“No!”

Both shouted so loudly that Claude dropped the stone she was holding to show them.

“Ah…”

As she gazed forlornly at the stone rolling towards the doorway, Madame Marcel felt like she had done something wrong and quickly picked it up, pressing it back into Claude’s hand.

“Why?”

Temnes’ faithful servant began to speak on behalf of Kaian.

“That’s ridiculous! The lord must surely be expecting something.”

“He… told me not to feel burdened.”

“Of course that’s a lie.”

Hannah crossed her arms and rapidly fired off words.

“Don’t you remember the wedding night gift? Of course, there was a misunderstanding because of that wicked Antoinette. But the lord asked you three times if you liked the gift, and why you weren’t wearing it.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“And when Miss Irena wore the dress he gifted you, he noticed right away, didn’t he?”

“Well, since I made the dress, it would have caught his eye.”

Madame Marcel interjected but fell silent upon seeing the excited Hannah.

“Most noble men don’t care or even know what their wives wear. But not our lord. Do you think it’s just with you? Don’t you think he’d want you to show interest in him too?”

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

Claude felt a bit wronged.

Isn’t it normal that if someone is very interested, they should talk a lot?

They still didn’t converse much.

That’s because their lips were often pressed together.

‘I can’t tell Hannah that either.’

Claude inwardly swallowed a sigh.

“We both saw him at the marketplace this morning. There’s nothing suitable we can buy for him right now among the things available.”

She began to appeal to the charm of the stone again.

“Even Duke Vermonte was overjoyed to receive hand-knitted oversocks from Irena on his birthday.”

Even though Irena wasn’t particularly skilled, she kept making the same thing year after year with leftover yarn from the previous year’s socks, but he was delighted every time he received them.

“It’s the thought that counts in gifts!”

Hannah waved her hand as if she couldn’t accept it.

“Fine. Let’s say the thought is what matters. Then that stone has the thought, but lacks sincerity.”

Sincerity.

‘I dove to the bottom of the lake to pick it up myself.’

Was the very act of picking it up synonymous with lack of sincerity?

Claude was disheartened.

She had somewhat hoped that Kaian would show her the same unbridled joy that her uncle had shown when Irena gave gifts to Duke Vermonte.

Claude had always given proper gifts to Duke Vermonte – spending all the money she saved throughout the year on birthday presents for her uncle and aunt – but all he ever said to Claude was just ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’.

Somehow, Kaian, who had been taking good care of her lately, often spoke bluntly, but it seemed he might be as happy as Claude wanted to see even if she gave him something like this.

Seeing Claude lost in thought, Madame Marcel wrapped an arm around her shoulders as if she could see right through her.

“Such a gift could become a special memory. Alright. Let’s plan to give it as a gift the year after next.”

“Really?”

“This is your first birthday since getting married. I have a good idea.”

Madame Marcel had asked her assistant to bring something earlier, and a large box was placed by the door.

“What you said has merit, my lady. The lord prefers things made especially for him. In fact, all the nobles in the capital are like that. So, how about finishing the decorations on the hat I made?”

As she opened the lid of the box, inside lay a quite stylish and handsome dark navy hat.

“Wow. This is really splendid.”

Hannah clapped her hands, giving it a passing grade.

“Is there more to do? It looks completely finished.”

When Claude asked, Madame Marcel showed her another box.

Inside was a multitude of feathers dyed in various colors.

‘Ah. The man I saw at dawn that time was wearing a hat with a wide brim like this.’

Something vaguely came to mind.

As Claude picked up a few feathers and placed them on one side like the hat she remembered, Madame Marcel cheered.

“You have a good sense, my lady. Yes, you can choose decorative feathers abundantly in that style.”

“Would it be better like this?”

“That looks great too.”

And so, for a long while, they played around like children with toys, trying this and that, and at one point when Hannah jokingly put what looked like raccoon tails on both sides, they all burst into laughter.

“Hmm. I think it’s done.”

“I’ll fix it like this.”

Madame Marcel pulled out a threaded needle from the pincushion on her wrist and instantly began sewing the feathers, starting with those to be attached on the inside, with quick hand movements.

While Hannah was watching that, quite some time passed again.

“It’s done. Since I made it and you added your touch, my lady, it’s truly one of a kind in the world.”

“Indeed. I’m glad I listened to you and Hannah.”

Claude, who had been feeling down after failing to buy a gift, was quite pleased with the hat prepared with Madame Marcel’s help, which looked very good as she said.

“I’ll arrange a separate occasion to show my gratitude after the birthday banquet.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Both Madame Marcel and Hannah looked proud – Madame Marcel because the hat she made would be the first gift, and Hannah because she had prevented the stone from being given as a gift.

By the time they put the hat in an elegant round box and even tied a large ribbon, the sun was setting.

“Then I’ll take my leave and prepare the dress you’ll wear tomorrow. You need to wake up early in the morning.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

After Madame Marcel left, Hannah looked at her.

