Side Story 5

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Quiet, warm, and peaceful. Lilanibel wasn’t just a great place to live, it was perfect as a retreat.

Because of that, people around us often came to visit.

Isabella and Davi, the Rumgart royal family, members of the Hatter family…

With one exception.

The former king.

It was ironic. He was the one who granted me Lilanibel, yet he couldn’t visit it himself.

When he gave this place to me, he probably never imagined things would turn out like this. No, he likely planned to settle down here himself.

But wasn’t spending a third of the year in Blueyen already for the former king’s sake?

If he were free to come and go from Lilanibel, he would definitely stay a full four months. That would mean I’d be stuck with him for nearly eight months a year.

It wasn’t that I disliked the former king.

But no matter how close family is, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Especially when it’s family you have to constantly mind.

On top of that, he interfered with our newlywed life.

‘If he just came and stayed quietly, it’d be fine. But he always picks fights with Ruediger over every little thing. It’s not like he’s forcing him into in law servitude or anything.’

Compared to him, Luca’s pranks were downright cute.

Anyway, preventing the former king from coming to Lilanibel was a critical mission.

Of course, I couldn’t outright ban him.

It had to come from his own mouth. He needed to declare himself that he wouldn’t come.

So what could I do? I wracked my brain.

In the end, I compromised with him by agreeing to stay at the royal palace instead of the Winterwald townhouse whenever we were in Blueyen.

After calculating for a long time, the former king finally nodded heavily in agreement.

Still, he didn’t give up completely. He kept looking for chances to overturn that promise.

And it seemed this summer party was his opening.

I shuddered at his persistence as I reread the letter Josephine had sent a few days ago.

“Have you been well, Judith?

I was really looking forward to spending our summer vacation in Lilanibel, but I don’t think we can make it this time.

If we visit Lilanibel now, His Majesty seems likely to use that as an excuse to drop by as well.

When you conquer territory, you start by stepping foot in it, don’t you? You squeeze your way in, make a foothold, and then settle down.

I’m sure he plans to start with a short visit and slowly extend his stay.

Honestly, it’s already been three years since you got married. Is he still that uneasy and dissatisfied?

I think it’s better for us to skip this year. It’s a shame, but let’s plan for later.

P.S. It looks like His Majesty is running low on the wine he drinks. He might try to visit using that as an excuse, so please send some in advance.”

I let out a sigh. Stubborn, persistent, and incapable of giving up. Those traits felt awfully familiar.

“If the princesses can’t come… then Charlotte won’t be able to either. Chloe will be really disappointed.”

As Lilanibel gradually turned into everyone’s vacation home, unexpected friendships formed.

Chloe and Charlotte had grown close.

Both were smart and very aware of adults’ moods. Maybe because they had so much in common, they started chatting quietly together and suddenly became inseparable.

They both lived in the capital, but one was a princess and the other a commoner, so it wasn’t easy for them to meet. Charlotte couldn’t freely visit commoner streets, and Chloe couldn’t just walk into the palace either.

And both were too introverted to beg the adults around them to arrange meetings.

That’s why they must’ve been counting the days until this summer.

I could vividly imagine the disappointed looks on their faces.

‘Next time we go to Blueyen, I should take Chloe to the palace. Or maybe take Charlotte out somewhere.’

Of course, I was disappointed about the princesses not coming too.

Especially since Josephine and I had grown close, almost unbelievably so.

‘Well, we did spend four months in Blueyen right before coming here and saw each other all the time… but it still feels different meeting here compared to the palace.’

At the palace, I was a guest, and there were far too many eyes watching. That alone made things uncomfortable.

It was hard to act freely there. Even conversations felt constrained.

‘Still, Isabella and Davi are coming this summer… Come to think of it, this’ll be Isabella’s first time visiting Lilanibel.’

Just like I’d been busy after getting married, Isabella had been swamped preparing to inherit Burkenlais.

We’d run into each other during Winterwald collateral family gatherings, but this was the first time we’d meet outside of that.

