Ines tilted her head and looked up at the sky. The sky that had been clear until noon was suddenly filled with dark clouds.

“Why is Joseph doing this to me?”

He silently took hold of Ines’s arm. As she swayed more, he gently embraced her.

“What did I do so wrong?”

“No, no.”

Tap tap, his plain hand patted her back. His shaking head gently brushed against Ines’s nape and then withdrew.

“You did nothing wrong. So don’t say such things.”

Her chest flared with heat, and Ines clung to his lapel.

Rumble crash, thunder resounded in the dry sky like fate, and lightning struck. At last, rain began to sprinkle from the sky.

(This is a time separator.)

Three days later, Ines finished her breakfast and headed straight for Charlotte’s house.

Fortunately, her father had quickly recovered. The wound had not been deep enough to cause a fever that night, and it had passed without incident.

Although it was clear that Count Graham was behind the incident and Joseph had led it, Ines and Carson agreed to postpone it for the future.

The only evidence left was a handkerchief. It was Ines’s possession, and it would have been difficult to adopt it as evidence if he denied it.

Those who survived at the scene were imprisoned in Carson’s mansion’s basement, just like Reneb.

Charlotte’s house was not far from Carson’s mansion.

It was only slightly larger than an ordinary commoner’s house.

It was a twostory house with a small garden, and the interior was neatly arranged.

There were fairly high stairs for a small house, and there was a large window where the archshaped stairs connected.

“I like this house. Especially, that window.”

Charlotte gently spoke as she poured tea with a unique fragrance into Ines’s cup.

Ines agreed with her words. The window from which the sky could be seen from the first floor created a warm atmosphere.

“I suppose this house looks small to Ines, but it’s a big house for me. Property in the capital is so expensive.”

“Is that so? I’ve never been to the imperial city. It must be very different from here?”

“It’s probably similar because people live there, but it feels a bit more complicated. The houses are close together, and I prefer Landhill. I hope my husband works here for a long time.”

Though their conversation was ordinary, Ines’s feelings were not. Even though it was summer, Charlotte was wearing a dress that covered her arms and half her neck, which didn’t seem natural.

Furthermore, married women in the empire usually don’t let their hair down, but Charlotte’s hair was completely loose today.

“The royal family employed four maids and two servants for me. It’s hard to use that many people in the capital. It would be really convenient if I gave birth here.”

“When will you give birth?”

“The doctor said I still have about five months left.”

Ines responded appropriately to her words while carefully looking around the house. She wanted to find a clue that would revive her memory, but nothing stood out.

Ines stood up and approached the decorative cabinet on the wall.

“Is this your husband?”

The man in the frame had a square jaw and a chubby face. Although it wasn’t a picture standing next to another person, he gave a short and plump impression.

“Yes, that’s right. We didn’t bring a large portrait since we’re staying for a short time.”

“He looks nice. How did you meet?”

But there was no answer for Charlotte. When Ines turned, she was lost in thought. When speaking, she seemed cheerful, but when her mouth was closed, she appeared somewhat melancholic.

“It’s a political marriage. Our house is poor, so there weren’t many suitors.”

Ines silently sat down again in front of Charlotte.

“You’ll be getting married soon, Ines. Do you have anyone in mind?”
Ines shook her head at a word that felt very distant from her. Marriage, a word that should never occur again in her life.

“Even if it’s a strategic marriage, meet a few times and decide. It would be nice to meet a tender and gentle person above all else. I think money and love come next.”

Ines had already seen the faint blue bruise on Charlotte’s slightly exposed wrist. It was not a wound that came from bumping into something.

It was created when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist. So she could not be unaware of what the tenderness and gentleness she prioritized over love meant.

After a brief tea time with her, Ines began to prepare to carry out her plan.

On the way home in a carriage, Ines wrote a lot for Susan to buy and dropped her off at the market entrance. She returned home alone and, without going inside, immediately began to climb the mountain behind the mansion.

It would take at least 4 hours to buy things from the market and walk back, and even after she returned and found Ines gone, she would not tell her parents for about 1 or 2 hours.

The sun was at the top of the sky. She had to explore the place and come down before the sun set.