“My lady! My lady!”

“Slow down, Jay. Come in.”

Jay burst into Ariadne’s room, her face beaming as she announced that she had completed every task her mistress had assigned her.

Ariadne looked at her affectionately and was pleased, despite her breathless entrance.

“You did well, Jay. You must be tired after running around.”

“Not at all! My lady, I found out who’s visiting the estate right now!”

“Oh? And?”

Jay was practically glowing.

No—radiating pride.

Her posture lifted, her expression triumphant, the confidence pouring off her in waves.

“Right now, the Marquis and Marchioness of Peyton are here!”

“That’s goo—… what?”

Who is here?

Ariadne’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The Marquis and Marchioness?

Her parents were here?

Right now?

Why?

“Did you find out the reason too?”

“I’m not sure why. But they’re in the hydrangea garden in the rear grounds. It was easy to find them—some maids were gathered around gossiping.”

“You don’t think… His Grace summoned them, do you?”

“Probably. Everything they were whispering about was praise for the marquis and marchioness, so I couldn’t get much else.”

Jay’s proud smile dimmed slightly as she answered the questions one by one.

Her shoulders, which had risen reflexively at the compliments about her former employers, slumped again. However, Ariadne didn’t have the mental space to worry about that now.

She shot up from her seat.

“I need to go.”

“Huh? Y-you’re going there?”

It didn’t matter whether her parents had come of their own accord or if Kieron had called them.

What mattered was the conversation happening between the three of them right now.

Kieron Ambrose hated uninvited guests.

He always had.

If her parents had arrived without an invitation, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what he might say.

Suppressing the rising dread in her chest, Ariadne moved quickly towards the door.

“My lady, I don’t think going there right now is a good idea…”

“I have to go. How can I know what His Grace might be saying otherwise?”

Her mind was already racing towards the garden.

How could it not?

It had been such a long time since she’d last seen her parents.

The fact that they had travelled all this way to see her already made her feel guilty, but the thought of them hearing something unpleasant about her from her husband made her feel even worse.

The thought alone made her chest tighten.

Ariadne hurried down the corridor towards the rear garden.

Had he called them here to explain the situation and ask them to stop her? Or was it about business? Either way, why had he summoned her parents without telling her?

He could have told her.

Warned her?

He could have given her a little time to prepare, at least.

Clutching the hem of her skirt, she rushed down the stairs, promising herself that she would demand answers later.

For now, she needed to see it with her own eyes.

Just as she stepped into the rear garden—

“Oh, Rene!”

Walking toward her was the Marquis and Marchioness of Peyton, accompanied by Kieron. The first to speak was the marchioness.

“What’s the rush, dear?”

Her tone was serene, as if they had merely run into each other in the marquessate’s very own garden. Had the conversation already ended? Ariadne stared blankly at the three of them, still breathless from running.

Behind her, Jay stumbled in, gasping.

“M-my lady, I—ah—came with—”

“Jay as well? Is something the matter, dear?”

“G-Grand—Marchioness?”

The marchioness addressed Jay as casually as if greeting someone she saw every day, not a maid who had lived in the ducal estate for three years.

Jay, meanwhile, looked like she might burst into tears at the sight of the marchioness.

“You returned early, my lady.”

The next voice, unexpectedly calm, belonged to Kieron.

Her father only watched her with those deep, unreadable eyes of his.

Ariadne took in the strangely gentle atmosphere, so different from the tense scenarios she had feared—and slowly drew a breath.

“What… what is going on? Mother, Father—why are you here?”

Surely some sort of discussion must have taken place; it would have been evident from their expressions.

Given Kieron’s character, there was no way such a conversation could have gone smoothly. And yet, everything felt strangely normal. Warm, even.

What on earth was going on?

Her mother answered with a bright smile.

“What do you mean why? His Grace invited us, so of course we came.”

