The capital must have been bustling with festivities for His Highness the Crown Prince’s birthday. I wish I could have gone up to the capital where there’s food everywhere.

With her chin resting on the end of a mop, Leira lamented her situation of spending the entire holiday just working.

Was it because she couldn’t resist the sweet temptation of triple overtime pay for working during the holiday? It’s all over now, so what’s the use of regretting it? Slapping both cheeks and shaking her head vigorously, Leira focused on finishing the cleaning.

“Phew.”

“Leira, are you almost done?”

“Yeah, Annie. Just this place left to do.”

Leira gestured with her eyes towards the office. Currently, the corridor was filled with the hurried footsteps of maids, due to the upcoming ‘Inspection Day’.

“If we have to do two inspections, us maids will die first.”

Leira nodded vigorously in agreement with Annie’s words as she surveyed the extremely busy interior of the mansion.

What day is Inspection Day? The day when people are dispatched from the imperial family to tour the territories and check their condition. In other words, the day of deep cleaning. In yet other words, the day maids work overtime.

“Inspection Day has always been a day that squeezes sweat out of employees like us. I heard that this year, Viscount Nestapa and Duke Leviathan are coming.”

“Aren’t they both famous for this? Finally, my eyes will get to feast a little.”

Annie made an exaggerated gesture, waving her hand in front of her face. Reading the meaning that they were extremely handsome, Leira squinted her eyes.

“Damn lookist.”

“As if you’re any different? Damn materialist.”

The Grand Duke Adrian’s office they entered was the same as always. The room, which perfectly reflected its owner’s obsession with cleanliness, always maintained an immaculate state without a speck of dust.

‘This is why it’s impossible not to like Your Highness.’

Leira exclaimed in admiration as she wiped the wall of bookshelves neatly filled with stacks of documents.

“Really, my master is amazing, I tell you.”

Thinking she was only thinking to herself, Leira turned around when she realized it wasn’t her voice that had accidentally slipped out.

“How can it be so perfectly clean…”

Annie, who had been diligently wiping the desk with a wet cloth, stopped mid-sentence and began to closely examine something on the desk.

“Ha, Annie. How dare you handle the master’s belongings so carelessly!”

Leira, who was about to scold her, felt puzzled by Annie’s motionless stance and walked over to where Annie was standing blankly.

“What are you staring at so intently…”

However, as Leira followed Annie’s gaze, she too found herself unable to continue speaking.

“Leira, this seems to be…”

After thinking for a moment, Leira nodded slowly as she met Annie’s eyes.

Could it be… Annie rubbed her eyes and reached out to lift the frame for a closer look. As the lady in the wooden-framed picture became clearly visible, reality became that much clearer.

“Isn’t this Her Highness?”

“I think so. It looks like a picture from when she was at the Academy.”

The frame contained an image of the Grand Duchess sitting in a vast field, wearing a school uniform. She was in a pose with her eyelids lowered diagonally, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“More importantly, isn’t this that picture? Last year, when Her Highness was extremely… struggling. The picture of herself that Her Highness said she hated and told us to throw away.”

“Oh, you’re right, that’s it. Both of Their Highnesses attended the same academy, right? Was this drawn then?”

Annie and Leira’s gazes shifted from each other’s faces to the frame simultaneously.

Last year, the Grand Duchess, who had come to hate herself to such an extent, had thrown away the framed picture of herself, ordering it to be discarded. It had disappeared in the blink of an eye, so they thought someone had thrown it away, but could it be that His Highness had quietly kept it?

As Leira was lost in reminiscence, Annie was carefully examining the frame beside her.

“By the way, Her Highness is really pretty.”

At Annie’s voice, Leira snapped out of her reverie and scrutinized the picture. The Grand Duchess, seemingly reading a book placed on her lap, had a gentle smile on her lips.

That smile was truly beautiful. To an extent that simply calling it pretty wasn’t enough.

They say the artist’s gaze is infused into the painting. Whoever the artist was, they must have ardently admired the Grand Duchess. To have painted her so beautifully.

