A caller came to the Rozenberg house today.

"The Viscount Stellaris, Sir Lachlan Morrigan pays his visit." The temporary steward Gaspar announced as he led the man into the tea room. 

Ayan raised her head at the beauty walking towards her and the children. It was a comfortable afternoon when suddenly a star appeared on their doorstep. The beauty is tall with a slender figure due to a year's worth of being ill, complexion so white magnified intensely by that long burgundy hair now neatly secured by a clip and above all that he had the gentlest smile which threw Ayan off balance.

"Lachlan Morrigan pays his courtesy to you, milady." Lachlan greeted upon reaching an appropriate distance. 

Embarrassed to be the one sitting, Ayan stood while carrying Milk in her hand. As soon as she moved, Lachlan took this chance to hold her hand and pressed his lips ever so lightly. 

Milk let out a displeased snort. 

"I am pleased to finally be able to meet the Marchioness Ayan Rozenberg. I heard you have recovered splendidly, it relieves me to see you are doing okay."

"Thank you for your concern, Sir Morrigan, I am indeed fully recovered." 

He must have come to ask about Clayton, she thought. Too bad she also has no idea where he is exactly. It is already spring and the season is about to start in Ava, she too is in a hurry to see Clayton.  

"Is Sir Morrigan perhaps looking for my husband?"

Lachlan looked a little surprised then replied mildly, "No, I came here solely to visit milady."

He came here just for her?

The twins looked at him deeply. Milk licked his little fangs. 

Ayan was at a loss why she got a visit from the notorious third male lord; she couldn't speak a single word! Although deemed sickly, his personality is one of the strongest among the men around Lucia. As you know, he is not someone to have any tender positive feelings towards just about anyone.

With a stiff mouth and jerky gestures, she invited him to sit and join them. 

"They must be Raven and Carmine," Lachlan continued, "Twins?"

"They are with Carmine as the eldest shortly followed by Raven by a minute." 

Lachlan then saw the lady lift the snow-white cub in her arms. The beast is unlike any other feline he saw. Its fur was incomparable and precious along with clever humane eyes. 

"This one here is Milk, he is our leopard cub." 

Lachlan put his hand on his chin, "I have only seen one in a painting, it is the image of a noble winged leopard chief. I believe your Milk will grow even more outstanding."

"Oh, he sure will." Ayan tickled its ears. "Our cub is bound for greater things."  

He looked outwardly at ease but the discovery made him shake inside. He only meant to compare the cub to the one in the painting he never expected she would really confirm that Milk is indeed a winged leopard. An existence that only appeared in stories and pictures. 

Even a mere image of it is enough for the temple to enshrine. 

Surprisingly, she spoke smoothly when he opened the topic about her boys. 

"Milady is fortunate to be blessed with such lovely children."

She smiled warmly, "I am."

Lachlan could see her visibly softening when talking about her children. He breathed a sigh of relief. He met the boys earlier but they haven't had much time to bond because they were too attached to their sleeping mother at that time. 

"Dare I ask Sir Morrigan the reason for his visit?" Ayan chose to throw away her first impression as Lucia's faithful lackey. It would be unfair to be prejudiced against him based only on what she read. 

"About this," Lachlan was a little bit flushed. 

Is he shy? Ayan looked at him suspiciously. She hadn't done anything unfavourable towards him yet. Catching his eyes, she noticed that he became flustered. 

"I would like to personally apologize for what happened while you were under my estate. A huge misunderstanding occurred because of my inattention thus leading to milady's hardships."

Oh, so it was about this. And here she was wondering how he could make this trip if not for meeting Clayton. 

"No need to blame yourself." Ayan waved her hand. "None of it was your fault. As you said, it was a misunderstanding." She explained to him that it was Rodney, the former steward who deliberately cut off the lord's command to send them supplies in the cottage. 

When he came to the manor to ask for permission, it wasn't for Ayan and the children at all but for Lucia who sent him a message that she will arrive in Arpeggio. Rodney wanted to arrange her nearby so that she could meet with the lord. 

"I see," Lachlan finally understood. "What an audacious servant arranging for a woman to seduce his lord. Whipping wouldn't suffice for the likes of him." 

Ayan smiled thinly. "Every household does not lack one or two, don't you think so?" 

He completely agrees.

