Lily’s head tilted curiously as she unintentionally overheard their conversation.

Who shouldn’t find out what, and what must be prevented at all costs? Who is that woman?

“So… Whoa!”

“…!”

The aide who made eye contact with her let out a startled yelp, causing Lily to also jump back in surprise.

“Why suddenly… My lady.”

Fredrick, belatedly noticing Lily, hesitated before asking with a stiff expression.

“How long have you been here?”

“I just arrived.”

Upon hearing Lily’s answer, Fredrick glanced at the maid standing behind her. When the maid nodded to confirm it was true, he finally seemed to relax his expression.

“You appeared so suddenly without a sound, it startled me.”

“It seemed like you were having an important conversation with the aide, so I tried not to interrupt… I didn’t expect you to be so surprised. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Fredrick smiled as if it really was fine and held out his arm. Lily placed her hand on it and followed her husband, mulling over the snippet of conversation she had overheard.

Considering Fredrick and the aide’s reactions, it seemed the “that woman” they mentioned was likely referring to herself.

What on earth were they hiding that the aide was so emphatically warned it must never be discovered?

Lily was genuinely curious what Fredrick Benjamin, who openly disclosed even his affairs with other women, was keeping hidden from her.

After Austin left, Herald tried to catch up on sleep but was unable to as his mother summoned him to have breakfast together.

After barely eating breakfast, Herald returned to his bedroom and this time received a report from Dillon. As Herald was still the captain of the guard protecting Cardin, he had to receive regular reports even while in the capital.

When the report finished, it was lunchtime. Herald was too sleepy to want to eat anything, so he skipped lunch and lay down in bed, but had to get up again due to another uninvited guest appearing.

“Young master.”

It was Olivia Maximilian, the wife of Hamilton Maximilian and Herald’s sister-in-law.

Hamilton and Olivia’s was a rare love marriage in aristocratic society. At the young age of 13, Hamilton fell head over heels for Olivia, who was 2 years his senior, and immediately asked to court her. That connection led all the way to marriage.

“I have a favor to ask, could we talk for a moment?”

“Just a moment.”

Herald put his discarded shirt back on and went out of the bedroom. Seeing his appearance that clearly showed he had just woken up, Olivia apologized in surprise.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You usually always wake up early, so I thought you would today too…”

“It’s fine. I had just woken up anyway.”

Herald hid the truth, not wanting his soft-hearted sister-in-law to worry. Olivia, oblivious, smiled innocently and said that was fortunate then.

“What’s the matter?”

“Ah, I was planning to go to the jeweler’s, and I was wondering if you could accompany me.”

“If there’s jewelry you want to buy, wouldn’t it be better to call a designer to the mansion?”

“I would have if it wasn’t a gift for him.”

Him must refer to his brother Hamilton. Herald was about to ask why the sudden gift, but then realized Hamilton’s birthday was in two weeks and swallowed his words.

“If we call a designer to the mansion, no matter how much we try to keep it quiet, it will reach his ears, and then it will be obvious I’m preparing a gift. So I want to go out and buy it myself.”

Ah, really…

“That’s a good idea.”

You’re making extra work for yourself.

Herald gave a response completely different from his thoughts as he ran his fingers through his disheveled hair.

Olivia was discerning and picky enough to be acknowledged even by the Duchess Maximilian. It was obvious they would have to walk around for a long time to find something to her liking, so Herald was reluctant to accompany her. His fatigue from lack of sleep also played a part.

“You’ll come with me, right?”

“…Alright.”

He wanted to refuse, but when Olivia looked at him with sparkling eyes as if she really wanted him to come along, Herald had no choice but to nod.

The place Fredrick took Lily was a famous boutique in the capital. It was expensive enough that Lily had only worn a dress made here once, for her coming-of-age ceremony. Even that was bought by her parents at considerable strain.

But since he had brought her here, Lily looked at Fredrick with slight surprise. Sensing her gaze, Fredrick turned to look at her as well.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Lily was about to ask if they really needed to wear such expensive clothes just to see Count Stacy, not even royalty, but held her tongue.

“Shall we go in?”

Lily entered the boutique with Fredrick’s escort. A waiting employee greeted them with a welcoming smile.

“Welcome, Lord. It’s been a while since you visited.”

