/
I ate lunch with Lucian, and after seeing him go out in the carriage, I hurriedly moved out.
“Lady, where are you going?”
“Oscar and Damian, where are they now?”
“I think they were going to the mountain behind earlier?”
“Really?”
We were going to talk together during my brief personal time, though when I heard that he had gone to the mountain behind, I slowed my pace.
Hmm, shall I wait?
Or, should I go to the mountain behind…?
After pondering for a while, I came out through the back door. Spring was in full swing. The warm and cool wind suddenly turned into a sultry wind with damp moisture.
“Is it summer already?”
Amber answered my murmur.
“Well, it’s been a while since the spring banquet. Soon after the spring banquet, the wind gets hotter.”
“Spring is too short, isn’t it?”
“Fufu, that’s right.”
The Duchess strolled out from the garden of white roses, brushing her hair that was blown by the wind. It had been a really long time since I’d seen her face.
Realizing once again that people living in the same house couldn’t even see their faces if they decided to, I approached the Duchess.
“Madam.”
“Rachel, long time no see.”
Although her face had become more emaciated, her expression was not as dry as before. It looked better than I expected. Seeing that, I was relieved.
“Are you out for a walk?”
“Well, I was just running around.”
“Then, will you come with me?”
Since it was nice to meet her after a long time, I answered right away without hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Okay, then let’s go this way.”
And so, I walked through the white rose garden with Madam. The white rose, which was still coveted by the preservation magic, seemed to look whiter in the sunlight.
“Why don’t you ask? Aren’t you curious? The contents of the will I had… Why did I hide it?”
While she was walking silently, suddenly, the Madam spoke up first, and I was a little surprised. Of course, it was not that I was not curious, but wasn’t it a cautious thing to ask…?
“Well… I do not know. Of course, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious, although I didn’t ask because I didn’t know if I could ask about Duchy Leon.”
“You’re Leon, too, why?”
Asked the Duchess calmly.
She showed no agitation, so much that I wondered if she was the one who hated me in the first place. Because of that, I just said what came to mind.
“Still, I’m not part of the family. Wasn’t I just a guest borrowing the Leon surname?”
Even though I was just saying what I normally thought, suddenly the Duchess stopped walking. As I glanced at her with a complicated expression, the Madam, who stared at me without saying a word for a moment, moved on again without saying a word.
At that, I also started walking with her without speaking. We could hear birds chirping in the distance, the bustling of the employees, and the footsteps of Amber and the Duchess’s handmaid, quietly following us.
After such a quiet walk, the two of us stood near the back gate for a moment and gazed at each other blankly.
I just stared at her when she looked at me. Despite that, she looked like she had a lot to say.
…Hmmm, should I recommend a cup of tea? But how much time has passed? Isn’t it almost time for Lucian to come?
As I stood stunned and thought, the Duchess suddenly opened her mouth.
“I don’t think of you as a guest. Of course, as you said, we’re not family, but we don’t think of you as a guest either.”
Seriously, these families come in all of a sudden.
Before I could say anything, the woman continued her words.
“If the Duke had heard, he must have been quite sad. I’m fine, but don’t say that in front of him.”
“…Umm, yes.”
The Duchess licked her lips as if she was going to say something more, and then she turned her back. At first, I thought she was leaving like this, though she turned to me again.
“Lucian seems to depend on you a lot. So, please take care of him.”
‘Ah, was this what she really wanted to say?’
I thought of that.
When she was about to turn her back again, I hurriedly spoke to her.
“Madam can do it.”
“…What?”
“How can you ask for a child so easily if you don’t consider me a family member, like you said?”
It was something I wanted to say before. Of course, even if she didn’t ask for it, I wasn’t the one to neglect taking care of him. However, there was affection and interest that I could give, and there was love and interest that only his parents could give.
Obviously, I don’t want to swear, but this isn’t it, is it?
No, it’s fine, even if I swear.
“Don’t hand over Madam’s duties to me. I like brother, but to me, brother is just Brother. However, he is Madam’s only son. It’s the result of the Duke you loved so much, why do you give up so easily and leave it to someone else?”
