Ian tried to pull his lips into a relaxed smile. Staring at Ian, who had a gentle smile, I held onto his arm.

“Is it better now?”

Instead of answering, Ian nodded gently, showing a much softer smile. He glanced around for a moment, then finally looked intently at a certain place.

“I have a restaurant recommended by Nathan. Would you like to go there?”
“Sure. Where should we go?”

“Right over there.”

In an instant, Ian pointed to an alley with his fingertips. Due to the sudden crowd, I lost hold of his arm.

“Klein?”

“I’m here.”

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Are you okay?”

“…It feels a bit challenging.”

“It’s okay; hold onto me as much as you need.”

“Since there are many people coming and going, how about doing it like this?”

A large hand, sliding down like a slip, lightly grasped my wrist. I thought Ian’s hand would stop there, but it seemed to come down a bit more, eventually gently clasping my hand.

“Walking around holding hands here is a bit…”

Lifting my gaze, I saw Ian, raising his eyebrows as if dizzy. Is he pretending?

As I squinted my eyes to look at him, Ian explained as if making an excuse.

“Suddenly, with so many people, my head gets dizzy. If I lose you here, it would be really difficult.”

“Why would your head get dizzy?”

“If I hear too much noise, my ears feel stuffy, and occasionally, dizziness creeps in.”

It might happen, but…

While I was contemplating, Ian’s voice once again lowered.

“Come to think of it, when you came to the square on the Lord’s errand, the senior helped you, right?”

“Helped might be an exaggeration, more like I provided a small assist?”

“It was a big help for me.”

“But doesn’t that seem like a long time ago?”

As we chatted and walked, we found ourselves in front of the restaurant Ian mentioned. The restaurant, which should be bustling during lunchtime, was quiet.

“I think this is the place Nathan mentioned…”

“Look at that. It says they’re closed today due to personal reasons?”

Pointing to the sign in front of the store, Ian rubbed his forehead awkwardly.

“We’ll have to go somewhere else.”

“Well, shall we go buy your gift first? Conveniently, the shop I was planning to visit is nearby.”

“Are you really going to buy it for me?”

“Yes. I said I’d give you a gift.”

Since I had received quite a bit of help from Ian, I thought it was time to properly repay him.

“I’m fine. Just having a meal with you is enough.”

“I have something I really want to give you.”

The place Ian led me to was a shop with a renowned jewelry designer in the square.

It was called Jewel House, a jewelry store that Daisy often visited in the original work.

“Here is…”

Ian, facing the splendid entrance, hesitated. Seeing Ian’s questioning gaze, I nodded, and we entered the shop.

“Welcome.”

“I’m looking for a brooch to give to this gentleman.”

“A brooch? The price range varies, so…”

“The price doesn’t matter. Show me the finest one.”

“Just a moment, sir. Some excellent items arrived yesterday. Please wait for a moment.”
While waiting for the owner, who had briefly stepped away, I wandered around inside the store. The displayed jewelry was so dazzling that my gaze was naturally drawn to them.

Now I understand why Daisy liked this place.

The moment the tightly closed shop door opened was when I was absentmindedly looking around. At the end of my wandering gaze was…

“Mother.”

“Rose?”

Olivia was there, dressed more splendidly than usual.