Penna was to Lena what the Duke of Northdelion was. A presence confirming this wasn’t a dream that could shatter in an instant.

Lena hurriedly jumped out of bed. The plush carpet enveloped her bare feet.

Not even thinking to put on slippers, she ran and flung the door open.

“Penn…!”

“Ah, Miss?!”

Penna was standing there holding a basin of washing water.

Penna blinked. Lena collapsed in front of her as if crumbling.

“Eek, Miss! What on earth is the matter!”

When Penna made a commotion, nearby maids peeked over curiously.

Lena, still sitting on the floor, stared at Penna’s spotless enamel shoes.

“…Hah.”

As the tension released, her head spun. Penna’s enamel shoes, which should have been at a reasonable distance, seemed to appear right before her eyes.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Penna shooed away the maids and carefully sat down. She put the water basin aside and gently stroked Lena’s back.

‘A dream?’

Lena looked up blankly at Penna with her disheveled hair. Penna’s face was full of concern.

Taking courage, Lena nodded.

“Yes, I must have had a dream.”

“Miss! Why are you being so formal with me~ Please speak comfortably!”

“But……”

“I’m here to serve you! I feel more comfortable when you speak casually to me!”

Lena could neither do one nor the other, and just moved her lips for a while.

In her entire life, her brother was the only one she had ever spoken to casually. No matter how much the other person wanted it, it was impossible for her to immediately speak casually.

Regardless, Lena unconsciously relaxed the tension in her mouth.

For a fleeting moment, she thought that this morning, which seemed like the boundary between reality and nightmare, might continue for a while.

But it was okay.

“Will you come tomorrow morning too……”

Penna widened her eyes.

“…w-will you?”

“Of course, naturally. I am your personal lady’s maid, after all! I’ll come every day.”

Because Penna, who chattered cheerfully while carefully combing her disheveled hair, would be here tomorrow too.

Lena closed her eyes, managing her inner pain that she couldn’t tell anyone about.

The basin Penna had brought had a canary painted on it, like those she had seen in fairy tales.

Though she had never heard a canary’s chirping, she thought its tone would also be yellow, like its feather color.

‘Yellow……’

Lena suddenly recalled the golden eyes deeply embedded in her heart. Delian’s eyes were also yellow.

‘Though different from a canary’s……’

Was it because canaries are small and cute? Delian, standing alongside in the same line, also felt soft rather than scary.

‘No, come to think of it, was he ever scary……’

Was he? Wasn’t he?

Even that was now vague.

Before she knew it, Lena was looking down at her fingernails, which Penna had neatly trimmed.

If nothing else, the warmth that had warmed her frozen body was definitely comforting.

After washing her face, Lena gaped at the rack full of dresses Penna had brought in. They were all yellow.

Penna said proudly.

“How about it. They’re all to your taste, right?”

“…Huh? My… I mean, my taste?”

Lena blinked.

‘I like yellow?’

This was the first she’d heard of it. No, she didn’t have any preferences to begin with.

She always had to wear clothes she either made herself or inherited from someone else, patching them up over and over.

Expressing taste through clothes was a great luxury for a poor terminally ill person.

‘But……’

Looking at the yellows showing off their brightness in different atmospheres, she felt good.

‘It’s like spring……’

Perhaps yellow really was her preference.

But whose clothes were these? Lena worried whether it was alright for her to try on someone else’s clothes as she pleased.

However, Penna, completely unaware of Lena’s concerns, was busy asking for her opinions on various things.

Lena just nodded along with Penna’s words in a daze.

The result was this.

“Aren’t these… too many accessories?”

“Oh my! Miss~ I told you to speak comfortably! And you said everything was fine! Besides, they suit you well! Gorgeous things are best for beautiful people!”

Three necklaces, nine rings, five bracelets, three petticoats, and even two robes.

Lena blinked blankly. Whether she knew this or not, Penna’s eyes sparkled as she said, ‘Actually, I want to dress you in all these dresses!’

Lena’s skin was exceptionally pale. This was because she had been suffering from a terminal illness.

But when her starlight-like hair was added to that pale skin, it created a mysterious atmosphere.

Her hair, which seemed to hold starlight, gave the illusion of being dyed with violet water the more it was combed.

Additionally, her transparent and chilly blue eyes, like the spring sky where flowers had not yet fully bloomed, were vivid.

In short, yellow suited her extremely well.

It was natural for Penna to be starry-eyed, having fallen in love with the beautiful Lena.

“But this is a bit……”

It was an outfit that could be seen as mockery in certain situations. No, apart from that……

“It’s too heavy……”

She couldn’t even lift her arms.

