* * *

It wasn’t particularly grand just because it was the coming-of-age ceremony party. It was just a gathering of nobles who had become adults to celebrate, the Crown Prince gave brooches, they drank delicious food and drinks, and danced.

As a result, most of the nobles loitered around Luna and Antes, a more interesting sight than the party itself, eavesdropping on their conversations.

Thanks to that, by the time the party ended, Antes, who had been flirting all over, saw Rosemary off looking a little tired.

No, he tried to see her off.

“Why should I go alone? Of course, Lady Luna and I should go together, and you should go alone! Lady Luna is my escort today!”

“You have different destinations.”

Antes cut off Rosemary’s fervent objection with a single reply. There were no more beauties since he sent other ladies like Karen first.

“What do you mean? Technically, you and I have the same destination, and Lady Luna has a different one, right?”

“No. I’m going to the Rose Mansion. So, you should go back to the Marquis’s house on your own.”

Are you crazy? What are you talking about? In the middle of the night! Rosemary was in disbelief, froze with her mouth wide open.

Luna, too, frowned as if she had heard something she shouldn’t have.

“Why are you going to our house when you have your own place?”

“It’d be strange to come here and then turn back now. Besides, I have documents to give to the young lady, so I have to drop by anyway.”

“Documents?”

“Documents about the mines.”

“Oh, did you bring them?”

“Yes. The past work achievements and future operating policies. I thought it would be best for the young lady to review them directly.”

Then we should go together. Luna quickly agreed with Antes, convinced since it was business-related.

Rosemary, deeply shocked, clung to Luna’s arm:

“You’re my escort for today…! You have to take responsibility for me until the end!”

“I’ll stop by the Marquis’s house and then return, so don’t worry.”

“No… “

Still, she disliked it. Just the fact that Antes and Luna were together was distasteful.

“If we’ve decided, let’s move.”

If it continued this way, it really seemed like Rosemary would be left behind and the two would head to the Rose Mansion hand in hand. Rosemary, unable to bear such a possibility, quickly proposed an alternative.

“Then I’ll come along too!”

“Together?”

All three of us go to our house? At that question, Rosemary nodded.

At this, Rosemary’s maid’s complexion darkened. She was only permitted a single day off, and she couldn’t afford to spend the night in someone else’s mansion.

“Miss Rosemary… shouldn’t you get permission first?”

“It’s okay. Now that I’m an adult, I can do as I please.”

She was deeply concerned, but what was more unbearable was the fact that Luna and Antes would leave her behind.

Antes, an unexpected visitor, had no reason to refuse. Luna, unaware of the situation, readily agreed.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

“Thank you.”

Rosemary immediately clung to Luna’s side and pushed away Antes’ arm.

“Since we have the same destination now, we should take separate carriages.”

“…”

It was a trivial statement but felt needlessly petty. Antes boarded Rosemary’s carriage first and replied.

“Why? We have the same destination, we can go together.”

“Why are you getting on my carriage instead of yours?”

“What’s wrong with me, a member of the family, riding the family’s carriage?”

“When did you leave the family to make such a nonsensical claim?”

“We’re related by blood. One can’t change their blood, so I’ll forever be a member of the family.”

Even though many acquaintances had left the imperial palace earlier, those who remained were listening to their bickering.

Their childish quarrel was embarrassingly public. Unable to bear it any longer, Luna took Rosemary’s hand.

“Rosemary, let’s not fight here. Let’s go back to the mansion. We’ll have a pleasant time eating Emma’s late-night snack, okay?”

With Luna’s handholding and persuasion, Rosemary couldn’t resist. She boarded the carriage under Luna’s escort.

The space was cramped, so Rosemary’s maid and Laura moved to Antes’ carriage. This resulted in an awkward triangle of relationships.

‘It’s awkward. Extremely awkward.’

There were no onlookers, so the two didn’t hide their emotions and fully expressed them. Specifically, Rosemary glared with anger, and Antes scoffed as if indifferent.

