Yuhan had been a minor supporting character who appeared briefly in the latter half of the original novel as an agent of an underground organization.

His face was marred by a vicious scar, and he was portrayed as a ruthless intelligence operative. The story briefly mentioned that he had once served a family of beastfolk.

The reason Rayleigh remembered him was because of his death scene.

Longing for his already deceased younger sister, he died with his eyes still open, lamenting,

“I wanted to avenge you…”

Then it came back to her.

Although he looked intimidating in the novel, it had also mentioned that his hobby—and talent—was making handcrafted ornaments. It had originally been his younger sister’s hobby, and after her death, he continued it as if carrying on her legacy.

I never imagined they were the same person…!

The Yuhan in the novel had such a fierce appearance that it was impossible to connect him with the refined, intelligent-looking young man standing before her now.

“It’s so beautifully made. I thought it was something sold in a shop.”

“I’m flattered.”

Apparently embarrassed that the conversation had turned into praise for his sister, Yuhan carefully put the keychain away and thanked Rayleigh once again.

“It means a great deal to me. Thank you for finding it. If there’s ever anything I can help you with in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Oh, it was nothing! Although… I suppose I’ll be relying on you quite a bit whenever there are things about the estate that I don’t understand.”

Rayleigh said it jokingly, and Yuhan smiled faintly.

“It would be my pleasure to assist you, Young Madam.”

Looking at his face, it was still difficult to imagine the merciless agent from the original story.

As she returned to her residence after parting with him, Rayleigh felt a knot forming in her stomach.

Yuhan’s younger sister… is destined to die.

According to the original story…

Yuhan originally worked for a family of beastfolk.

After his younger sister was kidnapped, he abandoned his position and threw himself into the criminal underworld.

He took on every dirty job imaginable to earn enough money to pay her ransom.

But in reality…

She had already been dead long before.

Afterward, he sought revenge for her death, sometimes cooperating with the protagonists and other times betraying them.

He was a cruel and complicated character.

The problem is… I don’t know whether his sister will be kidnapped tomorrow, or years from now.

Under those circumstances, she couldn’t exactly tell him outright,

“Please keep a closer eye on your sister’s safety.”

I’ll just have to pay attention however I can.

The thought of the gentle young man smiling warmly while talking about his sister eventually losing her and becoming the cold-hearted agent from the novel made Rayleigh feel deeply saddened.

That evening, it was time for dinner.

After resting in her room, Rayleigh followed a servant to the dining hall.

Perhaps because she would be seeing both her husband Serge and her father-in-law Walter again after their awkward earlier meeting, she found herself growing nervous.

However, when she entered the dining hall, she was surprised to find that only Walter was seated at the table.

“Good evening, Your Grace.”

“Good evening to you too, my dear daughter-in-law.”

Walter greeted her with one cheerful smile after another.

Simply sharing a meal with Rayleigh seemed to make him genuinely happy.

“Will Serge be joining us a little later?”

“Ah… that boy isn’t feeling very well. I’m afraid it’ll just be the two of us for dinner tonight.”

“I see…”

“He did ask me to tell you that he’d like all of us to have breakfast together tomorrow.”

Rayleigh doubted Serge was actually sick.

He had probably transformed into a fox again and couldn’t bring himself to appear before her.

Naturally, since she intended to play the role of the oblivious daughter-in-law, she smiled as though nothing seemed unusual.

“I hope Serge recovers soon.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him.”

Walter answered, his eyebrows drooping slightly.

“…You’re not disappointed, are you?”

“Disappointed?”

“Well… since you’ll be eating with only me instead of Serge… I was worried I might have awkwardly gotten in the way.”

The thought had never even crossed Rayleigh’s mind.

Considering Serge’s disastrous communication skills, eating alone with him would have been far more awkward.

“Not at all! I want to get along well with you too, Your Grace.”

“But…”

Walter lowered his eyes hesitantly.

“…You call me ‘Your Grace’ because you find me difficult to approach.”

“Huh?”

“O-Of course I understand! It must all feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable. We may be family now, but until yesterday we were complete strangers… You can call me whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

…

At this point, he might as well have been shouting with his entire body that he was disappointed she kept calling him “Your Grace.”

