Riena gave a bitter smile. She wasn’t just saying it; she was really fine.

As the Countess said, it would be awkward for her to worry about Riena when Countess Dyke was perfectly fine.

Riena was just grateful that she worried about her.

“By the way, what brings you to the capital? How did you end up staying at the Winkler estate? Did something happen?”

In her last letter, Riena only mentioned that she was “staying at the Winkler mansion” without going into details.

Moreover, the servants were strictly instructed not to let any word about Cassel and Riena leak out of the mansion, so even if Countess Donovan tried to find out what was going on, she wouldn’t have been able to.

“Well, you see…”

Riena slowly recounted the events of the past two weeks.

Her story of how Countess Dyke had tried to force her into marriage and how she had fled to escape it.

And even the story of how she accepted Cassel’s proposal during that process.

Countess Donovan, who was furious at Countess Dyke’s arbitrary actions, was surprised first by the name Cassel Winkler and then again by the proposal.

“Is it really the Duke of Winkler?”

“Yes. I’ve also confirmed the family’s coat of arms. I’m actually staying at the Winkler mansion. And you know that impersonating a noble is a felony, Aunt. Who would dare impersonate the head of the Winkler family of all people?”

“I know that. But still…”

Despite the logical explanation, the Countess found it hard to believe. Riena understood her. Even she still found the whole situation bewildering.

“I also checked my father’s letter. And…”

Riena hesitated for a moment before bringing up a story from her childhood.

“Actually, I stayed with the Duke of Winkler at the Dyke mansion when I was a child.”

“Really?”

“Yes. My father brought a boy he said was the son of a close friend. He took care of the boy and taught him swordsmanship. I didn’t know which family the boy was from at the time, but it turned out he was from the Winkler ducal family.”

“Right, I heard from your mother that your father and the previous Duke of Winkler were very close. But I didn’t know he even took care of his son.”

“We stayed together for about six months at that time. We even joked that we would get married when we grew up.”

Countess Donovan silently watched the bright smile on Riena’s lips.

“Actually, when the Duke of Winkler came to propose at first, I was very flustered, but when he said he was Cass, who I knew as a child, I felt relieved.”

Even after hearing that, the Countess couldn’t relax her stiff face. She gripped Riena’s hand a little tighter and examined her only niece’s expression.

“But are you okay with this?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, are you okay with going through with this marriage? I’m worried that you might be entering another unwanted marriage to avoid an unwanted one. Even though you met as children, that was a long time ago, wasn’t it? You don’t know how he might have changed since then.”

The Countess spoke as if she knew the disparity Riena had felt between Cass and Cassel.

“But he’s still someone whose identity is guaranteed. He was my father’s only disciple and my friend.”

“It doesn’t matter if that man was your friend or your father’s only disciple. I’m asking about your feelings.”

“Pardon?”

“Do you have the confidence to marry the Duke of Winkler and spend the rest of your life with him? Marriage is more difficult than you think. Even lovers who have exchanged their hearts for a long time may discover sides of each other they didn’t know, quarrel, or be disappointed once they actually get married.”

“I see. But I’m already prepared for that.”

Seeing Riena vaguely trying to change the subject, the Countess moved her lips.

“And I don’t know if I should say this to you, but…”

“…?”

“The rumors about the Duke of Winkler in the capital aren’t very good.”

“…Not good, you say?”

It was the first time she’d heard this. No matter how famous the Winkler family was, the news didn’t reach the Dyke County.

The Countess still had a conflicted look on her face as she touched her temples.

“You’ve probably seen it yourself, but the Duke of Winkler doesn’t have a very good personality. He was notorious for being cruel even when he was a young lord. There’s even a joke in the capital that if you tell a crying child that the Duke of Winkler is coming to get them, they’ll stop crying right away.”

“What? The Duke? That’s not true. He may be a bit blunt, but he’s not like that.”

“There are also a lot of unclear points about the death of the previous Duke of Winkler.”

“Aunt!”

Riena unknowingly shouted as she sprang to her feet. The Countess realized her words had gone too far and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I don’t usually enjoy this kind of gossip either. I don’t believe it. But when you said he’s the one you’re marrying, it made me a little concerned.”

“The Duke is such a good person. Those are really malicious false rumors.”

At that moment, the thought that came to Riena’s mind was, ‘Does the Duke know about these rumors too?’ If he had heard these rumors, what would he be thinking?

Why doesn’t he correct the rumors?

Riena, who had been unknowingly fuming in her excitement, finally calmed down after hearing the Countess’s apologies a few more times.

As she sat down, she said,

“I’m sorry, Aunt. I got a little worked up.”

“No. I brought up something unnecessary. My mouth ran away with me.”

“No. In any case, you said it because you were worried about me. I understand your feelings too. But Aunt, he’s really a good person.”

Riena thought about how Cassel had treated her over the past two weeks.

Not Cass, whom she had known as a child, but Cassel Winkler’s actions.

Even setting aside the fact that he was Cass, Cassel’s attitude was polite.

He didn’t speak much and his facial expressions hardly changed, but there was no sense of rudeness or mistreatment towards Riena.

It wasn’t like he mistreated others either.

He did speak harshly to the captain of the knights of the Dyke family and Baron Rothman, but he had good reason to do so.

Cassel did not mistreat people without reason. The same went for his employees.

At least, that’s what Riena had observed with her own eyes so far.

Moreover,

‘It can’t be Cass.’

No matter how much he had changed like other people, it didn’t seem like that frail child from back then could have gone so astray.

Count Dyke had tried so hard to teach him the ways of a proper knight.

“So please exclude those rumors from your consideration. If you met the Duke in person, you probably wouldn’t say such things.”

“Yes, if you say so, it must be true.”

“Yes.”

Riena smiled faintly as she looked at the Countess. The Countess resembled her mother, whom she had only seen in portraits.

Compared to the young and beautiful mother in the portrait, the Countess had wrinkles and a face that showed her years, but the affection in her eyes as she looked at Riena was the same.

The blue eyes that looked just like her mother’s. If her mother were alive, would she have looked at her with such a face full of concern?

Riena, who had been pondering for a moment, bit her lip.

If her mother had been there in the first place, this situation would not have happened.

As Riena remained silent, the Countess cautiously added,

“Still, think more seriously about the marriage. Regardless of who the other person is, I’m against choosing marriage to escape the reality you’re currently facing.”

“…”

“I’ll help you. Since you haven’t formally had an engagement ceremony yet, it can be broken off. I’ll be your chaperone, so you can officially debut in the capital’s social circle next spring, and if you find a lover, you can tie the knot then.”

Riena honestly didn’t expect Countess Donovan to care about her to this extent.

However, when Riena looked surprised, the Countess was rather puzzled.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to do that much for my only niece?”

“No, that’s…”

Riena couldn’t bring herself to lie and hung her head low.

“To be honest, I did think that. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Aunt. Of course, I know you’re a good person. But the situation is what it is.”

Riena clasped her hands together and fidgeted.

“My mother passed away when I was too young to even remember. I have met my maternal grandparents, but my memories of them are hazy. The same goes for you, Aunt.”

Countess Donovan listened to her niece’s words with a benevolent smile.

“It’s shameless of me to contact you after all this time, let alone ask for help. I thought it was really absurd.”

“It’s all my fault. I should have taken better care of you when you were little, but my life was difficult, so I couldn’t. But now that we’ve met again, leave it to me. If you’re okay with it, I can give you a room right away. I can send my attendant to get your luggage.”

Riena couldn’t say anything in response to that.