Chapter 1
Knock, knock.
At the sound of knocking, Frazer glanced at the desk clock. It was a little past 3 p.m.
“Come in.”
At his permission, a woman appeared, her light brown hair neatly braided and pinned up. It was Caroline Huntid, the lady of the Huntid family. As always, she carried a large bundle of flowers in her arms.
Frazer gave the flowers a brief glance, then returned his attention to the documents on his desk.
“Dear, it really seems like summer is coming. The garden is full of anemones!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Back home, you wouldn’t see them until around May. The capital really must be colder than the south.”
“Obviously.”
At his indifferent response, Caroline smiled faintly. Then she placed the anemones she brought into a vase on the tea table. The soft lilac-colored anemones, the same hue as her eyes, were her favorite flowers.
Caroline was from a small rural village in the southern part of the kingdom. Although anemones were technically spring flowers, in the capital they didn’t bloom until early June.
She emptied the stale water in the vase and refilled it with fresh water. The clear crystal vase caught the sunlight and shimmered like a rainbow. She stared at the way the delicately carved crystal split a single ray of light into dozens of colors for quite some time.
When her lips finally parted to speak again, about five minutes had passed.
“…Dear, didn’t you say we had a villa on the Flyke coast?”
She spoke while absentmindedly fiddling with the edge of the table.
Frazer responded with a short nod instead of speaking aloud.
Flyke was a small port city on the eastern side of the kingdom. It wasn’t exactly suitable as a resort destination, but a few years ago, Frazer had impulsively purchased a villa there. The only reason was that it wasn’t yet developed as a tourist spot, so there were few people.
“It is indeed the perfect place to get some rest.”
“True.”
At Frazer’s nonchalant response, Caroline took a quiet breath. Then, she finally said the words she had practiced countless times over the past few days.
“I’d like to stay there for a month.”
“In Flyke?”
“Yes.”
At her words, Frazer put down the fountain pen he had been holding.
Since Flyke was located at the far edge of the east, it would take a full two days by carriage to reach it from the capital. Considering Caroline’s frail health, at least three days would be needed.
“I’m not asking you to come with me. I know you’re busy.”
Perhaps noticing the way Frazer’s eyes scanned the calendar on his desk, Caroline quickly added.
“So you’re going all the way there by yourself?” Frazer asked, frowning.
“Well, technically not by myself. I’ll bring a butler and a maid with me.”
“I thought Marsha quit a month ago?”
Marsha had been Caroline’s closest maid, someone to whom she had grown very attached. She had worked at the Huntid estate for over four years but suddenly quit a month ago, saying her mother in the countryside had fallen ill.
“Even without Marsha, there are plenty of maids who can attend to me.”
“That’s true.”
Frazer loosened his tie as he responded, still scanning his schedule. As expected, it was packed with no room to spare.
It looked like he might have about a week of free time in two months.
But just getting to and from Flyke would take six days. A proper rest would require at least two weeks.
He was about to refuse when he remembered how Caroline had been talking for months about wanting to see the ocean.
She said she’d only been to the sea twice in her life.
“Hm…”
The tapping of his fountain pen echoed against the desk.
Eventually, his hand stopped moving.
“All right, go ahead.”
At his unexpectedly easy approval, Caroline’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit.
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, dear.”
She responded with a bright smile, just like always.
* * *
When Frazer stepped down from the carriage, a heavy downpour was already underway. The butler, waiting with an umbrella, led him quickly to the porch. Though it took less than five minutes to get from the carriage to the porch, Frazer’s shoulders were already soaked—the wind and rain had been fierce.
As he entered the house and removed his damp jacket, a maid quickly stepped forward to take it. Wherever he walked, faint wet footprints were left behind.
“It’s really pouring out there,” said Logan, Frazer’s aide, with a sigh. He had arrived at the estate earlier and now stood by the window, gazing up at the gray, cloud-covered sky.
Frazer let out a small chuckle at the sight.
“Don’t laugh. If you knew how bad my knees ache, you wouldn’t dare,” Logan grumbled.
“A young man whining already?”
“I’m serious!”
“Enough noise.”
Frazer stepped into the room adjoining the office and changed into a dry outfit before returning to sit, as always, in his seat at the desk—ready to continue his work.
The moment he sat down, Logan, as if waiting for the cue, handed over the documents he’d been holding.
“Judging by how confidently you’re handing these over, I’m guessing the response was favorable?”
“Wasn’t that the outcome you predicted anyway?” Logan shot back smoothly with a nod.
A satisfied smile spread across Frazer’s face as he read through the documents—it was the reward of months of effort.
Sensing his boss’s lifted mood, Logan timidly tried his luck.
