Trying to move her knees, crawling behind the rose bushes, a maid’s call from very close by broke her concentration.

“Miss! What are you doing there?”

Her shoulders, which had been moving stealthily with confidence that she’d hidden her body perfectly, jerked up. In front of her body, which she raised sluggishly, stood Nora, a maid she was close with, who had arrived at some point.

“How did you find me?”

“How did I find you? I came because I could see you.”

“You could see me?”

“Yes, I could see you very clearly, down to every strand of hair.”

When Evelyn asked with a sheepish smile, Nora answered with a knowing face. Then, seeing Evelyn’s eyes widen at the sight of the ruined flower bed, Evelyn quickly blocked Nora’s path.

“Nora, why did you call me?”

Nora, who seemed to have more to say, sighed and stretched her hand toward the back garden on the opposite side.

“Lady Sheila has arrived, so please go quickly.”

“What? My sister?”

At that sound, Evelyn, forgetting all about running away, jumped up and dashed across the flower bed. She heard Nora’s shout from behind to be careful, but it didn’t matter.

It had been nearly six months since Sheila, who had married into the Marquis Douglas household, visited Count Windelson’s residence.

When she ran to the back garden, clutching her skirt in delight, Sheila, sitting at a table set up under the warm sunlight, waved her hand.

“Sister!”

“Evelyn. Oh my, don’t run. You’ll fall again.”

Evelyn, who had rushed over to throw herself into Sheila’s arms, stopped abruptly. She belatedly discovered the small, squirming child nestled in her sister’s embrace.

Evelyn’s eyes widened at the sight of the child wrapped in silk cloth, sparkling amethyst eyes that closely resembled her sister.

“Oh? You brought Theo too?”

“I was going to leave him with the nanny, but he was particularly fussy today.”

“His fever’s all gone?”

When Evelyn asked worriedly, having heard that the reason Sheila didn’t attend the banquet was because young Theo had suddenly developed a fever the day before, Sheila smiled gently.

“He was perfectly fine the next day, you know? I was upset about missing the birthday celebration because of this little one, so I came out today to get some fresh air.”

Even after marrying, Sheila often visited her family home. This was because the Marquis, who loved his sister so much, was a good person who granted all her wishes, and would readily prepare a carriage whenever his wife wanted.

“How adorable. Theo. I’m your aunt.”

When she pressed his chubby cheeks, the baby’s eyes sparkled and he stretched out his squirming fingers to firmly grasp Evelyn’s hand. As Evelyn looked at the beaming Theo with satisfaction, a maid brought Evelyn’s teacup.

“But Evelyn, were you playing in the dirt or something?”

At the gentle touch brushing off the dirt on the hem of her skirt, Evelyn rolled her eyes and smiled sheepishly. She’d even put her hands on the ground thinking she was hiding well, but if she’d known the maid could see her clearly, she would have stood up confidently and run away.

“By the way, I heard you shouted at the banquet… What’s all that about?”

Sheila, saying she’d just stopped by the Count and Countess’s reception room, brought up the birthday celebration as expected.

Evelyn’s expression, which had brightened at the mention that she’d heard everything from their parents, sank. Evelyn, supporting her chin with both hands, made a dejected face before her eyes flew open.

“It’s not my fault. I was just standing there when that man suddenly poked me from behind.”

“He poked you? With a fan? Or a cane?”

Evelyn, chin propped on both hands, chewed over that day again. Had the Duke been holding a cane he carried for style? She didn’t think so… But her memory wasn’t complete.

“I’m not sure.”

“Who was it?”

“Well… it was Duke Berenberg.”

Sheila’s head, which had been gently soothing young Theo as she adjusted her hold on him, snapped up.

“Elkas van Berenberg?”

At the high voice that burst out, Theo, who had been about to fall asleep, whimpered.

“Sorry, sorry. Mommy’s sorry. Go to sleep now.”

Sheila, lifting the baby in her arms and gently soothing him back to dreamland, still gestured with her eyes for Evelyn to continue.

“I don’t know what it was, but the Duke definitely poked me with something.”

“That Duke wouldn’t do such a thing…”

“Sister, have you met him?”

“Yes. It’s been about four years, I think. I saw him when he briefly came to court.”

Evelyn, only now learning that the two had met, belatedly recalled the marriage proposal.

Then was her sister the intended recipient of the marriage proposal the Duke sent?

“But if it wasn’t a cane… maybe it was a sword.”

“It seemed a bit warmer than that… Anyway, it was incredibly hard.”

Sheila, who had been listening very seriously, seemed lost in thought for a moment, then a subtle smile appeared on her face.

Sheila’s lips, wearing an expression of disbelief, came together and a short exclamation of “Oh my” flowed out.

“Come to think of it, I heard you received a marriage proposal from that man?”

“But I think it came to the wrong person. I think he mistakenly sent it to you, not me.”

Hearing this, Sheila’s face went blank for a moment before she burst into laughter. 

As Evelyn just stared at her laughing excessively enough to wonder if her sister had changed, Sheila picked up her teacup to wet her throat.

“Evelyn. You’re mistaken. The marriage proposal the Duke sent is for you, not me.”

“But… Mother said it couldn’t be me. She said the Duke didn’t know you were married and sent it to the wrong person?”

On the day she was scolded for that incident, her parents belatedly told Evelyn that a marriage proposal had come. Of course, there was no mention that Evelyn was the intended recipient.

