Chapter 1

Roxanne’s carriage rocked gently. The interior was stuffed to the brim with high-quality cushions, which Adi had bought one after another when Mary was pregnant. Mary had been certain that once the child was born, Adi’s cushion mania would settle down, but if anything, his condition had only deteriorated further. He’d managed to build up techniques and contacts for getting cushions on the daily, to the point that he was basically a cushion collector.

“I can’t tell if our carriages are supposed to transport people or cushions...” Mary complained with a sigh, picking up one of said cushions. Her and Adi’s vehicle was following Roxanne’s, both of which were filled with numerous cushions.

The one Mary had picked up was a new addition, and when she glanced at Adi, he nonchalantly informed her, “It arrived just the other day.” Worse yet, he even began explaining all about its stuffing and design in detail. He really was a collector.

“I take it that House Albert is steadily collecting all of the world’s cushions,” Mary commented.

“Oh, of course not. I still have a long way before I can boast of doing that!”

“That wasn’t a compliment, so stop acting all humble.”

“Honestly, if my comrades heard you make that claim, I’d be a laughingstock. But I’m sure one day I’ll get there, together with them all...!”

“Wait, is there a cushion community?! Are you and your comrades going global?!” Mary questioned, surprised by such lofty ambitions. However, Adi’s amused laugh told her that he must’ve been joking (though, that wasn’t necessarily guaranteed either).

Still, realizing how much he was enjoying himself, Mary glared at him. She then punched the cushion she’d been holding, but Adi just smiled, unperturbed. He didn’t appear to be offended by her action. Mary sighed in exasperation, flipping her hair off her shoulders.

“What if the world suffers a cushion shortage and House Albert takes the blame?” she inquired. “We might actually fall into ruin this time, because of our cushion monopoly.”

“That won’t happen. If somebody tried to sue us, it’d be the same as suing the royal family, and the country would collapse,” Adi reasoned, gazing out of the window with a dry smile. Mary did the same, watching as Roxanne stepped out of the carriage a little ways ahead of them.

The child walked slowly down the ramp, holding the driver’s hand for support. Her conduct was ladylike and elegant. When did she become so calm and collected? Mary mused, involuntarily tearing up at the sight.

When was the last time Mary had called out, “Wait, you’ll fall!” only to watch her excitable daughter fly out of the carriage anyway? Huh, Mary could’ve sworn it was the day before yesterday!

Regardless, Roxanne began gleefully heading towards a building that was even more lavish than Albert Manor: the royal palace. This place made ordinary citizens and aristocrats alike nervous, and feel the need to adjust their attire. Alas, Roxanne had come here often ever since she was a baby, so she wasn’t anxious in the slightest. She acted as if she were visiting relatives.

That said, she was neither frolicking nor sprinting towards the palace. Quite the opposite—bearing the mighty responsibility of her errand on her shoulders, she was conducting herself with even more primness than usual.

She’s so cute! Mary thought, pressing her hand to her chest. She wanted nothing more than to rush over to Roxanne and hug her, but she managed to stop herself. That would have to wait until they were back at Albert Manor.

“Children grow up so fast, don’t they, Adi? Just look at that dignified walk of hers!” Mary fawned. “I feel like it wasn’t so long ago that she’d jump out of the carriage and hop up and down in excitement, hurrying us along to the palace... Huh, when did that happen again?”

“That was the day before yesterday,” Adi replied. “How nostalgic...!”

“Such growth in just two days! That’s my daughter for you!”

“Look! The maids are greeting her, and now she’s holding her skirt and curtsying!”

Having stepped out of their carriage, Mary and Adi were whispering to each other as they cowered in the shadows and observed their daughter. They would’ve seemed like a very bizarre couple to any onlookers, and the sight of the suspicious duo did startle the passing staff members. But after their initial surprise wore off and they recognized the pair, the staff instantly let down their guard. Once they realized Roxanne was present, the servants smiled wryly and even played along.

I’m glad they’re quick on the uptake, Mary thought with gratitude.

“Roxanne!” someone shouted with delight, and soon enough Alicia rushed out of the palace. Patrick was beside her too.

Roxanne took a few steps closer to the couple, gathered her skirts, and curtsied. Her conduct was so graceful that Mary and Adi—still hidden—couldn’t stop themselves from sending her a round of applause.

“Good day, Lady Alicia and Lord Patrick.”

“Good day, Roxanne!” Alicia responded. “You look as cute as ever!”

“Sorry I came so sudde— I mean, my apologies for the unexpected visit. I got somethi— I brought over something for you. I’m here to make an en...in...inquiry.” Roxanne delivered her greeting politely, despite the occasional verbal stumble. When she finished speaking, she looked up and exhaled proudly, perhaps feeling accomplished.

The little girl was utterly adorable, and Alicia’s expression melted more and more as she listened. She looked to be on the verge of embracing Roxanne.

In contrast, Patrick just barely managed to keep up an appearance of calm. However, when Roxanne said, “Hold on,” then turned away and glanced down at a memo (it must’ve been a cheat sheet she’d secretly prepared on how to speak like a lady), Patrick couldn’t endure it, and his shoulders started shaking.

“Um, what do I say next...? I’m here to make an inquiry... Huh?” Roxanne tilted her head, wondering if she’d already said this part. Her silver ringlets fluttered with the movement. Alicia’s expression crumbled even further, and Patrick’s smile deepened.

“R-Right, so what did you bring for us, Roxanne?” he prompted gently.

Roxanne had been fixated upon her memo, but his question made her snap back to reality. She quickly hid her cheat sheet in her pochette so that the pair wouldn’t see it, and then laughed elegantly to gloss it over. Alicia let out a strained sound, while Patrick’s expression softened with affection, as though he were gazing at his own daughter.

The child opened her pochette again and took out two letters, reverently holding them out to the couple.

“What’s this?”

“These are invitations for the party House Albert is hosting this month. I would be delighted to have you two attend...in attendance...so I brought the letters...in person...?”

“You mean, ‘I’d like you two to attend, so I brought the letters over personally’?”

“Yes, that!” Roxanne’s expression brightened when Patrick spoke on her behalf. In her mind, she was the one who’d just finished that statement. She looked proud, and puffed out her chest as if to say she’d just successfully completed a task.

The gesture was so cute that Alicia trembled in agony. When Roxanne held out the letter to her, Alicia grasped her tiny hand instead. The child giggled, as if that tickled her. She’d been trying to act mature, yet now she smiled brilliantly and exclaimed, “That tickles!”

At that moment, Alicia swept Roxanne up in a hug. Her cuteness endurance had reached its limit. Although Alicia was a slender woman of petite frame, Roxanne was even smaller, being a child. The embrace enveloped her entirely, but even so, she held the letter out through a gap between their bodies.

“This one’s for you, Lord Patrick...!”

“Right, thanks for bringing it over. Alicia, you should let her go now.”

“Five more minutes! Five more minutes!” Alicia argued like a grumpy child.

Meanwhile, Roxanne remained perfectly calm and even said, “I can spare five minutes.”

It was hard to tell which of them was the real child here, and Patrick’s shoulders sank. “Still, I can’t believe you made these invitations by hand, and brought them over personally,” he said.

“My mother always says that you have to give important invitations directly! And this party’s very special, because we’re making a wonderful announcement!” the child explained.

“A wonderful announcement, you say? I see, so this is about the migratory bird restaurant,” Patrick concluded. “It’s about time you branched out. What’s next? Beef? No, this is Mary we’re talking about, so she might come up with something seafood-base—”

“My, Lord Patrick! We wouldn’t make an announcement about the restaurant during a party!” Roxanne said with an elegant laugh, interpreting Patrick’s words as a joke.

“But in the past, your mother...” Patrick started to say something, then suddenly picked up that someone’s gaze was on him and looked up...before shutting his mouth. He noticed Mary staring at him from her hiding spot in the distance.

A great pressure emanated from her, and he thought he could hear her say, “Don’t you dare tell my daughter such unnecessary things!”

Idle Memories: Part 1

“House Lautrec, huh? How nostalgic,” Mary whispered, gazing at the scenery outside.

“You had forgotten all about them,” Adi grumbled.

In response, Mary smiled brilliantly...and stomped on Adi’s foot with all her strength. “It just took me a little longer to recall them. Only a tiny bit longer.”

“No, you had completely forgo— Ow... Ow! Yowch! All right, already! It just took you a tiny bit longer to recall them!” Adi appealed, acknowledging his loss in face of the pain.

“As long as you understand,” Mary replied, looking victorious.

Alicia watched them happily. “But...” she spoke up suddenly. “It must’ve been difficult for you to be unable to use one eye, Adi.”

“The eye patch was a lot more trouble than the wound. It’s hard to get a sense of distance when your field of vision is narrow,” he explained with a sigh and a shrug.

“It did seem difficult,” Mary admitted, recalling those days.

Back when House Lautrec had caused them turmoil, Adi’s eye had been injured and he had to wear an eye patch for a while. The wound wasn’t grave, however; he’d just decided it was better to hide it than expose it to everyone. As such, he had to live with his field of vision limited for some time. Occasionally, he had gotten caught in doors, or failed to pick up a teacup. Many such little incidents had occurred.

“How nostalgic. I remember once I was having tea with my brothers, and you tripped when you were trying to clean up, spilling the tea onto them.”

“So you remember that, do you?” Adi asked, his expression souring at the painful memory.

His scrunched-up face only made Mary want to tease him more, and she smirked. “It was such an ordeal,” she said, sighing exaggeratedly.

Patrick’s and Alicia’s interest was stirred upon hearing of this incident (and due to Mary’s exaggeration), and they prompted Mary to continue, asking what had happened next.

“Thankfully, the tea was cold, so nobody got burned. But Adi fell down with a great clamor, breaking lots of tableware. It was terrible,” Mary explained.

“I’m sure Lang and Lucian must’ve been angry with him,” Patrick said. “I can just picture them pushing Adi’s head down while Roberto gazes on icily.”

“You’d think so, right?” Mary said meaningfully, her smile deepening. She knew she must’ve had a wicked smirk on her face right now. She stole a glance at Adi, whose narrowed eyes glared at her. It was obvious that he wanted to ask her to be more considerate when she spoke of his personal matters. At the same time, he looked vaguely embarrassed.

Mary nodded triumphantly at him, before turning to look at the other two. They had also noticed Adi’s expression, which only incited them to pester Mary for a continuation.

“So, Adi took a flashy fall while spilling cold tea on my brothers. I reflexively screamed when it happened. And at that very moment...”

“Yes?” Patrick asked impatiently.

Mary grinned. “My brothers and Roberto all shouted, ‘Adi, are you okay?!’ while springing to their feet!” The scene played itself out in her mind’s eye as she spoke.

Lang and Lucian had been soaked in tea, yet they hadn’t paid that any heed in their anxiety to check on Adi. Even Roberto, who usually referred to Adi as his “foolish younger brother,” had called out Adi’s name in momentary panic. But once the trio had ensured that Adi was safe and sound...

“Lang pushed Adi’s head down from the right, and Lucian from the left, while Roberto grumbled that Adi was getting his just deserts,” Mary finished.

“I see. After a brief interval, they went back to their usual selves,” Patrick observed.

“It was so funny that I burst out laughing. But the more I laughed, the more my brothers pushed Adi’s head down to hide their embarrassment. Roberto made some excuse about cleaning the utensils and escaped.”

While Mary talked in good humor, Patrick smiled at the mental image her story had created for him. He looked amused, yet his expression was simultaneously full of mischief. Of course, this had its own charm about it.

“Are you all right, Adi?” Alicia interjected.

