Marchioness Ruth Greene is a widow with two children, her son never married in his forties, instead he adopted a son and a daughter as his heirs. While his daughter, ah... Her poor daughter died and she lost contact with her daughter's family over the years, especially with her granddaughter.

Her eyes held nostalgia as she hummed and enjoyed her leisure time tending her own little garden, it was a pleasant evening that day.

What can she do in her old age, apart from looking for something to fill her spare time such as gardening, knitting, drinking tea with her good neighbor, waiting for his son's family to visit her from time to time. Luckily for Ruth, all the servants in her house never let her get bored all the time.

After watering all the plants and flowers, Ruth took off her pale beige gardening hat and sat on her rocking chair, raised her cold teacup to her mouth and took a sip when suddenly the butler rushed toward her with a letter.

“Why are you rushing Jaz? Is my son doing something again?” She looked at the butler calmly.

“Lady Ruth…” Jaz looked hesitant, but he still held out his hand to deliver the letter in his grasp for Ruth. “There is a letter from Silverna residence...”

Ruth interrupted him. “I told you I don’t want to do anything with that man. Just throw his letter into the fire.” Ruth waved her hand reluctantly.

The butler shook his head, “No, Lady Ruth. I always read the man's letter and throw it in the fire, when nothing important is on it. But this letter is on behalf of Lady Hera for you.” He said, holding back his tone of voice so as not to sound so excited.

Ruth's eyes widened in astonish, “Lady… Hera?” Her wrinkled brows creased deeply. “Is that Rara?” She immediately took the letter from Jaz's hand and stared at it without blinking, her fingers trembling as she opened the sealed wax from the letter.

She took a deep breath, took out a sheet of paper and started to read the first sentence of the letter. A smile slowly spread across her face, she never smiled that brightly after her daughter's death, but now seeing her smile Jaz can only guess who wrote the letter.

“It turns out that they decided on Hera for her name.” Ruth hummed, her eyes did not leave the letter, sometimes she read over and over some of the words her granddaughter had written in the letter.

It's been years since she gave up sending letters to her granddaughter after never getting a reply, receiving this letter now made her feel both happy and scared at the same time.

What would Hera say in her letter? Ruth hadn't fully read the letter yet, she was reading slowly every word for word, trying to figure out why she had only now gotten a letter from Hera.

“Did something happen to Lady Hera?” Jaz looked worried as he watched Ruth's smile fade away, his lady mood can easily show on her face. And now Jaz clearly saw that Ruth looked disgusted by what she was reading.

“They dare to do something like that?” Ruth tried to catch her breath, her heart seemed to stop beating and froze as she read the reason why Hera never replied to all her letters. “What did that man do to the point that his servant did something so disgusting like that to his own daughter?” Finally she snapped.

Ruth closed her eyes, she returned the letter to Jaz, waving her hand as if to tell him to read the rest of the letter to her.

Jaz cleared his throat, stretched out his hand and took the letter before reading it silently. Several minutes passed, now he was trying to find the right words to tell Ruth what Hera had written after clarifying the misunderstanding between them about why she never replied to Ruth's letter.

With both hands on his back, he smiled at Ruth. “Lady Hera is on her way here. It is estimated that she will arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

“Really? Does she say why… wait… does she know where I live? Did she go alone? That is dangerous! What if something happened to her? Did the man know about her leaving? How could her brother not say anything in his letter to me yesterday?” Ruth ranted anxiously.

“Ah… Please don’t worry, Lady Ruth.” Jaz looked guilty for not saying anything else about Hera's journey, he was too eager to tell Ruth about Hera's arrival and forget about that specific factor that would calm Ruth's mind and heart about the journey. “Lady Hera did not come alone. She was with her personal maid and her guardian. Also, no, that man didn't say anything about Hera in his previous letter.” He added.

“...” Ruth was speechless. Guardian. She had a bitter experience with that word. But what can she do if Hera gets a guardian, her father's family always had a guardian from generation to generation. Even her daughter got a guardian when she married that man.

Beside… That’s not important right now. Cheerfulness returned to Ruth’s face, she again asked for the letter that Jaz held for her to keep. The first letter from his granddaughter, she doesn't know if there will be more letters in the future, so she will keep the letter well.

But then Ruth looked troubled. “What should we prepare for Hera? I don't know her favorite food. Or what activities she likes. Jaz... What do I do? I always prepared desserts when Kyle and Ysmay visited me, they like sweets. But how about Hera?” She started rambling anxiously again.

“She casually wrote that she wanted to spend her time with you, doing whatever you wanted to do, Lady Ruth.”

Ruth nodded excitedly. “Let's order some desserts from the bakery. And also some variants of tea for her... or maybe she likes coffee? Let's do both. And Jaz, don’t forget to tell Oz to clean Ammely’s room.” 

The rest of the day as well as the next day, the Greene family servants are seen wandering around the mansion cleaning, especially in Ammely's room that hasn't been opened in years.

That night Ruth fell asleep with the biggest smile on her lips.

The next day came quickly, Ruth woke up gleefully happy, she immediately took Oz to town early in the morning and bought desserts to welcome Hera.

“Do you think she has the same allergies as Ammely? Never mind... Let's pick a fruit dessert... Let's do that one... and that one…” Ruth excitedly pointed to some of the desserts on display at the bakery they visited that morning.

“Lady Ruth... Did Kyle and Ysmay visit you again today?” The bakery owner smiled enthusiastically, Ruth was one of her regulars, almost every day she would come with Oz or Jaz to buy some bread and some desserts when her grandchild came to visit her.

“No... No... This is for my other grandchild. I'll introduce you to her next time.” Ruth exclaimed with a wide smile.

