“Madam, the carriage has arrived,” Emily carefully reported.

Lily calmly nodded at the news and placed the old suitcase in the child’s hand. It was a precious bag that held all of her belongings.

As if knowing this fact, Emily hugged the suitcase tightly and quickly disappeared down the hallway.

Standing in front of the wide open bedroom door, Lily suddenly felt an intense gaze and looked down. As their eyes met, Harry slowly parted his lips.

“Are you really leaving?”

“…Would you prefer if I didn’t leave?”

“Yes.”

At the resolute answer, a perplexed look settled in her green eyes. Harry directly met those eyes and continued.

“No matter where you go, it won’t be as comfortable and safe as this place. I don’t understand why you insist on leaving.”

A comfortable and safe place. Lily repeated those words as if rolling them around in her mouth and looked at the bedroom. The room was cozy and comfortable, filled with warm afternoon sunlight pouring in through the large window. It was indeed so in reality.

“Are you really leaving, Madam?” Harry asked again.

Lily nodded with a faint smile on her lips. “Yes. This place is safe, but… it’s no longer a comfortable place for me.”

Even if her body was comfortable, her heart was no longer at ease. Lily knew her presence would be a big obstacle in his future, but she wasn’t brazen enough to stretch out her legs as much as she wanted.

So let’s leave. She should have done it from the beginning, but she couldn’t because Herald had earnestly held onto her.

No, that’s an excuse, too. In fact, she had used him because she wanted to escape from her husband’s clutches.

The sudden realization became a sharp blade, cutting into her heart. It was so painful that blood could have dripped from that spot, but Lily stubbornly ignored it.

As if to show her firm determination, she tightly closed the wide open bedroom door. The sound of the door closing echoed hollowly in the spacious hallway.

“……”

Harry, who had been silently watching, let out a small sigh and lightly waved the parasol Emily had entrusted to him.

“Pretending to go for a walk should do, right?”

He must have already heard everything from Emily. Lily bitterly smiled and nodded.

“You can leave now if you want to.”

“I’d like to, but I can’t yet.”

“Because of Emily?”

Lily had made the same offer to Emily, but the girl had flatly refused. She begged Lily not to abandon her now, saying she had nowhere else to go. So Lily had no choice but to take the child in.

“It’s partly because of my sister… but there are other reasons, too.”

“Other reasons?”

Harry stared intently at Lily as if contemplating whether to tell her or not, then shrugged his shoulders and turned around.

“Let’s go before it’s too late.”

Coleman Jones, who had now perfectly become the butler of the Marquis of Braden’s estate, waited in the central hall with some servants upon hearing the news of Herald’s return.

“Shall I inform the Marchioness that the master has arrived?” a maid asked.

Coleman thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, it’s fine. The madam is staying here as a guest, so there’s no need to inform her.”

Anyone could see that Lily was no ordinary guest, but since Herald said nothing about it, everyone treated her as a guest.

A moment later, the door opened, and Herald entered along with the late afternoon sunlight pouring in fiercely.

“Welcome back, master.” Coleman and the servants who had been whispering all bowed in unison to greet him.

However, Herald didn’t even acknowledge their greetings and strode towards the central staircase. His manner was so fierce that it was scary to even try to speak to him.

“Marchioness Benjamin is currently taking a walk in the garden,” the faithful butler said, unable to just watch his master take a fruitless trip.

The footsteps that had just stepped onto the stairs faltered. Herald turned his head and looked at Coleman.

“Lily is taking a walk in the garden?”

“Yes. She left for a walk about 30 minutes ago.”

“Bring her to me at once.”

Herald had always gone directly to wherever Lily was said to be. He had never asked for her to be brought to him. So Coleman, slightly taken aback, hesitated. Herald brushed back his disheveled hair and turned.

“No, I’ll go myself.”

As he spoke, he headed towards the garden, and Coleman hurriedly followed his master.

Herald usually went alone as he disliked having people tag along. Even knowing this, Coleman followed because he felt he should.

And Coleman Jones’ premonition was spot on.

“Where is she?”

The question was monotonous yet piercing, sending chills down Coleman’s spine. He bit his dry lips and quickly scanned the garden. But no matter how much he looked, Lily was nowhere to be seen.

