Diana, coughing dryly, glanced sideways out the window. Dawn was already breaking.

Time was desperately short. Even through the haze of medication, the visions of an ill-fated future continued without pause.

“Have you ever met the lord?”

Iela shook her head.

“Father went to see him in person and came back with a wedding date set?”

She shook her head again. Diana roughly unwound the cloth that had been tightly bound around her forehead. The doctor’s diagnosis that it was effective for relieving headaches no longer mattered.

“So Father decided on a man whose face he doesn’t even know as his daughter’s match.”

“Sister, Philip Lorid broke into the annex of the lord’s castle to steal something.”

Iela undid the loosely braided hair draped over her shoulder. Her commonplace brunette locks gleamed smooth and lustrous, thanks to Diana’s devoted care.

“Contrary to his expectations, the annex was no better than a rubbish heap, and he was caught while barely managing to pluck a single rose.”

“I’m so dumbfounded I can’t even speak.”

“The esteemed lord proposed an exchange, the rose for a woman.”

“I can’t hear any more of this.”

“Valita law doesn’t deal harshly with those who commit minor offenses. Philip Lorid could have paid bail or served a set term in prison, but…”

“Iela.”

Iela combed her fingers through her loosened hair. Diana bit her lip and gave her a look that said, go on.

“Philip Lorid sought a third option.”

“But you said the lord was the one who made the proposal.”

“How could a merchant like Philip Lorid have refused an opportunity to sell off a troublesome burden?”

The moment Iela lost interest in her disheveled hair and stopped fidgeting with it, the conversation broke off as well.

Diana quietly wrapped her arms around those slender shoulders.

“What are you doing?”

“Comfort, laced with apology.”

“The one who did this is Philip Lorid. It’s the lord who agreed to exchange the second daughter of the Lorid family for a rose.”

“So it has nothing to do with you, Sister”, Iela said, twisting her shoulders to slip free from the narrow embrace.

“You haven’t forgotten the guidelines for dealing with elderly people, have you?”

“The ones you made me memorize before visiting old Grandfather Walter?”

“I’m afraid you might call the lord that too.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

Iela gave a small laugh, and for a moment Diana felt relieved, so she does have some sense after all.

“A husband is someone you call by name, isn’t he?”

Diana shut her eyes tight. Her vision went dark, but her ears remained open, leaving her no way to escape the appalling nonsense that followed.

“He’s probably closer to a walking corpse, so he might find it unfair. But since he’s essentially gotten a young woman in exchange for a single rose, even if I call him by name, I’m still the one at a much greater loss.”

Diana furrowed her brow and rolled her eyes upward. There was nothing left to do but leave it to heaven. Even so, she could not bring herself to recite a prayer.

She was not certain that entrusting Iela to the will of God was truly the right thing to do.

The gradually brightening sky was suddenly swallowed by clouds that appeared from nowhere. It was not a good omen. Soon, the modest welcoming party, nothing more than a carriage come to take Iela away, would arrive.

Diana tried to calmly sort out the order of things.

“You haven’t packed a single thing. Go take a bath first. Yesterday, when Father told you the news, did he give you anything separately? Like a new dress. They say the wedding ceremony will be skipped, but taking vows in an old dress, that simply cannot be.”

No answer came from Iela, who had her chin resting on her knees with her eyes closed.

Still running a slight fever and plagued by dizziness, Diana only realized belatedly that she was half asleep.

“Iela Lorid, get up this instant!”

“Sister, I’m sleepy…”

Diana, who had nearly been won over by that drowsy, childlike wheedling, narrowed her eyes. Iela would pull these cunning tricks whenever she wanted to do as she pleased.

The one who needed rest was Diana. Her throat still ached as though it were being torn apart, and though the grogginess had lifted, the headache had returned now that the medication was wearing off, so she vigorously rewound the headcloth she had so boldly removed.

“This won’t make everything we talked about through the night disappear. The foolish mistake Father made won’t vanish either.”

Fortunately, Philip Lorid appeared before Diana’s poor throat could be strained any further.

Without a word, he shoved Iela into the bathroom. A startled Diana pleaded with him to stop, but Philip Lorid poured an entire bucket of water over her.

Soaked through, Iela glared at him fiercely.

“You’ve finally lost your mind.”

“The one who has lost their mind is you. Even without a formal ceremony, do you intend to throw away the precious opportunity the lord himself has declared, to take you as his wife?”

“I’ve heard there’s a monastery that will take in mad people for the right price. Shall I send you there?”

“Cleanse yourself and put on the dress I’ve prepared. It was meant for your sister, so be grateful I’m giving it to you.”

“A monastery would be too much of a luxury. Why not go outside, roll into a snowdrift, and go to God’s embrace? Though I wonder whether God would accept a wretch who steals and uses his own daughter as bail money.”

“You wretched thing. Do you think you could have found a better match without me? You, with nothing to offer and nothing but greed, you’re going to become a noblewoman. Without me, would a position like this ever have been within your reach?”

Iela refilled the bucket with water, her arms trembling and damp. Splash. With a crisp sound, Philip Lorid was reduced to a drowned rat as well.

“You wouldn’t want to make an enemy of a daughter who’s about to become a noblewoman.”

Diana flung herself at the raised arm, clinging to it desperately.

