After a few days, a letter arrived from Sikar, whom I had been quietly waiting for.

But the contents of the letter were not just below expectations—they were utterly disappointing.

[I arrived safely. If you get too close to Reidox, that guy’s life will be as fleeting as a fly’s. Always remember that I can see all your memories and act with caution.]

…Is that it?

No matter how much I turned the letter over or rummaged through the envelope, there was nothing else.

I had gotten my hopes up when the letter arrived… but what exactly was I expecting?

Even though I feared Sikar, paradoxically, he was the only person I knew, so after he left, I realized how much I had relied on him.

In any case, I was managing to behave well in his absence. To be precise, I was being forced to behave well.

Wherever I went, Vika followed me with wide eyes, so I had no choice but to behave.

The only place I could go was Reidox’s marquis estate.

Vika sometimes guided me to the training room, but that wasn’t a place for me.

Whenever Hersia had the chance, she visited the ducal estate, and we had become quite close.

Time flowed like a river, and before I knew it, three years had passed, and a letter arrived saying Sikar was returning.

I called Mei Li to tidy my hair, which had grown quite a bit.

At the news of Sikar’s return, the servants in the ducal estate seemed utterly excited.

Mei Li’s mouth was stretched into a grin as she braided my hair.

“Milady, I knew the Duke would return victorious! I never doubted it for a moment!”

“Did you?”

“Of course! Absolutely!”

Perhaps because everyone was so excited, or because I was seeing Sikar again after so long, I felt a bit giddy all day.

In the meantime, Kian had grown a lot and diligently attended his crown prince lessons, no longer the childish Kian of before. He had become much more refined.

Entering the dining room, Kian gave a gentlemanly smile upon seeing my neatly braided hair.

“Mother, you look even more beautiful with your hair braided.”

His words sounded to me like, “You braided it because the Duke is coming, didn’t you?” and I felt a bit embarrassed.

“Oh, this hair? It’s just that even the passing breeze feels like warm spring. So I tried braiding it.”

“Please braid it often. I’d love to see Mother’s braided hair too.”

“If my son wants to see it, I’ll have to braid it often, won’t I?”

“By the way, Mother, when did they say the Duke would arrive?”

At that moment, Vika stretched and sat down, answering.

“This afternoon.”

“I see.”

Though he didn’t show it, Kian seemed a bit expectant too.

Three years had passed, so it seemed Kian was curious about Sikar’s news as well.

Vika picked up a lemon, sprinkled it over the meat, and sniffed the aroma casually as he spoke.

“Young Master, you’re secretly excited about the Duke’s return, aren’t you?”

Kian, who was about to eat soup with a spoon, gripped it tightly and shouted in shock.

“W-What are you talking about!”

“So what? Even if the Duke’s a bit of a jerk, it’s normal to miss him. Right, Young Master?”

Three years is a long time, but their relationship remained the same. The only difference was that the now-grown Kian no longer stuffed candy in Vika’s mouth.

Instead, he started using spirit magic. As if to get back at Vika’s teasing, Kian set fire to the meat Vika was eating.

Vika, who was about to cut the meat with a fork and knife, glared at Kian as the meat suddenly burst into flames, instantly guessing the culprit.

“Young Master, what kind of table manners are these?”

Kian grinned mischievously, biting into some bread.

“The meat looked undercooked.”

It was blatant provocation.

The maids couldn’t take the flaming plate away, couldn’t douse it with water while Vika was eating, and couldn’t just leave it, so they were flustered and scrambling.

Vika resolved the situation by covering the plate with a tray lid.

Of course, not every meal was like this. It happened only when Vika teased Kian or when Vika made a slip of the tongue with me.

Thanks to that, the tension I’d felt all morning eased a bit.

I sent letters to everyone scheduled to visit the ducal estate that afternoon, asking them to postpone.

And so, it finally felt real that Sikar was coming.

Still, since it was his first return to the ducal estate in three years, I thought we should at least put up a banner to welcome him, so I had the servants start decorating.

We made a “Welcome Back” banner to hang at the estate’s main gate and prepared a special goose dish for the occasion.

For Sikar, who must have sweated riding here on this spring day, I also prepared bathwater so he could wash up right away.

Then, with Kian, I sat in the living room, feeling a bit anxious as we waited.

Perhaps because it had been so long, I was inexplicably nervous, unconsciously tapping my fingers on the table.

Kian, watching me quietly, approached and gently held my hand.

“Mother, are you very nervous?”

“Oh, no. I don’t know why, but I’m a bit anxious. Sorry, was I loud?”

“Not at all. I just felt Mother’s emotions. I’m a bit nervous too, thinking about seeing the Duke after so long.”

