Chapter 17

Whatever had happened during the night, the child was still sniffling as she came out into the hallway, hugging her pillow.

As the duke was about to step forward, Estelle walked past without noticing her father and headed toward another room.

“…”

He wanted to pick her up right then and there, but the duke couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Unless Estelle came looking for him herself, meeting her at dawn like this might only scare her if she saw his face.

Worried that she might trip or get lost, he followed her silently from a short distance away.

Estelle stopped in front of the room where Reina and Bonita were staying. Because the duke had arranged Reina’s room close to Estelle’s, the child didn’t have far to walk.

“Reina…”

Estelle called out to Reina in a voice thick with tears.

“My lady?”

Reina, who must have just woken up, answered in a hoarse voice. Once she knew Reina was awake, Estelle sniffled and toddled toward the bed where Reina was.

“My lady, what’s wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Mm…”

“Did you have a scary dream?”

Through the narrow gap in the door, the duke watched their exchange. He knew listening in like this was improper, but his feet wouldn’t move.

“So then, there were… teachers… and kids…”

“I see. So you got scared and woke up?”

“…Yeah.”

Reina didn’t ask for details about the dream. Instead, she patted the empty space on the wide bed.

“Do you want to sleep together?”

“…Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

When Reina nodded with a gentle smile, Estelle crawled onto the bed, still clutching her pillow.

“I’ll chase all the scary dreams away.”

“You can do that?”

“Sure. It’s a secret, but I’m actually a magician.”

“!”

Of course, Reina couldn’t use magic at all. It was just something she said to comfort a child after a nightmare.

Estelle believed Reina’s kind lie and replied that it was amazing.

Careful not to wake Bonita, Reina softly soothed Estelle and lulled her back to sleep.

After a long while, when the child’s breathing evened out, the duke was about to step away.

“…My lord?”

“…”

Just then, Reina came out of the room and called to him. He flinched, surprised that she had noticed his presence despite how quietly he had stood there.

“…How did you know?”

“…I just felt like you were there.”

Reina laughed awkwardly, admitting that she hadn’t actually been sure. She pointed back into the room and asked him,

“Would you like to see her sleeping before you go?”

“…”

“She’s incredibly adorable.”

“…I’ll take a look.”

Just as Reina said, Estelle looked like an angel descended from the heavens. Even her white hair, which some found eerie, looked like carefully spun threads made from pure white clouds.

“…It looks like she isn’t having bad dreams now.”

The child who had been crying earlier was now sleeping so deeply she wouldn’t notice if someone carried her away. As Reina looked at the sleeping child, she whispered to the duke,

“She might still be anxious, so she probably has nightmares from time to time.”

“…Is it because there’s a magician here who chases nightmares away?”

“…”

Reina realized that the Duke Winternight had heard that part too, and her face grew hot. She was relieved the room was dark enough to hide her expression.

The soft smile that briefly crossed the duke’s face was also swallowed by the darkness.

* * *

Lately, there was one woman who had drawn the curiosity of not only countless nobles but even the imperial family.

Reina Botn.

She had been publicly declared the benefactor of Estelle Winternight, the only daughter and heir of the Duke of Winternight. The duke announced that he would support and protect Reina Botn going forward. Many wondered whether it was true and tried to learn more about her, but information was remarkably hard to come by.

As a result, all kinds of wild rumors began to spread. Some said she was a princess who had fled from a foreign land. Others claimed she was actually from an assassin unit.

Some even said she was a soldier or knight who had survived a war she should have died in.

Meanwhile, Reina herself, at the center of all those absurd rumors, was peacefully hanging laundry for a fellow maid who had caught a cold.

Sofia, who was working alongside her, spoke up.

“Reina, you don’t really need to do this kind of work anymore.”

“No, it’s okay. I have some time right now.”

The air had turned chilly, and white breath puffed from their mouths as they talked. As the cold set in, Reina was reminded of that day.

“Is my lady taking a nap right now?”

“Yes. She seems to be having trouble sleeping lately.”

