A while later, when she saw the light in the distance, she quickly pulled her hand away from him. Carson quietly watched her hand slipping away.

Ines was afraid that the ten months would come too quickly. And she didn’t realize that Carson’s heart was the opposite.

Anyway, one thing was certain. He asserted it, so as time passed, everything would be as Carson wanted.

The heat that surged up made Monstera feel real. It was already late June.

Although it was hot at noon, the shade was cool. It was a good weather day for the crops if it wasn’t too dry. Monstera wasn’t a dreadful place, as infamous as it sounded. It was just excessively exotic, like an unknown world.

If the flag of the Cains Empire wasn’t hanging on the castle, you wouldn’t realize that this place was inside the empire.

“This originally belonged to Puddlefin.”

Hansen said suddenly as he watched Louis play in the garden. It seemed like he had sensed the emotions Ines felt as she wandered around.

His routine didn’t change much here. He prayed with Louis three times a day, checked the child’s condition, and, in addition to art therapy, now cultivated a small garden.

Calling it a garden was an overstatement; he grew a few flowers. Giving water and providing shade in a dry area wasn’t an easy task.

Louis, who spent the whole day drawing, was focused on growing flowers. Watching something come to life or wither away in his hands, he seemed to be learning a sense of responsibility.

Since he moved a lot, he ate and slept better than before. Today, the black cats circled around Louis, meowing softly.

“I heard.”

He mainly spent time with Louis and Ines, so he rarely lowered his formal tone to her.

“The reason for the ongoing conflict between Puddlefin and Cains is because they claim different border positions.”

Monstera was a vast territory.

Puddlefin claimed the Nues River, which penetrated the center of the territory, as the border, while Cains considered the Liorande River at the end of Monstera as the border. Currently, Cains occupied this region, but unless the opinions were narrowed down, large and small wars would continue.

“The king of Puddlefin is an unreasonable man.”

His words seemed to be mixed with emotion at first, but the atmosphere quickly changed as Charlotte appeared, shaking hands from a distance.

Today, she baked cookies to give to Louis. It seemed like cooking suited her temperament; she spent all her time in the kitchen these days.

“The taste of peanuts here might be a bit different; I’m not sure.”

Charlotte put the cookies down, and Louis ran towards Ines, standing in front of her. His hands were dirty, a sign that he wanted to be fed. Ines cut the cookie in half and put it in his mouth. After biting it, he ran back to the flowers.

Hansen also didn’t hesitate to eat the cookies she brought. As if proving that cooking was indeed her specialty, everything Charlotte made was delicious. After expressing his gratitude for the cookies and approaching Louis, Charlotte plopped down next to Ines on the bench.

“Sigh, even though I know he’s a priest, my heart trembles.”

“What?”

“No, he’s too handsome. You shouldn’t look at a tree you can’t climb, you know.”
For a moment, Ines felt embarrassed for no apparent reason.

“Can’t I even look…?”

Charlotte laughed out loud at the innocent question.

“Why, do I need permission? How are you planning to stop yourself from looking? Since he’s someone you can’t have anyway, feel free to stare. I do.”

Ines also followed her gaze to look at Hansen.

“It’s not just that he’s handsome; there’s something noble about him. No, it feels somewhat sacred. Maybe because I feel like there’s some story behind him, I want to protect him. Even if he’s not a priest, it’s not like any woman, including me, can just stare at him.”

“Is that so…?”

Ines had never felt any deep admiration for any other man besides Carson, to be honest.

“The maids are already going crazy.”

“Have you become close already?”

“Well, the maids here are nicer than the maids in Landhill.”

Ines nodded. Even to her, the people in Monstera seemed more innocent.

“Of course, Lord is much more handsome, but he’s from a completely different world.”

“A different world…”

“That’s why the maids here talk more about the priest. In a way, it’s fortunate that he’s a priest.”

Except for a few people who came together, most of those who came here returned to Landhill. There were more servants in Monstera Castle than in Landhill. The castle was larger, and being an old territory, there was much work to be done. Moreover, there were more laborers here because there were fewer places to work.

At that moment, Hansen stood up and patted off the dust from his hands. Charlotte closed her mouth and went into her thoughts.

“But it really feels like an ancient time here. How can I not get used to it even after a month?”