“But it’s already happened, hasn’t it? How upset he must be, his wife eyeing another man and even boarding his boat! Come on, be honest with me. I’m someone who believes even having a mistress is possible.”

“It’s not like that, my lady.”

“Oh my, don’t be so serious? Denying it like this, how frustrated Rihanel must be… He might even be plotting something! Because of you, one precious servant is about to lose her position…”

“What? What do you mean?”

At Janet’s reaction, Panianna smiled inwardly.

That statement was a simple gamble.

Beji, who had come to attend to her seven out of ten times, hadn’t come today. The most reasonable assumption was that the girl was being punished. Moreover, Janet seemed to have someone in mind.

And as Panianna had guessed, Janet was thinking of Beji. It was inevitable. She had just seen her that morning, following the head maid with an ominous look.

“Well, it would look too strange if you just boarded another man’s boat for no reason, wouldn’t it? Rihanel’s pride wouldn’t allow that. So he’s just covering it up by saying you took a sleeping drug, and the servant girl who prepared the tea that day is being fired, that’s all.”

“Sleeping drug? I don’t remember taking such a thing…”

But she did recall suddenly feeling drowsy after having the refreshments…

“Right? You don’t remember?”

Before Janet’s thoughts could linger, Panianna pressed on.

“Oh dear, but what can you do? Now she’ll be fired from the ducal residence and go to prison. Other families won’t take her either. Who would accept someone with such a reputation… She’ll just wander the streets until she dies. How pitiful…”

Yesterday’s incident wasn’t a big deal to Janet. But could someone’s life change because of it? Feeling anxious, Janet asked Panianna.

“What should I do to prevent Beji from being punished?”

“That’s simple.”

Panianna confidently raised the corners of her lips. As if what she was about to say couldn’t be anything but a clear solution.

“Just tell Rihanel that you never drank such a thing, that you boarded the boat with a clear mind.”

Janet fell into thought. It was true that she had felt overwhelmingly sleepy then. If she had been in her right mind, she certainly wouldn’t have boarded Theo’s boat.

But… even if she had consumed a sleeping drug, it surely wasn’t Beji’s doing.

A servant who had asked her to visit more often in the future. Those words had seemed sincere. And Janet had indeed felt a subtle empathy and warmth from them.

Crossing her mind was the frightened look in Beji’s eyes as she followed Elma this morning.

To think that someone who had said such things to her just yesterday would go to prison because of Janet.

Janet knew several women who had been unjustly imprisoned. They were powerless. They didn’t know what they had done wrong, or even if they knew, they couldn’t defend themselves.

That’s how they had entered prison helplessly.

Whether they had done wrong or not, it was undeniably hell for everyone at Adif.

“Yes… I’ll do that.”

Because those people came to mind… she had no choice.

***

“Hah……”

Rihanel carelessly threw off his outer garments and hat without even bothering to show his dissatisfaction. The Upper House meeting that had started late in the evening had dragged on, and he had only just returned to the mansion.

If they had at least achieved a decent result, it might have been worth it, but today had seen an extraordinary flood of idiotic law proposals.

From taxing people who rest in front of the fountain in the square to extending the scope of theft laws to include acorns fallen from trees.

As if collecting acorns one by one would make anyone rich. Just thinking about the time wasted on such idiotic acorn laws made it impossible not to feel discontented.

It was a night that called for a drink.

He had dismissed the servant who followed him to help change clothes from the first floor out of annoyance, but perhaps he should have asked for something to drink.

As he was walking toward the bed to pull the bell cord.

Knock, knock. A quiet knocking sound echoed. What now? Thinking it was nothing significant, Rihanel flung the door open.

“……!”

“Ah, I have something to talk about.”

An unexpected visitor was waiting at the door. Janet, with her long hair braided to the side, sounded slightly surprised, as if she hadn’t expected the door to open so quickly.

“Are you tired? Should I talk tomorrow?”

It was a first. Janet coming to his room.

A faint satisfaction bloomed in Rihanel’s heart. He unconsciously shook his head. Strangely, he even felt his fatigue dissipate.

No, perhaps he was too tired to consider their situation and long-standing emotions.

So he focused only on the situation before him.

As if truly enchanted by a witch.

“Let’s talk now.”

