After finishing their long-delayed conversation, she said goodbye to her family in the late afternoon, just as darkness began to fall.

Although she had wanted to stay for dinner, thoughts of the coachman waiting for her prevented her from doing so, so she promised her family she would visit again soon.

“I’ll contact you next time.”

“Of course. Next time, let’s have dinner together as well.”

When Ariadne spoke with a wistful expression, the Marchioness gently comforted her.

Everyone felt the same way, they all wished they could spend a little more time with her.

However, knowing how unhappy she had been in her marriage, they all chose to put their regrets to one side, if only for a little while.

Heidel and the Marquess clasped her hands tightly.

“If anything makes you uncomfortable, tell me. I’ll handle it for you.”

“Yes. If something troubles you, contact your father anytime.”

“I will. Thank you.”

Seeing their warm family dynamic, even Jay, who had looked tense all day, smiled faintly, as did Jade, who was standing beside them.

Yes. This was the kind of scene that suited this family best.

Jade had insisted on accompanying her, even though Heidel said she could go alone. When he noticed how hesitantly the Marquis and Marchioness lingered to see her off, he had also suggested that they come with them — it felt worthwhile.

Jade was watching the four of them with quiet fondness when—

“Thank you, Jade.”

Ariadne approached him and shyly offered her gratitude. At the same time, she clasped his hand. Her eyes shimmered, on the verge of tears—clear proof that she was sincerely thankful. But… this wasn’t ideal. Especially not here, with so many eyes on them.

“I didn’t even do anything. Everything just happened to work out well today.”

Jade said with an awkward smile, patting the back of her hand lightly a couple of times. Just as he carefully tried to withdraw, Ariadne shook her head and tightened her grip.

“It was thanks to you. And you even sent me that letter.”

Maybe he should have pulled away more firmly from the start.

Jade forced the corners of his lips up, trying his best not to let his discomfort show.

Ah. Please, Rene.

He didn’t want his raw, unguarded emotions to be exposed—not here, and definitely not like this—so he gave her hand another gentle shake, up and down.

“I only passed along a few words. The choice was yours, Rene.”

“You don’t need to thank me so much.”

He gently tapped the back of her hand before finally managing to free his own. When he looked up, he met Heidel’s gaze. His friend was wearing a strangely knowing expression that seemed to say everything was all right.

Ah.

This was exactly why he had tried to keep his distance from this family.

Throughout the entire gathering, he had intended to stay a step behind, quietly watching over them from the sidelines.

He gave Heidel an awkward, sheepish smile.

It was obvious now, he had been found out completely.

“Ma’am—ah, my lady. It’s time to go.”

Thankfully, before Jade could become any more uncomfortable, Jay stepped in. Upon hearing her words, he turned his head and spotted the approaching carriage in the distance.

The deliberate covering of the crest made it clear that Ariadn had been conscious of how she appeared during the outing that day.

Jade gently encouraged her to take a step, as she seemed unable to move.

“We’ll meet again next time, Rene. All right?”

“Mm. Let’s definitely meet next time. And you too, Heidel. I can help with the wedding preparations, okay?”

Ariadne—sweet, youngest, and reluctant to part—forced herself to take those stubbornly heavy steps, exchanging farewells with each member of her family.

“Contact us, Rene. Promise.”

“Mm. I’ll definitely contact you.”

After Heidel’s slightly brusque—but deeply affectionate—parting words, Ariadne finally climbed into the carriage.

“Please take care of her, Jay.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Once Jay had also boarded the carriage after speaking with the marchioness, the door closed.

Ariadne waved until the carriage had travelled far enough for them to lose sight of each other. In a trembling voice, she called out that she would contact them and that they must meet again.

“Still, at least we got to see Rene today.”

As she watched the carriage disappear completely, the Marchioness murmured to herself. Her husband and Heidel both nodded in agreement.

“It pains me to see she seems to be having a harder time than expected… but I’m still grateful we saw her face.”

“Yes. That’s how it appeared,” the marquis agreed.

But his expression held more sorrow than joy, more regret for how she was living than delight at the reunion.

Jade realized instinctively that today’s meeting hadn’t been purely happy for these three.

“We should place someone inside the duke’s residence.”

“Is there anyone suitable?”

What in the world were they talking about now?

Jade struggled to keep his face composed as he looked away, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.

“If there isn’t, then we’ll make someone suitable. We need to know exactly how the duke is treating Rene before we can take any action.”

“I’ll look into it.”

