* * *

The remark about introducing the mansion wasn’t just a frivolous statement made to impress the Baron. Antes spent quite a while wandering around the mansion here and there with the Baron.

“Baron!”

“Baron!”

In the meantime, Laura and Emma, who had belatedly learned of the Baron’s return, ran out hurriedly. Judging by the apron Emma was wearing, they must have been preparing some food.

“Emma! Laura! Have you been well?”

“Yes! You’ve been well too, Baron? My goodness! You’ve become much fitter! You must have been working out hard!”

“Ah, yeah, I have…”

Despite working hard, it didn’t seem like it was a delightful exercise, as the Baron’s face darkened for a moment.

“It’s been a long time, Baron.”

Following Laura, Royer also appeared.

“Is it not Royer! Have you been well?”

Seeing the familiar faces brightened up the Baron, who laughed heartily.

“By the way, it’s a good timing. I’ve developed a new dish, you should try it!”

Emma pulled at the Baron’s sleeve. She suggested eating on the terrace as the weather was nice, with a bright smile.

“Eating Emma’s cooking right upon arrival, nothing could be more delightful. Let’s all eat together.”

Nobody refused Emma’s cooking. Luna, who was also a bit hungry, sat next to the Baron.

Henry, who had driven the carriage for a long time, and secretary Tein, also joined. Royer and Laura sat close to Luna as well.

“It’s been quite some time since we all gathered like this.”

Luna spoke with a slightly choked voice. Although they had been separated for just a few months, due to many tumultuous events, the time felt longer.

“That’s true. It was a bit lonely since we’ve never been apart like this before.”

The Baron felt the same. Despite having busy and fulfilling days, being apart from Luna, with whom he’d spent nearly half his life, wasn’t easy.

“Now that the work is on track, I’ll make sure to visit often. Luna, you too might be busy, but try to make time to come down. I want to show you how grand the mansion that young lord arranged for us is. The mine is also doing quite well.”

The Baron patted Antes’s shoulder who was sitting next to him as he spoke. Luna, acknowledging the help received, nodded with a small smile.

“I’ll do that.”

“By the way, as you said, this Rose Mansion of beauty is indeed a very beautiful place. It seems quite large for just the young lord and you to live in, but a good mansion is supposed to be like that, isn’t it?”

“…Yes?”

In the middle of the heartfelt conversation, suddenly this nonsensical talk.

Luna, furrowing her brows as if she heard something she shouldn’t have, scolded the Baron.

“What are you talking about! Why would I live here with the yong lord without even being married? What kind of rumor is that?”

“No, no. I mean, there’s a possibility of that happening in the future.”

The Baron, unintentionally revealing his true feelings, hastily explained.

He was just hoping for that to happen, but thinking too much about it made it slip out of his mouth.

“If the rumors concern you, wouldn’t it be better if you and I really got married?”

Antes, seizing the opportunity, interjected into the conversation.

Yeah, of course you’d get involved in such a conversation. Luna, closing her eyes tightly and clenching her teeth, rebuffed him tersely.

“You’re being too impatient. How long have we been dating for you to bring up such a conversation?”

“There are people who marry before dating, considering us, we’ve been dating for quite a while.”

“That’s rare and those people do so because they want to. Even if that’s the case, I have no plans to marry-“

Don’t have any plans? Luna, who was about to pour out those words, abruptly closed her mouth.

She didn’t need to turn her head to know. Everyone’s gaze was focused on her.

Knowing it was a tease, why did she fall for it again? Luna glared at Antes angrily. Then she opened her mouth, which had been tightly closed, and finished what she had been saying.

“Not yet.”

“So you’re saying there might be a chance in the future?”

“We’ll see. It’s a matter to consider slowly after dating for a year or two.”

Antes let out a joyful laugh as if Luna’s bashful reply was extremely adorable.

He also thought that two years would be a bearable period to endure without continually complaining about being single.

Although the reality wasn’t so, seeing the playful couple, everyone misunderstood the two being in a romantic relationship.

After that, while savoring the meal prepared by Emma, they inquired about each other’s well-being. The number of visitors increased by one, it was none other than Rosemary. Having finished her work, she came looking for Luna with a broad smile.

“Lady… Luna?”

Seeing an unfamiliar face, Rosemary blinked her eyes, so Luna introduced the Baron to her.

“Ah, he is my father. He came up from the Peils territory earlier today.”

“…Uh?!”

Lady Luna’s father?! Surprised, Rosemary quickly bowed her knees.

“I apologize for the late greeting. My name is Rosemary Vincent.”

She maintained a very polite and courteous attitude. Since he was none other than Luna’s father, not a single mistake was acceptable.

“Father, Lady Rosemary is my closest friend. We often meet for tea and have attended parties together.”

“So, you’re a friend of our Luna. Nice to meet you.”

It was also the first time for the Baron to meet any of Luna’s friends other than Fersen, so he greeted her courteously. In the meantime, Luna was very pleased to have met such a good person.

