A week had passed since the annulment of my engagement.

The procedure had been completed, so there was nothing else in particular for me to do.

Until then, I used to go to the royal capital to greet the Count of Orfels once a month. Now that I no longer had to do that, I didn’t have to worry about dresses.

Gorman wouldn’t visit our house either, as such, I didn’t have to worry about cleaning. I didn’t have to worry about the blemish on the curtain anymore.

Before my father collapsed due to illness, he had worked hard to ensure my engagement. Even when life became difficult, he still prepared my dowry. He definitely intended for me to get married.

However, after the previous incident, I might not be able to get married at all.

…I was fine with that.

Rather, I thought that Alves, who was already 25-years-old, should get married first. Until then, I had to protect my brother and the Viscount of Ragulen family!

…What was that?

It was strange.

Even though my engagement was gone, I was okay.

Rather, I felt ecstatic.

“…If it was going to be like this, I wish my engagement had been annulled a lot sooner.”

I inadvertently spout those words.

I looked around in a hurry, but fortunately no one was around. I was too relaxed, even though I was the lord’s sister.

What a relief—no one heard…

However, there was a person lying on the ground.

“Lord Phil, I already told you not to sleep on the ground, right?”

“The floor here feels good. Besides, it’s windy and the weather is sunny.”

“…Still, it’s the ground.”

Towards my astonishment, Phil stood up.

His beautiful silver hair was disheveled. It was also soiled with grass, leaves, and dirt.

His clothes were also stained by grass.

“Why did you decide to sleep outside?”

“I just had a meeting with Alves. Instead of regressing, he’s getting better. Even though it’s just a wooden sword, I almost couldn’t catch my breath trying to avoid it.”

“Is that so?”

“Mark my words. It’s really difficult.”

As he muttered that, he looked truly serious.

However, there were leaves on his head. Moreover, due to his sleeping habits, his hair was flattened, creating a weird shape.

When I was about to point it out, Phil laid down on the ground once again.

“If you’re awake, go there. I need to clean that spot.”

“Just do it later.”

“That’s not the issue here. Look, if you don’t move over there quickly, I will kick you!”

When I stabbed his big body with my toes, Phil finally stood up.

“It can’t be helped. I will just groom my horse. Have you changed the hay, yet?”

“Not yet. Can you do it? I think Alves will be working in the fields all day today.”

“Alright.”

He fixed his hair with a hand and obediently left.

Because it was a long vacation, I’d like for him to relax. However, that notion in itself was a luxury for us.

That time as well, he had brought back some sugar and salt. I felt bad because he had also brought various other souvenirs—which could be guessed, was expensive. But more than that, tireless workers were valuable.

Forgive me, Phil.

That way, a fun life had begun.

…Well, until the official messenger of Count Orfels arrived.

“Phil! Phil! Please call Alves!”

“Sure, what’s wrong, though?”

Phil, who had been brushing his horse after changing the hay, stopped.

He had a laidback expression. However, when he saw me, now that I had gotten changed, and was looking desperate, he became tense and quickly stored the brush.

Then, he came out of the stable while rolling down his sleeves.

“A guest—! It’s a messenger of Count Orfels—! He wants to directly hand something to my brother—!”

“…Alright, I’ll call him right away! He’s in the fields?”

When I nodded, Phil put his hand on my head.

However, I left immediately and ran in no time.

My brother should be fine.

Soon, he returned home.

A man wearing the coat of arms of the Count of Orfels was waiting in the drawing room.

Because it was a formal messenger, it wasn’t strange for the master of the house to respond. The uncommon thing was, the messenger had something he had to deliver straight to the master.

What happened?

Was there a defect in the annulment documents? Or… were they asking for alimony? Well, that shouldn’t be the case, but…

While waiting in the corridor for my brother to get changed, I kept being assailed by pessimistic thoughts.

When I was about to go inside, my brother rushed out.

After changing clothes, he looked like Viscount Ragulen.

Unfortunately, his hair had some blades of grass.

While taking a deep breath, he reached out for the twig and roughly straightened his hair.

“Alright, shall we go?”

“Yes.”

We nodded and opened the door.

“My master wants to deliver this to Viscount Ragulen.”

The messenger of Count Orfels handed a sealed letter to Alves.

While receiving it, my brother couldn’t conceal his surprise.

The sealed letter was gorgeous, for the fine paper was bordered with gold.

A small flower made of silver was attached to the seal. It didn’t look like the letter had anything malicious inside.

On the contrary, it looked like a letter of ceremony.

Alves stared at the seal and the silversmith flower, before then opening it.

I took a breath as I watched him.

My brother… seemed to have read it over and over again. Soon, he questioned the count’s messenger.

“This is…”

“It’s exactly as it’s written.”

“…When did this happen?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know the details.”

The messenger stated the fact.

His expressionlessness fitted his job.

---

***T/N: It’s the wedding invitation, isn’t it? How fast…

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