When Mary turned to look at Adi, she saw him curling in on a cushion and burying his face in it. Alicia was repeatedly patting his shoulder. At a glance, it seemed as though he was suffering from motion sickness. But he couldn’t hide his reddened ears, and Mary knew he couldn’t lift his head out of embarrassment. Perhaps he was ashamed of his own failure in falling down and spilling tea, or because of how the twins’ and Roberto’s sincere care for him had been made so clear at that moment.

Whatever the case, he didn’t respond even as Alicia poked him. His emotions must’ve been unbearable. If the group weren’t inside a carriage right now, he would’ve certainly made a run for it.

Mary and Patrick stared at him for a bit, then exchanged a look with each other. “Lang, Lucian, and Roberto bully Adi all the time, but in the end, they’re just as doting on their younger brother as they are on their younger sister,” Mary said. “They should just admit it already.”

“It’s not so easy for them to be honest,” Patrick replied. “But it’s clear that they treasure Adi, given how concerned they were for him.”

They were delivering a follow-up attack. (The two of them did this jointly—without consulting one another first—thanks to how similar their personalities were...or at least, that applied to the unpleasant aspects of their personalities.)

At their words, Adi buried his face even deeper into the cushion. Mary was almost tempted to ask him whether he could still breathe. His ears, which were peeking out from between strands of his hair, had gotten redder still. “Just drop it already...” he groaned, trying to make Mary and Patrick stop.

Mary laughed elegantly, while Patrick smiled dazzlingly. To outsiders, it would’ve looked like a beautiful pair smiling pleasantly, but their expressions silently conveyed how satisfied they were with what they had done.

Alicia was the only one who, after glancing between everyone else, simply eased out a sigh. She thought back to those days when Adi had been inconvenienced by the eye patch. She remembered how Mary had always walked beside Adi and held him by the arm to guide him, and how Patrick had held doors open for him. But when she pointed that out, the other two’s eyes widened.

“Did I do that?” Mary murmured. “Well, I suppose supporting your husband is part of a wife’s duty.”

“I guess that could’ve happened,” Patrick said.

Their replies were short and blunt. They appeared uncomfortable, perhaps because of everything they’d said about the twins and Roberto. The two then quickly tried to change the topic.

Alicia shrugged her shoulders. “You’re all contrarians,” she whispered with a wry smile.

Can she really handle being a mother to two children? Mary wondered.

Eventually, Parfette calmed down and sighed, looking refreshed. “It’s been a while since I cried,” she said. Alas, it seemed she had been playing the part of a mother without having shed tears for quite some time. Crying might’ve been a form of stress relief for her at this point.

“If that’s the case, there’s no reason to force you to change,” Mary said while nodding.

Patrick sighed, exasperated. “Is that really true?”

“It is. If anything, a Parfette who doesn’t cry wouldn’t be Parfette at all,” Mary argued.

“So crying’s a part of her identity, huh? Still, despite your tears, I’m glad you seem to be doing well,” Patrick told Parfette as he smiled at her.

“Your smile is so dazzling...!” she exclaimed, once more on the verge of crying. But after trembling for a moment, she calmed down and then returned his smile. Parfette was still a crybaby, but in her own way, she was getting better at switching up her reactions.

This is another sign of her growth, Mary thought, watching her friend with a smile.

***

When Mary had first heard the news of Parfette’s pregnancy, she had almost cried herself. She had reflexively wanted to embrace Parfette, before quickly stopping herself. Instead, Mary hugged Alicia, who was lying in wait to the side with her arms already spread open. Moreover, Parfette later gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, so Mary’s joy was doubled.

At the same time, she was worried. Mary already knew how hard it was to be a mother, so she couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to have two babies at the same time. To her, this was uncharted territory. Could a crybaby like Parfette even withstand something like this?

Such were Mary’s worries, but they had turned out to be unfounded. After all, though Parfette was like a tearful, quivering small animal, at critical moments, she had always shown an unbreakable strength. Plus...

“Lord Gainas looked quite good, holding two babies at once,” Mary pointed out teasingly. Parfette laughed.

Back when Mary had rushed to visit the Eldlands to congratulate them on the birth, Gainas still hadn’t been sure how to treat his newborn children. He had held them cautiously and nervously. Whenever he picked one of the babies up, he would go rigid. Of course, he only held one at a time. It would’ve been unthinkable for him to hold one baby in each arm while rocking them both.

Yet earlier, Gainas hadn’t appeared to be afraid anymore. He held the infants as though he was used to it, and though he panicked a little when they started moving about, he reacted without turning stiff.

“It looks like he makes for a reliable father,” Mary remarked.

“Yes, Lord Gainas is a very good father,” Parfette confirmed.

“I suppose I must recognize his efforts. I’ll give him a hundred points for his growth as a father.”

“A hundred?! I’m sure he’ll be so glad to hear your praise, Lady Mary! I know, I’ll go switch shifts with him, so please say hello to the little ones!” Parfette bowed before walking away.

A while later, Gainas came out of the estate. The babies were still in his arms. “I assume you don’t want your children to know you’re here?” he asked as he approached. He must’ve surmised Mary and the others were tailing Roxanne and Felix. When everyone nodded in response to his question, his shoulders drooped. “I knew it... It’s one thing for Lady Mary and Lady Alicia to be shadowing them, but I can’t believe Lord Adi and Lord Patrick are doing it too.”

“Oh? What are you trying to say about me and Alicia?” Mary demanded.

“N-Nothing! Anyway, uh, this carriage is very good for camouflage, isn’t it? I wouldn’t have thought you all would ride in such an ordinary vehicle.”

“Once your children are grown up and decide to leave on an errand by themselves, you’ll understand, Gainas,” Mary told him. “When that happens, I’ll lend you House Albert’s treasured getaway vehicle. Though it’s meant for sneaking out, it’s also perfect for tailing. Incredible, isn’t it?”

“R-Right. Thank you... Wait, House Albert’s treasured getaway vehicle?” Gainas repeated with astonishment, once more turning to look at the carriage. He hadn’t expected it to belong to House Albert, let alone be their getaway vehicle. “Y-Yes, it’s truly wonderful...” he added, clearly struggling to compliment it. His face was stiff, but Mary pretended she didn’t notice and laughed elegantly.

She knew what he wanted to say, and that was why she wouldn’t let him. Instead, she cast her gaze on the twins in his arms, putting an end to the previous topic.

One of the twins was dozing off, while the other was sucking on the blanket with single-minded devotion. The baby’s oddly serious face combined with the drool-soaked wrap was adorable.

Alicia gently stroked the infant’s cheek. Mary did the same, and felt a soft, delicate sensation against her finger. It was as if she were touching a cloud. Gainas was overflowing with fondness for his babies, and when Mary and Alicia said they were cute, he smiled as if they had praised him. It was the expression of an adoring father.

Yet a second later, he looked up quickly with a hint of panic. “Parfette has left the mansion. She’s sending a signal, so Roxanne and Felix must be right behind her.”

“Oh no. They’ll get mad if they spot us... But I can’t stop! I can’t stop my finger from poking the baby’s cheek!” Mary exclaimed. She poked the child’s soft, plump skin, and it shrieked happily in response, as though her touch tickled. It was adorable.

Gainas paused, uncertain of what to do, before turning to Adi and Patrick and silently imploring them for help. However...

“When Roxanne was a baby, her pink cheeks were cute too. Whenever she looked at me, she’d get so happy, and that made her cheeks look even more plump... Of course, she’s still adorable now, and she gets prettier by the day.”

“Felix also smiled whenever I poked his cheeks as a baby. It was cute. Sometimes, he’d catch my finger and then laugh. It was so endearing, I could hardly bear it. Of course, he’s still endearing now, and gets even more so by the day.”

...both men were currently submerged in past memories of their own children.

This is impossible... Gainas thought, narrowing his eyes. He was well aware that once those two got started, there was no stopping them. He’d listened to them fawning over their kids on countless occasions.

Alas, they truly couldn’t continue like this right now. Gainas looked up, noticing that Parfette was rushing over to them and waving her hand. She looked panicked, so Roxanne and Felix must’ve been close by. Gainas could almost hear her screaming, “Please hurry and run...!”

“E-Everyone, please return to your carriage! They’re almost here!” Gainas shouted.

“As a baby, Roxanne was as beautiful as a work of art... Ah! You’re right. This isn’t the time to be talking about this. Mary, let’s head back before they notice us!”

“Even when he was a baby, you could tell that Felix was intelligent... No, we need to focus on the tailing! Alicia, let’s hurry back!”

Adi and Patrick snapped back to their senses around the same time. Mary and Alicia were still having their fill of poking the infants’ cheeks, so the men guided their wives back into the carriage.

Gainas breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close,” he told the babies in his arms before he could stop himself.

Mary peered out of the window at him. “Sorry, Gainas. Those charming cheeks took all of my attention. They’re devilish things that make you forget yourself.”

“Please don’t assign strange attributes to my children. But I admit: they’re both cute, and their cheeks are... No, now’s not the time!” Gainas managed to stop himself from repeating the sins of the fathers who had gone before him. Roxanne and Felix might notice if he were to speak aloud like this. Perhaps his children really did have devilish cheeks, for making their father lose his reason. With that on his mind, Gainas looked between the two infants in his arms.

Mary laughed at the sight. “A hundred points,” she proclaimed.

Gainas looked up at her with surprise. “A hundred...?”

“Yes. It’s for embracing your children, and supporting Parfette as her husband.”

“This is the most points you’ve ever given me, Lady Mary...” Gainas said and then gasped. He understood Mary’s intentions, yet he still gazed at her with disbelief.

Until now, Mary had never given Gainas more than ten points at a time. Parfette, who should’ve been the strictest, often granted him nonsensical points by saying things like “Good morning. Ten points.” But even while the others gave him high scores, Mary’s grading had remained unsparing. If anything, she’d even subtracted points from him many a time.

But here she was now, giving him a hundred points. It was an unprecedented amount.

“You have overcome your errors, and now you’re fulfilling your role as Parfette’s husband and the father of your children. You deserve those hundred points,” Mary announced.

“Y-You mean...?” Gainas trailed off. His eyes silently asked Mary whether she had forgiven him for his past transgression. She smiled calmly and nodded. “Lady Mary! Thank you so much...!”

“It’s fine. More importantly, if I bully you, those twins with devilish cheeks might get mad at me,” Mary explained, gently admonishing Gainas after hearing his earnest gratitude.

Adi and Patrick were watching this exchange while smiling. “I also jumped on the bandwagon and gave Gainas points every now and then. How many did he end up getting, again?” Adi wondered.

“I tried to keep count and add them all up out of sheer curiosity, but when Parfette said she gave him three hundred and fifty points because she’d had a nice dream, I gave up,” Patrick responded.

Alicia noticed something then. “They’re here!” she said, raising her voice while trying to hide inside the carriage.

Roxanne and Felix had left the mansion. Mary glanced outside, before immediately withdrawing and closing the curtain. The touching atmosphere from before had disappeared.

“Excuse me,” Gainas said quietly, before walking towards Parfette.

“The devilish cheeks enchanted us, but we somehow managed to get away without being discovered,” Mary said, sighing. She opened the curtain slightly and checked to see what was going on. Roxanne and Felix were climbing into their carriage. In each hand, they were both holding bags of sweets.

Parfette was wiping the corners of her eyes. Perhaps she was saddened by the departure, or maybe she was relieved that they’d managed to get rid of some of the confections.

Once the children’s carriage left, Parfette and Gainas looked towards Mary’s and bowed. Mary responded by waving. Simultaneously, their vehicle kicked into motion.

