Rarien decided not to be overly conscious about it. 

 “Nicki will absolutely hate any lady I choose.” 

 “What? Why?” 

 “I don’t know. Nicki detests anything I say. Maybe he hates his mother.” 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart let out a soft sigh. 

 “Am I being too fussy? I’m just saying a few words because I’m worried…. I’ve never received a proper reply to my letters. Now it seems he doesn’t even read them and just piles them up.” 

 Of course, Rarien remembered the pile of letters in his drawer too. 

 ‘But if he really hated them, with that neat personality of his… he would have thrown them away immediately instead of collecting them.’ 

 Saying this wouldn’t help much. It would only confirm that her son hadn’t opened her letters. 

 After thinking for a while, Rarien carefully opened her mouth. 

 “Still, I envy His Excellency. Having such a caring mother who worries about him day and night.” 

 “What good is that? Every time I see him, he cringes when I keep calling him Nicki, Nicki.” 

 Did Nicholas really hate nicknames? Rarien searched her memories for what he had said to her. 

“What should I call you? Rari? Rien?”

 “I mean nicknames. I thought you might believe this h*rny bastard’s feelings if I called you something cute.” 

 On the day he confessed his feelings, he suddenly wanted to decide on nicknames first. 

 If he hated nicknames, he wouldn’t have done that. 

 “So cute, yet no nickname? That’s a lie. You’re probably just shy… afraid of being teased.” 

 She also remembered the shower of kisses that came with those sweet words. 

 “Then shall I give you a pretty one?” 

 “Since you’re tiny as a bean, should I call you baby?” 

 He said quite ticklish things even when she refused. Looking at it now, using nicknames was the Grand Duchess’s frequent expression of affection. 

 Putting this all together, Nicholas definitely didn’t hate his mother. 

 “He might act that way on the surface. Probably because he’s shy. No, not probably… he definitely is.” 

 Rarien corrected herself, wanting to give her assurance. 

 “And thanks to Your Highness’s affection, His Excellency knows too. How to be affectionate to someone precious.” 

 “Really?” 

 “Yes, they say you learn how to love from someone, too.”

 Rarien smiled brightly. 

 “So don’t worry too much. His Excellency is someone who’s always ready to be affectionate.” 

 Having experienced that sweet affection and gentleness herself, she knew better than anyone. 

 Though she couldn’t say that, she wanted to offer comfort somehow. 

 *** 

 “Checkmate.” 

 “Oh my.” 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart’s eyes widened at Rarien’s words as she moved the chess piece. 

 “Rien, are you sure this is your first time learning chess? You’re too good, though?” 

 Using a nickname. Though the name Rien still felt unfamiliar, the Grand Duchess was incredibly affectionate. 

 To the point where Rarien was certain that Nicholas’s affection was all inherited from his mother. 

 That wasn’t all. Last night, they called for a masseuse together, got massages, and even slept in the same bed wearing nightgowns. 

 Before falling asleep, she kept saying such honorable things like how she wished she had a daughter like Rien. 

 That fullness of affection made her feel like she might suffocate from the overwhelming emotion in her chest. 

 “I just tried it. Is this how it’s supposed to be done? I’m still not familiar with it, so I’m not sure.” 

 “Of course. I knew you were clever, but I didn’t know you were this good.” 

 The Grand Duchess of Reinhart stroked Rarien’s head with a pleased expression. 

 “When Nicki returns, you should compete with that boy. He’s never lost, so he doesn’t know how to lose. He’s quite full of himself. Makes me want to hit him sometimes.” 

 And she kept criticizing her son while giggling. 

 “It’s not just showing off, he actually is excellent.” 

 “Well, that’s true.” 

 “And he doesn’t particularly try to hide it either. That’s what makes him a bit annoying.” 

 “That’s exactly what I mean. How do you understand my feelings so well, Rien?” 

 Not only had they become close, but they got along quite well. After all, with ‘Nicholas Reinhart’ as their common interest, the conversation never ended.

How enviable. 

 She was having such idle thoughts about how fortunate he was to have such an affectionate mother who showered him with love when. 

 Knock knock—

 Along with the knocking sound, William the butler carefully entered. 

 “William, what is it?” 

