Chapter 5

“Since you’re going to meet the young lady for the first time, should you wear your prettiest dress?”

“I want that one. The light green dress.”

“That one might be a little small. You’ve been eating really well lately, so you’ve grown taller.”

“But I still like that one.”

“But…”

“It’s the prettiest.”

That light green dress was the one Reina had bought with her very first paycheck after coming to work at the ducal estate.

The money paid by the ducal house was such a huge amount compared to everything she’d earned before that it was almost embarrassing to compare. If she worked hard for a few years, she felt like she could even find a decent house.

They said peace of mind came from money. On her first vacation after getting paid, Reina took Bonita out to the market.

She wanted to buy her pretty clothes and let her eat something delicious.

She bought two sweet honey buns she’d only ever seen before, and a sandwich stuffed generously with chicken that didn’t smell gamey.

She also bought a glass jar filled with colorful candies and hugged it to Bonita’s side. The child looked more flustered than happy.

Reina wondered if maybe these weren’t the things Bonita had wanted after all and looked at her with concern.

After wandering around for a long while, they stopped by a clothing shop last. Reina picked out three sets of everyday clothes Bonita could wear, then said she wanted to give her a lasting memory and told her to choose the prettiest dress she liked.

The child looked at many outfits for a long time before finally picking one.

The light green dress she chose that day was completely unexpected.

Bonita spent a long time looking at dresses with big ribbons, sparkling imitation jewels, colorful layered fabrics, and frills everywhere, the kind children usually loved. In the end, she brought over a relatively simple light green dress and said she liked that one.

The only notable details were the single layer of lace at the hem and the yellow ribbon decoration. Reina asked carefully if she really liked it, but Bonita insisted this dress was the best and said she didn’t want anything else.

In the end, unable to win against her stubbornness, Reina bought the light green dress in a slightly loose size, thinking ahead to how quickly the child would grow.

“…Hmm.”

After thinking for a while, Reina asked.

“Then do you want to try it on now?”

“Yeah!”

Bonita took the light green dress out of the wardrobe, the one she only wore on special days. Because it had been carefully stored, it wasn’t wrinkled at all.

Reina helped her out of her pajamas and put the dress on her.

“It’s a little small…”

She really had grown a lot over the past year.

“Hmm…”

Reina lightly held Bonita’s hand and moved her arm. The sleeves had definitely gotten a bit short.

“Should we buy you a new dress this time?”

“N-No, it’s okay.”

“But Boni, we need to buy clothes anyway. Winter’s coming again.”

“That’s why it’s okay not to buy one now!”

Bonita shook her head hard.

“Th-This is a dress for a girl, so… I won’t be wearing it in winter anyway.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Right? What if I grow big like a bear in winter? Then even if we buy one now, I won’t wear it much. I want to wear this one.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah!”

When Reina asked again with a doubtful look, the child visibly relaxed and nodded.

“Alright. You’re smarter than Mom, so you’re probably right.”

“Hehe.”

Only then did Bonita take the dress off, fold it neatly, and change back into her pajamas. She finally ate the cookies she’d left on the wooden desk in one go, hugged Reina, and flopped down onto the bed.

“Boni, you ate cookies, so you need to brush your teeth again before sleeping.”

“Yeah, I’m just being lazy for a bit.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Being lazy once in a while makes life richer. Like oil.”

“Where did you learn words like that?”

“Hehe.”

Reina thought Bonita was just talking happily, but she still felt the child was very clever.

In the end, Bonita fell asleep just like that, breathing softly, and Reina decided she’d scold her properly for skipping brushing her teeth tonight.

That night wasn’t very cold.

* * *

The very next day after Estelle said she wanted to meet Bonita, a meeting between the two was arranged.

Reina thought the ducal house really was efficient. Then again, since it was the only young lady of the House of Winternight making the request, there was no way they wouldn’t prepare quickly.

‘After all, I’m just a maid of the House of Winternight.’

Unless she were some great imperial or royal figure, or a mage who’d gone far away, Reina was nothing more than an ordinary maid.

If she had anything special at all, it was maybe that she was someone who’d inherited Reina’s memories, and that a bit of luck had landed her a job here without any connections.

“H-Hello!”

Estelle was waiting nervously with Reina and Bonita in an overly lavish room that felt forced on her.

As soon as the two entered, she jumped up from the sofa and hurried over to greet them.

