After the short conversation in front of the main gate, Jade did not visit the Earl of Boston’s residence.

Seeing the child who had been quietly waiting for him made my heart ache.

Even when I sent a letter asking if he was busy, only a brief reply came back saying he couldn’t come for a while.

Then the day approached to go to the Luxembourg villa with my sorority peers.

As we were about to depart with the luggage loaded in the carriage, the child suddenly became restless.

“Blanche, what’s wrong?”

“JJ is gone. I think I left JJ on the bed. I want to go get it.”

“JJ?”

After pondering for a moment, I realized she was talking about the rabbit doll Jade had given her.

‘She always carried it around, but I didn’t know she had even named it JJ.’

If it’s ‘JJ’, isn’t that taking the first letter of Jade’s name?

‘When we return from the villa, I should ask Jade to come more often.’

I went in with the child, retrieved the rabbit doll from the bed, then got in the carriage and headed to Luxembourg.

Luxembourg was a city located towards the south.

After traveling for two hours by carriage, we arrived at the villa where Baroness Ler and Viscount Casen were waiting.

“Blanche! I missed you! Let’s go play over there! There are so many amazing things here!”

Lirin held the child’s hand joyfully and ran through the hallway.

Taking my eyes off the children and looking around the villa, there were no servants.

I wondered if they only manage it usually and vacate when it’s in use, as it was very clean.

“The kids are so energetic, unlike me, probably because they’re young.”

Viscount Casen massaged his neck, saying he felt stiff from the long carriage ride.

Baroness Ler also groaned that her shoulders hurt.

‘Maybe because I’m used to it from riding for half a day to visit Salome Castle, I’m fine. It even rained then.’

I was surprised for a moment as I thought unconsciously. Although I sometimes had flashes of fragmented memories, this was the first time like this.

Memories flowed in so naturally, and past situations came to mind.

‘Right. At that time, Jade definitely said he was alone at Salome Castle and asked me to come.’

The sound of the piano Jade played at Salome Castle, the very sweet cherry pie Ayla said she made herself.

‘While eating that, Blanche said she didn’t want to call Jade father and…’

As I followed Jade who stormed out, the portrait I saw in the room he used as a child flashed through my mind.

And I seemed to have fought with Jade as he looked at that portrait.

‘I’m not sure what conversation took place.’

Our emotions ran high, and I yelled at him and tried to leave the room. And then…

“Diane. What are you thinking about that you can’t even hear me calling?”

I stopped my thoughts at the sound of Baroness Ler’s voice calling me.

“Diane. Are you not feeling well?”

“I’m sorry. I just had something to think about for a moment. By the way, where is Countess Terua?”

As Viscount Casen also started to worry about me, I tried to change the subject to escape their gaze.

“I forgot to mention. Eshirt hurt her leg last night, so she said she couldn’t come.”

“Countess Terua must be very upset.”

It was even more concerning that she hurt her leg right when we were going on a trip together.

“I know. I’m worried about Eshirt, and I was looking forward to having fun here after a long time.”

As Viscount Casen also expressed regret, Baroness Ler smiled warmly.

“Hoho, don’t be too disappointed, everyone. You’ll all be surprised in the evening.”

Did Countess Terua decide to bring Eshirt later after all?

‘Why does she say we’ll be surprised?’

As Baroness Ler seemed to want to keep it a secret, I didn’t ask further.

The sound of crashing waves could be heard through the slightly open window.

“…The sea?”

“Diane. It’s your first time seeing it, right? Last year, we created a beach using holy power.”

I couldn’t help but exclaim at Baroness Ler’s words. It was amazing that they created a beach using holy power.

Lirin, who had come to my side without me noticing, jumped up and down.

“Mom! I want to go in the sea!”

“Alright. Let’s go. Everyone, come quickly. It’s artificial, so it’s fine for children to play in it.”

As we went out to the back, the scent of the sea wafted over.

With each step on the vast sandy beach, I could feel the dry sand grains.

‘Even though it’s artificial, it’s exactly like a real sea. They must have used quite a lot of holy power.’

The blue-colored scenery filled my eyes.

The waves beautifully rippling on the water’s surface sparkled vividly. The surging waves naturally lifted my spirits.

“Blanche, as soon as I saw your eyes, this sea was the first thing I thought of! Let’s go play quickly!”

Lirin gazed into the child’s eyes while pointing at the sea.

As Lirin took the shy, fidgeting child into the sea, Diel followed behind them.

“I’ve been thinking this since I first saw Blanche, but she really does look alike…”

Viscount Casen muttered, raising his eyebrows after hearing Lirin’s words.

