“I do like them. But why roses suddenly?” 

 “There’s a very beautiful rose garden at the temple. Since Your Highness is here, I’d like to show it to you.” 

 “There’s such a thing at the temple?” 

 “Yes, there are even some very special varieties that can only be seen in the South.” 

 Special varieties only found in the South. That did pique her interest. 

 “Also at this time, the sun isn’t too strong, and it’s cool. When we return from our walk, the sky turns such a beautiful shade of purple.” 

 Rarien pleaded earnestly with her hands clasped together. 

 “You’ll come with me, won’t you?” 

 She had nothing else to do, and there was no reason to refuse such an earnest request. 

 “Well…… alright then.” 

 “Thank you. I’ll bring a shawl in case you get cold when the sun sets.” 

 She probably wouldn’t walk until sunset. Seeing how excited she was, there was no way to discourage her. 

 The two women walked together in the rose garden.

To erase the awkward atmosphere between them, Rarien decided to bring up a topic that she would really like. 

 It was about ‘Nicholas Reinhart.’ 

 “Your Highness, I have many questions while serving His Excellency. If it’s not too presumptuous, I’d like to ask Your Highness directly for advice…. Would that be alright?” 

 “Advice?” 

 “Yes, Your Highness knows His Excellency better than anyone else in the world. After all, you’re the one who gave birth to the perfect son of God.” 

 Rarien added with a bright smile. 

 “……. So Your Highness is a ‘goddess.'” 

 When she glanced up, her eyes met the Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s. 

 ……. Success! Her expression clearly said ‘See what I mean?’ From experience, when you managed to draw out this expression from someone of high status, you were halfway there. 

 She deliberately used the cheesy expression ‘goddess.’ That seemed to particularly strike the Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s fancy. 

 “I’m also curious about what someone as excellent as His Excellency was like when he was young. He must have been extraordinary? That’s why everyone reads biographies, right? I love biographies and have read all of them in the library.” 

 “Yes, I was feeling bored anyway, so this is perfect.” 

 Color returned to the Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s face when the topic of her son came up. 

 “I’ll tell you everything about how peculiar and brilliant he was from childhood.” 

 Thanks to this, Rarien not only gained a lot of rare private information about Nicholas but also grew much closer to the Grand Duchess of Reinhart. 

 It wasn’t difficult. Rarien was specialized in listening to others and accommodating them. 

 Especially since it was about the man she liked, the Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s endless bragging about her son was rather welcome to Rarien. 

 As they continued their conversation, the sun had set and the sky was darkening by the time they returned. The evening meal seemed to digest well thanks to the walk. 

 9 PM. When the Grand Duchess of Reinhart tried to have black tea after her bath, Rarien handed her warm milk with honey. 

 “What is this?” 

 “It’s milk with honey. After a walk and bath, drinking this makes your whole body feel wonderfully relaxed, like heaven.” 

 Black tea before bed interfered with sound sleep. Warm milk with honey was good for digestion and helped with insomnia — killing two birds with one stone. 

 When the Grand Duchess of Reinhart hesitated, Rarien assured her once again. 

 “Trust me and try just one sip.” 

 Earlier it was just one spoon. This time it was just one sip. 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart was quite picky about food and usually insisted on eating and drinking only what she was familiar with. 

 “In exchange, I’ll give you a massage while you drink. I’m good at massages too.” 

 One sip wasn’t difficult. Since the soup earlier had suited her taste, this probably wouldn’t be bad either. 

 She tried it thinking she had nothing to lose, and truly, before long her body felt pleasantly relaxed. That wasn’t all. As Rarien had promised, her massage skills were also top-notch. 

 As she pressed and massaged the kinks in her neck and head, even the chronic headache seemed to fade away completely. 

 Perhaps she was tired from all the exercise. While bragging about Nicki, they had walked until sunset without realizing it. The Grand Duchess of Reinhart, who usually tossed and turned in light sleep for a long time in bed, slept very soundly that night. 

 The next day, though she woke up earlier than usual, her head felt clear and refreshed. 

