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n

n“Uncle, I …”

n“Yes. Um, are you uncomfortable?”

n“It’s not like that. I just don’t know if I deserve to call …”

nHenry Lovick seemed both moved and, at the same time, puzzled. He also somehow felt sorry for her.

n‘I wonder if it’s because of my mother’s affairs?’

nRosenia didn’t know many details of what he and her mother were like as half-siblings. She also didn’t know why he would feel sorry for her.

nSo she decided to find it out step by step from then on. She wasn’t sure if he would answer her question honestly.

nShe suggested in a gentle tone:

n“If you don’t mind, why don’t you walk with me for a while?”

nHenry Lovick deliberated over it for a moment and then nodded his head in agreement.

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n

n“Sure, I’ll show you around the garden.”

nThough Rosenia had asked him to speak comfortably, he was still using honorifics with her.

nIf that was convenient for him, there was nothing she could do.

nShe grabbed his outstretched hand and started walking slowly. An invigorating scent of roses from the dewy grass was permeating the garden.

n“What was my mother like? My memories of my younger days are hazy at best.”

nIt was a lie. Rosenia could recall memories from her previous life when she was three years old. While that being the case, she was different from the children her age.

nBut Henry Lovick, who was unaware of this, would believe her lie.

nQuietly looking at his side, he gazed into space with dreamy eyes and talked a little sadly.

n“Ilunia… She was very talented. She was always bright and cheerful. I spent my childhood with her, though, that time was quite short…”

nRosenia quietly listened to the story he was telling her. Her mother in Henry’s story was different, yet similar to what she knew.

nShe agreed that her mother was generous, but she couldn’t nod her head at her being merciful. Her mother was a person who had a scary side to her.

nBut Rosenia nodded passionately as she certainly agreed with her being extremely playful. Henry burst into laughter when he looked at her doing that. With that laugh, he looked twice as young as his usual self.

n“Since Ilunia ran away from Margrave’s Castle and entered the mercenary at the age of twelve, we were in contact for a very short time. And then when I found out that she was engaged to Cloud Hill, I was quite taken aback…”

nThanks to Henry, Rosenia learned some new facts about her mother.

nFor example, her mother was an illegitimate child of the former Margrave Lovick and grew up secretly in a separate house. Only very few people knew about it.

nAnd she didn’t get kicked out of her family, rather she had run away from there on her own…

n‘Mother, you’ve lived a much more spectacular life than I thought …’

nRosenia was going crazy with curiosity. How on earth did her mother end up meeting her father and eventually get engaged to him?

n‘A romance between a mercenary knight who was born as an illegitimate child of a Margrave and the master of the Mage Tower. It’s completely like a novel.’

nTheir daughter then fell in love with the son of the enemy family and eloped with him…Was this what they call, ‘like mother, like daughter’? Rosenia laughed foolishly at the thought.

n“When I saw Rosenia at the Hill’s villa, I was surprised. You look like Ilunia, but your hair has a lighter tone than her’s.”

n“I hear that a lot.”

nRosenia answered with a smile.

nHer mother was a beautiful woman with vivid red hair and impressive eyes to match, while she, her daughter, had both deep pink hair and eyes. It was as if a pigment of white had been mixed in when she was born.

n“But uncle, you don’t look much like Mother either. If one did not know, they wouldn’t take you for two kins sharing the same blood.”

nHenry grinned at her words.

n“I resemble our father a lot, but Ilunia looks very much like her mother.”

n“The one who gave birth to my mother?”

n“Yes. Ilunia’s mother died when she was six. I don’t know the details, but I heard she was a fortune-teller before she met our father.”

nIf she was her mother’s mother, then that meant she (Ilunia’s mother) was her maternal grandmother. Excited to learn another new fact, Rosenia asked in an excited voice.

n“Do you happen to know what my grandmother’s name is?”

n“Oh, as far as I know …”

nIt was just when Henry was about to answer.

nRuff! Ruff! Ruff!

nRosenia heard the sound of a dog barking from somewhere and felt it running across the grass.

nShe looked up in amazement, and at that moment, something huge jumped over at Henry. It just happened in a flash.

n“Hah …”

nRosenia gasped as she watched the unexpected situation. A dog that was much bigger than a wolf lay on top of Henry while wagging its tail wildly and licking his face.

n“This little guy, Carrota …! What is this all of a sudden! Stop …!”

nHenry was struggling desperately, trying to push the dog down somehow.

nRosenia heard the murmuring of the maids who were following them, they seemed to be very embarrassed.

nIt seemed difficult for Henry to get away from that dog. She thought about it for a while and then decided to help him a little in a way that didn’t hurt the dog.

n‘Gravity-distorting magic is my specialty after all.’

