“For the time being, I would like you to stay at the villa in Neils.”

Her husband had come to find her early that morning.

Neils was a small rural village situated very far from here. Naturally, the villa there was the smallest and most unremarkable of all the properties the Marquisate owned.

“Yes. I will.”

Lysiana nodded obediently and answered.

She asked nothing further. Not how long she would need to stay, not when she was to depart. She simply answered yes, quietly, with a blank expression.

Fortunately, her indifferent husband did not reproach her for it.

“Think of it as a vacation. The villa hasn’t been maintained, so it’s a little worn, but you won’t find it uncomfortable.”

Instead, he added a few dry words.

“The scenery is lovely, so it won’t be entirely dull either.”

“Yes.”

“I’d like you to leave fairly soon.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll send someone to meet you when it’s time to return.”

“Understood.”

Even as her husband continued his explanation, Lysiana only nodded like a doll. Whether her manner bored him, Thear turned away.

“Then you know what to do.”

The door closed with a cold finality, like a conversation cut short.

Only after she was left alone in the room did Lysiana breathe a little more easily. Of course, even that moment of ease was fleeting.

A flat knock was followed by a maidservant barging in without waiting for permission.

“My lady. I will tidy the room and change the bedding.”

“Go ahead.”

The maidservant, who had delivered a one-sided announcement to Lysiana in a polite but businesslike tone, began to move about busily.

Far from reproaching the maidservant for not asking her leave, Lysiana went and buried herself in the sofa in the corner so as not to get in the way.

Like a discarded doll.

She held nothing in her hands. No book, no embroidery, not even a teacup to drink from. She simply gazed out the window at the pale clouds drifting by.

Yet Lysiana was more or less content with this kind of life.

There was no risk of catching her father’s eye over nothing and being picked apart on some unjust pretext, or being struck. And there was no accompanying nagging from her mother, who always took his side.

A quiet, lonely life in which everyone left her alone.

How long had she wished for days like these?

‘How peaceful.’

Marquis Thear Havertz, whom she had married roughly a year ago, was truly a fine husband.

The age gap between them was not large, he was not poor, and he gave her what she needed without reservation.

Of course, Lysiana never made any particular requests.

Even so, Thear sent her a monthly allowance, and he never interfered in the running of her household.

Most importantly, he never cursed at her or raised his voice. He never raised his hand against her either.

Naturally, he never demanded harsh physical relations from her every night. He had held her only once, dutifully, on their wedding night.

Truly the finest of husbands.

Lysiana had no wish to fall out of favor with such a man. So whenever she happened to cross paths with him, she would lower her gaze as much as possible and conduct herself obediently.

Perhaps thanks to those efforts, Thear showed no signs of wanting to be rid of her. He even seemed, at times, to be rather pleased with her quiet, gentle, and obedient nature.

It might all have been Lysiana’s imagination, but still.

In any case, Lysiana was quite happy with married life.

‘It would be wonderful if things could just go on like this.’

A few days later, Lysiana attended breakfast, as she always did out of a sense of duty.

That day too, Thear arrived with a small book in hand, as he always did.

Having finished his meal first, he opened the book out of habit and began to read in a leisurely posture.

‘Does he like that book?’

Lysiana let her eyes wander as she tried to eat even more carefully so as not to grate on his ears.

‘Maybe not.’

He had been bringing that same book for months now, yet he never seemed to turn the pages.

And yet the cover was worn with use, parts of it rubbed smooth and shiny.

‘Is it a difficult book?’

Lysiana had been lost in idle thoughts, her hand having gone still, when Thear suddenly looked up.

“You depart tomorrow at dawn?”

Lysiana straightened her spine and tensed her shoulders, like a child caught thinking up mischief.

“Yes. The maids have already packed my things.”

“The morning air there is cold.”

Thear said something she could not make sense of.

“…?”

Lysiana blinked, not understanding what he meant, but Thear buried his gaze back in his book as though he had lost interest.

