Even though he had said he would try to have dinner together, the Duke did not come to the mansion even after the meal time was over. Rublion briefly hoped, but soon acquiesced.

“He must be busy with work these days.”

“I understand. He’s always such a busy person.”

However, contrary to his words, the child’s face was quite dark.

“Are you upset that you couldn’t spend time together?”

At my question, Rublion pouted his lips and then carefully opened his mouth.

“We might not be able to have dinner together. What I’m worried about is if he doesn’t keep his promise to meet my mother separately.”

It was a completely unexpected worry.

“He’ll keep that promise.”

“He absolutely must. I even promised to sleep alone.”

“Haha…”

I’m not sure what he was expecting, but Rublion’s eyes looked slightly drowsy for a very brief moment as he looked at me.

“Father is always busy. Even now.”

I said while putting cookies on the child’s plate in front of him, who was grumbling.

“Rublion, do you know why the Duke is busy?”

The cat in leopard’s clothing tilted its head.

“The Duke, you see, is busy trying to help more people live like human beings.”

“Like human beings?”

“Yes. Of course, Artenbach is a better place to live than other territories. But there are still people wandering the streets without homes in the back alleys of Lyub, and children who freeze to death in winter because they can’t warm themselves.”

Rublion nodded slightly, saying he had seen a newspaper article about it.

“Using money to help the poor can only have a temporary effect. We need to find out the cause of poverty and fix the systemic and administrative aspects, but that’s not something that can be solved in a short time. Anyway, that’s how it is.”

As I spoke, it felt a bit like nagging. So I was about to move on to another topic, but Rublion said with a serious expression.

“I’ve learned something similar in political science and the theory of monarchy. ‘There’s no such thing as a perfect policy. A monarch must constantly try new things, and the moment they stop, they will rot.'”

“You’ve been paying attention in class, haven’t you?”

“Yes! And in royal studies, there’s similar content…”

Rublion, who had become talkative, started excitedly pouring out what he had learned.

‘I was trying to comfort him because he looked upset…’

I was going to explain why the Duke was busy, and say that I would stay by his side that much more.

Of course, it didn’t go as expected. I was able to stop agreeing only after listening to everything from poverty relief to the definition of monarchy theory and the reasons for studying political science, and even the most impressive passage from royal studies.

After talking to his heart’s content, Rublion said with a face glowing with enthusiasm.

“Mother, tomorrow is my political science class day, right? When it’s over, I’ll bring my textbook to show you!”

“Ahaha, alright, that’s good.”

As long as you’re happy, it’s fine even if all my energy is drained.

‘…I should study too, shouldn’t I?’

At least I should be able to understand what Rublion is talking about.

After finishing dinner and chatting for a while.

I stubbornly stayed by Rublion’s side who said he would sleep alone, and only got up after confirming that the child had fallen asleep.

When I came out of the room, unusually bright stars were twinkling outside the window.

‘Should I go out and look at the stars for a bit?’

It’s a thought I wouldn’t have had normally. But strangely, my legs felt light and my heart was pounding, making me want to go out.

The first-floor lobby was quiet. It was bedtime, so except for the maid on duty, there shouldn’t be anyone wandering around.

I opened the door quietly and stepped outside the mansion, taking a deep breath of the night air. The cold wind pleasantly brushed across my face.

‘It’s not so cold at night anymore.’

I walked towards the garden, smelling the mix of grass and flower scents in the air. My hair swayed gently.

Walking alone in the garden, I sat down on a secluded bench. It was a prime spot where I could see both the stars in the sky and the garden well.

That’s when it happened.

Anna carefully entered the garden entrance. It didn’t seem like she had come out to look for me.

‘Why is Anna here at this hour?’

As soon as she entered the garden, she raised her heels. And she went in a different direction from where I was.

‘That’s the way to the greenhouse.’

A maid moving secretly with suspicious actions at such a late hour.

‘Surely not.’

The maids of the mansion often made secret pockets. They would sell clothes discarded by the young ladies or ladies they served, or secretly take leftover ingredients.

Of course, if caught, they would be thrown out without a letter of recommendation, or have to pay compensation that they couldn’t repay even if they worked their entire lives. Still, there were quite a few who took such risks.

Along with the thought that Anna wouldn’t do such a thing, I also felt that if she had fallen into bad ways, I should step in first.

I followed Anna at a distance where I could barely see her. As expected, the destination was the greenhouse.

While I was contemplating whether to go in as if I had met her by chance, the greenhouse lights turned on, brightening the interior.

‘Why is the Duke here?’

Sitting at the tea table in the greenhouse, he looked like he had just returned to the mansion. Why were they meeting alone at such a late hour?

