That evening, after spending the entire day in the dressing room under the enthusiastic guidance of Samantha, Dahlia finally managed to leave just in time for dinner.
It was only possible because Clayton had suggested they have dinner together.
As soon as they sat at the table in the center of the dining room, the servants swiftly and gracefully placed the dishes before them.
Dahlia worried about getting morning sickness while dining with Clayton, but luckily her symptoms had eased recently. As long as the food wasn't overly fishy, she could eat without difficulty.
The days of eating only fruits and vegetables were over.
Perhaps that was why her appetite had returned. Dahlia was so focused on her meal that she momentarily forgot Clayton was sitting across from her. Then, it happened.
Clayton set down his wine glass and asked.
"Do you like the room?"
Dahlia, in the middle of cutting a piece of chicken and putting it into her mouth, froze at the sudden question.
She suddenly realized that she had been thoughtlessly eating without thanking the duke.
She hurriedly chewed and swallowed her food to respond to his question.
Then, wiping her mouth with a napkin, she answered as gracefully as she could.
"Yes, thank you, Your Grace. I love it."
"That's good to hear."
Clayton nodded, seeming satisfied with her answer.
Seeing the pleased expression on his face, Dahlia felt a twinge of guilt.
To be honest, whether she liked the room or not, it felt overwhelming.
With all the rare and luxurious items in the room, it felt as though she was serving the room rather than living in it.
However, she couldn't possibly disappoint someone who had spent so much money decorating the room.
That's why she had expressed her gratitude as if she truly loved the room.
She stole a glance at Clayton, who was quietly eating his meal.
Perhaps because they had shared a room, it no longer felt awkward to be alone with him—it was almost comfortable.
She no longer had to worry about what to talk about with him.
Maybe it was because she had grown close to him so quickly. This gave Dahlia the courage to say something she had been wanting to express.
"There's something I'd like to say to you, Your Grace."
"Go ahead."
He nodded lightly and continued cutting his food.
"It's about Lady Hertz."
At the mention of the name Hertz, his hand froze mid-cut.
"Lady Hertz?"
His gaze questioned why that name was being brought up, prompting Dahlia to speak quickly.
"I was wondering if it might be time to send her back to the Hertz family."
"..."
Clayton's tense expression relaxed slightly. He finished cutting his food before looking up.
"To the Hertz family?"
"Yes. Since the two of us will be heading to the villa, it feels wrong to leave her here alone. And more importantly…"
Dahlia hesitated briefly before continuing slowly.
"There's no need for you to drink Lady Hertz's blood anymore."
Her tone was calm and steady.
"..."
Clayton looked at Dahlia with a clear, unreadable expression, meeting her gaze directly.
His persistent eyes seemed to search for her intentions, hidden beneath the mysterious hue of her own.
"Are you confident you can handle it alone?"
Handle it?
He was likely asking if she could manage providing him with blood on her own, without Lloyd.
To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure yet. But—
"In the future, he won't drink my blood that way again."
"If you don't want it, I won't do anything."
For some reason, Clayton's words gave her newfound courage.
"Though it's strange how someone can change so suddenly…"
Whatever the reason, Clayton was changing, and so she needed to change as well.
These small changes would soon have a significant impact on their future together.
Having reached that conclusion, Dahlia nodded at Clayton.
"Of course."
She added a bright smile.
* * *
After finishing their meal, the two parted ways to wrap up their respective daily routines.
Out of habit, Dahlia started walking toward Clayton's room, only realizing her mistake when she reached his bedroom.
"Good grief. How many days did I even spend here to come back so naturally?"
Before dinner, she had been in her original room.
She must have forgotten during dinner and unconsciously found herself at the duke's bedroom.
Dahlia let out a soft sigh and turned to head back to her own room.
She trudged back to her original room and flopped onto the bed.
"It must be expensive because it's ridiculously comfortable."
Wasn't it crafted by a master bed artisan? All she remembered was that another noble had ordered it, and they paid extra to obtain it.
