In the peaceful Empire under a wise ruler, there were two famously insane people.

One was Arinne herself, called the “Wicked Duke’s Daughter.”

And the other was Marquis Carentium, whom Arinne had selected as a husband candidate.

The widely known story of Marquis Carentium was that he’d voluntarily gone to the battlefield to marry a wife of exceptional origin, led a great victory, received a Marquis title in recognition of his achievements, and then drove out his father, a count, to become the family head himself.

What good did it do to love someone while being called a madman and an unfilial son? Now he was alone.

This was why Arinne had put the Marquis on her list of husband candidates.

As someone equally called insane, they might have something in common. Like Jo said, if he couldn’t forget his late wife, he might welcome a wife in name only.

It would be a hot topic too. If she married him, the news would spread quickly throughout the Empire, and crossing the ocean would be instantaneous.

‘Just because I lost you doesn’t mean my time stopped.’

Whatever emotion it was based on, if Noah felt even slightly uncomfortable hearing her news… that would be good.

And she hoped he’d feel relieved.

“Miss. Even so, a madman is…!”

“Jo. I told you to watch your mouth.”

At her master’s face drained of laughter, Jo hastily bit her lips.

Jo kept watching Arinne’s mood. She had much she wanted to pour out, but if she said it all straightforwardly, her mouth would definitely get sewn up like an old-fashioned stuffed doll.

Her merciful young lady would abandon her on the roadside rather than severely punish or harm her even for mistakes.

Even knowing this, Jo was particularly terrified of the threat about sewing her mouth shut.

“Think about it. Do the rumors say I treat servants like livestock and make dolls resembling people I hate to curse them?”

“N-no! Of course not, but!”

Jo waved her hands frantically.

“But some of it is true, that’s the problem. You grabbed Viscount Blaine by the collar and pulled other young ladies’ hair. And that was in the Imperial Palace where His Majesty was…”

“That was because of Noah, so it doesn’t count.”

“…”

Words tend to get distorted easily. Most people just enjoyed the inflated excitement without caring about the circumstances or truth inside.

“In that sense,”

I might actually be insane.

Arinne added in a casual tone.

Unlike Jo, whose insides were burning up, Arinne was calm. She acted like even the marriage she’d decided on wasn’t her own business.

“If Grandmother were here, she’d stop you, Miss.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Josephine told me to be happy. So Josephine would welcome all my attempts.”

Jo quietly looked at Arinne making her declaration.

Then she recalled her grandmother.

‘Jo. You must serve the young lady well. Don’t act spoiled. Don’t run your mouth carelessly in front of her. This is all for your sake. If the young lady lives, you live.’

Josephine seemed to have loved Arinne more than her own granddaughter.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love Jo, but in Jo’s eyes, Arinne was always her first priority.

At one time, Jo had resented both Josephine and Arinne. She’d deliberately acted more spoiled, resenting Arinne for stealing Josephine’s attention. She’d been severely scolded many times for it.

‘Do you want to die?’

‘N-no…!!’

‘You’re someone Josephine loves, so I’ll let it slide. But don’t mess around. Especially that mouth.’

‘…Eek. Y-yes yes yes! I-I won’t mess around!’

Jo soon realized.

‘Miss?’

That her young lady was beautiful and frightening,

‘Lucky you. Being Josephine’s real one.’

‘…’

And also lonely, and that she had no choice but to love and follow her.

The beginning might have been Josephine, but now following Arinne was entirely Jo’s own choice.

“I knew it. Grandmother definitely loved you more, Miss.”

“What are you talking about?”

Meaning she wouldn’t stop her anymore, Jo smiled at her puzzled lady rather like an adult.

“And I take after Grandmother.”

* * *

“Miss! This place is…”

Jo opened her mouth and looked up at the three-story building before her.

“If the Duke finds out you’re staying in a place like this instead of a proper house, he’ll collapse.”

And it’s so awkwardly shabby too.

Arinne ignored Jo, who was amazed by her master’s endless eccentricities, and checked in herself.

“Jo. We have about a week. We need to finish the job by that time.”

Even for a duke, finding a daughter who’d run away in the middle of the night would take three days, and given his personality, even if he found her, he’d probably let her wander around for about a week.

