“Today was wonderful, madam.”

Sylvia spoke as she stepped into the carriage. She must have enjoyed herself thoroughly; her smile hadn’t faded once.

Ariadne smiled back.

“I had a lovely time as well. Please feel free to reach out anytime.”

“I certainly will.”

After the two exchanged their warm farewells, Heidel climbed into the carriage with Sylvia and looked back at Ariadne.

“Rene. If you ever need help, just send word.”

“I will, brother. Get home safely.”

And with that, Heidel and Silvia left first.

Ariadne and Jade watched the carriage roll away, and once it completely disappeared from sight, they finally began walking.

“You’re heading straight home too, right, Jade?”

“Yes. I should. My mother’s been quite bored these days.”

“Lady Derayan?”

She was someone who always enjoyed her hobbies.

Ariadne tilted her head in mild surprise, and Jade gave a helpless smile.

“She says nothing interests her lately. Nothing feels enjoyable anymore.”

“Oh dear. Then she’s not painting anymore?”

“No. It’s been a while since she stopped.”

A faintly bitter smile tugged at Jade’s lips. Lady Derayan had always been completely absorbed in her hobbies, living with endless vitality.

Thinking of the marquis’s wife who often visited the mansion, Ariadnes expression dimmed with concern.

“There isn’t something wrong, is there?”

“Nothing like that. I think she just has a lot on her mind these days. She’s getting older too.”

Jade waved a hand, insisting it was nothing serious, that she would soon return to her usual energetic self and sweep through the social circles again.

Even so, Ariadne couldn’t shake her worry for Lady Derayan.

“Still, try taking her out more often. Go for a walk, or see a play with her.”

“Outside? But she’s never liked leaving the estate…”

Jade tilted her head.

Lady Derayan had always preferred staying indoors — painting, reading, and enjoying quiet places over anything lively. Because he knew that about her, Jade had been suggesting various activities inside the house instead…

“But even so. If she’s feeling that low in spirits, trying something new might do her good. Just take her out once and see.”

“Hm… maybe I should.”

“Do. Sometimes doing something different really helps clear your mind.”

Ariadne offered the advice sincerely, gently encouraging him to take his mother outside.

She added Brown’s advice as well that sunlight helped lift the spirit and improve one’s health.

“The duke’s physician always tells me the same thing. When you’re feeling low, you need to get some sun. He says stepping outside and looking at the bright sky and the sunlight will help your energy return.”

“Hm. That’s true. Mother really hasn’t gone out at all lately.”

“Exactly.”

Ariadne repeated her request that he take his mother out, and before she knew it, they had reached her carriage.

“Make sure you take her. All right?”

“Yes, I got it.”

After reminding him once more, she accepted his escort and stepped up into the carriage.

“And you — please think positively about being a bridesmaid. All right?”

“Mm… all right. I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Get home safely.”

“You too, Jade.”

Once their farewells were done, Jade carefully closed the carriage door.

Jay, who had been following behind, climbed in through the opposite side, and the coachman, Martin, took the reins.

“I’ll message you again next time.”

“Okay! I’ll message you soon too!”

Jade gave her a light wave, and she smiled and waved back at him through the window. Even after the carriage began to move, she kept waving — for quite a while.

“Looks like he’s out of sight now.”

Jay said after glancing out the window.

Only then did Ariadne slowly lower her hand, a faint regret lingering in her expression. Maybe it was because she’d had such a genuinely enjoyable time. The sudden quiet after all the laughter and chatter left her feeling oddly wistful.

“If you’d like, you can always invite them to the mansion next time, my lady.”

Seeing her mood, Jay gently reassured her, suggesting she invite them again whenever she wished.

But Ariadne shook her head.

“It’s fine. If I want to see them, we can always meet outside.”

“Still… it’s different from seeing them here at the mansion.”

“That’s true, but I don’t want things to get uncomfortable just because of His Grace.”

Ariadne shook her head firmly. There were plenty of things they could do at the mansion, and the desserts were much more varied. She could show them her room as well. But the obstacles were too large to ignore.

“Well, I did hear His Grace doesn’t like having outsiders inside.”

“There’s that, and… I really dislike it when he interrupts conversations, like when my brothers came.”

Ariadne let out an awkward laugh as she shook her head. He couldn’t even distinguish whether the guests were hers or his; she didn’t want another pointless commotion.

