“Pretty Miss, how did you come here?”

When she entered the tavern, a young employee approached and greeted her warmly.

“Um…… could I work here?”

Liana spoke with courage.

“You’re looking for work? Please wait a moment.”

The employee’s eyes widened, then he disappeared into the back of the store. After a while, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the tavern owner appeared with the employee.

“You can work here. You can be a drinking companion in the tavern or comfort lonely men’s nights in the brothel. You’re pretty, so you’ll be popular. You’ll be able to make lots of money.”

The owner said with a welcoming smile. Both the employee and owner seemed to be misunderstanding.

“That’s not it…… could I sing?”

“Huh? Sing?”

The owner’s eyes shook like an earthquake, seeming not to have expected those words. He had been looking for a Miss to work in the tavern hall, so when the employee said a pretty Miss had come looking for work, he had rushed out hurriedly.

“Sing…… Have you sung before?”

The owner asked with a suspicious face.

“I haven’t done it before, but I can do it well.”

To avoid being discovered by Dain, she had to hide her identity, so she couldn’t say she had been a singing actor in a theater company.

“Then try it once.”

The owner crossed his arms and gestured with his chin toward the small stage in the tavern.

“Yes.”

Liana, who went up on stage, sang a song her mother had taught her. According to her mother, it was a song that imperial citizens usually liked and enjoyed singing. It was a song with a gentle melody containing lyrics about love and longing between family.

When she began singing, the owner’s crossed arms slowly loosened and he made a surprised expression. The employee who had been arranging chairs also stopped moving and looked at her.

“Wow!”

“She’s good.”

When her song ended, the owner and employee applauded with admiration.

“You pass. Very good. The customers will like it. I’m Rick. This is Andy. When can you start working?”

“From next week, once a week, I can come on Mondays.”

“From next week? Good. I’ll give you sheet music, so practice.”

Rick said as he handed her a thick bundle of sheet music. The pieces he gave her were songs popular among imperial citizens.

“Yes, thank you.”

Liana decided to come to work at the tavern every Monday and sing along with the performance of an instrument resembling a guitar. And the owner decided to call a separate instrument player.

The place where she decided to work was a restaurant that combined a tavern and included small performances, and business seemed good so the pay was on the high side. Even working once a week, she thought she could save quite a lot of money.

A week later, she went to work at the tavern. Dain, true to his promise, didn’t look for her on Monday, not at night and not during the day either.

Her daily wage was ten thousand gold. For just singing, the pay was quite good, so she was overjoyed.

“Let me off here.”

She took the ducal castle’s carriage to a point halfway between the castle and the pleasure district.

“Lady, what time shall I come to pick you up?”

The coachman who let her off asked.

“You don’t need to come pick me up. I’ll return by my friend’s carriage.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Liana had left the ducal castle telling Kelly she was going to meet a friend. She got off the carriage and transferred to a public one and went to the tavern.

When she finished work and returned, she planned to take a public carriage on her way back to the ducal castle.

“Este, welcome.”

When she entered the tavern, Rick and Andy welcomed her.

Este was her deceased mother’s name. She thought it would be better to use a pseudonym while singing at the tavern, so she decided to use her mother’s name.

The tavern already had many customers. Liana, who stood on stage, warmed up her voice while slightly nervous, then slowly opened her mouth and began singing. The noisy restaurant became quiet in an instant when her soft and beautiful voice echoed.

When the first song ended, people applauded and cheered. However, some customers who had been drinking since daytime made drunken advances toward Liana.

“Is she a new employee? She’s pretty.”

“Do you have time tonight? How about me?”

“Nice figure!”

“I’ll give you as much money as you want. Come with me.”

Liana paid no attention and sang earnestly. There was no reason to pay attention to each one.

“Lady, wake up. I brought your meal.”

“Mmm, Kelly. Just put it anywhere.”

Kelly, who brought breakfast, woke her up. Liana, who had returned late last night and hadn’t been in bed long, spoke in a sleepy voice without opening her eyes. Even when she tried to open her eyes, they wouldn’t open.

When the audience response was high yesterday, Rick asked her to do evening performances as well as daytime ones, offering to double her pay. She was tempted by the offer of more pay and agreed to do so, but singing all day required a lot of stamina.