 “Well, um……” 

 “I thought I told you not to disturb me while I’m playing with Rien.” 

 The Grand Duchess playfully scolded him. 

 What could it be? Somehow, William’s face seemed a bit shadowed. 

 “Sister, it seems there’s a visitor. You need to come out for a moment.” 

 “Me?” 

 Rarien’s eyes grew wide. 

 ***

 Not all families shower each other with affection. 

 In front of the guest room door in the annex. Hearing news of an unwelcome visitor, Rarien took a deep breath to compose herself. 

 If the butler William hadn’t told her beforehand, it really could have been disastrous. 

 Uncharacteristically, Rarien skipped knocking and flung the door open. 

 “Well, well, who do we have here?” 

 His sneering and swaggering attitude hadn’t changed. Dressed luxuriously and neatly despite their modest circumstances, the man was Baron Claude, in other words, Rarien’s older brother, Isaac Claude. 

 “What brings you all the way here?” 

 “What else? I’m here to collect money.” 

 Isaac answered shamelessly. 

 “Thanks to you arbitrarily reducing the amount you send, our family’s finances are in quite a state. Why else would I come all the way here?” 

 So it was about money after all. She’d wondered if there might be another reason, but it was just as expected. 

 “Don’t you think about your siblings? Your mother? You selfish girl, do you have any conscience at all?” 

 He spewed abuse without restraint. Such one-sided accusations were fairly common. 

 Until now, Rarien had held back, not wanting to waste words that seemed unlikely to get through anyway. She had no choice, since fighting would only return things to square one due to their mother who always took her brother’s side. 

 Now only about 20 days remained of her life. No, to be exact, 24 days. 

 Why did she have to hear such things when she had so little time left to live? It felt unfair. Moreover, having just come from speaking warmly about children with the Grand Duchess of Reinhart made it even harder to endure. 

 Her chest burned with the feeling of something rising up in her throat. Her tightly clenched fists trembled. 

 “……Why is it my fault?” 

 “What?” 

 “I only remember working my bones off. Is it my fault we have no money?” 

 Rarien shot back sharply. 

 “It’s all your fault, brother. Living beyond our means, gambling, drinking… The house is struggling because you don’t even work. Am I wrong?” 

 Even she was surprised by how unrestrained she was. Perhaps because she was dying. It felt like she had nothing left to lose. 

 “So this is how you want to play it?” 

 But Isaac smiled viciously, as if whatever she said didn’t matter at all. 

 It was unexpected, since he usually resorted to violence first when his words didn’t get through. 

 “But you know what, Rarien? I distinctly remember requesting an audience with Her Highness the Grand Duchess. Why are you coming out instead?” 

 “What?” 

 She had only heard from butler William that her brother had come, not the full story. 

 Rarien’s toes stiffened in shock. 

 “Ah, is it because you’re going to be the next Grand Duchess of Reinhart?” 

 “What? What nonsense are you talking about, what evidence do you even……” 

 “Right? I wonder what makes you think you can act so recklessly when you don’t know what I have.” 

 Isaac brought his face close to the now pale Rarien and narrowed his eyes prettily. 

 “I’m dying to know.” 

 “……What are you talking about?” 

 Rarien’s gaze changed. The man who only knew how to be intimidating and coercive was suddenly being so calm — there must be something. 

 “Do you know what stories I heard on my way here?” 

 No way, it couldn’t be. 

 But her bad feelings had never been wrong. 

 “I heard rumors are rampant about a certain High Priest and nun being in that kind of relationship. Hmm, I wonder what that kind of relationship means?” 

 She had no idea rumors were circulating. 

 That’s because she had barely left the annex since Nicholas arrived. Even when she went elsewhere, she was always with Nicholas, and they had even done risky things in the confessional. 

 After that, she had no time to mingle with others as she was busy attending to the Grand Duchess. 

 “We’re nothing like that.” 

 Rarien firmly denied while clenching her trembling fists. 

 “They’re probably just spreading such talk out of jealousy since I was suddenly appointed as his assistant.” 

 “Well, for now it’s just whispers among the nuns, but what if? What if I add some spice and let the Grand Duchess or Bishop know? It would be quite interesting for both you and the High Priest, don’t you think?” 

 “……”