Five more days passed.

No matter how vast the castle, ten days was enough to explore every corner.

‘What did I even do while I was here in my previous life?’

Cecilia’s memories were strange. She remembered everything vividly up until she was twenty-one—it was all still recent.

But everything from this point onward belonged to the memory of forty-year-old Cecilia, which meant they were events from over twenty years ago.

Unless something memorable had happened, her life at Lagos Castle was the same every day.

‘I probably wrote letters to the grand duke nearly every day in the early days of the marriage.’

Her letters were filled with complaints—that she couldn’t bear it here, begging to be allowed back to the grand duchy.

Even sending a letter to the grand duchy wasn’t easy. Using carrier pigeons was only permitted sparingly.

At the time, Cecilia had resented this, thinking they were doing it just to spite her.

‘But the pigeons were the main way to contact villages outside. They couldn’t afford to lend them to me freely.’

And so, the letters her twenty-one-year-old self couldn’t send piled up. Then Cecilia would press her nanny and servants to find some other way to contact the grand duchy.

She spent the first few months in restless impatience.

Eventually, however, she seemed to have worn herself out. She confined herself to the narrow world of her bedroom, where she was served by her familiar attendants and found small happiness in waiting for the grand duke’s regular gifts.

It was only possible because no one at Lagos Castle interfered with her.

By the time she left, she’d come to be content with that lazy life.

‘What should I do today?’

After breakfast, Cecilia pondered her options.

There was no one at Lagos Castle with whom she could have a conversation. The lord of the castle had no family—she’d heard his parents passed away early, and he had no siblings.

The retainers seemed to live somewhere in the villages outside the castle. This was the season for preparing for winter, so with the lord also absent, they had little reason to come into the castle.

‘It would be nice to throw a party.’

Nothing was as effective for passing time as mingling at a party. Besides, the energy expended would help her sleep.

‘A party, really?’

In a place like this with no proper banquet hall…

‘Oh!’

A good idea struck her.

Cecilia called for Helen.

“The southern wing… you mean you want to go there, Madam?”

“I heard it’s been closed off, but unlike the northern wing, it’s not strictly off-limits. Technically, it’s not a restricted area, right?”

Helen, unsure if she could make the decision, reported it to Hoffman, who then came to see Cecilia.

“Madam, the southern wing has been closed and left unmanaged. It’s likely to be in terrible condition, with areas that are damaged and littered with debris, which could be dangerous.”

“I won’t go into any place that seems risky.”

“Also, the southern wing is quite vast. None of us really know our way around it.”

“The layout can’t be that complicated. Here’s what we’ll do. Since it’s a closed-off area, I’ll be the only one to enter. Only the people from Lagos will accompany me.”

“…I’ll find suitable attendants to accompany you.”

Back in his office, Hoffman sought Helen’s opinion.

“What do you think?”

“I think it should be fine, don’t you?”

“And why’s that?”

“Well, as Madam said, it’s technically not a restricted area. Plus, I think you’d like to grant her request, Hoffman.”

Realizing she had read his thoughts, Hoffman clicked his tongue.

For the past few days, he’d been growing rather fond of Cecilia—not because of anything she did, but because she hadn’t done anything troublesome.

He’d been bracing himself for the worst, so he was especially grateful. This was a busy season, and if Cecilia had added to his workload, his head might have exploded.

The meeting ten days ago when she’d summoned him had been crucial in changing his perception of her.

Cecilia was someone who could be reasoned with, as long as he offered rational explanations.

It might not seem like a big deal, but there were surprisingly few people in the world like that.

“Who should we send?”

“How many people?”

“Two should be enough. Let’s add a hunter as a precaution.”

“Martha is good with directions, and Joanne has a keen eye. I’ll send those two.”

“Good. And tell Joy to come see me now.”

“Understood.”