* * *

“Let’s set the entire night on fire and have fun! Opportunities like this aren’t common!”

Rosemary, who declared this, started to doze off before even eleven o’clock.

“Rosemary, are you sleeping?”

“…No, I’m not…”

She looked like she might nod off onto the table, so Luna called the servants to take her to her room.

“I’m really not sleepy… I want to play more with the young lady…”

“Alright, sleep well.”

Luna waved as Rosemary was taken away. As soon as Rosemary lay on the guestroom bed, she immediately fell asleep as if she hadn’t denied being tired.

“She wakes up early every morning to study. It’s not surprising,” Royer said, emptying his wine glass.

“Because of the heir’s lessons?”

“Yes. Since Lady Rosemary is exceptionally talented, it seems the Marquis pushed her to her limits. If he were moderate, he would’ve taught her moderately.”

Royer responded like that, but Luna and Antes shared a glance, causing Antes to ask with a calm face:

“Are you blaming me?”

“Yes.”

“Exactly.”

You abandoned your position as the heir and ran away.

Of course, it wasn’t that he hated being the heir, but rather he was escaping from Fersen. However, as a result, Rosemary ended up bearing the responsibility.

Antes then replied with his arms crossed:

“Well, even if I hadn’t gone to the Vincent territory, Rosemary would have become the heir. She suits the Marquis’s title more than I do.”

“But, since you are the eldest son, aren’t you the rightful heir?”

“Just because I’m the eldest doesn’t mean I have to be the heir. If someone better is there, they should take it. That’s probably why father didn’t look for me and gave the heir’s position to Rosemary.”

Luna blinked in surprise at his unexpected reasonable response. It wasn’t out of guilt; he genuinely believed that Rosemary was more fitting than him.

“So, if the Marquis asks you to take over the family, you’ll decline?”

“I don’t want to ruin a perfectly good family. I don’t want to be tied down either.”

Given how he’s managed his current affairs, he wouldn’t ruin the family, but he also expressed no attachment to it. Luna remembered a thought she had earlier:

‘The original story is different. My story, and Antes’s story too.’

The Antes who relied on the family power and targeted the Duke’s family and Fersen didn’t exist. Nor did the Luna who interfered between Fersen and Seira.

Yet, the rumor persisted, suggesting the real villains were Fersen and Seira. It implied that the two of them spread false stories and framed innocent people.

“That’s good then.”

While Luna was lost in thought, Royer responded with a satisfied expression.

“What do you mean?”

Royer explained:

“It’s fortunate that master Antes has no intention of taking over the family. I wish to work for a long time. The salary is pretty good after all.”

Antes was somewhat annoyed by the borderline cheeky reply.

“I can make you lose your job right now, you know.”

“Then, I’ll apply to Baron Peils’s family.”

Royer turned the conversation to Luna:

“Please hire me, Lady Luna. I’ll do whatever you ask, even the trivial tasks.”

This made Antes even more annoyed.

“So, if I marry Lady Luna, you’ll get a job at Baron Peils’s house?”

“I believe Lady Luna would prevent that.”

Both waited for Luna’s answer. She coolly refused both.

“That’s enough from both of you.”

Luna finished her wine and stood up.

“We should sleep now. I’ve been busy since early morning preparing for the party, and I’m tired. Young lord Antes also came up to the capital today, so he must be tired. As for Royer…”

Since it had been a leisurely day, Luna paused, pondered for a moment, then said:

“You should sleep early if you want to grow taller, right?”

“…No, Lady Luna! I’m already quite tall! It’s just that master Antes is excessively tall! And consider my age…!”

Antes, quite satisfied with the jab about height, stood up to follow Luna.

“There’s also a rumor that sleeping late stunts growth.”

“But even if I get a bit shorter, I’m still taller than average! Are you listening to me!?”

Though Royer yelled, nobody paid him any attention. Since the two announced they were going to sleep, Royer also reluctantly left his seat.

For them joined forces to attack one, making no sense.

* * *

The next day, a visitor arrived at the mansion early in the morning.

At the almost pre-dawn time of the visitor’s arrival, Luna briefly flared up and asked who had come.

