“I don’t think this will do.”

“What won’t?”

“That guest.”

Following her mother’s gesture, Aillen turned towards the dining hall window.

Seren was sitting there, quietly sipping her coffee.

Her long black hair fell loosely over her shoulders. She was wearing undeniably elegant clothes that were far too warm for the weather. Even their color matched the shade of her eyes.

In short, she looked unbearably warm.

Though the curtains had been drawn, thin strands of sunlight still slipped through and flickered over her seat. Just looking at her was stifling. There was no way she wasn’t feeling the heat herself.

Why had she chosen that spot of all places?

The question had barely formed in her mind before Aillen understood the answer, and her heart tightened.

“Why are there so many people today?”

“How should I know?”

Her mother replied with a shrug. Her father walked past her and casually remarked that the heat must have driven everyone inside to look for something cold to drink.

That sounded like a reasonable explanation. Most of the customers were indeed lingering over chilled drinks or glasses of beer.

Now that she thought about it, perhaps today was warmer than usual.

She had spent the entire afternoon in the storeroom sorting and organizing supplies, so she hadn’t noticed the change at all. In the shade, it had felt manageable — almost comfortable.

“At this rate, she’ll faint.”

Though her mother clicked her tongue as if it were a trivial matter, her gaze held genuine concern.

Hm.

After a brief moment of consideration, Aillen spoke lightly.

“Would it help if I lent her some of my clothes?”

“If she wore your clothes, she would likely need to buy separate bottoms.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be that extreme…”

“Haila’s clothes would be too small as well.”

Her mother narrowed her eyes as she thought.

Before Aillen could ask what she was looking for, her mother turned around and handed her a small pouch. The faint clinking of coins inside suggested that it was the household change purse.

“Go into town and buy some butter.”

“But why butter? We still have plenty left.”

Her mother tied her apron and muttered under her breath.

“With the way your brother’s been using butter like there’s no tomorrow, what we have won’t be nearly enough.…And since you’re going out, take the guest with you.”

Then she added, almost as an afterthought,

“Buy her some clothes while you’re at it.”

At first, the two of you hardly spoke to each other. But the other day, you seemed quite close at the party.

Her mother’s voice was light and almost offhand, but Aillen could hear the quiet calculation beneath it.

In a village where new, more upmarket inns were opening one after another, the Grandel Inn had survived this long largely thanks to her mother’s careful attention to every guest and every opportunity.

Aillen offered a faint smile, well aware that she was now playing her part in one of her mother’s subtle maneuvers.

“I’ll buy something for myself too, then.”

“Do as you like.”

Ignoring her mother’s indifferent response, Aillen left the kitchen.

Without hesitating, she made her way towards the table.

Seren looked up at her, a faint flicker of surprise crossing her face.

Perhaps it was only her imagination, but Seren’s complexion seemed paler than when they had last met. She had looked healthier at the party — or maybe the dim lighting had just softened her features. Aillen couldn’t be sure.

Yesterday, she had been too busy with laundry and reorganizing the storeroom to venture into the hall once.

But one thing was certain.

This unfortunate guest, clearly unaccustomed to a southern winter, needed lighter clothes.

“Good afternoon.”

“…Good afternoon.”

Seren’s gaze wandered briefly, as though she had not expected Aillen to approach, before settling once more.

Aillen pulled out a chair and sat down naturally across from her.

“How are you finding Titt?”

“Well…”

The Northerner chose her words carefully. This was not because she had nothing to say, but because she was looking for the most precise way to express herself.

“It’s quaint. Not noisy. The scenery is tranquil.”

“…And warm.”

She added, brushing her hair behind her ear.

Aillen let out a small laugh.

“It’s your first time traveling south, isn’t it?”

“How did you know?”

Although she had phrased it as a question, her tone remained almost entirely flat. This made her sound more rigid than intended, but it suited her demeanor.

Aillen grinned and gestured towards Seren’s clothes lightly.

“If you’d known, you wouldn’t have packed only things like that.”

The northern guest glanced down at her clothes, the corners of her eyes creasing faintly with laughter.

Aillen quickly shook her head, her voice still tinged with laughter.

“I’m not teasing you. It would take longer to wait for Titt’s winter to get colder than it is now than to buy a proper plot of land somewhere. Besides, you can’t just be buried anywhere, can you?”

There was something quietly amusing about her: someone who looked as though she wouldn’t bleed if she were pricked, yet who seemed so completely unprepared for this mild weather.

