The Grand Duchess of Reinhart rolled her eyes and scratched her chin. 

 “Rarien. Do you know anything about this?” 

 “I, I don’t know……” 

 “Hmm. He’ll throw a fit if he finds out, better put it back as it was.” 

 Good heavens. Even their crude language was identical. 

 When the Grand Duchess of Reinhart put the pillow down on the bed, William smoothed out the wrinkles and adjusted the angle. Only after William’s gloved hands touched it did it return to its original appearance. 

 “William. That.” 

 What could she mean by ‘that.’ She had no idea. 

 “Yes, Madam.” 

 William the butler understood immediately. When William handed over women’s gloves, the Grand Duchess of Reinhart fumbled to put them on. 

 This was the strangest part. She had called for her attendance but was having William do all the work. 

 It was equally strange that she brought a butler all this way from the beginning. 

 Even if she tried to notice what to do, they just said ‘that’. How was she supposed to know what to do? 

 ‘Is this some new form of harassment?’ 

 If the goal was to make her die of anxiety, it was half successful. 

 “Better not go into the bathroom? What do you think.” 

 “Yes. Indeed. The young master would dislike it if he knew.” 

 “When did my little Nicki become such a heinous villain.” 

 Wasn’t he too big to be called little? 

 She remembered how he said he was sick of his mother calling him Nicki, Nicki. Rarien suppressed a laugh. 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart examined the office in the same way, then soon looked tired. 

 “Ah, I’m exhausted.” 

 She stretched with a bored tone and pressed her fingertips against her temples. 

 She’s this tired just from moving around a bit? While it was common for noble ladies to have poor stamina, the Grand Duchess of Reinhart seemed to be at a serious level. 

 “I have a headache, I should return to my room. William?” 

 “Yes, I’ll prepare everything right away.” 

 This time she didn’t even say ‘that.’ 

 She was following along to attend to her, but… With them speaking in a code-like manner, there was nothing she could do. 

 ‘What should I do.’ 

 Unable to do this or that. She felt like dying from the awkwardness. 

 ‘Right, let’s just follow along for now.’ 

 If she kept observing, she might find some clues. Rarien decided to accompany the Grand Duchess of Reinhart to her bedroom. 

***

 The same days continued for a while. 

 Even without much to do, Rarien observed and recorded the Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s behavioral patterns while staying by her side. 

 By the third day, she became confident about her routine and got confirmation from William the butler. 

 She had precisely organized even the subtle differences between when she said ‘that’ and ‘this’ and when she just called ‘William.’ 

 Though she barely did anything after early evening, she always woke up close to noon. 

 She skipped breakfast saying it made her feel bloated, and dinner was about all she ate. She frequently complained of migraines and looked for headache medicine. 

 Before going to bed, Rarien carefully examined her notes and found an issue. 

11 AM Skip breakfast, tea time

2 PM Tea time after reading

5 PM Tea time after dinner

8 PM Tea time after bath 

 Looking at it all written out, compared to other noble ladies Rarien had served, the frequency of tea times was notably high. 

 It was a moment when the power of her habitual note-taking shone through. 

 ‘No matter how much she likes black tea, she seems to drink it too often.’ 

 Looking up medical books in the library, she found that indigestion, long sleep hours, and persistent migraines were all related to the side effects of black tea. 

 Drinking black tea on an empty stomach weakened digestive function, and the stimulating effect of black tea lowered sleep quality, leading to long periods of light sleep. Those two factors naturally led to heightened nerves, creating a vicious cycle resulting in migraines. 

 ‘She needs to reduce her black tea consumption first.’ 

 When she asked William the butler, he said the doctor had already advised reducing black tea consumption. But since it was her preferred beverage and she liked drinking it more than three times a day, it hadn’t been easy. 

 ‘And she barely moves all day.’ 

 Like most noble ladies, she was physically weak, but it seemed she didn’t particularly like physical activity to begin with.

‘I want to make her stay here comfortable. Who knows when I’ll see Her Highness again.’ 

 Though she couldn’t attend painting lessons or go out due to her sudden visit, since she was serving her anyway, she wanted to do it well. 

