The next day, feeling noticeably lighter, Ariadne asked Jay to send a message to Derayan County.

The weather was beautiful, the daisies on the windowsill were in full bloom, and she couldn’t stop thinking about the words in Jade’s letter.

He wanted to meet her and her family.

Perhaps he had only written it to comfort her. But he couldn’t have known. He couldn’t have known how that single line had made her heart flutter all night, keeping her awake as she struggled with feelings of both guilt and longing.

If it truly had been nothing more than polite courtesy, Jade deserved some of the resentment she felt, given the emotional storm it had caused.

Not that she would ever blame him, though.

Feeling a kind of excitement she hadn’t experienced in a long time, Ariadne prepared to go out with Jay.

“Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself, Madam? You haven’t even received a reply yet.”

Jay teased, brushing Ariadne’s hair.

It had been a long time since she’d seen her mistress looking so happy. She couldn’t help but feel cheerful right along with her.

If only days like this came more often!

Oblivious to Jay’s quiet hopes, Ariadne simply smiled brightly at her reflection in the mirror.

“Still… the weather’s too lovely. Even if I can’t meet him today, I want to go out.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Madam. It’s a crime to stay indoors on a day like this.”

“Exactly.”

The two of them met each other’s gaze through the mirror and exchanged small smiles. It felt like the start of a good day.

So Ariadne believed—just for today—things might unfold just the way she imagined: happily and gently.

***

“His Grace requests a tea time with you this afternoon.”

She had just finished getting dressed and was about to step outside after eating a light snack.

Her makeup looked particularly flawless today, and the dress Jay had chosen suited her and the weather so well that she had been in high spirits all morning.

But the moment Derrick made his sudden announcement, all her warmth drained away.

Tea time out of nowhere?

The horrifying memory of the first tea time came flooding back. He had made it painfully clear then just how much he disliked it.

So why now?

She was certain he didn’t like her. She was sure that he found it bothersome to spare even a few minutes for tea, and that he was tired of her clinging to him or asking for things he never wanted to give her.

She believed that the few moments he gave her were meaningless. She had told herself to forget them and worked hard to erase them from her mind. And yet this cruel man still wouldn’t leave her in peace.

Ariadne lowered her gaze to the woman who had dressed with such care, now standing there in shock with a hollow, undone expression.

“…What time this afternoon?”

“He said it would be after lunch, but since Your Ladyship has no plans for lunch, you may dine together as well.”

Have dinner together, too.

The body that had felt so light that morning now felt heavy, as if all its strength had drained away.

The meal from a few days ago had weighed her down so much already.

Why would today’s lunch be any different?

But Ariadne couldn’t bring herself to refuse there and then.

How could she when—

“His Grace is simply not good at expressing his emotions. He has wanted to spend time with you these past few days, but unfortunately your schedules have never aligned. I hope you understand that we could only tell you now.”

There were countless people around him who knew how to handle him.

People who knew what kind of man he was and how he truly felt.

‘His real feelings aren’t what you think.’
‘He isn’t like that. He just doesn’t know how to express himself yet.’

In this ducal household, where few understood her and almost no one stood on her side, Ariadne was always at a disadvantage.

Especially when she still hadn’t succeeded in wiping away her feelings for him.

“…I’ve been going out often myself, so I can’t say much. Then please prepare lunch so I may dine with His Grace.”

“His Grace will be pleased.”

Derrick replied with a courteous bow before leaving the room. Only after the door closed did Ariadne feel the tension drain from her body.

“Madam! Are you all right?”

As she sank limply into her seat, Jay rushed forward in alarm to support her. Ariadne leaned against her arm and began breathing slowly and deliberately.

Then she stood up straight and sat properly.

Lunch itself wasn’t an issue, she had no other plans. But tea time… she really didn’t want that.

Fortunately, she had already made a prior request. She couldn’t allow herself to crumble over something like this.

“I’m fine, Jay. If Jade sends a message—even during lunch—tell me right away. I’ll leave immediately.”

“Will you really be all right?”

Jay asked carefully.

Was she worried Kieron would erupt if Ariadne suddenly left? Or was she worried her mistress wouldn’t have the nerve to walk away from him?

