After the imperial palace banquet ended, the two people who returned to the Asthart mansion prepared to go out again a few days later. These days, there were more days when the owners left the mansion than stayed.

This time, the purpose was travel.

Sieghart and Natasha decided to go on a trip to belatedly celebrate their second wedding anniversary, which they had failed to properly commemorate.

“The spring breeze is starting to blow, it’s perfect for traveling. And since the lady has recovered a lot, it’s the best time.”

Jenkis kissed the back of Natasha’s hand while bidding them farewell and telling them to be careful.

Vanessa and Meliana, who had been looking at Natasha with concern, came forward and packed the necessary things.

First, Vanessa wrapped a shawl around her neck and shoulders.

“Belated congratulations on your wedding anniversary! Have a fun trip.”

“The shawl is really soft.”

“Hehe, isn’t it? Actually, I bought and wrapped it a while ago to give you on your anniversary, but I’m only giving it to you now.”

“Thank you so much.”

Natasha exchanged affectionate greetings with the two, touching cheeks.

“Oh, by the way, where did you say you were going?”

“We’re planning to go to Osreil.”

“Osreil? That’s quite far away!”

Vanessa showed an excited reaction in surprise.

Osreil was in the southern region, quite far from the north.

For a sudden trip, wasn’t the destination quite far? It wasn’t exactly a place to grandly celebrate a wedding, as Osreil was a place with relatively less entertainment.

“I heard the fruit there is so delicious, and the flowers are so beautiful. We’ll probably travel all over Osreil.”

“Well, Osreil’s scenery is second to none. It must be just spring there now.”

If what they wanted was peace rather than luxury, Osreil was perfect as a travel destination. Vanessa’s face was full of expectation as if she were the traveler herself.

After a while, Meliana, who had been waiting for the two to finish their conversation, stepped forward.

She handed over scones she had baked herself, saying to eat them whenever they felt hungry on the way. A delicious smell wafted up from inside.

As Natasha thanked her, the other asked a question filled with concern.

“Um, my lady… Are you feeling better now?”

Meliana knew that Natasha hadn’t really been sick.

Asking about the illness was probably just a cover, and she was likely asking about something else in reality. Probably about the relationship with Sieghart that had been temporarily strained.

“Yes, I’m fine now.”

“Really?”

“Of course, everything’s fine now. As if being sick was just a phase. Thank you for your concern.”

Come to think of it, until just a few months ago, she had been someone who found even looking at Sieghart horrifying. She had even run away saying she hated married life with a man and barged into the Galonde’s den…

Recently, she seemed to have completely forgotten her hatred towards the man as she had to cooperate with Sieghart on some matters. And now, it seemed to have disappeared completely without a trace.

When Natasha smiled brightly as if everything was fine, Meliana finally seemed relieved.

“If I find any pretty souvenirs on the way back, I’ll be sure to buy them. Thank you for seeing us off.”

After saying her final farewells, Natasha stepped out of the entrance. Sieghart had already packed the luggage and headed towards the carriage.

While there were occasionally noble people in Osreil, most were common farmers. For various reasons, the two couldn’t let their identities be known, so they decided to ride a different carriage instead of the ducal family’s.

The two people, needing a pretext, claimed this trip was for their ‘wedding anniversary’, but in reality, it was to visit Ron Letius’s house in the rural outskirts.

Since the man lived in such a rural area, if they went there directly, their purpose would be revealed to everyone. So they came up with a plan to travel around the region rather than visiting Ron Letius’s village directly.

Natasha got into the carriage with the coachman’s help and sat opposite Sieghart.

We’re departing! With the coachman’s loud announcement, the horse’s powerful neigh resounded. Soon, the stationary carriage slowly moved forward.

In the quiet carriage, only the outside noise filtered through.

Feeling awkward for no reason, Natasha kept fiddling with the shawl and the cloth containing the muffins that Vanessa and Meliana had given her.

Misunderstanding this, Sieghart put away the woman’s belongings. He must have thought they looked like luggage to him.

With nothing left to touch, Natasha eventually began to glance around the carriage interior. Though spacious for a carriage, it was too narrow to shift one’s gaze around.

Her eyes, which had been moving in a clockwise direction, gradually slowed down as if losing their destination, and now wandered aimlessly anywhere.

