As the door opened and they entered the lobby of Baldwin Manor, the assembled staff greeted them in unison. At their center stood Baron Grieam, Marchioness Baldwin’s nephew.

“Welcome home, Aunt.”

Marchioness Baldwin was about to hand her wide-brimmed hat to her maid Josephine when Baron Grieam intercepted it, studying his aunt’s expression. Her face already showed fatigue from the long journey across the border.

“I would have sent knights to escort you had you notified me in advance.”

“I’m simply returning to my own home. There’s no need for such fuss.”

“That wasn’t my intention… I only wished to make your journey more comfortable.”

When she snapped at him, the Baron’s manner became even more deferential.

Regardless, Marchioness Baldwin carefully examined the staff lined up in the lobby. They all seemed to have regained their discipline after her long absence.

Her gaze stopped on a woman wearing an elaborate dress.

It was Angela Grieam, Baron Grieam’s only daughter.

When their eyes met, Angela startled slightly before lifting the hem of her dress and curtsying respectfully.

“Oh, it’s been a long time, Great-Aunt.”

“Angela, yes.”

Marchioness Baldwin looked her up and down before adding, “But why aren’t you in the capital? Why are you here?”

“…Pardon?”

Angela couldn’t hide her confusion at the direct question.

It was the height of the social season. Typically, noble daughters who had completed their debutante presentations would stay at townhouses in the capital to find suitable husbands. 

Moreover, she had heard that Angela’s father, the Baron, was preparing an unsolicited formal dinner.

Having been away from the mansion for some time, it seemed they now treated it as their own home.

While it was true that she had entrusted the Baron with minor estate matters during her absence, the current situation made it difficult to distinguish between owner and guest.

“Come now, Aunt. Angela naturally wanted to greet you upon your return after such a long time.”

Even as he made excuses, Baron Grieam’s gaze fixed on Vivianne standing behind Marchioness Baldwin.

“But Aunt… who is this?”

Vivianne, who was wearing a bonnet adorned with lace and dressed in light outdoor attire, stood frozen with her hands clasped together.

Finding all eyes suddenly on her, she seemed somewhat embarrassed, lowering her eyelashes and staring at the tips of her round shoes.

“This is a girl I’ve brought with me. She’ll be staying with me. Come, Vivi, you should introduce yourself.”

Marchioness Baldwin put her arm around Vivianne’s shoulders and drew her forward.

“…Hello. My name is Vivianne.”

Though she greeted them politely, no one responded to her greeting.

She hadn’t expected everyone to welcome her warmly, but the atmosphere was markedly different from when she had stayed with Marchioness Baldwin at the townhouse.

Her shoulders hunched with embarrassment.

“I look forward to getting to know you all.”

She would need to make a good impression on everyone if they were to live together here.

Vivianne put strength into her toes and forced her lips into a smile.

“When you say she’ll be staying with you… how long will that be?”

“What do you mean, ‘how long’?”

Marchioness Baldwin looked at Vivianne’s face.

“She’ll be staying here permanently. She’s my companion and a precious friend.”

A warm smile spread across the Marchioness’s normally rigid face, like a spring breeze.

“Francis, my room remains unchanged, I presume?”

“Of course, my lady.”

“Prepare a room for Vivi on the same floor.”

At the Marchioness’s command, the butler Francis acknowledged the order with a bewildered expression.

“Oh, and Josephine, please draw a bath in the annex bathroom. We need to recover from our long journey. Vivi, you’ll join me, won’t you?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

Vivianne responded softly, her eyes curving into a smile.

* * *

“Aunt has called for a lawyer?”

“Yes, Baron.”

Upon receiving the butler Francis’s report, Baron Grieam furrowed his brow irritably.

It was a complete disaster. When a wealthy elderly person summoned a lawyer, it meant only one thing: they were modifying their will.

The only new variable was the young lady Marchioness Baldwin had brought with her.

Baron Grieam was the Marchioness’s only living blood relative with whom she maintained contact.

He had been currying favor for years to secure his inheritance, bending over backward to please the fastidious old woman. While the Marchioness was away, he had reported and resolved various issues on the estate, both large and small.

Marchioness Baldwin was not one to ignore such efforts.

The issue was the amount.

“They say she’s a girl of unknown origin.”

“That’s correct.”

It was an unexpected calamity.

Life-saving benefactor. Precious friend. The Marchioness’s uncharacteristically soft words and obvious attachment to the girl were troubling signs.

“I’ll never understand what goes on in old people’s minds.”

Baron Grieam clicked his tongue and stubbed out his shortened cigar in an ashtray.

He had thought that blood ties grew stronger with age. At least, that was true until this random girl appeared out of nowhere.

