Though they were dresses he had personally selected, when she wore them, the level of exposure increased. Delian glared at the dresses as if he might burn them.

‘They looked modest when I saw them in the catalog.’

They certainly did.

But why did all the exposed areas look dangerous whenever Lena wore them? Delian furrowed his brow, thinking he should replace the salon.

Seeing this, Lena, who was about to ask ‘How many more times do I need to change clothes,’ kept her mouth shut.

‘He’s scary!’

Cancel everything she said about him not being scary.

How could she not be frightened when he was frowning so severely and glaring at each of her dresses?

Lunchtime had passed while she changed dresses three times.

“We’ll go with that one.”

What stopped Delian’s rampage was a small sound from Lena’s stomach.

Fortunately, this dress had a design that covered her entire body without revealing anything.

The color was slightly darker than the first one, reminiscent of freesia, and the ribbon tied at her waist was a blue slightly darker than her eyes.

Lena felt inexplicably sorry for Penna, who was completely exhausted from changing her outfit over and over.

Penna, having finished the final touches, demanded of Delian with a tired face.

“Buy me a camera. I worked hard today.”

“A camera?”

Delian raised one eyebrow sharply, asking why she needed such a thing.

Penna proudly pointed at Lena with both hands and waved them sparkingly.

“This beauty! It must be preserved for posterity! And we must look at it again and again. She’ll be beautiful every day! I want to make a photo album just for Miss, and a catalog too!”

Lena gaped.

“W-what are you saying……”

That’s absurd.

She had heard that only extremely beautiful noble ladies did such things.

It wasn’t something appropriate for someone like her—a peasant by birth who would soon die, barely presentable only when wearing clothes like angel wings.

But Delian nodded readily.

“I’ll have one purchased immediately.”

“Yes!”

“We should hire a photographer too.”

“N-no! I want to do it!”

“You?”

“Who else but me would capture Miss’s beautiful first moments?”

“Denied.”

“Ah, why?”

“I’ll learn photography.”

“What?”

“I’m smarter than you. I’ll capture it more efficiently.”

“Oh come on.”

Penna grumbled.

Meanwhile, Lena stood still like a duck egg dropped by the riverside.

“Um, excuse me?”

“Yes?”

“What is it?”

“W-would I dare do such… a thing……”

Lena didn’t know what to do just by uttering those words. Delian, who somehow understood, answered nonchalantly.

“I do what I want to do.”

“Ah, …pardon?”

“There’s that ‘pardon?’ again. Ask something else.”

“But……”

“Your job is to entertain me, isn’t it?”

“……”

“Let’s say I’ve developed a hobby of handling cameras.”

“E-even so… this is so sudden……”

“I’ve been looking for a suitable subject, so this works out well.”

Delian was unreasonable.

At that moment, Lena realized. From now on, she would be at Delian’s mercy under the pretext of “entertaining” him.

“Haah.”

Lena let out a short sigh.

Penna enthusiastically explained why they needed to take photos, but it didn’t register in Lena’s ears.

‘Is this really okay……’

Snow flowers bloomed on the branches visible through the window.

Though it was still cold winter, spring had come for the young lady living in the House of Northdelion.

“Let’s go now.”

Delian stood up and strode over with his long legs.

It was the first time they stood directly facing each other. Lena had to lift her head quite a bit before she could see the Duke’s face.

‘He’s so tall.’

The difference was even more apparent in the mirror she inadvertently checked while turning her head. Lena barely reached his chest.

‘I’m not even that short.’

It gave her a strange feeling.

The height difference between the prince and princess in fairy tales seemed to be just about this much.

‘A princess……’

Lena shook her head at the thought that had unconsciously surfaced.

“What’s wrong?”

The Duke reacted sensitively to her head-shaking.

Lena shook her head again, saying it was nothing. Though she wasn’t a princess, in reality, Lena was receiving comparable treatment in the ducal residence. It felt as if she had become someone precious.

And this wasn’t a dream but reality. That was enough.

On the way to enjoy their late lunch, Penna followed behind the perfectly matched pair, occasionally uttering strange exclamations.

Sunlight, carved into square shapes along the latticed window frames, poured into the corridor.

Swish, swish.

The sound of clothes brushing against each other.

Click, click.

The sound of shoes stepping on marble.

These were the most unfamiliar sounds in Lena’s life, yet they perfectly imprinted her completely changed situation, as if her life had been turned upside down.

Arriving at the lunch venue and sitting at the table, Lena unconsciously thought she was happy.

Had she ever had such thoughts before? She couldn’t remember.

She had thought she shouldn’t be happy. She thought she should be grateful even for watery rice porridge. She had believed that was the best treatment she could receive in her life.

