“I’m looking for something I lost… I’ve searched everywhere it could be, but I still can’t find it, so I was just asking the maids if they’d seen it.”

It seemed that was why Yuhan had been hurrying around before being suddenly called away because of Serge’s situation.

“Oh dear. What was it?”

“A keychain. The key is still with me, so I believe the connecting ring must have come loose and only the keychain fell off.”

If he still had the key itself, it didn’t seem like losing just the keychain would normally make him this anxious.

“Is the keychain something important? Was it a gift from someone?”

“Yes… something like that.”

“Would you like me to help you look for it?”

“It’s all right. I couldn’t possibly trouble you with something so trivial, Young Madam.”

“I don’t mind. Still, if I happen to see something that looks like a keychain, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.”

After bowing politely, Yuhan hurried away.

He had called it a trivial matter, but it clearly seemed very important to him.

If it ended up mixed in with the trash and thrown away, it would be impossible to recover, so that was probably why he was in such a rush.

“…Hmm.”

After thinking for a moment, Rayleigh immediately stepped out onto the terrace and into the garden.

The garden, now passing spring and nearing summer, was filled with flowers blooming in every color.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, but Rayleigh hadn’t come out alone simply to admire the scenery.

There was something she wanted to test, and with Yuhan’s situation, she could check it at the same time.

After making sure no one was nearby, she crouched down in a quiet corner of the garden.

“…Are you here, everyone?”

She spoke in a tiny whisper, barely louder than her own breathing.

The moment she did, something extraordinary happened before her eyes.

Several tiny humanoid beings, no larger than the palm of her hand, appeared with delicate butterfly-like wings.

They looked exactly like the fairies people imagined in stories.

“So you really are here.”

Rayleigh smiled, and the fairies immediately flew toward her, scattering their thoughts in every direction.

[Hello! Hello!]

[Let’s play! Let’s play! Let’s play!]

She watched the little fairies circling around her.

I knew it… I can still see them clearly.

When she was younger, Rayleigh had told her family about the fairies several times.

But no one except her could see them.

They had simply scolded her for lying.

To them, the fairies were nothing more than imaginary friends children often invented.

Yet even now, after recovering the memories of her previous life and gaining the mind of an adult, the fairies still stood plainly before her.

Why am I the only one who can see them? The original novel never even mentioned fairies.

There had once been a time when Rayleigh wondered if she possessed some special talent.

But that hope had quickly disappeared.

According to the routine evaluations performed by both the Mage Tower and the Temple on noble children, Rayleigh was nothing more than an ordinary person with neither magical power nor divine power.

Nor could she accomplish anything extraordinary through the fairies.

To begin with, she couldn’t properly communicate with them.

Whenever she called, they would appear like this, but it was rare for them to actually answer her questions.

Their “thoughts” were more like emotional waves they projected into her mind than actual conversations.

Even so, Rayleigh treasured them like lucky charms—or friends.

To someone who had always been alone, beings who constantly showed her affection were precious.

“I’m glad you’re here. You see… I suddenly learned about an unhappy future, and it’s been making me anxious…”

[Let’s play! Let’s play!]

[Happy! Happy! Happy!]

As always, they didn’t really answer her question.

Still, even that familiar response comforted her.

“Someday I’ll leave this place… but until then, I hope I can get along well with the Duke and Young Duke.”

Even as she spoke, Rayleigh couldn’t help feeling frustrated by her own helplessness.

If, like so many reincarnation novels, she had awakened with incredible abilities, she might have been able to completely rewrite the original story.

“What can someone as useless as you possibly do?!”

“Honestly, you’re so hopelessly slow—you can’t understand the simplest thing!”

Unfortunately, the cruel words her parents had always thrown at her had been true.

Even knowing the future, all Rayleigh could really do was prepare to escape and, out of what little conscience she had, leave behind a few hints that might help House Elestain avoid its destruction.

[Cheer up! Cheer up!]

[Let’s play! Let’s play! Let’s play!]

As if sensing her sadness, all the fairies sent encouraging thoughts at once.

Rayleigh looked up and smiled.

“Thank you. For now, I’ll do my best to settle into the Duke’s castle. I wonder what kind of things the Duke likes…”

She had only muttered it absentmindedly because she wanted to make a good impression on the head of the family and her father-in-law.

Unexpectedly, the fairies answered.

[Rima! Rima!]

[The Duke! Likes Rima!]

Rayleigh’s eyes widened.

“Rima… that’s the name of the late Duchess, isn’t it?”

Rayleigh had already guessed as much since the Duke had never remarried after his wife’s death.

Just as she’d expected, he had loved his wife deeply.

[Rima loves the Duke too!]

[They both love each other!]

So it hadn’t been one-sided love.

The two of them had loved each other with all their hearts.

Having lost the woman he loved so dearly, Walter must still carry a deep wound in his heart.

I’d better never bring up the Duchess carelessly in front of the Duke.

Fixing that information firmly in her mind, Rayleigh moved on to what she really wanted to ask.

“By the way, about the Duke’s aide, Yuhan…”

[Let’s play! Let’s play!]

“He said he lost his keychain. Do any of you know where he dropped it?”

Even as she asked, Rayleigh didn’t expect the fairies to answer properly.

As she’d learned from peering into the Duke’s heart, the fairies seemed capable of seeing almost everything, as though they possessed limitless sight.

But their communication was completely unpredictable.

Most of the time, no matter what she asked, they would simply send random thoughts before disappearing.

Today, however, luck seemed to be on her side.

One fairy fluttered excitedly through the air before shouting,

[Keychain! Follow me! Keychain! Follow me!]

“Wow! Thank you!”

Rayleigh hurried after the fairy as it flew away.

It eventually stopped in the hallway of one of the annex buildings.

Landing lightly on the floor, it proudly sent another thought.

[Here! It’s here!]

Seeing where the keychain had fallen, Rayleigh let out a small sigh.

“No wonder it was so hard to find.”

Display tables holding antique artifacts were lined along the hallway, and the keychain had slipped underneath one of them into a hidden corner.

It had probably fallen from Yuhan’s pocket while he was rushing around and slid beneath the table.

“But this… it doesn’t match Yuhan’s image at all.”

She had expected him to carry something simple and practical.

Instead, the keychain was the exact opposite.

Tiny colorful gemstones were set closely together, forming delicate flowers and butterflies, giving it an adorable appearance.

Of course, judging by what Yuhan had said, it had been a gift, so he probably hadn’t chosen it himself.

[Did I do well? Did I do well?]

“Yes, thank you.”

When Rayleigh smiled warmly, the fairy spun happily in circles before vanishing.

To someone who had been treated coldly even by her own family, the fairies had always been a source of comfort.

Feeling grateful to them once again, she went to find Yuhan.

“I found something that looks like a keychain. Is this yours?”

Rayleigh already knew the fairies never lied, so she was certain it belonged to Yuhan.

Still, she asked casually.

The moment Yuhan saw what she was holding, his eyes went wide.

“Ah…! Yes, that’s it!”

“I was worried it might not be yours. It’s a very pretty keychain.”

“You must have thought it didn’t suit me.”

“I—I didn’t mean it like that…!”

“No, it’s all right.”

He answered with a faint smile.

“My younger sister made it herself and gave it to me as a present.”

At that moment, realization suddenly struck Rayleigh.

So that’s why the name ‘Yuhan’ sounded familiar…

In the original novel…