“This won’t do. Instead of staying here like this, I think I need to go out to lift my spirits.”

“Again? You went out just last week.”

Martha looked as if she’d just heard something dreadful. Yelodia instinctively scrambled for an explanation.

“That time, I went out to the Bellus Bookstore to shop for new books. This time, I’m going to buy summer clothes and accessories.”

“But didn’t you sweep through the shops on Lonel Street just two weeks ago? Wasn’t that enough?”

“I still think I’m short on riding outfits.”

Martha sighed as she recalled the wardrobe filled with riding pants, shirts, leather boots, and hats and gloves in every color.

If only her charming young mistress had the usual interests like other ladies—dresses and jewelry—but instead, her peculiar interest lay in horseback riding.

It was a hobby that brought with it the musty smells of manure and horsehide.

Of course, riding was part of the basic education for nobles, and everyone knew that noble ladies learned to ride as an expensive pastime. Well-bred horses symbolized wealth and power among the nobility.

But Yelodia never took to riding simply to circle around Lilith Park gracefully with a servant.

If only Duke Xavier had allowed it, she would have been qualified to race as a jockey at the Hippos Racetrack.

Even now, Martha wasn’t altering a dress but rather tailoring a riding shirt that Yelodia had bought.

“Why not collect jewelry instead? The wardrobe is so packed with shirts and pants that it looks like your younger brother’s closet. It’s embarrassing to mention it.”

“You don’t understand, Martha. Jewelry is far more expensive and pointless.”

“The one who doesn’t understand is you, My Lady. Rare jewels can be resold for a high price. And why do you buy hats in every color if you’re only going to wear black anyway?”

Martha’s sharp and pragmatic observations were, as usual, on point.

But Yelodia kept her chin up and boldly asserted,

“Because they’re pretty.”

“Is that really the only reason?”

“Of course. I won’t stand for anyone insulting my babies, not even you, Martha.”

“Ah… I see…”

Martha lost her words, staring into the air. Her mistress, sweet and loving, could be so obstinate and eccentric at times that it left her speechless.

Of course, Martha cherished and loved this side of her too.

But now she wondered if Yelodia had grown up a little too much like a tomboy.

‘Maybe I should have held her back a bit?’

Born with a weak heart, Yelodia hadn’t been able to leave her bedroom properly, let alone the manor, until she turned ten.

If she overexerted herself even a little, she would become bedridden, so everyone in the manor had lived on edge, worried she might suffer even from the slightest cough.

At one point, everyone thought she might never open her eyes again, just like her late mother.

So when Yelodia finally regained her health, not only the servants but Duke Xavier himself took joy in whatever she did, no matter how whimsically she behaved.

‘But I probably should’ve stopped her from riding.’

Martha’s regret soon faded.

Just then, there was some commotion in the hallway, and a servant from the duke’s household knocked on the drawing room door and entered. Yelodia put down her embroidery frame and looked up.

“What is it?”

“My Lady, your fiancé has come to visit.”

“Fiancé? Who got engaged?”

Yelodia tilted her head, confused.

“I mean Baron Adrian, your fiancé.”

The servant’s clarification made Yelodia’s eyes widen.

“Wait, right now? He’s here at the manor?”

Yelodia’s impatient question was answered with an immediate nod from the servant, who seemed thrilled about the visit of the young mistress’s fiancé to the duke’s estate.

“He’s currently in the first-floor drawing room. Perhaps you should go down?”

“Why? Did he come to break off the engagement?”

Startled, Yelodia asked, and the servant looked at her, bewildered.

“He seems to have come to see the duke… though… he didn’t strike me as that unkind. He didn’t bring flowers, though.”

“…”

The servant continued awkwardly,

“Shall I check with the baron for you?”

“No need for that.”

Yelodia waved her hand dismissively, feeling her body relax with a strange sense of relief.

“See? It doesn’t seem like he dislikes you that much.”

Martha said, as if she’d expected this. Yelodia shot to her feet.

＊ ＊ ＊

On the very day Duke Xavier sent a letter, a reply had returned through the messenger bearing it, accompanied by an invitation to visit the duke’s estate.

And so, the day after the exchange of letters, Edward found himself standing before the grand gate of Duke Xavier’s manor.

A servant of the noble and historic mansion escorted Edward politely to the drawing room.

“Please wait a moment. The master will be down shortly.”

“Thank you.”

At Edward’s reply, the servant offered a faint smile. Soon, another servant appeared with tea and biscuits, treating him with the utmost courtesy.