***

The carriage raced past the Eldland estate’s gates. Mary tried to conjecture where they would go next. While she was busy thinking about it, she realized there was another carriage heading towards them from the opposite direction. It looked familiar, and Mary peeked outside the window.

“That’s Veltina,” she whispered, watching as the other vehicle passed them by.

Veltina was inside the carriage, and her husband, Luke, sat facing her. Mary had only glimpsed them for a second, but they looked like they were enjoying themselves.

When Mary had first met Veltina, the girl had worn a large ribbon in her hair. But as she’d gotten older, the ribbons had progressively gotten smaller. These days, she just tied her hair with a string.

(Each time they met and as Mary watched the ribbons becoming smaller, she found herself thinking, I wonder if her body is growing by absorbing the ribbons?)

(As a side note, when Adi heard that idea, he’d said, “That’s limited to your drills, milady,” and shut her down.)

“I’m sure they’re off to see Parfette,” Mary said.

“I’m glad they get along so well,” Adi replied, smiling wryly as he recalled their past turmoil. He must’ve felt that way because he had been the catalyst for that situation.

Back then, Parfette and Veltina had tried to intimidate each other by having a “cheeks puff-off.” It was a fiery confrontation, filled with tension (from the contestants’ point of view). Even once the strife was resolved, the two girls continued puffing their cheeks out at each other. This would often occur during parties, while they were both holding cakes and exchanging information about delicious cookies.

Nevertheless, after a few years, the girls had relaxed and reconciled. Now, they were friends. They discussed those days together, saying that they were friends precisely because they had clashed with each other so many times.

“You always seemed close, though,” was what everyone found themselves thinking, but stopped short of saying out loud. If they did, Parfette and Veltina would puff out their cheeks. Nowadays, Parfette’s twins might follow in their mother’s example and those devilish cheeks might become puffy too.

“Anyway, I’m just glad it’s going well for them. By the way, Adi, did you see inside the carriage?” Mary inquired.

“I did. There was a massive pile of boxes next to Veltina...”

“They must be filled with sweets.” There was no doubt about it; the sweets were a gift for Parfette. Although, the amount was quite excessive, all things considered. If Mary had to guess, it was twice the amount of treats that Roxanne and Felix had taken with them. And that was just based on a brief glance through the window. Perhaps there was even more confectionery in there.

Mary pictured Parfette shaking as she said, “If I look to my right, I see sweets, and if I look to my left, I see more sweets...” Surely she wouldn’t be able to endure it and would burst into tears.

“Perhaps we should hold a cushion-and-sweets exchange,” Mary proposed.

“In that case, I’ll get some new cushions for the occasion,” Adi threw in. “I just happened to acquire a new design recently. The cloth is very soft too. I’ll commission it from my supplier...”

“If I look to my right, I see cushions, and if I look to my left, I see more cushions,” Mary muttered. Rather than resolving the confectionery situation at the Eldland villa, maybe I should focus on addressing the cushion problem within my own home, she thought while stroking the cushion in her lap.

Idle Memories: Part 2

For a while after they passed Veltina, the carriage was filled with the aroma of desserts. Mary picked one up and bit into it. It was a delicious cookie, and before she knew it, she was already reaching for another one.

“I feel bad that they gave us sweets too. Perhaps we should send them a gift,” Mary said in good humor. Confectionery arrived at the Eldland estate on the daily (more was currently on the way), so Parfette had given some to Mary as well before they left.

“It’s a shame we can’t enjoy them together, Lady Mary!” Parfette had said. “At least let this remind you of me...!”

“But it’ll go into my stomach. Are you sure?” Mary had asked.

“If it’s your stomach, then gladly so...!”

Parfette had made some incomprehensible statements at the time of Mary’s departure, but that was nothing new. Mary smiled wryly at the memory as she ate another sweet.

Patrick nodded in agreement, shrugging his shoulders. “I really do get knocked off my stride when it comes to her.”

“Now that I think about it, Parfette pushed you around the first time you met her,” Mary recalled.

“I’ll always remember what you said back then,” Patrick responded with a dry smile. Mary remembered that day.

Mary had first met Parfette while studying abroad at Elysiana Academy. It was when Mary had gotten wrapped up in the conflict created by Lilianne’s reverse harem. Right as that uproar came to a close, Patrick visited the academy for an unrelated reason. That was when he had first met Parfette...or the crying Parfette, as it were.

“She cried no matter what I said to her. When I invited her to a meal, she also cried. Even during the meal, she cried because of how tasty the food was...” Patrick listed.

“How nostalgic. She made quick work of those croquettes while crying over how delicious they were,” Mary added.

“And I never thought I’d make someone cry because ‘the way I eat croquettes is beautiful,’ apparently.”

Mary and Patrick laughed as they reminisced.

“While we’re on that subject,” Patrick said. “It was pretty difficult after that. Everyone kept questioning me about who your new friend was.”

“You mean Parfette?” Mary asked.

“Yeah. I met her first, so I had to put up with a barrage of questions from the others,” he responded, pointedly glancing at Adi and Alicia.

The two smiled remorsefully. They must’ve recalled how much they had questioned Patrick at the time. They even started making excuses. “It wasn’t just us,” Adi said.

“Exactly,” Alicia agreed. Most likely, Mary’s brothers had also hounded Patrick for answers.

Alas, since he had been the first to meet Parfette, it was only natural that everyone else was curious and wanted to ask him about her, as she was Mary’s friend. Mary’s descriptions of Parfette had consisted of “There’s no distinction between her crying and not crying,” and “It’s not that she’s perpetually in the midst of one big cry, but rather she intermittently finds new reasons to cry.” That had only made everyone all the more curious.

Patrick, being the only other source of information, had faced a rapid barrage of questions about who Parfette was and whether she really cried all the time. “It’s not that she cries often; it’s that she smiles sometimes,” he had explained, borrowing Mary’s words.

His answer only confused everyone, further deepening their interest in the girl.

And once Adi and Alicia finally met Parfette for the first time...

“Right. It’s not that she cries often; it’s that she smiles sometimes.”

...they had jointly understood the situation. Of course, Parfette had been quivering and crying at that time too.

Chapter 3

“I wonder where we’re going?” Alicia whispered while gazing out of the carriage window. Quite some time had passed since they’d left House Eldland’s holiday home. The vehicle ahead of theirs showed no signs of stopping, and they followed behind at a decent distance.

The outside view was gradually changing, with more nature coloring the scenery. This area wasn’t necessarily depopulated, but nor was it prospering. To put things nicely, it was serene. To put things less nicely, it was the middle of nowhere. Simply gazing at the tranquil scenery put one’s heart at ease, yet Alicia was full of dubiousness. Influenced by her, Patrick also looked outside with curiosity.

“To Anna’s place,” Mary answered. “Helene and Anna live in this area.”

“They do? So they moved from Sylvino to here, did they?” Alicia asked.

Helene and Anna were a mother and daughter duo Mary had met in the past. They used to live in poverty under the rule of a feudal lord who believed that one’s birth circumstances determined everything, and their district had been deteriorated beyond recognition. The buildings were once decrepit, with broken windows and crumbling walls. The area had been entirely unfit to house people. It was the picture of poverty, and when Mary had first visited it, the sight had left her furious.

However, she and her friends had managed to oust the feudal lord. Ever since someone else had been put in charge, Sylvino had changed. The citizens were now able to find work without having to abandon their families, and children were able to attend school. The new management had established a functional infrastructure to support the populace’s livelihoods, and they were now focusing on renovating the houses and buildings.

“Helene and Anna’s house was demolished, so they took the chance to move here,” Mary explained with a smile, adding that this land was very nice. It was tranquil and peaceful. She liked the lively town center and the luxurious high society, but she could see the appeal in passing time in a place like this.

Alicia and Patrick looked outside too, now appearing calm. “It does seem to be a peaceful place to live,” Patrick said.

“My brothers have been coming here for a long time to relax as well... Or rather, this is the place they often escape to,” Mary explained.

“I see. It does look like a good destination to flee to,” he replied, a little exasperated.

The area was full of nature, and it was the perfect place for parents and children to enjoy a calm life. (It also happened to be the perfect place for a pair of twins, exhausted by their studies or family business, to escape to in their getaway vehicle and get their brief fill of freedom.) Since Helene and Anna had lived in terrible conditions for so long, this was their chance to heal and recover. They were able to pass their time together, surrounded by nature and tranquility.

“This area isn’t far from Albert Manor, so it’s easy for us to visit each other,” Mary said.

“Yeah? Now that I think about it, I do see those two often whenever I visit you,” Patrick responded.

“The other day, Anna went into the tent with Roxanne, and they had some tea and sweets together.”

That got Alicia and Patrick talking about the times they’d seen Anna and her mother at Albert Manor. But they were such a frequent sight that it made everyone question whether or not it was just a coincidence. Indeed, the family of two visited whenever Mary asked them to, but many times they were already in the mansion without Mary having ever sent an invitation. That said, Helene and Anna weren’t carelessly gate-crashing—it was Lang and Lucian who invited them instead, saying they had business or something to discuss.

“Do they really have business that often?” Patrick questioned.

“I don’t know. I never ask for details. But Anna plays together with Roxanne, which is very helpful. Roxanne is really attached to her too. Whenever Anna visits, Roxanne follows her around and calls her a big sister,” Mary said, smiling at the memory.

When Mary had first met Anna, the little girl was around the same age as Roxanne. Six years had passed since then, so Anna was now eleven years old. Each time the two girls walked together while holding hands, they looked like a pair of close sisters.

A few days ago, Roxanne had gotten soaked while playing by the fountain in Albert Manor’s gardens. Anna had dried the other girl with a towel, procured her a new change of clothes, fixed up her hair, and given her some warm tea to drink so Roxanne wouldn’t catch a chill. The older girl was so efficient and diligent that it put the maids to shame.

“Also, when Anna’s around, Roxanne can’t run from her tutor,” Mary added. “She’s more motivated to study when they’re together.”

“Does the private tutor instruct Anna too?” Patrick asked.

“Yes. My brothers explained the situation to him, and he agreed to instruct both of the girls.”

Alas, Anna didn’t have her own private tutor; she attended a school near her home. However, a school in the countryside wasn’t able to provide as thorough an education as Karelia Academy. On top of that, Anna only attended class once every couple of days. In between that time, Anna was studying together with Roxanne, and whenever she didn’t understand something, she could ask Roxanne’s tutor to explain it to her.

Once Mary finished saying as much, Patrick muttered, “I see...” while looking thoughtful. “Lang and Lucian are really looking out for her, aren’t they?”

“Now that you mention it, I suppose you’re right. I help out too, but most of the time, they get everything done before me,” Mary answered.

When it came to Helene and Anna’s new home, Anna’s studies, or even more trivial matters—such as deciding how to celebrate their birthdays each year—Mary almost always heard about it just moments before everything was arranged. Often, she only found out about these things when Helene looked at her apologetically and said, “I’m much obliged to you all.”

And yet, so long as the mother and daughter’s lives were going well, Mary didn’t mind who made the arrangements. She said as much, causing Alicia and Patrick to exchange a glance with each other. It seemed they had something to say. After a moment, they both turned to look at Adi.

Rather than enjoying the journey in the new carriage, which implemented state-of-the-art technology to reduce motion sickness, Adi reclined against three cushions. As he noticed that the others were gazing at him, he sluggishly lifted his head, appearing a little pallid. His motion sickness must’ve returned after all.

While the area was beautiful and full of nature, its roads weren’t well maintained. The road was only just wide enough to allow two vehicles to pass each other, but it was rough, with gravel scattered here and there. Traveling out this way meant that vibrations were unavoidable.

