She had high expectations for how the mansion and garden would change. Now she would bid farewell to walls that let in wind and broken windows. Goodbye to creaking stairs, floors with peeling paint, and doors that didn’t close properly. Somehow she felt she could endure well from now on. That was enough. She didn’t want anything more. She hadn’t before either, but would want even less going forward.

“Change the interior of the mansion however you want.”

Leon had said this earlier when they met in the temporary dining room.

“The highest quality. Consider my dignity.”

He always wanted only the highest quality. The mansion inside and out was set to completely transform into the highest quality. But why did he insist on marrying her? While insisting on the highest quality. He could find a much better bride if he looked. Even if he wanted a bride he could control, there was no reason to spend this much money. That kept puzzling her.

“I’ll give you money in advance so decorate as you please.”

If anyone but Leon had said those words, they would have been quite heart-fluttering. It sounded like he would spend money generously for her sake. Not knowing his true purpose made it quite burdensome.

The money pouch he handed her was quite heavy.

Could she really do that? Every time this happened, she felt a heaviness beyond the weight of money in her hands.

Perhaps, if she saved this money… Could she use it elsewhere effectively? She needed money for the people of the territory—a significant amount.

“Don’t try to save any — use it all. Cover the floors with marble.”

She had been caught. But that wouldn’t work. Even if she saved some, she would end up giving it back to him, though she had been momentarily selfish.

Fine. She would pour every penny of this money as Leon wanted. So he couldn’t nitpick later about not using the highest quality to save money.

She had been confident about completely renovating the mansion, just lacking the funds to do it. Being told to use the highest quality made it even better.

Yes. She would do as told. There was nothing bad in it for her. Rather, it was a good thing. Except for the unsettling feeling.

Renovating the mansion’s interior required attention to many minute details. Far more than the exterior work. The interior naturally needed more detailed attention, which made her more suitable for it. Still, this was excessive. Leon’s recent spending on the count’s mansion was always excessive.

“When Sir Leon first came to our mansion and rested, he kept drawing something on the ground — I guess he was planning all this.”

After hearing about the garden and greenhouse, Emil seemed to think Leon had planned it all. Though that was unlikely, she planned to agree with Emil.

“Really?”

Emil was sketching something again even on the bed.

“Yes. He looked around everywhere and drew things. He was very busy.”

Is that so? She had no idea. She thought he had just been lounging around. She wasn’t sure if Emil was right. Leon wasn’t the type to do such things. But… 

Perhaps. He might have been someone who could do well if given the role, but the Duke’s family treated him as an outcast. Or… maybe not that much.

“But how did you know that? Were you observing Leon?”

She was more curious about how Emil knew. What had caught Emil’s interest?

“To draw him.”

“Leon?”

“Yes. Why? Should I not?”

Emil’s head tilted side to side, finding her question strange. She shouldn’t say anything at times like this. She should let Emil do as he pleased.

“What are you drawing?”

Yvonne subtly changed the subject.

“Eve.”

Drawing me again. He had drawn her face dozens of times, drawing her so frequently.

“Can I see?”

Emil nodded readily and approached her bed with the small sketchbook.

“Oh my. You drew it so well. Thank you, Emil.”

It seemed to be her current appearance. A brightly smiling, happy face. The eyes were genuinely smiling.

“I wish you would make this face more often, Eve.”

Emil…

Her heart swelling, she hugged the adorable Emil tightly. I only need you.

“Can I see what else you drew?”

She shouldn’t look at Emil’s drawings without permission. She started looking through them one by one with his permission.

Yvonne’s eyes sparkled as she kept exclaiming in admiration. How could these drawings move her so much every time she saw them?

Oh?

It was Leon. Several drawings of him. They’re really well done. But…

One drawing was slightly different from the others. A subtle smile on his lips, with deep, intense eyes. Does he make such expressions? It was an inexplicably mysterious expression. Honestly, it was the kind of face women would like, one that would make hearts flutter.

“Are you drawing from imagination now too?”

