“I see. It would have been nice to see the nanny’s face too.”

It was a remark made out of regret. I wanted to see the nanny’s face after a long time.

“If you missed her that much, why didn’t you take her with you when you got married? The nanny takes good care of you. Duke Perhaem wouldn’t have stopped you either.”

That’s true, but I couldn’t bring her because we couldn’t let it be known that this was a contract marriage. If the nanny found out, she would surely faint.

“But the Perhaem mansion would be an unfamiliar place for the nanny. She’s used to the Orbetian estate. I was worried she might have a hard time if I brought her along just for my sake.”

Wizlet, who had been listening, sighed heavily and scolded me.

“So you went to the Perhaem mansion alone without taking anyone? Worrying about others when you don’t even know how the arranged marriage will turn out. You should worry about yourself. You always do things carelessly while thinking of others. How can I not worry?”

Somehow, it feels like I’m hearing something similar to Ember’s concerns. I tried not to do anything that would make others worry.

It seemed that was making those around me worry even more.

“Alright, stop nagging.”

“Don’t brush it off as nagging. You sometimes act as if it doesn’t matter what happens to you.”

“Did I?”

I suppose I might have. Wizlet looked at me as if I were a child left by the water’s edge and answered.

“Nevermind. If anything happens, I’ll step in.”

He was naturally saying that he would step in if needed. It seems he’s trying to fulfill his role as an elder brother after all. Usually, he’d be busy teasing me.

“Elder brother, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

There was no sound of movement outside the door. Since it was about Yezar, I had to ask quickly while he was away.

“You didn’t tell me who that person Duke Perhaem loves is. The one you mentioned earlier.”

Setting aside the rumors among the young ladies, if even Wizlet had heard that Yezar loved Camileo, there must be a problem somewhere. I needed to hear it for sure.

Wizlet chuckled and looked at me.

“Why, have you genuinely fallen for the Duke? Well, he is quite passionate.”

My eyes narrowed involuntarily at his clearly teasing attitude.

“Just answer the question.”

Wizlet flinched at my cold words, seemed to ponder for a moment, then gave me the answer I wanted.

“Well, it was because the other party was a man. At that time, rumors spread that Duke Perhaem was homosexual. They said he was in love with the current Emperor.”

The rumors spread among the young ladies and those that reached Wizlet seemed to be the same. I wondered who could have spread rumors about Yezar being homosexual, and with what intention.

“At first, I dismissed it as an absurd rumor, but it seemed to circulate as if it were certain among the young ladies. There were many stories related to it, and it was strange that with his handsome face and family background, he had never been involved in a scandal with a young lady from another family.”

Well, he already had someone he loved, so there was no way he could have spread rumors about a love affair. Given his straightforward nature, he would have drawn a clear line with other women.

“But at that time, there were three people who hung out together, weren’t there? Lady Hermine, the current Empress, was also with them. I’m curious why there were no rumors linking her to them.”

This was the point I found strange. Usually, people would be jealous of a young lady laughing among the most eligible men in the empire.

It was because of such jealousy that Julieta suffered terribly from the male lead in the original story. They must have been jealous of a young lady from an insignificant family hanging around him, the crown prince.

“It does sound odd when you put it that way. Well, rumors are like that. They spread in unexpected ways, you know.”

Wizlet tried to comfort me, telling me not to worry too much.

“Anyway, that rumor was dismissed when he married you, and seeing how anxious Duke Perhaem was about you today, it seems he’s not really homosexual. Is there any need to worry?”

“It just bothers me.”

It would be nice if I could know how the rumors spread. My seclusion in the count’s mansion certainly made me ignorant of such information.

“As his wife, you might feel uncomfortable.”

“It’s not because I’m his wife, I just felt uneasy…”

Wife. I had gotten quite used to being called ‘madam’ now. But occasionally, there were moments like this when it felt awkward and unbearable.

Wizlet glanced at my reaction and casually said,

“Can I ask my sister something I’m curious about too?”

“What do you want to ask?”

“How do you address Duke Perhaem?”

“Well, I call him ‘Duke’ or ‘Yezar’.”

