#14. To Her Hometown (4)

The townhouse drawing room had been designed to jut out from the main building, protruding toward the garden all on its own.

Though its shape looked a little awkward from the outside, the drawing room was surrounded on three sides by large windows, offering an unobstructed view of the townhouse garden, famous even in the capital.

Thanks to this, the people of House Béarn could sit comfortably on the drawing room sofas and enjoy the beautiful garden in every season.

Visitors to the estate—mostly women—couldn’t help admiring the broad expanse of garden beyond the windows.

Even Eleonore, who had never cared about flower beds or gardens, faithfully enjoyed tea in the drawing room three times a day—morning, afternoon, and evening—while taking in the view.

Of course, that didn’t mean the design had no drawbacks.

Because the room jutted out from the main building on its own, there was no structure to shield the drawing room from the sun.

So whenever the weather was clear, sunlight poured through the large windows, whatever the season.

In winter, the sunlight warmed the drawing room even without much heating, but in a season like this, when the weather was growing hotter, the opposite was true.

Today, too, harsh sunlight streamed through the clear windows and flooded the drawing room...