As if Henna were about to refute something, she opened her mouth, then, as if pressing her lips tightly, she distorted her expression and affectionately leaned her small face on Yuan’s shoulder.

“Thank you, madam. Thanks to the medicine you made, my siblings have been able to get through this winter without annoying illnesses. The other maids are the same.”

Henna took out a tea leaf pouch, which her siblings made and sold in the marketplace as a side business, and shook it.

“It’s not a luxury item for you to drink, madam, but it’s a famous tea in this neighborhood. It’s called ‘Belly-Filling Tea’! My siblings really wanted to give you something, madam…”

“Belly-Filling Tea?”

“Even in winter, there is a strange grass that grows through the frozen ground. If you dry it and make tea by boiling it, it’s quite filling. For poor people, there’s no tea like this to get through the winter. It’s surprisingly fragrant and delicious.”

“Let’s try it.”

Yuan’s face, which had been gloomy, sparkled with curiosity as Henna eagerly brewed the tea.

Sitting at a small tea table, when she tasted it, the savory aroma was deep enough to not call it cheap tea. The warmth spread in her stomach, which had been emptied for breakfast and lunch.

As Yuan, satisfied, drank, Henna scrutinized Yuan’s face closely.

“Madam, did you have a fight with the master?”

“Ah.”

Yuan’s complexion darkened again.

“No. It’s not a fight. I just asked the master a bit too intrusive question.”

Yuan also knows that if the master, the head of the household, reveals family matters to subordinates, it’s a matter of face, not to mention between a couple.

But in this isolated mansion, neither nobility nor commoners, Yuan in this ambiguous position had no one to rely on but the people in this house.

Moreover, since Henna had been in this mansion from a very young age, Yuan, as much as her heart ached, thought that she could say this much.

“Madam, you are the master’s wife. Where is the intrusive question?”

Henna replied somewhat annoyed.

Yuan, somewhat surprised by Henna’s reaction, looked at her.

Perhaps, if she asked Henna about this mansion or Claude now, she could hear any answer. That was the thought in Yuan’s mind.

“I still don’t know much about the master or this mansion. Even about Oliver…”

“Ah.”

“Asking the master directly would be the best, but the situation is not favorable.”

“Madam.”

Henna’s eyes flickered sharply.

Henna, putting down the tea kettle she was holding on the table, politely clasped her hands together and stood in front of Yuan.

“Henna?”

“I haven’t told you for a long time.”

As if making up her mind, Henna stared at Yuan with determined eyes.

“I was the maid of Master Claude, the granddaughter of Lady Margaret.”

“What?”

“I can’t tell you about the master’s wife at the master’s request, but… Now, I want to tell you about Oliver or this mansion.”

Golden hair that sparkles as if melted from gold. Amethyst-colored eyes with the skill of a renowned artisan. Facial features that seem meticulously crafted by a god.

The first prince with a somewhat stern expression, Claude Yupris, smiled as if the whole world brightened when he smiled.

“Brother. I want to go too!”

“I told you to hold hands, Apollini!”

Especially when he was with his younger sister, Princess Apollini Yupris, who was under 4 years old.

Beautiful appearance, merciful gaze looking down. To the imperial couple who possessed both qualities, these siblings were nothing short of treasures.

Especially Claude, who at the young age of 7, surpassed many talented individuals in the entrance exam for the academy called Ucalorea. He was bright enough to secure the top spot.

Not only that, but due to his innate skeletal structure and strength, he was even encouraged by the academy’s martial arts and professors to enroll early.

Naturally, the people loved Prince Claude Yupris.

For example, on his 10th birthday, portraits of the prince were re-drawn by anonymous painters and sold out quickly, and a newspaper published on the day of the prince’s birth ran out of print, unable to be sold all day.

Some held cheap portraits copied by unknown artists, while others cherished the prince’s face cut out from newspapers in their hearts. It was an era when such actions were considered natural.

However, the brilliant and peaceful days did not last long.

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

It was when Claude was giving his weak sister Apollini a piggyback ride to show her around the gardens of the First Prince’s Palace.

It was the celebration of his 14th birthday, and Queen Eleanor, his mother, was standing among the torches and flowers specially arranged in the garden.

It was the first time Claude’s distant cousin, Viscount Leve, with a disheveled appearance, rushed across the violet-filled garden.

“What’s the matter, cousin?”

On a snowy day, in the Tivochina Grandiflora flowerbed.

The day when he remembered his mother embracing him while giving him the flower called the ‘Flower of Glory’ as a gift.

“Your Highness, Your Highness! This is not the time!”

“Lower your voice. Apollini has just fallen asleep.”

“Both the Emperor and Empress have been gravely injured!”

The treasure of the Yupris family.

The First Prince, Claude Yupris, is about to face a significant turning point in his life.