“Lady, are you sick somewhere? Shall I call the physician?”

Kelly, who approached the bedside, said with a worried expression.

“No. I’m just getting sleepy.”

“That’s strange.”

Kelly tilted her head and placed breakfast on the table. She was worried because the lady, who was usually energetic and ate well, seemed tired all the time lately.

* * *

“Stop appearing.”

A few days later, Dain, who was handling government affairs, suddenly muttered and covered his face with one hand. Liana’s smiling face kept appearing before his eyes.

‘Why do I keep wanting to see her?’

Clearly at first he had only planned to go to the annex when he couldn’t endure the pheromone buildup, but now he thought of her and wanted to see her all day long without reason.

Whenever he had a chance, he would blankly fall into thoughts of her, to the point that it interfered with his government work.

‘Why doesn’t she come out on the balcony these days?’

Dain’s expression became gloomy as he looked at Liana’s bedroom balcony, which was directly visible from his office. Because Liana hadn’t come out on the balcony yesterday or today.

Dain suddenly became curious about what Liana did on her holidays. He hadn’t thought much about it until now, but she didn’t appear in the greenhouse on holidays either, so he suddenly became curious.

“What does Liana do on her holidays?”

He casually asked Philip, who had brought tea to his office, like passing conversation.

“The lady goes out on holidays and returns late at night.”

“Goes out? Where to?”

Dain’s hand signing documents stopped.

His expression became sharp. This was the first he’d heard that Liana went outside the ducal castle.

“She said she goes to meet a friend.”

“A friend? What friend?”

He knew Liana had lived in the imperial capital, but did she have a friend in the duchy?

“She said a friend she worked with in the theater company recently moved to the duchy.”

“…… I see.”

Dain’s complexion darkened at Philip’s explanation.

A friend…… She would have friends too. I’m also her friend.

He was also Liana’s friend when he was Leomi. But he didn’t know why his heart sank when he heard that Liana was going to meet a friend.

After Philip left, Dain called Aaron.

“Aaron, follow Liana this holiday. Find out where she goes and who she meets.”

“Yes, I understand.”

* * *

The day to go to the tavern came. But her physical condition wasn’t good. It seemed to be because she had been overworking lately.

“Ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah.”

When she tried making sounds, her voice didn’t come out clearly either.

‘Did I catch a cold……’

It was a day when Rick had asked her to only do the evening performance because he was doing interior repairs during the day.

In the late afternoon, Liana finished preparing to go to the tavern, put on a black robe, and secretly went out to the front of the small garden. A carriage waiting to take her was standing by in front of the small garden.

“Drop me off at the usual place.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The carriage carrying her departed quietly. A little after she left, someone on horseback quietly followed behind the carriage.

Liana got off the carriage halfway through like usual, transferred to a public carriage, then arrived in front of the tavern. She looked around her surroundings carefully before entering inside.

“Este, are you sick somewhere? Your face is pale?”

When she entered the tavern and took off her robe, Andy asked her with a worried expression.

“I’m fine. I think I caught a slight cold.”

Andy was the same age as her, so they had become comfortable enough to speak casually.

“Can you sing?”

“Yeah, this much will get better quickly.”

Considering the condition of her throat, she seemed like she should rest, but Liana answered with a deliberately bright expression. Since she wasn’t in a position to come outside the ducal castle often, missing even one day would be a loss.

“Okay, tell me if you feel bad. I’ll talk to Rick for you.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“But Rick was looking for you earlier?”

“Really?”

What could he want?

Liana went to the owner’s office and knocked.

“Come in. Este.”

Rick, who opened the door like he had been waiting, welcomed her warmly.

The tavern had become increasingly popular since Liana started singing, and business was good. The brothel attached to the tavern also did better. Since Rick operated both the tavern and brothel together, he was in a very good mood these days.

“Drink.”

When she sat on the sofa, Rick poured his precious tea into a teacup for her.

“Yes.”

“Este, couldn’t you come more often? Only on the days you come are all the seats filled.”

When Liana took a sip of tea, he brought up his business.

“That won’t work.”

Liana flatly rejected Rick’s proposal.

Dain didn’t come to the annex every day, and even when he came, he only came late at night, so if she made excuses, she might be able to come for daytime performances.