“Can I come in for a moment?”

A pleasant voice came from beyond the door.

Liz hesitated for a moment before responding.

“Come in.”

Then she checked to see if her indoor clothes were disheveled.

A little wrinkled, but it was fine.

The door opened, and Kain came in.

His face was immaculate, the pain almost invisible.

Liz’s eyes, briefly relieved by the fact, finally noticed something.

He was holding a tray with tea and freshly baked madeleines.

“Why are you carrying that?”

Liz asked, eyes wide, as Kain set the tray down in front of her.

“Have some. You like them.”

“But why you… Mirabel could have done it.”

“I wanted to give it to you.”

There was no change in his expression. His complexion remained the same.

So… she was reassured. It seemed like a meaningless word.

“Well… I’ll eat.”

It was just in time, as she was hungry.

Liz reached out and picked up a piece of madeleine.

She was about to dip it in tea and take a bite as usual when…

Her movement stopped under Kain’s gaze, standing still and staring at her.

“……Aren’t you going out?”

“I’ll wait until you’re done and take it out.”

Kain’s eyes softened as he smiled and spoke.

You don’t have to, why…

With a lingering discomfort, Liz took a bite of the moist madeleine.

Ah…

An involuntary smile arose from the taste.

The rich butter scent, warm and crumbly texture, and the sweetness that spread gently in her mouth made her forget everything and focus only on the happiness of the moment.

That happiness disappeared when she stuffed the third madeleine into her mouth.

When Liz, feeling something was wrong, sneakily looked up, what she saw was Kain’s eyes staring intently at her chewing lips.

Suddenly, Liz couldn’t tell if she was chewing a madeleine or a sponge.

“Choking!”

She choked, and the noise was audible.

Covering her mouth and coughing, Kain quickly approached and patted her back, then wiped her lips with a handkerchief he had.

Liz became more puzzled.

A handkerchief would have sufficed. Why keep doing things she didn’t ask for?

And why is his face so close? She didn’t know where to look.

Only after Kain had thoroughly wiped her mouthcovering hand did he finally put the handkerchief away.

Liz’s breathing finally stabilized.

However…

“I have something to say to you, Miss.”

At Kain’s sudden words, Liz felt a choked sensation again.

She had a strong intuition that she’d rather not hear it.

But apart from that discomfort, a strange curiosity arose.

What does he want to say?

“I actually….”

Suddenly.

Someone suddenly interrupted Kain’s words.

“Miss!”

Liz and Kain’s gaze simultaneously turned to the open door.

A young servant spoke with a desperate expression.

“Miss, something terrible has happened!”

(This is a time separator.)

Mirabel, following Liz’s instructions, went downstairs only to be called by Lady Berium.

The reason was as she had anticipated.

“Won’t you choose the dress for today’s gathering? Make sure the color and design don’t overlap with other women.”

Lady Berium, who chose her clothes herself, borrowed Mirabel’s hand when going to her monthly meeting with her unmarried friends.

Mirabel had good taste in that regard, having learned from watching her tailor relatives when she was young.

She selected clothes, shoes, corsets that showed the lady’s unique personality, and even recommended perfume and makeup.

In doing so, she completely forgot about the necklace.

As she moved from Lady Berium’s room to the dining room, Mirabel discovered a potted plant carelessly left in the hallway.

“Who left this here?”

Tsk tsk.

Mirabel chastised the careless new chambermaid with a click of her tongue.
And then, to move it, she spread her legs wide and embraced the pot,

“Miss Mirabel. Let me help you.”

Lena, who was waiting on her junior, ran over to lend a hand.

“It’s fine. I can do this much by myself, so you go and do your work.”

“But still……”

“Heaveho!”

Mirabel lifted the pot with a grunt.

At that moment, there was a sound of stones clashing, but Mirabel, focused on her task, didn’t realize it. Instead, Lena picked up something that had fallen from her pocket and stopped trying to call out to the retreating Mirabel.

It was a necklace that seemed familiar.

Lena tilted her head as she looked down at the emerald pendant in her palm.

At that moment, servants entering the entrance found Lena standing blankly and approached.

“What’s going on?”

“Look at this.”

Lena held out her palm to them.

“Doesn’t this look familiar?”

A fellow servant’s eyes sparkled.

“This, looks like Miss Lilia’s? The one she received as a gift from Count Bert.”

At those words, other servants belatedly recognized it and clapped their hands in agreement.

“You’re right. She even romantically stated that she would cherish it as an honor for the rest of her life, though it was an insignificant object compared to your nobility, while personally putting it on.”

“I remember too.”

“But why is it here?”