Nevertheless, they were inside a refurbished carriage equipped with House Albert’s latest technology. The vibrations were so minimal that Mary, Alicia, and Patrick hardly noticed them. In other words, only Adi was able to sense the vehicle’s shaking. The less someone’s able to handle something, the more sensitive they are to it.

“Adi!” Alicia cried out with exaggerated heartbreak. She took a folding fan out of her bag and began fanning him.

Mary also wanted to minimize the vibrations he felt, so she stuffed the cushion she’d been holding between him and the carriage interior.

“Regarding what you were discussing...there’s a lot going on there...” Adi mumbled.

“Are you well enough to talk, Adi?” Mary asked. “What do you mean, ‘a lot going on’?”

“My brother and the twins...they’re...they’re... Ah, it’s no use... I’m going to faint...” he said, resting his head back on the cushion. The sound produced upon impact made it clear how soft the cushion was. He muttered something under his breath, and if Mary strained her ears, she thought she could hear him asking, “Are you all right, milady...?”

It was obvious to everyone that Adi was the one not doing all right at the moment. And yet he was looking out for Mary, which filled her with joy. She rubbed his arm and said, “I’ll ask the driver to slow down a little.” They already knew where Roxanne was going. Even if Mary and the others arrived a little late, Helene and the driver would be tactful enough to buy them some time.

After Mary suggested as much, Patrick was about to instruct the driver to slow down, when...

“Number seventy-one!”

...Alicia exclaimed loudly while leaning out of the opposite window, causing Mary to narrow her eyes. Or more accurately, she narrowed her eyes when the driver instantly slowed the vehicle upon hearing Alicia’s words.

Alicia looked triumphant. “You should be fine now!” she reassured Adi. He murmured a word of gratitude, but Mary was scowling.

“Why do you know the codes House Albert’s servants use?!” she demanded.

“They taught them to me, since I’m the gardener. By the way, the code for my early morning visits is one hundred and twenty-three!”

“Don’t boast about it!” Mary yelled wrathfully, throwing a cushion at Alicia. She then looked away with a huff because Alicia hadn’t paid her any early morning visits lately.

Ever since Mary’s pregnancy, Alicia had ceased visiting out of nowhere, and only stopped by to check how Mary was doing. Sometimes, she changed up the days of her visits, or simply left after a short time, which was her own way of showing care towards Mary.

“How nostalgic,” Mary whispered before she could stop herself.

Alicia’s purple eyes lit up at that. “Then how about we resume number one hundred and twenty-three?!”

“Absolutely not,” Mary replied. “Just like a certain someone, Roxanne doesn’t do well in the mornings, and she’s always grumpy. If some peasant arrives first thing in the morning, she’ll cry!”

“Just like...a certain someone...?”

“Cease making that face at once,” Mary ordered, threatening Alicia with a cushion as if to say, “Do you want another one?!”

Alicia giggled, before raising both her hands in surrender. She looked like she was enjoying herself, which caused Mary to sigh as she put the cushion back down onto her lap. Soon enough, she recalled the previous topic of conversation. “Oh right,” she said and turned to look at Adi.

He appeared weary, and cast her a questioning gaze. Earlier, he’d been on the verge of saying something about why Roberto and the twins were looking after Helene and Anna so much.

“Did you mean to say there’s a reason those three are acting like that? Hmm...” Mary was lost in thought for a bit. The other passengers gazed at her curiously, which confused her. Their gazes were expectant, as if they were waiting to witness a child growing up. This made her slightly uncomfortable, but she had to prioritize uncovering the truth for now. While reassuring herself inwardly, Mary began reflecting on the brothers’ actions in relation to Helene and Anna recently.

Indeed, the twins were taking care of the mother and daughter’s every need. Helene and Anna visited Albert Manor frequently—very frequently, if Mary truly thought about it. (Alas, given Alicia’s near-daily visits, and the crying Parfette showing up at every occasion, Mary’s senses in this regard had grown dull. Having someone over once a day was normal for her. Twice a day was a little more than average.)

Realizing that she’d become less prone to noticing these things, Mary reconsidered the facts. Her brothers were meddlesome, and constantly invited Helene and Anna over.

A moment later, Mary looked up with a gasp. “I see! So that’s what’s going on!”

“Adi! Lady Mary already understands what’s going on, so it’s okay now! And well done on guessing, Lady Mary!” Alicia exclaimed.

“My brothers see little me in Anna! It’s no wonder. When I was a child, I was just as emphatic, diligent, well-mannered, ambitious, kind, and full of consideration for others as her!”

“It was a false alarm, Adi! Lady Mary will be Lady Mary eternally!”

Mary glared at Alicia for her rudeness. She chucked a cushion at her, and Alicia let out a happy shriek. “We’re almost there!” Mary added, forcibly trying to change the subject. She really couldn’t think of any other reason behind her brothers’ behavior.

Alicia knew what Mary was trying to do, and she smirked. Even Patrick was smiling impishly at her.

“What on earth...?” Mary lamented. The other two’s smiles grew wider.

As if coming to her rescue, the carriage, which had already been moving slowly, grew still. They truly had arrived at their destination. Mary posed triumphantly in her mind. Such perfect timing! She almost wanted to high-five the coachman.

“Let’s step outside carefully, so they don’t spot us,” she said, acting as if the previous conversation hadn’t happened. She peered outside, but Roxanne and Felix hadn’t left their vehicle. Or perhaps they’d already gone into Helene’s home?

While Mary was trying to ascertain what was going on, one of the drivers knocked on the door.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Well, Lady Roxanne and Lord Felix are...” As the coachman spoke with bewilderment and a wry smile, everyone else’s eyes widened.

***

At the driver’s urging, Mary and the others walked over towards Roxanne and Felix’s carriage. Mary opened the door. “What an adorable sight!” she whispered in wonderment. She pressed her hand to her chest, her breath hitching.

The inside of the carriage was covered in cushions. Among them, Roxanne and Felix were nestled against each other, fast asleep.

This had been the children’s first trip out on their own. The excitement and nervousness, the exhaustion of traveling around, and a full stomach after having been given a light meal and some sweets—all those feelings must’ve transformed into sleepiness. If Mary strained her ears, she could hear Roxanne and Felix breathing deeply. They must’ve been in a deep slumber, and showed no signs of waking up anytime soon.

Usually, Roxanne tried to act mature and ladylike, while Felix behaved in a composed and sensible manner. Yet the way they appeared when asleep made them look exactly like the children they were.

“They worked hard, so it’s no wonder they got tired,” Mary said. “Our carriage has towel blankets, so cover them with those.”

“Very well,” the driver responded.

“We’ll go visit Helene. If Roxanne and Felix wake up, let us know,” Mary ordered, and the man lowered his head in understanding.

***

Mary and her friends made their way into Helene’s house. However, Mary found herself startled when they got inside.

“Hey, Mary! I didn’t think I’d run into you like this. Our sibling bond must be bringing us together! Even Queen Alicia is here—what luck! But those two taller figures in the back are an eyesore!”

“Mary, you’re here too...? I saw you this morning, and I’m glad I can see you again now. Plus, being able to meet with Queen Alicia... I’m so happy now that I’m worried about the rest of my life. By the way, why are those two tall people with you?”

“What a coincidence that we’re all here.”

Thus spoke three very familiar men. Needless to say, they were Mary’s brothers: Lang and Lucian. Roberto was present too and sitting on the sofa. All three had grandiose attitudes, behaving as if they owned the place. The sight caused Mary to blink repeatedly, dumbstruck.

Helene quickly got to her feet and bowed, while Anna happily skipped over to Mary. “Welcome, everyone!” the little girl said.

“A-Anna...” Mary stammered. “I apologize that we showed up without any notice.”

“Not at all. Please make yourselves at home. I’ll get you some drinks.” After smiling dazzlingly, Anna left the room with her mother to make tea. The sight of them together was heartwarming, and neither looked as pitiful as they once had. Helene, who used to look like she was hanging on to her life by a thread, was now smiling merrily while chatting with her daughter.

This was proof that they were now able to live peacefully. Mary’s face softened as she watched them. Honestly speaking, Mary missed the days when Anna had referred to her and the others as “big sister” and “big brother.” But the fact that Anna had stopped was also a sign of her growth.

Deciding to leave that aside for now, Mary turned her gaze to the row of men sitting on the sofa. They were acting as bold as ever, and looked completely relaxed to be here. (Even Roberto, who usually behaved in a servant-like manner around Mary, looked at ease. Was he off duty today? Unlike Adi, who’d served Mary for all her life, Roberto kept his private affairs completely separate from his work. In other words, when he wasn’t on duty, he made every effort to rest.)

“Why are you all here?” Mary questioned.

“Why? Well, because today’s a holiday,” Lang replied. “Right, Lucian?”

“Yeah. We finished all our work, so don’t worry. Roberto’s on holiday too...”

“Indeed. As such, we’ve decided to visit Helene. What brings you all here?” Roberto prompted. The men were behaving as if they belonged here, which caused Mary to press her hand to her forehead. Their attitudes were as majestic as if they were homeowners welcoming guests.

Idle Memories: Part 3

Mary might’ve forgotten about Mauro Noze, but she did remember Feydella’s troublesome customs. Feydella was called the country of many loves, and due to its open-mindedness about matters of romantic love, the men complimented the women at every opportunity. During Mary’s stay there, she had been drowned in praise, and was even dubbed the goddess of beauty.

Recalling all those compliments made a shiver run down her spine. She had felt appalled at the corny praise the men had given her, claiming that the moon, stars, and sun were jealous of her beauty.

Alas, Mary wasn’t the type to let things end by shuddering at the men’s attempts to woo her. She had found a way to turn the tables on Feydella’s view of love, and she had published a dictionary of the men’s poetic, flowery language. The book was received with greater acclaim than anticipated, and Mary had finalized plans for the publication of a fourth volume a few days ago.

“I have no interest in being the goddess of beauty, but I’ll accept being called the goddess of business acumen,” Mary declared as she puffed out her chest, recognizing her own genius all over again.

Adi and Patrick exchanged a look with each other that said, “How do these things even sell?” From the men’s perspective, the Feydellans’ compliments were nothing but thinly veiled flattery. Since Mary was involved in the publication, Adi had looked through the book, and it was still fresh in her memory how he’d shivered and claimed it gave him chills.

“Obviously, those kinds of pickup lines also give me the shivers,” she added. “But if true love is present, it might be a different story... Adi, you must remember at least one of those phrases, right? Tell me one!”

“What? Me?!” Adi exclaimed, his eyes wide. He was quite frantic in his insistence that for him to do that was an impossible ask.

Mary paused upon hearing his resolute refusal. Then, she turned her attention to Alicia. “Can you try to get Patrick to tell you one of Feydella’s poetic, romantic pickup lines?”

“Okay! Lord Patrick, please tell me one!”

“M-Me too?!” Patrick spluttered, unable to keep up his usual appearance of calm in the face of this instigation.

But Alicia wasn’t the type to be put off by that. Her purple eyes twinkled as she shuffled closer to Patrick. “Just once!” she coaxed him.

Mary cackled, glad to have an ally. They were now two versus two. The winning side was obvious.

Despite his reluctance, Patrick caved in quickly. “I-If it’s just the one time...” he muttered. He stole a glance at Adi, as if to suggest that if he was going to die, then they ought to go down together. Adi groaned in response, his shoulders sinking. This meant he had caved in too.