She learned that Rodney wasn't let go alone. Clayton ordered for him and his followers to be sent to Dolma Steppe. The barren land for criminals with the most extreme of weathers. There was once a saying that it was better to choose death than to be sent to Dolma Steppe. 

Lachlan fell into thought, fortunately, when Rodney went to his home he did not approve of his request. Clayton may be innocent in this matter but if this wasn't resolved accordingly the pain it will inflict on Lady Rozenberg will be unimaginable. 

"Another thing," he hesitated.

"Hm?"

Lachlan sat properly as he looked across the table, towards the lady with soft grey eyes that seemed to penetrate his soul. "Regarding my recovery, I also would like to offer my most sincere gratitude to milady."

Ayan had three large question marks hanging in her head. What happened to the third male lord to have such a good impression of her? First, he came to apologize which was already very unexpected.  

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what Lord Morrigan was trying to imply."  

This is too unusual. Why would the third male lord thank her? 

Lachlan saw her confusion, "Remember my butler frequently coming into your home for my portion of the meal?"

There was a sharp jolt in Ayan's chest. Her hands under the table grasped her skirt. It can't be…

"Please excuse me for being forward, milady. I suspect that your food must have been the greatest factor why I am able to stand here today."

Ayan sighed, "I can't just take credit for it. Besides, how do you know that it had something to do with me?"

Instead of being put off, Lachlan smiled. Whether she admits it or not he knew it in his heart how he got this second chance.

"Last year, I was sentenced to death by several physicians we have consulted. I had little expectations of living since then and never hoped to recover either…" There was a twinge of bitterness in his tone, "I understood that I have reached the limits of my existence..."

It was futile to fight it. But a change happened. Like a surging tide, it caught him completely unaware. 

Ayan listened quietly without giving a single reaction that may have her away. She knew exactly what his condition was. What he revealed to her was true. Ayan gave him a second look and smiled. "It seems I also have to congratulate you on your recovery." 

Lachlan couldn't help but return that smile. She acknowledged it.

It was around this comfortable time when the door to the tea room opened. 

Clayton was in a hurry to return home after settling the 5th Order in a safe house within the city. He was informed of his lady's awakening so she hurried home at full speed. He just did not expect that as soon as she came into view he would see her smiling sweetly to a stranger. 

"My--" he stopped in the middle, composed himself before striding in gallantly. "I have returned, wife." 

Ayan turned her head slightly, with a warm smile she spoke, "Welcome home, Clayton."

He moved closer towards her, almost touching the sleeves of her dress.

"Here you are, Clay." Lachlan greeted and clapped him on the back but he shuddered from the chilly gaze he received instead. Are you in a bad mood, man?

"Anyway, I drop by to visit. I hope you don't mind." The last part was emphasized. 

"I, uh-- I am glad you came. Has the Morrigan estate recovered well from the winter storm?"

"Splendidly so, thanks to you and Beck's warning we have set up a decoy. Although bandits burned two grain houses, there was only old hay and firewood in there. The attack concentrated in the estate did not spread in the whole fief of Stellaris. I will be ashamed to face Her Majesty if I mismanaged my land under her domain."

Arpeggio is one of the largest and very wealthy territories. Stellaris, where Morrigan estate is rooted, is only among the many secure and thriving fiefs it oversees. It is only natural that refugees of all sorts will seek this place in times of calamity. 

With Clayton setting an example of guarding Lachlan's fief, many lords followed suit and sent their soldiers to do the same and avoid riots. The city also made preparations on how to receive those displaced villagers, setting up food stalls as immediate relief for hunger and opening up several empty halls to serve as temporary dwellings to pass the cold season.  

"The idea of setting up food stalls came when the governor heard of that mysterious food shop giving out free soups since the start of wint--."

Bleeuuurghh…

Ayan burnt her tongue with tea. 

"Milady?"

Ayan was looking rather unnatural. "Ah… ah, don't mind me." 

"Are you hurt?" Clayton worriedly looked as he gently put his handkerchief into her hand. "Let me see."

In front of the guest?! Her face burst into flames. "I-It's fine."

"But your mouth..." he observed his flustered wife silently. Then a small smile lifted the corners of his lips. 

Lachlan went on with his story giving her no other choice but to listen in awkward silence. "Some say that the magical shop comes and goes, making people recall a story from an old legend. It was said that when such a mysterious place appears, there is a high possibility of seeing either one from the fey folks or the fairy kin."