“Please let us know if you need anything.”

Edward suppressed a cough. He’d just noticed that the servants were peeking at him from beyond the drawing room door.

Though unfamiliar with the manners of a high noble family, Edward knew well enough that having a group of servants spying on a guest was far from proper.

But as a soldier, Edward was unbothered. In fact, he found it amusing that the servants were so curious about their young mistress’s fiancé.

Just as he casually lifted his teacup, he coughed, startled. Among the servants, he spotted a young lady with flowing red hair.

“Lady Xavier?”

“Ah, Baron, good afternoon. It’s a lovely afternoon, isn’t it?”

Yelodia peeked her head around the door and entered the drawing room as if she were just casually passing by.

With every step, her delicate lambskin shoes appeared from beneath the hem of her airy light-blue dress.

Edward thought that her feet within those shoes were probably no bigger than the span of his hand.

“It seems my father is quite busy. He has to send letters to each of the vassals, re-landscape the garden for the engagement ceremony, place orders with the trading company, and there are many other things to prepare as well.”

“…I see.”

Yelodia looked around the drawing room and then carefully took a seat across from Edward.

It occurred to Edward belatedly that he should have stood up, but he didn’t let it show.

“As an unmarried woman, it’s against etiquette for me to meet an outside guest alone, but I trust the baron will overlook this.”

“If it’s such a breach of noble etiquette, I don’t mind waiting alone for the duke.”

Yelodia bit her lower lip slightly at Edward’s indifferent response.

Edward was taken aback. Yelodia was looking at him with the same expression he often directed at subordinates who didn’t quite understand his orders.

“Since you’re my fiancé, as long as you don’t do anything too damaging to my reputation, my father won’t mind.”

Her slightly raised gaze seemed to say, ‘Are you really going to refuse me again?’ Edward thought she looked like a kitten tapping its tail on the ground in irritation and allowed himself a faint smile, though it quickly faded.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened at the dinner. I lack eloquence and may have offended you.”

“That…”

Yelodia fell silent, her gaze wavering. A hint of blush appeared on her cheeks. She clearly hadn’t expected him to apologize so suddenly.

Edward calmly continued.

“Since I was able to walk, my father taught me swordsmanship, and I’ve spent my life around rough and unrefined men. I’m unfamiliar with noble etiquette, and I may cause you further trouble in the future. My apologies.”

“I see…”

Yelodia looked at Edward intently as though intrigued.

Edward noticed a strange curiosity sparkling in her eyes. Her irises, caught in the afternoon light, scattered into a spectrum of colors.

For Yelodia, Edward must be a mysterious man; but Yelodia, too, was not the typical noble lady he was used to. It was rather interesting.

“I’ll accept your apology. And, if you had fully rejected me in front of His Majesty, I would never have been able to show my face in society again.”

“Pardon?”

Edward was taken aback. He hadn’t realized that his actions could have such far-reaching consequences.

“Breaking off an engagement arranged by His Majesty would be a tremendous disgrace. I assumed you knew that much…”

Yelodia trailed off, touching her blushing cheek.

So, Edward had rejected something that was, in fact, unbreakable.

And worse, he had even tried to argue to the Emperor that she wasn’t suitable for him, a slight likely too humiliating for any young noblewoman to bear.

‘So that’s why she asked if I had someone else.’

Edward stifled a groan inwardly and lowered his head.

“My apologies, my lady. I hadn’t realized the full extent. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“No need to apologize so deeply. I do appreciate your honesty. I thought you must have been overwhelmed. In fact, His Majesty…”

“Yelodia.”

Startled, Yelodia jumped to her feet. Duke Xavier entered through the drawing room door and immediately scolded the butler who had followed him in.

“Why is my daughter alone with an unrelated man without a chaperone?”

“I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

The butler, pale-faced, bowed his head. Yelodia looked flustered.

“Father, but the baron is my fiancé…”

“Not until the engagement ceremony is he considered so. Don’t ever act so recklessly again!”

Duke Xavier’s sharp warning made Yelodia’s lips pout slightly. The poised young lady vanished, leaving only a seventeen-year-old girl in her place.

Edward rose from his seat, thinking the duke must be acting more strictly than usual due to his presence as an outsider.

“I apologize for failing to observe proper decorum. I’m sorry for the discourtesy, Your Grace.”

“There’s no need for the baron to defend his fiancée just yet. This is a matter strictly within my household, so don’t interfere.”

The duke also directed a hint of resentment toward Edward.