No, hey there, Lady Dowager.
Why is the conversation suddenly taking this turn?
The unexpected turn of the conversation left her so dumbfounded that she couldn't even deny it.
"You poor thing."
But the Lady Dowager, taking Dalia's silence as confirmation, began to tear up.
She turned her head to wipe away her tears, like someone who didn't want to show they were crying.
"I, too, once thought the same way you do."
The Lady Dowager murmured in a choked voice.
Recalling her past, where she was married off as the third wife of the Duke of Seyer.
"Even though I came in as a second wife, I truly loved my husband. I desperately wished to bear a child who resembled him, even if it were a daughter. And for a time, I thought that dream was about to come true."
The Lady Dowager's gaze, which had been on Dalia, shifted downward. With a bitter expression, she gently touched her flat stomach.
"But I valued myself more than the unborn child. If I had known the truth earlier, I might have taken the Moonwort myself. And yet, you… you knew, and still… you love Clayton that much."
Hm?
The Lady Dowager's line of thinking seemed off somehow.
"Yes, I've made up my mind, Dalia."
"...What?"
Dalia looked anxiously at the Lady Dowager, who suddenly grasped her hands with a resolute gaze.
"That I will not leave the estate."
"Pardon?"
"I had originally planned to leave for the southern villa under the pretense of recovery. But I will stay here and stand by your side."
Uh… hmm.
Excuse me, Mother-in-law.
I'm perfectly fine if you leave, though.
* * *
After meeting the Lady Dowager, Dalia sprawled onto the sofa and let out a sigh.
"Looks like I'm going to experience in-law drama that I didn't even plan for."
Why does everyone in this estate think and act so arbitrarily…
It's utterly exhausting.
"I'll just stay put in my room and rest for the rest of the day."
All she had done since waking up that morning was visit the Lady Dowager at the annex, yet she was already mentally and physically drained.
Just as she was about to close her eyes to recover from the physical and mental fatigue, the butler came to her room.
Once Dalia granted permission, the butler opened the door and entered, bowing respectfully as he spoke.
"My lady, the dress alterations you requested have been completed. Would you like to try it on now if it's convenient?"
"The dress?"
"Yes, the dress you intended to wear for the outing."
"The outing…?"
Ah!
Dalia's eyes sparkled as if she had just remembered something important.
'Right! The outing!'
The annual spring outing at Cadwell Park marked the first event for nobles returning to the capital after wintering in their territories.
On the surface, it was a time to enjoy blooming flowers and boat rides, but it also served as a forum to discuss changes in domestic and international affairs over the winter.
Lady attendees often shared anecdotes from their estates, which were usually trivial but occasionally sparked ideas for new ventures.
For this reason, no noble ever skipped the Cadwell outing.
Furthermore, the outing was a particularly significant episode in the original story.
Because it was the episode where the male protagonist, Clayton, first showed interest in the heroine.
'Clayton disliked being active during the day.'
He found sunlight uncomfortable.
What was it—he said that being in the sunlight caused unbearable thirst and heightened sensitivity, didn't he?
Because of this, Clayton spent most of his days at the estate unless it was a politically mandatory engagement.
However, the spring outing was one of the few events Clayton could not skip, so he attended it with Dalia as a couple.
There, Clayton realized that being with the heroine neither triggered his thirst nor his sensitivity. After that, he began taking her along whenever he went out.
Proximity often leads to closeness. Thanks to the outing, Clayton's interest in the heroine gradually blossomed into affection.
Recalling the original story, Dalia lifted her head.
"When exactly is the outing?"
"Four days from now."
"Four days…"
Dalia's eyes sparkled as she discreetly clenched her fist, ensuring the butler didn't notice.
'I'll definitely win over the male lead that day!'
* * *
Four days later.
The rattling of the carriage gradually subsided before it finally came to a halt.
"We've arrived."
With a man's voice, the carriage door opened. Dalia carefully stepped out, assisted by Clayton, who had disembarked before her.
Dalia lifted her head to take in the surroundings, greeted by a refreshing breeze.
The park hosting the outing, adorned with yellow forsythia and white cherry blossoms, beautifully embodied the essence of spring.
Momentarily captivated by the spring ambiance, Dalia glanced at Clayton, who stood a step ahead of her.
'He seems fine for now.'
The two had arrived at Cadwell Park for the outing at 10:30 in the morning.
The sun wasn't at its peak yet.
Even though it was spring, it was still early spring, and the weather was cool. Because of this, Clayton seemed no different than usual.
'There's no point staying close to him now.'
