He was said to be in the business of southern teas and mineral extraction, and many people found it suspicious that such a thriving enterprise collapsed so suddenly.

Now Karl understood why the girl trembled yet never dropped her gaze when they met.

She must have been a child who never learned to bow her head, until her father died.

“I see. If Father has decided, I have no particular objection.”

The veins on the duchess’s hand stood out as she gripped her wine glass.

The Duke of Clausen was out of his mind.

She already knew it, but to publicly declare he would look after that child until she came of age.

She could not understand his mad notion of bringing the child of his former lover to Heitzrind and raising her here.

That insufferable Rene von Eduard.

Her shadow clung to every corner of Heitzrind manor.

It could not be wiped away, and it lived and moved in every place the Duke of Clausen’s gaze fell, endlessly comparing the two of them.

She could not bear it a moment longer.

The Eduard woman, already dead, still controlled her husband and turned her into a puppet as well. And now, of all things, it was that woman’s daughter.

Her head throbbed again.

The dining room sank back into silence, just as it began. Not one person there opened their mouth again.

“Young master, it is Daina. May I have a word with you?”

The evening dinner ended earlier than expected, but the summer night had grown quite late.

Karl found it strange to hear Daina knocking at his door.

Daina, who grew up alongside his mother as her playmate since childhood, was someone who would go to hell and back if his mother commanded it.

Even after his mother married into Heitzrind, she was brought along on purpose. Daina became his mother’s indispensable right hand.

“Come in.”

Karl finished his bath and was reading in comfortable clothes. He fastened his robe properly and let her in.

Daina entered without a sound. She kept her head bowed and did not meet his eyes as she spoke.

“I am truly sorry to disturb you when you must be tired, young master. There is something I wished to discuss in advance, and I have taken the liberty of coming to you.”

“Speak.”

Knowing well that Karl disliked lengthy preambles, she got straight to the point.

“It concerns Adelaide Baden, whom you met today. She is the child of Rene von Eduard and Michael Baden. You may not know much about Michael Baden, but you will have heard of the Eduard family.”

Karl pressed his left hand to his temple, one eyebrow furrowing.

Only now did he understand why his mother’s face darkened so.

He knew little of his parents’ relationship, but it was a name that came up often whenever the two of them argued, once he was old enough to understand.

Rene.

His father Levin von Clausen’s first love and first fiancee, or so it was said.

Karl could not understand his father’s fixation on a love long past. Nor could he understand why his mother, already firmly established as the mistress of Clausen, was so unsettled.

He suspected his father’s cold treatment of his mother was partly a result of her own obsessive fixation.

Daina continued without lifting her head.

“I know this is an enormously presumptuous thing to say. But I ask that you consider the mistress’s feelings. Since the master brought that child here, Daniela has not been sleeping properly. I ask that you refrain from speaking of the child as much as possible, and keep your distance from her.”

The furrow between Karl’s brows slowly deepened as he listened.

“I am well aware that it is insolent of me to say such things about the master’s affairs. I only ask that you take pity on the mistress and on me, and keep my words in mind while you are at Heitzrind….”

The words were insolent, ill-suited to her respectful bearing.

Karl snapped the book on his knee shut and stood.

“Daina. I understood perfectly what you said. I already noticed my mother’s displeasure at dinner this evening, and I know you have served her for a long time and regard her as more than family. However, what you are doing right now is deeply unpleasant. It is presumptuous.”

Karl’s voice was low and dry, but the anger beneath it could not be concealed.

“Bringing up a private matter between two people is itself an act of great insolence, but I do not believe my mother is foolish enough to take out a past grievance on a young child. I cannot understand why you have come to say this at such a late hour. I have heard what you said, so you may go.”

Karl fixed her with the same blue eyes as his mistress, filled with anger and contempt, and Daina’s bowed head sank even lower toward the floor.

Master Karl, too, is a man of the Clausen ducal family.

He clearly found her overstepping deeply repugnant right now.

“I am sorry, Master Karl. Please forgive this inexcusable rudeness.”

Daina quickly left Karl’s room, leaving him silent behind her.

She did not fail to anticipate this response from him.

Even so, she needed to put as much distance as possible between that vulgar child and the Clausen family. Surely the sharp-minded young master understood her meaning.

Daina left Karl’s room and headed for the kitchen.

She decided to bring up a warm cup of tea for the duchess, who must have had a difficult day.

She hoped her mistress could sleep soundly tonight, without a single dream.

* * *

Bailey worked diligently on Adele’s clothes.

She asked Lena, one of the Heitzrind maids whose daughter was around Adele’s age, to lend her a pattern for a child’s dress.

It was simply that she had not made clothes for a child that age in a long time and did not know what styles were fashionable.

She bought a soft light green gloria fabric and a deep purple muslin fabric that would suit Adele, and decided to make three dresses in total, including a sturdy wool dress.

Once summer passed, Adele was set to attend Mainz Girls’ School, and she could wear the school uniform then.

Quick and meticulous, Bailey finished one dress in no time.

Pleased with herself, she took the dress straight to Adele’s room. She knocked twice and opened the door.

Since the bad fall a few days ago, Adele had trouble walking and stayed indoors.

Apart from slipping out through the outer shutters to wander nearby for a short while, she barely moved from her room.

With the household in a flurry since Karl’s arrival, no one paid Adele any attention.

Bailey felt a little sorry for the dejected Adele and pushed herself to finish the dress faster.

It seemed the thought of having ruined the clothes she brought was making the girl even more downcast.

“Do you like it?”

Bailey looked at Adele dressed in the light green dress and asked with a satisfied eye.

Tying the ribbon neatly at the back to give it volume made it look much nicer.

“It’s so, so pretty!”

Children grew fast, so Bailey deliberately cut the summer dress a little long. The light green skirt, covering half her shins, also hid the scrape on the knee from her fall.

Adele pulled on her socks and shoes and hopped about, and Bailey watched with a warm smile.

She was glad she thought to get a current pattern.

The light green dress suited Adele’s fair skin and bright green eyes beautifully.

“Thank you so much, Bailey.”

Adele gently took Bailey’s hand and gave her a small hug.

Bailey could feel the child hesitating over whether it was all right to come close, so she quickly hugged Adele back.

“You don’t need to call me ma’am. Miss Adele is a guest of the master of Heitzrind, so you are welcome to call me by my name.”

The tentative Adele said “Thank you, Bailey,” with a small smile.

A faint dimple appeared on Adele’s left cheek.

What a pretty child.

“Um… I finished the books I borrowed a week ago. May I go borrow more?”

She borrowed quite a large number of books, and it seemed she finished them all already. True to her word about loving books, Adele read and reread them right up until bedtime.

Bailey thought about who was in the manor today.