“Oh, hello.”

Kisa greeted with a stunned expression upon encountering an unexpected person at an unexpected place.

In contrast, Aria Oshuana acted warmly as if she had met a close friend.

“I was wondering if you have some time right now? Since we’ve met like this by chance, would you like to go somewhere and have a conversation if it’s alright with you?”

Kisa looked at her for a moment before nodding.

“Sure, Mrs. Oshuana. I actually had something I wanted to say to you as well.”

She led Kisa to a tea house she had visited a few times nearby.

The destination they arrived at shortly had a luxurious exterior and a calm atmosphere.

Looking around, there were quite a few customers as it seemed to be a popular place, but the distance between tables was far and there were many pillars, so the possibility of someone eavesdropping on their conversation seemed low.

It appeared to be her consideration for Kisa, who attracted people’s attention wherever she went as the fiancée of Duke Hillan.

Perhaps because she was in a hurry, Aria went straight to the point as soon as they took their seats and finished ordering.

“You said you had something to tell me. What is it?”

Come to think of it, even when they first met at Melissa’s tea party a few months ago, she didn’t seem very interested in perfunctory topics like the weather or greetings.

And when she was left alone with Kisa, she abruptly revealed Daniel’s scandal.

Kisa opened her dry lips.

“I wanted to express my gratitude to you.”

“Gratitude?”

Aria’s eyes widened as if it was unexpected.

“Back then, you revealed the secret about Daniel, my former fiancé, to me.”

“Ah, you mean that.”

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have married him without knowing anything. And I’m sorry for reacting coldly at that time because I couldn’t believe what you said. I always wanted to tell you this if I ever met you again.”

It was Kisa’s sincere feeling without any pretense.

There was a time when Aria Oshuana felt like an uninvited guest who brought misfortune to Kisa’s life.

However, that was only when Kisa was very upset about Daniel’s situation and lacked emotional stability.

Looking back after some time had passed, Aria was no different than a messenger of fortune.

Without her, Kisa would have been completely unaware of Daniel’s deception, and she wouldn’t have met Seierd to attain her current happiness.

Even if she hadn’t met Aria by chance today, Kisa would have visited her at least once to officially thank her before marrying Seierd and going down to Hillan’s territory.

“……”

For a while, Aria stared at Kisa with her cat-like eyes, seeming intrigued.

Then, around the time when the tea house staff brought the black tea they had ordered, she finally opened her mouth.

“I’m glad I told you after all.”

She savored the aroma of the tea the staff had placed with a relaxed motion.

“There’s nothing more infuriating than watching a pure and good person like you being deceived by such a jerk.”

But when Kisa expressed her gratitude once again, Aria shook her head.

“Actually, there’s no need for Miss Ranspelt to thank me. It wasn’t out of pure goodwill.”

“Pardon?”

“Can I make a confession? Oshuana is my maiden name. I married a man named Robin Stamper. So technically, I’m Mrs. Stamper.”

“Oh… Is that so?”

Nodding her head awkwardly, a question mark popped up in Kisa’s mind.

From the moment Kisa was first introduced to Aria by Melissa, she was introduced as Aria Oshuana.

In other words, there was a high probability that Aria had revealed her maiden name to Melissa from the beginning as well.

Melissa, being a foreigner, didn’t know much about Aria, so she would have taken her introduction at face value.

Why did Aria hide her current surname? And why did she suddenly reveal the truth now?

While harboring such doubts, Kisa blinked unconsciously.

‘Wait a minute, Robin Stamper?’

For some reason, the name of Aria’s husband sounded familiar.

It felt like she had encountered it a few times before. Not recently, but quite a while ago.

The answer came to her in a flash.

“Don’t tell me your husband is Daniel’s friend?”

In response to Kisa’s surprised question, Aria sighed softly and answered yes.

Robin Stamper. A name that briefly appeared in letters Daniel sent while studying abroad.

According to what she heard, he was a man Daniel met there not long after he went to study in Zark, the neighboring country.

Since he was also in a position of studying abroad from the Kingdom of Sorbi, and he got along quite well with Daniel, the two quickly became close.

After taking a sip of black tea, Aria explained about herself.

“I fell in love with my husband, who was a student studying abroad, and eventually married him and followed him here. I’ve encountered your former fiancé a few times.”

“…You were originally from Zark.”

“Didn’t you somewhat guess from my accent?”

“A little bit.”

However, she didn’t ask further.

Although diplomatic relations had been normalized a long time ago, the emotional rift between the two countries was still deep due to the countless wars they had fought throughout their long history.

Those from Zark weren’t subjected to harsh treatment, but they didn’t receive favorable gazes either.

“The surname Oshuana doesn’t reveal my homeland as much, so I often use it when I want to hide my marital status. Well, there’s a limit to how much I can conceal my accent no matter how hard I try.”

