With billowing smoke, the train entered the station. The loud noise of the arriving train resonated deeply in her heart.

Soon people carrying large travel bags poured out of the train. Since train travel was quite expensive, it seemed people tended to stay as long as possible when they used it.

Different shades of excitement could be felt in the expressions of travelers or those visiting their hometowns. Janet, sitting on a bench in the center of the station, felt those emotions too.

She watched the train and people with a flushed expression.

It was worth waiting here for an hour. Since passenger trains only ran four times a day, she had to wait quite a long time, but even that was enjoyable.

When most people had left the station, Janet rose from her seat with a gentle smile.

That’s when it happened.

A thin handkerchief flew in front of her with the wind and fell. As Janet bent down to pick it up, a voice came from behind.

“Thank you. The wind is strong in the capital.”

It was a woman wearing an elaborate silk shawl. Her hat with a narrow brim and flower decoration, along with a day dress with a moderately loose fit, gave a sophisticated impression.

A young servant who seemed to have come with the woman ran over, bowed deeply with both hands extended. Janet handed the handkerchief to the girl and responded to the woman.

“The capital sometimes has sudden temperature drops like this around April. You should be careful.”

“How kind. I’m heading to Ezelcross now, where are you going?”

“I’m also going to Ezelcross.”

The woman opened her eyes wide in surprise, then raised the corners of her mouth with a bright expression. She had a captivating smile.

“Why don’t we share a carriage? I’ll take you to your destination.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine.”

“How resolute……”

The woman lowered her eyebrows.

Janet pondered for a moment what else to say. But she refrained from honestly saying that traveling with a stranger would be uncomfortable, as that might be more unpleasant for the woman.

“You can’t lie, can you?”

The woman burst into laughter. For Janet, who considered herself a liar, this was an unexpected assessment.

“If fate wills it, we’ll meet again someday. Well then.”

The woman smiled slightly, wrinkling her nose, and walked away without hesitation. After watching her confident gait, Janet also began walking.

The tea party was held in the garden of the Monder mansion. Past the large fountain, famous for its beauty, she could see the tea tables and people arranged on the other side.

It was a larger tea party than expected, with about twenty people seated. Although Janet had arrived quite early, everyone seemed to have arrived before her and started the gathering.

I mustn’t make a bad impression. She’s Rihanel’s aunt after all. Thinking this, Janet lightly greeted Panianna, who was seated in the host’s position.

“Thank you for inviting me, my lady. I am Janet Wilton.”

“So I asked if changing the color of the dress was difficult, and they said it was. What kind of designer is that? Everyone, don’t do business with them anymore.”

“Seriously, do they have some other source of money? These days everyone uses premium fabrics and they’ve become so arrogant.”

“Haha, exactly.”

Panianna, who had glanced at Janet, continued her conversation with others as if her previous topic wasn’t finished.

In Bendar’s tea parties, it was proper etiquette to greet the host before taking a seat, so Janet stood next to Panianna, waiting for the conversation to end.

“When summer comes, I’m planning to go to Reynes. Our country house is nice too, but there’s more fun to be had there. Well, Rihanel always welcomes me whenever I go. Selize, would you like to come along this time?”

“Oh, yes! If you invite me.”

The young lady called Selize, who appeared to be around twenty, answered with surprise and then glanced at Janet.

When their eyes met, she quickly shifted her gaze, seemingly uncomfortable.

Janet finally called out to Panianna once more.

“Thank you for inviting me, my lady.”

“Just a moment. So at that country house……”

Panianna, without looking at Janet, waved her hand to the side as if telling her to wait, and continued speaking.

The conversation continued after that. People talked among themselves as if Janet were invisible.

Despite countless practice sessions, the corners of her mouth, slightly raised, began to twitch. Janet bit her rolled lip once, then smiled again.

Being ignored while standing next to the host, the most prominent position, stung her entire body more than enduring hours in a corner seat would have.

After the topic had changed about three times,

“Oh my! Carsia has arrived. Why are you so late?”

Panianna raised her voice, spotting someone in the distance from her seat. Carsia, also Rihanel’s aunt.

Janet turned her body to greet her.

And Janet’s eyes widened when she saw Carsia.

“It seems fate has brought us together.”

The woman from the train station was looking at Janet with a relaxed smile.

“Do I need to wait in line too?”

Carsia turned to Panianna with a frown. Only then did Panianna look back and address Janet with a lukewarm tone.

“Hmm? Oh my! You’ve been standing here all this time? Instead of standing there foolishly, you should have called me again.”

