<Sia!
I’ve been waiting for you.
I could have just set out without sending a reply, but I realized I actually enjoy exchanging letters with you more than I expected, so I decided to write back.
When we were close by, there was never any need to write letters to each other, but this has its own sort of charm.
I’ll probably arrive at Greze Castle the day after you receive this letter.
A lot of interesting things have happened here. I have so much to tell you.
Now that I’ve started writing, I feel like I want to tell you everything.
Let’s talk about everything we haven’t been able to say when we meet.
I’ll come see you soon.
Your old friend,
Ian.>
Leaning against the headboard of her bed as she read Dreyan’s reply, the corners of Cassia’s lips curled into a pleased smile.
Cassia was a little excited.
Not because she was looking forward to seeing Dreyan, but because the letter had made her think of home.
In her previous life, she had always told herself that she should visit her family, that she would go someday, yet she had never even been able to bring herself to make the journey home.
Managing the territory that Jester had completely neglected required more than one person could possibly handle, and the distance was too great to make a quick trip whenever she had some free time.
It took a full week by carriage even when traveling without stopping.
Her father, who had been busy establishing the family and securing its position, had not been able to pay much attention to the daughter who had been sold off to a poor baronial family.
Unlike Cassia, whom he had raised carefully only to marry her off without even receiving a worthwhile price, her younger sister—three years her junior—had married into a prosperous marquisate and given their father plenty of reason to hold his head high.
That would happen three years from now, so at present, her father was probably busy behind the scenes arranging her younger sister’s marriage.
Life…
But Cassia had long since let go of such thoughts.
She was happy enough simply knowing that she no longer had to work herself to exhaustion until she was practically bleeding from the nose.
If she could spend her days eating and lazing around like this and simply watch her children grow, that alone would be enough.
God, is there anyone less greedy and more virtuous than me? Please don’t punish me for spending these ten years you’ve given me doing absolutely nothing. When I die this time, please let me into heaven properly.
After offering her silent prayer while lounging comfortably against the headboard, Cassia prepared to take an afternoon nap.
She had originally been someone who enjoyed taking walks, but after returning ten years into the past, that had changed.
Perhaps it was because winter was cold, or perhaps because she had discovered just how blissful it was to become one with her bed and waste away the hours.
“My lady.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door, followed by Paul’s voice.
Cassia had already stretched herself out across the bed in preparation for her nap, so Paul’s voice felt rather bothersome.
Still, there was no particular reason for her to bother getting herself properly presentable just to receive him.
“Come in.”
She answered in her usual lazy manner, but for some reason, Paul hesitated to enter.
“Um, my lady. The master is with me as well. He said there was something he wished to discuss with you regarding an inspection of the territory…”
Judging from the way Paul awkwardly trailed off, he seemed worried that Cassia might still be lying around in the same informal state in which she had received him.
Cassia hurriedly sat up at the mention of Jester, then suddenly stopped.
Wait. Why am I still getting flustered like some fool? I’m ridiculous too. What is that man to me that I have to tense up this much?
Cassia gave a small snort and lazily leaned back against the headboard.
She even pulled the blankets neatly over herself, settling into such a comfortable position that she looked as though she could fall asleep the moment she closed her eyes.
“All right. Come in.”
Paul opened the door and was startled.
Even though he had warned her beforehand, the Baroness was, just as he had feared, half sprawled across her bed, greeting the two men with an utterly listless expression.
Paul glanced nervously at Jester.
Fortunately, Jester did not seem particularly bothered.
“Then, I shall take my leave.”
Unable to withstand the chilly atmosphere between the two of them, Paul quickly slipped out of the room.
Jester, suddenly abandoned by his only ally, fumbled awkwardly as he glanced at Cassia and timidly approached her.
Can this man really not come to my room without bringing his butler along?
Thinking back to her previous life, Cassia found it strange.
Jester seemed like exactly the sort of person who should have been reckless and stubborn, doing whatever he pleased without a second thought.
Yet now…
“How can I help you?”
“Um…”
“Ah, you wanted to discuss inspecting the territory?”
Remembering what Paul had said before they entered, Cassia asked.
Jester nodded and once again watched her reaction carefully.
Paul had been urging him to inspect the territory for quite some time now, since he finally had a lady of the house.
Jester had told him he would do it alone, but Paul had vehemently objected.
The inspection was supposed to be a formal occasion to introduce Cassia to the people of the territory in the first place. Without her, what meaning would it have?