“Please, Father…! This time, you are the one in the wrong. Do you truly need to see me collapse before you’ll stop!”

The sound of Philip Lorid’s sputtering gradually subsided. His chest heaved and swelled repeatedly before settling.

“Go lie down. This wretch has turned what should have been a one-day cold into something far worse.”

At last, Philip Lorid gently loosened the arm Diana had been gripping.

“I’m told the lord’s deputy is graciously coming in person to escort her. Even if you’re not feeling well, you ought to show your face as a matter of courtesy. Go rest for a little while and conserve your strength.”

“Why, are you planning to pair Sister with the lord’s deputy?”

“Iela!”

Iela did not hold back.

“If even a wretch like me caught the eye of a nobleman, your expectations for Sister must have shot through the roof.”

She was determined to watch Philip Lorid topple over backwards in the end. She had no use for a send-off from a man who had sold his daughter through theft and now sought to claim even that reflected glory as his own.

“As you say, I am a wretch, so even when shown kindness, I don’t know how to repay it. But I have a dreadful habit of retaliating twice over when I’m wronged. The lord, who chose me over Sister, doesn’t seem like a particularly upright person either.

Even if the young wife he acquired in his old age whispers requests that are not entirely proper, surely he would be inclined to grant them, wouldn’t he?”

It was an unmistakable threat, leaving no room for excuse. Philip Lorid, a vein bulging at his temple, seemed unable to even find his voice, he jabbed a finger at Iela, then collapsed like a felled log.

“Iela…”

Diana called out in a voice thick with tears. Iela looked down at Philip Lorid, whose head had somehow not cracked open, with a look of faint disappointment.

What a pity he hadn’t split his skull and gone for good, though perhaps years of being cursed at had made his life stubbornly tenacious.

“He’s not dead.”

“Haah… I give up. Please don’t do this to the lord. My heart is clenching with worry that I’ll hear news of the lord’s funeral because of you.”

“If there really is a funeral, we’d have to invite old Grandfather George. He said he desperately wants to see the lord in person before he dies.”

Iela called for the maid who had been waiting outside the bathroom and jerked her chin toward Philip Lorid. The maid, not particularly startled, went and fetched a sturdy manservant.

The man hired to chop firewood was unfamiliar with the Lorid household’s affairs. When ordered to move Philip Lorid, who had collapsed on the bathroom floor, he apparently thought he had gotten caught up in some incident, he wrapped his entire palm in his sleeve.

“Your footprints are already all over the floor. Covering just your hands won’t hide anything.”

Having dealt with Philip Lorid, Iela was in rather good spirits and offered the advice as a kindness. Whether the startled man received it as such was another matter.

“Don’t go frightening people with needless words, Iela. I’m sorry. Our father has high blood pressure, so this sort of thing happens from time to time. Could you carry him to his bedroom? Merry will show you the way. Merry?”

The maid checked Iela’s expression before answering. Only after Iela gave a nod did she step forward to lead the way.

“At least she’s awake now.”

Diana did not comment on the maid’s one-sided loyalty. She was far too exhausted for that, and besides, Iela was going to take the maid with her as an attendant, so there would be no more need to see her anyway.

“What was the name of the maid who used to help you with your bath? Anne, was it? I’ll call her for you, go ahead and bathe while you’re already wet. I need to look over the dress Father prepared. I wonder if it will fit.”

Her voice trailing off toward the end like a long tail, Diana left the bathroom.

Iela removed her clothes, which clung to her skin. Sinking deep into the bathtub, she felt a maid silently approach and begin washing her hair.

The warm water and gentle hands invited Iela back into the world of sleep. Even after finishing her work, the maid did not wake her demanding mistress.

And so, by the time Diana had checked the dress and finished packing the trunk, the carriage from the lord’s castle had already pulled into the front courtyard.

They fished the peacefully sleeping Iela out of the bathtub, dressed her in the ill-fitting dress with the help of three maids, finished a light touch of makeup, and just in time, a polite knock sounded at the front door.

“All done?”

Iela, having slept even if only briefly, smiled brightly. Diana wavered between the urge to give her younger sister a firm flick on her round forehead and the urge to pull her into an embrace at the reality that she was truly leaving.

“I’m going, Sister. Live well. It won’t be easy as long as Philip Lorid is alive, but if you ask for help, I’ll help. Though as you know, I’m not good at reading what’s on people’s minds.

So you have to say it out loud. Don’t bottle things up and make yourself sick over it. I can’t stand sick people, so I won’t be very eager to help you if you fall ill.”

Unable to contain her welling affection, Diana pressed her lips to Iela’s forehead.

The sight of her wrinkling her nose and rubbing the spot with her palm was exactly the same as it had always been, and Diana smiled sadly at that.

In the front courtyard, a four-horse carriage was waiting. The roof was high and sturdy-looking, a luxurious carriage with anti-slip chains fitted on each of its four wheels.

A knight in a helmet opened the carriage door for Iela. Iela climbed in without resistance. Farewells had already been exchanged, so there were no parting words left for Diana, who stood behind her.

The knights flanking the carriage front and back had sharp, watchful eyes, less like an escort honoring a bride, and more like guards preventing a prisoner’s escape.

Diana watched the back of the slowly departing carriage until she could bear it no longer and cried out.

“Iela, reverence! Don’t forget. Not aggression, reverence!”