‘As long as she doesn’t cause trouble.’

Arinne’s plan was to meet Marquis Carentium within a week, and if it didn’t work out, return to the east prepared to leech off Marcedea for life.

‘The Duke will overlook whatever you do, Miss…’

Jo pictured the Duke’s reaction in her mind as she helped Arinne change clothes.

No matter how prestigious a noble, none were better than “Marcedea,” so a son-in-law worthy of the ducal house would be an imperial prince at best.

Unfortunately, the current Emperor only had a daughter who was already married, so a son-in-law who could satisfy the Duke couldn’t exist.

If it was going to be a losing marriage either way, the Duke would probably…

“He’ll allow it if you say you’re marrying someone you truly love.”

“That man? Then what if I say I’m marrying someone I picked at random for fun?”

“He’ll oppose the marriage itself.”

At Jo’s firm face, Arinne chuckled.

“That’s why I came in secret.”

Arinne changed into an inconspicuous dress with minimal decoration and low saturation.

When she covered her striking features with a brimmed hat in a similar color, she looked reasonably ordinary.

To buy a gift to bring when visiting Marquis Carentium, Arinne headed straight out to the streets.

She had to get all this done while she had energy. Going back and forth was detestable.

“The capital is already celebrating Thanksgiving?”

Especially during such a splendid time, going out was particularly dreadful.

Though it was still August, the capital, celebrating Thanksgiving early, hung grain decorations everywhere and was thoroughly steeped in the Thanksgiving atmosphere.

Thanksgiving was a day to greet the god who’d saved the Empire from famine long ago and pray for the Empire’s prosperity, abundance, and peace.

Every September with Thanksgiving overflowed with sights including all kinds of festivals and banquets, and the capital’s Thanksgiving, directly overseen by the Imperial family, was especially famous.

So every citizen of the Empire looked forward to Thanksgiving, one of the Empire’s major events.

“D*mn lively.”

One person. Except for Arinne.

“Should I just go back to the hotel…”

“Will you?”

Her face, which had shown no change even while riding the rattling carriage, darkened rapidly within minutes of coming out to the streets.

“No. Better to finish quickly and go back. I need to pick a gift.”

Arinne, who answered with a faint sigh mixed in, pressed her hat down deep.

Thanksgiving had rarely been a good memory for Arinne.

Moreover, it was four years ago at this time that she’d been driven back to the east after causing trouble following her breakup with Noah.

For Arinne, the streets bustling early to prepare for Thanksgiving still over a month away felt excessively lively.

“…I hate people. Places with lots of people are the worst.”

The capital, with higher density than the east, was packed with people, overlapping with the Thanksgiving season.

Arinne felt like her blood was being scraped away with each step.

“I know well. You’re someone who doesn’t even attend your own birthday banquet, Miss.”

Arinne glanced at Jo.

“Banquets are boring now.”

Jo flinched and pulled back slightly, then smiled coquettishly.

“Things in the world don’t all go as you wish. There are things you must do as a daughter of Marcedea.”

Arinne’s eyes widened slightly.

“Is that Josephine?”

It was Jo’s specialty, “Josephine imitation.”

“How was it?? Did I seem like Grandmother?”

“I thought Josephine had come back to life.”

“Hehe.”

Whenever she imitated Josephine, her young lady often laughed absurdly. Seeing that face made Jo feel quite rewarded.

“Thanks to you, I feel a bit better.”

Well then, let’s go.

Arinne toured the shopping district with Jo, who kept getting distracted at every turn.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes!! There are so many fascinating things!!”

“Really? I don’t get it.”

The capital wasn’t any different. Aside from style differences, the quality of goods was similar to the east.

“Miss, how about this? The color—”

“If you’re not buying, why do you keep just looking? You’ll wear out the merchandise.”

That’s when it happened.

A disgruntled voice suddenly popped out and cut off Jo’s words.

“Just because it’s Thanksgiving season, every Tom, d*ck, and Harry comes to the capital!! Tch!”

With narrow eyes buried in sullen flesh narrowed even further, the shop owner grumbled loud enough to be heard.

Seeing Arinne in plain attire with only one servant, he seemed to have dismissed her as an insignificant lower noble.

“Excuse me!”

Her face flushed, Jo shouted at the owner.