A laugh I couldn’t explain escaped me. I couldn’t see Anna’s face sitting across from him, but the Duke was showing quite a gentle smile.

My head was sending signals that I should leave here, but my legs were already heading towards the greenhouse.

I crouched down under a bush that came up to my waist. And I leaned my ear towards the greenhouse.

I couldn’t hear their conversation properly because of the loud insect noises.

‘…What am I doing right now?’

When I realized I was doing something creepy in this situation, I felt embarrassed. So, just as I was about to resolve to go in boldly like myself.

“So what did you do with that?”

The Duke’s voice was heard clearly. It was because the noisy insect sounds that had been buzzing around suddenly stopped.

“I burned it in the fireplace. And today, a request for decorative statues for the garden came from the Rumps duchy.”

Anna answered.

“You told me to report immediately if anything came from the Rumps duchy, so I went to the government office, but you weren’t there. So I brought it just in case.”

Anna handed an envelope to the Duke. Even from a distance, it looked like a high-quality material.

“I’ve been burning the threatening letters every time they come, but I’m not sure how long we can keep it a secret from the young lady.”

“We’ll know where they’re coming from soon. They seem to have gone to great lengths not to be discovered.”

The Duke loosened his tie slightly.

Sensing this was my chance, I stood up abruptly from the bush and strode in.

The two of them were sharing information about me that I didn’t know.

“Anna.”

My voice didn’t come out well because I felt hurt. I had believed her answer when I asked if anything was wrong.

I had believed her when she said there was nothing to hide.

“Ah… Young lady?”

Anna froze as if she had encountered Medusa, she was so surprised. Of course, the Duke was the same.

“…How much did you hear?”

At his question, I looked at the Duke and Anna with my arms crossed and said.

“From the part about burning it in the fireplace.”

“So you heard almost everything.”

The Duke let out a deep sigh.

“You don’t need to worry about it. The culprit will be caught soon, and I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again in the future.”

“So you’re saying that threatening letters have been coming as Black Swan? What kind of threat is it?”

“A threat saying they won’t let you become the Duchess.”

“Ah.”

I approached Anna, who was trembling next to the Duke.

“Is this why you said you were going to Black Swan first recently?”

Honestly, I didn’t feel good. It felt like I had been made a fool, being the only one who didn’t know such letters were coming to Black Swan.

“I was afraid you might get hurt like before, young lady… I’m sorry, young lady.”

Anna finally burst into tears. I looked straight at her and said.

“It’s unacceptable for me to be the only one who doesn’t know about things happening to me.”

“Sob, y-you’re right.”

I looked at Anna, who was barely swallowing her tears while nodding. Now it was the Duke’s turn.

“Your Grace, I’m not a flower in the greenhouse.”

“…”

“I understand you hid it out of concern, but please don’t make me a fool who knows nothing.”

Was I too sharp? The Duke’s eyebrows twitched.

“Are you not afraid, my lady? There will be those who try to threaten you directly. It’s a family with many enemies because it’s strong.”

“I was prepared for this from the beginning. I told you before, didn’t I?”

The Duke stood up from his seat. Then he came close and said.

“…I was afraid.”

“Pardon?”

His golden eyes were trembling slightly.

“If it came to me, I would naturally treat it as trash, but to you… I couldn’t bear the thought of you receiving this.”

Anna, who had completely stopped crying, slowly backed away.

“I thought you might change your mind because of this letter and leave Rublion and me.”

“How could I…”

His words, saying he did it for himself, contained much more meaning than that. That he was worried about me, that he didn’t want me to leave.

“If my choice has angered you, I apologize for that first. But I absolutely did not intend to make you a fool, my lady.”

He was asking for forgiveness with a terrifying face as if he was about to devour me right away. Because of that discrepancy, my anger surged and then subsided.

How should I put it? The disappointment of not being told and the feeling of gratitude were all mixed up, so I don’t know exactly what this feeling is.

“…I’m sorry. My emotions were a bit intense.”

“No. I understand completely.”

“Then please promise me. Promise that there will never again be a situation where I’m the only one who doesn’t know about something that’s happening to me.”

“I promise.”

“Thank you.”

The Duke smiled awkwardly. Anna glanced around and quietly grabbed the greenhouse door handle.

“Well then, I should ask in detail about what happened, shouldn’t I?”

I said to the back of Anna’s head as she was about to leave. Startled, Anna hurriedly came over and politely clasped her hands.

“First, please sit down, young lady.”

She pulled out a chair with an embarrassed smile. I sat down, tidying my clothes as I usually did.

“You must answer all of my questions without leaving anything out.”

The Duke nodded with a bear-like face. I raised my chin, lowered my eyes, and asked.

“So, who is the likely suspect who sent the threatening letter?”