But something was strange. No, rather, the face seemed a bit familiar.

The Baron’s gaze, without realizing, drifted towards Antes, and then back to Rosemary, then to Antes again, and back to Rosemary.

“…Ah, he is my older brother.”

At this, Rosemary gave a slightly awkward smile and explained to the Baron. She wanted to ask why he kept switching his gaze back and forth, but the person was Luna’s father.

It didn’t make sense to get angry in a situation that wouldn’t look good anyway.

“Oh! That makes sense. The beautiful appearance is very similar, I thought it might be so.”

“Thank you…”

She even kept her smile when mentioned that she resembled Antes. Considering the usual her, this was unthinkable.

“Speak comfortably.”

“I’m not sure if that’s alright.”

“Of course it is. And, the Baron also has a very good impression. It seems that young lady takes after the Baron. The clever eye shape, and the ebony-like hair.”

Just like that, they even complimented the Baron’s appearance.

In fact, Luna didn’t resemble the Baron much, but there was no way he could feel bad about being told that he resembled his beautiful and smart daughter.

“Has he lost his mind?”

Making up even nonexistent compliments to win favor from the Baron, Antes, who didn’t understand why she was doing this, tut-tutted.

To outsiders, it seemed that Antes was very similar to the current Rosemary, but Antes, who had lost his self-objectivity recently, didn’t realize how he appeared.

“Ah, by the way! And this is the tea that my mother asked to be delivered to Lady Luna. Actually, rather than coming after finishing work, I came to deliver this.”

It was a quite fragrant unique tea. When Luna asked what this was with her eyes, Rosemary gently smiled and answered.

“A foreign guest gave it, saying it has an effect of clearing the mind. So, she thought it would be good to give it to Lady Luna.”

“My goodness, such a precious tea?”

Although not sure whether it was precious or not, if a foreign guest gave it to the Marchioness, it must be high-quality.

Feeling a bit hesitant about accepting something when she hadn’t given anything in return, Rosemary brightly smiled as if to reassure that it’s really fine.

“Yes. Both I and my older brother, in many ways, are indebted to the young lady. And my mother personally likes Lady Luna too.”

Not only indebted but it was like she had disciplined her son. Of course, this was because Antes had self-reformed, but anyway, it appeared so to others.

“The Marchioness gave it?”

The Baron, who had been watching closely, interrupted the conversation. Rosemary, too, was not short of expressing when she had built a rapport with the Marchioness.

At that, Rosemary, who was about to answer yes obediently, paused for a moment. Suddenly, a quite plausible method came to her mind.

“Yes. She actually wanted to serve a meal, but thought it might be burdensome, so she sent tea instead. Ah! By the way, my brother mentioned that he is indebted to the Baron and would like to meet sometime.”

It was a method to have the parents meet as soon as possible to proceed with various matters between the families.

Waiting for Luna and Antes to get closer without a reason was out of the question. Especially with the Crown Prince, a formidable foe, appearing, the situation had become quite dangerous.

“Is that true?”

No, it was a fib.

“Yes. If the time is okay, would you mind visiting the Marquis’s residence later? I’m sure both mother and father will be very pleased.”

Rosemary, who fell into the thought of wanting to become a family with Luna, effortlessly spun lies without even wetting her lips.

Therefore, Luna, feeling something was off, was trying to dissuade the Baron when he said:

“Since you’ve said so, of course, I should. I have plenty of time. Besides, I’ve been receiving a lot of help from the young lord, so I should rightfully visit and express my gratitude.”

The Baron accepted Rosemary’s suggestion very favorably. 

“Why are you meeting the Marquis and the Marchioness!” 

Luna grabbed the Baron’s arm, not understanding why people who didn’t need to meet would want to meet.

Of course, this was just Luna’s thought. Even though it was early, Royer quickly chimed in realizing that Rosemary was proposing a non-matrimonial meeting.

“Come to think of it, Vincent and Peils’s residences right next to each other? It would be good to also interact on this occasion. Vincent’s help will be needed to rebuild Peils.”

“That’s true! We only have mines in the territory of Peils, and we needed advice in many ways, so this is a good opportunity.” 

By mentioning the estate and talking about advice, the reason why the Baron should meet the Marquis and Marchioness became quite plausible.

Especially since they were in the neighboring city, it was necessary to really have an interaction.

“No, that’s true, but… ” 

Luna was still holding the Baron’s arm trying to find a reason for him not to meet the Marquis and Marchioness. Antes frowned as it seemed like a ridiculous act, not understanding even though it was meant to help.

With a chuckle that seemed to suggest foolishness, Rosemary laughed softly, stood up from her seat, and said:

“Now that I’ve finished my business, I’ll be going. My parents will surely like it too.” 

It was prudent to quickly flee, lest Luna and Antes start counting the seconds if she stayed longer.