“My lady skipped breakfast.”

That was the first thing said as soon as someone barged into the office.

Kieron clicked his tongue quietly.

“Your Grace. You cannot continue treating the mistress this way.”

“And if I don’t?”

His tone was icy.
It grated on his nerves.

How long had it been, and this old man was already acting as if he were her sworn guardian?

Kieron lifted his dawn-colored eyes sharply, glaring at the elderly but dignified butler, Derrick.

“As you know, my lady is a noble daughter from a highly esteemed house. Should anything happen to her, the Peyton family will not stay silent.”

“This is the ducal house. And we must worry about the marquisate’s opinion?”

“You know that is not what I meant, Your Grace.”

“If you’re that worried, why don’t you go look after her?”

Derrick had served the ducal family for generations.

As head butler for many years, he knew every corner of the estate inside out, and was trusted by the servants. He also had a keen eye for placing the right people in the right positions.

He had managed countless matters alongside Kieron and was practically an extension of his arm.

When someone like Derrick spoke up, Kieron knew he should listen.

He knew this, but this time he could not easily yield.

The idea of a duke being forced into marriage due to the marquess’s overbearing influence was laughable. Pathetic, even.

“Your Grace. The mistress has done nothing wrong.”

“So you’re defending that woman in front of me?”

“We accepted the marquis’s demand only because our house lacked the strength to refuse. The mistress herself committed no fault.”

What made him even angrier was that it was all true.

Kieron did not pity Ariadne simply because she had almost died after meeting him.

He also found her endearing when she fidgeted nervously and was unable to speak in his presence.

Kieron Ambrose was angered by his own helplessness in having to obey the Marquis’s absurd demands, not by anything Ariadne had done, as Derrick said.

But why?

Why did she skip her meal simply because her husband—who didn’t even visit her on their wedding night—had refused her invitation to breakfast?

Kieron found her unbearably and painfully uncomfortable.

“Instead of wasting time here, why don’t you go and see the mistress, Derrick?” It’s dreadful that that fragile young lady skipped a meal. She might faint again.”

“…Sigh. Yes, Your Grace. If it is your command. Still… I wish you wouldn’t be so cold to her.”

“Useless interference.”

When Kieron returned his gaze to the documents, Derrick let out a long breath, bowed, and left the room.

The heavy thud of the closing door felt exactly like his own mood, and Kieron let out a bitter laugh.

***

Ariadne sat alone in her room, silent.

The delicate young woman, who had once dreamed of a fairy-tale honeymoon, now faced reality head on.

She tried to calm herself, telling her racing heart that a marriage based solely on formality wouldn’t be so bad as long as she could stay by his side.

However, the resolve she had gathered, at least until this morning, had now completely crumbled.

Ariadne simply stared blankly out of the window.

The sun was already high in the sky.

Where could she go in a place like this to see a beautiful sunset?

Would His Grace still not come tonight?

Countless thoughts drifted through her mind, drawing her further and further into herself.

She was so discouraged that she forgot that she needed to find the butler and ask about her duties.

“My lady, it is Derrick, the head butler.”

A loud knock shattered the silence.

Her husband would not come. The maids whispered relentlessly behind her back. And now, the butler had come to her first.

Ariadne straightened from where she had been leaning against the window and let out a quiet sigh.

“Come in.”

Once permitted, the door opened carefully.

A warm, savory smell drifted in, and Ariadne blinked in surprise.

“Head butler…?”

“Please call me Derrick, my lady. His Grace sent me because you skipped your meal.”

In one hand, Derrick—immaculately dressed in his butler’s uniform—held a tray of light dishes.

Light dishes, and yet there were at least four ceramic plates.

The ease with which he carried such weight made Ariadne widen her eyes.

“His Grace… told you to come check on me?”

“Yes, my lady. As you know, the ducal house’s situation is not ideal, and His Grace has been working through the night for several days. Might you be willing to forgive him?”

Derrick placed the heavy dishes on the small table without so much as a tremor.

His movements were smooth and precise, almost like a performance, as he carefully set down each plate.

Ariadne couldn’t help but admire the way he balanced everything on one arm and moved with such precision.

She found herself thinking that the ducal servants must be as strong as their master. She let out a small laugh.

“I know he’s busy. Thank you for telling me, Derrick. And please tell His Grace he doesn’t need to worry.”

“Your generosity is appreciated, my lady. His Grace will be pleased.”

Derrick bowed deeply.

His overly formal posture was so comical that Ariadne couldn’t help but laugh softly.

This tiny bit of humor lifted her spirits.

Right.

They had only met once before the wedding, and he was busy at the moment.

After all, this marriage had practically been forced on him by her father, so wasn’t his reaction natural?

She shouldn’t be hurt by it.

Ariadne steadied herself, doing her best to reassure her heart.

“Derrick, you’re very skilled.”

