The carriage carrying Clayton arrived at the mansion.

Jason, who had just heard that he had visited Cavern House, hurried out to greet him.

“Duke. I heard you went to Cavern House today……”

Clayton seemed to regard Jason’s words as mere mumbling to himself. Lightly ignoring his greeting, Clayton asked.

“Where’s Dalia?”

“Madam has been in the annex since earlier.”

Upon hearing that Dalia was in the annex where the Dowager Duchess stays, Clayton stopped abruptly while climbing the stairs.

“……The annex?”

“Yes. She has been in the annex since you left the mansion earlier. She even had her meals there.”

“So she didn’t step out of the mansion at all today?”

“No, sir.”

Clayton’s face hardened at Jason’s confident voice.

The back of his head buzzed with the realization that Dalia had secretly left the mansion in collusion with the Dowager Duchess.

Moreover, seeing the butler confidently assert that Dalia was in the annex while knowing nothing made him feel twisted inside.

“Ha.”

As he let out a hollow laugh, Clayton’s stiff face relaxed.

Then he immediately looked at Jason with sharp eyes.

“To think a butler can’t even keep track of where the lady of the house is and what she’s doing.”

“Pardon…? What do you mean……”

“If you’re curious about what I’m saying, why don’t you send someone to the annex to check?”

Only then did Jason, sensing something was amiss, hurriedly send a servant to the annex.

Tsk.

Ignoring Jason, who had belatedly grasped the situation, he began climbing the stairs again.

Just earlier, it was clearly Rose Hertz who had followed Dalia into the bookstore.

It was strange to call it a coincidence that two people visited an old bookstore in a remote location one after another. Which meant.

‘Did she secretly leave the mansion to meet Rose Hertz?’

At that thought, his eyebrows twitched.

Before marrying Dalia, when the background check was completed, there was no connection with Rose Hertz at all.

In the first place, Rose Hertz didn’t engage in social activities unless it was an official event that would be inconvenient to miss.

And that meant one thing.

The cabin.

That day, the two of them met for the first time in the cabin.

He vaguely bit his lip, feeling something difficult to express.

Even when he heard that Dalia had been there, it was an unexpected variable.

Who would have imagined? That a wife would become friendly with a woman who was with her husband late at night.

‘How could she accept that situation in a way that allows her to associate with Rose Hertz?’

Generally, if one sees their husband with another woman late at night, it would be natural to think that the husband was having an affair with that woman.

So for Dalia to become friends with Rose Hertz, a premise was needed.

First, that Dalia doesn’t suspect anything between Rose Hertz and himself, and secondly……

‘She doesn’t care whether I have an affair with another woman or not.’

His footsteps stopped abruptly once again. Without realizing it, he had clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm.

‘A wife who doesn’t care even if her husband has a mistress.’

Why did this bother him so much and weigh on his mind?

Even though it was a contract marriage that started without love, somehow he couldn’t shake off the unpleasant feeling.

As inexplicable irritation began to surge, he muttered a low curse.

‘Damn it.’

Why were there so many thoughts and all sorts of incidents happening today of all days? With his throat burning and nerves on edge, Clayton turned to Jason with sharp eyes.

Guessing that Dalia was not in the mansion, Jason bowed his head.

“I apologize, Your Grace. In the future, I will be more careful……”

“From now on, not only keep track of who she’s meeting and where she’s going when Dalia goes out, but also know exactly where she is and what she’s doing even when she’s in the mansion.”

“……Yes. I understand.”

“You realize this is a clear dereliction of duty, don’t you?”

At Clayton’s sharp criticism, Jason felt slightly wronged.

This was because previously, when he had reported on Dalia’s whereabouts, he was scolded not to report such things in detail.

Hence, after that, he neither reported separately to Clayton nor asked Dalia about her specific destinations.

But what could he do even if he felt wronged? It was clearly a mistake that he, as the butler, didn’t know the whereabouts of the lady of the house.