Seren’s brows drew together slightly as she parted her lips to respond.

But Aillen was faster.

“So, shall we go buy some clothes together?”

***

To be honest, it felt very similar to that night at the party when she had tried to keep the conversation going.

The Seren she had glimpsed then seemed like a genuinely good person.

If her mother had sensed it, then surely Seren herself must have been aware of it too. And yet, despite clearly noticing that Aillen had been avoiding her, Seren had still come forward and offered her help.

From Seren’s point of view, it must have seemed as though Aillen had withdrawn for no reason.

Aillen didn’t know how Seren had managed to be so gracious.

After all, she hadn’t been entirely blameless herself. The quiet weight of her own discourtesy still pressed heavily on her heart.

“Did you rest well that day?”

Seren had been gazing out of the window, but would steal occasional glances at Aillen whenever there was a breeze. When their eyes met, she jumped slightly.

Aillen let out a soft laugh and gently resumed the conversation. Whatever lay between them, whatever unspoken intention lingered, it was oddly comforting to know that she was not the only one feeling awkward.

The road was uneven and unpaved, and the carriage lurched beneath them frequently.

Seren raised her eyebrows slightly, as if searching her memory for the day Aillen was referring to. Then a quiet understanding crossed her face.

“Ah.”

There was only one day it could have been.

“Yes.”

Once again, an awkward silence fell between them.

Despite being the first to approach and offer help, Seren spoke very little, and her responses were always brief.

Aillen scratched her head and adjusted the high ponytail she had tied her hair into.

In truth, the town was not far enough away to justify taking a carriage. It often took longer to find one than it did to simply walk.

But she couldn’t possibly ask Seren to walk in the blazing sun dressed like that.

Even riding horseback would offer little relief, not even along the tree-lined road where the shade was thick and generous.

No matter how she looked at it, those clothes seemed suited only to a northern summer.

Then again, having known nothing but a northern winter herself, Aillen couldn’t say for certain.

“You seemed quite busy yesterday.”

“Pardon?”

The question came so unexpectedly that Aillen was startled before she could stop herself.

Seren also seemed taken aback by her own words. A faint trace of regret flickered across her cool features.

“…You were nowhere to be seen all day.”

Ah!

The atmosphere shifted, growing faintly awkward. Aillen let out a small, sheepish sound.

Whenever things became uncomfortable, she found herself talking more.

She deliberately brightened her tone of voice.

“I was busy, yes. Tidying the storeroom, laundry, this and that… After a party, there’s always plenty to clean up. Still, I enjoy it.”

“For someone who enjoys it, you didn’t seem to be enjoying it very much.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the northern guest closed her lips as if she had spoken out of turn.

It didn’t seem like an aggressive remark. It had slipped out almost reflexively.

Seeing Seren bite her lip briefly, Aillen decided not to take offence.

“I’m sorry. That was a careless remark.”

“It’s all right. You weren’t entirely wrong.”

Seren’s gaze lingered on her, as though trying to discern whether that was mere politeness or truth.

Aillen answered with a light smile.

“You’re quite observant.”

She swore that she hadn’t meant it as sarcasm.

Among her friends, and indeed in the South in general, this kind of teasing wasn’t meant to cause offence.

Yet Seren’s expression stiffened, as though she had just been told she had made a mistake.

She didn’t look angry, just quietly disheartened, her brows faintly drooping.

“Ah… well.”

Aillen almost added that she was only joking — just a bit of light-hearted teasing — but she hesitated. Wouldn’t that just make things feel more forced?

And so the moment to explain slipped past.

Maybe when Seren first said she could go alone, Aillen should have let her.

Instead, she turned her gaze towards the window.

The silence inside the carriage grew heavier with each passing second. Outside, the trees swayed gently in the breeze, creating a peaceful scene as the carriage passed by.

At least the journey was short.

They arrived before the silence became unbearable.

“Aillen, don’t go causing trouble. Just go and come back quietly!”

“Auntie, do you still think I’m a child?”

“You are a child! And you, Miss, have a lovely day!”

Mrs. Selmond turned the carriage around with a hearty laugh.

It was easier to ask a wealthy neighbor with her own horses to take her into town than to wait in the scorching sun for a hired carriage.

As it happened, Mrs. Selmond, the ranch owner, had errands to run in town that day. They had been fortunate.

“Well, shall we?”