“Let’s stop here!” Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Delina hesitated and sat down on the ground. Completely sprawled out on the spot, Delina extended her hand.

“Finished, finished! I can’t do it anymore!”

“Already?”

Felic looked down at the sobbing Delina with a smile.

“What happened to you, miss? Your concentration seems lower than usual.”

“…Did it show a lot?”

“Yes.”

As Felic stated, during the practice, Delina couldn’t fully concentrate on her sword. It was all because of Celine.

“I have no idea what kind of conversation they had.”

She discreetly went to the reception room to see from afar, but the conversation had already ended, and Celine was in a state of leaving first. Delina had to return to the Duke’s residence alone.

“Even if I ask, she won’t tell me anything.”

Returning to the Duke’s residence, she asked Celine later about the conversation with Damian, but no useful information came out of Celine’s mouth. In the end, she gained nothing. Delina let out a small sigh.

“Oh, is it because of the hunting festival?”

Felic interpreted Delina’s complex expression differently and asked.

“Come to think of it, it’s coming soon. Is it your first hunting festival, miss? Now that you’ve just become an adult.”

As it involved dealing with dangerous beasts, children were not allowed to participate in the hunting festival. Since Delina couldn’t go to the hunting festival in the past, this was indeed her first time.

“Don’t be too nervous. It’s just a formal event, after all. But if you catch the heaviest beast, who knows what might happen. Will you participate, miss?”

“Yeah, unless something unusual happens.”

With Delina’s skills, there was no reason for her to sit and wait in the stands. When she realized that, Felic nodded as if he had figured it out.

“Oh! Or is it about that after all?”

“Huh?”

“Deciding who to give the handkerchief to. Was that what you were worried about?”

“…”

As Delina remained silent, Felic spoke as if he had realized something.

“Whether you can give it to your family or decide on someone, including your brother, and someone you care about? Or maybe just one?”

“I haven’t thought about that. But I do know. Even without thinking, I’ve been receiving a lot of letters from Eileen lately.”
Ailee wrote in detail in her letter about who to give the handkerchief to, what color to embroider, and recalling the letter, Delina made a tired expression.

“Has Felic ever received a handkerchief?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. He seems to have received a lot.”

Exchanging handkerchiefs was not limited to nobles. Delina thought Felic might have received one since even servants below occasionally exchanged handkerchiefs.

“Yes, I did. I even met my ex-lover there. I gave her the prey I caught at that time as a gift. It was probably the unofficial first-place prey? It was really huge.”

Felic spoke with a nostalgic expression.

“Even after we broke up, I received one from other women every year. I really fought fiercely to tie the handkerchief to my wrist… sigh, really. There’s only one wrist, what can I do? It’s probably because I’m too outstanding.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I asked too much. You can stop talking now.”

Delina, who had regained strength in response to Felic’s words, stood up from her seat.

“Anyway, let’s finish the practice here today, and I’ll ask you again next time.”

“Oh, no need to mention it. I feel so comfortable not having to look for you when practicing with you, miss. You can come every day.”

Leaving Felic behind, Delina, who came out of the training ground, walked slowly through the corridor. At that moment, a maid passed by her. Delina stopped her.

“Wait, just a moment.”

“Yes?”

The maid had recently been assigned as Celine’s caretaker. Delina, who remembered her face, asked.

“Did she just come out of Celine’s room? Is she in her room?”

“No. The miss just went to the garden now.”

“The garden?”

“Yes, she said she would take a tea break in the garden and asked me to prepare it.”

“…Is that so?”

Delina, who rolled her eyes for a moment, asked the maid cautiously.

“Did she bring anything else separately?”

“What do you mean?”

“Um… like a box or something small like that?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Really? Okay, thanks.”

“Well, she wouldn’t openly carry something like that, right?”

Even though Delina didn’t know what was inside the box, there was a greater possibility of hiding it inside her clothes if she carried it around. Delina turned her body in the direction of the garden.

It wasn’t difficult to spot Celine in the garden. Whether she was really enjoying tea time or not, the table had tea and snacks on it, and Celine was sitting in front of it, eyes closed.

“…”

Seeing Celine, Delina, who had discovered her, stood still and silently observed her. Celine was sleeping soundly with her eyes closed. Seeing her in such a vulnerable state.

‘She was sitting upright even in the carriage going to the palace.’
The journey seemed quite tiring, but Celine kept smiling throughout, reassuring that everything was okay. Delina, in turn, fought off drowsiness and remained wide awake.