Ayan averted her eyes for some reason.

"The surrounding kingdoms believed that the blessing our empire received from the dragons had long been exhausted. But seeing that we can still see traces of magical races here…   

Ayan sat quietly seemingly absorbed with the story but in fact, she was frantically nagging on Coco. [You sure continued giving free food while I was in a coma…] 

[The purpose had been achieved, Arpeggio managed to avoid a certain calamity.]

[Is that so~ I'm glad.] 

She would feel really terrible if this place fell into ruin. The government here is good but due to the long absence of natural disasters, people had become lax and therefore had not prepared any measures in case of such emergencies.

Nature's wrath chooses no one. Even the most prosperous cities and kingdoms suffer from it.  

[This also saved the empress from a certain disgrace...]

Right, Prince Reginald remained here and was able to notice the upcoming problem. By doing so he managed to save his mother's domain. The empress is a good woman but even she is not spared from malice and ridicule. Many envied her position as well as her relationship with the emperor. Knowing that they cannot provoke her willy-nilly, they find several reasons to discredit her in front of His Majesty. One of which is the fall of Arpeggio. 

Well now, Ayan wonders how those court clowns would move if there is nothing to berate the empress about. On the contrary, their territories might be even worse than here. If they still dare to speak, that is only equivalent to slapping their own faces.  

[Isn't it dangerous to keep opening the shop?]

[Milady, your fear of our safety is completely groundless for several reasons.]

[Oh?] 

Coco harrumphed, [I’m telling the-- you see unlike furies and wraiths, humans have great respect for magical beings like us. Our kind is also several times stronger as well so if there could be anyone out there who would dare challenge our strength that will only be a few exceptional human beings or someone from the same kind.] 

Hehe... such confidence. So magical beings also fight amongst themselves. It makes sense since humans also do a lot for various reasons like territories, treasures, self-interest or simply by having different values.  

[It would be nice to meet some-- ahhh!] Ayan stopped all of a sudden when she felt a huge palm squeezing her hand. 

"What's the matter?"

Clayton angled his head near her and murmured, "You were staring at Morrigan so intensely." 

No, actually I was having a very engaging conversation with my fairy.

"I do?" She was met with a dim disbelieving pair of eyes when she faced him. "Err…"

The hand below squeezed her tighter. It was when she gave Clayton a squint. Are you a child? Raven and Carmine behaved better than… oh never mind! 

The boys and Milk were also baring their fangs at the poor viscount. It's hard rearing four children at once, yes?

 

The viscount left after sending in his personal greeting. He felt that today he had become quite closer to the Rozenberg family than before. They chatted enthusiastically (one-sidedly) helping him deepen his good impression. 

Inside the library. 

Ayan perused over the bookkeeping records Gaspar handed to her. Holding a pen and a rim of paper she began organizing the household budget including the expenses for the travels and other miscellaneous matters. 

"Gaspar, may I see the budget record for the past five years?" 

Oh dear, she hasn't touched these for so long but it isn't that hard to organize either. Ayan just hoped that everything was recorded accordingly so she did not wonder why and where the money was lost. 

A thick stack of papers was pulled out from one of the shelves on her left side. Gaspar is more than happy to help the lady because she finally showed interest in the household. For the next two hours, he and the lady demolished the records quicker than expected. 

Ayan also discovered one huge thing! 

"Gaspar, are these numbers really my allowance alone?" 

"Yes, milady." Answered matter-of-factly. He didn’t even show signs of surprise when seeing the figures.

"It can't be…" no matter how much she counted she could clearly see a row of zeros in it. Clayton cannot be spoiling her like this! 

For five years all this money went into clothes, cosmetics, jewellery and treatment expenses.

What the hell are treatment expenses by the way? 

Things she did not enjoy since she was not in her body! It was that thief who squandered all these for nothing. What's worse is that the thief had zero knowledge about everything she bought at all. 

Her fashion sense was out of this world outrageous, the jewellery the so-called merchants pushed on her hands were nothing but shabby counterfeits which she delighted to wear. Ayan gripped her heart fearing it would jump out in anger.

That damn thief. Was the purpose of sneakily taking over her body was to happily waste money? 

"Milady need not worry. The lord strictly controlled your allowance to a bare minimum because he knew it was what delighted you."  

