"Surprising to see you visiting the pavilion, Miranda. Isn't Young Master Race currently in the west?" Selina asked as she prepared dinner for Ivy.

"I intentionally came here. I have a lot of free time after moving to the bungalow pavilion. Young Master Race only gave me the task of taking care of his needs, nothing more," explained Miranda as she reached for a piece of fruit that was supposed to be for Ivy.

"Hey! That's for Miss Ivy," Gareta exclaimed, surprised by Miranda's impolite behavior.

Miranda glanced briefly at the plate containing the fruit.
"Just let it be, can't you cut some more later?"

"Ugh... that's still disrespectful!"

Gareta appeared irritated by Miranda's actions. To him, his coworker was crossing the line with her behavior. No matter how close she might be to Race, Miranda should still respect Ivy as Race's wife. Gareta then took the plate of fruit away from Miranda. The two coworkers exchanged glances now.

"Has she become so close to Ivy since I left?" Miranda asked, curious.

"Respect her a little, Miranda! She's the lady of this pavilion," Gareta said, getting more frustrated with Miranda's words.

Miranda clicked her tongue irritably and gave Gareta a sharp look.
"Fine, fine, fine, Lady Ivy. Are you satisfied?" Miranda retorted with emphasis.

"Whether you like it or not, my words are true, aren't they?" Gareta said, then took a small cart filled with all sorts of food for Ivy's dinner and walked away from the kitchen.

Miranda grew more frustrated and glared at Gareta's retreating. She huffed in annoyance. Selina, meanwhile, could only remain silent, alternating her gaze between Miranda and Gareta.

In Ivy's room, after receiving treatment a few days ago, she felt her body getting healthier. Ivy had even started using her magic again. She stared at her hand, attempting to perform magic, then smiled delightfully.

Ivy stopped her magical practice when there was a knock on her door from the outside. She tidied her clothes and acted as usual, making sure no one knew she had just been playing around with magic.

"Come in!" Ivy softly commanded.

Soon, Ivy's bedroom door opened, and Gareta smiled at her.
"Dinner is ready, Miss Ivy."

"Thank you, Gareta. Let's go to the dining table together. Call Selina too! The three of us will have dinner," Ivy invited as she walked over to Gareta.

"Um, but Miranda is also in the kitchen, Miss Ivy."

"Miranda? Why is she here?"

"I don't know either. She said there's no work at the bungalow pavilion other than taking care of Young Master Race. Right now, Young Master Race is in the north."

Ivy fell silent upon hearing Gareta's words. She was getting a clearer picture of her position in the east. Ivy then offered a faint smile and gently held Gareta's hand.
"Miranda is right, she really doesn't have any work other than taking care of my husband. Let's go eat! It's okay to invite her as well."

Ivy appeared cheerful and delicate, even though deep down, she felt uncomfortable. Knowing that her husband chose to be attended to by another woman made Ivy feel like nothing more than a captive in this situation.
***
The Agnito family dining room was bustling with activity after successfully negotiating the distribution of the ruby stones. Race and Winter had returned to the East and had dinner with their family. Race had just sat at one of the chairs at the dining table, right beside Winter.

"Where is Ivy?" King Agnito asked.

"Ah? She's in the pavilion," Race answered, slightly puzzled as to why his uncle suddenly inquired about Ivy.

"Don't you both live in the same pavilion?" King Micel asked, feeling something was amiss.

Race didn't respond immediately and just looked at his uncle, puzzled. He hesitated about revealing the truth at the moment.

"They live in separate pavilions. Race only goes to Ivy's pavilion when necessary," Tuan Milano said.

"What? So our suspicions were correct," Queen Agnito added.

"Isn't that all normal? It takes time for Ivy and Race to adapt. You all know that their marriage was arranged," Tuan Milano interjected, busy cutting his roasted meat into pieces and swapping plates with his wife, Nyonya Maria.

Nyonya Maria smiled warmly, pleased with the extraordinary attention from her husband. Race and Winter exchanged glances.

"Is Uncle as sweet to Aunt as well?" Winter whispered.

"Yes, pretty much," Race confirmed.

"So, have you adapted now, Race? Ivy seems to be very useful for us," King Micel asked.

Race glanced at his uncle again and nodded slightly.
"She is indeed very useful," Race murmured in agreement.

"Enough about Ivy! It seems we should eat now before the food gets cold," Winter started feeling uncomfortable with the conversation among their family members. Race then looked at Winter and offered a faint smile.

"Thank you, Winter," Race said.

After the dinner event at the palace, Race was now sitting with his parents. Tuan Milano and Nyonya Maria had invited their son to their pavilion. Race gazed at his parents, switching his gaze between them.

"Why did you suddenly summon me here?" Race asked.

"There's something your father wants to tell you," Tuan Milano replied.

"What?"

Tuan Milano didn't immediately respond and exchanged glances with Nyonya Maria. After a moment, Tuan Milano looked back at Race.

"Starting now, you need to pay more attention to Ivy. That girl will be very useful for us in the future."

"What do you mean, Father?"

"Start living together with Ivy from now on. You need to win her heart and make her speak well of you to her parents. If the Marionet family finds out that you're distant from Ivy like this, it could jeopardize our business. At least, maintain a good relationship until our ruby stones become well-known in the north and we can market them directly without going through the Marionet family."

His father's words took aback race. He looked at his father with raised eyebrows.

"Why suddenly want to exploit Ivy? If you've just realized Ivy's value, then why did you arrange our marriage in the first place?"

Race wondered about his parents' behavior. Nyonya Maria stood up and placed her hand on her son's shoulder.

"Actually, we knew about all this from the beginning. We just weren't sure that Ivy would be this useful. We should have utilized Ivy from the start."

"Isn't she more than just a tool, Mother? Why talk about exploiting her? Weren't you expecting a noble-born daughter-in-law like Ivy? Why do you suddenly want to take advantage of her like this?"

Race was growing increasingly perplexed by his parents' attitude.

"No need to argue! Just do as we instructed!" Tuan Milano said firmly, his tone slightly raised.

Race looked at his father and then snorted abruptly. He stood up and bowed.

"I thought Ivy opening doors for us to distribute ruby stones to the west was enough. If the goods we sell are of good quality, people will buy from us again. There's no need to use Ivy, who doesn't even know anything about the ruby stone distribution."

Race spoke firmly and then left the family room. He left his parents' pavilion without another word, using the horse-drawn carriage that always accompanied him wherever he went.
***
Ivy had just settled onto her bed. Since a while ago, she had been unable to fall asleep and had chosen to take a solitary walk in the garden. She pulled the covers over herself and looked towards the window.

"It's been days since I last saw Race," she whispered.

"Why do I find myself missing him? I shouldn't let my emotions get the better of me when I'm with Race," Ivy mumbled again.

She closed her eyes slowly, hoping to fall asleep soon. But instead of sleeping, Ivy saw the horse-drawn carriage that always accompanied Race topple on the road. Race appeared unconscious inside the carriage. Ivy opened her eyes wide and stared at the door.

"Race, why is he there? Where is that?"

She spoke, then jumped out of bed without a second thought. Ivy rushed out of her room and stopped when she reached the entrance of her pavilion. She sighed in frustration because she didn't know the location of the incident involving Race. She closed her eyes and seemed to recite a spell quietly. Ivy then held the door handle and, a moment later, opened her eyes again. She now knew the location of the incident, and it wasn't far from her pavilion. Ivy opened the door and sprinted out of her pavilion without anyone noticing.
***