WYDM 39

He’d been carrying that heavy sack of flour on his shoulder like it was nothing when he spotted the owner and hesitated, then got startled by his wife approaching from behind and dropped the sack, injuring her.

Watching them scold him for hesitating instead of just cleanly taking it, Sehera had immediately spoken to him. Would he like to become a servant at her estate?

“Y-you don’t need to look at those. Those are just… pointless things noble ladies and wives wrote, so I collected them separately…”

Rabo, seemingly feeling her gaze, kicked the chest containing the envelopes she was reaching for and shoved it against the far wall.

He was clumsy with people but not a bad person. Even while stealing a sack of flour from hunger, when he’d encountered the owner, he’d been so startled he’d hesitated and accidentally injured someone.

Everyone had worried, but Sehera’s decision hadn’t changed.

She’d never imagined such a person would be managing letters. She hadn’t even known he could read—she felt a bit sorry somehow.

Rabo, who’d acted a bit forcefully, instead pulled five envelopes from his chest.

“In one year… only five invitations came for me?”

No matter how badly rumors spread, she was Planer’s legitimate heir and could reclaim the count’s name through proper legal procedures. Yet only five…

“No, Miss. Not over one year… these came within the past month. The… old ones past their invitation dates, I collected separately.”

Rabo spoke most comfortably when with her. So she realized anew—he was actually quite articulate.

“Thank you, Rabo. You’ve really worked hard all this time.”

“Th… thank you.”

Sehera smiled gently at him as he gave his thanks in a daze. He was always someone who worked silently while thinking of her first—truly grateful.

“From now on, you don’t need to check the contents and filter them, Rabo. Bring them all to me.”

He seemed surprised at first but quickly accepted it.

Sehera didn’t immediately leave Rabo’s quarters after receiving the letters. His house had small windows that let in little sunlight, leaving it damp, yet he wasn’t burning firewood.

She took the letter envelopes and plopped right down on the worn sofa in his house.

“M-Miss… this place isn’t good. Please return to the estate.”

Rabo didn’t know what to do seeing her like that. For her to sit so casually on a worn, frayed sofa in a damp, dark room—it was unthinkable.

“Mm… you’re right. It seems a bit damp here. Rabo? Could you light some firewood?”

“What? It’s not even winter…”

“Yeah. But if you light some firewood, the dampness will disappear. …Quickly.”

“Yes… I understand.”

Rabo left the room to carry out her order while continuing to worry about her. He must not have kept any kindling near the house, as the sound of him kept getting farther away.

“Did he not light it because he didn’t know rather than trying to save it… Ugh, but it is a bit cold.”

She’d thought Rabo wasn’t lighting fires to save firewood and settled into his house, asking him to light a fire for her… but judging by his reaction, he’d just been living adapted to this level of coolness.

Still, just because you adapt doesn’t mean it’s all good.

While examining the letter envelopes Rabo had meticulously organized and left, she carefully opened one pale yellow envelope.

Before marriage, she’d still occasionally attended gatherings and enjoyed talking with ladies her age. Though she wasn’t used to such splendor, she remembered having quite a good time.

Come to think of it… she’d often thought she should have tried to do something on her own while at the ducal estate.

No matter how much the duke’s ignored wife she’d been, she’d never really accomplished anything as duchess.

If she’d looked, there surely would have been things she could do without the duke. Though it wouldn’t have been easy, if she’d asked Leri for help and steeled her own heart… there would have been things possible.

“I was wrong too… I think I was too weak.”

Inside the letter envelope was content asking how she’d done such things over the past year, saying she wanted to hold a gathering she’d plan and prepare herself.

Right from the first letter, it was proper. She’d written plainly and didn’t know the details of what Sehera had done, but that made her more curious. And she’d used respectful expressions about Sehera’s work.

Crash!

Just then came the sound of a door opening roughly. Sehera was startled enough to hunch her shoulders, but realizing it was Rabo who’d entered the house, she let out an awkward laugh.

“M-Miss, I’m sorry. I’ll light the fire right away.”

From the outside he seemed rather handsome, but with long hair and tall height, he could look quite threatening. But spending even the briefest time with him, you could easily see his very gentle personality and clumsy appearance.