Jay understood completely. She had served difficult masters before, so she knew exactly what Ariadne meant.

“I get it. It’s definitely flustering when the master suddenly behaves like that.”

“So you do understand, Jay? Right. Since we can meet them anywhere else, there’s no need to bring them into a household where the master is… peculiar.”

Ariadne nodded as she spoke.

And if they ever found themselves with nowhere suitable to meet, she could always ask Hermes—who worked along the shopping street—to lend them a small office for a short while.

The thought was a little amusing, yet she felt oddly glad to realize she had such alternatives.

Yes. She had alternatives.

If not this, then that.
If not that, then something else.

Her life had always offered her at least two choices at any given moment, and because of that, she had lived comfortably. If one thing didn’t please her, she simply chose another.

But occasionally, she thought of those who had no such options. Of how few people in the world enjoyed the luxury of having choices the way she did.

Most people didn’t even know whether they had choices at all. Because of their circumstances. Because of their situations. Because of countless other reasons.

They never wanted to say they had chosen their life. Instead, they blamed their circumstances and struggled desperately to protect whatever small happiness they could within the confines they’d been given. And when everything eventually collapsed, they blamed someone else again.

From that one simple thought, Ariadne found herself following a long chain of reflections—gratitude for her own life, and a quiet resolve to better understand those who could not live as she did. Only after reaching that point did her long mental journey come to an end.

“What are you thinking about, my lady?”

Jay asked when Ariadne had been silent for quite some time.

Still looking out the window, Ariadne smiled faintly.

“Just… that I’m grateful.”

A thought so obvious, yet suddenly felt anew.

As she added those words and shifted her gaze farther ahead she spotted a familiar figure inside a carriage passing on the other side of the road.

***

“Is there truly any need to worry so much, Your Grace?”

Inside the returning carriage.

They had been hidden against the wall of the restaurant building, listening to Ariadne and the others talk.

Once she stepped into her carriage, they returned to theirs. Kieron then ordered the coachman to follow at a steady distance behind Ariadne’s carriage and set off.

Having heard nearly the entire conversation—except the part where his own story came up—Kieron did not answer Derrick’s question right away. He wasn’t worried. He was simply… preoccupied.

“It just caught my attention, that’s all.”

So that was how he replied.

From the start, it hadn’t been anything worth worrying over. If it became a problem, he could simply cast her out.

What he truly feared was something else, that one day she would speak of “true love” or some similar nonsense and decide to leave him for good.

The moment she left the ducal household, everything he had gained from the marquisate would vanish.
Future support would disappear as well, and he would find himself opposed to the promising forces of the Peyton family.

That was the only part that troubled him. Even so, he could deal with it if it came to that.

With that thought, Kieron shifted his gaze to the window.

As the carriage sped forward, everything outside the window blurred past. He watched the swiftly passing scenery with detached eyes—until suddenly.

“D*mn.”

Somehow, without him realizing it, Ariadne’s carriage had drawn close. She, too, had been looking out the window—

and their eyes met.

“Your Grace?”

Kieron hastily pulled the curtain shut.

Their eyes had met. He was certain of it.

Did she recognize him?

The distance between the two carriages had still been decent… or so he thought.

“What happened?”

Derrick, startled by how abruptly he had closed the curtain, looked at him in surprise.

Kieron parted his lips as if to speak, then exhaled a long sigh.

“I think the duchess and I just made eye contact.”

“…Pardon?”

“It seems the carriages got closer than I thought.”

He had told the coachman to maintain distance, yet somewhere along the way, the gap had narrowed.

Kieron leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes.

“I’ll speak to the coachman again.”

“No, leave it. I’m not even sure she recognized me.”

Ariadne was an ordinary person, not someone who had honed her senses on a battlefield the way he had.

Would she truly be able to identify him from that distance?

Kieron chose to believe she wouldn’t.

“But still, considering that, Your Grace closed the curtain rather…”

‘Suspiciously.’

Derrick swallowed the rest of his words. Even if she hadn’t been certain in that moment, closing the curtain like that would make it obvious soon enough.

But Kieron’s eyes were already shut, and what was done was done. In the end, Derrick decided to keep his mouth shut as well.

Whatever happens next… the master and mistress would handle it themselves.

Interfering in such a tangled relationship would hardly be wise.

With that thought, Derrick sighed quietly.