Summer is a strange season.

Unlike the budding sprouts and vivid colors, the sweltering heat brought discomfort to people. Among them, Hosha Village was famous for its scorching heat, along with low rainfall in its lowland plains.

The Marsen mansion, located in the center of Hosha Village, became unbearably hot every summer. Though enduring this heat had been difficult every year, it was different now. Isabel and her siblings took temporary residence in a small mansion at the edge of the Marsen region, where trees were most abundant.

It was a place where they could somewhat escape the heat, allowing them to breathe easier.

“We won’t stay here for more than a season. Even if it’s not fully equipped, please bear with it for a little while. When we go to the Follong house, I’ll provide everything you need.”

Isabel explained the situation before we could even complain.

Normally, we should have gone to the Follong mansion, but there were many things to resolve in this village, starting with Felicia and Bernard’s school.

There was also the matter of explaining the situation to the uncle at the Follong mansion.

“And Lize, you said you wanted to go to school, right?”

“…You remember?”

“There’s a school in the village where the Follong family lives that prepares students for entry into prestigious academies. Would you like to attend there?”

“What? Really?”

“I don’t lie.”

“I, I want to go! I want to attend!”

There was no reason to refuse Isabel’s offer. I was happy about going to school, but I was even more delighted that I could go to the Follong mansion with my siblings. Isabel hadn’t abandoned me.

Before heading down to the Follong family, I shared this news with the Penton family and Baron Kito.

They expressed regret at the distance to the Follong mansion, which was about a two-hour carriage ride from Hosha Village, but told me to visit often.

While it was fine for the Penton family, meeting with Baron Kito for chess lessons was an issue.

After deliberating for several dozen minutes, the Baron and I finally agreed to meet three times a week in the capital city, which was halfway between Hosha Village and the Follong mansion.

“As it happens, I hear there’s a small chess tournament being held in the capital. Though it’s called small, many skilled people participate, so it would be good to go and watch. Also, there are many chess enthusiasts in the capital, so studying there will be helpful.”

“Then I’ll go with the Baron when he goes to the capital to meet Lize. Is that okay, Lize?”

Yurik promised to come to the capital with Baron Kito to meet me that day. Things were progressing more smoothly than I had anticipated.

‘Now I need to let Roger know about this.’

As it happened, today was the day for my violin lesson with Roger.

After finding my violin case among the not-yet-unpacked pile of luggage, I went down to the entrance.

“Oh? Young lady, are you going alone?”

Bitty, noticing my presence, came out of the dining room. If one had to pick the busiest person in this mansion right now, it would undoubtedly be Bitty. When we left the Marsen mansion, Bitty was the only one among numerous maids who followed Isabel.

In fact, many maids wished to go with Isabel, but all were frustrated due to contract issues with the Marsen mansion.

One fact I learned then was that Bitty was personally brought by Isabel to serve me, who had suddenly appeared.

So Bitty, who came to this mansion alone, took charge of everything from housekeeping to running errands for the siblings and cooking.

“Yes. I’ll go by myself since you’re busy.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I should go with you…”

Bitty said, hastily wiping her sweat. Her appearance was pitiful.

“Where’s Mother?”

“She says she needs to build from the basics again to start her research, so she’s sitting at her desk, not moving.”

“Then I should at least write a memo before I go.”

I grabbed a pen from a nearby table. Then I noticed a small box on the table. It was an unfamiliar box.

“What’s this, Bitty?”

“Huh? What… Oh! Gasp!”

“…?”

“I’m sorry! Young Master Rodney asked me to give it to you, but I completely forgot!”

“It’s for me?”

Bitty nodded. Rodney had returned to school two days ago, saying he would come back for the upcoming summer vacation.

When I opened the box, there was a golden flower-shaped hairpin inside. Though not to my taste, it was hot, so I used the hairpin to secure my side hair.

Is this an attempt to atone for his past sins with a gift?

“Young lady, it suits you well!”

“…But is this mine too?”

I asked, discovering an envelope beneath the box. Bitty followed my gaze and was briefly shocked.

“Oh my. I must have really lost my mind. It’s a letter Madam gave me yesterday to send to Lady Bakus…”

She had forgotten about it. Since the postman comes early every morning, it was impossible to send the letter today. I examined Bitty’s pale face and grasped the envelope.

“I’m going that way anyway, so I’ll deliver it to the lady myself.”

“Really? Oh, but…”

Bitty kept glancing at me, seemingly worried about me going to the Bakus mansion alone.

Originally, I should have taken a carriage, but since there was no carriage at the mansion, I had to go to the stable at the village entrance and pay a coachman.

Although we lacked many things after leaving the Marsen mansion, we had more than enough money. Isabel, though not as wealthy as the Marsen family, was originally a noble and well-off.