“Oh, even our Kian is nervous.”

“I remembered the Duke asking me to look after Mother before he left. I’m not sure if I’ve lived up to his expectations…”

“Oh, Kian!”

I tightly grasped Kian’s hand.

“Of course, you’ve always done wonderfully. You’ve become such a reliable and refined young man.”

“I still have a long way to go.”

Three years ago, Kian would’ve said, “Really?! I’m so happy, Mother!” and been overjoyed, but now he showed humility even when praised.

I couldn’t express how refined and dependable he’d become.

But I felt a bit guilty toward Kian. Sikar would see all these moments of Kian’s, wouldn’t he?

If Kian knew that, he might not have shown his true feelings, not wanting Sikar to see this side of him.

Even though they’d agreed to get along three years ago, there was still some kind of wall between them.

Come to think of it, Sikar would know everything I’d done these past three years, but I knew nothing about him. That felt a bit unfair, didn’t it?

As Kian and I chatted and waited, loud cheers rang out from outside. Opening the window, I saw Sikar leading his soldiers.

Even from afar, his presence and stature carried an air of majesty.

“He’s back!”

I almost rushed out but stopped, took Kian’s hand, and walked down slowly.

As we stepped out the entrance, I saw Sikar leap off his horse.

With his hair fluttering in the warm spring breeze, Sikar strode toward us.

As he approached, he opened his arms as if to embrace us.

“It’s been a while.”

Kian and I glanced at each other, then slowly approached and hugged him.

Kian, feeling awkward, extended only his body toward Sikar without using his arms.

And so, our family of three reunited after a long time, embracing each other.

Then, the shouts of the servants and soldiers rang loudly in my ears.

“The Duke has returned!”

“The Duke has returned victorious!”

“Long live Sikar Blake! Long live!”

Looking up, I saw a man standing tall among the soldiers. It was none other than Durion.

When I gave a slight wave toward Durion, he smiled and bowed to me.

Nestled in Sikar’s broad chest, I smiled softly.

“Everyone’s safe. What a relief.”

Then, more cheers erupted, and looking up, I saw several carts rolling in at once.

“Sikar? What’s all that?”

“Rosemary. I brought it for the family’s peace.”

Looking closely, the carts were full of blooming rosemary. I was touched that he still remembered.

Among the preparations to welcome Sikar, preparing the bathwater was a stroke of genius.

The first thing he said upon entering the estate was to have bathwater prepared.

“You already prepared the bathwater?”

“I figured you’d want it first, so I had it ready.”

“Your sense has improved.”

“And your tone is back to how it was.”

I thought I’d softened his tone a bit, but after his campaign, it was back to normal.

Of course, dealing with rough soldiers out there, it wasn’t surprising his tone was cold, but it felt like starting over from scratch.

After bathing, Sikar, as expected, took my hand first and began reading my memories.

See? It really feels like everything’s reset.

“Hm. You’ve gotten close with Hersia. She’s Gillian’s cousin—do you really need to be that friendly?”

Hersia’s kind, regardless of Gillian…

Before I could finish explaining, Sikar moved on to the next memory, saying,

“You’ve kept a good distance with Reidox. But you’ve been visiting too often, haven’t you? And what’s this? It looks like you kept starting and stopping letters… If you wanted to write, why not just write?”

Oh, right. I forgot he’d read my memories and was frantically writing and erasing letters back then.

This feels like being stripped bare. I answered simply and clearly.

“Move on.”

Even after so long, Sikar still listened to me well. So, he immediately checked the next memory.

“The night I left for the campaign… you slept soundly.”

Well, I was exhausted, so I couldn’t help but sleep well. What, are you a bit upset?

Sure enough, though he didn’t show it, Sikar seemed a little hurt. His lips pursed briefly.

He seemed to have finished reading my memories and put my hand down, saying,

“Looks like you managed fine without me. Took good care of the ducal estate too.”

“Thanks to Vika, I got by without trouble.”

Only then did he start looking me over carefully.

“Your hair’s grown a lot.”

“Time’s passed that much.”

“Long hair’s not bad.”

Even I thought long hair wasn’t bad. I could try more hairstyles than when it was short, and whenever I wanted a mood lift, the maids would make my hair shine.

As I fiddled with my long hair, pleased with it, Sikar threw a dagger of a comment.

“You were twenty-seven when I left, and now you’re thirty. In your thirties.”

It felt like being slapped with words.

I felt my face flush and got a bit worked up.

“I spent my entire twenties in this ducal estate while you were off campaigning. I’m in my thirties now, so treat me like an adult, got it?”

Sikar leaned back in his chair with a bored look, staring at me.

“That’ll be tough. No matter what, you still look like a kid to me.”