n

n

n

nAstelle brushed aside the ominous imagination and exhorted herself.

n‘I will never take him to the capital.’

nShe would never do it herself.

n“Do not worry, Grandpa.”

nAstelle said in a confident tone.

n“I will never take Theor to the capital.”

nOn the day of the ball, she must get permission to send Theor and her grandfather back.

n-Knock knock

nThen she heard a short knock, and the servant opened the door and came in.

n“La-Lady Astelle.”

n“What’s going on?”

n“His Majesty has sent you a gift.”

nAt that moment, the room became as quiet as cold water was poured on it.

n* * *

nAstelle hurriedly headed to the drawing-room of the annex.

n“Be careful!”

nA loud noise was heard from the front of the door.

nThe scenery that followed was the same as before.

nThe servants and attendants sent by the emperor brought large boxes into the villa.

nCountless boxes were moved inside.

nThe procession of dazzlingly beautiful dresses continued endlessly.

nThere were also countless jewels and ornaments.

nThey looked more luxurious than the ones they had been sent to wear to a dinner party back then.

nAstelle grabbed one of the servants and asked.

n“What is all this?”

nThe servant politely bowed to Astelle.

n“This is a gift from His Majesty to Lady Astelle.”

n‘I heard that before.’

nWhy the hell did you send me so much again?

nShe was just about to ask the servant.

nBefore Astelle asked, the servant gave an answer first.

n“When Lady Astelle is attending the ball, you will need dress and accessories. So His Majesty sent you this gift.”

n“……”

nIt had not been a day since she said she was going to the ball.

nIt’s been a really fast process.

n‘Well, I need a dress that I could wear to go to the ball.’

nIt wasn’t a good thing to make Kaizen feel bad now.

nUntil the day of the ball, I had to adjust Kaizen’s mood. Astelle thought.

nOnly then she will be able to get permission for sending Theor and her grandfather.

nAstelle calmly bowed her head.

n“Let me say thank you to His Majesty.”

nIt wasn’t just the stuff that Kaizen sent.

nThere were also four maids.

nThe four maids bowed their heads politely to Astelle.

n“Lady, I have been ordered to serve you.”

n“Yes. Please take care of me.”

n‘I need some maids though.’

nIt’s terrifying to think about putting all this away by yourself.

n“First of all, put these things in order.”

nAstelle pointed to the boxes in a row.

nOn the other side, Theor ran to the place where Astelle was.

n“Aunt Astelle!”

nTheor asked Astelle as he wandered among the boxes.

n“Aunt Astelle, what is this?”

n“It is a gift from His Majesty.”

nAstelle answered in a dry voice.

nAnd she asked Hannah, who followed her.

n“Hannah, choose a dress for the ball and prepare it for me.”

n“Yes, Lady Astelle.”

nAll the dresses received as gifts were common-sized dresses.

nIt didn’t fit Astelle’s body, so if she wanted to wear it to the ball, she had to try it on, measure it, and then mend it again.

nTheor ran through the boxes, looking around, and ran to Astelle.

n“Does His Majesty likes you, Aunt?”

n“What?”

nAstelle was surprised as she watched the maids arrange the gift boxes.

n“Theor, what do you mean?”

n“Aren’t you sending a present to the lady you like?”

nWhere else did you hear this?

n‘I don’t think it’s from a children’s book. Is it from my grandfather’s etiquette training?’

nAstelle laughed bitterly at Theory’s naive question.

n“It’s not like that. I have to attend the ball, but I don’t have a dress, so His Majesty sent it to me.”

n“Is that so?”

n“Yes. And you shouldn’t say things like who likes whom. That makes other people in trouble, do you understand?”

n“Yes!”

nAstelle said stroking Theor’s soft cheek.

n“Now, if you are bored, you can go out and play in the front yard here.”

nTheor went out to the garden attached to the annex.

nHis eyes met Hannah’s as she took the dress from the box.

nUnlike Theor, Hannah’s eyes were a little complicated.

nIt was the same for Astelle.

nBoth of them were unfamiliar with the emperor’s favor.

nKaizen, why does he keep doing this?