“It’s William, the butler from Marquis Vincent’s household.”

“…Marquis Vincent’s butler?”

Could it be because of Rosemary, who didn’t return home yesterday? It made sense for him to come, given that she had stayed out without notice.

“Shall I wake up Miss Rosemary? I’ll get ready and come down.”

“Yes.”

After washing her face, Luna descended to the first floor.

Being an aristocrat, she didn’t need to greet a mere butler, but she had to get up to see off Rosemary anyway.

The Marquis’s well-groomed butler greeted Luna politely.

“I apologize for coming so early. As soon as Miss Rosemary comes down, we will leave immediately.”

“That’s fine. I’ve told them to wake Miss Rosemary. Would you like some tea?”

“If you offer, I would be grateful.”

Far from being angry, the butler unknowingly smiled warmly at Luna’s kind response.

It was a smile he hadn’t shown in years. Sadly, there were hardly any moments to smile in the Marquis’s house recently.

“I should have sent her back yesterday, but due to some circumstances, I couldn’t. Please convey this.”

Moved by her concern for Rosemary, the butler’s heart warmed.

“I understand. Don’t worry.”

Although there was no intention of covering up for Rosemary, he replied that he would.

While Rosemary was getting up and coming down, Luna and the butler had a casual conversation. The topics were benign, concerning the weather and the mansion.

“Do you know the servants well?”

“Yes. The mansion was cherished by Miss Rosemary, and since it’s close, we often interacted. Occasionally, for big parties at the Marquis’s, we even borrowed staff.”

Exchanging such trivial stories about the relationship between the Marquis’s butler and Carlton, Rosemary eventually descended with a gloomy face.

“I wish I could live here.”

“You can come to play again.”

Although there was no need to say it since she would definitely visit the next week, it was a customary farewell.

Rosemary, with a gloomy expression, boarded the carriage. Then, she poked her face out of the carriage window.

“I had fun. See you again.”

“Take care on your way.”

Before the greetings could end, the carriage departed. Rosemary kept waving, so Luna had to wave back for a long time.

* * *

Returning to her room and falling asleep, Luna was soon awakened by a knock.

‘I wanted to skip breakfast and sleep in. Who could it be now?’

Could it be another visitor? Although it was bothersome, she had to answer after the knock. Luna asked without even opening her eyes.

“What is it?”

“It’s Carlton. I have something to report.”

Checking the time, it was still 8 in the morning, too early for a report.

So, she wanted to dismiss him, but since she had reprimanded him about the report the night before, she couldn’t just send him away.

Luna, rubbing her sleepy eyes, struggled to suppress a yawn and invited the butler in.

“What’s the report?”

“It’s a plan to purchase additional supplies.”

The butler handed over a document. Upon checking, it stated that milk, eggs, salt, pepper, and meat were lacking in the kitchen and needed to be purchased.

Is this why he woke me up so early? However trivial, a report was a report. Luna nodded slightly.

“Alright, anything else?”

“That’s all.”

“Then, please leave.”

“Yes, rest well.”

Once the butler left, Luna fell back into bed. She truly wanted to sleep uninterrupted.

Fortunately, no one else disturbed Luna’s nap. After a couple of hours, rubbing her eyes, she headed to the dining room for a late breakfast when she encountered the butler holding a document.

“Ah, I was about to visit you.”

“Why?”

“Yes. I have something to report.”

Again? She reached out her hand, and the butler handed over a document, saying,

“I’ll be going out to buy the items I reported this morning.”

If he planned to leave in two hours, why not report that at once? It’s both a waste of time and troublesome.

Suddenly faced with such inefficiency, Luna was irritated. She said:

“You should’ve reported that earlier. It’s easier to report at once.”

“I thought immediate reports would be clearer for you.”

“Do you receive reports like this from all the servants? If so, stop it. With this system, you’ll be reporting all day.”

It seemed further scolding would only lead to repetitive explanations, so Luna stopped. She felt somewhat sorry for being overly critical.

It was unclear whether he understood or not, but without further comment, the two went their separate ways.

It was an uncomfortable start to the day.