The persistent dream always forced me to see it through to the end before allowing me to wake up.

Upon opening his eyes, the familiar ceiling greeted him, and as he turned his head, a familiar face appeared. A woman softer and sweeter than marshmallows.

Gazing at Blair’s face, peacefully asleep for a moment, Herding raised his eyes and looked out the window. Cherry blossoms were fluttering like snow.

Just like that day in the dream.

It’s because of those flowers. Every year around this time, I have that dream.

Seeing that dreadful scene with indifferent eyes, he slowly rose from the bed. Dressed in a gown, he headed towards the table where a chess set was placed.
Picking up the poetry book and the lighter, he noticed something placed next to them and paused.

It was the bowl that held marshmallows.

In the bowl, there were still three unroasted marshmallows remaining. Last night, Blair had left them, saying they were for him to eat in the morning.

“If you want, you can eat two. You didn’t eat any.”

His wife had spoken as if she were generously offering something she had saved.

Recalling her voice, Herding chuckled. Then, as if savoring the marshmallow she had graciously offered, he put one in his mouth.

The soft texture wasn’t very appealing, but the sweetness tasted better than expected after a long time. A slight smile crossed his face.

Savoring the sweetness his wife had conceded in his mouth, Herding put the poetry book and lighter into the pocket of his gown and left the bedroom.

Afternoon had passed lunchtime.

Blair walked through the corridor, looking at the garden outside the window filled with blooming cherry blossoms.

Behind the central fountain, an artificial stream extended, flanked by cherry blossom trees in full bloom.

According to Mason, the current landscaping was personally arranged by Herding’s mother, Eloise.

He had mentioned that now that a new mistress had arrived, she could change it as she pleased, but Blair didn’t want to do that.
She didn’t want to leave her mark on the mansion she would soon depart from, but she also quite liked the current landscaping.

And above all…

“To Herdin, it might be one of Mother’s traces.”

She didn’t want to erase that trace at her will.

Blair, who unintentionally thought of him again, naturally recalled the memory from last night when she realized her feelings about him.

Blair intuited that she could no longer avoid or turn away from this persistent and tenacious emotion.

Now, instead of denying and running away, she decided to accept it as it is.

“I still love Herdin.”

Acknowledging this doesn’t mean she intends to stay by his side. Once their purposes are resolved, she plans to leave as he wishes.

However, even if it ends up being a destined relationship, this time, she wanted to properly organize the relationship that wasn’t concluded well in her past life.

I hope you won’t be remembered as a painful memory for me.

I don’t want to hate and resent you like in the past life, and I don’t want to be entangled with you again.

So, she decided to pour out her remaining feelings. To prevent it from turning into lingering attachment.

“Beep, beep.”

Blair, who entered the room where Pippi was bouncing around, called the name.

“Pippi!”

Then, a baby fawn popped out from somewhere. It was now fully grown, but still retained its adorable appearance.

Recognizing its owner, Pippi approached closely and greeted her with excited jumps.
When Blair smiled, bowed, and extended her hand, Pippi responded by gently nudging Blair’s hand.

“Were you playing hide and seek alone?”

“Pippi.”

“There are many flowers today, and the weather is nice. How about playing hide and seek outside?”

Blair brought out a walking harness from a drawer on one side of the room. It was a request she had made to the skillful Mellie.

However, whether Pippi wanted to play more pranks with Blair or not, it avoided Blair approaching and hid in a corner of the room. For a slender-bodied fawn like Pippi, even a small gap was enough space to hide.

“Hmm, do you want to play hide and seek with me?”

Instead of an answer, there was a sound of rustling movement from the narrow gap.

Blair approached the corner where Pippi was hiding. There were a few framed pictures covered with fabric. Peeking through the gap, Pippi hiding between the frame and the wall was revealed.

“Found you!”

“Pippi!”

Then, Pippi came out from behind the frame. As a result, the fabric covering the frame fell off.

The fallen fabric was turned over by Pippi.

“Pippi?”

The fabric that confined Pippi fluttered along with its surprised movements.

Blair burst into laughter at the sight. However, when she saw the revealed painting behind the fallen fabric, she stopped laughing.

Inside the frame was a portrait of a boy she had never seen before.

Though he had black hair like Herdin, the green eyes indicated that it wasn’t Herdin. It wasn’t a familiar face either.
Herdin’s father, Cashion, also had black hair like Herdin and blue eyes, so it wasn’t him either.

“Who is this?”

Just when Blair had doubts, Mason entered with a knocking sound.

“Madam.”

Approaching Blair, he noticed the portrait she was looking at and paused.