I shrugged and looked at him as if to ask what the problem was, but Wizlet shook his head.

“No wonder it sounds so cold.”

“It’s better than calling him ‘my lark’ or ‘honey’ or ‘baby’ like some people, isn’t it?”

Wizlet glared at me in response to my pointed remark. I glared back at him. That was too cheesy to handle.

Acting all soft and mushy with his new wife.

“Well, I’ll let it slide since his attitude towards you doesn’t seem bad.”

“You’re the one who misunderstood in the first place, elder brother. He’s originally a kind person.”

Wizlet didn’t affirm my words. He still seemed skeptical. Always so suspicious.

I wondered how much kindness he needed to see to drop that suspicion. But I didn’t have the confidence to openly display affection. It was embarrassing.

The clock ticked away, and it was still quiet outside.

‘It seems he really left us alone to talk comfortably. He hasn’t come back yet.’

If so, it would be better to discuss things here that I couldn’t bring up in front of Yezar. This was about my family history. I carefully chose my words.

I couldn’t predict how Wizlet would react.

“Wizlet, I recently heard about mother?”

Talking about mother was taboo in the Orbetian count’s family. Especially when I brought it up. She had passed away early due to complications from giving birth to me.

Julieta, remembering being shunned once, never mentioned mother in front of them. Perhaps she instinctively didn’t bring it up. Afraid of being shunned again.

“Where did you hear about her?”

His voice was unusually calm.

“I happened to hear it at a couples’ gathering I attended. They said I inherited mother’s talent. That day, I learned for the first time that mother was a promising knight.”

He couldn’t know how confused I was. I just enjoyed wielding a sword because I liked it, enjoying it like a child. To think that it was actually taking after my mother. I suddenly realized that no one had told Julieta anything about her mother.

“Wizlet, why didn’t you tell me anything? The others might not have known I handled a sword, but you knew.”

Why didn’t he tell me? He was the first person I told when I wanted to handle a sword.

When I first mentioned it, Wizlet had encouraged me, saying it was better than being cooped up in my room. He had smiled and cheered me on. What had he really been thinking inside?

“There was no point in telling you. If I had, you might have tried to become a knight like your mother.”

“Then you could have just stopped me. You could have given me something else to do.”

The reason I started handling a sword was trivial. I just picked up a sword out of boredom, looking for something to do. Wizlet smiled bitterly at my words.

“How could I? Seeing you so happy with a sword in hand, I couldn’t bring myself to stop you. When I was very young, I saw mother wielding a sword.”

His voice, recalling a long-ago memory, was tinged with longing. A longing for a mother that neither Julieta nor I had ever experienced.

“You know how they say childhood memories become blurry? But that moment just wouldn’t fade for me. The sword she thrust without hesitation, the moment she overwhelmed her opponent with lightning speed, and the look in mother’s eyes, so overjoyed she didn’t know what to do with herself – it left quite an impression on me, even as a child.”

“Was that… before mother had me?”

Wizlet answered my question matter-of-factly.

“Yes. It was when mother was at her most radiant.”

I took a deep breath. Such a brilliant person had spent her days bedridden after giving birth to me. As time passed, she withered away like a dying flower.

Was that why they resented young Julieta back then? Did they shun her because they couldn’t bear the child who had taken away all of mother’s radiance?

“Julieta, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. But I just couldn’t. The way you handled the sword was no different from how mother did. I thought father wouldn’t leave it be if he saw that.”

I knew that father was the one who missed and loved mother the most. In young Julieta’s memories, father had focused solely on work as soon as mother passed away. He immersed himself in work as if he couldn’t survive otherwise.

I couldn’t miss how his eyes, while looking at me lovingly, would suddenly turn sad.

“But the reason I didn’t stop you was partly because I was selfish. I didn’t want you to give up the sword. It was the talent mother left for you.”

It was a sorrowful statement. Why didn’t anyone understand? That the child who possessed that brilliant talent was no longer here.

Even if she had lived, she would have only craved people’s affection, unable to move towards that shining potential. Why doesn’t anyone know this…