Chapter 36

After a moment, Estelle reached out her free hand, and Reina headed off to see Damian off while holding both Bonita’s and Estelle’s hands tightly.

“You should ask His Grace to buy you a present.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Yes. My lady is the treasure of this estate. And you’re his only daughter, so he’ll be happy to do it.”

“I see…”

At Reina’s words, Estelle’s pale cheeks flushed, though she didn’t look all that happy.

“You know, my lady and I were waiting for Mom. We wanted to go see Your Grace together with Mom.”

“You were?”

“Yeah.”

Bonita nodded with a bright smile.

‘There was no need to wait.’

It seemed the children and Damian had grown quite close while Reina was attending lessons with Peter.

Before they knew it, the children were leading the way to the main gate.

Since Damian had told everyone there was no need to see him off, only the head butler and head maid were standing there.

“Dad!”

“Estelle.”

Damian, who had been arguing with Peter over whether he should ride a horse or not, turned his head and looked at Estelle.

He was usually expressionless, but when he looked at Estelle, his expression softened just a little.

“Dad, when are you coming back?”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t worry.”

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

After hesitating for a while, Estelle stepped closer and tightly grabbed the hem of Damian’s clothes.

“…I don’t need a present, so please come back without getting hurt.”

Reina had said he would buy anything Estelle wanted, but Estelle didn’t want to force it.

She just wanted Damian to return safely.

“There’s no one who can harm me, Estelle.”

“But still…”

“I’ll come back without a scratch, and I’ll bring your present too. I promise.”

Damian looked at Estelle fondly and gently patted her.

“It bothers me that Count Elbron arrived late, so I couldn’t introduce him to you myself.”

“It’s okay.”

“Estelle.”

Damian bent his knees to meet Estelle’s eye level and spoke.

“You’re the only young lady of the Winternight duchy. No one can hurt you.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t forget that. If Count Elbron or anyone else mistreats you while I’m gone, make sure you tell someone.”

“I know.”

Estelle smiled brightly and hugged Damian tightly around the neck.

“Please come back soon.”

“I will.”

Reluctantly, Damian pulled away from Estelle.

Before boarding the carriage at Peter’s urging, he spoke to Reina.

“Reina Botn, please take care of Estelle.”

“Of course.”

And then the carriage departed.

* * *

The three of them sat in a circle in the indoor garden, having tea until Count Elbron arrived.

Strictly speaking, it was a tea time for Estelle, but since she wanted it, Bonita and Reina were there as well.

‘Count Elbron…’

The unfamiliar name left Reina feeling uneasy.

If he was one of the duke’s retainers, his name might have come up once during her lessons with Peter, but she didn’t remember hearing it.

‘Who was he again?’

Nobles had never been part of Reina’s life.

‘Then is he from the original story?’

She couldn’t clearly recall the original plot, and when that happened, only this vague discomfort remained.

“This is good. It’s a tart with lots of honey.”

Estelle kept offering desserts to Bonita and Reina.

Then Bonita would insist she was fine and hand the dessert back to Estelle.

Normally, Reina would have mediated between the children, but her mind was elsewhere.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

Only when Bonita called her did Reina snap back to attention.

“Ah, nothing. I was just wondering what kind of person Count Elbron is.”

“Mm. Yeah, what kind of person could he be? He’s coming to teach my lady, right?”

Bonita answered like that, cookie crumbs stuck to her cheek.

Reina brushed the crumbs off Bonita’s cheek.

“It’s my first time learning properly, so I don’t know if I’ll do well…”

“It’ll be fine, my lady. The reason His Grace didn’t assign you a tutor until now was because he wanted you to adjust to this place first.”

That meant Estelle would adjust well.

She’d already opened her heart to everyone, even more so now.

“…Huh?”

At the moment Reina felt something was off, a steady tap tap sound echoed through the indoor garden.

From afar, an elderly man with a cane was approaching.

“Oh my. Sitting together with servants is behavior unbecoming of a noble.”

It was a voice she’d never heard before, but the instant she heard it, every hair on her body stood on end.