Luna then tried to mediate between the two by bringing up an old story.

“You two, what were you like when you were young? I mean, very young, when you could hardly speak.”

Probably got along better back then? Most start fighting after they start talking. Typically, a newborn sibling monopolizes the love of their older siblings.

“SHe bit me as soon as her teeth came in. Mom suggested giving her a doll, but she threw it at my face.”

“I don’t remember, but it seems I thought my older brother was a monster.”

“As you can see, you had a poor memory. You cried over all my things as if they were yours. You even turned the entire continent upside down looking for a single rose.”

“If it belongs to the family, isn’t it for family members?”

“It wasn’t the family’s; it was mine.”

“By that logic, this carriage is mine too! It’s exclusively for me!”

However, the conclusion was terrible. The two had apparently not gotten along since they were very young.

“Stop, just stop. I understand. I’m sorry. Let’s just go quietly.”

Luna then raised her hand as if to say it’s settled. The mood turned even worse after she spoke up.

Fortunately, the imperial palace and the mansion were close, so the carriage soon reached its destination. It was a relief they moved.

Holding Luna’s hand as if to flaunt their closeness, Rosemary got off the carriage and shot Antes a glance.

“After all, I am the lover.”

Trying hard to ignore Antes’ mocking laughter, she took Luna’s hand and quickly entered the mansion.

“Why isn’t anyone coming to greet us?”

In the empty first-floor hall, Rosemary tilted her head and asked Luna.

“What do you mean?”

“The servants. No one came down to greet us? Neither the butler.”

It’s strange. They always used to. As Rosemary murmured and looked around, a few servants on the first floor greeted them.

“Do I need to be greeted?”

Rosemary blinked a few times at Luna’s sincere question and responded:

“Well… not necessarily, but usually everyone comes out to greet. That’s how it’s been until now, right?”

“Really?”

That only happened on the first day after moving. It was okay as it was since they didn’t need to come out just to greet if they were busy.

“They must be busy. First, let’s change clothes and have some warm tea. Laura, can you ask Emma to prepare some light food?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You can use the second floor for meals. Use any room. I’ll look at the documents tomorrow, so rest today.”

“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t even have tea?”

Rosemary looked fierce at Antes’ last comment, implying he’d be a bother until the end.

It was unpredictable how long they’d fight, and just then, Royer appeared from upstairs. He looked slightly tense as he asked Luna:

“Was there no trouble? Like Antes being caught by the guards or knights following you…”

“What?”

Luna tilted her head in confusion at his unexpected words, and a frowning Antes expressed his annoyance at Royer.

“The task I asked for earlier?”

“That task… Ah! It’s not under my jurisdiction. It’s not even my mansion, how can I arbitrarily change the servants?”

“What are you talking about?”

Luna asked for clarification, and Antes explained the earlier incident.

“He told such a dangerous person like my older brother about your whereabouts?”

Even if they stumbled upon Antes, it was clearly an action a servant shouldn’t have taken. Luna felt a chill knowing everyone knew her whereabouts.

“Do you remember who that servant was?”

“I don’t know the name, but I remember the face. However, he left for the day just before you arrived.”

“He left for the day? Not just an outing?”

“Yes. He said he commutes from outside.”

Commuting? Weren’t all the servants of the mansion live-in? It wasn’t that commuting was bad, but Luna had never received such a report.

So, without her knowledge, the working style of the servants had changed from live-in to commuting.

“That’s strange. There were only live-in servants in Rose Mansion… Didn’t you allow this, Lady Luna?”

Rosemary, who was the owner of the mansion until recently, asked. It was her first time hearing that there were commuting servants in the Rose Mansion.

“Yes, I’ll have to meet the butler.”

The overall management of the mansion, including the servants, was his responsibility. So, it was clear he allowed the servants to commute, without even consulting Luna, the owner of the mansion.

Listening to the conversation and grasping the situation, Antes silently brushed back his hair. His face looked cold, causing Royer to swallow nervously.