"Then, madam, do you love him? I heard that, like the Enriques Couple, you were childhood sweethearts. Back then, Mr. Olsenford had not yet made his fortune and was still merely a sailor, while your father was a well-known local merchant."
At Shade's question, the eyes behind the veil closed. Only after quite a while did she continue:
"Yes, I love him very much. Sometimes, I do not even know how I am supposed to love him."
It was a very strange thing to say, but Haila Osenfott herself was very strange.
"Come to think of it, I still do not know your surname before marriage. Oh, no offense intended. I am simply curious."
"Watsont."
Shade thought for a moment. He did not recall hearing that surname in Randall River Valley. Haila Osenfott seemed to see his confusion and softly explained:
"Three years ago, my father and mother passed away unexpectedly. The family has already fallen into decline."
The wedding between the woman before him and Stone Osenfott had taken place two years ago.
"I am truly sorry."
Shade immediately apologized, but the woman did not seem to mind:
"The Wosente Family and the Granger Family are distant relatives. After my parents passed away, Earl Granger helped me a great deal, but Stone does not like him."
"Earl Granger? What a coincidence. I know that gentleman as well."
"It is not a coincidence. The Granger Family is the oldest family in Randall River Valley. Most of the old local surnames are connected to the Granger Family in some way. My father once told me that, throughout the Kassenric United Kingdom, every family surname whose coat of arms bears a butterfly motif can trace its origins back to the ancestors of the Granger Family in Randall River Valley."
"Oh?"
Shade looked