MDCHC 61

chapter 61

“Thank you.”

“For… what?”

“For everything.”

Lord Winchester’s voice fluttered down like autumn leaves, brushing against my chest. As if it seeped inside me, my heart began to pound.

My body froze stiff, not knowing how to handle this sudden closeness, but my heart alone throbbed wildly within me. Whether he knew of my turmoil or not, Lord Winchester simply leaned his head gently against my shoulder.

“I’m relieved too.”

Strangely comforted, my lips moved without me realizing it.

“I’m so glad you woke up safely.”

A lukewarm early-summer breeze drifted in from beyond the window. Sage leaves swayed, sending their faint fragrance into the air.

It brushed through Winchester’s hair, over my neck, at his fingertips, and across my lips.

It’s a green light!

There was no other way to think of it.

A man tells a woman about his past?

That’s a green light.

A man makes physical contact with a woman?

That’s a huge green light!

And the woman just sits there, letting him lean on her?

Wait, what? That means I was giving him the green light too!

Realizing I’d unconsciously sent such a signal, I froze in place. Water sloshed a little over the edge of the vase I was holding.

But… is that really okay?

The green light blinked. I hesitated, unsure if I should step forward.

A “good” adult waits when the light is blinking. But the true adult feels the impulse to run across anyway.

But that woman…

Ellie.

The moment her name came to mind, the signal flipped to red.

It was the name he had spoken in his pain. The name he still hadn’t forgotten.

Would it be alright… if I gave him my heart?

Perhaps it was already too late. Because my heart—at least part of it—was already his.

Maybe this was destined all along. From the moment I, a mere extra, became Daniel’s stepmother and married Lord Winchester, perhaps it was already fated that I’d fall for him.

But what if I’m not the one fated for him?

That woman, Ellie, was very likely Daniel’s birth mother. A man like Lord Winchester, who knew nothing but the sword, couldn’t possibly have had two women in his life. And with his personality, there was no way he would sleep with one woman while loving another. Even if he had been drugged, he was the kind of man who’d sooner cut off his own finger than lose his senses.

Even if my destiny was Lord Winchester, his destiny was Ellie.

“There’s no place for me…”

My gloomy, deflated voice drifted down the hallway like a wandering ghost.

“Countess Winchester?”

Suddenly, a bright, clear voice shattered the heavy gloom in an instant.

“Daniel!”

Oh my—how dazzling!

Clutching Tosoon tightly in one arm, Daniel’s adorable figure washed away the melancholy that had just been weighing down my shoulders.

Ahh, this is true healing!

“Father… is he…?”
“N-no, Daniel! Your father’s alright! He already sat up and even spoke with me earlier. I was planning to have you come see him this afternoon.”
“Really? That’s such a relief!”

Daniel, who had seemed on the verge of tears, now broke into a radiant smile upon hearing that his father had recovered so much. He must have been terribly worried all this time.

“I saw you with such a sad face, Countess, I thought Father’s condition had gotten worse.”

I flinched. Who knew how long he had been watching—but he had read my expression perfectly.

Children really are perceptive.

“Th-that’s because… uh, I thought I saw a cockroach over there…”
“A cockroach?”

Daniel’s shoulders hunched, his face twisting in disgust as he glanced toward the spot I’d pointed out.

Oh no, I just scared him for no reason.

“B-but maybe I saw wrong. There’s nothing, nothing there.”

I quickly tried to take back the lie.

“Phew~.”

Thankfully, sweet Daniel bought it.

“Your lesson with Mr. Reynold ends at three today, right? By then your father should be awake. I’ll be sure to call you.”

I had just seen Lord Winchester asleep before stepping out to change the water in the vase. It hadn’t been long—he’d surely still be resting.

“Yes, yes!”

Daniel nodded enthusiastically, as if to make sure I wouldn’t forget. How adorable!

“Are you studying well? It must’ve been hard with all the commotion at home.”
“N-no, it’s fine.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’m doing well.”
“Truly? Our Daniel is amazing!”

I beamed, cheering him on. He was still just a child. When his father collapsed, he panicked, sobbed until his eyes swelled.

Of course it must have been hard to focus on studying. Hearing that he had worked hard anyway filled me with such pride that I couldn’t help smiling.

“…”

Daniel stared at my smile, lips twitching as if he wanted to say something more.

“Hm? What is it, Daniel?”
“Uh… I-I’m good at arithmetic now.”
“Oh? Really?”

Not long ago he had struggled with sums over ten. Finally, it seemed he understood—or maybe he was still sneaking in his toes to help.

“I took an arithmetic test… and, um, I got a hundred.”
“Oh! Really? That’s wonderful, Daniel!”

So this is what it feels like to have a child do well in school? It wasn’t even a big exam, probably just one of Mr. Reynold’s quizzes. Still, hearing Daniel say he’d gotten a perfect score made me grin from ear to ear.

Part of me wanted to hoist him onto my shoulders and parade him around the neighborhood.

“Look everyone, my daughter got a perfect score! She’s cute, kind, and smart—what perfection!”

But then… wait.

“Daniel?”
“Y-yes?”

Startled, Daniel’s voice trembled like a bleating goat. His eyes shook as though an earthquake had struck, then darted nervously aside.

Something was off.

“Uh…”

But I didn’t know what.

“Arithmetic…”
“Y-yes!”
“Test…”
“Uh…”
“Perfect score…”
“Ah…”

No, I knew.

Sweet Daniel was terrible at lying. Come to think of it, even when he’d first said he’d gotten a perfect score, his voice had wavered—not his usual bright tone.

He’s lying, isn’t he…

Whether it was the perfect score that was a lie, or the test itself, I couldn’t tell. But one thing was certain—Daniel was hiding something.

What do I do now?

As a novice mother, I found myself at a loss.

Until now, Daniel had only ever been cute and lovable. He had never caused any trouble, so I’d never expected something like this.

I stared at him, uncertain what to do, and his shoulders twitched again. It was clear he was tense and frightened by his very first lie.

Should I point it out?

Maybe I should scold him firmly—that lying is wrong. If bad habits take root early, they’ll be hard to undo.

But then again, maybe not now…

It hadn’t been long since he was shaken by his father’s collapse, and he still hadn’t seen him fully recovered. That anxiety could very well be the reason Daniel told this lie.

What should I do…

Unable to decide, I simply kept staring at Daniel. The vase in my hands suddenly felt unbearably heavy.