparing to leave. She managed to hold back her exasperation only thanks to the sweet granddaughter clinging to her skirts and demanding affection.

“I’ll write to you. Take care of yourself, Lady Ordo.”

Eva and Benyamin rose and left after a single meal, as they always did.

Even if House Basil and House Ordo maintained a cordial relationship, the culture was not one where a divorced couple could comfortably linger under the same roof.

“Thank you as always, Sir Benyamin. Knowing you’re always there looking after our Shu and Eva puts my heart at ease.”

“Not at all. It’s only right, as Shu’s uncle.”

“Listen to him, acting all grown-up.”

Eva teased her grown younger brother, then turned to face Rose. She clasped both hands together gently, and the look in her eyes carried a quiet seriousness.

“I know as his older sister, I see him as a bit of a child, but our Benyamin is a man others describe as dependable and warm outside these walls. He was raised strictly by our parents to be especially devoted to his wife above all else. So…… I would be very glad if you might consider him as a candidate to share in your bright future, Miss Rosemaria.”

That’s exactly it! That’s the one!

Anne and Vivi couldn’t contain themselves and let out a shriek.

“Eva.”

But Rose smiled awkwardly.

“I’m not yet……”

“I’m not rushing you. I only say it because you’re too wonderful a person to let slip by. Of course, if you have a sweetheart hidden away who loves you passionately and is richer and more handsome than Benyamin, I’d cheer for that love too.”

Eva, who had been Rose’s former sister-in-law but also a friend with whom she exchanged letters, rarely spoke so directly from the heart.

A shy smile had bloomed on Benyamin’s face too, though he was pretending not to hear his sister’s interference and looking around the garden instead.

“Your feelings mean a great deal to me, but please don’t sacrifice your one and only brother for the sake of our friendship. I still…… think I need a great deal more time to consider the matter of marriage.”

Rose thanked her warmly while declining the offer with care.

There was no chance she would ever marry Benyamin. Unlike his spirited older sister, he had a gentle nature, and his heart was far too tender to weather House Ordo.

A man’s fine background and circumstances alone were not enough.

She needed a man who could hold his ground without being swept up in the united chaos of the Ordo household.

A man who would stand unflinchingly on his wife’s side even when she was up against her own family’s enemies within.

And ideally, a man with physical strength enough that Ordo’s brawny men wouldn’t dare look down on him. Ideally, the mental resilience not to be rattled by the noise of a turbulent household. Ideally, the wisdom to manage and guide the simple-minded Ordos……

No. No, that’s too much to ask. It’s an impossible wish.

“Listen to Grandma and Aunt Rose while I’m gone, Shu. Mama will try to visit before autumn if she can.”

Could a man with all of those qualities even exist in this world?