Rayleigh smiled wryly to herself.

“If it wouldn’t be disrespectful… may I call you Father?”

“…!”

Walter’s face visibly brightened.

“O-Of course! I’d love that!”

“Then… Father, I look forward to being in your care.”

A broad grin spread across his refined, noble-looking face, completely at odds with his elegant appearance.

The more I see him, the more adorable my father-in-law becomes…

Although Serge was absent, dinner passed pleasantly.

Unlike his extremely timid son, Walter was simply a little clumsy, but perfectly capable of carrying on a normal conversation.

He naturally chatted with Rayleigh while telling her various little things about the ducal estate.

“In the northern wing there’s a gallery filled with works of art. If you’re interested, you should visit whenever you’d like.”

“Yes, Father!”

“Do you happen to like jewelry?”

“Hmm… I’m not really sure. I’ve never had the chance to wear any.”

More accurately, her parents had been so obsessed with selling her off that they had never once bought her luxurious things like jewelry.

There was little point talking about her birth family—it would only embarrass herself—so she let the subject pass.

“I see. Then perhaps you could start taking an interest in it. The social season will begin soon, so we’ll be staying in the capital. I thought it might be nice to visit a few jewelry shops while we’re there.”

Ah, that’s right… the social season.

House Elestain was a secluded northern family that deliberately kept its distance from central politics.

The social season, however, was the one exception.

Political gatherings and noble assemblies were held in the imperial capital during that period.

As rulers of their territory, they couldn’t simply ignore them.

Still, Rayleigh didn’t want to burden her father-in-law by asking him to buy her things while he was traveling for work.

“Thank you for the thought! That’s more than enough for me.”

“D-Did I come on too strongly?”

Walter’s expression immediately became gloomy again.

“No! I’m really happy. I just didn’t want to become a burden…”

“You needn’t worry about that. Something like this could never be a burden.”

Faced with the endless kindness her father-in-law showed her, Rayleigh instinctively shrank back, while guilt pricked at her conscience.

I’m such a terrible daughter-in-law… All I can think about is running away…

Trying to hide those feelings, she changed the subject.

“So, Father, will you be leaving for the capital soon?”

“You’ll be coming with me, my dear daughter-in-law. Besides jewelry, if there’s anything else you like, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“…Thank you.”

He truly seemed eager to give her whatever she wanted.

There was really no reason he needed to bring his young daughter-in-law with him to the capital.

“Will you be attending the nobles’ council meetings there as well, Father?”

“Mm-hmm. Actually, the Imperial Family will be auctioning off a Core Ruby mine this time. I’d like to acquire it without paying an outrageous price, though whether that’ll happen remains to be seen.”

Core Rubies were precious minerals used as the central component of countless magical devices in this world.

Naturally, everyone coveted Core Ruby mines, and House Elestain was no exception.

“I see. I hope everything goes well!”

“With you cheering me on, I’m sure it will! Though talking about such dull matters during dinner isn’t much fun, is it? Let’s talk about something more pleasant.”

Rayleigh smiled back at her father-in-law, who was clearly trying to make her feel comfortable.

At the same time, guilt stabbed painfully at her heart.

She was a selfish daughter-in-law who planned to run away someday…

But until the day she left, she still wanted them to spend their time together happily.

Outside the Viscount Vitenche estate, heavy rain poured from the sky.

Looking out the window, Viscount Vitenche clicked his tongue before turning to his wife.

“That girl Rayleigh is behaving herself at the Duke’s estate, isn’t she? I just hope she hasn’t done anything to fall out of Duke Elestain’s favor.”

Though he said he was “worried,” there wasn’t a trace of fatherly concern in his voice.

“So far we’ve heard nothing unusual. We sent her nanny, Margaret, along with her. She’ll keep the girl firmly under control in our place.”

“She’d better… That useless girl is finally in a position where she can actually be of some use!”

Lighting a cigar, the Viscount’s eyes gleamed with malice.

“It’s the perfect opportunity to gather as much information as possible about House Elestain.”