Since the husbands would be complimenting their wives using the Feydellans’ flowery language as a reference, then it was agreed that Mary and Adi would plug their ears when it was Patrick’s turn, and vice versa for Adi’s turn. Mary was dying to hear Patrick say such sugary things, but she knew that would be asking too much of him. She yielded when Adi appealed, “If we listen to him, they’ll listen to me doing it too!”

Patrick was up first, so Mary went to cover her ears. But before she could do so herself, Adi did it for her, plugging her ears firmly. He’s desperate for me not to hear it, Mary thought as she returned the favor and plugged Adi’s ears.

Alas, though they couldn’t hear what was happening, they could still see it. They watched as Patrick turned to face Alicia. He hesitated a few times, awkwardly scratching his head. Eventually, he steeled his resolve and clasped Alicia’s hand. He gently scooped up a lock of her golden hair and said something to her. As he spoke, his cheeks gradually grew redder and redder, and the same was true for Alicia.

The way the two looked at each other bashfully was reminiscent of a young and innocent couple. Patrick, who’d hesitated moments ago, now didn’t seem to hate this all so much with Alicia smiling at him happily. Even without any sound, it was plain that they were in their own world.

Adi pulled his hands away from Mary. It was time to switch, so Patrick plugged Alicia’s ears. She did the same to him. This was supposed to be a countermeasure against eavesdropping, but their shy expressions made it look like they were flirting with each other. Mary watched them for a bit, before turning to Adi.

He was frowning, and Mary could almost hear his mental gears turning in preparation for his turn. “I wonder how you’ll try to seduce me?” she mused. “If you call me the goddess of beauty, I’ll happily accept.”

“You’re just trying to instigate me...” Adi grumbled sourly.

Mary found his expression endearing. She was about to fan the flames even further, when Adi suddenly pressed his index finger against her lips. Her words died on her tongue, and her eyes widened. After a moment, he drew his hand away and gently held hers. He pulled her hand closer before placing a kiss on the back of it.

“Y-You are as beautiful as the moon. You shine like the stars, and you’re as dazzling as the sun.”

“Adi...”

“Even if the sky were to be swallowed up by darkness, I know I wouldn’t lose my way so long as you’re by my side. So please, don’t let go of my hand,” Adi said, his rust-colored eyes gazing into Mary’s, even though his voice was a little shrill.

The sight of that, combined with his words of devotion, filled Mary with yearning. Spellbound, she called out his name hotly. Yet in the next moment...

“Right! That’s enough of that!!!”

...his excessively loud proclamation made her blink in shock. The saccharine air from before evaporated in an instant. If the sky had been swallowed up by darkness, the sun would’ve rushed back into place out of confusion.

Mary had wanted to soak up that feeling for a little longer, so she glared at Adi sulkily. He was so embarrassed that his ears had turned red, and he was blatantly avoiding her gaze. Worse yet, when she tried to say something...

“A-Anyway! Lord Patrick! Um... About the cushion dealers!”

“R-Right! Cushions! I also have a few things I want to ask you about in regards to that!”

...the two men joined forces to interrupt her, yelling with needless volume.

Mary and Alicia exchanged a look. “After this is all over, shall we check which part of the dictionary they quoted their words from?” Mary proposed.

“That sounds fun! I’m in!” Alicia replied, and both women laughed.

The two men’s desperate voices resounded within the carriage as they screamed in unison, “Anything but that!!!”

Chapter 4

Since Roxanne had fallen asleep, her and Felix’s carriage was moving even slower than usual. The carriage bearing Mary and the rest followed at a similarly languid pace. As such, the sun began to fall on the horizon, and everything was growing dark. When Mary looked outside the window, she could see a few stars twinkling in the sky.

“This trip has gone on longer than I thought,” she said.

“Indeed,” Patrick replied. “Still, I hadn’t expected for Felix to ask Lang and Lucian to send us a message. When he realized he’d be getting home late, Felix must’ve known that we’d be worried. He’s as kind as you are, Alicia.”

“Right...” Mary muttered.

“He’s only five, yet he’s already so tactful! He’s got your intelligence, Lord Patrick!” Alicia joined in.

“Uh-huh...” Mary glared at the couple as they praised their son and each other at the same time.

The message they were referring to had been delivered a while ago, shortly after they had left Helene’s home. While their carriage was moving slowly down the road, a servant from the palace had caught up with them. When the group leaned out of the window to inquire what on earth had happened, the servant had informed them that Lang and Lucian had passed on a message from Felix: “I’ll be coming home late. Don’t worry about me.”

The servant had intended to pass this message on to Alicia and Patrick, but the two hadn’t been present in the palace. In fact, they were in the middle of tailing Felix, so they obviously knew he’d be returning home late. The palace staff were uncertain of what to do, but had eventually decided to inform the parents that they had received a message from the prince. Everything had taken double the effort as a result, but the staff wanted to ensure that Alicia and Patrick knew about Felix’s message, and that he was considerate enough to avoid worrying his parents.

“But we must be reaching the end of the trip. We’re about to head to Albert Ma—” Mary cut herself off. She had thought Roxanne’s carriage was heading home, but instead it took a different turn. The group’s vehicle continued its pursuit. The road they were traveling down was familiar to her; she had traversed it many times in the past. “Are we heading to Karelia Academy?”

Adi and Patrick looked outside before nodding in affirmation. Alicia must’ve forgotten about being cautious, as she stuck her head out of the window, her eyes sparkling. Her golden hair swayed in the wind, looking just the same as it had in her high school days. Combined with the scenery outside, it was as if that younger version of Alicia had appeared before the others’ eyes.

Karelia Academy, Mary’s alma mater, awaited at the end of this road. The carriage ahead of them raced right towards it, passing through its large gate. Naturally, the appearance of unexpected visitors at such a late hour caused the guards to step out. Yet where they would’ve usually been strict in their questioning, upon seeing House Albert’s carriage with Roxanne and Felix inside, they only exchanged a few shocked words before allowing them through.

The same was true for Mary’s carriage. As soon as she and the rest showed their faces, the guards grasped the situation and even smiled. Mary thanked them, while Adi lightly lowered his head. Meanwhile, Patrick was restraining the enthusiastic Alicia, who was overcome with nostalgia.

“What a trip down memory lane...” Mary remarked. “But why did they come here? Did Roxanne forget something at kindergarten?”

“I don’t think so,” Adi replied. “We’re not heading towards the kindergarten, but the high school.”

The academy’s premises were large, yet the children’s carriage was confidently moving towards the high school section. As the buildings came into view, the vehicle slowed to a halt. The driver pacified the horses, and soon enough the doors opened. Roxanne and Felix stepped outside. Their nap must’ve rejuvenated them, as they hopped down the ramp in high spirits.

The children discussed something for a few seconds. Then, Roxanne suddenly turned to face Mary’s carriage and made her way towards it. Oh no! Mary thought, hurrying to close the curtain. But it was already too late.

“Mother! Father! I know you’re there!!!”

Roxanne knocked on the carriage door. She must’ve been furious with the group inside, for her small, adorable fist banged so loudly that Mary was both shocked and impressed. If the carriage had been as plainly built as it looked on the outside, the door would’ve creaked.

“We’ve raised a strong girl, for her to be able to hit so hard,” Mary said, reflexively acknowledging her daughter’s growth. Meanwhile, Roxanne continued to yell and pound on the door.

“I think it’s time to accept our fates and surrender, Mary,” said Adi.

“You’re right. Otherwise, Roxanne’s tiny, cute little hands might get hurt.”

Once they’d both steeled their resolve, Adi opened the door.

“Father!!!” Roxanne shouted, barging into the carriage. She sprung at Adi as if wanting to seize him.

Alas, no matter how forceful she was trying to be, she was no match for him. “Oof, you surprised me,” he said in a monotone. He couldn’t hold back a smile at his daughter’s adorable expression as she clung to him.

Yet his grin only served to vex Roxanne further. She held on to Adi’s arm with a powerful, reproachful grip, and then glared at Mary as if accusing her of being equally guilty. “Father! Mother! Why did you follow me?!”

“We weren’t following you, Roxanne,” Mary answered. “We just wanted to walk through the academy grounds, and that’s when we saw you—”

“You’re lying! I know you’ve been following me this whole time!” the little girl screeched. The more she raised her voice, the more her one-and-a-half-length curls shook, matching the extent of her rage.

“I see, so this is how the ringlets shake in anger...” Mary muttered under her breath. (Unfortunately, Patrick overheard her words, and hastily looked away with a muffled sound.) “We did follow you, Roxanne. I’m sorry. Your father and I were just worried about you.”

“I told you I’d be fine on my own!” Roxanne interrupted, clearly offended.

At this rate, Mary wouldn’t be able to get through to her daughter. If she told Roxanne to calm down, that’d only add fuel to the fire. The little girl might even burst into tears.

Finally, Roxanne screamed, “I hate you both!!!”

That hurt beyond description. What to do...? Mary wondered in confusion.

Adi, to whom Roxanne was still clinging, called out his daughter’s name, his expression softening. He placed his hand on her head and gently stroked it. “You’re right, Roxanne. You’re fully capable of going on errands by yourself. Your mother and I just didn’t want to be apart from you.”

“You didn’t?”

“Being apart from you for over half of the day... It’s been so lonely, I could cry...” Adi said in a purposefully feeble voice as he lowered his head. He even rubbed the corner of his eye with his knuckle. Such an obvious performance! No one would be tricked by this transparent show...

“Father! Don’t cry!!!”

...except for one person. Adi’s adorable daughter fell right into his trap, which assuaged her anger. Mary inwardly praised Roxanne’s unsuspecting purity. Part of her was worried that her daughter might be tricked by someone else in the future, but it would be fine so long as she and Adi eliminated such people themselves.

(Mary would later bring this topic up in a conversation with Patrick. “Your family and mine are all her guardian angels, so she’ll be just fine,” he would assure her with a dazzling smile. Mary would understand exactly what he was implying.)

Regardless, all that mattered was that Roxanne’s mood had improved. Just to be sure, Mary called out to her. The little girl turned to look at her mother. Her rust-colored eyes still retained traces of doubt, but her wrath had diminished considerably.

“Is it true? Did you feel lonely without me too, mother?” Roxanne asked.

“Yes, I did. Without you around, I feel so lonely that I can’t eat my meals, or even sweets.”

“It’s no wonder. You and father are both easily prone to loneliness!” the little girl said with an exasperated smile. She hopped out onto the ramp and left the carriage. Her expression implied that she felt fond of her parents the way one would feel fond of the imperfections of children. She looked proud, and more than anything, adorable. Everyone smiled at her wryly and then followed her out of the vehicle.

Mary spread her arms, and Roxanne happily embraced her. Her little hands even patted Mary’s back to comfort her. “You carried out your errand very well,” Mary told her. “You gave out all the invitations, right? Is your pochette empty?”

“I handed them all out, but there are some sweets in my pochette,” Roxanne replied, merrily adding that there were now many more sweets than there had been letters.

“Well done,” Mary said, patting her daughter’s head. Roxanne puffed out her chest at the praise and nodded. She looked triumphant to have completed her task.

Indeed, though there had been many twists and turns, Roxanne and Felix had finished delivering the invitations splendidly. They’d even figured out that their parents were tailing them. They were within their rights to feel proud.

“How did you know we were following you?” Mary inquired.

“Because of the towel blanket.”

“Towel blanket?” Mary repeated. She exchanged a look with Adi, and question marks floated around both of their heads.

“Ah, I see,” murmured Patrick. He looked regretful, so he must’ve realized where his party had failed. As a side note, Alicia was standing next to him and patting Felix on the head while the boy clung to her waist. In his case, being spoiled by his parents won out over blaming them for shadowing him. He might’ve usually been a composed prince, but the sight of him snuggling up to his mother after half a day apart showed that he was still a child when all was said and done.

