“If what Bainti and Bridget say is true, wouldn’t that be the best rooster among the Marquis’ roosters?”

The laughter that had been rolling around on the table abruptly stopped. Ivy, with wide eyes, looked at the three people, then realized she might have made a mistake and glanced around discreetly.

Then Bainti and Bridget burst into even louder laughter. Moreover, this time, Meiana joined them in unison.

“Oh my goodness, Ivy! You really have no fear!”

“Imagine if Jocelyn heard that just now. She’d probably chase us away like a bunch of chickens.”

Ivy shrugged, murmuring quietly, “I just thought it was strange that the Marquis hasn’t married yet. I thought there would be many women who wanted to marry him.”

Once again, Bainti was the first to interrupt, assuming an air of knowing.

“Well, that makes sense. Ivy and Meiana may not know, but Bridget probably does, right? A few years ago, there was one. A woman who came claiming that if she didn’t marry the Marquis, it was her destiny. Remember?”

For a moment, Meiana, on the verge of dropping the cup she was holding, stared at Bainti.

“That happened?”

Then Bridget, who had been lost in thought, clapped her hands lightly.

“That’s right, I remember now! She claimed to have ‘the Marquis’ child,’ but when the doctor was called to examine her, she wasn’t even pregnant.”

“If she weren’t dealing with the Marquis, she probably wouldn’t have escaped with her life. Oh, Meiana, why does your face look like that all of a sudden? Does your stomach hurt?”

Meiana, who was holding the cup with all her might, raised her head abruptly and looked at the three people. Her face seemed to pale instantly, and not because she was pretending to be someone in pain.

“Meiana, are you okay? You look pale. You’ve lost color.”

Meiana, who had been mumbling, pretended to drink tea and covered her face with the cup.

“I’m fine. It’s just a shocking story.”

Bainti nodded as if it made sense.

“After that, whenever we gathered, we just kept talking about that story. Jocelyn chased that woman away like she was some plague. Fortunately, the Marquis was in the mansion at the time, so she could leave unharmed. If not, it would probably have been difficult for her to walk out on two legs.”

“Who was that woman? Was she a noble from the Marquisate?”
Bridget responded, “No. She came wearing a quite nice muslin dress, so at first, we thought she was someone important. Later, we found out she was the innkeeper’s adopted daughter in the village. There were rumors that she stole the muslin dress from a guest’s luggage.”

“Is she still in the Marquisate?”

“No way. With such a shameful incident, how could she still be here? Rumor has it that her adoptive parents hastily married her off to someone from another region… Well, no one really knows. But Meiana, are you really okay? Your expression doesn’t look good.”

Meiana nodded her head a couple of times, but after that, she didn’t say much. Bainti and Bridget were busy discussing what clothes to wear for the festival in the fall. Ivy, too, joined their conversation, asking various questions about the festival.

However, Meiana’s ears seemed to shut out the conversation of the three. Due to complicated emotions that were difficult to explain concisely, her mind was in disarray.

Ash and the children returned to the mansion only after skipping lunchtime. Arianthe and even Swan had their faces and clothes completely dirty, apparently from playing in the forest.

“Meiana!”

Running up the stairs, Arianthe called for Meiana, rushing towards her from the end of the corridor on the east side. Seeing Meiana coming out of her room, Arianthe’s face brightened as if it were radiating light.

“Meiana!”

Smiling, Meiana hugged Arianthe, who clung to her like her skirt was soaked in mud. Arianthe, holding a handful of grass, touched Meiana’s face with her dirty hands.

“Are you not hurt now? Are you all better?”

“Yes, my lady. I’m all better now. But what on earth did you do? Look at your hands. If you’re not careful, your nails might get hurt. Did you get injured?”

“No! I taught Swan how to make fire with wood.”

Meiana’s eyes widened.

“To Lord Swan? Ah…”

Only then did she notice Swan standing at a distance. Meiana sent a smile to Swan as well, extending her hand as if inviting him. Seeing this, Arianthe, although somewhat sulky, remained quiet this time, without causing a fuss.

“Lord Swan, come this way. Did you enjoy your walk?”