“My name’s Estelle. Estelle Winternight.”

“…Ah.”

Bonita hadn’t expected Estelle to approach her so openly. She fumbled in surprise, then lifted her skirt slightly and bowed.

“My name is Bonita. It’s nice to meet you.”

Estelle looked flustered at how polite Bonita was.

“Ah, um… y-you don’t have to be that formal.”

It seemed Estelle just wanted to meet someone her age. Everyone in this estate was an adult, and most of them treated her stiffly.

Everyone needed time to process emotions, and kindness was an emotion too. Reina alone noticed that Estelle was afraid of the unexplained kindness of adults.

No one working in this estate knew the fear of a princess who had to check every night in midwinter if the door would break, or the desperation of gathering firewood just to boil water because clean water wasn’t available.

When Reina gently patted Bonita’s shoulder, Bonita understood her intent.

Bonita relaxed her posture, dropped the noble etiquette she’d been following, and approached Estelle with a bright smile.

“Even so, I hope you’ll forgive me for being careful. You’re someone precious in this estate.”

“…Yeah. Th-That much is okay…”

Seeing Bonita smile more like a child now, Estelle beamed. She took Bonita’s hand first and led her back to where she’d been sitting.

“Do you like this?”

“Wow…”

On the table were colorful macarons, sugar glazed cherries with fresh cream, bite sized pancakes topped with cheese powder and maple syrup, tarts piled high with fruit, cookies in various shapes, pudding, and drinks.

The people who prepared this had clearly put their hearts into it, knowing Estelle would be meeting a child her age.

Now that their life had improved, Reina did buy Bonita various snacks, but Bonita didn’t eat many sweets.

She didn’t particularly seek them out and preferred proper meals instead.

Believing that, Reina’s heart clenched when she saw Bonita’s eyes sparkle at the sight of the colorful desserts.

“This is my favorite.”

Wanting to get closer to Bonita, Estelle handed her the beautifully made pudding.

The smooth pudding gleamed under the light, and even before tasting it, you could tell how soft it was just by looking at it.

Bonita took a spoonful.

It was as smooth as silk, a gentle vanilla flavor filling her mouth.

She must’ve liked it. Bonita blushed and looked back and forth between the pudding and Estelle.

“There’s more, so let’s eat together.”

“Th…”

Bonita hesitated, then glanced toward Reina.

“Th…”

“Hm?”

“I can’t eat a lot of sweet things. Please eat more for me, my lady.”

“…Really?”

Estelle looked a little disappointed.

“Then what about cookies? These aren’t very sweet. The chef said so.”

“Those… I like!”

Bonita picked up a plain round cookie and smiled, looking relieved.

“…”

Reina didn’t know why that sight hurt her so much.

The chef must’ve prepared too much, because no matter how much they ate, the desserts didn’t seem to decrease. Estelle asked Reina to sit too, so she took a seat and watched the two of them.

Estelle’s eyes sparkled as she looked back and forth between Reina and Bonita.

The two really did look alike. Their slightly tired eyes, their delicate features. Estelle, who seemed to be studying them, spoke.

“Is Bonita’s eye color from her dad?”

“Excuse me?”

It was just a question asked out of curiosity, but confusion flickered across Reina’s face.

“I look like my mom. My hair color and eye color, even my face. If there was even one part of me that looked like the duke, I might look a little more like family…”

“…”

As she said that, Estelle fiddled with her white hair. Bonita looked at her and answered in a hesitant voice.

“Y-Yes…”

Dragging out words like that wasn’t polite, but Reina didn’t show any sign of scolding her. She only focused on steadying her expression behind Estelle.

“Then it’d be easy to tell who your mom and dad are…”

Estelle, unaware of their circumstances, sounded simply envious. It seemed that because she didn’t resemble the duke at all, some retainers doubted whether she was really his daughter.

Bonita fidgeted, then continued.

“Th… my dad… Father passed away in an accident around the time I was born, that’s what M-Mother told me.”

“…!”

Only then did Estelle gasp and cover her mouth with both hands. She turned and glanced at Reina anxiously.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t… know…”

“No, my lady. There’s nothing for you to apologize for. And it happened a very long time ago.”

Once, Bonita had asked Reina about her biological father.

At the time, Reina had been afraid that telling the truth would hurt such a young child.

So she lied, saying that her father had been waiting eagerly for her birth, but passed away before Bonita was born.