Faced with that argument, Jester had reluctantly backed down.
But would Cassia, who looked as though she did not even want to lift a finger, actually agree to accompany him?
He had come to ask her while preparing himself to accept her refusal and leave her alone if she said no.
Cassia thought about it.
Originally, she had intended to abandon every single duty she was supposed to perform as the lord’s wife.
But the person she had grown tired of was her husband, Jester—not the simple, kindhearted people of the territory.
There were also several faces she wanted to see.
Come to think of it, Mrs. Margaret, who worked as hard as I did, will probably die from overwork soon.
Cassia knew the circumstances of the few people living in this tiny territory surprisingly well.
Only after kind and gentle Mrs. Margaret suddenly passed away in her previous life had Cassia learned that she had been working herself to the bone to support her sick husband.
Cassia had regretted for so long that she had never noticed Mrs. Margaret’s hands, swollen and rough from spending all day doing needlework for wages.
She has five children, one after another. If I helped her just a little, she could probably make ends meet.
As she pictured Mrs. Margaret’s face, Cassia nodded at Jester.
“All right. I’ll go with you. But you heard from Paul that Viscount Habelrn is coming to visit, didn’t you?”
“Ah, yes.”
“He’ll probably arrive tomorrow. Would it be all right if we toured the territory after welcoming the Viscount?”
“Of course! Anything! Whatever you wish, I—yes…”
At Cassia’s agreeable answer, Jester nodded enthusiastically before apparently realizing how eager he sounded and trailing off awkwardly.
Cassia stared at him for a moment before slowly slipping back beneath her blankets.
“If that’s all you wanted to say, you can go now. I was just about to take a nap…”
Jester had actually come hoping that he might use the territory inspection as an excuse to start a conversation and perhaps take a walk with her.
He hesitated.
“Um… It’s not particularly cold outside today…”
What is this?
The way he awkwardly fumbled over his words sounded suspiciously like he was asking her to go for a walk with him.
Cassia smiled faintly, turned onto her side, and pulled the blanket over herself.
“I’m sleepy.”
The carriage of House Habelrn arrived in Greze territory.
The lord of the territory, Jester, his wife Cassia, and the few servants of Greze Castle had all gathered outside to give the proper welcome.
“How long has it been?”
Cassia murmured excitedly as she watched the Habelrn carriage approaching from a distance.
Jester, standing beside her, quietly turned to look at her face.
Cassia seemed like an entirely different person today.
Except for when she had first arrived in Greze territory, her expression had remained almost exactly the same every day.
A listless look that seemed to say everything in the world was bothersome.
Just by looking at her, one could hardly tell whether she was seventeen or thirty-seven.
But what about today?
Her hair was neatly braided, and she wore light makeup.
The faint blush blooming like flower petals against her pale skin, combined with her softly smiling lips, made her look like a woman exactly her age.
She looked genuinely excited.
“…You must have been quite close to Viscount Habelrn?”
But to think that expression of anticipation was because she was waiting for another man.
And not just any man, but a friend she had known since childhood.
Jester was more bothered than he cared to admit.
Still, he casually asked as though he did not care in the slightest.
Cassia giggled softly before answering.
“Yes. At first, I didn’t even know he was the young master of a noble family. He used to play around so recklessly. I was so surprised when I later found out he was the heir to a viscountcy.”
“……”
“He can be a little rough around the edges and isn’t particularly noble in his manner of speaking, but he’s kind. He was a really good friend to me…”
Cassia narrowed her brows slightly as though reminiscing about the past, then smiled again.
Jester stared blankly at her.
His face gradually twisted into an unhappy expression.
Paul, who had been watching every change in their expressions and listening to every word, broke into a cold sweat as he nervously glanced at Jester.
“You’re really just friends?”
“…What?”
There was something strange about the way he asked that.
What does he mean, are we really friends?
Cassia immediately frowned and turned toward Jester.
“If we’re not friends, then what are we?”
“Hmm.”
Cassia was dumbfounded.
She was not an idiot. She knew exactly what Jester meant by that question.
He had the nerve to suspect her relationship with Dreyan, whom he had never even met, when he himself had been playing around with Vita under the excuse that she was his friend.
In her previous life, she had never given Jester a reason to be jealous, so she had never known how he would react.
But now that she had given him something to react to, his response was unbelievable.
So he’s this petty?