Surprised by my straightforward remark, the Duchess’s eyes widened.
She only licked her lips and didn’t say anything.
“To me, the Duke or the Duchess is my benefactor. Because you accepted and nurtured me so, if I were to repay the favor, I would like to repay it in any way. Still, brother Lucian is not in the same position as me.”
I straightened my back and looked straight into Madam’s eyes.
“Madam… Don’t give up because it’s not too late and show your love to brother before it’s too late. Then, obviously, something will change.”
Although I honestly wanted to say more, I only said so far.
Next would be the work of Madam and the Duke. Up to that point, I didn’t want to get involved. My bias was the only person I wanted to meddle and pay attention to.
“…Yes. You’re right.”
The Duchess had a face pale as if she had barely spoken her words out. It was as if her throat was choked up, and she couldn’t breathe.
“If I went off-topic…”
“No. Not at all.”
The Madam, who had been waving her hand in embarrassment, tucked her fine hair behind her ear.
“Yes, I see.”
She then looked at me again. The shaking blue eyes shone brightly. Lucian’s face could be seen in her still beautiful face.
“It’s nice to have you.”
“…Thank you.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I gave the usual answer. Nevertheless, the woman showed a gentle smile.
“Then, I’m going in.”
“Yes, Madam.”
I watched Madam go and called Amber by a hand gesture.
“Yes, Lady.”
“Bring me some cold tea. I’m going to wait for the kids to come here and see their faces.”
“Understood.”
At that, Amber hurried into the mansion, and I sat down on a nearby bench. I was choked up, but I didn’t know that my body would shake now.
Another migraine came.
My chronic migraine headaches had plagued me constantly. It was worse than Cassandra’s torments. I couldn’t remember when I started having migraines, but in this world, there was no separate medicine for headaches, so I had to put up with it.
“…Can I heal it with magic?”
As I covered my eyes with my palms and muttered, I could abruptly hear a sound right next to my ear.
“What kind of magic are you talking about, Master?”
“Ack…! Scared me!”
“Hehe, are you surprised?”
Oscar came silently, hanging from the back of the bench, looking at me. It seemed that he changed my name for nothing.
When I opened my triangle eyes to the still-weird behavior, Oscar, who was noticing it until then, smiled softly.
“I liked seeing the master after such a long time. So, don’t be angry. Huh?”
Guess who’s not a fox? How can you be so cheeky and cute…?
It was absurd really.
I laughed in vain. After all, I couldn’t really get angry.
Damian flew from behind him with a wild smile and landed in front of me while transforming into a human.
“Master.”
“Damian, long time no see.”
“Are you busy all this time?”
“Yes, like this and that? Though why did you two go to the mountain behind?”
“Oh, that’s right. I said we could train without the master. Aren’t you proud of me?”
Oscar, who was behind the bench, jumped up and sat next to me and started whispering.
“Even if the master is busy, we have to train. That way, we will be able to protect our master if we can. Isn’t it?”
“I’m at home, what’s the danger?”
At my words, Oscar only smiled thinly. Was it an illusion to think that there was more to say in the red eyes that are narrower than the crescent moon…?
“Hmm, well. We’ll just keep things like this and that, huh? Isn’t it, Damian?”
“That I agree with, Master.”
“What’s the matter? You two are in agreement. It’s strange.”
Being with these two at ease, the tension in my body from migraines seemed to loosen.
Leaning comfortably on the back of the bench, I found Amber walking fast as if running from the other side. I stared blankly at her, approaching quickly with empty hands wherever the cold tea I had ordered her went as she arrived.
“Lady.”
“Huh? What about the cold tea?”
“Not that. Suddenly, a visitor came and I had no choice but to come.”
“…Guest?”
The trash booger king came to mind when I heard the word ‘sudden guest.’ When I asked my question with a displeased expression, Amber answered immediately.
“Lord Castilian has come to visit, Lady.”
“Maybe, he came to visit Brother?”
“I thought so, too, so I asked twice, and he said that he was looking for the Lady.”
No, why did Brother Noah come to see me…?