“The Imperial Theater of Robedon is graced by the Emperor’s favor, you know. Given that His Majesty is like an uncle to me, how could Valencia ever be disregarded in such a place?”

The young Duchess stepped forward as if to shield her mother, speaking in a gentle yet clear voice. As she took a step forward as if to shield her mother, the Lady spoke in a gentle yet clear voice, explaining their situation.

“However, Vivianne, look. If that were not the case, why would they leave us standing here?”

The Grand Duchess seemed slightly calmed by her daughter’s composed voice but remained visibly upset, almost on the verge of tears. She then quietly turned her gaze towards the theater employee.

“Is that really the reason?”

“No, no! That could never be the case! It’s just that today, the VIP seats were closed off earlier than usual. We thought offering Grand Duchy Valencia such inadequate seating would be inappropriate… My apologies.”

The theater employee looked as if he had encountered a savior. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly made his excuses and bowed deeply.

“Mother, did you hear? We wanted a peaceful evening out. Mingling with others to enjoy the play wouldn’t suit… It wouldn’t be fitting for your stature.”

“That makes sense. Yes, Vivianne, you’re right.”

Grand Duchess Valencia, who had been scowling until now, finally relaxed her expression, looking satisfied with the explanation.

“We’ll ensure the best seats for your next visit.”

“As expected.”

With the employee’s reassuring words, the Grand Duchess raised her chin proudly and linked arms with her daughter.

The Duchess, having caused such a scene moments ago, now wore an elegant smile, with the Lady remaining calm beside her. It was as if she was accustomed to handling situations like this without any sign of distress.

This made Edith unable to take her eyes off the Lady.

‘….!’

Suddenly, the Lady’s gaze shifted upwards and then fixed on Edith. Underneath hair as red as the Emperor’s, her violet eyes seemed too intense to belong to a child.

After a fleeting moment, having briefly surveyed Edith and Duke Devion, the Lady moved away.

“Why did you do that?”

“Pardon?”

Edith, who was caught staring blankly, was brought back to reality by the Duke’s deep voice. She belatedly realized that the other people’s attention had gathered on her.

“Were you about to step in?”

As she quickly took a seat, the Duke pressed her for an answer.

Edith pursed her lips, unsure of what to say. In truth, there wasn’t much she could have done in that situation. She just had the feeling that she couldn’t just stand by.

“The Lady seemed to be struggling.”

“So, you wanted to help her? You?”

His words almost sounded like, ‘How could you?’ Embarrassed, Edith fidgeted slightly.

“Well… if I could.”

“You wanted to help the Lady…”

“She may be a Lady, but she’s still just a child.”

As she muttered like talking to herself, the Duke appeared utterly baffled.

“Because she’s young? That’s your reason?”

“Of course!”

Edith nodded vigorously.

The concept of childhood wasn’t well-defined in this world. There wasn’t a distinct notion that children needed protection. They were often seen merely as smaller adults. This underlined the Duke’s question.

Although she was initially shocked by this reality, she had grown accustomed to it after working as a tutor in various noble households.

“Even though helping the Lady would bring you no benefit?”

“Benefit… I’ve never thought about that.”

However, his next question puzzled her.

Why would one weigh the benefits when helping a suffering child? She had never considered personal gain when assisting others. Just then, as the melody filled the space, signaling the opera began. The beautiful singing voice cut their conversation short.

Duke Devion remained silent until the end of the performance.

Returning home that evening, Edith took off the princess-like dress for more comfortable attire.

‘This is more like it.’

The glittering Lady vanished, replaced by the independent Edith. She was quite content with that. Especially since she had been walking so carefully not to damage the exquisite dress, she felt remarkably free.

“Edith! You’re here? Come on in.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Daisy.”

Edith left the mansion and headed straight to Daisy’s place, having requested the meeting. She had warmly invited her.

“What’s all this? Why did you bring so much? I told you to come as you are!”

“I couldn’t come empty-handed. But don’t expect too much, it’s nothing big.”

Edith stepped into the warm house and presented the gifts she had brought. Daisy rolled her eyes as if to say she was making too much of a fuss, but then her eyes widened in surprise as she inspected the gifts.

“My goodness, Edith! Did you really buy so many towels? And there are handkerchiefs, too!”

The gifts consisted of plush towels and handkerchiefs made from soft fabric. Despite the significant expense due to the quality of the materials, Edith had happily made the purchase.

“Well, the child is still young, isn’t he? I heard they need a lot of these.”

“Oh, of course. Of all the gifts we received for Lude, this has to be the most thoughtful. I’ll have to show him when he wakes up. I’m sure Lude would love them as well.”

Daisy’s face visibly brightened as she looked extremely happy. Edith was reassured by her positive reaction.

‘I was worried they might need more because disposable items aren’t a thing here. Seems I was right.’

Edith glanced around the house, feeling relieved.

The home was cutely decorated in cozy ivory tones. It felt small yet had a warm air. She remembered Daisy complaining that ‘the housing prices in the capital were back-breaking’ and smiled with pride.

“Your house is so lovely, Daisy!”

“Say that to Jayce. He’s been sulking because I keep scolding him for buying ‘unnecessary’ decorations. Look at that tapestry on the wall. Spending money on things we don’t need.”

Daisy pointed at a tapestry embroidered with cherubic angels on the wall. It looked expensive, though it clearly added warmth to the room’s atmosphere.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Well, Jayce does have good taste.”

“Exactly. That’s why he married Dasy.”

“Oh, you!”

Daisy beamed at the light compliment as if she had never complained. Edith found her friend’s subtle bragging about her husband cute and laughed along.

“Wow, so you’re calling him Jayce now? You used to call him ‘Teacher Jayce’.”

“That was when Jayce was teaching philosophy to the young master. Now that we’re married, it wouldn’t be right to keep calling him ‘Teacher.’ People would think it’s strange.”

Hmm. That made sense. Edith nodded.

‘Come to think of it, I still refer to the Duke as ‘the Duke’…’

Suddenly, the thought made Edith pause. Given she had attended the opera with the Duke, Edith anticipated a flood of articles by the next day. Such exposure meant their relationship would attract significant attention.

‘Wouldn’t it seem odd if I kept calling him ‘the Duke’ in public?’

The Emperor had requested them to make it appear ‘less like an arranged marriage as possible’. However, the title ‘the Duke’ seemed too distant under those circumstances.

‘Hmm, I should discuss this with him.’

As she sat in her seat, Daisy told her to wait a moment and soon brought out tea. After sipping the warm tea several times, a delicious meat pie was served on the table, accompanied by a crisp green leaf salad and a creamy soup, making for a splendid meal.

Good food and conversation were a perfect pair. As the meal neared its end, Edith brought up the main reason for her visit.

“Daisy, actually, I wanted to talk to you about something today.”

“Oh, right. You did. What’s going on? If it’s about the job, you might have to wait a bit longer. The Countess is very cautious about the young master’s tutors.”

Daisy seemed hesitant, implying it might be difficult. Edith quickly shook her head.

“No, it’s not that. I’m really sorry, but could we pretend that never happened? Something’s come up, and it looks like I won’t be able to take the job after all.”

“What? Why? You know how great an opportunity this is! The County Vicen is known for paying well.”

As she kept silent, Daisy looked disappointed, as if it were a loss for her as well. After a moment of silence, Edith hesitantly revealed her news.

“Actually, I’m getting married.”

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