Emil was skilled at drawing accurately. Though he drew from memory, he didn’t draw from imagination. He hadn’t made such an expression here. There was no reason to.

Hehe. Emil just smiled cutely and moved on.

Emil was glad Eve just moved past it. Actually, he had drawn it from observation. But he had promised Leon not to tell.

That day, Leon had taken one drawing. With permission, of course. There was no reason not to give it.

“Can we keep this our secret?”

Leon had wanted that.

Emil liked this sort of thing. A secret between men. He liked the mysteriousness of having secrets.

He promised with an energetic nod.

But the drawing Leon took was one Emil had drawn of Eve when her face had turned red a few days ago. He had quickly sketched it since he had never seen such an expression before. That’s what Leon wanted.

No one had asked for drawings of themself. But if someone desperately wanted one, he could give it freely. He could always draw more.

There was something else Emil hadn’t told Eve, who was now tilting her head looking at Leon’s drawing. That expression… was one he made while watching Eve from afar. Leon had made that expression while watching Eve busily moving around the mansion grounds with someone. Emil had quickly drawn it since it was another expression he had never seen before.

Emil liked these secrets, these pleasant secrets.

Having secrets was proof of being grown up. Emil felt good about being treated as an adult by Leon. So he had to keep the secret.

And Leon had promised to give him a gift in exchange for the drawing. He didn’t need to give anything. Emil wasn’t sure if it was right to receive something from Leon. He refused since he could just give the drawing, but Leon had insisted.

“Eve. Tomorrow will be an even better day. Good night.”

After wiping his charcoal-stained hands clean with a towel, Emil lay down in his bed. The atmosphere here had been stable lately. Eve used to either look worried or unhappy, always one or the other. But something seemed different now. He hoped it would change even more.

Emil said an earnest prayer, then closed his eyes tight and peacefully drifted off to sleep.

Watching Emil with loving eyes, Yvonne also slipped deep under her covers and closed her eyes. Leon had gone out somewhere again this evening and hadn’t returned yet. Well, he would handle himself. Yvonne started to drift peacefully to sleep.

＊＊＊

As soon as morning came, another hectic day began.

Leon seemed to be heading out from the morning. He had already started walking without crutches. She marveled anew at his remarkable recovery ability.

After his carriage departed, she busied herself examining blueprints and discussing relocating the mansion’s staircase with the design expert. Time flew by that way. She needed a short break before resuming work.

“Miss.”

Jack the servant carefully approached while she was resting in the temporary break area.

“Lord Wesley is currently staying in town.”

“What?”

She thought her uncle had returned to the countryside — what was this about?

“He’s staying at the Purple House.”

She knew that place well. It was where her late father always went to gamble. She remembered there were women there too — it wasn’t a place with a good reputation. Jack ran back toward the main gate after finishing his report.

Hmm… Uncle wouldn’t have money to stay for more than a few days. Even if he had some, it would have run out by now. He would probably leave soon.

But something felt unsettling about dismissing it as nothing. She knew better than anyone that her uncle wasn’t someone to give up easily. Though he should also know well that struggling for the guardian position would be useless now.

Yet why he was lingering around bothered her… But she was too busy to think about it more deeply.

A short distance away, servant Jack was being scolded by Nora, who had served the Miss at the mansion the longest.

“Why didn’t you tell that story?”

“How could I… say that with my own mouth…”

Jack, though fierce-looking, was tender-hearted. Knowing this well, Nora turned away saying she would tell it herself.

“Um, Miss.”

This time Nora came to find Yvonne. Something felt ominous. Why were such premonitions always right?

“Since Jack said he couldn’t say it himself… Two days ago, Sir Leon spent several hours at the Rose House before leaving.”

Yvonne’s expression couldn’t help but harden at Nora’s serious whispered words. But she quickly relaxed. Wasn’t this something she had been prepared for? What of it? It’s remarkable he had held back this long.

“A maid who works there is an acquaintance, so she learned the details. That night, Sir Leon scattered money lavishly while……”