The next morning, Arianthe thankfully regained her energy and chatted and laughed as usual.

While joking with Beinti, who had brought water for washing her face and preparing for the morning, Arianthe accidentally knocked over the basin, but she didn’t insist on playing pranks or refuse to put on clothes like she used to.

After Meiana had cleared away all the corsets and other undergarments that constricted her body, Arianthe comfortably wore any clothes she liked.

“Blue! I like blue ribbons!”

Every time she jumped in place, Arianthe’s sparkling golden hair swayed like a dancing ribbon. Holding ribbons in both hands, Beinti, alternating between them, puckered her lips and said,

“Blue? My lady, in my opinion, white looks much prettier on that dress.”

“No! Blue is prettier! Give me a blue ribbon! Quickly!”

“Oh, okay! I’ll give it to you! Don’t pull on your clothes!”

Beinti grumbled, but she used the blue ribbon as Arianthe wanted, tying her hair. After braiding the slightly curly hair on both sides and tying a ribbon roundly in the middle, Arianthe looked very cute.

The reason for Arianthe’s excitement this morning was not elsewhere. It was because Meiana had decided to take Arianthe to the village inside the Marquisate. Just the thought of going out for fun made her thrilled, and when she heard that they would have breakfast in the village, Arianthe almost screamed.

“My lady, are you ready?”

Meiana, dressed in outdoor clothes, stuck her head out through the door. As Beinti finished trimming the ribbons, Arianthe quickly ran towards Meiana, ready to leave.

Beinti said, “The restaurant in the village may not be that clean.”

Meiana nodded, as if she knew, and Beinti, seeing her putting something in the pocket of her thin jacket, narrowed her eyebrows with a suspicious expression.

“What’s that?”

“A letter.”

“No way. Are you really sending it to the Duke?”

“If I send it by express, it will arrive by tomorrow. It might cost a lot, though.”

The chef was fortunate enough to survive thanks to the doctor’s treatment, but he needed rest until his body fully recovered.

Grete was still confined, and Jocelyn, despite occasionally limping on one leg, continued to freely roam the Marquisate, overseeing the employees as usual.

She knew that yesterday’s incident had been a considerable shock to the employees, and she cunningly took advantage of that fear. As a result, the mansion was locked in an eerie silence, and there was no one talking loudly.
Meiana wrote all of this in a letter. She planned to deliver the letter to Cediloi even if she had to empty her own weekly wages. Although the express mail with a specified recipient was considerably more expensive than regular mail, it was the best method for safety.

“Meiana, hurry up!”

Arianthe impatiently urged Meiana, hopping around. After firmly holding the child’s hand, Meiana checked the letter in her embrace. Lastly, she earnestly requested Beinti,

“While we’re out, make sure no one enters Lady’s room.”

Beinti replied bluntly,

“You don’t need to nag; I was going to do that anyway.”

Descending from the carriage into the village, Arianthe seemed much more excited than last time. It was natural since today she could wear comfortable clothes, and with Cediloi present, there was no need to be careful or constrained in her actions.

“Meiana! Look! Let’s go see that!”

Meiana, who had embraced Arianthe, pulling her somewhere with a somewhat frightening grip, said,

“My lady, let’s just stop by one place.”

Arianthe turned back with an eager face.

“Where are we going? Can’t we go from there? What’s happening there?”

People gathered around a small fountain in the square. Seeing quite a few children of Arianthe’s age, it seemed like a wandering clown or perhaps a magician was present.

“I don’t know either. But we can quickly check it out.”

“What if we miss everything?”

Meiana said,

“We won’t go until we come back. When we return, they might be doing something even more fun. So, let’s go quickly, my lady.”

With things turning out like this, Arianthe had no choice. She briefly considered using more tactics, but she knew that the atmosphere wasn’t right for Meiana to pretend to lose even if she did.

Moreover, the passing baggage carts making a clattering sound, carts carrying fruit, and the lively people bustling around quickly caught her attention.

“Where are we going?”

Arianthe, holding Meiana’s hand and restlessly looking around, asked.

“We’re going to send a letter. My lady, have you ever written a letter?”

“Yes, a long time ago.”

When a seven-year-old says “a long time ago,” when could that possibly be? Suppressing her laughter at Meiana’s cuteness, Arianthe asked,

“To whom? To the Duke?”

“No.”

Arianthe, who was hesitating, said,

“To my mother.”

For a moment, Meiana almost retorted, ‘Mother?’ and quickly felt self-reproach.

Come to think of it, Arianthe’s mother, Liria… What did she look like, and what kind of person was she? Meiana wondered.