Charlotte turned her head toward the hall.

The chandelier light shone over her clear face.

Unable to take his eyes off that face, Raymond asked,

“May I ask what you were talking about earlier?”

“Miss Haley and Miss Emma told me about places that would be nice to visit.”

“Miss Haley? Miss Emma?”

At his tone, as if asking whether she was already calling people she had only met today by their names, Charlotte smiled awkwardly.

“They told me I could call them by their names. They seemed like lively and sociable people.”

“I suppose they wanted to become close to you, my lady.”

“Do you think so? Then I’m worried.”

“Why?”

“I’m not exactly an entertaining person. I’m afraid they may be disappointed later.”

Raymond raised one brow and said,

“You are someone who is enjoyable to be with. At least, that is how I feel. Madam Spencer seems to feel the same way, and also……”

He frowned, debating whether or not to mention Ferris, then decided to use him for a good purpose just this once.

“Young Lord Noves likely feels the same as well.”

“Do you think so? Then I’m glad.”

“By the way, I feel rather wronged.”

Raymond suddenly turned his head away and spoke sullenly.

What is this all of a sudden?

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

“Why am I still Mr. Bayen? I have known you longer than they have. Are you perhaps discriminating against me?”

“Pardon? No! Of course not. That could never be.”

Charlotte waved her hands wildly.

“That is not it. I simply thought that form of address was more proper.”

“So it is not because you dislike it.”

“Of course not.”

“Excellent. Then from now on, please call me Raymond.”

Raymond was satisfied.

Though he had unintentionally ended up deceiving Charlotte, to be honest, he was not particularly pleased to be called Bayen by her, of all people.

“Ah, yes. Then please call me Charlotte as well.”

“I cannot do that. Our statuses are rather different.”

“Elena and Mr. Ferris call each other by their names.”

“Glasko is unusually excessive.”

“Yes. And we are in this unusually excessive Glasko.”

A pair of slightly startled green eyes turned toward Charlotte.

“If it troubles you, it’s all right. I don’t mean to force you.”

“What trouble could there be? As long as you are all right with it, then it is fine.”

Ah, he had called her my lady again out of habit.

Not my lady, but……

“……Charlotte.”

Just then, a gust of wind blew in.

Raymond’s properly fixed hair did not become disheveled, but Charlotte’s soft hair swayed this way and that in the wind.

“……Miss?”

Raymond, unable to take his eyes off the sight, belatedly added the title.

As her slender hand tidied her disheveled hair and tucked it behind her ear, the lovely face that had been hidden behind her hair for a moment was revealed to the world.

“I think Miss would be enough. Mr. Raymond.”

Charlotte smiled at him softly, her eyes curving gently. Perhaps because she was a little shy, or perhaps because the chandelier light spilling in was red, her face was faintly flushed.

“……”

Raymond gave no answer.

Well, of course. Calling me Miss Charlotte must feel burdensome.

Embarrassed, Charlotte shifted her gaze and said,

“It’s all right if you simply call me Lady Prairie. Please do whatever is most comfortable for you.”

“Let’s do that……”

Charlotte nodded eagerly and brought up a new topic to change the atmosphere.

“Ah, after listening to those two, I realized there are many wonderful sights in Glasko.”

“……Where?”

“They said the scenery at a place called Romans Cliff is very beautiful. And Sunnyrow Lake is apparently a place one must visit around this time of year. Would you like to go together sometime?”

Raymond’s previously dazed eyes sharpened.

Had that sounded like she was asking him on a date?

Charlotte waved her hands frantically, her face ripening bright red.

“I mean, we agreed to look around the area together. So I was only suggesting it. If you don’t want to……”

“……Are you all right with the lake?”

Raymond asked with feigned seriousness.

“Pardon?”

“I mean going to the lakeside. Are you all right with it?”

“I am……”

Come to think of it, she had never once been to a lake.

She had never even seen a small pond up close.

But what reason would there be for it not to be all right?

“You are all right with it…… I see.”

Raymond nodded.

Faced with this impossible-to-follow conversation, Charlotte could only think once again that he was a peculiar person.

Just then, the song changed. It was a slightly calmer melody.

