A magical greenhouse was expensive to maintain, but the plants grown inside were resilient against changes in weather. For flowers in particular, the petals and leaves stayed fresh and wilted far more slowly than those grown by ordinary means.

“Done. This has to be the biggest one among everyone coming out to meet him today, right?”

The bouquet Dorothy finished was enormous.

Layer upon layer of lush, vivid blooms swayed their petals every time a breeze slipped through the open door, spreading a sweet, rich fragrance through the air.

Dorothy couldn’t hide her satisfaction as she looked at it.

It might have been a bit of an occupational habit. She made her living crafting tools, and she was someone who felt the greatest satisfaction when something came together exactly as planned.

For this bouquet too, she set out to make it as large as possible, for Caden, who loved nothing more than things that were big.

Fortunately, it turned out exactly as she wanted.

Caden’s tastes were firm. From childhood, he was the type who believed bigger was always better, whether it was bread, meat, bags, or furniture.

The complete opposite of Dorothy, who preferred things small and intricate.

But today’s occasion belonged to Caden, so Dorothy set her own preferences aside entirely and focused only on matching his.

The day of his return, Dorothy appeared struggling under the weight of the mountain-sized bouquet, and the startled Marquis of Bessler came rushing over.

“Oh my, you should have just had a servant do it! It must have been heavy.”

He said as much, but the Marquis himself also waved off the helping hands the servants extended.

In the Asteria Empire, there was a saying that if a family member presented someone returning from a long journey with fresh, clean gerbera flowers, it would wash away their travel fatigue and brighten the road ahead.

It was nothing more than an old superstition, but those welcoming someone they loved always found themselves caring about such small things.

‘This child always pays careful attention to the smallest details.’

The Marquis felt a warmth rise in his chest without meaning to. He carried the bouquet to the carriage himself, taking care upon care not to damage even a single petal.

Meanwhile, the Marchioness watched Dorothy with eyes overflowing with boundless affection.

“Oh. Even that lush and magnificent bouquet loses its light for a moment before your loveliness, Dottie.”

“Oh, come now.”

Dorothy scrunched her eyes in a playful, endearing way.

“It’s all thanks to the maids putting in extra effort. You wouldn’t believe how much care Ann and Lucy put into my makeup before we left.”

“Extra effort” was an understatement for the dedication they showed.

The two maids approached the preparations in practically a battle-ready state.

Burning with enthusiasm, they shaped Dorothy’s brows into elegant arches and dusted her cheeks with a soft apricot blush made from crushed flower petals.

Throughout the entire time they worked on her makeup, Dorothy’s ears were bombarded with a nonstop stream of chatter.

That she absolutely had to win over her husband at this reunion after two years apart. That faced with this look of Dorothy’s, her signature purity blended with just a spoonful of allure, the man would drop to his knees with a nosebleed on the spot.

Facing the mirror, Dorothy was seized by a faint wave of embarrassment.

‘Hmm. We’re not that kind of couple….’

If she wanted to give Caden a nosebleed, the only way would be to wait for an opening and land a quick punch on his nose.

Even so, the people around her were enjoying themselves, and she had no interest in dampening the mood.

Dorothy played along, putting on a suitably excited air, and her adorable, faintly bashful expression only fanned the flames of the two maids’ already blazing enthusiasm.

So the current Dorothy that Marchioness Bessler couldn’t stop admiring was, in short, the result of the maids pouring their entire souls into dressing her from head to toe.

“Does Caden even know? That he’s the luckiest man in this country. That boy should be offering prayers of gratitude every single day for the fact that I brought the two of you together….”

The Marchioness gracefully took Dorothy’s hand and crossed the main hall of the estate.

Dorothy only smiled shyly.

They said that even people who were once plain and easy with each other often ended up whispering honeyed words of love once they became a couple. That, at least, was not something that applied to Caden and her.

But that was fine.

Because she had the finest mother-in-law in the world, one who showered her with praise so sweet and so gratifying that even the capital’s greatest Casanova would have to concede not one but two moves, sending her shoulders soaring all the way to the peak of Mount Mirou!

She had no need for Caden’s take-it-or-leave-it reactions.

Whenever she asked how she looked after getting dressed up, he resolved everything with exactly two expressions.

‘Oh, nice!’ and ‘Hmm…. Not really feeling it?’

Ordinarily he talked nonstop, the type whose mouth would float to the surface even if he drowned, yet in these moments he was inexplicably quiet and dull. It was something she understood and didn’t understand at the same time.

At first, Dorothy was quite hurt by it.

But before long she accepted that he simply had no interest in that area.

After all, she had no taste for tormenting herself with unresolved negative feelings.

Peace and calm in all things was the ideal. And for that, keeping her own heart at ease was essential.

* * *

They stepped out of the lobby together, and the prepared carriage came into view.

The carriage bearing the Bessler Marquis family crest was newly completed the previous month, and a great deal of care went into every part of it.

Even the small step set down to help passengers board was crafted with delicacy.

The interior was spacious enough to stretch out and lie down, and snacks were arranged on a small side table. The buffalo leather used to upholster the backrests felt smooth and supple to the touch, clearly of the finest quality.

The seats carried the pleasant smell of a new carriage.

A beautiful, harmoniously appointed space.

‘That said, this carriage really is beautifully done. It’s very… my taste.’

When purchasing the new carriage, the Marquis and Marchioness tried to bring Dorothy along to help choose it, but she politely declined.

Being on the receiving end of their particular attention and love was something she was deeply grateful for, but that was precisely why she sometimes needed to be more careful.

The Bessler household had other sons, and Caden’s older brothers were married as well.

As the wife of the third son, she had no say in purchasing expensive items for the household. Even if the Marquis and Marchioness asked first, not declining would clearly look like overstepping her bounds to the outside world.

It might seem like a trivial incident, but carelessly crossing lines like this once or twice had a way of souring everyone’s feelings in the end, even without anyone meaning harm.

For this reason, Dorothy cleanly stepped back and kept out of matters where she had no authority.

And yet, despite having no involvement at all, it turned out in a form that satisfied her aesthetic sense completely. The in-laws must have quietly taken note without letting on.

‘They move me every time.’

A warmth rose in Dorothy’s chest on its own.

Once all three were seated, the Marquis tapped the latticed window of the carriage.

“Let’s go.”

Dorothy leaned back against the smooth leather backrest and slowly lowered her eyelids. She was tired from bustling about since dawn making the bouquet without a break.

“…….”

What would Caden look like after two years?

Surely he didn’t grow some fluffy Kirusha-style beard?

‘I hope not!’