“Once is not enough. If it’s three times……”

Then I’ll try to endure what comes next.

‘Impossible! How is that enduring!’

Claudel couldn’t argue.

……She likes Kaian too much.

Looking back on her life after losing her parents and drifting into an unfamiliar castle, there were many things to be grateful for, but she had never been happy.

That’s why Claudel understood Hannah’s obsession with her.

The flames that burned down her entire hometown didn’t allow even a small piece of memory to cherish.

There was no problem with food and clothing.

She was able to attend all the classes that Irena, the princess of Valmont, listened to and learned.

No one in the castle blocked Claudel’s footsteps, and no one scolded her for burying herself in the library to read books.

But there was no one to care for Claudel.

Her adoptive parents, the Duke and Duchess of Vermonte, were very busy. Unlike the Duke of Vermonte, the Duchess tried to be kind to Claudel, but she couldn’t be the same as she was to her own daughter, Irena.

Raising Irena was nurturing her own child, while taking care of Claudel was a ‘chore’ of looking after a niece who had even been registered in the family registry.

To Claudel, Hannah was a very precious friend and a special bond that could not be exchanged for anything.

But even Hannah didn’t truly care for Claudel, but rather looked after her for her own sake.

Because the shock of the village fire was so great, if Claudel were gone too, Hannah really couldn’t go on living, so she found a way to live for herself by giving meaning to Claudel’s life.

Claudel understood, at the mere age of ten, Hannah’s position, which was different from hers, who could at least be entrusted to her uncle’s house.

That she had become the only person left in Hannah’s human relationships, in ten-year-old Hannah’s world.

It seemed that genuine, overflowing affection that springs forth sincerely, not for any reason, only exists from parents to their children.

No matter how much they told each other how precious and important they were, Claudel couldn’t become Hannah’s parents, and Hannah couldn’t become dad and mom to Claudel.

Claudel could know that sense of loss more clearly because she had lost her parents.

Kaian is clearly the head of Temnes, the mortal enemy.

The one who treated her so coldly and pitifully as the enemy’s daughter.

Claudel found hope in Rowen Castle, which she thought would be the final destination of her unfortunate life.

She never imagined it would be this person, but how did she come to like him so much before she knew it?

Although Kaian often spat out words harshly with his ingrained stern and cold expression.

His touch that soothed her was warm and attentive.

Even though he seemed to scold indifferently or angrily rebuke her, later she would find he had quietly filled in what Claudel lacked.

Filling her empty closet and jewelry box.

Quietly slicing and placing her favorite dishes on the plate she had vowed to leave some on every day but always emptied.

Her husband, whom she thought would treat her worse than a stranger, who warmly embraced and put to sleep every night her who was starved for affection and in need of warmth.

Claudel hugged Kaian tightly.

She embraced the man’s palpitating body as if she had pulled out her own heart from her body with all the strength she could muster.

Once was not enough for Claudel either.

An untimely incident occurred in the square that was in full swing.

Right after dancing to announce the start of the festival, the lord and lady disappeared.

“The lady’s complexion didn’t look so good when she finished dancing.”

“That’s right. It seemed like the lord was half-embracing and supporting her.”

While everyone was whispering, a huge cart with oiled paper laid out appeared in the center of the square.

It was a giant cake made by grinding the first wheat harvested this autumn, kneading tart stewed apples with pork fat.

As people gathered in the square all licked their lips at the appearance of this delicacy that could only be eaten once a year at the autumn festival, with a crispy surface sizzled more than butter.

The one who climbed onto the platform wearing a fancy hat with large feathers was the butler of the lord’s castle, Baron Colon.

A long-time vassal of the Temnes ducal family, he was also a baron himself and a powerful figure in the Rowen territory.

He shouted towards the square where the commotion had subsided.

“Today we have welcomed the feast to enjoy the abundance of heaven and earth bestowed upon the Rowen territory!”

Waaah.

Everyone cheered at the butler’s words.

“As you may have heard, the lady has only recently overcome a major illness. Even the vicious disease of freezing Valmont couldn’t take hold and disappeared in our Rowen land!”

As the knowledgeable butler grabbed Valmont by the hair, the people of Rowen territory began to get excited.

“That’s right!”

“Herzol? We’ve never heard of such a disease in Rowen!”

“This is the land of the sun!”

“Quiet!”

The butler continued.

“The lady has been working hard to prepare for the festival, insisting on continuing the tradition of Rowen. With the love for our Rowen territory that enabled her to overcome Herzol! Which is said to only end after wiping out an entire village! She attended the festival against the doctor’s advice, with a body not yet fully recovered!”

Ah, how could it be.

Is that so.

Such a thing.

Sighs erupted among the murmuring territory people.

Hannah, watching the eloquent butler from the side, was genuinely impressed.

‘Wow. My goodness. I wonder if the butler might have had a Vermonte among his ancestors?’

As she was admiring the butler’s competence.

“Therefore, today’s cake cutting will be assisted by Hannah Pebble, the lady’s maid from Valmont. Miss Hannah?”

“Yes?”

Startled by the butler’s gesture to jump up quickly, she climbed onto the platform in a daze.

“Say a few words.”

Hannah widened her eyes with a bewildered expression, then quietly asked the butler in a low voice.

“What should I say?”

