Bailey raised six children, all full of mischief, and she knew that was simply what children’s clothes were like. Running around, tearing things, getting holes. That was just how it went.

She thought it far better to see a child playing with lively energy than sitting prettily in ugly ribbons and lace, imitating a fine lady.

She decided to speak to Norman about having a few outfits made for the girl.

The clothes she brought were already worn, and even the cleanest of them now had a hole in it as of today.

Children needed to run and play, and when the new school term came around in September, she would need clothes for school as well. It seemed she could use a few more.

Bailey quickly handed the laundry off to the laundry room, then took charge of helping and directing the preparations for the duke, duchess, and Karl’s evening dinner.

It was a chaotic day.

“Karl!”

“Mother, I’m home.”

Daniela von Clausen embraced her only son with joy.

The duchess hurried home upon hearing that her precious son returned to Heitzrind earlier than planned.

He was the precious lifeblood that kept her living in this place, where there was nothing in the world to bring her happiness.

Her son of eighteen was now a grown young man, but he seemed little different from when he was small.

He was still Karl, with the handsome nose he inherited from her side of the family and eyes that ran deep.

Karl gave his mother a light embrace in greeting and exchanged a kiss on the cheek.

“You look thinner, Mother. Are you sleeping well these days?”

“I’m sleeping just fine. Don’t worry.”

Karl caught the faint furrow of loyal Daina’s brow behind the duchess and concluded his mother was still not sleeping properly.

His mother was a sensitive woman.

She seemed less so when he was young, but at some point she began struggling to sleep and suffering from headaches. She had to carry sedative pills with her at all times.

Like most sons, Karl had no desire to look too closely at his parents’ relationship, so he only knew in a vague way that the two of them were not on particularly good terms.

From what he heard of his classmates in Schultz, the marriages of noble families all seemed much the same, so it didn’t weigh on him greatly.

His father was busy with business, and his mother had her own life to keep her occupied. It was enough for each of them to live their own lives well.

As Karl Grant Clausen did.

“How could you come down without a word like this. If you had sent word ahead, we would have been ready from early on.”

“I’m sorry for not telling you in advance. I wanted some rest.”

Daniela looked up at her son with a tender, worried expression.

Seeing her son only occasionally while he was away at boarding school, he seemed to have shot up every time she laid eyes on him.

The dark hair he inherited from his father and the blue eyes he inherited from her suited each other remarkably well.

It was only natural that the young maids of Heitzrind flushed at the sight of him.

“Karl, aren’t you hungry? I’ll have this evening’s dinner prepared a little early.”

He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he nodded in agreement.

With him away, his parents must have dined together only rarely. Coming home after a long while, he was willing to take part in the performance of a warm family gathering.

Daniela left Karl’s room with a satisfied look.

They were a quiet family.

Three family members sat at the large dining table in a modest arrangement, but no one was the first to speak.

The duke, meeting the grown Karl for the first time in a while, extended his hand for a handshake, smiled, and patted him on the shoulder. The duchess, who rarely smiled, managed a faint one.

But that was all.

It was a quiet meal with nothing to be heard but the clinking of cutlery and the violin melody flowing from the phonograph in the dining room.

Head butler Norman, standing by the door in attendance, noticed Karl’s glass was empty and came over personally to pour the wine.

“Master Karl. This is a wine from Konrad. I hope it suits your palate.”

“Thank you. The finish is good.”

“With university starting in September, preparations alone must keep you busy. Rest here for a while and recover from your travels. Shall I arrange a hunt for tomorrow?”

Norman spoke pleasantly, hoping to change the usual atmosphere of silence and cold that settled over the evening.

Everyone at Heitzrind knew nothing could be done about the two of them, so he directed his words at Karl, where there was at least some room.

“I’m not sure. I was thinking of taking a ride on horseback. If I go, let Boris know.”

“Yes, of course. It will be good to hear the sound of shooting in the Heitzrind forest again after so long.”

Norman smiled and glanced at the Duke of Clausen.

The duke caught his look and set down the whiskey glass he kept raising to his lips. He had not touched his food at all and was drinking glass after glass of strong whiskey.

“Was studying in Schultz manageable?”

“Yes, it was enjoyable.”

“I see. When do you plan to leave for Regenshen?”

“I intend to leave around August.”

The chandelier light above flickered in the summer night breeze.

A rich scent of roses drifted in through the dining room windows, and the violin melody continued, calm and unhurried.

The pink repeat-blooming roses, red peonies, and coral carnations adorning the table caught the reflected light of the chandelier, each petal showing off its beauty.

Despite Karl’s early arrival throwing the kitchen into a frenzy, the staff delivered a splendid succession of dishes without a single misstep.

A night with nothing wanting.

Parents who never spoke, as always. A grand manor, peaceful to the point of monotony. Kind and diligent servants.

Whenever he came back, this place never changed.

His thoughts drifted to the unhurried, heavy air of Heitzrind, and then the strange little girl he met that morning came to mind.

Neatly cut golden hair in a short bob, and green eyes as deep as a summer forest.

“Come to think of it, I noticed a girl today I hadn’t seen before.”

A single stone dropped into the unchanging Heitzrind.

Karl brought up the small girl he met in the garden, hoping to redirect the attention on him and shift the mood.

In an instant, the calm and peaceful air of the dining room changed.

Daniela’s blue eyes wavered with nowhere to settle, and Daina, attending behind her, visibly tensed. Even the composed Norman’s shoulders stiffened.

“Yes, Karl. You’ve already met her. I was going to introduce you. Since it’s come up, it would be good to exchange greetings. Norman, go and bring Miss Adele.”

The Duke of Clausen spoke, lifting his glass again.

The duchess’s hands trembled faintly, gripping her knife and fork tightly.

“Tonight is a rare occasion with Karl home and the family dining together. I would rather not spoil a pleasant evening.”

“Daniela. I have had it notarized that I will fulfill my role as her guardian until she comes of age. If she is a guest staying in this house, it is only right to introduce her to the future master of Heitzrind.”

A girl whose guardian was his father.

Karl quietly took a sip of the wine before him and turned the surname “Baden” he heard from the girl that day over in his mind.

Not a common surname exactly, but not rare either. He seemed to have heard it somewhere recently.

Still, seeing his mother’s nerves flare up again, whatever lay ahead did not seem particularly pleasant.

“It’s all right, Father. I already met her in the garden today and we exchanged greetings. As Mother says, tonight is a rare occasion for the three of us to sit together, so let’s have tea another time and introduce ourselves properly then.”

Karl wrapped it up neatly, and the Duke of Clausen nodded.

For about a week, the duke deliberately refrained from seeking the girl out.

He knew Daniela was holding herself at the very edge of what she could endure.

Though, a few days prior, when the notarized document naming him as Adelaide Baden’s guardian arrived from the lawyer, she did smash the furnishings in her upstairs study.

“You probably know this already. Adelaide’s father is Michael Baden. He lost his life a few months ago to a tropical disease in the southern lands. His name appeared all over the Erwin papers given his business failure. I was not among those who invested in him, but he once helped me with a railway venture. He held a stake in the construction of the freight railway connecting Portzsheim and Karli. It seems that too was swept up in this latest business failure.”

Only then did Karl place the Baden name he felt he heard somewhere before.

It was definitely a name that circulated among his classmates in Schultz.

The man built a reputation as an aggressive businessman on a winning streak, so even among the upper class in Schultz, many had invested in him.