Since he wasn't uncomfortable, he wouldn't notice any difference even if she stayed nearby.
It wouldn't be until noon that he'd start feeling physical strain.
'In that case, I'll keep my distance for now and subtly stay by his side at noon.'
Her plan was to approach him discreetly when the sun was at its hottest and his patience and discomfort were at their limits.
In the original story, it was described that the moment the heroine touched him, his discomfort melted away like a refreshing breeze in midsummer.
Thus, he would come to treasure her presence like an oasis in the desert.
Having resolved this, Dalia naturally moved away from his side and spoke.
"I'll go to where the other ladies are. I'll see you in a bit."
Since the main event wouldn't begin until members of the royal family made an appearance, Clayton didn't feel the need to stop Dalia.
Or at least, she didn't think he would. But then.
"Is there something you wanted to say…?"
Dalia trailed off as Clayton gave her a look as if he had something to say.
Then, as if it never happened, Clayton averted his gaze.
"…Nothing."
And then he left without hesitation.
"What was that? How anticlimactic."
Dalia shrugged her shoulders, having been unnecessarily tense over what he might say.
Just as Dalia started walking toward where the ladies were gathered.
Her appearance caught the attention of the ladies chatting in small groups, who began to glance at her.
However, while fanning themselves and exchanging unreadable looks, none of them approached her or spoke warmly.
'Perfect. I'm alone.'
And the heroine was perfectly content with that.
Her reputation in high society was already a mess, and getting involved in unnecessary conversations would only make her already tarnished image sink further underground.
'I'll just spend my time quietly in a corner and move when the male lead starts feeling unwell.'
As Dalia made her way toward a shaded tree, thinking that,
"Oh my, who do we have here?"
A sharp, young woman's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"It's the first time I've seen you since the wedding, sister."
The woman, with plain brown hair and green eyes, addressed her familiarly as "sister," but her condescending gaze and mocking smirk were far from friendly.
"Exactly. How could you not send even a single letter after getting married?"
A middle-aged woman approached and joined the conversation naturally.
The two, who shared the same brown hair, looked so alike that anyone could tell they were mother and daughter.
Realizing who they were, Dalia let out a short sigh.
'It's the heroine's stepmother and stepsister from the original story.'
Dalia's stepmother, Orly, had married Baron Molden as his second wife, bringing her five-year-old daughter Sophie with her.
Outwardly, she pretended to care for the baron's daughter as her own, but the reality was different.
'She hated it when Dalia outshone her own daughter, Sophie.'
Unlike Sophie, who had plain hair, Dalia's striking silver hair earned Orly's resentment.
As Dalia grew to resemble her beautiful mother, Orly tried to tear her down, unable to tolerate Dalia doing better than Sophie in anything.
It would have been nice if her biological father, Baron Molden, had cared for Dalia.
Unfortunately, her father's indifference, coupled with the harassment from the two women, condemned Dalia to an unhappy childhood.
"Even though I didn't give birth to you, how could you be so indifferent to me?"
Orly deliberately raised her voice to draw attention.
It was something she often did to damage Dalia's reputation.
A petty ploy to portray herself as a kind stepmother and Dalia as a wicked daughter ignoring her care.
Dalia looked at Orly with an indifferent gaze.
'Come to think of it, the reason I'm rumored to be barren is because of her.'
There was no reason for an unmarried woman to be labeled barren unless someone deliberately spread the rumor.
'And there was even less reason for my supposed barrenness to be known.'
The reason Dalia believed she was barren was that her menstruation had stopped long ago.
Of course, this was due to the stress caused by Orly and her daughter, but Orly thought otherwise.
Because she believed she was the one who caused it.
'But what exactly did Orly do again?'
She did something to the heroine.
While she was deep in thought, the two women assumed Dalia was cowering and continued speaking with even more enthusiasm.
"That's right, sister. Our mom has been so worried about you."
"Yes, Dalia. Do you know how worried I've been about you? I've been losing sleep, wondering if you're being mistreated in the duke's household because of the rumors about your barrenness."
'I'm sure Orly made her eat something…'
But Dalia paid no attention to their words, instead recalling the events of the original story.
'Ah, that's it!'
At last, she remembered the reason and clapped her hands together.
Unaware of Dalia's realization, Orly continued speaking.
"What on earth could you have done in your youth to end up unable to bear children…"
She couldn't finish her sentence.
"She made me eat Moonwort, didn't she?"
What was supposed to remain a thought escaped Dalia's lips.
That bombshell was more than enough to bring the noisy surroundings to complete silence.