“Are you all right even though you have never danced before?”

“As I said earlier, I’m not confident I can dance well.”

“Then let us try dancing here.”

Raymond held out his hand.

Charlotte hesitated, then said,

“I might step on your feet a great deal.”

“It’s all right. You would have to step on them with all your strength for me to even be injured.”

Oh my, this man is underestimating heels……

Charlotte let out a small laugh and, in the end, placed her hand in his.

She did it with the thought that things would somehow work out, but honestly, she was anxious.

She truly did not know how to dance.

But as if to make her worries seem needless, her body moved naturally along with the music.

“You dance well.”

At Raymond’s words, she lifted her head from where she had been staring down at her feet.

“It isn’t that I dance well. You are simply good at leading, Mr. Raymond.”

“With dances like this, there is no problem as long as the man leads well. So if you ever dance with someone……”

Just then, the hand holding Charlotte’s twitched.

Feeling something strange, Charlotte blinked, and he continued as if nothing had happened.

“If you make a mistake, then it is the fault of the one leading. Blame that person no matter what.”

“……Hehe.”

Charlotte let out a small laugh.

Did she laugh because she thought it was absurd?

But Raymond was sincere.

“May I ask you something, Mr. Raymond?”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been curious for a while, but do you perhaps have a younger sibling?”

Raymond’s hand twitched again.

This time, their eyes were locked as it happened.

“……Why do you ask that?”

“The way you look after me feels somehow as natural as someone taking care of a younger sibling.”

“You are an only child, my lady. I don’t think you would know very well what it feels like to have siblings.”

“That may be true, but I can still tell that you are used to taking care of others.”

After answering that way, Charlotte suddenly had a thought.

Wait. Have I ever told him that I’m an only child……? Ah, did Duke Earlister tell him?

She wondered whether the duke would have gone so far as to relay something like that to Raymond, but he had even told him about her broken engagement on the day of her wedding. Perhaps information of this level had been mentioned without much thought.

Come to think of it, that really is strange.

Why on earth had Duke Earlister told Raymond about what happened back then?

If Duke Earlister had been the kind of person to merrily chatter about other people’s affairs to just anyone, Raymond would not have confidently wagered four hundred gold and asked for a bet.

Should I ask?

No. Let’s not.

What would be the point of bringing up such a heavy topic for no reason?

For now, she should simply dance according to his hand and his steps.

To be honest, rather than a dance, it was closer to light steps like a child learning to walk……

But it was quite fun.

This feels nice.

The breeze kept blowing softly, and the music drifting in sounded distant, as if she were hearing it in a dream.

It was truly a dreamlike moment.

Charlotte hoped Raymond was enjoying it as much as she was.

* * *

It was nearly midnight.

Derik greeted Raymond with the liveliness of someone meeting him in the middle of the day.

“It’s been a while. Even though we live in the same house, it’s hard to see your face. Is it because the house is so large?”

“It’s because all you do is sleep. You didn’t come here to watch me. You came here to sleep, didn’t you?”

“Was I like this from the beginning? There simply hasn’t been anything to watch lately, so I’ve been sleeping without worry.”

“What nonsense.”

When Raymond lifted one corner of his mouth as if scoffing, Derik looked wronged.

“No, really. Lately, you’ve been thinking only about Lady Prairie, so you haven’t been thinking about work at all.”

“When did I do that?”

Raymond shouted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Derik, flustered, broke into a cold sweat.

“No, I mean, you’re always worrying about how to cheer the young lady up……”

Ah, so that was what he meant.

Ahem. Raymond cleared his throat and said,

“When exactly did I make such a fuss?”

After making a fuss every single moment.

Derik lightly denied it, then gave a faint laugh.

“The party must have been quite fun.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Whenever you came back from a party, you always looked like you were about to die, saying it was annoying and irritating. But today, you don’t.”

Derik stretched his arms out and stood, saying he was hungry.

Left alone, Raymond quietly recalled what had happened today.

When Charlotte had asked whether he had a younger sibling, he had vaguely dodged the question.

He had not wanted to bring up that subject because it seemed as though Charlotte’s face, which had brightened a little, would grow gloomy again.