Cassia had discovered a new flaw in him that she had never known about before.
She shrugged with an expression of utter exasperation.
“Who knows? Perhaps whatever you’re thinking is correct, Baron.”
“W-What?”
“Why? What were you thinking?”
Cassia narrowed her eyes.
With one hand resting on her waist, she looked up at him defiantly.
Jester swallowed nervously.
“They say you only see what you have in your own eyes.”
Cassia shrugged once more and shook her head.
Jester mulled over her words before his face flushed red as he protested.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What isn’t? I didn’t say anything.”
“Haa…”
Things had gone terribly wrong.
Their relationship had clearly become strained.
From their disastrous first night together to the misunderstanding involving Vita, he had managed to do nothing but things that displeased his wife.
Perhaps this was only the natural result.
“My lady, about that… Please listen to what I have to say again.”
“Oh, they’re here.”
Jester’s feeble protest was drowned out by Cassia’s delighted voice.
The Habelrn carriage, which had been visible in the distance only moments ago, had already entered the castle grounds.
The Habelrn crest was engraved majestically upon the luxurious carriage.
When the splendidly mustached Habelrn coachman pulled on the reins, the horses reared up with a loud clatter before coming to a halt.
The two well-groomed horses and the carriage decorated lavishly in various places looked quite impressive.
And what about the Luverno carriage that had brought Cassia here?
It had been even more magnificent and beautiful than this one.
As he compared it to the lives of the wealthy nobles who lived on a completely different level from those in Greze, Jester let out a small sigh.
Just then, Viscount Habelrn stepped down from the carriage.
Jester, with the servants standing behind him, stepped forward to welcome Viscount Dreyan Habelrn.
“Viscount Habelrn. Thank you for coming all this way—”
Jester’s words trailed off as he watched where Dreyan’s gaze went the moment he stepped out of the carriage.
As the lord of the territory, Jester naturally expected Dreyan to meet his eyes and exchange the proper formal greetings.
But perhaps because he was so delighted to see an old friend, Dreyan was already grinning from ear to ear as he greeted Cassia standing behind Jester with his eyes first.
Jester subtly glanced back at Cassia.
And what he saw was even more ridiculous.
She raised her small hand and gave Dreyan a tiny wave, smiling like an angel.
Even Jester was momentarily rendered speechless by how beautiful she looked.
If she looks this beautiful even to me, just how beautiful must she look to that bastard…?
Forcing the corners of his mouth upward into a smile, Jester turned back toward Dreyan and continued his greeting.
“…Thank you for visiting. I have been looking forward to your arrival.”
“I am the one who should be grateful for such a warm welcome.”
There was a considerable difference in their ages, so Dreyan treated Jester with impeccable courtesy.
Jester had assumed that, if Dreyan was as undignified as Cassia had claimed, he would probably be some immature young man who had not yet grown into himself.
But Dreyan was more refined and well-mannered than expected.
He was even remarkably handsome.
With pale skin as fair as Cassia’s, bright blond hair, and blue eyes, he was the quintessential noble young master.
He was tall, had a pleasant smile, and carried himself with effortless elegance…
Dreyan had not even done anything yet, but Jester already disliked him.
If Jester was like an angry wild boar invading a peasant village in the middle of winter, Dreyan was like an elegant deer standing proudly in a meadow.
Dreyan seemed far more suited to being Cassia’s angelic companion.
Thinking that he was ridiculous for entertaining such thoughts all by himself, Jester gave a bitter smile.
“Would it be all right if I greeted my old friend?”
Dreyan pointed toward Cassia standing behind Jester.
Greet her?
Jester wanted to tell him to go inside, unpack his luggage, and eat his meal.
But he suppressed the urge to say it and calmly stepped aside.
“Of course. My wife has been looking forward to your visit as well.”
Jester deliberately emphasized the words my wife.
He smiled as though it were nothing and gave Dreyan permission to greet Cassia, but inwardly, he was trembling with anxiety.
Since Dreyan had shown Jester impeccable courtesy when greeting him, Jester had assumed that, regardless of their past friendship, he would show Cassia the same level of formality.
That assumption turned out to be completely wrong.
Dreyan pushed past Jester and immediately strode toward Cassia.
Then he pulled her into his arms and exclaimed,
“Sia! I thought I was going to die from missing you!”
Needless to say, Jester’s mouth fell wide open as he stared at the absurd scene before him.
