The conversation continued naturally. She could hear Father touching her hand and saying that summer had been too much. She had actually liked it because it was warmer than spring. But in her collapsed state, she couldn’t say such things. Ririana just smiled faintly, kissed Father’s forehead, and looked at Lian’s stiffly hardened face.

In the old days, she had thought that face was a little scary.

But now she knew it was just hardened from worry. Lian was someone who couldn’t express his emotions outwardly well. He was awkward about such things, so there were some difficulties when raising Lobelia.

Belle, my verdant Lobelia.

That child wouldn’t leave her mind. If she could never see that child again…….

Ah, her chest hurt as if it would tear apart, and she felt like her breath would stop right there. She remembered when she had that child, how she endured the pregnancy, how she held that child in her arms. Her head became a little clearer. It must be thanks to the honey.

Thinking so, Ririana quickly organized her thoughts.

She set priorities.

First, she would meet Lobelia again on the twenty-fifth day of the summer of twenty.

She breathed heavily and gestured to Serina to drink a little more water. Whether she had traveled back in time, dreamed, or seen the future, none of it mattered. She had lived a fulfilling life. She only needed Lobelia. Fortunately, she was already married to Lian. Lian was kind and affectionate.

It wouldn’t be much different from before.

No, since she had those memories. Perhaps she could have a slightly easier and better married life. She could take better care of Lobelia too. And if she took better care of her body, she might be able to stay with that child longer.

Ririana lifted her head.

Father recited a prayer a little more, then kissed the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t proceed as planned.”

“Don’t say such things!”

Along with the loud voice, the sound of a downpour could be heard a little. Nature was probably responding to the powerful water mage’s emotions. Ririana looked out the window once with a perplexed expression, then tightly grasped Father’s hand.

“Father, don’t be angry.”

“I’m not angry. Your head must hurt, I’m sorry for raising my voice.”

The sound of raindrops hitting the window was instantly withdrawn. She could see the diamond-shaped blue attribute stone on the back of Father’s left hand flickering confusedly before settling down quietly. Ririana let out a small sigh of relief.

“No. Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“I’m fine. I’m sorry for startling you.”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t startled at all. Really.”

As the conversation continued, Lian pulled back a little. He was probably giving time for family. But now she needed to talk with Lian too. She lifted her head to look up at him.

“Lian, I’m sorry.”

“……Please don’t say such things. Your body is most important. Let’s stay a little longer until you recover. Leaving immediately on the wedding day was also a bit much. I respect you, but it would have been right to spend more time with family before leaving. Evergreen and Greywoods are too far apart, aren’t they?”

The way he spoke was exactly the same as she remembered. Lian stepped back greatly as if to give up his place. Should she hold onto him? Such a thought occurred to her. Lian had lost his mother at a younger age than her and lost his father two years before marrying her.

He had said being with family was a little awkward.

Not that he hated it, but that it was awkward. Then wouldn’t it be okay for him to be here too?

“Lian. Stay here.”

He raised his hand to scratch his left cheek—a habit when he felt emotionally agitated. He didn’t dislike it. If he did, according to her memory, he would have adjusted his cravat with a blank expression. That was simply a sign of his awkwardness and agitation.

“……Yes.”

It was a quiet answer. Ririana slowly exchanged a few words with Father and her older brother while being attended by Serina. Lian stood quietly by the bedside watching her. She didn’t know what he was thinking.

This scene looked good.

Ririana smiled faintly with little strength.

❀

“You must have been very surprised too, why don’t you go in and rest now?”

“No.”

Killian Greywoods answered so and quietly looked down at the sleeping face of the one who had now become his wife. She was a small lady with thin, light brown hair that looked like faded blonde when the noon sun shone on it. From their first meeting, she was so small and fragile that he had often thought she might melt and disappear like a sugar doll at any moment.

Born fragile, whenever news came, it was often that she had been ill and recovered. She was his betrothed from the womb, promised in marriage to him from when her gender was known.

He thought he should treat her well.

All the stories he had heard since birth were about her frailty, and everyone told him to treat her well. And she was younger and weaker than him. He still remembered the girl who had nervously gripped her parasol so tightly that nail marks remained on her palm as she politely greeted him at their first meeting.

He had thought to do his best to treat her well.

Because he was older than her.

Even if he couldn’t give love, he could give trust and friendship, so he should respect and cherish her. That’s what he thought. So he simplified the ceremony procedures as much as possible so it wouldn’t be too much for her.

Even that seemed to be too much for this delicate person.

He slightly frowned and quietly looked at his young wife’s face as Lord Argord stroked it. Her skin was pale as could be. She would turn red in the sun, but even then she wouldn’t stop walking, panting a little under her parasol.

There had been only five meetings until the wedding.

Though she grew a little each time they met, she stopped growing after seventeen, with only her hair getting a little longer as the only change. Small, fragile, and quiet.

Except for her vivid eyes resembling summer leaves, she was a blurry person with no presence. She always called him Young Marquis Greywoods or Marquis Greywoods. Neither she nor he were very talkative, so their meetings always ended with long, long walks.

Quiet ones filled only with the sound of birds chirping.

Once he had suggested spending time in the drawing room. He had said it because she looked like she was struggling, as if she might melt in the sunlight. But usually she couldn’t take such long walks, so she had asked to definitely take a walk. Other than that, she had never asked for anything.

Until the summer of eighteen.

The summer of eighteen. When talk of the wedding came up, she had said she wanted to have the ceremony in summer, not spring. Then she took him to the trumpet vine arch and talked about this and that for the first time. That was probably when they had talked the most.

No, rather than talked, it would be more accurate to say he listened.

She brought up topics and he just nodded. After that, he went back to the Greywoods mansion and built a trumpet vine arch in the garden. Because he had seen her smile like that in front of him for the first time that day. So he thought it would be good to build one.

She seemed to really like it.

It was a betrothal from the womb. And a political marriage.

There was no flutter or excitement between man and woman. Since both she and he were quiet people who didn’t want much, he thought it would just be a more peaceful married life than others.

He felt a little strange.

“Come to think of it, did Riri originally call you by a nickname?”

His reverie was broken. Killian pondered for a moment at Lord Argord’s call, then shook his head. Come to think of it, she had called him Lian. He hadn’t realized it in the confusion. She was someone who had called him Marquis Greywoods until the day before the wedding.

She had asked permission to call him by name only on the wedding day itself.

And she had given him permission to use her nickname, not her name.

She had been called Lady Evergreen, but asked to be called Ririana. Not Riri, the nickname her family used. So he had just said he would do so.

It was strange. She had definitely called him Lian, not Killian. Even though she wasn’t that type of person. She was someone who would ask separate permission to use a nickname. Come to think of it, it was also strange that she had woken up and called him to her side. She was someone who didn’t want to show even a slightly disheveled appearance.

He had thought she was intimidated by him.

But just now……

He felt something stirring in his chest. Killian bowed his head to avoid eye contact and looked at the sleeping person. The image of her smiling brightly at him for the first time under the trumpet vine arch at eighteen overlapped with the sleeping person’s face.

A small whirlwind blew in his hand.

❀