“Close it when the sunset comes.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Serina lifted her skirt hem and answered politely. That much wasn’t bad. Ririana smiled slightly while savoring the subtle, sweet breeze. Lian was holding documents in his hand today too.

“Don’t you have time for even a cup of tea?”

“……Ah, yes.”

He always acted like a broken clockwork doll at that question.

Maybe it was because she had never detained him like this when they were young. Every year when they met, they would part after a long walk that was both the beginning and the end. But this was already her third tea time invitation……

With stiff movements, he settled into the chair by the bed. Then Serina placed small tables in front of her and Lian and smoothly went to the drawing room connected to her room to bring tea.

It was warm hydrangea tea.

“I inspected the carriage scheduled to depart the day after tomorrow.”

She had talked about that yesterday.

About when to leave, how to take the carriage, and so on.

Serina, herself, and Allen, Evergreen’s family doctor, would take one carriage while Lian would take another carriage. They said about five guards would accompany them. Though Allen was the family doctor, since her main job was taking care of her mother and her, Allen was a female doctor. They had said it was fine to take her along when she got married, but since Greywoods’ doctor was also a woman, they decided to have her accompany them only on the journey.

It was different from that time.

At that time, since she hadn’t collapsed, she went straight to Greywoods without Allen’s accompaniment, and the new doctor carefully examined the situation written in the previous doctor’s letter and took care of her. Perhaps conveying it directly might be better for her health.

“I completed the inspection without any problems. I’ll check once more before departure too. But don’t keep the window open too long.”

“It’s just a handful of summer breeze.”

“But you collapsed.”

There was nothing she could say to that. When Ririana just smiled a little without saying anything, Lian swept his face with his right hand. His well-fixed hair became a little disheveled. He seemed to look tired too.

“Have a sip of tea.”

The tension would ease and warmth would circulate in his body, relieving some fatigue. Though it was summer, Evergreen’s summer wasn’t very hot. What was Greywoods’ summer like? It had felt a bit cooler. So at Greywoods, she usually wore spring clothes even in summer. She could barely wear summer clothes.

She would wear autumn clothes early too.

“I scheduled it leisurely for five days. Fortunately, it seems we’ll be able to stop at all the villages.”

Five days was short. Originally it was a distance that took about eight to nine days by carriage. Sometimes it took up to ten days if they were late. To cover that distance in five days, and stopping at all the villages too, he probably decided to use Lian’s crystal stone.

Otherwise it would be impossible.

Crystal stones resembling attribute stones that mages create by gathering their wishes and magical power. He didn’t need to be so considerate. Previously, he hadn’t used magic. They had gone leisurely. Though they hadn’t slept outdoors then either, it had been a very good carriage prepared for such situations.

She was a little concerned.

“You could go comfortably.”

“That is comfortable.”

Rather, it was comfortable for her. But he spoke as if it was comfortable for him and gestured to ask Serina to replace her slightly cooled tea with fresh tea. Serina approached skillfully with her head bowed and replaced her teacup with a new one.

Ririana carefully blew on the new tea and took a sip. The scent of hydrangea was very nice. It spread in her mouth and warmed her body gently and kindly.

Since he answered like that, no matter how many times she said it was fine, he wouldn’t stop using the crystal stone or change the schedule.

And since she had stayed longer at Evergreen, it had disrupted his plans too. Perhaps there was a reason he needed to go early, so he was using magic.

He always seemed busy. Just like her father.

She silently put down the teacup she was holding and opened her mouth.

“Yes. Then I’ll keep that in mind.”

When she smiled faintly, Lian quietly nodded and drank the remaining tea all at once. His throat must have been parched. When Ririana gently asked Serina to refill his teacup once more, Lian shook his head and stood up from his seat.

“I should go back to finish my work. Make sure to close the window when the sunset comes.”

“Yes, I’ll do that. Lian.”

He scratched his left cheek and hesitated for a moment before getting up from his seat. She wasn’t sure what had caused his agitation. Lian thoroughly checked the room several more times, then extended his hand to her and politely kissed her bare hand with his gloved one.

“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow, Ririana.”

Though it would be polite to get up from her seat, Ririana instead lightly bowed her head once to complete the greeting. Lian left the room with precise, measured steps, and Serina smoothly opened the door for him without a sound.

“His Grace takes great care of Miss.”

It would be natural if a wife collapsed at the wedding ceremony.

And he was originally a kind and good person. If not, no matter how much it was a betrothal from the womb, Father would never have permitted this marriage. He wanted his daughter, who looked exactly like her mother and was sickly like her mother, to meet a good person and not suffer.

So as soon as they knew the gender, he had proposed a betrothal from the womb to Marquis Reynard Altair Greywoods, who had been a close friend of both Father and Mother.

It was accepted.

It was probably successful because her older brother had inherited Father’s magic while she, unlike him, was not a mage. Mages tended to appear once every generation. Since she wasn’t a mage, her children had a high probability of inheriting water magic or non-attribute magic, and perhaps, though slim, her child might inherit Lian’s wind magic just as her older brother had done. The engagement was made with this in mind.

Just as her older brother had inherited Father’s magic.

And though it was a marriage made considering that very slim possibility, Lobelia was indeed born as a wind mage, not water or non-attribute.

Before she first met him at fifteen, her mother and father often met Lian separately. To see if he was growing up well, what his manners toward ladies were like, whether he could take good care of Riri.

They said they had observed such things.

Father didn’t tell her, but Mother often told her everything on nights when they slept together. She said she hoped she would build a family full of love like Mother and live a happy life.

It was her constant refrain.

Still, she had lived keeping those words to some extent, so she thought it was fine. She had loved Lobelia to the point of breaking her body and was happy.

Of course, Mother had hoped for a relationship like hers with Father. But how common was that in political marriages? They say not looking elsewhere is already a rare virtue—but Lian didn’t just stay faithful; he paid a great deal of attention to her.

One year before marrying her.

He had built a trumpet vine arch like the one at Evergreen mansion in Greywoods’ garden. The day after entering Greywoods, he showed her the very beautiful trumpet vine arch he said he had built last year, and together they planted one more small sapling nearby.

On the day Lobelia was born, he planted Lobelia flowers all around that area.

“He’s a good person.”

Serina seemed to really think so and started the conversation. Then she removed the pillow that had been supporting her back and arranged the bedding a little to lay her down. It was time for a nap. Serina continued knitting while beginning to tell quiet stories like a lullaby.

“Dinner is soft stew with bread. I specially added pudding in case you get tired of it, Miss.”

It was probably because food that was easy to digest and light on the stomach had been served for four days already. She didn’t really need to worry about it since she wasn’t one to complain about food. Still, it was thoughtful. Ririana quietly nodded and closed her eyes. Every time she went to sleep, she thought the same thing, wishing Lobelia would be there when she opened her eyes.

Even a young Lobelia would be fine.

Even the Lobelia she had last seen before closing her eyes would be enough. Any version of Belle. She just wanted to see that child, her verdant Lobelia.

Ririana thought so and quietly closed her eyes. A tear drop flowed down her cheek, but that was after she had already fallen asleep. Thus that small water drop soaked into Serina’s worried expression and her hand, quietly disappearing.

“Is there something troubling you? Our little Miss, please sleep comfortably without any thoughts like a squirrel on a spring day. Have only happy and good dreams.”

Gentle words were followed by slow humming. While knitting, Serina looked at the precious young miss’s peaceful face for a very long time.

❀