“You can go back for today.”

“Pardon?”

The coachman of the Benjamin viscounty, who had planned to wait for Lily to come out at the nursing home’s carriage waiting area as usual, looked at her in confusion at the sudden request.

“I said you can go back for today.”

Thinking he hadn’t heard her request, Lily repeated it, and the coachman, finally coming to his senses, stuttered slightly as he asked.

“Bu-but, my lady. If I go back, how will you return to the mansion?”

“I’ll take a public carriage, so there’s no need to worry.”

“But when there’s a carriage right here, why a public carriage…?”

“I have an appointment in the evening. So you can go back first.”

Literally translated, it meant she had a secret appointment that couldn’t be shown to the coachman. Usually, such appointments were trysts. The coachman’s eyes glinted sharply.

Liliana Benjamin, who had acted like a noble crane criticizing her husband’s affairs, having a tryst? He wondered how Fredrick and his family, especially Samantha, would react if they knew this.

He could use this as leverage to extort money from Lily. But to do that, he needed to be sure if it really was a tryst and who the man was, so the coachman smiled kindly and offered.

“Then I’ll take you to your appointment place.”

“It’s alright. I can go by myself, so don’t worry and go back.”

As Lily firmly refused, the coachman had no choice but to pretend to retreat and hid the carriage in the innermost part of the rental area. And as he was waiting to secretly follow Lily when she came out, two men in rough clothing with sword sheaths at their waists approached.

“Wh-who are you!”

The coachman shouted in surprise, but the men didn’t even blink. They just looked him up and down and drew the swords from their sheaths.

“Eek!”

As the sharp tip of the sword touched under his chin, the coachman stepped back in shock. Unfortunately, with the carriage right behind him, there wasn’t much room to retreat. The coachman shouted with his back pressed tightly against the carriage wall.

“Wh-why are you doing this to me…!”

“Don’t do anything unnecessary and return to the viscounty. Otherwise

Despite the day being warm enough for flowers to bloom in the streets, the voice was so cold it sent chills down his spine. The coachman could no longer get angry or argue, and just nodded his head.

“Then go.”

“Th-thank you….”

“By the way, if you tell anyone about meeting us, not only your life but also your wife and daughter’s lives will be forfeit.”

When the unidentified thug threatened the lives of his family, the coachman’s face turned deathly pale. The coachman blurted out incoherently that he had no choice, that he would keep it secret until he died, and then quickly fled, pulling the carriage.

As he was staring blankly at the Benjamin viscounty’s carriage getting farther away, his companion asked.

“Should we take care of that side too?”

The thug glanced sideways at the nursing home, then shook his head.

“That side was hired by that guy, so let’s watch for now, and if they become troublesome, we’ll deal with them then.”

The first thing Lily did when she came to the nursing home was to meet the caregiver in charge of her mother and ask how her mother had been for the past week. This would have been a nuisance in a regular nursing home, but it was possible here because each patient had a dedicated caregiver.

“I’m here to see Caregiver Megan.”

Today too, before meeting her mother, Lily asked the counter staff in the first-floor lobby to see the caregiver first. The staff flipped through a chart and said.

“Megan quit as of yesterday.”

Megan quit? Just a week ago when they met, there was no mention of quitting at all. Lily was surprised by the sudden news, but soon composed herself and asked the staff.

“Then who is currently in charge of caring for Mrs. Grace Benjamin?”

“It’s Margaret. Shall I call her for you?”

“Yes, please call her.”

Lily sat in the lobby chair waiting for Margaret and thought about Megan. Megan was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-40s with sharp eyes and a pointed chin, giving a somewhat irritable impression.

So when Lily first heard that Megan had been assigned as her mother’s caregiver, she worried whether she would treat her mother well, but it was an unnecessary concern. Megan not only took care of Grace wholeheartedly like family but also answered without annoyance whenever Lily asked various questions during her visits.

But now that Megan had quit, she felt regretful. At the same time, she felt a little sad that she quit without saying anything. She must have had a very hard time taking care of her mother, whose body and mind were not whole, and Lily tapped the floor with her toes, feeling guilty that she hadn’t even properly thanked her, let alone given her a gift.

“Mrs. Benjamin?”

Hearing a kind and gentle voice above her head, Lily looked up. A middle-aged woman who looked about the same age as Margaret bowed her head in greeting.

“Nice to meet you, madam. I’m Margaret, who’s been assigned to take care of Mrs. Grace Benjamin starting today.”