A short while later, Lysiana finished her meal and quietly set down her fork.

Thear glanced over to confirm it, then rose from his seat without hesitation.

“I’ll write separately later.”

Thear left the dining room.

And the following morning, her husband did not appear at breakfast.

“His Lordship had urgent business and departed immediately.”

“Is that so?”

Had she not needed to see him off? Thear had already left the estate.

In the end, Lysiana had to eat breakfast alone. It was the first time since their marriage.

That same day, as an extension of her efforts to preserve their married life, she departed for Neils without delay.

A minimal number of attendants accompanied her on the journey.

Throughout the roughly five days of tedious travel, Lysiana naturally did not utter a single complaint.

Thanks to that, the maids and escorts who accompanied her were able to enjoy themselves as though on an outing.

Lysiana was not a demanding mistress, and since she made no particular requests, they only needed to see to the basics.

Lysiana herself felt that as long as meals came on time and she was occasionally offered a snack and some tea, that was enough.

Even if the bathwater was lukewarm and the food not quite seasoned right. Even if the dust on the bedroom windowsill went unwiped for a whole week and the bedding was always slightly disheveled.

Lysiana truly did not mind.

Spending quiet time nestled among the trees at a still, peaceful villa tucked away in the countryside was already a luxury for her.

‘It’s a little chilly.’

A breeze slipped in through the open window and Lysiana shivered, glancing up.

‘The sun is bright, though. Perhaps I’ll take a short walk today.’

After a brief moment of thought, she rose from her seat. She rang the small bell, and after quite some time, a maidservant poked her head in.

“I’d like to take a walk. Could you get my coat?”

“I’m sorry, my lady. I forgot to pack the coat.”

The maidservant said it without any sign of embarrassment.

“There is a shawl, though. Would you like to wear that instead?”

“Yes. That will do.”

Lysiana draped the shawl the maidservant handed her over her shoulders and left the room.

The shawl was too thin and flimsy to keep in any warmth at all. Its length even made it difficult to walk.

But there was no chance that the well-behaved Lysiana would voice such a complaint.

She quietly gathered the billowing fabric as best she could and gripped it tightly in both hands.

‘The hallway is more slippery than yesterday.’

Whether fresh wax had been applied, the old wooden hallway was unusually smooth and shiny.

‘That’s why the windows are open.’

The distinctive smell of wax was also drifting through the entire house.

The reason for the sudden tidying of the villa was obvious.

‘He must have finished his business.’

Word must have come that Thear would be visiting within a few days, his affairs concluded.

‘I’ll write separately later.’

Lysiana recalled his words about writing a letter as she set her foot on the stairs.

Over the course of their year of marriage, Thear had always been a man who kept his word.

So she had thought he would write.

If he sent a letter, she would of course need to write back, and so she had set aside stationery and a perfume to spritz on the letter.

‘He must have been busy.’

Lysiana caught herself and quickly cut off that train of thought. She had nearly let herself feel hurt toward her husband, who had so much to attend to.

What right did she have to want anything, given her position.

‘Think of it kindly.’

Still, the fact that he was coming all the way here must mean he intended to take her home.

Lysiana decided to be grateful that this comfortable married life was still carrying on without any trouble.

She was gripping the bothersome, fluttering shawl in both hands and had come halfway down the stairs when a gust of wind swept in through the open window.

‘Oh no…!’

In an instant, Lysiana’s vision was blocked and her foot slipped on the stairs.

She frantically swept her hands through the air. But her body gave way helplessly and she tumbled down the stairs.

“M, my lady!”

Someone screamed in a panic, and then Lysiana lost consciousness.

* * *

Half-listening to a subordinate’s report, Thear calculated the time.

It had been a fortnight and a few days more since he had sent his wife to Neils and come down to the estate.

The main source of the problem that had been plaguing him was only just now resolved, and the reply to the letter he had sent to Neils had yet to arrive.