nHis favor for Astelle may be due to his feelings of guilt over the past few years.

nEven Astelle understood that much.

nWhat was incomprehensible was that Kaizen was putting Astelle in trouble to relieve his guilt.

n‘Last time I had a bit of a fight because of something like this.’

nEven then, Kaizen sent a gift and forcibly invited her to the dinner, so she had to face Marianne who seemed to have a grudge against her.

nNow, Marianne’s mother is here.

nAnd Astelle received Kaizen’s gift.

nSooner or later, the Marchioness will find out.

n‘I can’t just send it all back…’

nIf she sends the gift back to avoid trouble, Kaizen will get angry on the other hand.

nKaizen may force her to accept his offer rather than just getting angry.

nJust like he had sent Lyndon to force her to come to the dinner.

nIt was only important for him to get rid of his guilt.

nHe does not care about the damage the other person inflicts because of his own actions.

nAstelle sighed silently, pulled out the dress from the box, and organized it.

nThe garnets embedded in the dress shone dazzlingly enough to catch the sunlight.

n‘I can’t help it.’

nShe can only hope that the work here will be completed as soon as possible.

n* * *

nFor the next few days, Astelle continued to be busy.

nShe managed the annex, looked after the Marquis and Theor, and prepared for the ball in her spare time.

nHannah was also busy choosing a dress for the ball and fixing it to fit Astelle’s body.

nToday, Theor clings to Astelle and asks.

n“Aunt Astelle, can I go out and play with Blin in the garden?”

n“Okay.”

nAstelle ordered the maid to take care of Theor.

n“Take care of Theor. Let him play around here.”

n“Yes, Lady.”

nTheor took the maid’s hand and went outside.

nHannah, who was putting clothespins on the dress, looked back at Theor and smiled.

n“Young Master Theor is very active, in contrast to Master Sigmund who was really calm.”

nAstelle who was lifting the skirt hem paused for a moment.

nIt was as Hannah had said.

nHannah, who misunderstood the reaction, apologized promptly.

n“I’m sorry, Lady Astelle… I said something—”

n“No, it’s fine.”

nHannah firmly believed that Theor was Sigmund’s son.

n‘Someday I’ll have to tell you the truth.’

nAstelle couldn’t keep hiding the color of Theor’s eyes from Hannah, who would soon be living together.

n* * *

nTheor was playing near the annex.

nAstelle made a little ball as a toy for him to play with Blin.

nIt was a game where Theor threw a ball and Blin went and picked it up.

nAfter playing like that for a while, Blin felt exhausted and lay down near the flower bed.

nTheor walked around the flower bed lit by the warm sunlight, kicking the ball alone.

n“Huh?”

nAfter a while, Theor looked around.

nHe was obviously with the maid, but suddenly the maid was gone.

n“Blin, where’s the maid?”

nBlin, who was lying down, raised and tilted its head.

nSeeing Blin wagging its tail without answering, Theor looked around again.

nFootsteps were heard from the other side.

nA red-haired maid was approaching this way.

n“Young master, what are you doing here?”

n“Huh?”

n“I was sent by Lady Astelle. There’s a delicious snack over there. Shall we go eat together?”

nThe maid walked over to Theor with a smile.

nTheor was happy to hear that there was a snack and tried to follow her.

n“grrrr….”

nBlin, who was lying on the flower bed, raised its head and growled.

nTheor stopped on the spot.

n“Young Master?”

n“Ugh… someone I don’t know… No!”

nHis mother always told him not to follow strangers.

nExcept for Hannah, there were four maids in the annex.

nTheor knew all four faces.

nHad his mother sent someone, she would have been one of those four.

n“Young Master… it’s okay.”

nAs the maid took a step forward, Blin, who was lying down, got up and barked.

nThe maid saw the hound’s sharp teeth and she stopped.

n‘Blin doesn’t like her either.’

nTheor took a step back from her.

nWhen she saw Theor trying to run away, the maid rushed forward.

n“Young Master, come over here.”

n“No!”

nIt was when the maid reached out to grab Theor.

n“……!”

n