Ugh. She grabbed her head. Delighted her? Surely not. It was that thief! That wasn't her and not a single thing of those items she purchased remained when they ran away from Lattice aside from the atrocious dress she woke up with. Ayan's earlier energy seemed to dissipate after learning a lot of things. 

She felt sorry and guilty for Clayton. 

When the accounting concluded, the sun was already slanting towards the west. She was in a bad mood and wore a long face when they got off work. 

"Oh~ it's open…"

Ayan dug in a deep sigh when she saw several people waiting for her to come out. 

"Mommy."

"Mother!" 

The twins ran and stuck to her like magnets. "Were you here the whole time?"

"Carmine refused to go out and insisted he wanted to stay." Raven tattled first. 

"I promise I did not make noise. Ask daddy."

Being tossed with the ball, Clayton nodded helplessly.  

"I'm sorry I made you wait long." Ayan chuckled. 

She failed to notice the subtle change in Clayton's expression. She had all her attention on the children, she walked towards the boys and touched their heads asking about what they wanted to eat for dinner as they headed their way to the dining room. Following quietly behind was her husband with a tangled face. 

For some reason, he seemed quieter than usual giving Ayan a strange feeling.  

"Ayan…" 

She felt a gentle tug on her left sleeve.

"Yes?" She stopped walking immediately, "I-Is something wrong?"

Dusk is fast approaching outside the windows. The sky had a very nice orange hue splashing the spacious hallway and walls with colours akin to fire. Two pairs of eyes looked at each other in tensed silence.  

How come the atmosphere changes so quickly? 

She cleared her throat first. "Does milord have anything to ask me? I'm quite free." 

Clayton let go of her sleeve. There was a very subtle smile on him as he deeply gazed into her for a long period of time. 

"There was nothing wrong. Perhaps I was too overwhelmed that you have finally woken up that I find it hard to properly express what I wanted to say."

Ayan laughed softly, "There is no rush. Please, take your time, milord." 

"There were plenty of things." He began quite seriously, "I wanted to apologize to you. I also wanted to explain but in the end, I cannot say in a way that you wouldn't find so irritating nor would it appear as though I'm making excuses. I, I wanted to--"

He stopped when he saw the playful way she looked at him. 

"When I told you to take your time I thought you were going to greet me for my smooth recovery. Well, this is also a surprise." Ayan fiddled with her fingers and murmured. "But I still prefer to get a greeting from you though."

Clayton's throat moved. "I made a mess out of it, didn't I?"

"Hmm, not really." She cleared her pouty expression then stepped forward. Closer to him before suggesting cheekily. "You can still make up for it."

She heard him chuckling over her head all of a sudden. The next thing she knew, the man was already offering his knee and holding her hand. "From the bottom of my heart, I, Clayton Rozenberg, are delighted to see milady in good health once again."

Ayan felt her face warmed as though it was being steamed. If there was a mirror right now, she was sure she would see herself red, very red up to her ears. She tried to pull back her hand to spare her from embarrassment but Clayton held it like an iron clamp.

You asked for it! 

It was when he turned over her wrist and kissed the promised mark that she completely lost it.   

"I'm happy that you are finally back." He caught her swaying body and leaned Ayan to his side.  

He had pictured several ways as to how to face her when she opened those eyes again. All the hesitation, confusion and doubt he felt brought upon by her changes made him timid. 

Yes, the greatest hero of the Ourea continent who never backed down when facing several wars has never been timid except for the situation of his wife. For five years he seemed to have lost her despite seeing her every day. Her erratic actions and cold treatment of them nearly extinguished his hopes. 

Until that time in the cave. He was faced with the familiar yet unfamiliar Ayan. A confounding combination. She was clearly kind, much better than the previous one. Ayan loved the children and truly cared for them but something was still missing when he looked into her eyes.

There was no him in there. 

The twins gained back their mother but he felt as though he was about to lose the love of his life. Still, he put up with it, he laid down his guard after seeing her sincere heart. Inside he secretly agonized with the loss. 

Perhaps in time, when he is patient, she might come back. Not only for the children but for him as well. 

"Clayton?" 

Seeing her now… his long tired heart began to beat madly once again. The helplessness and fear he felt broke into fragments and melted when finally gazing back at those familiar grey orbs.

Those eyes… 

It was the same eyes as the woman he shared that fiery soul-consuming passion and endless adoration. She is back.

His Ayan came back.