“Raymond?”

I called out his name without realizing it. At that moment, I saw Raymond turn his head.

He had an expression as if he had just heard something truly strange.

Alternating his gaze between Yerpi and Charlotte, Raymond quickly pulled back the hand he had placed on his shoulder, clearly startled.

“Yerpi? Why are you there…”

At those words, Charlotte turned around. Under the dim moonlight, her silver hair swayed gently.

“You must have mistaken me for your older sister. I was surprised when you suddenly embraced my shoulder.”

It was an exaggeration to say “embraced” when he had merely placed a hand on her shoulder. But the mistake was Raymond’s.

He stepped back with an awkward tone.

“My apologies.”

“No, it’s fine. It could happen to anyone.”

Charlotte smiled, showing understanding. Her eyes, however, were fixed on Yerpi.

“I was out for a walk since the weather seemed to have cleared a bit.”

The rain had only just stopped, and the night sky, obscured by thick clouds that even blocked the moonlight, could hardly be called clear by any generous interpretation.

Lowering my gaze, I saw the damp ground.

Across it stretched a long indigo cloth, seemingly laid down by a maid. Charlotte’s shoes remained completely dry.

“Again.”

That unfamiliar, unsettling sensation. Looking at Charlotte’s smile under the dim moonlight, my stomach churned.

My heart grew uneasy, as if something deep inside was scraping against my uncomfortable gut.

Eventually, a sensation like stomach acid rose up, forcing me to cover my mouth. Seeing this, Raymond quickly approached Yerpi.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“…I think I just felt a little dizzy for a moment. I’m fine now.”

Rubbing my chest calmed the nausea slightly. Raymond supported Yerpi and led her to the carriage.

Dry firewood was gathered, tents were erected, and camp preparations were completed.

In the meantime, Raymond stayed close to her. As she leaned her head against his shoulder inside the tent, the dizziness faded significantly.

“Yeah. I’m fine now.”

Her body had recovered enough to humor Dante’s childish antics again.

She even managed to eat a small amount of dinner. Yet even after lying down in bed, she still couldn’t fully make sense of it.

“Why did I react like that all of a sudden?”

While wondering whether it had really been something that bad, she also found herself reconsidering—had it really been dark enough for someone to be mistaken for another?

At that moment, a torch burning brightly beside Raymond had illuminated the surroundings clearly.

Even if Charlotte had turned around, the area hadn’t been dark enough to prevent recognition.

Though it seemed unlikely to make such a mistake, part of her still blamed herself.

“Maybe it was just my own mood.”

This intense discomfort, nauseating enough to turn her stomach inside out, was so unfamiliar that beyond mere sickness, it felt alien.

Above all, regardless of any circumstances, the look in Raymond’s eyes—his startled, genuinely embarrassed expression—had been real.

“He might have made a mistake once. I shouldn’t think too deeply about it.”

Perhaps the sudden nausea had nothing to do with this incident. Maybe it was simply the aftereffect of riding a warhorse for too long, leaving her body fatigued.

Thinking this way, her illness seemed unrelated to Charlotte. Only then did she finally feel at ease.

Yerpi pulled Dante close. At last, in the dark tent, she could seek sleep.

***

The journey toward the heart of the Autumn Territory continued. A white bird soaring through the sky circled above the envoy’s party.

At a prearranged signal, the knights halted their warhorses. The mirror bird perched on Raymond’s arm chirped softly.

Its mate had arrived at the lord of Loarclow’s domain.

The knights brought forth a mirror. Upon seeing its own reflection, the mirror bird immediately linked its vision with that of its mate, projecting the scene onto the mirror’s surface.

“It’s been a while, my lord.”

“Yes. It’s been quite some time, Dyson Loarclow.”

Appearing in the mirror was a well-dressed middle-aged man with brown hair. His uniform was so meticulously arranged that even the angle of his tie seemed perfectly calculated—far beyond mere grooming.

“So this is the lord who guards the Autumn Territory.”

True to Marian’s words, the Autumn Lord indeed resembled the very model of imperial nobility.

Placing his hand crisply over one side of his chest, he spoke confidently, as if asking to be believed.

“I was informed you have business in the Autumn Territory. We’ve prepared thoroughly and await your arrival. Ah, the Petal of Dragon’s Blood is standing behind you.”

The sudden attention startled her briefly. But Raymond, stepping to Yerpi’s side, wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“My wife.”

“I’m Yerpi Growen.”

