“……Lize?”

I had to meet Roger.

It took at least an hour to get to Roskov village. In my haste, I rushed off in a carriage without a word, and my mother and siblings followed behind me.

“Lize! Where are you going!”

Someone called out to me from behind, but I ignored it.

“Lize. Calm down! Roger is important, but your situation is more important right now! If you don’t speak up about that ridiculous will right away, you’ll…!”

Rodney blocked my path. Seeing their chance, my other siblings stood beside Rodney.

“Elder brother is right, Lize! Roger will be fine! So don’t worry and confront father now!”

“That lawyer is clearly on father’s side too. If you go like this, it’ll be disadvantageous for you.”

“We agreed not to be separated.”

“Lize.”

After Rodney, my siblings each said a word. With a lump in my throat, I lowered my head.

“…That’s enough.”

I decided to let go of my greed. I am not suitable for the Follong family.

“I want to go to Roger.”

The reason I didn’t actively try to stop father and mother’s divorce, and pretended not to know about the plan to put my name in the Follong family, was because I’m an illegitimate child.

I wanted to follow my mother and siblings.

‘But can I really go? Really?’

When I left the hellish Marsen mansion, I wasn’t as happy as I expected.

I felt relieved not to see father’s face, but that was all.

The mansion with mother and my siblings felt more awkward and uncomfortable than the Marsen mansion. There, I couldn’t be stubborn or get bored.

‘…Letters from the Follong family are coming frequently.’

Every morning I saw the postman boy outside the window. The color of the letters he handed to Bitty was always the same. It was yellow, the representative color of the Follong family.

The issues with Felicia and Bernard’s school and the twins’ tutor had already been resolved.

Mother and my siblings could leave Hosha village for the Follong family at any moment.

But they didn’t go, and I knew it was because the Follong family didn’t acknowledge my existence as an illegitimate child.

I pretended not to know, even though I did. Maybe I understood the Follong family a hundred times over and that’s why.

“W-What do you mean, Lize?”

“I’ll stay with the Marsen family.”

At my words, my siblings’ comforting hands stopped.

“Lize?”

“Lize!”

Silke and Felicia lowered their heads to look me in the eye directly.

Being unfair from the start due to my position as an illegitimate child, I resented both my siblings and parents. I didn’t realize that maintaining this level of relationship with mother and not having a bad relationship with my siblings was a great fortune and happiness, given my position as an illegitimate child.

“I don’t want to go to the Follong family.”

I was a person who had brought great misfortune to my siblings and mother.

“I’ll just stay with the Marsen family. If I go to the Follong family, I’m sure I’ll be miserable. I might be denied and humiliated. Even if I’m not, I’ll always feel that way. So I’ll stay with the Marsen family.”

“What are you saying? Who’s denying you? If you stay with the Marsen family, father might do terrible things to you!”

“Swel is right, Lize. No one will humiliate you. Even if someone does, this time we siblings will protect you.”

Swel and Bernard tried to persuade me with a strong tone, as if telling me to come to my senses.

“It’s not like we’re parting forever. I’ll visit the Follong family occasionally. I’ll bring the toys we used to play with and sweet snacks. When things get bad with father, I can pack my bags and come to the Follong family asking to stay for a few days.”

“Does that make sense?”

Felicia sobbed.

“I won’t just take it from father. And I definitely won’t leave the problems in the Marsen family alone.”

“Lize!”

“Just come with us! Okay?”

At my firm words, my siblings held onto my arms even tighter.

“No, I want to stay with the Marsen family. I want to stay.”

“Hey, you stubborn mule!”

Felicia grabbed both of my cheeks. But my opinion remained unchanged.

“…Is that your decision?”

“…”

“Are you confident you won’t regret it?”

Mother, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. I nodded slightly.

“I see.”

“…”

“We have no right to force you. Do as you wish, Lize.”

“Mother!”

Rodney called out to mother. Mother didn’t give Rodney a glance and kept her eyes on me.

“Rodney. And the rest of you, respect Lize’s wishes.”

“…”

“But Lize, let’s make one promise in exchange for us respecting your wishes.”

She walked past my siblings and came in front of me. Her cold hands cupped my cheeks.

“Even if you stay with the Marsen family, never turn your back on us. I am your mother, and Rodney, Bakus, Felicia, Swel, and Silke are your siblings. We are family.”

“…”

Mother seemed to know exactly why I made this decision.

“And if the count does anything unfair to you, I will bring you to the Follong family anytime. At that time, regardless of your opinion, by force if necessary.”

“…”

“Will you promise not to resent my choice?”

I smiled slightly, placing my hand over mother’s hand on my cheek. At my smile, my siblings who had been stubborn until the end dropped their shoulders.

“What is this…”

My siblings still didn’t accept me staying with the Marsen family.

“Yes, I promise.”

“Let’s go now. Roger must be waiting.”