 “It’s another good morning, Your Highness.” 

 Bright sunlight fell across Rarien’s face as she opened the windows wide to air out the room. 

 *** 

 By the seventh day since the Grand Duchess arrived at the Southern Temple, the two had grown quite close. It was also approaching the time when Nicholas would return. 

 It seemed they felt they could communicate quite well, starting with the bragging about her son. 

 In truth, there was probably no one who wouldn’t get along with Rarien in that aspect. Rarien Claude was optimized as an excellent listener who would seriously listen to others’ words and agree enthusiastically. 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart and Rarien spent almost all day chatting. 

 “I need some advice from you, Rarien.” 

 “Advice from me?” 

 “Yes, you have good judgment.” 

 Rarien’s eyes widened. 

 Though she desperately wanted to say ‘Could someone like me really be of help?’, Rarien decided not to put herself down unnecessarily. 

 “Yes, please tell me. Whatever it is, if I can be of help to Your Highness… it would be my greatest honor.” 

 “You really do speak so beautifully. If only my sensitive golden cat could be half as good as you, Rarien.” 

 Sensitive golden cat. That suited Nicholas perfectly. 

 Rarien chuckled at the somewhat ridiculous but cute nickname. 

 “First, take a look at these.” 

 What the Grand Duchess of Reinhart handed over were several palm-sized portraits. And there were also supplementary documents organized with them. 

 “I’ve picked out some potential brides for Nicki. Among these ladies, who looks best to your eyes?” 

 Potential brides for Nicki… The moment she heard those words, it felt like a stone dropped in her chest. 

 “This is the ring of the lady of the house that has been passed down in Reinhart. I need someone to pass it on to. It’s quite a headache deciding who it should be.” 

 She showed the ring on her left ring finger. The intricately set diamond ring was clearly very precious at first glance. 

 Rarien’s gaze lowered as she looked through the documents and portraits. Try as she might, she couldn’t help feeling complicated. 

 ‘They’re all pretty.’ 

 Though she had heard until her ears were numb about worries of the family line ending, seeing the portraits made it hit even harder. 

 They were all beautiful and from high noble families befitting the position of Grand Duchess. 

 Naturally, ‘Rarien Claude’ wasn’t even a consideration. 

 Realizing this made the heavy stone in her chest cut into her heart once more. But she had no reason, nor right, to feel sad. 

 26 days. Less than a month remained that she could stay by Nicholas’s side. 

 He could continue on the path of priesthood, or he could continue the family line as the Grand Duchess of Reinhart wished. 

 Honestly, she wanted to beg him to walk the path of priesthood while only longing for her forever, but…. 

 She knew that was selfish. 

 ‘How should I answer?’ 

 After being lost in thought for a moment, Rarien recalled advice that Nicholas had once given her. 

 “The simplest way to manipulate others is this. Take a step back and show them what they imagine.”

Taking a step back, even if Nicholas liked her, with so little time left, the spot on his side was never meant to be her place. 

 She had no intention of manipulating Her Highness, though this might be pretense. 

 From the other person’s perspective, it could be a satisfactory answer. 

 No, it didn’t matter even if it wasn’t. 

 She just wanted Nicholas Reinhart to be happy whatever decision he made. 

 This was both Rarien’s wish and her true feelings. When her thoughts reached this point, the answer she could give also became clear. 

 “They’re all beautiful and excellent. Of course they would be, since Your Highness has carefully considered them for your son.” 

 Rarien returned the portraits and documents while lifting the corners of her mouth. 

 “But what does my opinion matter? For this issue, I think His Excellency should be the one to choose.” 

 “Nicki?” 

 “Yes, because it’s both the position of the lady of Reinhart and his lifelong companion. Your Highness has selected those befitting the position of lady, so I think His Excellency should choose who among them will be his companion.” 

 “Hmm.” 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart remained silent for a moment with contemplative eyes. 

 ‘Did I do well?’ 

 No, no matter how many times she thought about it, this answer was right. She just expressed her opinion; it didn’t necessarily have to be the correct answer.