Estelle, who had pulled the cloak over her head, peeked out her face. Though her appearance was better than Jeff’s, she too was just as soaked, as if she had been drenched in a downpour.

Jeff, who had been satisfying his personal desires by continually embracing her under the seemingly good pretext of sharing warmth, looked at Estelle with regretful eyes as she left his arms.

“I am Estelle A-Arcis.”

She wanted to greet them elegantly, but having been exposed to the cold for too long, Estelle’s teeth chattered.

To be at risk of catching a cold in the season approaching summer… Estelle disliked this ominous territory even more.

“Ah……! The one who recently became the saintess! Oh my, for now, please at least dry yourselves off.”

Estelle received a towel from a maid and made an expression of relief. This cursed land seemed to have weather that was as unpredictable as it was different from the past. She hadn’t calculated arriving at the Duke’s residence in such a miserable state.

‘I took a different route to avoid getting stuck in the swamp like last time… only to end up suffering more……’

Estelle realized that information she knew in advance could sometimes work against her in the worst way.

‘Still, the Duke of Adrian must be more hated by the Goddess than I am.’

Otherwise, there was no explanation for the downpour that seemed to be deliberately concentrated only around this mansion. He seemed more likely to die from being struck by lightning than from his special ability going berserk.

“I am Walter, the head butler serving His Highness the Duke of Adrian. It is an honor to meet the representative of the Goddess.”

The old butler, who was barely holding together the semblance of the Duke’s residence in place of his negligent master, looked just as worried with his hollow cheeks as he had been before the regression. Even if the old butler somehow managed to run the household inside and out with great difficulty, it would be far from enough to fill the Duke’s absence.

The southern nobles wouldn’t follow the words of a mere old butler, and moreover, the Adrian family’s knights were mostly of noble birth and had extremely strong pride.

Seeing the crumbling outer wall that should have been the safest final line of defense, and the soldiers who were nowhere to be found, let alone on alert, she could guess the territory’s defenses and discipline without even looking.

“I apologize for the delay.”

The butler couldn’t hide his regret at having to keep the rain-soaked guests standing in the hall.

“Since we rarely have lady visitors to the mansion, we haven’t prepared properly.”

Estelle could well imagine the old butler’s difficulties. Thanks to the Duke who had abandoned his territorial duties, he probably hadn’t had time to attend to such minor matters.

‘Even taking that into account, this is severe…… Is there a shortage of workers?’

While the interior looked clean at a glance, there were many areas that hadn’t been cleaned, starting with the dust-covered chandelier. The outdated furniture and gloomy decorations made the indoor atmosphere even more desolate. If the space visible upon entering was like this, the other rooms were predictably worse.

“Your Highness Alexis, please go to your room first, and we’ll bring in the bath water as soon as it’s heated.”

Jeff’s room, which he frequented relatively often during his visits to the mansion, was already clean and needed no special preparation.

“Due to circumstances, we’ve had to close the bathrooms……”

To think the place was in such a mess that they couldn’t even use the plumbing facilities. Estelle was truly amazed by this gloomy mansion the more she heard.

“Estelle, it’s not good to keep wearing wet clothes, so why don’t you go to your room first and change? Your wounds probably haven’t fully healed yet either…… Walter, please call a doctor as well.”

“S-Saintess, are you unwell somewhere?”

The old butler was terrified that the saintess might have been injured by monsters. As if the internal divisions weren’t giving him enough headaches already, if word got out that the saintess had been injured in Luard, there was no telling how the other Guardians would react.

“It’s an old wound.”

Fortunately, Jeff reassured the old butler.

“Yes, that would be good.”

Estelle instinctively clung to Jeff’s arm like someone seeking warmth, and he looked at her with affectionate eyes.

“Walter, I’ll show her to her room, so please let me know when everything is ready.”

“Ah… yes, understood.”

‘Such informal behavior, what kind of relationship do they have?’