They exchanged conversations while Ruth was still choosing the dessert she was going to buy, having decided on a few fruit desserts. Paying and saying goodbye, Ruth and Oz walked across the street to a shop that specializes in tea and coffee.

“Lady Ruth… Welcome…” Once again Ruth was greeted warmly by the shop owner. “Do you want to buy the tea you usually buy?”

“Have we run out of tea?” Ruth glanced at Oz who answered with a nod, after getting the answer she turned her attention back to the shop owner. “Yes, as usual. And... Do you have any fruit flavor tea? And coffee that's not too strong?”

“Of course. Wait a minute.” The shop owner went to the shelf filled with various kinds of teas, he picked up some before going to another shelf that displayed various coffee beans. After taking all his recommendations and the tea Ruth used to buy in his shop, he returned to Ruth and Oz with a selection of tea and coffee in his arms.

Ruth selected some of the tea bags and coffee the shop owner suggested, paid for them, before rushing home. She didn't know when Hera would come, Ruth didn't want to miss the opportunity to welcome her.

Oz had returned to the kitchen to continue her work which had been delayed due to accompanying Ruth to the city, while Ruth went to her husband's study to write a letter to her son, she didn't forget to tell Jaz to immediately call her when Hera arrived.

But after she's done writing the letter, give it to Jaz to send, and finish knitting a scarf for Kyle and Ysmay for the coming winter. Hera hasn't arrived yet.

Inevitably Ruth immediately thought something bad had happened. Ruth was already pacing in front of the mansion door, trying to calm her pounding heart, she kept staring repeatedly at the closed gate.

“Lady Ruth, please wait inside... It's not good for your health.” Jaz tried to convince Ruth to come back inside, no need to wait outside, it was his duty to call Ruth when Hera arrived. But his lady just shook her head and continued to wait, leaving Jaz to let out a deep sigh, giving in to her stubbornness. “At least use this to warm up.” Jaz draped a thick coat over Ruth's shoulders.

“The sky will be dark soon. Do you think something happened?” Ruth looked at Jaz with concern, she waited and waited all day long, but her heart couldn't settle down just by waiting. She was restless, looking back at the gate from time to time.

A second later Ruth's worried expression vanished when she saw the two ladies standing in front of the gate, she couldn't help smiling broadly, even her eyes sparkled with joy. Without waiting long, she walked briskly towards the slowly opening gate, Jaz and several servants followed behind her.

Ruth didn't have to guess who her granddaughter was between the two ladies, she immediately cupped one of the ladies faces and stared at the birthmark which was the same as her daughter's. Her finger trembled as she rubbed Hera's birthmark under her eyes, tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Hera gently touched Ruth's hand that rubbed her face, she looked nervous, “Grandma?”

“Yes... Yes... This is Grandma... You look so much like your mom now... Ah, let me hug you.” Ruth spread her arms, pulled Hera into her warm embrace. But then she frowned, released their embrace and took Hera's hand. In an instant her face grew furious, “What did they do to you?”

Ruth's gaze darkened on Hera's bandaged hand, but she didn't say anything afterward.

“I accidentally broke the teacup.” Hera reasoned, that was what Freya said when she bandaged her injured hand, even though she couldn't remember when that happened.

Ruth just muttered incoherently, she couldn't believe what Hera said, but she didn't want to force Hera to say something she didn't want to say. This was their first meeting after years of separation, she didn't want to spoil it.

So, Ruth could only lightly rub Hera's palms before hugging her arm, slowly walking into the mansion.  “How was your journey?” She changed the subject.

The servants who followed Ruth were silent, raising their eyebrow in bewilderment at the sight of Hera and Freya's luggage. They assumed that Hera would carry a lot of luggage, like Kyle and Ysmay whenever they visited Ruth. But Freya only carried two small bags, while Hera did not carry anything.

“…” Hera could only remain silent, how could she tell Ruth that the whole journey she was in a daze after feeling Zane in her shadow. She knew what was coming. She knew they were safe with Zane... and Reind, who suddenly appeared. So, for her, not much happened.

“Really? I am worried.” Ruth glanced at Freya who was wearing a forced smile, “Well... As long as you ladies arrive safely. Anything you want to eat for dinner?” She asked, when they reached the dining room.

“Ah... I want to rest, it's been a long journey.” Hera refused softly, she also rubbed Ruth's hand that was holding hers. “Let's have breakfast together tomorrow.” She said quickly.

Ruth looked how sluggish Hera was, she didn't have the heart to hold her back from resting. “Of course, dear. You must be tired. Let's go to your mother's room.”

Ruth didn't mind not being able to express her longing for Hera that day, with Hera already here, she still had a long time to get to know her.

“Get some rest, dear. See you tomorrow.” Ruth once again gently stroked Hera's face, her eyes radiating warmth as she stared at Hera. “Rest well…”

“Hn… Don't worry, grandma. I'm going to live with grandma for a while, is that alright?” Hera smiled gently when Ruth nodded, tilting her head towards Ruth's warm palms. “See you tomorrow.”

When the door closes. Ruth turned her head to look at Freya with raised eyebrows, “Little Freya... You're also growing well... Let's talk.” Ruth hugged Freya's shoulder, led her to her room, where Oz was waiting for them, ready to brew tea with various desserts on the table.

Freya sat in front of Ruth nervously, lowering her head.

Ruth chuckled, “Calm down, Freya. We will only reminisce about the past.” Her eyes narrowed dangerously, that gaze made Freya shiver. There was no warmth in her eyes that she had given Hera before, only disappointment showed in her eyes that were staring at Freya.

Freya lowered her head even more. She remembered years ago when Ruth left Silverna residence, Ruth made Freya promise to look after Hera, a promise she couldn't keep.