"I love you, my Lady."
The hand holding my wrist was very rough. There were times when my husband's skin irritated mine and passed more slowly on purpose—the calluses that formed on my husband's hands, who never neglected to hold a sword, didn't mean his entire hands were rough.
He's an orchard manager, so he works in the open field under the sun and wind.
When a ripe apple was handed to me by a hand with cracks in various places after touching the soil, I'd accepted it with a grateful heart, thinking it was a hand with a mission to convey the blessings of the land.
"..."
My mind, which had been occupied by complicated thoughts, was lost trying to understand what the hand holding me meant.
"Let go..."
I barely made a squeezed sound and tried to shake off his hand, but his grip was so tight that my body was dragged by the recoil.
Suddenly, Burbrook, who held me in his arms, couldn't control his overwhelming emotions and breathed hotly into my ear.
"Aaaah!"
I gasped as Burbrook covered my mouth with his hand as I screamed.
"Don't be surprised. This is what the Lord promised."
The man's eyes were shiny and bloodshot, like a crazy person.
"He promised to give you to me. He says that if the marriage trial period lasts one year, he'll kick you out."
I stiffened with my eyes wide in shock, and Burbrook, thinking I'd calmed down, slowly removed his hand from my mouth.
"W-What are you saying? That's nonsense..."
As my voice shook, so did my body.
"He can't keep a woman from his enemy's family as the hostess for that long. If he throws you away, you won't have anywhere to go anyway."
"He's throwing me out?"
"If the Lord kicks you out, there's no way he can let you return to your family in Vermont. I will take you."
"Nonsense."
Burbrook licked his lips as if salivating.
"There are less than four months left. I've been waiting for that day for so long."
"Ahh!"
I struggled desperately.
"I tried to hold back. I can't take it anymore."
"Go away!"
"Give me permission just a little bit..."
Burbrook, in his agitated voice, poured out the words that had been pressing so urgently within him.
"I am responsible for one-third of the profits from the land of Rowan."
"Let go of me!"
I was neither curious nor interested in knowing about the man, who continued to introduce himself, but he seemed to be proud of himself.
"The mansion is quite big and two maids are working there."
"Ahh!"
"My butler is also a Baron. I think it would be worth bringing you there and asking the Lord to make you a Baroness."
The man, holding my face as he wanted to kiss me, met my eyes.
"You have to be affectionate for them to be nice to you. Be quiet..."
*Bang!*
With a loud noise, my vision darkened.
---
The ball, held for the first time in a long time, was noisy.
Many people wouldn't participate in periodic events that were held regularly, saying they were too complicated and bothersome. There were definitely some people who weren't moved by things like balls, as they spent all their energy drinking and dancing late into the night.
However, as this was the first ball held in nine years by a castle that had suddenly lost its Lord's wife, the atmosphere was even more chaotic as so many people crowded together that it was difficult to find anyone who was missing, perhaps because it had special meaning.
Those who'd attended the dance for the first time in a long time could feel from their sagging stamina that ten years had already passed, and the young people who'd played at the estate festival and danced around—because there was no hope of attending a ball in their lifetime at the age of their debut—had no interest in elegance.
They were so excited that they were crowding around with their arms around each other, giggling, no different than when they were talking and having fun at the night market.
"It's a mess."
Valquiterre spoke as he elegantly raised his glass alone in the chaotic and noisy atmosphere.
"The butler put a lot of effort into it, but it must be on a different level from the royal ball."
Kaian took his words self-deprecatingly. He'd wanted to provide a good place for Valquiterre that wouldn't be embarrassing, but there was no way Rowan could suddenly match the dignity naturally acquired in the capital, where balls were often held.
Moreover, there was so much interest and admiration for Valquiterre that all nobles with daughters, not only in the Rowan domain but also in neighboring domains, attended even if it was difficult to do so. This was the first time that Rowan Castle had been so crowded since the capital was built and relocated.
Fortunately, Rowan Castle was originally Oberon's first royal castle, so an event of this magnitude could be held.
"This hospitality is enough for Rowan. Don't mind it, Kaian."
Valquiterre slowly sipped his drink and smiled softly at him.
A group of women who were watching the scene passed by as if riding a wave, all at once here and there, sighing, fanning themselves, putting their hands on their chests, and making a fuss.
Kaian closed his mouth and stared at the sight of his striking cousin for a moment.
Valquiterre. King of Oberon. His honor that Kaian had risked his life to protect.
However, Kaian couldn't ask Valquiterre about putting a flower in Claudel's hair without formality.
*Why did you do that? What did you mean by doing that?*
For some reason, he knew for sure that something more troublesome and bad would happen once he made it explicit.
