“Should I have teased him a bit more?”

On the ride home, Hermes glanced at his older brother and his partner, seated opposite him, and muttered under his breath.

Despite teasing and provoking the Duke of Ambrose quite a bit, he still felt unsatisfied.

Handling people was his specialty — teasing a stiff, upright man like the Duke of Ambrose should have been easy.

But he had held back because their beloved youngest sister had seemed troubled.

Even so, that lingering sense of dissatisfaction probably stemmed from just how much they all loved her.

“That’s enough. I’m sure the duke understood.”

Hern said, sounding not entirely pleased but conceding that it was sufficient.

Today was the first time any of them had properly spoken to their sister’s husband.

After the wedding, their sister — always painfully aware of her own shortcomings — had rarely come home, not wanting to give them any reason to think she had made the wrong choice.

Naturally, they’d had no chance to meet Kieron either.

Still—

“Three years married and the family hasn’t met the husband even once?”

Hermes grumbled. Dalia, sitting across from him, laughed softly.

“These days, families don’t interfere much anyway. And well… part of it is the young lady’s fault, isn’t it?”

“You say that, but you were teasing him with the rest of us.”

“Oh, please. Pointing out fault and having affection are two completely different things.”

Dalia covered her mouth and laughed.

The other four people in the carriage burst into laughter at her sly remark.

Yes, Ariadne was partly to blame for never properly introducing her husband, but ultimately, what mattered was that they loved her far more than the duke, who still felt like a stranger to them.

They naturally justified everything that had happened today as a necessary rite of passage, something every family had to go through.

They were in the middle of comforting themselves with that thought when—

“Still, we’ll probably have to apologize to the duke soon.”

“Otherwise, the young lady won’t let it go.”

At Kassia’s quiet murmur, a brief silence fell inside the carriage. Everyone there shared two traits: they all loved Ariadne deeply and they were all just a little afraid of her.

More precisely, they feared her uncompromising nature and her ability to end any relationship without hesitation if she believed it was wrong.

“Rene said something?”

“Didn’t you see her face earlier? She looked ready to hit you.”

Kassia retorted, seemingly wondering why he had asked at all. At that, the color drained from Hermes’s and Dalia’s faces. Even Hern, who had been too tolerant of their mischief, cleared his throat awkwardly.

“You could’ve said something nicer, Sia.”

“And what exactly should I have said? I apologized, and she said she understood but she still looked upset.”

“You apologized? Alone?”

“Well, someone had to handle the aftermath.”

Hermes and Dalia grumbled in turn, but Kassia remained calm, as if nothing was unusual. They were both immediately left speechless.

Having wisely distanced herself from their antics early on, Kassia simply shrugged, indicating that they were on their own now.

Even Hermes, who had remained silent throughout, could not hide his awkwardness at that small gesture.

Had they known things would end up like this, they might have held back a little.

Belated regret filled the carriage.

***

A few days later, Kieron visited the Peyton estate with Ariadne.

Heidel wasn’t there, as he had left on his honeymoon. However, Hern had invited them over for a simple meal.

Kieron ultimately accepted because Ariadne said that their family used to get together once a month or so for a meal.

“Are you really sure you’re all right with this?”

“I told you. It’s not that I was uncomfortable, our temperaments are just different, that’s all.”

“But still…”

From the moment he accepted the invitation, Ariadne had been consumed by worry.

She was afraid that her brothers might behave rudely again, as they had last time.

To be on the safe side, she had secretly written them a letter without telling her husband, but they were such mischievous people that there was no telling what they might do.

As she watched her husband wave away her concerns and insist that he was fine, Ariadne took his hand and looked worried.

“If you feel even a little uncomfortable, please tell me. All right?”

“I will. So stop worrying. We’re almost there, how long are you going to fret about it?”

Kieron gave her a small smile, as if to reassure her that there was nothing to worry about. However, Ariadne’s expression didn’t ease.

And with good reason, he had looked so weary ever since they returned from the wedding a few days ago.

It was the same expression he’d had in the carriage that day.