“Mother… Does that make sense? What man would mistakenly send a marriage proposal without knowing the woman from that family was married? House Berenberg is a place with such fast information that they know every rumor in the empire. Does it make sense that such a person wouldn’t know I was married for a whole year and sent it to the wrong person?”

“…”

“Absolutely not. I’m not very close with him either, but he’s absolutely not that careless. He sent it knowing everything. To you.”

Thinking about it, there was a very simple and clear answer. No matter how long the Duke had been away from the capital, he had more than a few people working for him, so there was no way he’d be uninformed about the family of the woman he was proposing to.

At the answer that burst out clearly, Evelyn’s head lifted.

“So it really is me?”

“Of course, my little sister. Evelyn’s all grown up. How admirable.”

To think her baby sister, who used to follow behind her every day, had already become an adult with talk of marriage. Sheila looked at her sister warmly with very proud eyes.

Evelyn, watching Sheila send her a warm smile asking how she could think otherwise, fell into thought with a contemplative face.

Why was this? 

Clearly, just moments ago, she’d poured out all her anger at being confined because of that man, but hearing Sheila’s words, she felt like the stuffiness in her chest was opening up.

Strangely, the fact that she was the intended recipient of the marriage proposal wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“I can’t believe even Father and Mother, who are usually so perceptive, thought that way. Did you see the Duke’s gaze when he looked at you?”

“As soon as our eyes met, he immediately looked away.”

“Hmm. Really?”

The smile on her sister’s lips deepened. To Evelyn, who didn’t understand, her sister’s reaction was merely puzzling.

“Anyway, since he’s acquainted with the Marquis, I’ll arrange a place to clear up the misunderstanding.”

“Do we really have to go that far?”

When Evelyn asked back with a face showing she wasn’t keen on it, Sheila continued matter-of-factly.

“If it’s the Duke, he’d be satisfactory as a husband. You’ll be able to tell if you talk to him at the hunting festival in a few days, won’t you?”

“But I don’t want to go there.”

The hunting festival was an event that Evelyn, who particularly loved animals, naturally disliked. 

Since childhood, she couldn’t turn away from lost animals and brought them home to raise them, so she couldn’t understand the behavior of men who killed animals for entertainment.

“Then take this opportunity to observe the Duke carefully. Whether he has a cruel temperament or not.”

Does it work that way?

Like her sister said, the easiest way to grasp that person’s true nature was to get him drunk and see his reaction, or there was also the saying that you could check a man’s character by watching him hunt.

“Evelyn, listen carefully. Family and face don’t matter. You need to meet a man who will make you happy.”

“Like the Marquis who treats you well?”

“Ah… The Marquis? Well… he treats me well. But… Hah.”

As soon as she asked the question, Evelyn saw Sheila’s complexion, which had been smiling brightly, cloud over. For some reason, a strange sigh was buried at the end of her answer.

“What else can I do when he can’t even perform his duties as a man properly?”

What does that mean? Evelyn’s eyes widened in confusion. Her heart sank. Could it be that her sister’s married life, which she thought was happier than anyone’s, wasn’t actually going well?

Her heart pounded, thinking her tender-hearted sister might have some unknown worries.

“Sister, aren’t you happy? Tell me if you have any concerns.”

“Happy… I am…”

This time, Sheila let out a big sigh and carefully handed the sleeping baby to a maid, telling her to put him to bed in the room. Then, after confirming there were no watching eyes around, she carefully opened her mouth.

“Listen carefully, Evelyn. A man absolutely must be big. It’s too late for me, but you must not face the same misfortune as your sister.”

“Sister… what are you saying right now?”

“I want to roll around in the hot sun until I’m covered in dust too. I want to have s*x…”

What did she just hear?

At that one short sentence, Evelyn blinked like a fool. Instead of Sheila, who had forcibly lowered her voice to whisper, Evelyn looked around in all directions.

“Sister… I’m not comfortable with this kind of conversation…”

“It’s not something to be ashamed of. Your life depends on this right now.”

Evelyn was only bewildered by her sister’s unfamiliar face today. Bringing up such an embarrassing topic wasn’t like the sister she knew.

Only then did she notice her sister’s strangely changed atmosphere. Even just moments ago, she’d never seen her laugh with her mouth open wide. 

She was someone who always maintained an elegant demeanor, with a voice that chirped softly like a bird and movements as graceful as a butterfly’s gentle wing flutters.

Suddenly, Sheila firmly grasped both of Evelyn’s arms. Strength came in tightly, like nails digging into her tender forearms.

“Evelyn. Close your eyes tight and catch a big man no matter what.”

“Sister. What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

Her sister was certainly as pure as an angel, but the conversation they were having now didn’t suit her at all. Even the confused Evelyn was beginning to gradually understand what her sister was saying.

“Sister. That ‘big’ you’re talking about. Could it be…”

“What else would it be? You know, the man’s thing.”

A strange smile formed on Sheila’s lips, which had been steeped in boredom.

In truth, she knew that technique was more important than size, but even that required a certain size as a foundation. 

No matter how excellent the technique, if the form is small, it’s quite disappointing. Knowing this, Sheila truly wished for her beloved sister to taste happiness as a woman.

“Remember this, Evelyn. A woman’s happiness is proportional to a man’s size.”

As Evelyn’s lips only twitched at the strangely persuasive statement, Sheila urged again with an enthusiastic face.

“Let’s go find out for sure. What it was that poked you.”

Sheila winked one eye as though telling her not to worry. After remaining still for a while, Evelyn quietly nodded.

Even if she seemed a bit changed, the sister she loved was perfect, and she believed in everything her sister did.