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At the mention that I was also an adult, Rowan’s expression instead hardened with bewilderment. Staring at me with an at-a-loss expression, Rowan soon glanced sideways at Dante and chided him.

“You really are a bad man.”

“……I feel extremely wronged.”

Dante furrowed his brow. I tilted my head.

‘Why is Dante a bad man?’

As I continued to tilt my head, failing to grasp the context of the conversation, Dante and Rowan let out a simultaneous sigh.

“Anyway, what brings you here today?”

I asked that to change the atmosphere. I wanted to quickly wrap up Rowan’s business and have tea time together in the garden.

“Ah, right, it’s because of the wedding of the two of you.”

Rowan clapped her hands together as if she had just remembered and pulled me along.

“There are so many things to decide. Come this way.”

Behind Rowan, people carrying boxes and books in mountains filed in one after the other. At the magnificent sight, I blinked my eyes.

‘It was a similar sight when the Countess Cline called merchants to the mansion before, but…’

There were incomparably more people following along than back then. Thick books were piled endlessly, too.

And from the moment Rowan took a seat in the parlor and opened those books, the real work began.

“Between Tebrin fabric and Cedar fabric, which do you prefer?”

Starting simply with choosing the color and region of origin for the fabric to decorate the banquet hall.

“Emeralds are gemstones symbolizing peace, and they’re great to send as brief tokens of appreciation. There’s also the practical advantage that since there’s an emerald mine in the Christopher territory, procurement is easy. However, since weddings traditionally require you to carry something blue, tokens like sapphire brooches are trendy…”

It even included token gifts to give to the guests.

‘Good grief, even for an aristocratic wedding, giving gems as return gifts?’

How much money just vanishes in a single wedding? My head felt like it was spinning.

The last thing for me to choose was the flowers to decorate the venue. Since it wasn’t the season yet and fresh flowers couldn’t be brought, they were replaced with illustrations, but the drawings were so detailed that the flowers looked as if they were right before my eyes.

Flipping through the catalog that detailed how the flowers should be arranged, I shrank my shoulders and let out a sigh.

“I have to choose even the flowers one by one like this, too. I had no idea.”

It would have been a bit better if I had ever gone to see another aristocratic family’s wedding. But because Countess Cline hadn’t allowed me to step outside, my worldly knowledge was hopelessly lacking.

‘Thinking about it now, she was truly a terrible person.’

To manipulate me however she pleased, they hadn’t taught me a single thing. It was chilling to realize they had treated me with the intention of making me a helpless and ignorant person ever since I was very young.

Explaining things one by one could have been quite bothersome, but not a hint of that feeling was felt in Rowan’s words and actions. She replied with a bright smile.

“Thanks to Yvonne’s hard work, the garden has changed quite a bit into something that feels lived-in, but still, there aren’t enough flowers to decorate the entire venue. Usually, they decorate with flowers grown in the garden or greenhouse, you see.”

For the future when I would have to lead banquets or tea parties as the Duchess, I diligently listened to Rowan’s words. First off, I’d need to put effort into garden management just to secure flowers for decoration.

And the greenhouse…

‘The mansion’s greenhouse is full of vegetables, though.’

Dante had no interest in managing the greenhouse, and the gardener, thinking it a waste to let expensive facilities age as they were, planted vegetables in it. Those were indeed the vegetables we were deliciously eating right now.

Thinking of vegetables naturally brought this to mind.

‘If we decorate with vegetables, Lord Petuanis would probably love it, too.’

I used to think dragons only lived on air. I never imagined they were vegetarian. Recalling the elegant and gigantic dragon who loved radishes and carrots, I spoke to Rowan in an excited voice.

“Ah, Lord Petuanis might come to the wedding. We need to take that seating into account, too.”

Given Petuanis’s massive size, they had to arrange seating considering where the dragon would sit at the wedding venue. Rowan blinked.

“Who is Lord Petuanis?”