However, Mary didn’t have the time to fawn over Felix right now. She turned her questioning gaze to Patrick.

“It was when we arrived at Helene’s,” he said in reply to her silent question. “We had Felix and Roxanne covered by a towel blanket, remember?”

“Right... Ah, that blanket came from our carriage,” Mary said, frustrated with her own blunder. Adi and Alicia nodded, grasping the situation, while the children grinned victoriously.

Roxanne went on to explain that after she and Felix had woken up and noticed the unfamiliar blanket around them, they deliberated on it for a while. Their carriage didn’t have any towel blankets, so where had this one come from? Had the driver gotten a hold of it somewhere? Or maybe Helene had brought it out from her house?

The children continued to ponder as they folded the blanket. Then, they got the idea that perhaps their parents were shadowing them. They hurriedly jumped out of the carriage and surveyed their surroundings. As predicted, there was another vehicle that belonged to House Albert—despite not looking the part—parked a short distance away.

Yet rather than search for their parents, the children decided to prioritize finishing the delivery of the invitations. Afterwards, they headed to Karelia Academy so that their parents couldn’t escape. Had they gone anywhere else, the adults would’ve claimed they were there by coincidence or on business. But they wouldn’t be able to come up with an excuse for arriving at their alma mater at night.

Lastly, when Felix had given Lang and Lucian his message, he did so with the intention to inform the palace staff that both he and his parents, who were shadowing him, would return home late.

Such was Roxanne’s triumphant retelling of the events. She puffed out her chest so much she was on the verge of toppling over, and she brushed her silver curls aside as they swayed in the wind. When did she grow up into such a fine young lady? Mary thought, her heart swelling with emotion. She was glad that her daughter had grown this much, yet it also made her feel lonely. The sensation was so hard to describe; however, moments like these are what being a parent is all about.

While Mary was lost in sentimentality, Roxanne laughed. “Mother, you’re a spoiled child who easily gives in to loneliness.”

“You already said that,” Mary replied. When she hugged Roxanne tighter, the little girl let out a joyful shriek and slipped out of her arms.

“By the way, can we walk around the academy for a bit?”

“No, Roxanne. It’s already late, and we need to get home in time for dinner,” Mary responded.

“Just for a bit! I’ve never been to the high school area. So let’s stay a little longer! Please!” Roxanne begged, gazing up at her mother with those rust-colored eyes. They were the same shade as her father’s, and Mary had always been weak to those eyes. (When Felix had been pleading with Patrick, Mary had thought, There’s no way he can say no. But the same was true for her. That was precisely why she knew she couldn’t refuse either.)

Even so, Mary managed to stop herself from nodding. “Ask your father,” she proposed instead. She delegated the whole matter to Adi.

Roxanne stepped up to him. She pretended not to hear Adi’s mutter of, “You’re running away, Mary...”

“Come on, father! Let’s walk around here just for a bit!” Roxanne coaxed him.

“But it’s already so late... You can have a field trip to see the high school some other ti—”

“Please!” the little girl interjected, staring up at Adi while hugging him. Her silver curls fluttered, looking just like her mother’s. The eyes that gazed at him were identical to his. All of her features bore a close resemblance to both of her parents. It was obvious by her looks alone that she was his and Mary’s child. Adi managed to resist his adorable daughter’s gaze for a few moments, but...

“Just for a bit, then. I’ll take you around, so hold my hand and don’t let go.”

...her persistence outlasted him, and he nodded. It was the obvious outcome, but alas, Roxanne had magnificently won the battle.

“You spoil her, Adi,” Mary said with a dry smile. Of course, she’d known things would end like this, which was why she herself had thrown in the towel.

Roxanne let out a delighted scream and hopped up and down before taking Adi’s hand. After watching her, Felix turned to look up at Patrick. “I want to go too...” he said, his words reserved but nevertheless pleading. He might’ve been intelligent and listened to his parents, but he was still a five-year-old child. He was excited by the prospect of walking around a place he hadn’t been to before, and at a late hour during which he’d usually be home.

Patrick smiled, patting Felix’s head. “All right. I’ll go have a word with the security. Adi, look after these two. I’ll catch up with you.”

“Very well,” Adi agreed. “Let’s go, Roxanne. Lord Felix, is there a specific place you’d like to visit?”

“I want to see the cafeteria!” Roxanne spoke up. “That’s where mother always ate seafood rice bowls, right?”

“I’d like to go to the auditorium,” Felix added. “I heard my father often gave speeches there when he was the student council president.”

The children stood on either side of Adi, each making their own request. Mary sighed softly as she watched them and Patrick, who headed towards the guard post. She had been worried when Roxanne had discovered they were following her, but everything had turned out fine. Thank goodness, she thought, right as someone grabbed her arm. Obviously, it was Alicia. Her eyes were sparkling even more than Roxanne’s and Felix’s had.

“What?” Mary demanded.

“Lady Mary, let’s take a walk too!!!”

“Excuse me? Why do I have to walk around with you? Go loiter over there by yourself.” Mary waved her hand as if she were shooing an animal. This was an extremely rude gesture to give to the country’s queen, but there was nobody else around. Even if there had been, nobody would’ve blamed her for it at this point.

(One time, Alicia had gotten tired of Mary’s indifferent attitude and said, “You must act like you care! It’s an order from your queen!”)

(However, Mary had flatly responded with, “I’m going to emigrate.”)

“Come on, Lady Mary!” Alicia continued. “It’s been so long since we were last here. Let’s take a tour down memory lane!”

“Memory lane? I have no memories with you. The memories of my high school life consist of the bicycle parking lot I made for myself, the cafeteria where I ate seafood rice bowls, and the terrace where I ate the croquettes I bought in town.”

“That’s not true! There are many places where we both have memories... Now, let’s go!” Alicia began walking and pulling Mary by the arm. This was all the same old exchange.

Yet no matter how many times it happened, Mary resisted. “You peasant...!” she shouted resentfully, all the while allowing Alicia to drag her along.

***

The two women walked through the dark academy. But this was a school for nobles, so it didn’t feel gloomy with all the lanterns lit intermittently, providing a dim source of light. If anything, the faintly lit surroundings created an almost beautiful contrast with the starry sky.

Alicia observed the place with a twinkle in her eye. Everything she saw brought back memories and made her feel nostalgic. In contrast, Mary was huffy, and any time Alicia reminisced, Mary indifferently responded with “Did that happen?” and “I guess so.”

In spite of the cold front she was putting up, Mary felt nostalgic as well. Walking side by side with Alicia here made her feel like she was back in high school. Not that she missed those days or wanted to join Alicia in reminiscing, though. She could simply afford to tolerate accompanying the other girl and making the odd sound of acknowledgment.

As they strolled through the premises, Alicia suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! This is where we first met, Lady Mary!”

“I forgot all about that.”

“I was lost, and you gallantly came to my rescue. I was so surprised when someone who was as beautiful as a doll appeared before me in my time of need!”

“I may have forgotten about it, but I’ll agree with you that I’m as beautiful as a doll,” Mary said, accepting the compliment as she flipped her hair. It fluttered softly.

Alicia watched her joyfully. “That’s the gesture!” she said, perhaps recalling Mary having done something similar in the past. Then again, in those days Mary had steel drills. They hadn’t fluttered, but rather tremendously waggled about.

Alicia was excited by the memory, so Mary smacked her arm and told her to calm down. She then looked around and sighed. Indeed, this was the place she had first met Alicia. Mary’s memories of the otome game had told her that the other girl would walk through here, so she and Adi had camped behind a corner and waited. How nostalgic... I still remember the exchange we had back then. But... Mary thought, stealing a glance at Alicia.

Immersed in her memories, Alicia was enthusiastically speaking about their meeting. However, their meeting was no accident—Mary had arranged it based on her past life knowledge. Since Mary had already revealed that, Alicia should’ve been aware of it. Yet she spoke with such bliss that their first meeting must’ve been a beautiful memory as far as she was concerned.

After watching the girl for a while, Mary smirked. She wasn’t about to let this become some happy memory of them walking through the academy together and reminiscing. “Mm-hmm, how nostalgic. Isn’t that right, Alicia?”

“Yes! And speaking to you here now really feels like we’re back in high school!”

“Yes, quite. But now that we’re alone, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you the truth.”

“The truth?” Alicia echoed.

“I wanted you to hate me,” Mary admitted with a mean, cold smile.

Alicia, who had been walking, suddenly froze. The darkness of the night, the starlight, and the lanterns—everything reflected off of her golden hair beautifully. Her purple eyes were open wide, and her shapely lips sounded out a hesitant noise of shock. “Huh?” Not only did she seem surprised, but it was almost as if she didn’t understand what Mary had said.

Yet such was the truth. The public never doubted Mary’s friendship with Alicia, and even believed that Mary had supported the other girl when she was just a commoner. The play based on their lives was popular to this day, and though Mary disapproved, she felt the work was worthy of acknowledgment. (In fact, whenever there was a new production or a second showing, she frequented the theater.)

Nobody would’ve ever thought that Mary had actually wanted Alicia to hate her. That was also true of Alicia herself. She was the last person to have suspected such a thing.

That’s why I’m going to turn her idea upside down right here, right now, Mary thought. As Alicia stared at her in confusion, Mary laughed dismissively. “Yes, I wanted you to hate me. That’s why I said so many terrible things to you.”

“Is... Is this about the past life memories of the villainess Mary you mentioned?” Alicia inquired.

“That’s right. I planned to tell you awful things just like in the game so that you would loathe me and personally exile me,” Mary explained. She had wished to fall into ruin like she had in the game, so she’d made her moves in accordance with that. Mary had planned to take the blame for hurting the princess and be banished to the northern boonies.

After Mary revealed her past intentions, Alicia stood there dumbfounded. “I see...” she murmured after a while of pondering. Then, she hung her head, causing her golden locks to flutter.

Did that wound her? Mary wondered. Yet once she had planned not to just hurt Alicia, but be hated by her.

“Are you disappointed because I sullied your pretty little memories? Besides, our meeting wasn’t an accident. It was all a part of my scheme. And now you know I wanted you to hate me, so it’s no wonder you’re depressed.”

“Doesn’t that mean that your plan didn’t work out at all, Lady Mary?”

Mary groaned at Alicia hitting a sore spot. “Ugh... W-Well, I suppose not.”

Alicia’s face lit up. Instead of looking upset or angered to have had her understanding flipped upside down, the girl smiled brightly. Her eyes were shimmering. Mary looked surprised by this unexpected reaction. She’d been convinced that Alicia would be hurt by her revelation, but Mary only sensed joy from her. Alicia looked as bright—or even brighter—than usual.

“Wh-What...?” Mary asked.

“Lady Mary, do you know why your plan to make me hate you didn’t work out?”

“Because you were too dull to figure out what I was saying to you. You didn’t understand because you were a cheeky peasant with no sense of other people’s personal bubbles,” Mary replied, wanting to at least say a few hurtful words in revenge.

“How mean,” Alicia said sulkily. Yet her expression brightened again soon enough, and she told Mary she was wrong.

Mary glared at her to urge Alicia to continue. Her eyes were sharp enough that they seemed to say, “Stop wasting time and just get on with it.”

“The reason your plan failed is because you are you, Lady Mary. You’re not the Mary from the game,” Alicia said. “And I’m not the Alicia from the game either.”

“So...?”

“The Mary and Alicia from the game aren’t here. You and I are the ones who met each other. That’s all there is to it.”

