Ann gazed blankly at the passing scenery. The carriage, having left the royal palace, rolled smoothly along the paved road, steady and unhurried like a calm river.

She had boarded the Countess Hervonne’s carriage without understanding why, and now she sat in silence, staring out the window. She had many questions: why she was suddenly being moved, whether this was the Countess’s own decision or the Queen Dowager’s wish.

No matter how close she and the Countess were, Ann was the king’s maid and the king’s property. So even if this was the Queen Dowager’s wish, it could not happen without the king’s approval. That meant she needed to make things clear before boarding the carriage, so no one could raise an issue later. But…

“Ann.”

Countess Hervonne called her name. Ann slowly turned her gaze. Those sunken, sky-blue eyes pricked at the Countess’s heart. She had thought she could take care of Ann no matter what state she was in. But the moment she saw those hollow eyes, she felt she was standing before a thick wall.

She bit her lip and stared at her adopted daughter. Ann, who had looked ready to speak the moment the Countess boarded the carriage, said nothing at all.

Unable to hold her adopted daughter’s gaze, she lowered her head. She did not know how to begin. Still, she felt she had to explain the situation before they reached the manor.

“After His Majesty decided to break off the engagement, Her Highness the Queen Dowager worried greatly about you. No matter what state you were in or what you intended to do, it was unavoidable that you would find yourself at the center of the uproar.”

She lifted her head, looked at Ann, and began to explain in a calm tone. But her adopted daughter only sat there, pale and blank-faced, like a doll, saying nothing. It broke her heart. She did not know if Ann would ever recover, but right now, she was so pitiful it was painful to look at. She raised her hand and stroked the hollowed cheek.

“Ann, say something. Anything, dear.”

Her nose stung. Heat gathered at the corners of her eyes, and her throat tightened. By the time the tears finally welled and slid down her cheeks, Ann, who had been watching, parted her lips.

“…Countess.”

“I think this is a blessing, in a way. That I can bring you home with me like this.”

She meant it. Whatever the Queen Dowager’s true intentions behind this decision, she was grateful regardless. She no longer had to leave Ann alone in that lonely palace. If only it had been this way from the start. Why had she never thought to take her away sooner?

“No matter what those old fools said, I should have taken you out of there. I should have kept you by my side and raised you, even without getting approval for the adoption.”

She muttered quietly, her voice full of frustration. For a noble to adopt a commoner child was no easy matter. Much like a noble marrying a commoner, it was something rarely permitted except in very special circumstances.

But thinking about it now, adoption was not the only way she could have kept Ann close and raised her. 

She could have kept her nearby under the name of patronage and looked after her with care. Her husband, Count Hervonne, had been quite fond of Ann too, so it would have been possible. Ingrid would not have welcomed it, of course.

“I should have been more stubborn back then…”

She was hanging her head in self-reproach when a small, delicate hand reached over and wiped her cheek.

“…Please don’t blame yourself. It makes me uneasy when you do.”

Ann gave her a faint smile. At that smile, Countess Hervonne bit down hard on her lip. It hurt, like someone had reached in and torn at her heart.

***

Choviez, the Hervonne family’s manor, lacked the grandeur of the Valenska ducal estate, but it carried a neat, elegant, and old-world charm. Ann stepped down from the carriage and entered the manor alongside the Countess. The modest, well-kept garden looked exactly as it had when Ann used to run and play there as a child.

Between the dogwood and poplar trees that still seemed to hold the light of summer, she caught a fleeting image of her younger self and Lennox running about. She turned her gaze to the manor. The milky-white building, draped in vines, wore a tall, blue roof.

At that moment, Countess Hervonne took her hand. Ann turned to look at her. The Countess did not meet her eyes and simply walked into the manor. Ann turned back. Count Hervonne and his two sons had come out to greet her, apparently having known she was coming.

“Welcome, Ann. You must have had a long journey.”

Count Hervonne, a man of neat appearance, welcomed her warmly. Ann gave him a proper bow. Even though having her stay at his manor must have put him in a rather uncomfortable position, he smiled at her with warmth. His two sons were the same.

The two young men of the Hervonne family, five and three years younger than her respectively, had looked up to her like an older sister since childhood. She, having no siblings of her own, had adored and cherished them in return. Though that, too, was a story from long ago.

After Countess Hervonne’s two attempts to adopt Ann had both failed, Ann had reduced her visits to the Hervonne manor. It was not that she disliked the Count and Countess. 

She simply worried that the noble relatives of the Hervonne family and others would think poorly of the couple for it.

The Countess had always told her to come whenever she liked, without a care, but after the age of fifteen, Ann stopped visiting unless she received an invitation. 

Gradually, she had grown more distant from the Count and his two sons as well, and the days when they had lived like one family became nothing more than an old memory.

People who had been as close as family, who had even tried to adopt her, but who had never truly become family…

How were they any different from Lennox? It had been the same with him. They had loved each other like lovers and wanted each other, but they could never become husband and wife.

So would they not end up only hurting each other? Ann felt the heavy, dark weight pressing down on her once more. Count Hervonne, unaware of her thoughts, finally came to a stop. The room he introduced her to was a bedroom with lovely arched windows.

“The room you used as a child was too small, so we prepared a new one for you.”

The Count introduced the room with a warm smile. It was clearly a splendid bedroom at first glance. More so than the understated manor itself, and certainly more so than the room she had used as a child. From the white wooden vanity to the elegant pale-yellow wallpaper. The wide four-poster bed and the small, beautiful furnishings made clear this was no ordinary guest room.

“This room…”

“It’s the room my sister used before she married. When I told her you’d be staying here, she said she was glad.”

“But, Count…”

Ann slowly shook her head. If this was the room the Count’s sister had used before her marriage, it was no ordinary room. Ann knew this room too. The memory had come back to her belatedly, but this was a room reserved only for the daughters of the Hervonne family. And for her to stay in a room like this, especially under these circumstances…

“I’m grateful for the thought, but the room I used before is fine with me. I grew fond of it as a child.”

The room she had used as a child was lovely enough. The bed was not small either, so it would serve her well now. Ann tried to express only her gratitude and decline. But the Count and Countess were firm.

“That room is under renovation right now. There’s no other option, so please don’t refuse.”

“Ann, listen to the Count. This room is for you, so don’t feel uncomfortable. Stay as long as you like.”

“But…”

Ann lowered her head. She had nothing more to say. They had said the old room was under renovation, and if she asked about another room, they would likely say it had not been cleaned yet or some such thing. Knowing the couple’s nature, Ann had no choice but to nod. The Count and Countess both broke into bright smiles.

“Good thinking. Rest well for now, and we’ll see you at dinner.”

The Count said warmly. Ann thanked him once more and stepped into the room.