nAs she focused her mind and quietly cast the magic spell, the body of the big dog floated in the air like a bubble.

nThe dog opened its eyes wide in surprise and stiffened. She adjusted the gravity and slowly lowered the dog to the grass.

nWhen the spell was lifted, the dog quickly hid behind Henry’s back and looked at her tremblingly with its tail down.

nSeeing him like this, onlookers might misconstrue the scene and think of her as some kind of bully. She laughed absurdly. Henry quickly got up from his seat and sighed as he took care of the aftermath of her spell.

n“Carrota, you naughty little thing … Don’t run around like that …”

nWhile shaking off the grass from his clothes, Henry’s gaze turned to Rosenia as he muttered.

nHe smiled awkwardly, apparently embarrassed by the situation, and patted Carrota’s head.

n“I’m sorry, he’s so mischievous …”

nRosenia shook her head with a smile.

n“No, you don’t have to be sorry, it was you, uncle, who suffered.”

nAs they exchanged words, Carrota trembled and glanced at her. His giant but timid appearance was distracting.

nRosenia asked, pointing at Carrota with her eyes.

n“Is this guy’s name Carrota?”

n“Haha, yes … it’s not a name that suits him very well.”

nCarrota was an old name for ‘carrot’. To name a dog that was bigger than a wolf ‘carrot’… she wondered who might’ve named it …

n“That’s the name I gave him.”

n“… Aah, I see.”

nShe replied, stuttering a little. Henry, fortunately, didn’t notice it and continued to pat Carrota’s head with a cordial expression.

n‘Hmm …’

nRosenia also wanted to pat him.

nCarrota had a lustrous golden fur, but it turned out to be slightly red, on a closer look. Like the color of a carrot. That should’ve been the reason as to why he was named Carrota.

n‘When I first saw it, I was surprised because it was too big, but as I keep looking at it, it seems cute …’

nRosenia asked Henry as she sneaked up to Carrota’s side.

n“Can I touch it?”

nHenry replied happily:

n“Of course. He’s a very gentle guy, so feel free to touch him as much as you like.”

n‘All right, then.’

nRosenia approached Carrota a bit more and reached her hand out. She waited for a moment without moving, letting Carrota sniff her hand.

nShe was worried whether he would run away, but Carrota lowered his head slightly as if allowing her to touch him.

nAt that moment, Rosenia placed her hand on Carrota’s head, feeling very moved. When she started stroking him, Carrota looked at her with only his eyes raised. No matter how hard she looked at it, it seemed like he was being wary of her.

n“Don’t worry, I’ll just pat you.”

n“Woof …”

nCarrota barked a low bark as if to answer her words. It sounded like a timid whisper. Rosenia laughed, finding it funny.

n‘Cute.’

nAll animals were cute; big or small. She was stroking Carrotta in a warm mood, and suddenly there was a commotion among the maids.

nWhen she turned her head to see what was going on, she saw a man approaching her slowly from afar.

nA man who looked tall and handsome from afar. There was only one such handsome man in this world who seemed to shine under the sun. As far as she knew, that is.

nThe moment Llewellyn Rasiane met her eyes, he smiled broadly and began to walk faster.

n“Rosenia.”

nFinally reaching her, Llewellyn smiled brightly and held her in his arms.

nA cool and pleasant smell emanated from his arms.

n“Duke … What about your work?”

nAs he was hugging her tightly, her question came off a bit strained.

nLlewellyn buried his face on her shoulder, took a deep breath as if inhaling her scent, and replied in a happy voice.

n“I skipped it.”

n“What?”

nRosenia was at a loss as she didn’t know what to point out first. His choice of words, that didn’t suit a Duke of Rasiane? Or him sneaking out while working?

nShe was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t say anything and just smiled. Llewellyn nestled further into her arms and muttered.

n“I missed Rosenia so much that I couldn’t help it.”

n“I could have sat in the office.”

n“It’s difficult as it is. If I see you sitting on the couch or on the chair in the office, I will keep thinking about this and that…”

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n

n“This and that…think about what?”

n“Well…”

nLlewellyn raised his head and came close to her as if he was about to kiss her. He looked into her eyes and then whispered in a very small voice.

n“First, I’ll have to get all my men out of the office…”

n“…”

n“And on the couch, on the chair by the window, on the table—”

nRosenia quickly raised her hand and covered his mouth.

n“O-okay. I understand what you’re talking about, so stop talking!”

nHer face was burning up and she felt like she was going crazy. She wondered if anyone had overheard his words.

nAs she looked around anxiously, Llewellyn’s emerald eyes curled like crescent moons. It was then that she felt a wetness in the palm of her hand that was covering his mouth.

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