“Her Highness looks much prettier when she smiles like this.”

Feeling a pang of regret, Leira let out a quiet sigh.

“I know, right? Ah, such a beautiful person… But wait. Why is this here? Weren’t they not on good terms?”

Annie was right. Currently, the Grand Duke was not on good terms with Her Highness enough to keep her picture on his personal desk. Leira pinched her chin with her thumb and index finger, trying to recall.

“Hmm… What is it? Maybe it was placed here by mistake?”

“That’s not it. I’ve seen it here a few times, but every time…”

At that moment, a knock on the door interrupted the conversation between the two. A maid peeking her head through the doorway relayed someone’s call.

“Leira, Her Highness is looking for you. Hurry to the annex.”

“Alright, Emilia. Annie, we’re done cleaning, so let’s get out of here.”

“Okay, sure.”

The two began busily packing the cleaning supplies into the bucket. Leira, who was about to leave, looked at Annie with questioning eyes as she turned the frame face down.

“Why are you turning it over?”

“It was face down originally. Phew, finally done with cleaning.”

“I guess so. It was always face down. Come on, let’s go.”

As Leira followed Annie, who was stretching as she left the room, she suddenly felt a twinge of regret.

The picture was so pretty… It seemed a shame to turn it face down.

Sighing involuntarily, Leira took one last look at the office before closing the door.

Was it just her imagination? The meticulously organized space, without a speck of dust, seemed to be filled with an especially thick sense of desolation today.

* * *

Two days passed without the conversation with him being properly concluded, and the day of the inspection arrived.

Inspection Day. During this time, under the official pretext of checking whether each territory is being well governed, the Emperor assembles an inspection team represented by nobles once every five years and dispatches them to the respective territories.

Also, to minimize corruption, the composition of the inspection team differs for each territory visited. Coincidentally, this time, familiar faces were coming for the inspection.

“You must have had a tiring journey.”

“It’s been a while, Grand Duke Adrian.”

Standing at the entrance of the Grand Duchy, Selene glanced sideways. He, shaking hands with the inspection team, wore a face that seemed to have forgotten all about their conversation from the other day.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Grand Duchess Adrian.”

Realizing that the order had changed, as indicated by the voice, Selene emerged from her thoughts and grasped the hand of Duke Leviathan, Nocturne, who had come as the representative of the inspection team.

Selene greeted them with a fabricated smile on her lips.

“You must have had a difficult journey. I hope you find your stay here comfortable.”

The news that Nocturne and Johan had been selected as the representative and deputy of the inspection team was already known, so there was nothing to be surprised about. If there was a variable, it would be Fritten Lenoir, who had requested a visit at this particular time.

“Thank you for accepting my visit request despite it being such a busy time for you.”

Selene smiled equally at Fritten, who was curtseying in greeting.

The visit request from the Lenoir Baronial family was made under the pretext of “wishing to convey apologies and gratitude for the incident at the last banquet.”

How flustered she had been when she received that letter from the Baronial family a few days ago.

Of all times, the date of the visit coincided with the Inspection Day period. It felt too fishy to be a coincidence, and she was about to refuse, but after persistent requests, she reluctantly accepted. As long as it didn’t violate protocol, it was socially accepted etiquette not to refuse visit requests.

“The Grand Duchy has become even more beautiful since I last saw it.”

Fritten added words of praise while looking at the newly renovated exterior of the Grand Duchy, which had taken several days to complete. Selene responded to the freely given compliment with a slight curtsy.

“I hope our best efforts have pleased you.”

It seemed about time to move past the stage of exchanging greetings. Selene quietly buried the lingering images of the past that kept appearing in her vision.

Enough of personal feelings. It was time to work now.

Taking a deep breath and clearing her mind, she soon became the perfect Grand Duchess and guided the visitors.

“Well, that’s enough for greetings. Shall we go inside now?”

* * *

The inspection takes place over two days. The first day is for touring the interior of the castle, and the second day is for the exterior.

Boreas, who guided the inspection team to the office, informed them of the work that had been done in the name of the Grand Duchy. Selene’s gaze, which had been scanning the inspection team sitting in a circle around the large multipurpose table, eventually fell on him as he worked.

