Beneath his straight nose, his well-formed lips parted briefly before closing again. Una didn’t linger on his words and shifted her eyes away. The wind swept through the field, flattening the green grass. In the distance, sheep bleated softly.

“The one Mom gave me… the wind… it blew it away.”

At the edge of the field, a small stream meandered. Unless it was a particularly unruly gust, the ribbon might have fallen near the stream’s bank or into the surrounding grass. Feeling a sense of urgency, Una fidgeted, her small body shifting slightly. The man, who had been gently stroking her head, lifted her chin with care, ensuring not to hurt her.

“Swan…”

He murmured the name softly, almost to himself. Una frowned, her lips moving as if to say something. The man holding her drew her closer, pulling her small frame tightly against his chest. Startled, Una tilted her head back to look at him, but he spoke softly, his voice gentle.

“If you want ribbons, I’ll give you as many as you want.”

***

“Swan, you’ve worked hard. The older I get, the harder it is to run this mansion. And it doesn’t help that the children in this household are such troublemakers.

About a month ago, Gelda came to complain about a loose molar. At the time, she had been quite well dressed for someone who worked at the Tolly mansion, even wearing a fine wool shawl draped over her hunched back. Although Mr Tolly was known throughout the village as harsh and stingy, he seemed to treat the staff who ran his estate quite well.

Perhaps working as a maid wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. Although she had no previous experience, this might be the right opportunity to follow in Gelda’s footsteps and take up a position at Tolly Mansion.

Continuing her work as a apothecary was complicated by the fact that she had no formal approval from the Church. For this reason, she had given up her apothecary practice after settling in the small village of Cotley within the Romencastle estate.

Of course, even back at the cabin, she had never practiced the trade professionally. Doing so could have led to accusations of witchcraft, just as her grandmother had faced, and potentially resulted in her death.

She specialized in gathering and drying medicinal herbs to sell. Occasionally, when the local doctor was too busy, she would help treat patients that Tom brought to her. The income was small, but it was sufficient—after all, Swan only had herself to provide for.

However, everything changed after Mirabella—or rather, Una—was born.

She didn’t want to live in isolation, building another cabin and cutting herself off from the villagers in this new settlement. More importantly, it wasn’t what Theo wanted, and it wasn’t what Swan wanted either. She wanted Una to grow up as part of the community, surrounded by the people of the village.

To ensure this, she was careful not to do anything that might attract the unwanted attention of the villagers. Living this way, she naturally began to work in other households, doing domestic chores to earn a living. Even when she did work as a apothecary, it was only occasionally, and always without accepting payment – offered purely as an act of goodwill, much like Gelda.

Swan hadn’t originally planned to continue her apothecary work, but she couldn’t avoid it. There were sick people in the village, and she found it difficult to turn a blind eye to their suffering. As she helped those in need, the villagers of Cotley began to recognize her talent for medicine.

Eventually, Swan started assisting the villagers here and there, as long as she didn’t charge for her remedies. Beyond that, she refrained from engaging in any other apothecary work.

Theo, on the other hand, worked tirelessly. During the weekdays, he was employed as a coachman for Mr. Tolly, and on weekends, he worked as an apprentice mason under Mr. Dotty, the village mason.

Even with their constant efforts, the money they earned was limited. But they didn’t mind. It wasn’t a life of abundance, but it was filled with happiness and harmony. They were saving bit by bit, hoping to eventually move into a brick house with a yard. There, they could tend to a garden, just as they had at their old cabin. For Swan, their current life was more than enough to bring her joy.

“Please call me again next time. I can come and work anytime.”

“Of course. I won’t forget. Mrs. Tolly is quite fond of you, after all…”

Gelda paused mid-conversation, coughing lightly. Swan gently ushered her back into the mansion with a polite farewell. Gelda, with a satisfied smile, watched Swan as she walked away. The feast at Mr. Tolly’s mansion was the last one planned for now, which meant this would be her final wages for the time being. Finding a new opportunity could take three or four days at least.

As Swan inspected the food and silver coins in her basket, she paused and looked up.

“Oh…”

At the edge of the village, she caught sight of black-maned horses. There wasn’t just one—there were several. Her eyes focused on the blue cloaks draped across the riders’ shoulders, flowing down their backs. The horses, carrying knights, stomped their hooves against the ground and snorted softly. As the shadows they cast over her gradually broke apart, a familiar face came into view.

“Swan.”

The voice was calm, even, and devoid of any strong emotion—neither anger nor longing. It was the tone of someone casually recognizing a familiar face in an unexpected place, showing only the faintest trace of surprise at the encounter. At least, that’s how it seemed to Swan.

She blinked a few times before letting her stiff expression soften.

“Your Highness.”

The man holding the reins looked down at Swan. She hesitated briefly before managing a small smile. In her flustered state, a piece of bread tumbled from her basket. Startled, she quickly bent down, picked it up, brushed it off, and returned it to the basket.

“It’s… it’s been a while.”

“…”

“I’m glad to see you’ve been well.”

The man stared at her silently, his faint smile gradually fading from his rounded features. Swan parted her lips as if to speak but stopped herself. Instead, her gaze shifted to the knights surrounding him.

The knights, clad in gleaming steel armor, watched her with stoic, expressionless faces. Clutching her basket tightly to her chest, Swan looked back up at Atlion.

“It’s been a long time, Swan.”

“Yes.”

Her cheeks turned a deep red. She blinked quickly, her thoughts drifting back to the time since they had last parted. It must have been over two and a half years. Running through the forest, meeting Theo, crossing the river together… Thinking about how she had built a family and created a home outside the cabin made her chest swell with pride.

In retrospect, those times had been difficult and exhausting, but Swan had cherished them. Even the hardships had become precious to her. She was sure that Theo felt the same.

“To meet Your Highness in a place like this… What a surprise, and truly remarkable. What brings you to Cotley?”

Her flushed cheeks twitched as she gave a bright smile, the kind one might give when unexpectedly meeting someone familiar from home. Suddenly, she worried her toothy grin might make her appear silly. His pale face, illuminated by the scattered sunlight, lingered on her for far too long.

It was a gaze that seemed to dissect even the smallest, most inconsequential details. A sudden chill crept over her. Instinctively, Swan drew her shoulders inward, her smile fading as she gripped her basket tightly. She began to worry that, in her eagerness to smile, she had somehow said or done something wrong.

The memory of clinging to him in desperation, humiliating herself and failing to apologise properly still lingered in her mind. But now it felt like she could finally face those unresolved feelings and bring them to an end. Awkwardly, Swan relaxed the tension in her expression and looked at him.

“The baby… she’s growing well. Would you like to see her?”

His cold, piercing gaze shifted to the basket cradled in her arms, but he made no reply. Swan’s heart sank as she realised she might have made a mistake in mentioning the child.

After all, he’d never seemed particularly fond of children. Theo, on the other hand, loved children – whether they were his or someone else’s – but she imagined that most men found small children more of a burden than a joy.

Especially a child they didn’t want in the first place. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might not even be curious about Una. Maybe just seeing her here was enough to irritate him. Swan hesitated as she saw his expression grow colder when she mentioned the baby. Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to speak, but no words came.

“I’m sorry. You must be very busy and it seems I’ve kept you unnecessarily.”

Swan said with a faint, habitual smile. She bowed deeply and started to turn away.

Suddenly she heard laughter. Startled, she looked up to see the man laughing in disbelief. Swan froze, her eyes wide with concern. After a brief laugh, he spoke.