“Let me also tidy up your dress a little.”

It was only a visit to a healer, but she was still the duchess for now, so there was no harm in keeping up appearances.

“All done, my lady.”

“Thank you.”

The healer who had been waiting immediately rose from his seat the moment Sierra stepped into the parlor.

“It has been a while, Duchess.”

“It has been a while.”

The healer was someone who had treated Sierra whenever she fell ill since childhood, and he examined her body with practiced familiarity.

“It seems your vitality has diminished.”

Sierra gave a light nod without answering.

She knew well enough herself why her vitality had diminished, and she had no particular desire to explain the reason to the healer.

She also wasn’t sure how to answer if he were to ask. So she simply kept an elegant smile on her face, as befitting a refined noblewoman.

“May I begin the treatment, Duchess?”

Fortunately, the healer chose to proceed with treatment rather than prying for reasons.

“Of course.”

“Then.”

Soon, a refreshing sensation crept up from her fingertips, spreading slowly along her arms.

That pleasant sensation quickly spread throughout her entire body.

By the time the healer withdrew his hands, her body felt as light as if she had woken from a deep, restful sleep.

“How do you feel?”

“The effect is excellent. Thank you for your efforts.”

Instead of giving a thumbs up, Sierra gestured to the maid with her eyes.

The maid gave a nod and handed the healer a gold coin.

“Thank you. I had not been called upon in quite some time, so I assumed your health had greatly improved……”

At the healer’s gaze, which seemed to ask whether something had happened, Sierra answered with her usual composure.

“There was something that required a bit of overexertion.”

Before the conversation could go on any longer, Sierra quickly rose from her seat.

The maid who had been watching caught on quickly and said,

“I will show you out.”

“Then I shall take my leave. Please call upon me whenever you have need of my assistance.”

“Of course. Thank you for coming today.”

Hoping she would have no need to call upon the healer again, Sierra stepped out of the parlor first, then came to an abrupt stop.

“Is something the matter?”

“Do you need to head back right away?”

The healer shook his head.

“Not necessarily.”

“Then would you mind waiting here for a moment? There is one more patient.”

“Ah, yes. I can do that.”

The healer sat back down with a pleased expression.

Treating two patients in one visit meant receiving double the compensation. He had no reason to refuse.

“I will bring the patient shortly.”

“Yes. Please take your time.”

As Sierra left the parlor, she said to the maid,

“Please bring tea and dessert for our guest.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Sierra shifted her gaze away from the maid heading toward the kitchen and stopped another maid passing nearby.

“A moment.”

The maid, carrying a laundry basket, stopped and asked politely,

“Is there something you need?”

“Go and find out whether there are any injured among the knights.”

“The knights?”

The maid blinked rapidly with a puzzled expression.

“Yes. If there are any injured, let them know that I would like to see them.”

“Yes. I will do so.”

The maid nodded, though she still looked puzzled.

‘Perhaps it is because my body feels so much lighter thanks to the healer?’

She felt as though she could do anything for the sake of all three of them reaching a happy ending.

As Sierra walked down the corridor, she stopped another maid she came across.

“A moment.”

The maid who had been dusting a corridor sculpture with a cloth stopped what she was doing and turned her head.

Upon recognizing Sierra, the maid hurried over.

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

“Would you pass along a message to the Duke, asking him to come to the parlor in about thirty minutes or so?”

“You mean the parlor near your bedchamber, my lady?”

“That’s right.”

“Yes. I will do so.”

The maid set down her cleaning tools and walked away at a brisk pace.

Sierra put on a satisfied smile and turned around.

The sky beyond the large window was high and blue. Among the fluffy, drifting clouds, Sierra found the shape of a circle.

She had a feeling that things would work out according to plan.

At the training grounds, Sierra’s involvement had slightly altered the course of the original story. Because Ahin, who should have gone to Claudia, had come to Sierra instead.

But it was not as though there was no opportunity at all to get the original story back on track.

In the original work as well, a few days after the training grounds episode, Ahin had called a healer to treat Claudia.