Mary paused. “Ridiculous. Taking you seriously was a waste of time,” she said with a scoff, turning on her heel and walking away. Alicia had dragged her all over the place, so it was already completely dark around them. Surely Adi and the others had gotten back from their walk by now. Mary had no time to listen to Alicia’s prattle. She declared as much and tried to get away from the girl.

“Lady Mary!” Alicia cried, catching up and grabbing Mary by the arm.

“You country hick!” Mary flicked Alicia’s forehead without hesitation.

But Alicia paid this no heed. She was still grinning. “Lady Mary, do you even know why you told me about all this now?”

“Why, you ask? Because seeing you so foolishly happy made me want to hurt you—that’s why. Yet I’m the one feeling dejected, because instead of being upset, you just rambled on about some nonsense.”

“That’s wrong. You are you, and that’s why you wanted to talk to me. Because you’re Lady Mary!” Alicia asserted with great delight. She then started to walk, still holding on to Mary.

What an incomprehensible thing to say! ‘Because I’m me’? Well that’s obvious! In fact, it was so obvious that saying it out loud was utterly foolish. Is she drunk or something? Mary wondered, glaring at Alicia. The other girl was smiling pleasantly, her locks swaying in the breeze. Mary’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes widened a little.

Mary recalled watching Alicia gaze at the scenery in front of her a long time ago. It had been right here, before they’d ever spoken to one another. Lying in wait behind a corner, Mary had explained to Adi that they were looking at the heroine of the game. “How nostalgic...” she whispered to herself.

That had been the beginning of everything... No, that wasn’t true. Even before that, Mary had been living her own life, and so had Alicia. It was neither the beginning of the game nor of Mary’s past life memories. It was simply the beginning of her and Alicia’s friendship. She and Adi hadn’t been looking at the heroine of the game, but rather a lost peasant. What a simple tale it was.

Reflexively, Mary smiled and glanced at Alicia. Her golden locks were fluttering. Mary’s were surely doing the same. Their gold and silver hair glistening in the moonlight must’ve looked like something out of a painting. Mary’s smile deepened; she wasn’t entirely displeased by the image in her mind.

“You say some interesting things, Alicia.”

“And that’s not at all. The reason you confided in me is because you love and trust me.”

“How exhausting. I compliment you once, and you immediately get carried away,” Mary said as her shoulders drooped.

Alicia giggled. “You told Adi right away when you recalled your past life memories, right?”

“I did. I knew he’d believe me. No matter what I say, he won’t deny my words, but will instead think everything over together with me. Anyway, I would always tell him everything. Now that I think about it, we already had a deep bond, even back then.”

“If you boast about your love life three more times, I’ll go home!” Alicia said, referencing something Mary had once told her in the past.

“Then go,” Mary responded, unwilling to play this game.

“Aww!” Alicia cried pitifully when Mary didn’t reply in the way she wanted her to. Mary just looked away with a huff.

This was nostalgic too. It was back when Mary still hadn’t realized how she felt about Adi, yet she had still planned on marrying him. Adi had proposed to her after they’d already signed the marriage registration, and in her confusion, Mary had run to Alicia’s side. And it was Alicia who had made Mary understand everything.

While advising Mary, Alicia had mentioned her own feelings for Patrick. That was when Mary had said, “If you show off about your love life three more times, I’m leaving.” (In the end, she really had gone home after Alicia bragged three times. Although that had only happened after everything was resolved.)

Gratitude filled Mary’s chest as she reminisced. She used to be unfamiliar with both friendship and romantic love, and everyone around her had to support her a lot. But instead of being honest, Mary remained a contrarian as she said, “I have nothing to be grateful to you for.”

Alicia’s grin grew bigger. “But it wasn’t just that I helped you. You helped me out a lot too, Lady Mary!”

“True. It’s not even a fifty-fifty. I’m the one who helps you all the time. Be grateful,” Mary ordered condescendingly, flipping the situation around after hearing Alicia’s compliment.

“You trusted Adi, which is why you told him about your past life,” Alicia went on. “And now you trust me, which is why you told me that you once wanted me to hate you. But even if you tell me that now, there’s no way I could hate you, Lady Mary! And you told me because you know that!”

“Your mindset is so easygoing. It’s a wonder you’ve made it this far.”

“It’d be impossible for me to hate you, because you’re not the Mary from the game, and I’m not the Alicia from the game!”

“And now you’re just playing around. Talking with you is a waste of time. What are you actually trying to say?” Mary demanded to hear Alicia’s conclusion.

Alicia’s grip moved from Mary’s arm to her hand. She squeezed it, causing Mary to frown. But she didn’t pull away.

“Ever since I first met you here, and until this very moment, I loved you. And I will always love you forever!”

“What?” Mary groaned. How absurd! Alicia had reminisced and prattled on about Mary’s past life memories, only to say the same thing as always in the end. That Alicia had loved Mary since they met, and would always love her... “I’ve been painfully aware of that for a long time.”

Mary began walking away huffily. She considered shaking Alicia’s hand off, but then decided it was fine if the other girl obediently followed her, so she squeezed it instead. It was time to end this charade and take the radiantly smiling Alicia back to the carriage. It wasn’t that they were holding hands, but rather Mary was dragging Alicia with her. At least, that was what Mary told herself.

Idle Memories: Just the Two of Us

“We can look after the kids for now, so why don’t you two take a walk?” Patrick suggested.

“A walk?” Mary echoed in surprise. They had just put the sleeping children into the carriage and were about to head home when Patrick had addressed her and Adi. Her confusion was obvious, but Patrick just smiled calmly.

“You might as well take this chance, since we’re at the high school for the first time in a long while.” Patrick put his arm around Alicia, who snuggled up to him.

“I see...” Mary murmured. Patrick had seemed like he’d come up with his idea for her and Adi’s sakes, but in reality, he just wanted some alone time with his wife. While he’d been walking around the academy grounds earlier, he must’ve thought back to the old days and wanted to reminisce with Alicia. For her part, Alicia looked equally eager, smiling while cuddling him.

I suppose we have no choice, Mary thought with a shrug. “Let’s go along with it and take a walk, Adi. Patrick, I’ll entrust Roxanne to you in the meantime. Both of you need to look after the children. Both of you!”

“F-Fine, I got it. We will.”

“You can immerse yourselves in your own world all you like, but keep an eye on them,” Mary added for emphasis. Patrick smiled dryly in response. He knew that her words had meant “I’m aware of your ulterior motives!” He laughed stiffly to gloss over it, and waved as Mary and Adi walked away.

“Let’s go,” Mary said, grabbing Adi’s hand.

***

Mary and Adi walked side by side through the high school grounds. Mary was nostalgic, but she also felt a strange, indescribable emotion. As a student, she’d never stayed at the academy this late. The sight of the school buildings cast in darkness was a mix of new yet familiar. She mentioned as much, and Adi nodded.

“It’s also strange for me to walk here while holding hands with you,” he told her.

“Oh? Why?”

“Well... When I was a student, I thought my love was unrequited.” Adi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Mary felt her cheeks redden slightly. “Right,” she said, her voice a little shrill.

This was a familiar path, one she had walked down countless times. But back then, she and Adi had simply been mistress and servant. Her past self would’ve never guessed that Adi had romantic feelings for her. Looking back on it, she felt exasperated with her own thickheaded tendencies.

“So you finally acknowledge you’re thickheaded,” Adi commented when she said as much. He smiled wryly, but he was definitely doing so in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. His cheeks were flushed just like Mary’s.

He’s so obvious, she thought with a laugh. “Hey...” she called out, before looking up at him and closing her eyes.

There was a pause. The breeze blew past them.

“Huh?!” Adi exclaimed eventually in a foolish tone.

Mary opened one eye to steal a glance at him. He’d been blushing a bit before, but now his face was completely red. Why? Because Mary was coaxing him for a kiss, of course. That said, they had already been married for a few years, and they had a child together. Adi wouldn’t get embarrassed simply due to Mary asking for a kiss. Usually, he would’ve smiled and answered her expectations. However, they were at Karelia Academy right now.

“Wh-What are you doing? We’re at school!” he pointed out.

“I know. But there’s nobody else around, so it’s fine.”

“But...”

“It feels strange for us just to walk here together. Think how much weirder it’ll feel if we kiss!”

Mary should’ve been used to the sight of the school, yet it was transfigured by the night scenery. She and Adi were here just like in the past, except now they were married. It was a strange feeling that Mary couldn’t find the words to describe. It was as though something were tickling her heart. If she already felt like this, what would happen if she and Adi were to kiss?

“Let’s give this a thorough investigation!” she exclaimed, and Adi sighed in exasperation.

Yet soon enough, he cleared his throat and said, “If you insist.” He must’ve been afflicted by this strange sensation as well, if he was giving in so quickly. After ensuring there was nobody else in sight, he placed his hand on Mary’s cheek. She closed her eyes again, and heard him call her name. He sounded happy and affectionate.

Adi rubbed her cheek a few times. Then, Mary sensed him leaning closer, until something soft touched her lips. It was just a light touch at first, but it deepened after a moment. They were kissing at school during the night. This would’ve been unthinkable for them in their student days. How peculiar it felt! It was slightly embarrassing, yet the act filled Mary with joy.

However, though Mary was spellbound by how pleasant it felt, she found herself frowning after a while. She knew she had asked for this herself, but Adi kept kissing her over and over, and his kisses were lasting longer and longer too. It wasn’t that she disliked it—if they hadn’t been at Karelia, she would’ve gladly gone along with it. But they were at the academy, so it was getting to be a little much. Mary placed her hand on Adi’s shoulder and gently pushed to indicate that it was time to stop.

Yet instead, Adi wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close. Mary’s fist tightened at this. She was about to punch his flank and yell at him to show some restraint...but then her fist loosened.

“Aren’t you going to stop me?!” Adi shouted in shock while pulling away from her. He’d been all too happy to get carried away with the kissing, but when Mary didn’t inhibit him, he instantly became flustered. This was in total defiance of his expectations, so he was greatly disoriented.

Meanwhile, Mary’s smile deepened. “No, I won’t,” she said, as if that should’ve been obvious. “You can kiss me some more, you know,” she added invitingly, closing her eyes. She waited, but when she didn’t get any more kisses, she opened her eyes again.

Adi was looking at her with a defeated countenance. He was blushing, and he looked frustrated at the fact that she’d beaten him. “I really am no match for you, Mary,” he said, hanging his head in capitulation.

Mary laughed elegantly in response, grabbed his hand, and started walking again.

Epilogue

Two months had passed since the party which announced Mary’s second pregnancy. As always, Albert Manor was decorated with Roxanne’s drawings and handcrafts. Each day, the number of cushions increased as well. Not to mention, countless congratulatory gifts had arrived since the announcement, so the mansion was in a greater state of disorder than ever. Alongside the continuously running Roxanne’s Historical Museum and the Cushion Exhibition, a Gift Gallery had also opened.

The other day, they had held a cushion-and-sweets exchange with House Eldland. Adi ordered extra cushions for the event, and once Patrick caught wind of it, he visited with cushions of his own meant as gifts for both families. Alicia brought sweets with her too, so the whole thing was a mess. (In the end, House Albert and House Eldland ended up with even more cushions and sweets than they’d started with. Talk about putting the cart before the horse! Obviously, Parfette cried.)

“I’m sure this will come to be known as the Fluffy-Cushion Period within our family’s history,” Mary opined.

“Fluffy-Cushion Period... It sounds like we’ve finally found peace after enduring the harsh Steel-Drill Era, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed... Now eat this!” Mary screeched, stabbing her elbow into Adi’s flank.