But the feast laid out before her now was something the previous her couldn’t even have dreamed of.

Lena couldn’t readily reach for the food. It was so beautiful that it seemed a waste to eat.

Not only Delian and Penna, but even the head chef was carefully watching her reaction.

“Is it not to your taste?”

“How about the salmon canapé?”

“Sudden meat might be burdensome, so perhaps try the soup first……”

“She seems uncomfortable with the lemon water, bring plain water.”

“I’ll bring it right away.”

“How about water with mint leaves? It stimulates appetite……”

Everyone was eager to match her taste and preferences.

Lena suddenly felt like she might cry. So she nodded vigorously at everyone.

“It’s very delicious.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“Really.”

The three people fell silent at the sight of Lena speaking happily with tears welling up in her eyes.

The lemon water she tasted for the first time was refreshing, the soup, which was on a different level from the porridge she used to eat, was warm, and the smell of meat was so good it made her mouth water.

Lena ate everything the chef placed in front of her.

Watching Lena eat better than expected, Delian felt what it meant to feel full just by watching.

‘I should give the chef a bonus.’

He was the main contributor to Lena’s happy smile.

Delian glanced at Penna. Even faster than him, Penna had already checked all the foods Lena had eaten twice.

After the meal, Lena eventually had to take digestive medicine.

“Shall we take a walk?”

“Yes, that would be lovely.”

She had been struggling anyway. Lena quickly responded to his words, which felt like salvation.

Delian naturally offered her his arm, and after hesitating, Lena carefully placed her hand on it.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never heard mention of a duchess.’

She had heard the Duke wasn’t much older than herself. Just as Lena was past marriageable age, so was the Duke.

Lena carefully asked.

“By the way, where is the duchess……”

“Ah……”

Delian paused at Lena’s words, then shrugged.

“You’ll meet her soon. She’s been curious about you anyway.”

“Ah……”

So there was a duchess. Why did her heart flutter at those words?

‘It’s fortunate if he’s married……’

It was strange that she, who had never even held hands with the opposite s*x despite being past marriageable age, would think this way. How could such a handsome Duke still be single?

Lena realized she had been acting as if she were someone important just because she had received special treatment.

‘I’m just a freeloader……’

Suddenly feeling her eyes burn, Lena quickly lowered her head.

The two people walking in the garden entered a small greenhouse. It was beautifully warm, as if completely separated from the outside world.

The sound of a bird chirping came from somewhere.

“Ca…nary?”

The canary she had seen on the washing basin that morning was singing, tilting its head.

Delian said.

“So you do like yellow. You recognized it right away.”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean you.”

Come to think of it, Penna, who had brought many yellow dresses, had said something similar.

That yellow was Lena’s preference.

Lena tilted her head slightly like the canary.

“Could it be those dresses……”

“I chose them.”

“…Ah.”

It seemed he had selected only yellow ones from the duchess’s dresses.

‘Of course……’

Lena unconsciously looked down at the dress she had thought of as her wings.

‘This too is something I’m wearing secondhand.’

It was the same.

No matter how much the quality of clothes had improved, they weren’t hers in the end.

‘That’s only natural……’

Lena felt a pain stabbing her heart again and unconsciously clutched her chest.

Contrary to Lena, Delian was in a very good mood.

It was nice to see Lena eating well, and she looked extremely beautiful in the yellow dress.

Above all, what pleased him most was that she was now by his side. Though it didn’t show at all outwardly, inwardly he was ready to hum a tune.

Delian looked at the canary and said.

“About that song.”

“Song?”

“Yes, that lullaby you often sing. From spring to winter, it’s all full of yellow.”

At that moment, Lena’s eyes trembled slightly.

‘He knew that it was a song I often sang?’

Unaware that Lena’s eyes were trembling, the Duke continued.

“In spring, dandelions and butterflies, in summer, streams and goldfish, in autumn, maple leaves and chestnuts. They’re all yellow.”

“Ah……”

Lena’s mouth fell open.

“Dandelions are yellow, goldfish are yellow, chestnuts are yellow, …ah, are butterflies yellow too?”

Delian, finding something amusing, lifted one corner of his mouth and turned to look at her.

“I wondered why there was no yellow in winter, but then I saw that the snowman in front of your house always wore a yellow scarf.”

“……!!!”

Lena’s eyes widened.

It was true.

Before her health deteriorated, she always made snowmen with Roberto every winter. And she would wrap a yellow cloth found somewhere in the house around it as a scarf.

“How adorable it was.”

The Duke burst into laughter as if reminiscing about a pleasant memory.