“Shall I bring dinner right away?”

“That would be nice. Somehow I feel like I can eat a lot.”

“I’ll prepare it quickly, my lady.”

With one of Claude’s worries resolved, Hannah cheerfully disappeared out of the room.

Left alone, Claude took out the heart-shaped stone from her pocket again.

“It was pretty when it was in the water.”

Like flowers blooming in a field are beautiful, but wilt soon after being picked.

When it was fully saturated with water, it had sparkled and appeared a clear red like a jewel, but now it had turned a bit dull and dingy grayish-brown.

Still, its shape was surprisingly close to bilateral symmetry, tracing a smooth curve.

Claude went to the desk and began to write a letter to the future Kaian.

[Kaian. This is a letter I’m writing to you in the future. I actually wanted to give you this stone for your first birthday, but Madame Marcel and Hannah said I couldn’t. Madame Marcel said I could give this as a gift the year after next. Why not next year?

Anyway, I became the defeated dog in this fight. I’ll give you something else as a gift this year. Look. Isn’t it amazing? I read in a book that the shape of the heart inside a person’s body is really similar to this shape.

That’s why I wanted to give it to you. Do you understand what I mean?]

Claude pondered deeply.

“Will he understand that I wanted to give this shape because I like him?”

But that was a worry born of contentment. If Madame Marcel and Hannah raised their voices together saying it was absolutely not allowed even on his birthday two years from now, this stone would never reach Kaian.

[Happy birthday. From Claude.]

In the end, there wasn’t enough space on the paper to write more details, so she finished the letter like that.

Claude began to braid a few strands of her lush red hair very thinly.

When the braid became long, she tied it once at the top and once at the bottom, securing it tightly enough that the finely braided hair wouldn’t unravel.

Claude cut the upper part with scissors.

Originally, it was a kind of superstition for maidens to cut their braided hair thinly and tie it around a man’s wrist, something done for a lover going far away.

Asking not to forget them, not to be unfaithful.

Claude had never dated before marrying Kaian, so she wanted to try everything she had seen or heard about.

Earlier, when Madame Marcel had brought a bunch of gift wrapping boxes, she had discreetly taken one that was just about palm-sized, and when she put the letter and stone inside, and placed the braided hair on top coiled like a bracelet, it fit perfectly.

“It’s not going far, but two years from now is far away.”

Claude smiled to herself as she put it in the desk drawer.

Hoping that two years from now would come quickly.

[This is the timeline separator]

Kaian was so busy he didn’t know how the day had passed.

He was so busy that he couldn’t even have lunch with Claude.

He used to make do with simple meals on the battlefield, eating bread with fillings. So even after returning to his domain, when work was busy, he would have the butler prepare something similar and eat in his office while working.

That was just a few months ago.

Now he went to the lady’s room without fail for meals, to see his wife’s face.

Not to see his wife’s face, but to feed her.

Even feeding her was just an excuse, to hold and kiss the pretty woman who smelled nice.

Kaian considered all of these important.

There was a time when he had asked his butler for advice, disregarding his dignity, but these days his marital relationship was rolling along quite smoothly.

‘There was a time when I thought I had no idea what to do.’

Sometimes he was reminded of Claude’s lifeless appearance when she first came to the castle.

At that time, he thought she was unresponsive or indifferent to what he said.

When he thought that she had been like that because she had no will to live, waiting for the day she would die, something in his chest stung.

She was absolutely not a listless and docile woman.

She was quirky and lively, becoming more charming the more he saw her.

Sometimes passionate too.

When he knocked on the bedroom door late at night, Claude opened it.

“You’re late.”

“I couldn’t help it, there was a lot of work. There’s so much to prepare when suddenly holding a banquet.”

Kaian embraced Claude and sought her lips first.

Earlier, when he was doing unnecessary work for the banquet preparations, he had been irritated, but holding his wife’s soft body clad only in nightclothes made him feel like his fatigue was melting away.

“Happy birthday, Kaian.”

“What?”

“It’s past midnight.”

“Already?”

“I’m happy to be able to celebrate your birthday.”

Claude sat him on the bed, matched his height, and lightly kissed his forehead, both cheeks, the tip of his nose, and lips in order.

Kaian thought he was born lucky.

“Where’s my gift?”

“Now?”

“No gift for the celebration?”

Claude seemed to mutter ‘I knew it’ but his attention was completely focused on the large box she was bringing.

“Open it.”

Inside the box was a hat.

‘Is this Madame Marcel’s handiwork?’

It was a perfect example of a men’s hat currently fashionable in the capital.

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I love it. Where did you get something like this?”

“Madame Marcel helped me. But I chose the decorations. I struggled for a long time to attach them nicely.”

“You did it yourself?”

Claude nodded.

Kaian quickly took the hat out of the box, roughly smoothed his hair, and lightly put it on.

“I want to see you wearing the hat.”

“Aren’t you looking at it now?”

“Just the hat.”