It seemed she would be able to make up for her mistake with this opportunity.

—

Crackle, crackle.

The sound of burning firewood echoed through the quiet study.

Thanks to the warmth radiating from the fireplace, the interior was filled with a pleasantly cozy heat.

Sierra sat at the desk in front of the large window, looking over a piece of parchment. Written on the parchment was a record of gold coin expenditures for the Valdevern ducal household over the past month.

“……The figures don’t quite add up.”

Sierra’s brow furrowed slightly. She had been pressed for time to attend to her duties, what with one thing and another since Ahin’s return, and she felt a little anxious.

“The weekly wage records for the servants seem to be in order……”

Sierra went through the parchments carefully one by one. Before long, she found the error.

It was a relief. That she had been able to finish the work within the time she had set for herself.

“I suppose this is enough for today.”

Sierra looked at the clock. It seemed she could take a brief breather and then get up.

The tea had gone completely cold while she was focused on her work, but Sierra drained what remained in one go to wet her dry throat.

Then she slowly looked around the interior.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were unified in a cheerful cream tone.

The ceiling molding and picture frames were gilded, and the table in front of the fireplace and the curtains added a touch of red as an accent. The study of the Duchess of Valdevern had remained unchanged for about thirteen years, exactly as it had always been.

Sierra’s gaze, which had been sweeping across the interior, came to rest on the mural above the fireplace.

The study of the Duchess of Valdevern depicted in the painting was not much different from the present.

If there was anything slightly different to be found within it, it was only that in the painting the previous duchess was attending to her work, while in reality Sierra was the one managing the ducal household’s affairs.

From around the time she had learned to read and write in the imperial language, Sierra had been learning the duties that a duchess was expected to carry out.

Ordinary noblewomen would have had ample time to learn from their mothers before marriage, but Sierra had had no such opportunity. She had married far too young.

So she had engaged a private tutor separately and learned the tasks she would need to take on going forward.

“Perhaps because I will be leaving soon. It all feels strangely new.”

Sierra smiled with a touch of self-mockery and recalled memories of past days in the study.

—

“From now on, you are the mistress of this place, so it might be nice to change the furniture and furnishings however you like.”

Countess Haylus, who had taken on the role of Sierra’s governess, said as she glanced around the study.

“I think I’ll leave it as it is.”

At Sierra’s answer, Countess Haylus thought her quite clever.

The exterior of the estate, the garden, and the interior decor, which determined the first impression of the household, were all within the purview of the mistress.

If the estate’s appearance was shabby or the furniture was poorly arranged, people would question the mistress’s taste and judgment.

When one was uncertain or lacked confidence, maintaining the status quo could itself be a valid approach.

“A fine answer. If you conduct yourself in the same manner when you enter society, it will serve you well in many ways.”

Countess Haylus said, nudging her glasses up with a fingertip.

Soon, the corners of her lips lifted slightly. As though she was pleased that Sierra had remembered well what had been taught in the first lesson.

“……”

Sierra responded with a slight nod and a soft smile in lieu of words.

The previous Duchess of Valdevern had excellent taste, but that did not mean everything was entirely to Sierra’s liking.

She had simply chosen to leave things as they were, taking the original story’s episodes into consideration.

In the original work, Sierra, true to her role as a villainess, had not properly fulfilled her duties as mistress of the household. The absence of any elder to give her a firm reprimand had played a part in that, and Sierra herself had disliked learning.

First and foremost, she had devoted a great deal of time to adorning her appearance, and second, she had invested much of her time in cultivating connections with nobles at social gatherings. As though that alone were the only pleasure life had to offer.

Neglecting her own duties and constantly going out, Sierra’s responsibilities had been divided and shouldered by the estate’s butler and head maid.

The dissatisfaction among the servants only continued to grow, and it was in the midst of all this that Claudia appeared.

This only made the already precarious standing of the duchess even more unstable.

The true master of the Valdevern ducal house was undeniably Ahin, and between the woman who monopolized the lord’s affections and the duchess who habitually neglected her duties, it was plain as day which of the two the servants would have sided with.