“So you introduced yourself as Aria Oshuana to me because you wanted to hide your marriage? May I ask why? Perhaps because you didn’t want to reveal the fact that your husband is Daniel’s friend?”

“That’s right.”

Readily affirming Kisa’s question, Aria revealed her circumstances.

“One day, Robin told me that he had done something regrettable to Daniel’s fiancée.”

“To me?”

“Yes, actually, the person who first took your former fiancé to that tea house was my husband.”

Although the exact name wasn’t mentioned, Kisa could instantly tell which tea house it was.

The Willow Tea House. The place run by Hazel Turdy.

“He said he took his friend there because there was an interesting gathering, but he never expected that friend to become excessively intimate with the host of the gathering. He tried to stop him, but that person wouldn’t listen and kept lamenting about feeling sorry towards you.”

“……”

“So I took action. I thought it would be easier for me, being of the same gender, to approach you than my husband, and he was reluctant to get directly involved, fearing that his relationship with Daniel would deteriorate. He’s not a bad person, but he has a timid side.”

“Then you’re saying you deliberately got acquainted with Melissa to meet me.”

“Correct. After looking into it a bit, I realized that going through Miss Dos was the easiest way to approach you. In fact, we had the opportunity to talk alone from our very first meeting, didn’t we?”

Aria winked affectionately with one eye closed and continued.

“When I actually met you, I thought you were much more pure and firmly believed in your fiancé than I had imagined, so I felt I couldn’t just stand by and watch. Of course, my fundamental motive was to make up for my husband’s mistake to some extent, so I’m not in a position to receive your gratitude.”

Kisa kept her gaze on the teacup in front of her for a moment before speaking.

“No, even if that’s the case, it doesn’t diminish the meaning of the kindness you have shown me.”

Life was full of unexpected turns.

Melissa, whom she considered a lifelong friend, hid the truth about Daniel, while Aria, a complete stranger, went out of her way for Kisa, whom she had never even seen before.

Moreover, even after being betrayed by Daniel, whom she had a long-standing crush on, didn’t she fall in love with Seierd again?

‘Come to think of it, it’s all thanks to Aria that I became this way with Seierd.’

If she hadn’t faced the truth after hearing Aria’s story that day, she wouldn’t have met Seierd while crying in the reading room of the library.

“I’m truly grateful, Aria.”

Kisa once again conveyed her sincere gratitude to her benefactor.

Afterwards, the two engaged in more open and varied conversations.

“Anyway, it turned out like this because my husband did something foolish.”

“Ah, it’s alright. It’s not like your husband took him to the gathering knowing that Daniel would turn out that way.”

“That’s true, but… I’m saying this now, but I never liked that jerk from the beginning. He always acts arrogant and looks down on others with his gaze. Don’t you think so?”

“Well, he’s a bit like that.”

“A bit?”

“No, quite a lot.”

The two exchanged glances silently and giggled.

Aria was a type of person Kisa had never encountered before, and the time spent with her was delightful.

Especially since they had a common enemy in Daniel Rowens, they quickly became close.

“I really don’t understand why Robin is friendly with him. He doesn’t suit my easygoing husband at all. But fortunately, he seems to be keeping his distance recently. Daniel, that person. I heard he’s been frequently absent from the gatherings lately as if his mind is preoccupied with something else.”

After thoroughly gossiping about Daniel, Aria’s eyes sparkled as if a good idea had occurred to her.

“Ah, speaking of gatherings… Kisa, would you like to join our gathering?”

“Pardon?”

“Not the gathering of pseudo-intellectuals that Daniel and my husband belong to, but I have a social gathering I created with my friends. They’re all good people.”

“Um, is it okay for me to suddenly join?”

“Of course. As long as there’s a guarantee from an existing member, everyone welcomes new members with an open mind.”

Although it was somewhat sudden, Kisa soon nodded at Aria’s insistence.

There was no harm in experiencing various encounters, right?

After parting with her, Kisa boarded the carriage sent from the Ranspelt estate with an excited heart.

‘Aria.’

It seemed she had made a new friend.

That evening.

“Darling?”

Upon returning home, Aria entered the study to look for her husband.

“Oh, honey. You’re back?”

Her husband, Robin Stamper, brushed the ashes off his hands and greeted his wife.

“Did you meet the person you were supposed to meet?”

“Yes, she was a good person as expected. Kisa, that is.”

“You’ve become close enough to call her by name, I see.”

“That’s right. As I mentioned before, I invited her to my friends’ gathering as well. But…”

She glanced at the ashtray next to her husband. Charred paper scraps caught her eye.

“It seems you received another letter from that sponsor. Just how secretive are the conversations you’re having that you burn the letters every time?”