The nighttime atmosphere of Roskov village was completely different from daytime. While instruments and songs could be heard here and there during the day, silence and stillness descended at night.

Still, there were hardly any mansions with lights off.

But the Bakus mansion was different. As soon as we arrived, I ran to the front gate and carefully examined the windows. There was no sign of people or movement.

“Is this where Roger lives?”

Swel, who was next to me, narrowed his eyes towards the mansion.

“Hmm. It seems like no one’s home.”

If Swel with his excellent eyesight says so, then there really must be no one. After examining the tightly closed front gate and the height of the walls, I reached out my hand.

“That’s strange. I don’t see any maids or employees either… Hey, Lize. What are you doing!”

“I need to get a closer look.”

“What if someone mistakes you for a thief!”

Swel tried to stop me, looking at the lit mansions nearby. Rodney, who had been in the carriage, suddenly appeared and grabbed my waist.

“Let go, Rodney!”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m trying to lift you higher so you can get over the gate.”

Rodney’s hands on my waist lifted me up.

“Ah, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

I heard the voices of my siblings scolding Rodney from behind.

Ignoring them, I crossed the gate and ran towards the mansion. As expected, no one was there. Not Roger, not Roger’s father, not the maids, not the employees.

It was the same even when I checked the windows at the back of the mansion. I looked around here and there trying to catch any movement, but it was useless.

“Lize!”

I heard mother’s voice from beyond the gate.

“Come now! We should go to the fountain, the meeting place!”

At mother’s words, I finally turned back. With Rodney’s help, I safely got back over the gate and headed for the fountain.

The fountain was on the opposite side of the Bakus mansion. Even while riding in the carriage, I was so anxious that I bit my lip, and Felicia forcibly held my hand.

“…Ah.”

There was no one at the fountain. The surroundings were cold, without a single person.

“…”

I sat down in front of the fountain and blankly looked down at the ground. My siblings stood guard beside me.

“Lize…”

“Why, did he forget? Why.”

Feeling guilty, I covered my face with my hands. If Roger wasn’t at the mansion or the fountain, where could he be now?

What could he be doing alone somewhere? I hope he hasn’t skipped meals. The last time I saw Roger, he was soaked from the rain. I hope he hasn’t caught a fever or cold because of that and is suffering.

“Roger will be fine. He’s a strong boy.”

Mother comforted me.

“…No. Roger is weak. He gets hurt easily, he’s sensitive… Ah, I shouldn’t have left Roger behind then.”

“I know you’re worried about Roger. But it’s not right to blame yourself for it.”

“But I broke the promise, didn’t I? I was the one who promised first, and I turned my back on him.”

“It’s not turning your back. You attended your grandfather’s deathbed and funeral. It couldn’t be helped. It was just bad luck. Even if you had remembered the promise in your grief, you couldn’t have come here.”

Mother bent her knees to meet my eye level.

“Lize, I sent someone to look for Roger that day. There was someone who saw him board a stagecoach. He probably went to find his father. If his father is far away, he might have gone to relatives’ mansions. Anyway, Roger is probably not alone now.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Roger is an excellent and talented boy, isn’t he? Who would leave someone like him alone when he’s sad?”

Beside me, Silke said, ‘That’s right, Roger is handsome.’ At that, Felicia gasped and covered her mouth.

My siblings who knew Roger also believed that he was coping well, so I started to lean towards that thought too.

“Still, I did break the promise, so I’d like to send an apology letter at least.”

When I spoke softly, mother nodded, saying it was a good idea.

“Yes, we should stop by the Bakus mansion one more time.”

After that, I wrote letters to Roger every day.

I personally took a carriage to the Bakus mansion and slipped the letters through the gap in the front gate. The letters piled up one by one. They remained sealed with wax, with no signs of being opened.

It was the same even after the rainy season ended and the heat of summer came. Only the pile of letters grew taller.

“Lize.”

Yurik, who had come with me to the Bakus mansion, approached my side.

“Thank you for coming with me. Let’s go now.”

“Lize. Where on earth is that guy to…”

“It’s okay. We’ll be able to meet soon.”

I felt Yurik’s gaze asking ‘How?’

“I’m going to the Grand Duke Born’s residence.”

“The Grand Duke Born’s residence?”

“Yes, Roger is supposed to have a concert there. I heard about it before.”

It was an important concert. Also, Roger hadn’t sent word to the Grand Duke’s residence about canceling the concert. It was very fortunate news for me, who had been anxious for days that Roger might unilaterally cancel the concert.

Since he didn’t cancel, Roger will come to the Grand Duke Born’s residence. I had been waiting and waiting just for this day.

“Then I’ll come with you. I’ve met him a few times, so I might be able to help.”

“Thank you, Yurik.”

With Yurik stepping up, things would certainly go more smoothly. As I smiled, Yurik smiled back but couldn’t hide his dark expression.