In the Duchess’ room, afternoon tea was prepared along with refreshments. Idel and Bien sat face to face at the table for the first time in a long while.

“Bien, have you been well all this time?”

“Of course, Miss! No, Your Grace the Duchess.”

Correcting his still unfamiliar address, Bien smiled brightly. He had to endure hardships after Idel left the Fleur estate, but he didn’t want to disclose it.

Knowing that sensitive and gentle Idel would be heartbroken by the truth… Right now, he was simply thrilled to be reunited with her.

“Bien….”

Idel also couldn’t hide her joy, for Bien was the only person in the Fleur estate she had ever truly confided in.

“I am truly glad. Seeing you as this dignified Duchess makes me so happy and overwhelmed…”

Bien blinked away tears that had been gathering. The gaze of the servants in the Duke’s household was full of deep trust and respect for the Duchess.

‘More than anything… the Duke’s deep affection for Your Grace is palpable.’

The Duke and the Duchess, seen together in the entrance, looked like a radiant painting. An inseparable pair.

Throughout escorting the Duchess, the Duke’s tender love was clearly visible to Bien.

A flower nurtured with abundant love blooms ever more fragrant.

Idel had an innate dignity that couldn’t be hidden by the modest dress she wore at the Fleur estate, but meeting her again at the Duke’s residence, she radiated an unparalleled grace.

It wasn’t just the dress Idel was wearing. Bien thought it was probably the sense of security she felt within the strong walls of the Duke’s residence.

‘I’m relieved. Coming to the Duke’s residence…’

Bien, who had always wished for Idel’s happiness since childhood, exhaled in relief, feeling his wish fulfilled.

“You must be happy here for a long time.”

With a bright smile, Bien seemed to make his statement as if entrusting something. Upon hearing it, a slight shadow passed over Idel’s beaming face.

‘Should I tell Bien the truth…?’

That she was just a temporary Duchess by contract.

Idel cast a contemplative gaze down at the table. It was hard to reveal the truth to Bien, who cared so much for her wellbeing.

A heavy sense of guilt towards the servants who cherished her, including Marilyn, weighed on her heart.

“Your Grace…?”

As Idel’s complexion darkened, Bien called out to her with a worried voice. Idel quickly met his eyes and forced a smile, nodding her head.

“Of course. I will be happy.”

Even if she couldn’t stay in the Duke’s residence for long…

With her lips forming a faint smile but her eyes holding a lonely light, Idel swallowed the rest of her words.

She was here to find complete happiness in life. When she leaves the Duke’s residence in three years, she would surely be happier than now… Idel reassured herself internally.

Yet, recalling the peaceful time spent today with the Duke, Idel bit her lip hard.

“Your Grace…”

Hearing Bien’s anxious voice again, Idel cleared the complicated feelings and broke the silence.

“Bien, welcome to the Duke’s residence. I’m truly glad you came. I felt guilty for not telling you properly when I came here.”

“You don’t have to say it, I knew. You did it for me. So, please, let go of any worries now.”

With a face tinged with regret, Idel looked at Bien, who waved his hand dismissively. Afterwards, a grateful Idel laid her eyes on the recommendation letter from the Fleur estate that Bien had brought.

“I never thought I’d see you again. That you’d be sent to me from the Fleur estate like this.”
“It felt like a dream to me, too. In fact, ever since you left, I’ve occasionally checked the newspaper to see if there are any articles about you.”

Vian, who usually found newspapers boring and stayed away from them, had deliberately read them to keep up with my news. That touched me.

“I even read about your recent water management project. Whenever people from the Empire gather these days, all they talk about is how great you are. You’re truly remarkable!”

Vian’s eyes twinkled with admiration. Her transparent praise made Idel’s face soften considerably.

Even afterwards, perhaps because she had accumulated so many suppressed emotions, Vian, who usually initiated conversations with me, kept chattering on without pause.

“Is everything okay in the ducal family?”, “How’s your life in college?”, “Is your work as a consort fine?” and so on. Responding to Vian’s barrage of questions, Idel took the opportunity to reflect on her life since coming to the ducal family.

After leaving the earldom and stepping into the outside world, she had encountered various people in the Empire’s college and in the Elyos territory. Meeting them gave her a fresh set of experiences and emotions for the first time in her life.

And she realized once again,

“The person who made all these moments possible was…”

It was Caeron. Had she not accepted the hand he offered, she would never have had experiences or felt emotions she could never achieve on her own.

“Is the Duke treating you well?”