“Then I’ll be going!”

Before Bitty could worry more, I hurried out of the mansion with the letter.

It was quite a walk to get to the marketplace near the stable. Following the shade, I saw the Marsen mansion far away on the hilltop.

Father wouldn’t be at the mansion on a weekday morning. I was just curious about what the other maids and employees I had grown fond of were doing. After staring at the mansion for a while, I entered the marketplace and my shoulders drooped from the heat.

The heat was intensified by the crowd.

“…Huh?”

I spotted a store. The doll shop Felicia often visited seemed to be having a sale, with various dolls on display outside. There were many animal dolls from bears to rabbits, but a fairy doll caught my eye.

It was a green doll. It was entirely to Yurik’s taste. As if enchanted, I approached the doll shop and stared intently at the fairy doll.

“…Should I buy it as a gift for Yurik.”

“Isn’t the little miss going to keep it for herself?”

I was startled by the voice. Turning around, I saw a man with a scar on one eye smirking.

“…”

I knew who this man was.

“Hello, young lady? It’s been a while.”

“…”

It was the man I met when I got lost in the alley last time. Unlike then, when his hair and clothes were disheveled, the man now looked neat and tidy. Could he be of a surprisingly respectable status?

“Have you been well, little miss?”

He acted familiar, as if remembering me from our one encounter. When I didn’t respond, the man approached my side and looked at the fairy doll I had been observing.

“This doll seems to suit your taste, doesn’t it? You’re going to keep it, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Really?”

“…Yes.”

“You’re lying.”

I gave short answers, wanting to end the conversation quickly, but the man was perceptive. He noticed my lie and grinned.

“Shall I buy it for you?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Why? I have plenty of money.”

I still didn’t want it. When I refused, the man silently grasped the fairy doll, suddenly entered the store, and bought it.

Even though I said it was fine and tried to return it, the man refused.

“In exchange, keep what happened in that alley a secret. You haven’t told anyone, right?”

Was buying the doll a way to keep my mouth shut? The man bent slightly to examine my face.

“I haven’t… told anyone.”

“That doesn’t seem to be a lie. Good, that’s how a good girl should be.”

“…Would something bad happen if I told?”

“Hmm. Maybe? If the little miss had been spreading the story around, I might have given you something other than a doll.”

I wanted to ask what that would be.

“Lize!”

I heard Roger’s voice calling me from afar. The man noticed this, straightened up, and put his hands in his pockets.

“Well then, goodbye, young lady. See you next time.”

Next time?

Before I could ask, the man turned his back. As I was debating whether to ask if we would really meet again, Roger grabbed my shoulder from behind.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Huh? Uh… nothing. Just…”

“What’s that doll? You don’t like these… You’re going to give it to Yurik Penton, right?”

Roger’s eyes narrowed. Caught red-handed, I was trying to figure out how to gloss over my answer when I noticed the violin case on Roger’s back.

“Wait, why are you here?”

“Am I not allowed to be here?”

“It’s violin lesson day today. So I was on my way to the Bakus mansion…”

“While coming to see me and buying that rock as a gift too, right?”

This guy, he’s sulking.

“Of course, Roger, I was going to buy something for you too.”

“…Really?”

And he quickly cheered up. What a naive guy.

“Yes, yes, really. But why are you here?”

“…Mother said guests were coming to the mansion, so she told me to go to the Marsen mansion. So I’m going to practice violin at the Marsen mansion today.”

“Ah, it’s kind of impossible to practice at our house right now.”

The mansion was a mess, and there was no space to practice violin. As I was wondering how to explain this, I remembered the letter I had put in the violin case.

“Oh, and I need to deliver a letter to Lady Bakus. Mother asked me to.”

“Your mother did?”

I nodded at Roger’s question.

After Isabel and Lady Bakus parted awkwardly last time, there had been no communication between them. Roger seemed concerned about this, showing immediate interest when I mentioned Isabel had written a letter.

“Then let’s go to my mother right away. It should be fine just to deliver the letter.”

“Really?”

“And we can buy the gift you were going to get me on the way to town. There’s a carriage just ahead, so let’s take my carriage.”

Unexpectedly, I now had to buy a gift for Roger too. Fortunately, since I didn’t spend my own money on Yurik’s doll, I had enough left to buy Roger’s gift.

Also, on the way to the mansion, I could explain to Roger everything that had happened. The distance between the Follong mansion and Roscoff Village was farther than Marsen Village, so Roger might be upset…

To cheer him up, I resolved to buy an expensive gift for Roger.

Roger and I boarded the carriage together and headed towards Roscoff Village, where the Bakus mansion was located.

Even though the carriage was hot and sticky, making it uncomfortable.