Janet felt something churning inside her, but she hid her emotions and bowed her head.

“Thank you for inviting me, my lady. I am Janet Wilton.”

“I know, I know. Better in person than in the illustrations? When you got engaged secretly like thieves five years ago, I thought Rihanel was too embarrassed to introduce you.”

“A secret engagement?”

One of the seated guests asked with a voice full of interest. Although being the subject of gossip was a familiar development, Janet’s heart sank as if hearing it for the first time.

Just because Rihanel was involved.

To hide that emotion, Janet hurriedly took her seat.

“Yes. I mean, honestly, even if Wilton Company has a lot of money. Why would Reynes accept a marriage proposal……”

“But sister.”

Carsia interrupted Panianna.

“I heard it was Rihanel who first proposed to Janet.”

“What, what?”

Panianna looked at Janet with eyes wide open in astonishment, as if asking if it was true.

Should she answer? Would it be okay to answer? While hesitating, Carsia continued.

“So if you want to talk about it, ask Rihanel to his face. Why he had a secret engagement.”

“Ahem, ahem. I wasn’t the one who called it a secret engagement.”

Panianna cleared her throat and denied it. Since she wanted to maintain a good relationship with Rihanel, it would be problematic if negative words reached his ears.

“Anyway, Janet, what do you think of our Selize? Oh right, Selize is the adorable youngest daughter of Count Jasmine.”

Panianna changed the subject, smiling fondly at Selize who was sitting near her. Selize blinked rapidly.

Neatly straight hair and lively cheeks. Though she looked nervous, she was the type of girl who would undoubtedly be loved by everyone. And thus would likely treat others generously and kindly… that kind of young lady.

But Janet knew that listing such observations would be impolite. Not knowing the intention behind the question, Janet gave the best answer for such situations.

“She seems like a wonderful person. It would be an honor to become friends with her.”

At those words, Selize opened her mouth slightly and bowed her head in acknowledgment. Panianna burst into laughter.

“That’s right, she was close with Rihanel too. Weren’t you? You went boating together and such.”

“He just invited me to the country house a few times.”

Rihanel had always been at the center of many children’s attention. Janet used to think that this social aspect of Rihanel was admirable. So it wasn’t strange that there were young ladies who were close to him now.

However, Panianna’s nuance seemed somewhat different from what Janet had thought.

“Rihanel and Selize, the two of them looked so good together……”

Panianna looked at Janet with narrowed eyes and trailed off regretfully. She even sighed, “Huh.”

“Sister.”

Carsia called out to Panianna as if telling her to stop. But Panianna spoke as if feeling wronged.

“I really care about Rihanel, you know. I truly wanted him to find a good match. Don’t you agree? Don’t you all agree?”

Panianna sought agreement from the other guests. Since this gathering consisted of her people, everyone naturally agreed.

“Of course. Where could you find a better groom than the duke?”

“How precious did the previous duke consider Duke Rihanel? He kept him hidden away since childhood, saying exposure to people’s gazes wasn’t good.”

“When I first met him, I was so amazed by his free thinking and extraordinary intelligence that ordinary people like us couldn’t imagine! He truly deserves the name of a one-of-a-kind heir.”

“Exactly. My mouth was really itching to speak! In my opinion too……”

“I’ll be going now.”

As Panianna was about to say more, Carsia rose from her seat.

“How long have you been here?”

“I just stopped by briefly. I have a party in the evening, so I need to go.”

“Well, suit yourself.”

Perhaps thinking it was an interruption to her story, Panianna didn’t try to keep Carsia any longer.

“Miss Janet.”

Janet looked at Carsia. Carsia was about to say something to Janet but shook her head and smiled.

“Never mind. Congratulations on your marriage. See you again.”

“Thank you, Lady Carsia.”

After Carsia left, Panianna asked Janet as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“So, Janet, do you really want to get married?”

The intention behind the question was transparent. Janet felt as if she were in a place where she shouldn’t be.

“Let’s be honest since it’s just us, okay? If it’s because of the Noble Special Law, I could introduce you to other good young lords. Normally, no nobles would recognize your charms, but with my introduction, it becomes easier. I’ll even arrange a marriage in the name of Panianna Monder.”

Panianna tried to persuade Janet. It was a tempting proposition from Janet’s perspective.

As she said, Janet was marrying Rihanel because of the Noble Special Law.

And Rihanel, despite hating her so much, reluctantly agreed after Janet pressed him about marriage several times.

Perhaps it would be better to cleanly cut off this relationship. If there was another option, it might not be a bad choice….

“That’s alright.”