He had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths.

“I’m sorry. I will be more careful in the future.”

However, even after hearing Jason’s answer, Clayton’s expression showed no signs of relaxing, as if something was still unsatisfactory.

It felt like something was tightly clogged in his chest.

After standing still for a moment, thinking, Clayton climbed the stairs again in large strides.

And as soon as he reached the third floor, the place Clayton headed was not his own room but Dalia’s.

Jason, noticing that Clayton was heading to Dalia’s room, was puzzled but silently followed him, feeling guilty.

Clayton hesitated in front of Dalia’s room.

Suddenly, he didn’t know why he felt so anxious.

Even while doing this meaningless action, he didn’t understand why he was doing it.

Was it just a desperate attempt to do something out of frustration?

Unable to find any answer for his actions, Clayton had already entered Dalia’s room.

Then the interior, dyed in orange light, came into view.

Though empty with its owner absent, the room was full of Dalia’s scent.

He carefully scanned the room, using the setting sun as light.

One step. Another step.

Clayton’s brow began to furrow as he looked around Dalia’s room.

This was because, despite being the room of the Duchess of Sayer, there wasn’t a single luxury item besides the neatly arranged bedding and furniture.

There was only a vase of nameless wildflowers that looked like they had been plucked from the forest.

It was frugal if put nicely, empty if put harshly.

What was even more ridiculous was that he only realized this fact now, despite having entered this room quite a few times.

Tsk.

Once again, he clicked his tongue as if something displeased him.

Unlike those pathetic figures from the Molden family, she was a woman who never seemed to know how to ask him for anything.

She only used heirloom jewels passed down through generations, and except for special events like birthdays, she wore dresses altered from those of previous duchesses.

“I don’t like it.”

Everything was displeasing.

The fact that she didn’t indulge in luxury, and that she had never asked him for anything she needed.

However, Clayton didn’t even know why it displeased him.

Rather, he shouldn’t have any reason to be upset since she neither bothered him nor squandered his wealth.

Clayton, his mood only worsened by coming to Dalia’s room for no reason, turned to leave. Just as he was about to take a step.

Suddenly, something caught his eye.

It was a small gift box placed on the bedside table.

Despite it not being his own possession, he opened the box without hesitation, as it looked like a gift received from someone.

“This is……”

Inside the box was a small glass bottle.

The transparent glass bottle contained a liquid with a faint purple tint.

He guessed it was some kind of medicine. Though he wasn’t sure of its exact effects.

After rolling the small glass bottle in his hand for a while, trying to figure out the nature of the medicine, Clayton handed the bottle to Jason.

“Find out what’s in this bottle.”

If there was something he was curious about, he just had to find the answer.

“Yes, I understand.”

Just as Jason was about to receive the glass bottle Clayton held out, a servant, seemingly having run here, spoke while catching his breath.

“I went to the annex as you ordered.”

“And? Is the lady there?”

“Yes. The maid in the annex said that after having an early dinner with the Dowager Duchess, she fell asleep for a moment.”

Jason inwardly sighed in relief at the news that Dalia was in the annex.

He thought Clayton had seriously misunderstood something. Jason looked at the duke with a more relaxed expression.

“It seems she was quite tired after spending time in the forest since early hours. When the lady wakes up, I will report to you immediately……”

However, the brief moment of peace was shattered again with Clayton’s question.

“Did you see her yourself?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if you saw Dalia sleeping with your own eyes.”

At Clayton’s pressing question, the servant stammered in apparent confusion.

“Th-that…… How could I dare to enter Madam’s bedroom? I merely relayed what the Dowager Duchess said.”

“The Dowager Duchess said this herself?”

“Huh? Y-yes…!”

The servant nodded vigorously at the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

“I’ve noticed it before, but my stepmother seems to have quite an interest in her daughter-in-law.”

Annoyingly so.

Clayton muttered with a biting smile.