“Diane. If someone saw her, they might believe she’s not your child but the daughter of Duchess Belaste.”

“…Is that so? Duchess Belaste is my cousin, so I guess they look very similar.”

I barely opened my mouth, tightly gripping my pendant.

“Well, anyway. I’ll keep an eye on the kids.”

Feeling uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere, Viscount Casen moved to where Diel was.

Baroness Ler glanced at me.

“Diane. Are you alright? I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm by it.”

“…It’s true that they look alike. I’ve heard it often.”

I tried to smile at Baroness Ler.

Perhaps because she had played at the beach for so long, the child was nodding off.

“She seems sleepy from playing so excitedly. I’ll put her to bed and come back.”

As Diel also showed clear signs of drowsiness, Viscount Casen took him upstairs.

I also took the child to the room to put her to bed.

“Countess, Countess.”

“Yes?”

“Can I sleep with Blanche? I’m sleepy too.”

Lirin asked me if she could sleep with the child.

“Blanche, do you want to sleep with Lirin?”

The child also nodded slowly, forcing her sleepy eyes open. She seemed to want to be with Lirin as well.

In the room, the child and Lirin lay side by side on the bed.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Lirin like a friend as much as Blanche.”

“Me too. The child is usually very shy, but thanks to Lirin, she’s improved a lot.”

The child and Lirin must have been tired, as they quickly fell asleep making similar breathing sounds. Baroness Ler and I burst into laughter at the sight.

Without thinking much, I placed my hand on the forehead of the child who was groaning while hugging the rabbit doll.

But at that moment, she had quite a fever, enough to make me hesitate.

Surprised, I fumbled with the child’s body and woke her up. The child was limp and couldn’t open her eyes.

“Did she play at the beach for too long…”

“Since it’s an artificial sea, the water shouldn’t be cold, so she couldn’t have caught a cold. Maybe she has a fever because she’s tired?”

Certainly, Lirin and Diel, who had played together, were fine.

‘It must be a simple symptom.’

Baroness Ler found some fever medicine and gave it to the child.

“She’ll get better quickly if she sleeps well. Don’t worry too much, Diane. Let’s go to the kitchen and make some soup for Blanche to eat when she wakes up.”

Baroness Ler said to me as she gently patted the child’s cheeks.

‘It should be fine since Lirin is with her…’

To let the child rest comfortably, Baroness Ler and I slightly opened the door and left the room.

“Diane Boston. Not only do you attend the sorority again, but you also come to the villa with everyone?”

Sharlin Winst, who arrived at the Luxembourg villa, got out of the carriage, seething with anger.

She couldn’t contain her anger when she received word from Baroness Ler and Siona that they were going on a trip together.

‘I knew she started interacting again after dropping the tea party invitation, but to even come to the villa.’

She clearly said she had no intention of attending the sorority gatherings, but even that was a lie.

‘I guess it wasn’t enough to humiliate me in front of Marquis Rowe.’

Diane, who hadn’t contacted or attended meetings for years, suddenly came and tried to take her place.

‘I don’t like any of this.’

If she told her peers that Diane had seduced her fiancé Jade, they would take her side.

‘I should suggest excluding her from the sorority.’

As Sharlin entered the villa and walked down the hallway, she peeked through the gap of a slightly open door.

Two little girls were sound asleep on the bed.

‘One is Siona’s daughter, and the other is…’

It was Diane’s daughter, Blanche.

Sharlin silently pulled the corners of her mouth to both sides.

She had already thought about it anyway.

The only way to torment Jade and Diane was through Blanche.

Sharlin looked around to make sure there was no one nearby, then secretly entered the room and picked up Blanche.

Blanche was panting with fever, seemingly ill.

For a moment, she froze. Was it right to use a sick child? A vague sense of guilt pierced her heart.

She would soon be a mother to a baby that hadn’t been born yet, after all.

At that moment, Blanche slightly opened her eyes.

Confused by the fever, Blanche mistook Sharlin for her mother and snuggled into her arms before closing her eyes again.

The sea-colored eyes with hints of purple were exactly the same as Duchess Belaste’s, who had completely ruined Sharlin’s life.

As soon as she saw those eyes, she felt that her weakened resolve was unnecessary.

‘Right now, I’m the most pitiful one who has lost everything. Am I in any position to sympathize with others?’

Honestly, if not now, there might never be another chance to approach Blanche.

There was no need to throw away the opportunity to make both Jade and Diane miserable.

‘There’s no need to show mercy. Why should I…’

Sharlin threw the cumbersome rabbit doll to the floor.

Then she carefully came out, muffling her footsteps, and left the villa riding in a carriage.

No one had seen them.