In the end, Lena vowed never to say everything was fine again and carefully selected accessories once more.

With a bright light yellow dress like forsythia, she tied a fresh green ribbon resembling forsythia leaves.

Dense white lace created an even more delicate atmosphere.

Her naturally wavy hair was loosely braided on both sides and secured in a half-up style with the back hair.

She also didn’t forget to brush the remaining hair well so it wouldn’t tangle.

“With such beautiful hair, it would be a waste to change it all artificially.”

Penna, who had a particular interest in adornment, recognized Lena’s unique beauty at first glance.

Having finally been assigned to serve a beautiful lady, her pride as a lady’s maid wouldn’t allow her to neglect that beauty.

Meanwhile, Lena was freshly surprised at her own appearance. It was natural that her face looked better than before after washing thoroughly and sleeping well.

‘Dressed like this, I look like a real lady.’

Her mood was slightly elevated. She looked like someone who should be going out somewhere to play.

However, the red shadows under her eyes, which subtly enhanced her sickly image, remained.

Lena secretly hoped for makeup, but Penna shook her head.

“You’re pretty without covering it up!”

“B-but……”

Lena slowly touched the shadows under her eyes.

Lena didn’t seem to know how well the shadows under her eyes, which she considered a complex, matched her uniquely calm and pure atmosphere.

A light tint rose on her pale cheeks, and her chapped lips gained a shine.

That was all.

“Turn around once!”

“Like… this?”

Following Penna’s words, Lena twirled. The long flowing dress hem was a spectacular sight.

Penna unconsciously cupped her cheeks and screamed.

“Kyaa! So pretty! What should I do! I heard there’s a camera in the capital that captures time. I should ask for one! If I don’t leave records of Miss’s daily life for posterity, I’ll surely be cursed!”

This was fawning to the extreme.

Encouraged by Penna’s praise, Lena twirled once more. This time she even gave a slight smile.

Penna’s screams pierced the sky.

The soft fabric brushing against her ankles felt good. Lena’s mood improved considerably.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Not ready yet?”

“Ah!”

It was Delian’s voice.

Startled, Lena unconsciously covered her lips with her lace-gloved hand, and Penna made a fuss saying she looked too pretty.

Alarmed by Penna’s commotion, Delian flung the door open.

He thought something had happened to Lena again. Before his urgent entrance stood Lena, dressed brightly, blinking her eyes that had widened in surprise.

Penna was beside her, immersed in happiness as she gazed at her masterpiece.

Penna, whose appreciation time had been stolen, snapped at the indelicate Duke.

“Don’t fling open a lady’s bedroom door like that!”

“I thought… something had happened again.”

Delian glared once at Penna, who was being irritable with him, then looked at Lena.

It was good that he had matched the overall interior of this room in ivory tones.

‘If I had gone with colors closer to nature, it would have been disastrous. I would have thought she was a flower blooming in a field.’

Delian was having thoughts that would have made Lena’s entire body turn red if she had heard them, all while wearing the most indifferent face in the world.

Lena quietly placed her hand on her chest and watched Delian’s reaction.

Thump, thump, thump. Her heart was beating.

‘He’s going to say… it doesn’t suit me.’

It wasn’t a dress a peasant should wear. Looking at the cold golden eyes staring directly at her, she finally remembered her situation.

She felt like her entire body would lose strength and collapse. The high heels she was wearing for the first time now felt uncomfortable.

As Lena staggered, Delian strode over and supported her by wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Ah……”

At that moment, she caught the scent she had smelled at the sacrificial post. The smell of conifer leaves, thyme, and a faint hint of cigar.

Lena looked up at Delian in surprise. His gaze was directed at her.

Thump, thump, thump, thump……

Her wildly beating heart accidentally touched his.

‘Oh no. He’ll notice.’

Lena barely held back her quickening breath.

Delian said.

“You’ll be cold.”

“Pardon?”

When Lena asked blankly, his gaze dropped down intently.

At the same time, Penna and Lena’s gazes also dropped. The neckline revealing her collarbones came into view.

“……”

“……”

“Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“…Aah.”

“Your Grace, really!!!”

Penna screamed loudly that he didn’t have a single delicate aspect. Lena hurriedly moved away from him with a flushed face.

Having lost hold of Lena, Delian could only blink, not knowing what he had done wrong.

The reason Lena was dressed up like this was to have lunch with Delian.

Lena fretted about being late, but Delian didn’t care at all. He sat down on the bedroom sofa and began to thoroughly inspect her outfit.

“Um, excuse me……”

Lena, who had her dress inspected on the spot because her chest area looked cold, was now trying on the third dress.

“Next.”

Delian shook his head with a troubled face.