He opened the door wider and let Janet in.

“I heard you like this, is that right?”

Whatever she wanted to talk about, the woman had prepared a bottle of Sherdi, a strong liquor, with two matching glasses, and even some light snacks.

“That’s premium information. I wonder who leaked it.”

Rihanel playfully raised an eyebrow and came to sit down. He suddenly realized it was the first time they were drinking together.

It made sense. In the old days, they had been too young to drink, and during their brief reunion around the engagement, there hadn’t been any opportunity. And after that…

“Do you like Sherdi too?”

Stopping his train of thought, Rihanel asked. This liquor, made by fermenting and aging Ilroisan barley, was something he liked for its deep aroma, but it was quite strong.

“No. I don’t particularly enjoy it.”

“Then why did you prepare it?”

“Because I heard you likes it.”

“…How silly.”

“I heard there was an Upper House meeting today. How was it?”

“I spent the whole time listening to idiotic opinions from idiotic men. I don’t particularly want to talk about that. What did you… do?”

“Hmm.”

Janet rolled her eyes slightly as if pondering, then answered.

“Today I met Marchioness Monder. She visited the ducal residence.”

“My aunt? I didn’t hear about the visit.”

“She said she was just passing by and dropped in to say hello.”

“I see.”

Well, Panianna had often visited the ducal residence without reason even before Rihanel’s marriage, so he didn’t think much of it.

“And?”

“And, well, I just spent time thinking about the shapes of clouds.”

“What?”

Rihanel chuckled. Did this woman do such foolish things too?

But with Janet’s next words, Rihanel was seized by a strange nostalgia.

“Before, there was a time, wasn’t there? When you said doing this makes time pass quickly. It’s one of the few methods you taught me.”

“…Was there.”

He felt strange. Something ticklish seemed to be crawling around in his chest, so he downed the glass in his hand.

As the strong alcohol burned down his throat and touched his ticklish chest, the feeling intensified.

Perhaps the rippling that had started from the boat ride was greater than expected. Once again, the desire to settle rose up.

If he had to live with Janet for life… perhaps this much, just occasionally sitting face to face and sharing a drink like this, wouldn’t be so bad. Such thoughts dominated his mind.

“Didn’t you say you had something to tell me?”

And at this elevated moment, the woman thrust in words like a dagger.

“Yesterday at the boat ride, I boarded Theo’s boat of my own accord.”

“……”

“I wasn’t mentally hazy or… experiencing delusions.”

“……”

It felt like having ice water dumped over his head. Rihanel’s expression froze stupidly. Even as he stared at her blankly, unable to say anything, Janet continued speaking endlessly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive you. I just… made a mistake. I felt like I needed to find the boat quickly. The sun was so bright that I pressed my bonnet down… and made a mistake.”

“Stop.”

Rihanel’s voice sank dangerously.

A mistake? Does that make any sense? She would have seen his face, wouldn’t she? Did she really confuse him with that bastard just because of the bonnet and their clothes…?

“Afterward… I just fell asleep because I was drowsy.”

She continued speaking to the end despite him telling her to stop.

Moreover, Janet wasn’t looking into his eyes as usual, but had her head slightly bowed, staring somewhere at the table. She seemed to know she had committed a sin.

A sin… so after committing a sin.

She should have hidden it completely, but now she was being unnecessarily honest and ruining his mood.

Rihanel swallowed the sigh that was escaping and asked,

“Then Janet, why did you ask that question yesterday? Whether the boat you boarded was mine. You knew you had boarded Randipel’s boat.”

“…I wanted to see your reaction.”

Damn it. He had damn well known she had boarded Theo Randipel’s boat and tried to cover it up. If this wasn’t deception, what was?

Now he realized she had prepared his favorite liquor because she had misgivings. It was a signal that she was going to say something that would upset him, and he wondered why he hadn’t noticed.

But even at this point, there was something Rihanel didn’t know.

That Janet’s story wasn’t over.

She raised her head and looked into Rihanel’s eyes. And then, with those clear eyes, she casually uttered words even more dagger-like than before.

“Rihanel, there’s a good solution.”

“…What is it?”

“Lead the effort to abolish the Noble Special Law in parliament.”

“…What?”

“Then, I’ll divorce you.”