“Where are you, madam! Marchioness Benjamin!”

Wondering if he just couldn’t find her, Coleman called out loudly. But only his voice echoed hollowly in the vast garden, with no answer in return.

Could something have happened to her? The sudden thought made Coleman’s face turn as pale as a blank sheet of paper. It was even more chilling given that an outsider had once secretly infiltrated the mansion.

Of course, there was no proper security back then, and now it was thoroughly guarded, but one never knew.

“I will check if the Marchioness has returned to her bedroom.”

If that were the case, one of the servants would have discovered it and informed him, so it was unlikely. But one never knew. Coleman fervently hoped and prayed that nothing had happened to Lily as he hurriedly headed to her bedroom.

But God was cruelly not granting his request.

“Madam! Marchioness Benjamin!”

Coleman checked everywhere, calling out to her desperately – the bedroom, the bathroom, the dressing room, and even the side room where her personal servants stayed. But Lily was nowhere to be found. The children who attended to her were also missing.

Wait a minute. The fact that the children are also missing… could it be that the madam left the mansion on her own?

Lily, who had shown no such signs even this morning, suddenly leaving the mansion… could it be that the Viscountess…

“Hahaha.”

Suddenly, laughter rang out, and Coleman looked at Herald, startled. He was checking the wardrobe and drawers, laughing and shrugging his shoulders like someone who had discovered something very amusing.

At this, Coleman and the servants who had rushed in upon hearing the serious news of Marchioness Benjamin’s disappearance all looked at their master in bewilderment.

Despite the pouring gazes, Herald laughed for a long time as if he had suddenly started, then abruptly stopped. His face, without a hint of a smile remaining, was cold and eerie.

“…She left.”

It was clear from the missing suitcase she had brought with her when she first came to the Benjamin estate.

Liliana Benjamin had left Herald Braden’s side.

Although perplexed as there had been no such signs when he saw her in the morning, he wasn’t angry or displeased. Rather, he was worried because he didn’t think Lily had left of her own free will.

Surely someone had instigated her. For example, Olivia.

Seeing the Crown Princess involved, it was clear she was related. Furthermore, Hamilton or his parents could also be involved.

‘I don’t care about that.’

What mattered now was bringing Lily back. Finding the culprit who had used their silver tongue to make her leave came next. Herald first wanted to confirm how Lily had disappeared, so he asked Coleman.

“Did Viscountess Maximilian come here while I was away?”

“No, sir. The young madam did not visit.”

“She’s no longer the young madam.”

Coleman’s shoulders slightly shrank at being pointed out that he was no longer the butler of the Maximilian estate. Sensing something odd, Herald tilted his head.

“Are you perhaps hiding something from me?”

“……”

As if hit the mark, Coleman’s eyes wavered uneasily. Clenching the hem of his clothes tightly, Coleman pondered for a moment on what to do, then closed his eyes tightly and revealed the truth he had been hiding.

“Actually… Viscountess Maximilian sent a letter to the Marchioness.”

This time, Coleman used the correct title without making a mistake.

“Seeing the Marchioness leave immediately, it seemed to be a letter asking to meet briefly.”

So she didn’t come directly but called Lily out. This confirmed that Olivia was the culprit.

Moreover, from the way Coleman described it as going out, it seemed Lily had met Olivia and returned. She probably came back to pack her things.

Imagining her leaving the Braden estate with her suitcase, Herald let out a sigh close to a bitter laugh and ran his hand over his face. The similar scene he had seen before made it even more vivid, tormenting him.

“Are you alright, master?”

“…No.”

Herald didn’t answer that he was fine, even as a formality. As if feeling it was his fault, Coleman bowed his head deeply and apologized.

“It’s not something you need to apologize for.”

Coleman had only delivered Olivia’s letter. He, too, couldn’t have predicted that it would cause such repercussions.

Of course, that didn’t make the mistake disappear, but Herald didn’t blame Coleman. It was more accurate to say he had no room for that. His mind was filled with thoughts of finding Lily.

Yes. He had to find her no matter what.

Clenching his fists, Herald’s golden eyes flashed eerily as he turned around.

“First… I need to see my sister-in-law.”