She added cheerfully that the garden was beautiful, that she hoped to walk around it again before they left, and so on. And shockingly—Kieron responded to her with polite, effortless conversation.

“His Grace invited you? But Father… you would normally be busy at this hour…”

“Today was the fitting for my wedding attire, so I left work early. Had I known you were out, I would have timed my visit differently.”

Her father’s answer was quiet and simple, yet utterly baffling to Ariadne.

When she asked him a question, he finally spoke. He said that he simply wanted to spend time with his daughter, nothing more and nothing less.

“I didn’t want to trouble you, so I didn’t ask beforehand. Had I known you’d return so early, I would have told you in advance.”

And then he—Kieron—added, in a tone that implied he too wanted to spend time with her.

“I felt the same.”

What was happening?

Everything was moving so quickly that she could hardly keep up.

What was Kieron thinking?

What was he trying to do?

Ariadne stared at him, bewildered, but he met her gaze with his usual unreadable calmness, as if nothing was strange at all.

‘Why? For what reason?’

“Let’s head inside. The sun is too strong.”

To make matters worse, he said it in a considerate manner and addressed it to her and her mother. Her mother thanked him warmly, remarking on what a thoughtful man he was.

Meanwhile, Ariadne’s confusion deepened.

Was this why he had invited them? Was he trying to present himself as a considerate husband in front of her parents? Why was he suddenly doing things he had never done before?

“Are you all right, my lady?”

While her thoughts tangled uncontrollably, Kieron lowered his head slightly to meet her eyes. Not gentle—never gentle—but trying to appear as though he were making an effort.

“…Are you in your right mind?”

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Right in front of her parents, too.

“—Ah!”

She slapped a hand over her mouth, horrified, and darted her gaze toward her parents—but fortunately, the marquis couple had walked ahead and hadn’t heard.

“You worry about your parents, yet not about your husband, it seems.”

Kieron murmured beside her. His words sounded irritated, but his face and tone were as dispassionate as ever.

“You must know just how absurd all of this is.”

“I know? I know it’s absurd?”

“What was absurd?”

Kieron’s eyebrows knitted together as he stared at her, clearly indicating his confusion. Ariadne let out a dry, incredulous laugh at his complete lack of understanding.

“What’s absurd? I asked you for a divorce yesterday. And today you invite my parents here, how is that not absurd to you?”

Ah!

She had come determined to speak calmly.

To talk openly and properly.

Yet whenever she was with him, her emotions flared up against her will, and she could never quite say what she meant.

Still, that was one thing and this was another.

She faced him fully.

“What exactly are you thinking?”

Thankfully, her parents were far enough ahead that she could ask her question without fear.

Keeping her expression as neutral as possible in case they looked back, she gently tugged him forward so they wouldn’t get too far ahead of the Marquis couple.

“I told you—I’m doing what I can.”

And the words that came out of his mouth were ones she had never expected.

This was what he meant by “doing his best”? Inviting her parents? How did that make any sense?

“What does that have to do with my parents being here?”

“They’re your parents, but they’re also my father- and mother-in-law. I invited them to apologize for being distant before. Is that a problem?”

“You… invited them to apologize? That’s all?”

The more she heard, the less any of it made sense. But she knew one thing—Kieron was not the type to invent excuses. If he was answering without a flicker of hesitation or guilt, it meant he truly believed what he was saying.

He nodded.

“I’m not foolish enough to bring up divorce in front of them. And besides, that’s not something I should be discussing first. It’s yours to bring up.”

He spoke calmly, which startled her.

Under normal circumstances, he would have reprimanded her regardless of what she had done.

Was he really changing?

This thought flashed through her mind as she looked up at him.

Kieron’s expression remained perfectly even, as though nothing about this moment was unusual or significant.

Yet every gesture he made and every word he chose carried a meaning she couldn’t ignore.

She needed to think again.

Once her parents returned home, she decided, she would sit down with him and have a proper talk.