“Then… I’ll be heading home for the day…”
“What are you talking about? It’s only 4 o’clock.”
“……”
At Frazer’s firm reply, Logan’s shoulders slumped.
“Stop dawdling and get to work.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Muttering miserably, Logan sat down at the small desk located on the right side of the office. Frazer had arranged it specifically so Logan could get to work quickly whenever needed.
Logan’s disappointment was short-lived. Once seated, he focused intently on his tasks. With Logan silent, the office grew remarkably quiet, broken only by the sound of raindrops tapping on the windows and the occasional scratch of a pen against paper.
“Such heavy rain already… I guess summer really is here,” Logan mumbled, spinning his pen. Clearly, his focus had already run dry.
Frazer’s pen stopped mid-signature at those words.
‘I think summer’s really on its way now. The garden’s full of anemones.’
Caroline’s gentle voice overlapped with Logan’s absent-minded muttering.
Frazer abruptly looked up and stared at the vase on the tea table. The anemones Caroline had arranged were still there—wilted. Since he disliked his study being cluttered, the servants weren’t allowed to enter, so of course, no one had come to replace them.
He shifted his gaze to the calendar. What had been stuck on June had quietly turned to July.
“…Logan, what’s the date today?”
“Today? It’s Monday, the 18th.”
At Logan’s answer, Frazer stared hard at a date marked on the calendar.
The 20th. Wednesday.
If everything had gone as planned, Caroline was supposed to return to the estate the day after tomorrow.
“…Why haven’t I heard anything?”
“Pardon? Heard about what?”
Ignoring Logan’s question, Frazer pulled the bell cord beside the bookshelf. Shortly, the estate’s head butler, Edmund, entered the office.
“You called, Your Grace?”
“Any post today?”
“There are letters from Lord Payden and Marquis Roizard.”
“Not those.”
Prompted by Frazer’s urgency, Edmund pulled a notebook from inside his coat. After scanning the list, he shook his head.
“Other than those, nothing has arrived. May I ask—are you expecting something in particular?”
“Caroline.”
There was a slight urgency in Frazer’s voice as he spoke his wife’s name.
“Nothing from Caroline?”
“No, sir. No letter from the Lady.”
Frazer’s face tightened at the reply.
He ran a rough hand through his bangs—a habit he had when his mood soured.
“The day after tomorrow.”
“……”
“Caroline is supposed to return to the estate the day after tomorrow.”
At that, Edmund’s eyes widened.
“How is it that the head butler of this estate doesn’t even know the day the mistress is meant to return?”
His voice was sharp, each syllable like a blade.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Logan scurried out of the room like a frightened mouse. But Frazer didn’t have the energy to chastise him for his cowardice.
“How am I supposed to trust the staff when not a single one is preparing for the lady’s return?”
“That can’t be…”
Edmund’s wrinkled hands began flipping through his notebook rapidly. He looked uncharacteristically flustered.
The rustle of quickly turned pages stopped at a certain point.
“M-My lady clearly said she would be returning around mid-August…”
“What?”
Frazer’s face twisted into an even harsher scowl at those words.
“Are you telling me that I don’t even know when my own wife is returning?”
“N-No, Your Grace! That’s not what I meant!”
The old gentleman, who rarely lost his composure, was now stammering.
Frazer strode right up to Edmund and snatched the notebook from his hands.
‘Lady scheduled to return after lunch, August 15’
Neatly written text filled the open page. Frazer’s eyebrows twitched as he read it. The tidy, unwavering handwriting below that line reflected the writer’s meticulous nature.
‘Could Edmund be right?’
Edmund was a capable head butler who almost never made mistakes. If what he said was true, it made sense that the rest of the staff hadn’t begun preparations.
‘Then… was it me who got it wrong?’
But that couldn’t be.
Frazer flung the notebook back at Edmund, who received it with a bow and tucked it back into his coat.
“Leave.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Watching the door close behind Edmund, Frazer strode to his desk. He pulled open a drawer on the side.
In the top drawer was a letter from Caroline. He had read it two weeks ago, but now he took it out again and began to reread it.
It began with a complaint about how the long carriage ride had given her saddle sores, went on to marvel at how the sea was always fascinating, and ended with praise for the beautiful night scenery in Flyke.
And then:
‘…I’ll write again before I leave for the capital. Let’s meet before August comes, my love.’
“……”
Frazer examined the envelope with a sharp eye. The postmark was dated three weeks ago.
“…Ha.”
A humorless laugh escaped him. August 15th, what nonsense.
Caroline had clearly promised to return on July 20th. Her round, playful handwriting proved it.
Clearly, discipline had slipped across the entire household.