“Ugh!” Adi groaned miserably.

He must’ve been in a lot of pain, but Mary paid this no heed. “You reap what you sow,” she told him nonchalantly. She even took a sip of her hot lemonade while observing his suffering. It was the perfect blend of sweet and sour, and tasted delicious.

The couple was sitting at a table within Albert Manor’s gardens. They were spending the evening together, which was a long-lasting tradition between them. Originally, they would do this after dinner, but recently it happened after they’d lulled Roxanne to sleep. In the past, they would also sit facing each other, but at some point, they’d started sitting side by side instead.

There was a tea set upon the table, as well as some sweets. It was a familiar sight, except that instead of tea, Mary’s cup was filled with hot lemonade. This was out of concern for the baby in her belly. Some things had changed, and others hadn’t. Even so, this was a perfectly pleasant way to spend time. When Mary mentioned as much, the groaning Adi slowly looked up.

“You’ve hit my flank too many times recently, milady... At the very least, you could evenly distribute the places where you attack me.”

“This would all be solved if you didn’t make me want to attack you in the first place,” Mary declared flatly.

“Wise words,” Adi said, petting his side. He’d been moaning in pain moments ago, yet he was still coming up with these snarky retorts. Clearly, he wasn’t as desperate as he was making himself out to be.

Mary could only sigh and shrug at his attitude. She was about to voice a complaint about it, when he placed his hand on her shoulder. He rubbed it warmly, causing her discontent to quickly recede. Although she wasn’t entirely pleased, she found herself smiling. “Goodness,” she murmured, and her own voice sounded so sweet to her ears.

Mary glanced away with a huff, hoping that Adi wouldn’t notice she’d been fettered by his gesture. He smiled wryly at that. He gently pulled on her shoulder, encouraging her to lean against him. She pondered upon her next course of action, then smirked mischievously. She flicked his hand to signal her refusal.

Even so, Adi’s smile only grew. He knew that Mary wasn’t truly angry with him, but rather just putting on a show. In other words, she was implicitly telling him, “Pamper me and put me in a good mood!” If anyone could pick up on that, it was Adi. His hand moved to touch her hair. He combed his fingers through it, occasionally entwining a lock around them.

Mary closed her eyes at this sweet gesture. She was swiftly bound by the sensation, and thought, Maybe leaning against him won’t be so bad after all. Perhaps she was so easily swayed by the quiet time they spent together because their daily lives were so boisterous. However...

“When I touch your hair like this, it reminds me of your ringlet era, milady. If I pulled on them a bit, they’d spring right back into place. How nostalgic...”

...when Adi reminisced about her hair, Mary’s heart, which had been warmed by his affections, instantly turned cold. She had no idea why Adi was speaking about that particular memory so fondly.

Mary’s eyes had been full of love, but now they narrowed with something else (it resembled exasperation and anger). “The dark steel-drill ages,” she grumbled under her breath. Then, she glowered at Adi. “Yes, how nostalgic. I have such great memories of you wretchedly making fun of my ringlets!!!”

“I wasn’t making fun of them! I loved you and every single one of your drills, you know!”

“The reason I never realized your feelings was because your attitude towards me on a daily basis was rude in the extreme!” Mary screamed, flipping her hair so that it fell out of Adi’s hands. Since she no longer had ringlets, her locks fluttered softly. They didn’t spring back into shape or any such thing.

After releasing a hot breath, Mary glanced down and scooped up her silver hair. It glistened in the moonlight. When she was in high school, those soft waves had been shaped like firm ringlets. No matter how hard she’d tried, they had refused to straighten. They’d left many hairstylists in tears, and even Mary herself had feared them. These memories were objectionable, but still somewhat nostalgic.

Mary glanced at Adi. He didn’t look regretful over their exchange in the slightest as he calmly sipped his tea. When he noticed her looking at him, he tilted his head. “Hmm?”

Instead of feeling nostalgic about her hairstyle, perhaps it was this kind of banter with Adi that made her feel that way. At this time of day, they’d often have the same old frivolous talk. Naturally, they did have sweet moments together as a couple, but those happened about once every three days. It was the same frequency as Roxanne managing to sleep through the night by herself.

And the reason for that is... Mary thought, staring at Adi. “Hey,” she spoke up. “Call out to me.”

“Call out to you?”

“Yes. Do it.” Mary pestered him with a giggle.

Adi looked confused, but nevertheless did as she asked. “Milady.”

The sound of that word was both nostalgic and slightly ticklish. Adi had finally managed to call her by name in recent years, but it was only during this time that he called her “milady.” He did it as if it were par for the course, the same way he’d done it in the past. Was it because it was just the two of them? Was this his way of sweetly spending time with his wife? Mary wasn’t sure, but either way, it both embarrassed and pleased her.

She liked when Adi said her name, and she also felt happy whenever he referred to her as “mother” when speaking to Roxanne. But hearing him call her “milady” when they were alone had its own distinct sweetness to it.

These emotions made Mary rest her head against Adi’s shoulder. “Do it again,” she said to coax him.

Adi must’ve surmised her feelings, or else assumed that her good mood had returned. He smiled and said, “Milady.”

“Maybe I should book a hairdresser and bring back my ringlets for a day,” Mary mused. “Roxanne might be happy to match with me.”

“A mother with drills and a daughter with snail shells... No, never mind. Yes, I’m sure Roxanne will be pleased. And so will Alicia and the others.”

It was easy to imagine. Roxanne would jump up and down and exclaim, “Mother and I are matching!” Lang and Lucian would start reminiscing. Patrick would likely crouch down while trying to suppress his laughter at the sight of the ringlet duo. But the one person who’d be the most gladdened by it would be Alicia. Mary bitterly muttered that Alicia was sure to frolic noisily, which caused Adi to laugh.

“Perhaps I should curl my hair and duel Alicia. It’s time for the villainess’s revenge!” Mary declared.

“What are you saying? You’ve been able to openly admit that she’s your best friend lately.”

“Indeed, I acknowledge it. She is my best friend. But these are entirely separate matters!”

“Such a deeply rooted grudge...!”

“We can’t battle in front of Felix, though,” Mary went on. “I can’t let a little boy see his mother being defeated. I’m going to fight Alicia somewhere one-on-one, and leave her speechless!”

“Deeply rooted though it is, it’s a rather gentle grudge, isn’t it?” Adi said with a shrug. He was better off leaving her to it and focusing on cleaning up the table instead.

Meanwhile, Mary continued excitedly detailing her plans (that said, wanting to render her best friend speechless was a rather questionable objective). Adi simply responded with “Yes, yes,” and “I see,” to appease her. He wasn’t even trying to hide that he was letting her words go in one ear and out the other. Once he’d finished clearing the table, Mary finally reached the conclusion of her speech.

“Basically, I’m trying to say that my relationship with Alicia has nothing to do with my past life memories or me being a villainess. Alicia and I are the ones living in this world, not the heroine and the villainess. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“Darn, I stopped listening halfway through...” Adi mumbled. “Just how did that grudge speech shift into a heartwarming story?”

“I want to tell her that and render her speechless in defeat. This is my personal— No, it’s my and Alicia’s goal for each other!”

“Right as things were starting to look good, your tale took a sharp turn, and your grudge returned in full force. All right already, I understand. Let’s leave this here for tonight. Another troublesome situation might happen if you keep going on about your villainy and all the rest of it.”

“Troublesome situation? Do you even know how many years have passed since the plot of the otome game?” Mary asked, laughing Adi’s words off. But Adi must’ve wanted to end the topic, as he cast her a disapproving glare. Mary shrugged and acquiesced. Tonight’s tea party had drawn to a close.

All that was left was to go check on Roxanne, and then return to their shared bedroom. This meant that their alone time would continue from here on out. For that reason, Mary felt no remorse over the tea party having ended. Adi took her hand, helping her up. “Let’s go, milady,” he said, causing her to feel that ticklish sensation again.

Once they returned to the mansion, they stopped by their daughter’s room. Yet as they drew near it, they saw that light was pouring out of the small gaps between the door and the wall. The couple exchanged a look with each other.

“Is she still awake?” Mary wondered.

“We lulled her to sleep, but she might’ve woken up.”

“If so, let’s read her another book. Or she might fall asleep faster if we bring her to our bedroom.”

They hadn’t entered the room yet, but their voices were already hushed as they conversed. Quietly, they stepped towards the door and slowly turned the knob. They pushed the door open and gingerly peered inside to find Roxanne sitting at her desk. Her diary lay open before her. Roxanne had started keeping it since around the time she began learning to write. Mary had tried to read it a few times. Though the handwriting was unsteady, the sentences spelled out how happy, fun, and exciting Roxanne’s days were. It was so cute.

“She must be writing today’s entry,” Mary whispered. “What an earnest child.”

“She’s so resolute, to be able to write in her diary every day without fail,” Adi replied.

The parents quietly praised their daughter while watching her from behind the door. Roxanne was concentrating on her task with a grave expression, so she didn’t notice them. She mumbled under her breath as she wrote, until she finally shouted “Okay!” After that, she straightened up, so she must’ve finished. Her curls bounced around her shoulders as she sat up.

“So adorable,” Mary and Adi whispered in unison. They observed their sweet child, and...

“I won’t lose to anyone just because I’m a villainous daughter! I will be the one to protect House Albert!”

...when they heard her spirited proclamation, their eyes widened as they turned to look at each other in shock.

Afterword

Hello, this is Saki.

Thank you for purchasing the eighth volume of my series, Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster!

Mary and Adi had a child together in the previous book. I mentioned in the afterword that I hoped to introduce her to you soon. I wrote this volume keeping conscious of the idea that Roxanne is a precocious little girl. She’s so adorable that your expression softens just from looking at her.

Alicia and Patrick also had a son, Felix. And then Parfette and Gainas had children too... I hope it was fun for everyone to picture this lively new generation.

Of course, things also got busy for the grown-ups. If anything, now that they’ve gained the powers of overly fawning parents, things are noisier and more boisterous than ever.

After eight light novel volumes, the House Albert series concludes here. Since it’s been so lively and fun up until now, I wanted the conclusion to feel the same way. There’s no composure in sight—it leaves you thinking, “Huh...?”

Mary’s life will continue to be as tumultuous as ever, but I hope you can sense from the final scene that together with Adi, her family, and all her friends, she will overcome those hurdles. I came up with the final scene quite a while ago, so seeing it finally published and knowing everyone will read it makes me truly happy. Thank you so much.

Although the light novels end here, the manga is still ongoing. Thankfully, I have received confirmation that volume two of the light novel will receive a manga adaptation. I’d like to let you know that it fills me with joy and pride to see the book’s romantic elements turned into art. Even as the author, I’m aware that the first volume was a rom-com with too much focus on the comedy aspect...

Ms. Haduki Futaba, who was in charge of the illustrations: thank you for providing the eighth volume with your lovely artwork too. The cover was reminiscent of the first volume, and I could feel Mary and Adi’s growth from looking at it. I still can’t forget how deeply moved I was when I saw volume one’s cover for the first time. The cute Mary was puffing out her cheeks, while the cool Adi smiled calmly. One look was all it took for me to fall for them instantly.

To my manager, whom I caused all kinds of trouble and delays: thank you for guiding me to this point!

Thank you also to my family, who supported me when I was down.

More than anything, to everyone who has read this series and watched over Mary’s life and growth: thank you so much! I was able to get this far thanks to you all.

I would be glad if you continued to watch over Mary in the manga adaptation.

Once again, I’m grateful to everyone from the bottom of my heart.

I hope we can meet again in the future.

Saki