With a playful wink, Mrs. List. Christoph nodded to her and then finally stepped inside the house. He didn’t even realize that he had swallowed hard.

“Have some tea, Christoph.”

Mrs. List placed teacups and a teapot on the table and looked at the two of them alternately with a satisfied expression.
Marianne wanted to say that it wasn’t like that, but she realized it was an unasked question, so she sighed softly. Mrs. List, holding an empty tray, forced a yawn.

“When you get old, you tend to take afternoon naps, you know, hmmm. I think I should go to bed now.”

“Goodnight, ma’am.”

“I’m old, so my hearing isn’t that great. Whatever you say, I won’t hear it. Have a nice chat, Marianne.”

At her words, Marianne raised an eyebrow with a wry expression. Mrs. List playfully winked at her and discreetly shot a look at Christoph. It was a hint for him to do well.

Christoph, observing her casual demeanor, thought that she probably hadn’t heard any rumors about him. Well, without reading the newspaper, it was possible not to recognize his face.

Mrs. List left the living room. Before long, the sound of the door opening and closing was heard. Christoph took a sip from the teacup.

“She’s a nice person.”

Marianne slowly raised her head in surprise. Her eyes seemed slightly wider, as if she found it unexpected.

Christoph wasn’t someone bound by emotions. He was the epitome of cold rationality, and he had only one criterion for judging people: whether they were useful to him or not.

“…Yes, she’s a good person.”

Marianne nodded belatedly. She held the teacup with both hands, her lips slightly curling, and Christoph quietly observed the smile that had formed at the corners of her mouth.

At that moment, Marianne’s smile became a bit brighter.

“Why are you smiling?”
Marrianne hastily fixed her expression as she realized she had been smiling. It was as if she had heard the stern warning of the governess not to show her emotions.

Observing her suddenly changed expression, Christoph inwardly chuckled. He unconsciously leaned forward.

“I didn’t mean to lecture you. I was just curious about what you were thinking.”

“…”

A brief silence ensued. A moment when Marianne might decide to keep her mouth shut.

“An old memory came to mind.”

Marianne’s quiet voice filled the air in the living room. Instead of prying into the details, Christoph threw her a quiet glance. Marianne, who had been fiddling with her teacup for a moment, hesitated to speak.

“When I saw you sitting here, I remembered the day you first came to our house to greet us. Back then, too, it felt like you were sitting in a place that didn’t suit you at all. It felt like seeing a famous painting hung in a shabby cabin, if that makes sense.”

After taking a brief breath, Marianne tugged at the corner of her mouth again. A sigh-like laughter dispersed like smoke along with the warm steam rising from her teacup.

“It was probably the first time you visited a commoner’s home in your life. We were worried you might be surprised. The whole family had been cleaning for days, but it couldn’t compare to the mansion where you stayed. However, to our family’s surprise… you didn’t show the slightest hint of dislike. You didn’t say anything, but that was very unexpected. …I was thankful, too.”
As if he had heard unexpected words, Christoph slightly widened his eyes. He raised his hand to his chin, as if he were someone carefully choosing his words.

“I didn’t think I was such a rude person. My apologies, Marianne.”

“It’s not that…!”

Marianne, who had been flustered and gesturing with her hands, realized that it was a joke when she saw the softened expression in Christoph’s eyes. She placed her hands neatly on her knees.

“To be honest, I hardly remember that day.”

Her eyes trembled as she spoke. Her gaze dropped to the floor. It seemed that the vivid memory of that day was not worth remembering to her.

“It was the most… I mean, it was a day I was extremely nervous.”

“!”

Suddenly, Marianne’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Christoph, the man of composure and indifference, nervous?

Christoph let out a light chuckle. His hazy gaze seemed to be searching through some past day.

“I wanted to make a good impression on your family. But my mother-in-law and Veronica didn’t seem too pleased with me. So I was nervous. It wasn’t like me.”

“Ah…”

Marianne let out an inadvertent sigh. She didn’t know what to say. But she wanted to say something. She unconsciously bit her lip.

“My mother and Veronica thought this marriage was very burdensome. That’s why they were worried about me. It wasn’t that they disliked you.”
“In the end, it turned out just as the two of them had worried.”

Christoph muttered in a bitter voice. There was a wistful smile at the corner of his mouth. His black pupils held a multitude of words as they gazed at her.

Marianne couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes and lowered her head. She held the cooling teacup tightly in her hand.

Christoph felt that this moment was exceptionally perfect. Marianne sitting in front of him, casually engaged in conversation, was all he needed.

Stubborn fellow.

He had now realized that countless perfect moments were scattered throughout his life. They had been present in the ordinary, but he hadn’t recognized them.

He had taken them for granted, thinking that she would always be there, waiting for him.

That’s why he had lost it.