The feeling that the person was extremely harmless? This comparison might be a bit much, but he felt like a large dog that acted very friendly toward people.

He skillfully lit the fire and warmth soon began circulating in the house.

“See? How nice and warm. If you keep it lit a bit, that unpleasant damp feeling will disappear too. So when it’s cool and stuffy like before, light some firewood. Got it?”

As Sehera explained thoroughly and made him promise, Rabo nodded with his head slightly lowered.

“I understand.”

His obedient answer made him seem like a really big puppy, and she desperately wanted to ruffle his hair. No. Rabo’s a grown adult too, so I should respect him.

She put the paper back into the already-opened pale yellow envelope and stood up. She knew well that his cold sweat wasn’t from heat but from worrying about her.

“You’ve been eating meals properly?”

“…Yes.”

“…”

“I’ll go eat now.”

“Good. I’m really leaving. Thanks for managing the letters.”

Sehera didn’t forget to look after him with her words before leaving his cabin.

It was true that she’d been negligent in seeking out her own work just because she hadn’t known before, because no one had given her anything.

And as soon as she returned to the main building, Sehera recalled what she should do first.

“You thought well, Miss. Wow! How much more beautiful would you be if you dressed up prettily?”

Romina and Sana sat across from her, nodding their heads vigorously.

Sehera didn’t have fancy dresses. Not before marriage, not after. What she mainly wore were only simple-design dresses.

That didn’t mean they weren’t pretty. She’d worn clothes to the degree ordinary young ladies wore. But while bringing up talk of balls and social gatherings, there’d never once been any talk of dresses, accessories, or hair ornaments, and Sana’s heart had been burning up.

“Even so, how much prettier could I get? I won’t go for anything so flashy it stands out too much.”

Sehera waved her hands, embarrassed by Sana’s intense reaction, but Romina, who’d been nearby, also became Sana’s ally this time.

“Still, wouldn’t clothes that seem more carefully chosen for balls and gatherings be better, Miss? Though anything would look pretty on you.”

“Right, right?”

Just like women. Romina and Sana got excited about dresses and accessories and rushed to her wardrobe, competing with each other.

They prepared dresses and at Sana’s recommendation, started skin care too. She hadn’t been uninterested before, but she’d never managed things like this timed to a ball date.

She was even spending quite busy days preparing documents to send to Content and the imperial family according to letters Fredil sent.

What she’d thought would be complaints bursting from Sana, who was assigned to nurse the patient, after a few days just quietly passed.

Sehera had been pretending not to pay much attention to Ethan since that day. If Sana was doing it without saying anything, she’d be caring for him efficiently, and Romina was handling meals, Himoph was caring well for his injured wounds.

“…”

Sehera found herself somehow up on the second floor, pacing in front of the count couple’s room.

Though she was pretending to be cool and oblivious, she actually cared so much that she wanted to move everything on the office desk onto the small table in this room and work by his side.

So she’d turned away even more. She’d tried not to even glance toward where the second-floor rooms were. She’d focused more on her own work.

Otherwise… she felt like she’d open this door and go in.

Sehera carefully turned her feet in case any presence could be heard from inside. He’d come down in a wrecked body for the party, so he must be done with his business now.

It would be fortunate if he’d accepted her divorce talk… but she just felt complicated.

Sehera quickly came down the stairs with careful steps. Looking around lest anyone see, she quickly entered the office.

And at the timing when the office door opened and closed again, the door that had been slightly open on the second floor also closed with a small click.

After the door closed carefully, Sana, who’d been holding her breath and let it out with a gasp, finally released all tension and turned around.

“Himoph said your recovery is incredibly fast, so what do you plan to do once you’re fully healed?”

Sana threw out the question while walking back to her designated spot, the sofa beside the bed.

Ethan, who’d been comfortably leaning against a pillow propped on the headboard, narrowed his eyes at the question he received while watching her.

“What do you want me to do?”

Ethan sat in place with a firm expression, his weak appearance completely gone. Now able to sit comfortably for long periods, he looked at Sana without any sign of discomfort.

“Mm… I don’t know. What the young lady wants.”

Sana looked at him with a confused face, her head tilted questioningly.

The young lady had definitely said she’d left everything at the Croft ducal estate and returned. This place only had memories of when it was Planer two years ago.