“The dragon.”

“Pardon?”

Perhaps because it was a presence she had never imagined, even the clever Rowan couldn’t quite comprehend this particular statement. When Rowan later realized that Petuanis was the dragon that had once captured people’s attention in this house, she rested her chin in her hand and nodded with a serious expression.

“It really is going to be a wedding that remains in history for a long, long time.”

“Will it?”

I gave an awkward smile. I still couldn’t get used to receiving attention.

‘I need to try and get used to it.’

I made a fresh resolution in my heart to become a wonderful Duchess.

Although Rowan seemed a bit flustered at the news that a dragon would attend the wedding, she accepted it right away and poured out wonderful ideas one after another.

“Ah, how about unifying the refreshments and meals around dragon themes, too? After all, Yvonne is the only one in this empire right now who has a close relationship with a dragon!”

Did it work like that? It was true that Petuanis had stayed by my side ever since it was born, but having it referred to by the word “relationship” still felt rather surreal. Rowan chattered on in an excited tone.

“Dragon-shaped cookies, or putting a dragon decoration on the cake…”

“I dislike that.”

At that moment, Dante interrupted as he set a teacup down before me. Rowan glared at Dante and replied bluntly.

“His Grace is prohibited from making suggestions. How about it, Yvonne?”

I thought of Petuanis, who loved to act like a know-it-all despite his grand and elegant appearance. But what if symbols representing Petuanis were plastered everywhere?

“Lord Petuanis would like it.”

“Then let’s do that.”

Rowan decided immediately. Since it was a reply that completely ignored Dante’s opinion, I wondered if he might feel offended. However, perhaps this kind of conversation was common between the two of them, as neither Dante nor Rowan looked like they cared.

“Will that dragon actually come to the wedding?”

“He will come. There’s no way he wouldn’t.”

“Hmm.”

Dante sat beside me and crossed his arms. For some reason looking displeased, I gently placed my hand on his arm and said maturely,

“Let’s make up this time, too. Being family with me means being family with Lord Pepe, too.”

“That dragon hates me. I don’t hate dragons.”

Though he insisted on that, his current expression looked heavily sulky. I burst out laughing.

It was because I knew that no matter what he said like that, Dante and Petuanis became of one heart and mind whenever it came to matters concerning me.

Anyway, after flipping through multiple catalogs that were practically thick books, we were able to establish the rough framework for the wedding. After saying she would send a master artisan needed for crafting the wedding dress, Rowan finally handed over a single document.

“I’ve brought the jewels His Grace ordered right here. Please sign the receipt.”

No sooner had Rowan said that than a cluster of boxes was prepared in a row before us. The lids were opened one by one to verify the items. In response, my lips gradually parted.

When they were just stacked as boxes, I hadn’t realized, but the contents inside were all gemstones!

‘Did they gather every single kind of gemstone in existence?’

From familiar gems like diamonds and rubies to gems with mystical hues I was seeing for the very first time, they were all lined up.

‘How much is all of this?’

Since I didn’t know the market prices, I couldn’t even imagine the cost. But what did Rowan say just now? Ordered gemstones?

“Did you buy all of this?”

I asked Dante in a startled tone. After briefly glancing over the items and signing the receipt, Dante shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s my trading company, so I got them at a decent price.”

Meaning he really had bought them.

“Even though the warehouse is already overflowing with gemstones we haven’t even had a chance to store?”

“Yvonne.”

As I was choosing my words, wondering how on earth I should scold him, Dante suddenly grabbed my hand and asked, “How do you think it would be if we had a daughter?”

“A daughter?”

Taken aback, I cast my gaze upward and fell into thought. So…

“If she resembles you, she’d be a tall and sharp-witted daughter, wouldn’t she?”

If she resembles her dad, she’ll be very tall.

‘Would she want to learn swordsmanship, too?’

Something I couldn’t even imagine for myself, but if it was a child resembling Dante, who knows.