“Just mix in some insults about Valmont.”

Ah. Hannah understood immediately.

In fact, at Valmont’s autumn festival, she had heard the excited Duke Vermonte mainly cursing Temnes on the platform every year from when she was ten until she was twenty.

It seemed to have become more intense after the drought period.

Hannah, who climbed onto the platform and received the cone-shaped amplifier, cleared her throat.

“I was born in Valmont, but I will live with my soul as a slave of Temnes!”

Woooaaah!

“I will serve the great Lord Duke Temnes and his successors for generations and be buried in the land of Rowen!”

Waaaaaaah!

The young woman’s passionate and sincere cry touched the hearts of the Rowen territory people.

“Goodbye to the withered weeds of Valmont! Rowen food is the most delicious in the world!”

That’s right!

You know something!

While Hannah couldn’t contain her excitement, several collateral descendants of Temnes climbed onto the platform at the butler’s designation.

Hannah raised the huge cake knife, as long as her arm, with both hands.

“Yaaaah!”

The giant piece of cake, which would come up to an adult’s waist, was cut exactly in half by Hannah’s hands, which had been training arm strength to protect Claudel without anyone knowing.

The square was silent for a moment, then soon filled with loud cheers.

Waaaah!

“It’ll be a good harvest next year!”

“Haha! Not bad!”

“She’s got spirit. This much is necessary to serve Temnes!”

The butler patted Hannah’s shoulder with a warm expression as she blinked her eyes amidst the cheers.

“They say it’s a sign of a good harvest next year if you cut the cake in half at once.”

“Ah, no, that’s not…”

“I was worried because the lord was absent. But you’ve eased a big concern. Well done.”

“Ah. Yes. Haha.”

Hannah awkwardly laughed along among the cheering people.

The ignition ceremony for the fireworks was taken up by other Temnes collaterals.

Several men with jet-black hair, the symbol of Temnes, came forward and lit the large cannons filled with explosives with torches as thick as clubs. As the fuses burned down, the fireworks flew into the sky with a tremendous sound and burst, lighting up the sky.

As the festival reached its climax, this time huge barrels as tall as adults began to roll into the middle of the crowd clapping their hands in rhythm.

It was a spectacle to see the burly workers from the brewery, moving in rhythm as if dancing, rolling barrels about the size of small sheds, three standing side by side.

As the lord remained in the castle out of concern for the lady, the honor of the first drink went to Madame Marcelle, who had come from the capital as the new seamstress of Rowen Castle.

She was excited to hear that it was customary in Rowen for new people who entered the castle to greet the territory people at festivals to make their faces known.

“Hohoho. Everyone! Nice to meet you! I’m the one who made the amazing dress the lady wore while dancing today!”

Kyaaah.

Waaaah.

This time, exclamations of admiration were heard especially from women.

“I’m very much looking forward to life in Rowen! If there are any young ladies who want to learn sewing, please apply to the castle!”

Having neatly finished promoting recruitment, Madame Marcelle skillfully received the gushing beer that burst out when the lid of the barrel was opened into the cup handed by the butler.

“Let’s drink! Rowena!”

Madame Marcelle, who boldly raised her glass, drank it all in one gulp.

As she lowered the cup, her eyes met the butler’s, who was holding out his hand.

“Ah?”

“It’s customary to share the drink, but.”

“Ah. Haha. I’m sorry.”

The butler pretended to drink from the empty cup he received and waved to the territory people.

Although the absence of the lord and lady was glossed over thanks to the baron’s great performance in conducting the festival, it wasn’t really important to the territory people either.

After all, while the lord is speaking, isn’t it common for the village lads and lasses who’ve caught each other’s eye to giggle among themselves, and for the uncles watching this to get their sides pinched by their wives while doing all sorts of other things?

What’s important to them is the feast food to eat until they’re stuffed, the alcohol, songs, and dance at the festival.

And for some, the deviation brought on by the effects of alcohol.

That’s what it is.

Today, there was a buzz everywhere about the story of the lord’s lady.

“I’ve never seen such a beautiful person before.”

“Yeah. I was curious what kind of person would be matched with our lord.”

“It was a beauty not of this world.”

Not a single word was mentioned about her coming from Vermonte.

Originally, public sentiment is generous towards beautiful things.

To think that such a dazzlingly beautiful person is our lord’s lady!

To think that her illness was completely cured in our Rowen land!

And she matches our lord so well. Surely the young master who will be born as the heir would be exciting if he resembles both of them.

The territory people fell head over heels for the lord’s lady they were seeing for the first time.

“Wasn’t there a rumor that she was a withered flower caught in the rain?”

“Bah. In that downpour back then. Don’t you remember half the seed storage was washed away?”

“True. It would be stranger to be intact after being caught in that rain.”

“No! That’s all fake makeup!”

A shrill voice pierced through the sounds praising Claudel’s beauty.

“She didn’t originally look like that! I saw it!”

As some of the chattering people turned around, there stood a woman with black hair and blue eyes.

“Because I stole the lord’s lady’s ring.”

“Shh. Crazy woman. All hell breaks loose when that story comes up. Avoid. It’s best to avoid her.”

People grimaced and quietly slipped away from that place.

“It’s true! I was prettier!”

No one paid attention to Antione’s words.

“Lord Kaian is being deceived.”