The old butler stared blankly at their retreating figures before snapping back to his senses, giving instructions to call a doctor, and heading to the dining room. He wanted to check if there were any precious ingredients suitable to serve the guests for dinner.

It was a strange scene where no one asked about the mansion’s master or brought up their business with him.

The old butler considered it more important to attend to the guests immediately rather than reporting to the Duke of Adrian first, who didn’t care about protocol in the slightest, and Jeff thought he should take care of Estelle first.

* * *

Lexion opened the door to his office and frowned at the smell that greeted him inside. As someone who extremely hated the smell of greasy food in his workspace, he had never even brought in simple snacks except for tea.

“Who……”

His eyes, showing displeasure, caught sight of Maria rising from the sofa. He immediately identified the culprit and closed his mouth.

“I asked for it to be prepared. I heard you’ve been skipping meals……”

Her flushed cheeks and the shy smile at the corners of her lips were unmistakably those of a woman in love.

“……”

Lexion silently stared at her. It seemed like a reaction filled with untainted purity, but he wasn’t fooled by her outward appearance. There was no way the clever Maria wouldn’t know basic things about him.

Perhaps what she wanted was to show off her special status to others—that she could do things the Crown Prince disliked without being reprimanded.

It wouldn’t hurt to go along with Maria’s cute little scheme. Lexion let out a small laugh and walked over to sit at the table. Everything beautifully arranged on the tray was indeed food he liked.

Of course, he didn’t want to see it in his office.

“Really, such trouble.”

Lexion’s gaze turned toward the window. He planned to clear away the food and ventilate the room as soon as she left.

“I appreciate the thought, but next time it would be better to see it in an appropriate place.”

“Yes, just this once.”

Maria laughed cheerfully. She wasn’t foolish enough to expect him to tolerate an irritating act twice.

Lexion picked up a fork with an expression of complete distaste.

“Whose brilliant idea was this?”

He was curious about why she was suddenly doing something so off-putting that she had never done before. The reason he kept Maria by his side was because she understood her place well, was quick-witted, and never did anything that got on his nerves.

Lexion was prepared to replace her at any time if she showed behavior that fell short in any of these three areas.

“Her Majesty the Empress is very concerned.”

“Concerned……”

Repeating in an indifferent tone, Lexion frowned as juice flowed from the pork pierced by his fork.

“About what?”

“Whether Your Highness has no intention of marrying……”

Ah. Lexion looked as if he understood. Maria’s close relationship with his mother and her shielding him from nagging was perfect. But it seemed his mother was beginning to doubt Maria’s qualifications.

She had treated her with familiarity, thinking she and her son were in a relationship close to affection, but now she seemed to believe there was no hope, seeing her son’s attitude that appeared not just indifferent but completely uninterested.

As his mother’s trust wavered, Maria must have felt her position becoming precarious and staged this for show.

“Should we go on a vacation together?”

“Huh, vacation?”

At the unexpected suggestion, Maria opened her eyes wide.

“That sounds great! Of course I would……!”

Having answered loudly without thinking, Maria blushed intensely, embarrassed by her own impulsive behavior.

“It sounds nice… but where to?”

“Drake Lake is worth seeing in summer. The surrounding scenery is excellent too.”

“You mean the lake in Alphion?”

“Yes.”

Maria’s anxiety amplified at this sudden stroke of luck. Drake Lake… wasn’t that in the territory of Duke Alexis, where the saintess was currently staying?

Could this really be a coincidence?

“Maria.”

Lexion put down the fork he had been holding out of courtesy.

“Don’t be too greedy.”

“……”

The garnet-like eyes looking at Maria held many meanings. That’s why she couldn’t ask what his words meant. It was obvious she wouldn’t get a favorable answer.

“I’ve been wanting some fresh air anyway, so what more could I possibly be greedy for?”

Maria smiled with composure.

“Our family has a villa there, so I visited often as a child. Just thinking about going there after so long makes me excited already.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Lexion buried his upper body deeply against the sofa backrest, finishing a meal he hadn’t taken a single bite of.