“Of course. I have a prior engagement. His Grace will understand at least that much.”

Ariadne told herself: If he has people who stand on his side, then she too has someone who stands on hers. Someone who would be her ally, far more than a man who didn’t even care for her.

So she shouldn’t be afraid. She shouldn’t act foolishly, clinging to scraps of time with him. If she met her family again someday, how could she face them if she had been so timid?

She clenched her fist tightly and looked straight ahead, murmuring over and over: This time… don’t get hurt. No matter what happens—do not get hurt.

***

“Madam asked if His Grace would like to have lunch together today.”

But there was one thing Ariadne—desperate in an entirely different way—had overlooked.

The people at his side were not like Jay, a timid maid who never acted without instructions.

They were people who moved decisively. People who would act boldly if it was for their master’s sake.

Even though he was only a servant, Derrick was like an uncle to Kieron—and he knew that position of his all too well.

“That woman? All of a sudden?”
“Yes. It seemed she had plans in the afternoon, but lunch appeared to be free.”

The words he was offering to his master now were similar in purpose to those he had spoken to Ariadne earlier, yet clearly not the same ones.

Even as he spoke, Derrick felt a pang of unease, wondering if he had revealed too much.

But if it meant creating even the slightest opportunity for the two of them to share a meal and talk, there was nothing he wouldn’t do.

If it could ease the loneliness that had defined the young head of household’s entire life, even if only slightly, then Derrick would tell lies like this a hundred times without hesitation.

Kieron would usually study a person’s expression sharply and spot any inconsistency instantly. But now, he didn’t seem to have the clarity for that.

He must have drifted back into his own private world.

Derrick quietly watched his master struggle in the ocean of his own thoughts.

This was his chance.

He knew that Madam’s heart was far more tender than she let on.

If he could create more moments like this without being found out, perhaps the two of them would finally grow closer someday.

As he watched his troubled master, Derrick held on to that hope, that things would get better.

“I have no plans for lunch either. We’ll dine together.”
“I’ll inform Madam.”

It was just as Derrick bowed his head—

“By the way… she has plans in the afternoon? Then tea time will be difficult?”

—his master said something wholly unexpected.

***

Once again, Ariadne sat down feeling as though she were lowering herself onto a cushion densely packed with thorns.

It was as if long, sharp spikes were rising from the seat to pierce her mercilessly.

Suppressing the urge to run away even now, she looked at the husband seated across from her.

“Eat.”

The husband, who had supposedly requested tea time with her, did not appear to want or need to speak to her.

This was hardly surprising, given that he had said nothing beyond a brief greeting since she had entered the dining room.

If that was all he wanted, they could have continued living as they always had, barely acknowledging each other’s existence.

So why had he arranged this pointless meeting?

“Your Grace.”

It was then.

Derrick, who had been standing at the entrance, suddenly stepped inside. He went straight to Kieron and leaned down to whisper something in his ear.

Had something gone wrong with business?

As Ariadne wondered that, idly chewing her portion of salad—

“Madam.”

Kieron, having heard whatever Derrick had said, looked at her with a stiff, hardened expression.

What was he going to say this time?

Whenever he wore an expression like that, her heart always seemed to drop straight down to her stomach.

Ariadne clenched her hand tightly against her chest, restraining the urge to cover her heart, and faced him.

“…What is it, Your Grace?”

“I hear you have a visitor.”

His tone was flat—neither high nor low.

Emotionless. Rigid.

Yet to Ariadne, it sounded exactly like, ‘A visitor? As if anyone would come for you.’

Even though he hadn’t added a single word more.

“Ah. I have an engagement this afternoon… It must be about that.”

Paranoia.
She knew it.
She knew very well.

Because he had always treated her so coldly.
Because he had always dismissed her.
Because he had always demanded—without ever saying it aloud—that she live as though she did not exist.

So she kept getting hurt by words he never even spoke.
She knew that.

She knew… and yet—

“Would it be all right if I excuse myself first? I don’t want to keep anyone waiting too long.”

“I heard it was the young heir of Count Derayan.”

She knew, but she couldn’t stop any of it.

“A married woman with a husband, what reason do you have to meet an unmarried young man?”

Ariadne, who had been about to rise hastily from her seat, froze where she was.