Boreas was handing over various reports and documents to the inspection team, pointing out evaluation considerations.

The man who had called her a liar was not there. There was only the capable Grand Duke, Boreas Adrian, efficiently handling work in a businesslike tone.

Just as her thoughts were about to deepen, their eyes met.

Not only him, but everyone present was looking at her, Selene realized, and hurriedly recalled the conversations she had let slip while lost in thought.

“Here are the reports on the budget for the greenhouse, garden, and rear garden construction.”

Selene quickly found the stack of documents with a yellow clip and handed it to Nocturne sitting across from her with a precise movement.

“The condition was quite poor during the last evaluation, but to see such a change in just a few months. Not bad. Rather, it’s quite surprising.”

“Thank you.”

Selene briefly expressed her gratitude, roughly concluding the report. After satisfying their hunger at an odd hour with simple refreshments, they continued to handle the remaining tasks for the day.

Selene, who was the first to finish her assigned part, quietly followed Nocturne, Johan, and Boreas for the rest of the work hours. As they toured the interior of the castle, conversations on various topics such as political relations with the Backtum County and the rapid growth of the Adrian merchant group were exchanged.

It wasn’t until the sun that had been high in the sky was about to set behind the mountains that it was time for the last task of the day, inspecting the outer walls of the castle. Selene followed the people going outside through the main entrance.

Having just blindly followed behind, she found that the topic of conversation had already changed to the recent rebellion of a minority ethnic group in Mount Baktor, located in the northernmost part of the Grand Duchy.

As questions could come at any moment, Selene straightened her back and quickly assumed a listening posture. She also walked faster.

All the men in front were tall with long legs, so there was a big difference in stride length, and if she didn’t walk diligently, she could fall behind.

However, in her haste, snow suddenly entered her pumps. The unexpected cold sensation caused her to hesitate for a moment.

As the coldness covered the top of her foot, Selene slightly furrowed her brow.

The northern Grand Duchy was a region that remained in winter until spring. It was a place where winters were long and summers passed quickly, so the snow that had fallen overnight remained piled up in places without melting. It wasn’t thickly piled, so there was no inconvenience in moving around. It would have been fine if the shoes she was wearing weren’t pumps with the tops of the feet exposed.

Choosing pumps for comfort was a mistake. However, she couldn’t go back inside to change shoes, so Selene exercised patience.

She lowered her gaze and placed both hands on her stomach, assuming a neat posture, and walked again with quick, short steps.

On the ground she looked down at, Boreas’s footprints remained like traces of where he had passed. In the places where he had firmly stepped, the snow had disappeared as if by magic.

If she stepped there, she wouldn’t have to worry about snow getting into her shoes.

Having thought of this idea, Selene placed her foot on the large imprint Boreas had left.

‘….’

Suddenly, an inexplicable comfort washed over her. The path he had cleared was free of snow, so no matter how quickly she moved her feet, the cold wouldn’t penetrate.

The allowed space was sufficiently large and wide. There was the inconvenience of having to spread her legs quite wide due to the large stride, but it was bearable compared to her shoes getting wet.

Selene, with an increasingly dazed feeling, put her foot into the next footprint, and the next, and the next after that.

When he took a step, she took a step.

When he went, she followed like a child following its mother.

The process of him passing and her entering the empty space was repeated.

And so she continued to trace his footsteps.

One step. Two steps. Three steps… By about the fifth step, the width of the stride began to gradually decrease.

Thanks to this, she could walk more easily than before. Feeling as if someone had erased her discomfort, Selene looked up at the person standing right in front of her.

Boreas, engaged in official conversation with people, seemed too busy working to notice. He didn’t seem to have the leisure to show consideration by narrowing his stride for someone following in his footsteps.

Erasing her solitary illusion, Selene lowered her head again and placed her foot on the only refuge in the snow-covered space.

Boreas’s gaze lingered briefly on the woman before disappearing. It was such a fleeting moment that no one present noticed it.