Without even thinking about changing clothes, Dahlia rolled around on the bed until she found a comfortable position.
"It's so spacious…"
It hadn't felt this spacious when she had been sharing the bed with Clayton.
Perhaps she had grown used to sharing a room with Clayton over the past four days. Now, the wide room made her feel strangely isolated.
"Is it just awkwardness?"
From the wallpaper to the carpets, furniture, and even the small decorations, the extravagant luxury surrounding her made it feel like she was trying to sleep in an unfamiliar place.
Dahlia's room was more splendid and opulent than anywhere she had ever stayed before, yet she felt emptier than ever.
* * *
The next morning, with the room renovations finally complete, the mansion had been quiet for a while. But it suddenly seemed noisy again, so Dahlia asked Samantha.
"Is something going on outside? It seems unusually noisy."
"It's the east annex. They're loading all the belongings there onto carriages."
"The east annex… that's…"
It was where Lloyd was staying.
Clayton had acted quickly.
As soon as he had left the dining room, Clayton had instructed Jason to inform Lloyd that he was to return to the Hertz family.
Under the direction of the equally efficient Jason, the belongings from the east annex were being loaded onto the carriages one by one.
"My lady, it's such a relief. Who would have thought that troublesome woman would be removed from sight so quickly?"
When Samantha chirped excitedly, Dahlia scolded her with a deliberately stern tone.
"Roze isn't involved with His Grace like that. And Samantha, Roze is still a noblewoman, so sometimes your words go too far."
"I was just worried you might be upset…"
Samantha lowered her head, looking deflated after Dahlia's unexpected scolding. Feeling a bit guilty, Dahlia softened her tone to console her.
"Roze is my friend. So, from now on, treat her like the important friend she is to me."
"My lady…"
Samantha's reverent gaze made Dahlia feel a bit uneasy, but she figured it was time to clarify to those around her that Roze wasn't a mistress.
"After all, I no longer need to use the mistress misunderstanding to win over the male lead."
Moreover, once Lloyd returned to his original life, it would bother him if his sister carried the stigma of being Clayton's mistress.
Thus, Dahlia decided that for their future, it was best to dispel the misunderstanding now.
Dahlia was seated in front of the mirror, watching Samantha tidy her hair when—
Someone knocked on the door.
"Just a moment!"
Samantha set down the comb she was holding and opened the door to greet the visitor.
The person who appeared was none other than Lloyd.
"I came to pay my respects to the duchess."
Samantha glanced at Dahlia for guidance upon Lloyd's unexpected visit.
Dahlia maintained a calm expression as she gestured for Lloyd to take a seat on the sofa and signaled to Samantha.
"Come in. Samantha, could you go prepare some tea, please?"
"Yes, my lady."
Though she still seemed uneasy about the two of them being alone together, Samantha was more polite toward Lloyd, perhaps due to Dahlia's earlier reprimand.
After Samantha left, a brief silence fell between them.
It was Lloyd who broke the silence first.
"I heard you spoke to His Grace on my behalf, asking for me to return to the Hertz estate."
"Yes, that's right. I'll be away from the mansion for a while too, and I couldn't leave you here to be uncomfortable by yourself."
"That's true, but…"
Dahlia seemed to understand what Lloyd was struggling to express and gently reassured him.
"Don't worry, Lloyd. I can handle everything on my own."
He was likely worried about her taking on the burden meant for the women of the Hertz family. Dahlia continued in a calm tone.
"I don't want you to live overshadowed by the name Roze any longer."
"..."
"So, Lloyd."
Dahlia spoke to him in the brightest voice she could muster.
"The next time we meet, I hope you'll be Lloyd, not Roze."
By the time she returned from her trip with Clayton, everything would be settled.
The suffering of the Hertz family would be over.
By the time the two of them returned to the mansion, Clayton would already be in love with her.
Confidence was written all over Dahlia's face.