“Sigh… our poor young lady. She must’ve gone through so many terrible things.”

“…”

“You two. Stop chatting and get back to work!”

A sharp voice cut through their quiet conversation. It belonged to Annemarie, a maid who had worked in the mansion for at least eight years.

“…Ah, we’re sorry.”

Annemarie was said to have been born into service at a count’s household and raised from birth to serve nobles. After years of effort, she had earned her current position. Meanwhile, Reina had been hired as a maid simply because she caught the duke’s eye, and now held the honored role of caring for Estelle because Estelle liked her. It was easy to understand why Annemarie treated her coldly.

“Annemarie really has a nasty personality…”

“Haha, I guess I’m still inexperienced.”

When Reina just laughed it off, Sofia scolded her for being too soft. It didn’t sound entirely unpleasant though, so Reina smiled again.

“More importantly, Star’s Birthday is coming up soon. What are you going to do?”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that a lot.”

Reina had never really celebrated Star’s Birthday properly before. At most, she’d bought some cheap snacks or rice cakes and shared them with Bonita.

“Would it be boring if I made pancakes again this year?”

“You’ve made pancakes every Star’s Birthday until now?”

“Well… about twice.”

Once when Bonita was six, and again when she was seven. Bonita had loved pancakes so much at six that Reina made them again the next year.

“I think they were the tastiest thing she’d eaten back then…”

Even those pancakes weren’t the kind people usually imagined.

Syrup was too expensive, so she scraped together what little jam she had saved and ate them with cheap butter.

Reina hadn’t meant much by it, but Sofia was already looking at her with pity.

“I knew you had a hard life, but… I didn’t think it was that miserable…”

“What? I don’t think it was that miserable.”

“No, it’s okay, Reina. You don’t have to hide it… I’m fine, I’ll do better from now on…”

“No… I really don’t think it was that miserable…”

Sometimes she’d thought she wasn’t happy, but never enough to cry over it. She had Bonita, and occasionally there was good food on the table.

Life was hard, but not so unhappy that others should pity her. Being pitied by Sofia made Reina feel like she’d suddenly become an unhappy person.

“Reina.”

At that moment, a gentle looking man appeared, pushing aside the fluttering laundry.

“Sir Dean?”

“Oh my, Sir Dean Peronte. What brings you all the way here?”

With brown hair like a ripe wheat field and lavender eyes, Dean was a man who looked friendly to anyone at a glance.

The most handsome man in the mansion was undeniably the Duke of Winternight, but the one who stole many hearts was Dean Peronte, kind to everyone.

Only one maid called him by name, Reina Botn, and he was also the only man who called her Reina instead of Botn.

Because of that, many people speculated about their relationship, but those suspicions vanished quickly given Reina’s position as an unmarried mother with a child.

Sofia flushed as she looked at Dean’s sunny smile. Perhaps Reina Botn was the only woman who didn’t blush at the sight of him.

“I wanted to ask what you’re planning to do for Star’s Birthday this time.”

“…Pardon?”

Reina looked at Dean with an empty laundry basket in her hands, wondering why he was asking that. Only after smiling for a while did Dean realize his question could be misunderstood.

“Ah, no. It’s not a date invitation!”

“Oh… okay…”

“Well… that day we went out together, you said you’d watch a play with Boni…”

“!”

“You seemed busy lately, so I wondered if you might’ve forgotten…”

Reina remembered how Bonita had been interested in the traveling troupe. Realizing she’d almost forgotten the promise, she broke into a bright smile.

“Thank you. I was worried that I shouldn’t end Star’s Birthday with just pancakes again. I almost forgot a promise I made to my child.”

“No, I just…”

“Then I should go ask Bonita right now. We’re done hanging the laundry anyway. Sofia, you can put the basket away yourself, right?”

“Of course. It was supposed to be Becky and me doing it anyway.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay until the end.”

Handing the empty basket to Sofia, Reina hurried off toward the room where Bonita was waiting. Dean watched her disappear into the distance with lingering eyes.