Being acknowledged beside Raymond always brought a ticklish sensation. Dyson chuckled with amusement and continued.

“I heard it from nobles who returned from the Summer Territory. They said the two of you are getting along quite well.”

He was referring to the kiss they had shared at the full party.

Yerpi’s eyes flickered in surprise—she hadn’t expected the Autumn Lord to mention that day.

But only for a moment. Raymond, placing Yerpi behind him, warned the lord.

“Don’t stare so much. My wife will wear out.”

“My, my, I didn’t know you could say such things.”

Dyson acted as if deeply moved, pulling out a handkerchief and pretending to dab away tears.

Watching from behind Raymond, she felt even more embarrassed than before. This was happening as Raymond and the lord continued their conversation.

Click. The door of a nearby carriage opened.

Snowell stepped out first, followed by Charlotte, who descended using the footboard laid by her maid.

Once again, Charlotte wore an immaculate white dress.

She stood in the middle of the forest like a vision of beauty in a pristine temple banquet hall.

Seeing this, the lord turned his attention to Charlotte.

“Oh, there was another person here.”

Charlotte stepped under the parasol held by her maid and smiled sweetly at the lord reflected in the mirror.

With light steps, Charlotte approached Raymond and Yerpi.

Naturally, she wrapped an arm around Yerpi’s and tilted her head.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

Her question wasn’t directed at Yerpi, but at Raymond.

Raymond glanced at Charlotte, who clung to Yerpi with a smiling face, then turned his eyes toward the mirror with a complex expression.

“You’ve already heard about the guest I instructed you to keep separate.”

“Oh, of course.”

Dyson lowered his voice, as if acknowledging a secret. After that, he didn’t spare another glance toward Charlotte.

“Since you’re coming to Loarclow, please exercise discretion.”

“Of course. I shall see you soon.”

After bowing deeply, the lord disappeared, and the mirror returned to its ordinary state. The mirror bird let out a high-pitched cry and took flight.

Whether from joy at soon reuniting with its mate, the bird circled the sky in wide spirals before returning to the knight who raised it.

Raymond turned his gaze toward Charlotte. Clinging to Yerpi as if innocent of anything, Charlotte finally received a warning.

“That was rude. From the moment you entered Growen without permission, you became a criminal. Though I’ve concealed you for Yerpi’s sake, I told you not to reveal your status as a criminal to others.”

“Oh, right. I forgot. I was just so happy seeing you two talking, I didn’t realize.”

This had indeed been a prior instruction given before departure.

Charlotte, feigning sudden remembrance with an apologetic expression, hid behind Yerpi.

He sighed, unwilling for his wife to be put in an awkward situation.

“For now, assign her a temporary identity from the Spring Territory. We’ll be departing soon, so get back in the carriage.”

“Alright. Will you come with me, sister?”

Offered casually, Yerpi shook her head.

“No. I’ll ride on horseback.”

“Hmm, okay. I understand.”

Since the last camp, being close to Charlotte had only grown more uncomfortable.

As Charlotte finally stepped away, no longer clinging to her arm, the nausea gradually settled.

“Why does this keep happening?”

The dizziness seemed to be turning into a habit.

The envoy group resumed its journey.

Riding atop her warhorse, taking in the forest scenery, the discomfort completely faded.

Looking at the beautiful maple forest with a much lighter heart, she recalled the earlier conversation between Raymond and the lord.

“Raymond, what did the lord mean by ‘preparations’ earlier?”

The lord had mentioned preparations, appearing unusually tense.

Beside her, guiding his warhorse, Raymond answered her question.

“Probably a party. The lord of the Autumn Territory loves parties almost as much as the Summer Territory’s lord. Their styles differ, but the essence is the same.”

“I see.”

She had expected Raymond to discourage such events, so his acceptance surprised her.

But her confusion was quickly resolved. Gazing into the distant maple forest, Raymond said:

“I thought you might like it. The Autumn Territory’s parties are said to be most similar to those of the imperial social circles.”

His words brought back memories of her past, something she had once confessed to him. Those were embarrassing days when Raymond already knew everything about her.

Now, Raymond was trying to fill in the gaps of that past she had missed.

Every time she discovered a new side of him she hadn’t known, her heart fluttered. Warmed by his care, Yerpi smiled.

“Since I never had my debutante ball, this will be my first time.”

The wind blew. By chance, she caught a drifting maple leaf carried on a gentle breeze.

Wishing she could hold onto this feeling for a long time, Yerpi made a silent wish upon the red leaf.