Was it because it had been too long since she had faced Sieghart without hostility?

She didn’t know how to be with the man. Not just her head, but her whole body felt awkward.

In fact, there was no need to worry about ‘how’ to be. If she just stayed still, the problem would resolve itself gradually.

But seeing as that wasn’t the case…

Just maybe, Natasha might want to speak to him.

It was ridiculous.

Was there any reason for her to be desperate to have a conversation with Sieghart?

Even as she questioned this, her mouth moved on its own, calling the man’s name.

“Um, Sieghart…”

“Natasha.”

But, coincidentally, the timing of the two calling each other’s names overlapped.

Surprised, Natasha quickly mumbled her words and passed the initiative of the conversation to Sieghart.

“Y-You go first.”

“You can go first…”

“No, no. You go first, Sieghart.”

In fact, she had just blurted out words without thinking, so she had nothing to say. If Sieghart continued the conversation first, it would actually be grateful for Natasha.

“It’s nothing much, but I realized we haven’t talked about this trip. Since we left in a hurry, I thought some discussion might be necessary.”

“Hmm… I remember we had already planned everything before.”

When they informed the Galonde imperial family about completing the palace investigation, they had also plotted the plan to recruit Ron Letius.

Sieghart had pointed out Ron Letius’s greed and suggested supporting him with power and wealth that he had never enjoyed in his life.

It was about showing the man, who was living a life worse than commoners despite being a member of the imperial family, what he had lost.

It was obvious that once Ron Letius tasted money and power, he wouldn’t be able to give up his habits and would crave more, so the plan was to make him take the bait and then manipulate him as they wished.

They had already bought land deeds in Osreil and noble titles, making thorough preparations.

So why discuss now?

“Did something come up to add to the plan for Ron Letius?”

Natasha asked back in bewilderment, waiting for Sieghart’s answer.

But for some reason, he showed signs of embarrassment.

“…Not that, I was asking about our trip.”

At his response, Natasha let out a sigh mixed with exclamation.

‘Our’ trip, he said.

Come to think of it, this trip could be the last one for the two of them. Although it was just a shell for the plan to recruit Ron Letius, Sieghart seemed to be paying meticulous attention even to that shell.

“As for the trip…”

“I heard it’s your first visit to Osreil, so I was wondering if there’s anything you want to do there. If you tell me, I’ll take note of it.”

Something she wanted to do in Osreil.

She tried to think about it for a moment, not wanting to ignore Sieghart’s consideration, but still couldn’t come up with an answer.

“…Well, I’m not sure.”

She thought it would be better to answer honestly, so she replied as her heart dictated, but for some reason, Sieghart’s expression darkened slightly.

Perhaps she seemed uninterested in this trip?

It wasn’t something to think deeply about whether he felt hurt by her indifferent response or not, but her heart kept acting on its own, outpacing her reason.

“O-Osreil is my first time!”

“…”

“As you said, it’s my first time in Osreil, so I can’t even gauge what to do… You said the flowers are pretty, so shall we go see the flowers? I heard the flowers are so beautiful…”

Her hurried response was quite clumsy and awkward. As she rambled on alone, feeling a bit embarrassed, she just gripped the hem of her dress tightly.

After a while, a faint sound leaked from across. It was a pleasant noise, as if someone was chuckling softly.

Her gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, gradually moved upwards.

When she finally faced him, Natasha thought that the person she was facing looked just like Enoch Callent, not Sieghart.

That beautiful smile was unfamiliar, belonging to a blue and clear young boy.

With the awkward atmosphere dissipated, the two engaged in various conversations.

It was then that Sieghart suddenly closed his mouth.

In the momentary silence that ensued, Natasha didn’t intervene and waited for him. She judged that there must be a reason for that man to keep silent.

“Natasha.”

After a while, the voice that came from Sieghart’s mouth was considerably lower.

“About what you said yesterday… May I ask how you came to know about it?”

Although the subject in the question was somewhat vague, she wasn’t a fool who wouldn’t know the identity of the subject.

It was a question asking how Natasha came to know about ‘Enoch Callent’.

Natasha, foreseeing that what was bound to come had finally arrived, swallowed a tense breath.