“She’s quite pretty, I’ll admit. And seems innocent too.”

“What do you plan to do about her?”

“How much longer can the old woman live anyway? As for a girl with no connections, when the time is right, I’ll sell her off for a good price. I’ll pretend to protect her, then marry her off as a second wife to some elderly nobleman. It would be profitable.”

The Marchioness had even brought a bodyguard for the girl, but once she passed away, that connection would be severed as well.

“Or I might take her for myself.”

That way, he could have both the pretty girl and whatever assets were put in her name.

It might be less profitable than selling her to an elderly nobleman, but having some fun for a change wouldn’t be so bad either.

Baron Grieam drained the glass of liquor and smacked his lips.

“Oh yes, here are the responses to the invitations.”

“Give them to me.”

The Baron examined the responses one by one, pausing at an envelope sealed with the Larson crest.

“Duke Larson. Thanks to the old woman, we’ll be hosting a distinguished guest.”

He was a man who rarely showed himself except at imperial events.

Without holding a dinner party in Baldwin’s name, would it even be possible to meet him?

The influential figures who attended a dinner party under the Baldwin name were more valuable than the moths that flocked to ordinary parties. That was precisely why he hadn’t sent his marriageable daughter to the townhouse in the capital.

“Angela will be pleased.”

The Marchioness’s vast fortune and a marriage arrangement for his daughter.

These were Baron Grieam’s only two concerns.

* * *

The reception room of the mansion was filled with elaborate dresses. Boutique staff were helping Angela Grieam try on dresses for the upcoming formal dinner.

“Wow. You look beautiful, Angela.”

When Vivianne expressed her sincere admiration, Angela forced a smile.

She had been excited when her great-aunt offered to buy her a dress and had called the boutique, but there was one unwelcome presence.

‘Why has she been following me around?’

The girl wore a plain dress that was out of fashion.

“You look just like a princess from a storybook.”

She murmured dreamily with her hands clasped together. Angela was more concerned about Marchioness Baldwin, who was watching them from the long sofa, than this tactless girl.

“Vivi, do you like what you see?”

“Yes, it’s fun. Angela is pretty, and the dresses are pretty too. Looking at beautiful things makes my eyes happy.”

“Don’t just look. Try some on yourself. If they suit you, I’ll buy them for you.”

“What? No, I’m fine. I already have plenty of clothes in my wardrobe.”

“Nonsense. They’re all plain clothes.”

Marchioness Baldwin gestured to the designer who was adjusting Angela’s dress.

“Show this young lady something that would suit her as well.”

“Yes, madam.”

Vivianne, who had been sitting on the sofa, was whisked away before she knew it.

* * *

“Why is that woman there again?”

A boutique employee leaving the mansion after finishing her work tilted her head in confusion.

“Come on, don’t you know? Baron Grieam is Marchioness Baldwin’s nephew. That’s his daughter. There are widespread rumors about how they’re sucking up to her for the inheritance.”

“No, no, I know about that. Not the Baron’s daughter. I mean the woman who was sticking close to Marchioness Baldwin.”

The employee quickly glanced around before whispering.

“Actually, that woman… she was Duke Larson’s mistress.”

“What? Larson’s mistress?”

The designer asked with a shocked expression.

“Shh, they’ll hear us.”

“Sorry, sorry. I was just so surprised.”

“When I was working as an assistant at another shop, she came to buy dresses.”

“Are you sure you’re not mistaking her for someone else?”

“I’m positive. She has a face that’s hard to forget once you’ve seen it.”

She was certainly an uncommon beauty. Even so, it was bizarre that Larson’s mistress would suddenly be at Marchioness Baldwin’s mansion. The two had no apparent connection. It was baffling.

“Duke Larson adored his mistress so much. He bought every single dress in the boutique for her.”

“All of them?”

“Yes! Lady Steward was a regular customer at the time, and she threw such a fit, asking how we could accept a common mistress as a customer, saying it lowered the establishment’s standards. It was absolute chaos. Just thinking about it… ugh.”

The boutique employee shook her head, suffering from a headache.

“But didn’t Larson’s mistress… run away? Why is she there?”

“That’s exactly what I’m wondering. So… should we inform Larson? I heard there’s even a reward.”

“Oh, I don’t know. We serve the nobility. Getting involved might just give us headaches. You said you had trouble with Lady Steward, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Let’s think about it for now. You know we have to work overtime starting today to meet the deadline, right?”

“…Yes.”

It was risky to act hastily, especially since Marchioness Baldwin was a formidable figure in her own right. The boutique employee and designer left the mansion in their waiting carriage.