I maintained a good relationship with Isabella, now the Lady of Burkenlais. Since I was the one who helped elevate her status, there was no reason not to.

More than that, we were fairly close.

We shared a sense of camaraderie from having defeated a common enemy, and both of us were still relatively new to noble society with mountains of things to learn. A sense of solidarity was bound to form.

And raising children of similar age played a part too.

‘Well, saying Luca and Davi are the same age is a bit misleading…’

Physically, they were the same age. But unlike Luca, who had dozens of sly tricks up his sleeve, Davi was innocent in a way that suited his age.

In this life, the first time they met was at the first Winterwald collateral family gathering after Isabella joined Burkenlais.

Technically, Luca had no reason to attend those gatherings anymore since his surname had fully changed to Maibaum. Luca himself didn’t really want to go either.

But Winterwald still treated Luca as a Winterwald. Aside from the name, nothing had really changed.

When the duke shamelessly told Luca to attend anyway, both Luca and I were dumbfounded.

Then why was it supposedly impossible to reverse the adoption back then?

‘Now that I think about it, Sophia agreeing so easily felt strange… Turns out it didn’t matter to her whether Luca was a Winterwald or not.’

Luca, fed up with being dragged into Winterwald affairs, was about to confront the duke.

But when he saw how happy Sophia looked, he couldn’t bring himself to speak. His prickly resistance melted like cotton candy soaked in water.

Maybe because Sophia had doted on him so much in the first life, Luca had a strange weakness toward her.

Anyway, in the first life, Luca and Davi didn’t have a good relationship. So at first, I worried how Luca would treat Davi.

I didn’t think Luca would hate or resent him, especially since he’d shown no strong reaction toward Isabella.

But getting along was a different matter.

Forcing them to be close when Luca didn’t want to would’ve been overstepping. So I watched their relationship anxiously.

‘Just don’t bully him. Please don’t bully him…’

Knowing how relentless and sharp Luca could be when he set his mind to something, it was impossible not to worry.

Thankfully, my fears were unfounded.

To Luca, Davi must’ve looked like nothing more than a child.

Luca dragged him around like a doting uncle, and Davi, in turn, followed Luca like one, admiring his knowledge and strong opinions.

‘They look the same age, but they act like uncle and nephew instead of peers. Isn’t that a bit odd?’

Still, seeing them get along was a huge relief.

I tried not to show it, but Isabella clearly looked relieved too.

Among the Winterwald relatives, Luca and Davi were the only children their age, and Davi was a bit shy around other noble kids, so she must’ve been worried.

‘I hope being around Luca helps him come out of his shell… Though it’d be bad if he picked up Luca’s stubbornness and shamelessness.’

Luca was mature and reliable, but he wasn’t exactly a good role model. Swearing, gambling, slacking off…

‘Wait. Thinking about it again, maybe getting close isn’t such a good thing…’

The bad influence was enormous. What if Davi turned into a second Luca? That thought made unease rise without me realizing it.

But even setting Luca aside, looking at the adult men around Davi, there wasn’t a single one who could be called a positive influence.

Not one.

Even ignoring his deceased biological father Franz, his grandfather Count Burkenlais was indecisive and unreadable.

Ruediger and the Duke of Winterwald didn’t even need mentioning.

Right. Even if Luca was a problematic kid far from exemplary, he was still a hundred times better than the rest. Absolutely.

I nodded to myself.

“…A-Aunt.”

“Huh? O oh.”

Startled by the sudden voice behind me, I turned around quickly. Luca stood there with one eyebrow raised in displeasure, hands on his hips, staring straight at me.

His glossy blond hair sparkled whenever it caught the light, and his clear blue eyes, fixed sharply on me, looked like gemstones pulled from the sea.

His long limbs were smooth like a white deer’s.

Maybe thanks to finally getting enough proper nutrition, Luca had grown a lot over the past three years. He used to barely reach my chest, but now the top of his head rose past the tip of my nose.

Luca pouted and complained.

“What were you doing? I kept calling you and you didn’t answer.”