*I have a bad feeling. That's absurd. Are you saying Valquiterre is going to take Claudel away?*
However, the question kept coming up as to whether the assumption that was making him suffer like this was right. If Valquiterre hadn't crossed the line in the first place, there would have been no reason to suspect or even be aware of it.
This time, since Valquiterre had come to Rowan, he hadn't once spoken of his deceased mother and Queen Silvia.
Having shared memories and experienced great grief at the same time, they each had a responsibility to send the deceased off in their own place. While Valquiterre had sent Queen Silvia to rest at the royal castle, Kaian had also buried the previous Duke and his wife at Rowan Castle.
They couldn't even express consolation to each other about what had happened so suddenly. The time of remembrance had been lost in the war, and now all that remained were precious memories. Wasn't that something that could only be shared with those who'd experienced it, knew it, and remembered it?
So when Valquiterre came to Rowan, Kaian thought he might go and pay respects to his parents who were buried in the catacombs at least once.
Or he wondered if the study in the back garden—the place where the two of them used to lie down while eating snacks and drinking juice as children—would now be the time to have a drink and share their aspirations as men.
He was secretly concerned that Valquiterre said he was resting but didn't make time with Kaian.
Like a fisherman who sets out a fishing line and waits for a big fish to come, or like a hunter who drives out small animals such as rabbits or foxes from a hunting ground and expects a big one like a wolf to appear.
Valquiterre's silence seemed like a harbinger before something big would happen, which made Kaian worry.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"How about going to Fromhunt before the Water Banquet and going fox hunting together?"
"Fromhunt?"
Valquiterre suddenly looked puzzled.
"Didn't you say you wanted to go fox hunting? When I went to Fromhunt, you were gone. You probably couldn't catch the fox."
"Ah..."
Valquiterre laughed bitterly at Kaian's words.
"No more foxes."
"What if I want to do it?"
"Are three not enough?"
Valquiterre asked curiously.
"I heard you caught three different types of foxes by yourself."
"Hunting together is fun. Does it have any meaning no matter how much you catch alone?"
"No. Let's stay at Rowan and rest until the banquet."
Valquiterre, who suddenly emphasized his words that he'd stay in Rowan, looked as if he'd sensed that Kaian wanted to keep him away from Rowan Castle for a while.
"Yes."
There was no way to stop Valquiterre's will. In the end, after telling him to do whatever he wanted, Kaian felt a little empty.
*He has a plan.*
What was it? No matter how much he wanted to find out, create a space, or seize an opportunity, Valquiterre always avoided him and looked the other way.
Although Kaian didn't realize it, he felt the same frustration from Valquiterre that Claudel felt from her conversations with him.
Bianque came over and placed both hands on Kaian's shoulders, which rested on the armrests of the chair, and leaned in.
"Kaian, dance with me."
Bianque, who acted rudely in front of many people, was also a problem.
Kaian stood up with a stern face.
"The Duchess has been away from her post too long. I have to go and check on her."
Bianque frowned and clung to his arm.
"Can't we just send an attendant?"
"My wife says she isn't feeling well, so her husband has to check on her."
When Kaian pointed out the words "husband" and "wife," Bianque let go of his arm with a dissatisfied look on her face.
"I've been getting ready for a long time. Is one dance that difficult?"
Kaian turned around without responding.
As he'd been drinking next to Valquiterre, he'd gotten drunk, probably because he'd drunk a lot. However, as he walked away from the noisy hall and down a dark, quiet hallway, he felt like the alcohol was gradually fading away and his mind was becoming clearer.
*What should I do about Claudel's questions?*
As he went through the scheduled event, a problem that had been pushed aside without an answer began to creep up on him.
The matter that the Queen had ordered to be kept secret was mired in a very complex and secret web of causes. Even if he explained it understandably, other connected matters were bound to come out one after another.
*How much can I say? How much can I say?*
Kaian was at a loss as to what to do with the things that would no longer be secret the moment he said them.
But the closer he got to Claudel's bedroom, the more he heard a sound that seemed to pierce his ears.
The butler, who was running hurriedly to the bedroom with the guards in tow, spotted him and quickly approached and bowed his head.
"There was a major incident. My Lady was attacked."
"...What?"
Kaian, who hurriedly entered the bedroom at the absurd words, was speechless at the sight that unfolded before his eyes.
A dark red circle spread across the carpet on the bedroom floor, a person had collapsed, and Hannah was trying to comfort Claudel, who was crying while sitting next to them.
"Claudel."
When he called her name, the woman, crying unfocused, looked at him.
"Did you say that you would abandon me once the marriage trial period was completed?"
---