She couldn’t help wondering if he had somehow been hurt without realizing it because he was often oblivious to his own feelings.

Even if that were true, though, he would insist he was fine, just as he was doing now.

Ariadne stepped down from the carriage, already deciding that if her brothers behaved rudely again today, she truly wouldn’t let it pass.

“Welcome, Your Grace, my lady.”

“Chase!”

As she disembarked with Kieron’s escort, she heard a familiar voice greet her.

It was Chase, the Peyton family’s head butler.

Seeing him made her feel as though she had come home.

In truth, she had.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course, my lady. And you have become even more beautiful.”

“You’re still such a smooth talker. How’s your health?”

“Quite usable still, thanks to your concern, my lady.”

There was a warm exchange between the two of them, the easy conversation of people who had known each other for years.

As he watched her, Kieron was reminded once again that her expression always softened around people she felt close to.

It was strangely consistent.

Only a select few could elicit that kind of smile from her: the Peytons and Kieron Ambrose himself.

She displayed a similar demeanor towards his aide or the Ambrose household’s butler, but it was clearly different from what he was witnessing now.

Was the ducal residence still not as comfortable for her as this place?

After all, she had lived here for nearly twenty years, compared to only three at the duchy.

Naturally, this place would feel more like home.

As he thought this, Kieron quietly watched Ariadne as she smiled so easily. He felt relieved that she could smile like that in his presence.

“Rene! You’re here!”

While he was silently comforting himself, someone came running from inside the estate.

“Oh. You’re early, Brother.”

“Of course! Our Rene is coming, how could I not?”

The man running towards her with an excited, beaming expression was her brother, Hermes.

Kieron had had the same thought at the wedding a few days ago. Hermes seemed to love Ariadne very much.

All three brothers were devoted to her, but Hermes’s affection seemed particularly intense.

Whether he liked it or not, Hermes — completely unaware of his thoughts — paused briefly at his stern expression, then quickly smiled and greeted him warmly.

“You must have had a tiring trip, Your Grace.”

“It wasn’t far. If anything, the one who worked hardest was the head of the Peyton household.”

Kieron hesitated for a moment, unsure what to call him. Eventually, he settled on something that seemed appropriate.

After all, this house was full of Peytons.

There was the Marquis, the Young Marquis, the Clan Head and the Heir, as well as the Marchioness, the Young Marchioness and the Clan Head’s wife.

There were four Peytons by blood and four by marriage, so there wasn’t a single person he could address as ‘Peyton’.

Feeling confident that he had chosen the right one, he looked towards Hermes, only for him to laugh and shake his head.

“Hermes is fine. Just call me that.”

Since everyone in this house is a Peyton anyway.

He cleared up Kieron’s dilemma in the simplest way possible as if to say, Use names. Everything becomes easier that way.

And indeed, that would solve everything and avoid any confusion.

“If you go inside, everyone will probably ask you to call them by name. None of us bother with stiff formality toward family.”

While Kieron silently wondered whether that was truly acceptable, Hermes simply shrugged as if it were nothing at all.

Ariadne, agreeing with her brother, gently stroked the back of Kieron’s hand.

“That will make things less confusing. Let’s do that, Your Grace.”

“…All right. Let’s.”

“Oh, but don’t call Mother and Father by name. They’re the exception.”

Hermes added teasingly.

At that, Ariadne let out an exasperated puff of laughter, and Chase, the butler standing nearby, had to hide his smile with a cough.

And Kieron—

“…I understand.”

—was quietly overwhelmed.

This was the first time in his life that he had experienced anything like this. The familial atmosphere, warmth and sense of welcome were feelings he had never truly known before.

However, recently, when Ariadne started greeting him warmly whenever he came home, he caught a brief glimpse of that warmth.

But genuine domestic comfort — true family warmth — was still foreign to him.

Standing before the Peyton estate, he felt that stepping inside would immerse him completely in that unfamiliar feeling.

Unable to laugh, cry or scowl, he stood there with an awkward expression on his face, wondering faintly whether what awaited him inside was beyond anything he was prepared to face.