Dante was going mad.

His head was filled with thoughts of one person.

The kindness of agreeing without showing surprise at the words of not welcoming the imperial family.

A playful yet wise voice.

And.

And. And…

Dante couldn’t describe the emotion that followed.

He didn’t realize what he dared to call it.

The only thing certain was that his heart was pounding fiercely. His head felt hot, and for a moment, his breath stopped.

The smile that followed made him feel dizzy.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time.

He often felt unfamiliar emotions when he was with Serpina.

A strange feeling that was dizzying and unfamiliar, a little frightening, but not unpleasant.

How could this be?

The amusing thing was that even in the midst of this confusion, his mind was full of Serpina’s face.

All day long, Serpina’s phantom followed him around, making it impossible to concentrate on work.

It was so bad that even Barhan noticed he was out of it.

“…Hah.”

Get a grip, please.

He let out a pleading sigh and buried his face in his hands.

Unfortunately, it was a futile resolution.

The events of the day eventually affected the night.

Perhaps because he had been thinking about Serpina all day, it was difficult to fall asleep lying next to the real her.

Today, he was especially conscious of Serpina lying beside him.

“Mmm…”

Even at the slightest sleep-talking, his body tensed up.

The subtle warmth, the sound of breathing, the hair.

All of it felt excessively sensitive.

It was truly maddening.

He finally fell asleep just before dawn.

It was only when the sky began to take on a blue hue that he was barely able to close his eyes.

And then, he dreamed.

As if mocking his chaotic day, the dream poured out everything he feared.

The day his brother died.

Julia, who mocked him and his brother.

Serpina, turning her back and coughing up blood.

The blood-covered Serpina was looking at him, shedding tears of resentment.

“It’s because of you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Not knowing what the problem was, Dante simply apologized.

Unable to dare approach, he stood frozen in place for a long time, blankly apologizing.

Soon, Julia appeared again from somewhere.

Holding the dying Serpina in her arms, she looked this way with a face full of derision.

“I told you, Dante. You shouldn’t love anyone. I warned you not to even dream of it. So…”

So, don’t even think about harboring unnecessary emotions.

For your sake and for this woman’s.

Amidst the cursed voices echoing from everywhere, Dante woke up dripping with cold sweat.

His heart was pounding fiercely, in a different sense from the daytime.

As he rolled his unfocused eyes around, the still dark and bluish sky came into view.

It was a sky not much different from before he fell asleep.

He fumbled to check the time.

I only slept for about an hour.

In the dream, it felt like an eternity had passed.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead with one hand, Dante swallowed a dry gulp.

He was consciously avoiding looking at Serpina.

The image of her writhing in pain that he saw in his dream was too vivid.

So much so that he didn’t even have the courage to face her in reality.

It’s just a dream. Just a dream.

He tried to calm his trembling heart as he barely managed to check on Serpina’s condition.

“…Ah. Thank goodness.”

Serpina was breathing regularly with a peacefully sleeping face.

It was far from the painful appearance he had seen in his dream.

Dante’s face, which had been deeply relieved, gradually hardened coldly.

Somehow this dream felt like a warning.

A warning about the unidentified sensation he harbored.

His mind, which had been filled with thoughts of Serpina all day, was now suddenly filled with Julia’s cursed voice from the dream.

Like the sun that had been shining brightly suddenly being devoured by dark clouds.

In the end, Dante couldn’t fall asleep again. It was a long night like a terrible nightmare.

“I was thinking, how about planting medicinal flowers in the Duke’s field?”

“That’s fine.”

Huh? Did he even think before answering?

The quick response as soon as the question ended made me doubt Dante’s sincerity.

But what’s the use of doubting?

I shrugged and walked in step with Dante.

Today, we were both wearing decent clothes instead of work clothes as we inspected the field.

It was to figure out how to decorate Dante’s field in preparation for welcoming the royals.

But somehow, Dante’s condition seemed strange.

His answers were shorter than usual, and his expression was a bit cold. He responded on time, but he answered too quickly and only said “good,” making him seem soulless in contrast.

“Duke.”

“Yes.”

“Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

At my question, Dante’s gaze, which had been glaring at the field, briefly swept over me before returning to the field.

“No. I’m fine.”

He really didn’t seem fine, but since he said he was, I had nothing more to say.

Well, maybe he suddenly entered a stormy period. People sometimes want to experience tornado periods even after growing up.

“Then I’ll go tell Markops that. He said he needs to know what we’re planting in the field so he can reference it for decorating the garden.”

“Yes.”

“You can go in first. There’s not much to do in the field today anyway.”

“Yes.”

Dante, who had been answering like a parrot with short responses, turned around and disappeared towards the direction of the office.

Wow. His back is so broad!

I admired it contentedly before heading towards Markops.

Dante’s stormy period continued for a while.

Short answers and expressionless face.

But his actions were as kind as before.

I don’t know if he decided to become truly cold on the outside and warm on the inside, but I could understand why the original female lead misunderstood Dante and lived that way.

Treating people like this all the time, of course she would misunderstand. Even I often wondered, ‘Did I really do something wrong?’

But no matter how much I think about it, I didn’t do anything wrong, so clearly the problem lies with Dante.

Sigh.

I hope this stormy period ends before Flora appears.

While worrying about Dante, I started to move busily every day.

It was to prepare in earnest for entertaining guests.

The first thing I paid attention to was the garden, which was like the first impression of the mansion.

Originally, decorating the garden was Flora’s job, so I didn’t want to touch it, but this time I couldn’t just let it go.

We can’t show a terrible first impression, can we?

The current garden isn’t bad, but it’s too bleak.

“You said you wanted to plant flowers in the empty field, right?”

“Yeah. I’m planning to plant flowers that can also be used as medicine. Ones that can withstand the cold well. Like lavender or chamomile.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea. Somehow, it might make the field look more decent!”

“What are you talking about? My field is already decent.”

Markops looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask if I was serious.

I was confident.

How cute and lovely and decent are our herbs?

“…Then, how should we decorate the garden?”

“Why are you changing the subject? I said my field is decent.”

“Hmm. It would be nice to decorate it in a way that goes well with lavender and chamomile.”

“Who am I talking to right now?”

In the end, I was the loser of the fight.

Fine. What does Markops’ acknowledgment matter anyway? After barely achieving a mental victory, we earnestly discussed how to decorate the garden again.

“Haha. To be honest, I didn’t expect the Madam to care about the garden in addition to the field. I’m really happy.”

“You’re excited about having to work?”

“Of course! I’m a gardener by trade, but there was too little work to do here, so I felt a bit disappointed.”

Markops, who finally got a proper job after a long time, seemed very excited.

He was burning with enthusiasm, saying he would showcase a splendid northern garden that wouldn’t fall behind the south and the capital.

“Alright. I’ll allocate a generous budget, so for now, make a list without thinking about the budget and submit it.”

“Yes, Madam!”

Markops answered vigorously and strode away with excited steps.

Somehow, I feel sorry for not paying much attention to him until now.

But what can I do? Taking care of Markops is also the future Flora’s job.

I shrugged my shoulders and left to find the next task.

Let’s see, what’s left now…

Selecting the meal menu, preparing desserts, and reviewing whether there’s any furniture in the mansion that needs repair or replacement.

Fortunately, all the tasks went smoothly.