“W-Who…”

Estelle stared at the old man speaking to her with wide eyes.

“Greetings, my lady. My name is Ash Elbron.”

The elderly man who introduced himself as Ash Elbron greeted Estelle with a refined posture.

Despite his polite demeanor and gentle voice, Reina’s heart pounded with unease.

“Mom?”

“Boni, stand up and bow.”

Whispering so only Bonita could hear, Reina sprang to her feet and bowed deeply.

Her heart began to pound.

As it beat, fragments of the original story that hadn’t surfaced clearly before cut through her mind.

‘I know that man.’

Ash gray hair, dull sky blue eyes.

An elderly gentleman who looked neat and pleasant to anyone.

“I hear you spent a long time at an orphanage run by commoners. It seems there’s much to teach.”

He was known for teaching many students at the academy and for volunteering at various orphanages.

But in truth, he wasn’t kind at all.

Ash Elbron was a child hater.

“Today, I’ll briefly explain how the lessons will proceed. For now, let’s go to your room.”

After saying that to Estelle, Count Elbron cast a cold glance at Reina.

“Is that maid there meant to guide us?”

“…I’ll guide you.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

After whispering to Bonita to wait, Reina led Estelle and Count Elbron onward.

Reina knew what was supposed to happen next.

Count Elbron would try to indoctrinate Estelle and seize real power in the duchy.

At first, Estelle wavered.

But she already thought of this ducal residence as her home and its people as her own.

So while Damian was away, she would cleverly drive Count Elbron out.

‘In the end, she’s recognized by everyone here as the true future head of the duchy.’

It was an important event where Estelle firmly established her place.

But Reina felt uneasy.

She had a feeling that not everything would unfold the way she remembered.

Count Elbron spoke.

“And tell the head butler to gather all the servants shortly. I should introduce myself.”

“…Understood.”

Wasn’t Reina herself already proof of change?

The original story had already shifted because she was alive.

That was what made her anxious.

* * *

Reina was all but chased out of the room by Count Elbron.

His reason was that he couldn’t keep a maid whose background he didn’t know by his side.

Standing blankly outside the door, Reina eventually turned and headed back to the indoor garden where Bonita was.

‘In the original plot, I wasn’t supposed to be here at all.’

Reina could no longer interfere with Estelle’s story.

Her role was over now.

“Boni, should we go back to the room?”

Trying to calm her unsettled feelings, Reina gathered Bonita, who had been waiting quietly.

Bonita had been sitting alone at the table, fiddling with a cookie, then tugged on Reina’s clothes with her other hand.

“Hm? Do you want me to carry you?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

“That grandpa from before…”

“Do you mean Count Elbron?”

Bonita’s expression looked bad.

In the end, she nibbled on the cookie with her front teeth, nodded, and spoke.

“That grandpa is scary.”

“I-Is he?”

“Yeah. He made a really scary face earlier.”

Reina was startled.

Even Bonita had noticed.

Count Elbron was a man whose outside and inside were completely different.

‘That’s why he only showed that oppressive attitude in front of Estelle.’

Without realizing it, Reina turned her head toward Estelle’s room.

She felt a warm, small hand grip her finger.

“Is that grandpa my lady’s teacher?”

“…Yeah.”

Bonita still looked dissatisfied.

“I don’t like that grandpa.”

Bonita muttered with a rare look of discomfort.

In the original story, Estelle alone gathered evidence that Count Elbron was brainwashing her and exposed it.

Since Count Elbron was trusted within the estate, no one suspected his schemes.

When the truth came out later, everyone was shocked.

That made it even more surprising that Bonita had sensed something off about him.

Reina steadied her troubled thoughts and stepped forward again.

“Boni, should we go back to the room?”

“Yeah.”

“Once we’re back, let’s eat some chocolate you like and read the fairy tale you wanted to see.”

“Okay…”

Reina tried to cheer Bonita up by talking about this and that, but Bonita’s expression didn’t brighten.

“Smile.”

In the end, Reina lifted Bonita into her arms and met her eye level. Startled by the sudden change in height, Bonita looked at Reina with wide, rabbit like eyes.