 The biggest reason was wanting to show respect for giving birth to such a perfect son. 

 ‘There must be a reason she came all this way.’ 

 Rarien remembered the pile of letters in Nicholas’s drawer. Letters sealed with golden wax bearing the lion crest — the Reinhart seal. From a mother’s perspective, it must have been quite frustrating that he had stuffed them away without even opening them. 

 Nicholas seemed to find his mother bothersome, and from the Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s perspective, she might have come wanting to see her son but missed him. After all, Nicholas’s decision to leave for the altar was quite recent. 

 Rarien thought of several countermeasures before finally going to sleep as dawn approached. 

 *** 

 Around 11 AM, when the Grand Duchess of Reinhart woke up…

 “William, just give me a cup of black tea.” 

 Still in her nightgown, the Grand Duchess of Reinhart tried to dismiss the dome-covered plate on the table without even looking at it. 

 “……. Your Highness.” 

 As William moved to clear the plate, Rarien carefully stepped forward. 

 “I specially prepared today’s breakfast for Your Highness. Could you perhaps try just a taste?” 

 Rarien looked at her with desperate eyes. 

 “Even just one spoonful would be an infinite honor.” 

 With her slightly drooping eyes opened wide, when she even begged, the Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s heart softened a little. 

 “All right. Since you specially prepared it for me, I might as well try it.” 

 “…Thank you!” 

 Rarien bowed deeply and lifted the dome. 

 It was a tomato-based soup with finely chopped vegetables and some beans. 

 “What is this?” 

 “It’s minestrone soup.” 

 “This is soup?” 

 “Yes.” 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart visibly hesitated at the unfamiliar dish. 

 Nothing was more important than maintaining a self-assured attitude when trying to convince someone. 

 This was something Rarien always felt while watching Nicholas. 

 ‘Right, even the eccentric Madam Rosalie had three spoonfuls of this soup, so I can be confident.’ 

 Rarien clenched her fist and spoke boldly. 

 “…It, it might not look impressive, but I guarantee the taste. Really!” 

 Though it seemed quite unreliable, one bite wouldn’t kill her. The Grand Duchess of Reinhart slightly furrowed her brow and took a spoonful to taste. After chewing for a moment and savoring the taste, her eyes widened slightly. 

 “How is it?” 

 “Well, not bad.” 

 Perhaps because she had such low expectations, it actually suited her taste quite well. In fact, the more she ate, the more the flavors lingered pleasantly in her mouth, making her appetite grow. 

 “…No, this is quite delicious actually.” 

 “Thank you!” 

 Rarien repeatedly expressed her gratitude with an emotional face. 

 “When I was young, I often had stomach aches. Whenever that happened, my grandmother would make this for me, and she always called it the ‘ugly soup.’ When eaten for breakfast, it was easy to digest and filling. So I learned the secret recipe from my grandmother and often made it for my siblings, and I really wanted Your Highness to try it too……” 

 Wouldn’t she run out of breath? Her face was bright red as she chattered away excitedly, looking adorable. 

 “If this doesn’t appeal to you either, I’d like you to try your black tea with milk.” 

 “Black tea with milk?” 

 “Yes, since drinking strong black tea on an empty stomach isn’t good for your stomach, I thought having it with milk might be less irritating.” 

 “That’s quite a good idea.” 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart had a proper breakfast for the first time in a while while engaging in light conversation with Rarien. 

 Having a proper breakfast would reduce overeating at later meals and gradually improve her chronic indigestion. 

 As for the black tea, she had heard that trying to quit all at once could actually make headaches and fatigue worse due to withdrawal symptoms. 

 That was probably why she had failed to quit despite trying several times after the doctor’s recommendation. 

 So, Rarien deliberately decided to keep the 2 PM and 5 PM tea times as they were. 

 Instead, she joined the tea time after the 5 PM dinner. Sharing one teapot between two people naturally reduced the amount consumed. 

 When the teapot showed its bottom and before the butler could brew fresh tea, Rarien suddenly made a suggestion. 

 “Your Highness, do you like roses?” 

 Among the Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s personal items, there were notably many rose-related things. Seeing this, Rarien had figured out that she liked roses.