It seems he came here often. Lily glanced sideways at Fredrick. Fredrick spoke with a friendly smile.

“I’ve been busy lately. Today I came with my wife.”

“Oh my, so this is your wife.”

The employee’s eyes, finally turning to Lily, held an indescribable mix of resentment and contempt. It wasn’t the kind of look one should receive from someone they were meeting for the first time, but oddly enough, Lily was used to receiving such looks.

That didn’t make it okay. She felt very uncomfortable and displeased, but didn’t bother to speak up. She didn’t want to cause unnecessary conflict, and even if she said something, the employee would just deny it and make her look foolish.

“Then I’ll show you to the VIP room. This way please.”

“Let’s go, my lady.”

“…”

Lily stared for a moment at Fredrick’s face, who kept doing things he never used to do since yesterday, then lightly placed her hand on the hand he held out.

Fredrick’s strange behavior continued even after they arrived at the VIP room. He pulled out the chair for Lily to sit, personally poured her tea, and even chose the dress and accessories for her to wear.

“My lady, you have fair skin so anything looks good on you, but green certainly suits you best. Perhaps it’s because of your green eyes.”

It was clearly a compliment, but Lily strangely felt goosebumps and rubbed her exposed arms. Fredrick then draped a cashmere shawl from the display over her arms.

“The weather has warmed up considerably, but it’s still chilly in the mornings and evenings, so it would be good to wear a shawl, my lady.”

Goosebumps rose where Fredrick’s hand touched. Her small shoulders hunched.

“We can’t have you catching a cold.”

Lily, who had been robust and never fallen ill before her father passed away, had been seriously ill twice since then. One of those times was after she learned Fredrick’s true nature.

It was a fever born of extreme mental stress. She was so terribly sick that even keeping her eyes open was difficult, but Fredrick was nowhere to be seen. He could have at least shown his face briefly and asked if she was alright when leaving or returning home, but he didn’t.

Later, when Lily confronted him about how a person could behave that way, Fredrick sighed as if greatly annoyed and said:

“I told you before. If you want to be loved by me, bring something useful.”

It was absurd that this same man was now worrying about her catching a mere cold. She wondered if he was genuinely concerned, or if he had some other motive. Given his track record, her suspicions only deepened.

“My lady?”

“…I’ll go freshen up my makeup for a moment.”

Finding it torturous to watch Fredrick pretend to be a gentleman, Lily left the VIP room under the pretext of fixing her makeup. She had no real intention of touching up her makeup, but she couldn’t just stand idly in the corridor where people were coming and going, so she headed for the powder room.

Befitting a high-end boutique, even the corridor was clearly decorated with care. The paintings on the walls were also exquisite, and Lily was slowly walking along, admiring them, when she was about to turn a corner.

“…I heard she came with Lord Benjamin?”

Lily stopped in her tracks upon hearing someone talking about her. Her body, which had been half-extended, pulled back. Meanwhile, her ears perked up, trying to catch what the other person was saying.

“Really? Lord Benjamin came with his wife?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I heard him clearly say ‘wife’ with my own ears. And she didn’t deny it either.”

“My goodness. How could that be?”

If it had been simple gossip, she would have dismissed it with a ‘there they go again,’ but the content of the conversation was too unsettling to ignore.

“Even if they’ve broken up, it’s not right to bring his wife here in person!”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying! Especially since they broke up because of Lady Benjamin in the first place. He broke up with her to marry Lady Benjamin and become nobility…!”

From what she was hearing, it seemed the boutique’s designer was Fredrick’s former lover. That explained why the employee had looked at Lily with eyes full of contempt and resentment.

Even if they had broken up, to bring his wife to a place where his ex-lover worked. Lily was dumbfounded, but understanding given that it was Fredrick. It wasn’t the first time he had done something that defied common sense. By now, it wasn’t even that surprising.

However, understanding and feeling upset were two different matters. She didn’t want to wear a dress designed by her husband’s former lover. She’d rather wear an old, out-of-fashion dress than that.

So I should just say let’s go back. Thinking she should speak up before they made the purchase, Lily turned her steps away from the powder room.

The VIP rooms had curtains instead of doors, each with a different color. The curtain of the VIP room where Lily had been was red. A red close to wine color. As she pushed aside the red curtain, she saw a man and woman passionately kissing, unaware of her arrival.