So this woman is Mom’s new caregiver. Unlike Megan, she seemed to have a good impression, which put Lily’s mind at ease a little. Lily also stood up and greeted her.

“Nice to meet you, Caregiver Margaret.”

“You can just call me Margaret comfortably.”

“No, I’m more comfortable with this, so don’t worry about it.”

Lily tried to be as careful as possible, fearing that if she made a mistake by calling her name casually, that mistake could affect her mother.

“More importantly, how is my mother’s condition? Is there any improvement?”

“Umm, I don’t know if you already know, but I only started taking care of Mrs. Grace Benjamin this morning.”

“Ah, I see.”

“But comparing with what the previous caregiver, Megan, recorded, there doesn’t seem to be any significant improvement. Mrs. Grace Benjamin still doesn’t recognize anyone and doesn’t know her own name.”

It was a story she had heard dozens, no, hundreds of times before, but it was still heartbreaking. Lily closed her eyes tightly and then opened them. Today, will it be a little better, today, will it be a little okay. She had crossed the threshold of the nursing home with earnest hope, but her wish had never come true.

“Then, please take good care of my mother.”

After repeatedly asking Margaret to take good care of her mother, Lily headed to her mother’s room. Lily’s expression was as dry as a fallen leaf as she walked down the corridor painted entirely in white.

It was when she stood in front of the room with the nameplate Grace Benjamin that her eyes, which had been devoid of any emotion, began to waver.

“Phew.”

Lily took a deep breath to calm her surging emotions and then opened the door forcefully.

“I’m here!”

There was no trace of sadness or pain on Lily’s face as she entered the room.

Having finished preparing for his outing, Herald checked the time with his pocket watch. The appointment time written in Lily’s letter was 6 PM. And the current time was 3 PM.

If I leave now, it might be too early… But better than being late.

The slightly foolish thought that it might be fun to arrive first and wait for Lily even crossed his mind, and Herald put on his coat and left the bedroom.

As he was about to go down the central staircase after passing through the long corridor, Hamilton and Olivia were coming up, affectionately arm in arm.

“Oh, young master.”

As Olivia greeted him first, Herald nodded lightly in greeting and looked at Hamilton. Hamilton looked him up and down and then stroked his chin.

“What’s this? A dress that seems all dolled up. No matter how I look at it, it’s not an outfit for meeting a friend.”

It hit the mark, but Herald pretended otherwise and retorted.

“Stop talking nonsense. If you have attention to spare for me, why don’t you give it to your wife?”

“I’m already giving her plenty.”

Hamilton said so and put his arm around Olivia’s waist. To this, Olivia glared at him but not disliking it, she rested her head on Hamilton’s shoulder.

“You should find a partner soon too.”

“I told you to mind your own business.”

Herald curtly replied, bade farewell to Olivia saying he’d be going now, and quickly went down the stairs.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems like he’s going to meet a woman….”

Hamilton, who had been staring blankly at his brother’s retreating back, turned to his beloved wife and asked.

“What do you think, dear? Doesn’t it seem like Herald is dressing up to meet a woman?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

Olivia glanced in the direction Herald had disappeared and shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know who the young master is going to meet, but it’s certain he doesn’t have a woman he’s interested in.”

“But I thought he met Miss Kennedy Stacy not long ago.”

“I asked about that part too….”

Olivia rolled her eyes, checking that there were no listening ears, and then spoke in a voice so low only Hamilton could hear.

“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince is interested in Miss Kennedy.”

“What?”

“Shh.”

When Hamilton raised his voice in surprise at the sudden statement, Olivia hurriedly gestured for him to be quiet. To this, Hamilton bit his lip and looked around before asking in a low voice.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is interested in Miss Kennedy Stacy? Is this certain?”

“The young master told me, so shouldn’t it be certain? They’re close friends who share all kinds of secret stories.”

“Th-that’s true, but with Her Highness the Crown Princess there, another woman…”

“Well, they’re in a loveless political marriage after all.”

Olivia summarized it simply and then put one hand on her cheek and sighed softly.

“Still, I’m worried about Her Highness the Crown Princess. Even if it’s a political marriage, it would be a great shock to learn that her husband has a mistress…”

“…Are you going to tell Her Highness?”

“Well…”

Olivia trailed off, pondering for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes. I think we should tell her. That way Her Highness the Crown Princess can prepare herself mentally.”