“You flatter me, my lady.”

“I may be lacking in experience, but now that I’m the mistress of this house, is there anything I should be doing? Were you the one managing the household until now?”

From the moment she was old enough to understand, Ariadne had been trained in the duties of a bride.

As she wasn’t exceptional and couldn’t perform any extraordinary feats, she had to ensure that she performed ordinary tasks well.

After so long without practicing, she had lost her confidence, but she knew that it was now her responsibility to oversee the ducal household’s affairs.

She also knew that this was the only way she could keep her place, the only path that would allow her to stand where she belonged.

“Yes, my lady. It is inadequate, but I have been overseeing the household. As you know, the Ambrose estate has been without a mistress for a long time.”

“I heard that His Grace lost his parents when he was young. Then you must have struggled for quite some time, Derrick. I’m sure His Grace is grateful.”

So Ariadne held onto her drifting thoughts.

Not now.

Right now, she had to do what she could.

If the duke still gave her no place in his heart even after she had fulfilled her duties, then she could crumble; she could sink back into the dark.

“Please continue to help me, Derrick. I learned these things, but I’m still very inexperienced.”

“…If you think that way, my lady, His Grace will surely be pleased.”

So she decided to begin with what she already knew.

“Thank you for saying that. Then… while I eat this, would you sit here and tell me what the very first task of the household should be?”

These were the only things she knew how to do.

***

Ariadne tried.

Setting aside the things she truly could not do, she was a diligent learner. She wasn’t slow, just unable to measure up to her exceptional brothers.

Fortunately, her hard work paid off, and she quickly learned the duties of the ducal estate.

With Derrick at her side, she asked about anything she didn’t understand, setting aside anything that was too unclear to handle at once.

Day after day, the tasks became familiar.

With the exception of a few matters she lacked the courage to approach — those strictly under Kieron’s authority — she understood nearly everything that happened within the ducal household within a few months. She even handled urgent affairs herself.

It had taken time, but Derrick spared no praise.

“You are truly remarkable, my lady! No one could have understood all this so quickly.”

“Oh, don’t say that, Derrick. Anyone could have learned this with enough practice.”

The most significant change during those months was in her relationship with the household staff.

She was not a difficult mistress to serve.

She was always kind, even to servants she had never met before, and never harsh.

When she expressed her needs, she spoke gently and was always considerate of others.

She even took the time to learn about each of them individually.

It was a rare blessing for a noble duchess to treat her servants with such respect, but she wanted to know even more about them.

The more she learned about how the estate operated, the more she wanted to improve their working conditions.

She spoke to each of them individually, asking about their working environment, and she incorporated their suggestions wherever possible.

She worked tirelessly to make the estate a better place for everyone.

Their pay now included performance-related bonuses.

Wages varied slightly depending on the workload of each department.

Servants with families were exempt from night shifts, while those who took night duty received extra pay. This ensured that no one felt treated unfairly.

As well as bonuses, eligible staff received birthday gifts and support with childcare and medical assistance for ill family members.

The range of leave options increased, and trained temporary workers filled their positions when necessary.

Ariadne had grown up in a noble household, quietly observing how her mother — the mistress of a great family — treated their servants.

Drawing on these memories — her only long-standing knowledge — she raised the self-esteem of the servants one by one.

“My lady asked after my wife today!”

“That’s nothing — she even told me not to worry about my daughter’s tuition fees! My wife insisted that I thank her personally.”

“Oh, please. Given how much the lady already does, do you really think she has time to meet all of us? Enough chatter — back to work!”

“No, really—my wife said she’s always happy to hear from us. She said we could visit any time she’s working!”

And she meant it.

She devoted part of every day to walking around the estate so that any servant could approach her freely. She always asked if they were struggling, how they had been lately, and whether there was anything she could improve.

Every matter within the ducal household eventually reached her, no matter how small, and it all passed through her hands.

Her days were filled from morning until night, yet she never once regretted it.

Nearly six months after becoming Ariadne Ambrose, she had won the hearts of almost everyone on the estate — everyone except the one person she wanted most to win over.

It was as though the maids had never mocked her at all.

***

“Um… my lady…”

“…It’s today as well, then.”

Ariadne tried.

She carried out her duties with unwavering sincerity, and yet every day she tried to give Kieron even the smallest part of her heart.

Despite his repeated rejections, she never forgot to send a maid to invite him to share a meal.

Sometimes she invited him for tea.

Sometimes she sent tea that she had brewed herself, or small cakes that she had baked.

Sometimes she offered him handkerchiefs that she had embroidered with care.

But Kieron Ambrose never once came, not to her bedchamber, not to her sitting room, and not even to the dining hall, where she sat eating alone.

Because of everything she had done for the household, the servants now pitied her. However, if things continued like this, she would soon become a burden that no one could help.

A problem no one could solve.

And that thought made her all the more desperate.