“If possible, it would be good if Margaret could visit next time as well. Jay did well, but Margaret would be better at confirming the situation.”

“The marchioness is right. Let’s do that.”

As the atmosphere grew increasingly grim, Jade could feel the cold sweat gathering on his back. At that moment, while he was deep in thought, Heidel made another remark.

“If possible… I think it would be good for Jade to visit the duke’s estate more often.”

“W–what? Me?”

What kind of lightning strike was this?

The composure he had barely been holding onto began to splinter. This was a family matter — a marital matter — and he wasn’t part of the Peyton or Ambrose families.

What exactly did they expect him to do by dragging him into this?

While Jade was still reeling, Heidel spoke again — his voice quiet yet weighty and almost casual, yet unmistakably firm.

“If you visit often, Rene will be happy, and it might make the duke a little more cautious. And if you could push things toward divorce, that would be even better.”

“…Heidel. Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?”

The word divorce made Jade flinch for no reason.

The marchioness let out a long sigh and shook her head.

“Let’s not think too far ahead. For now, the important thing is to comfort Rene and make sure she doesn’t cut us off. Otherwise, she might stop talking to us again.”

At her words, the marquis nodded his agreement.

“Divorce, remarriage—those are concerns for later. For now, focus on what we can do in the present.”

“Yes, Father.”

It was only then that Heidel finally pulled his gaze away from Jade. Jade quietly exhaled and unclenched his damp, sweaty fist. But just as he took a small breath of relief, Heidel’s eyes followed him again. Jade quickly turned his head, as though he hadn’t noticed.

“Then let’s head back as well. Her Highness must be wondering where we are.”

“I brought the sample books from the boutiques, so it should be fine.”

“Oh my. Good thinking. I was worried about how to explain the lack of progress from today’s outing.”

The Marchioness and Heidel started walking ahead, with the Marquis following a short distance behind.

Once he was far enough behind the family, Jade finally wiped the sweat from his palms.

They were truly dangerous people.

Quick-witted, relentless, and intelligent to boot.

Who could hide anything from eyes like theirs? Who could untangle their plans?

Jade watched his friend’s family, who were always several steps ahead of everyone else, and shook his head.

He might have seemed vulnerable earlier on, caught off guard by Heidel, but he knew his place all too well. He had no desire to cause trouble. In fact, he would need to be even more cautious from now on.

Sometimes he wondered if he had lost Ariadne because of his cautious nature, but at the same time, he felt oddly relieved not to be caught between them.

If he had married her, as he once wanted to, his mother and the marchioness would have fought day and night.

Lost in such ridiculous, pointless thoughts, he was—

“Jade. Aren’t you coming?”

His name snapped him back to reality. The three others were already seated inside the carriage, looking out at him with concern.

Ah—he really had drifted too far into his own head.

“Coming!”

He hurriedly climbed aboard.

No more unnecessary thoughts.

They were things that would never happen anyway. For now—just as the marquis had said—he needed to focus only on what could be done now.

Jade swept the excess thoughts from his mind.

***

When they returned to the estate, it felt strangely gloomy. Ariadne glanced out the carriage window at the mansion and tilted her head.

“Is something going on?”

“Right? The atmosphere is… odd…”

It seemed Ariadne wasn’t the only one with that thought. Jay, too, was looking outside with a puzzled expression.

“It really feels like something happened, doesn’t it? Otherwise, the atmosphere of the entire estate wouldn’t have changed like this.”

“That’s true, but… what could have happened in that short time?”

They had been out for only half a day. Too little time for something truly catastrophic to occur—yet long enough that it didn’t feel right to assume nothing had happened at all.

Ariadne and Jay exchanged looks, each trying to imagine the possibilities, but nothing sensible came to mind.

In the end, they gave up thinking and decided to ask directly.

“Welcome back.”

“We’re back. Did something happen at the estate?”

They addressed the question to Derrick, the head butler who had come to greet them. And beside him—rarely—stood Herald, Kieron’s aide.

From their faces, it was clear that something had happened.

“You have visitors.”

“Visitors?”

If Herald looked that tense, could it be… the Council of Elders?

Ariadne half-worried, half-jokingly let the thought cross her mind—when.

“Her Highness Princess Lorelei and Lord Franz of the Council of Elders have arrived.”

“…What?”

Kieron’s almost-bride and the council member who disliked him more than anyone else. It was a combination that nobody could have predicted. She would never have expected visitors like these.

Ariadne felt the blood drain from her face instantly.