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Chapter : 11. Chapter 1. You Who Came Like a Dream (11)
A brief silence followed as Terriot raised one eyebrow.
Ronell froze. Ruby was sulking. Terriot himself was not thinking about anything at all.
Only after rubbing his brow did he look down at Ronell.
“What is it, kid?”
“…I wanted to greet you good morning.”
“Right. Aren’t you eating breakfast?”
“Um… Lady Aisila invited me.”
“Who?”
“Aisila… sister.”
From “Lady Aisila” to “Sister Aisila.” Progress.
Terriot thought lazily, then frowned. Come to think of it, his father Reinhardt had returned home early this morning.
This kid would meet him at breakfast.
Meet his father.
…Meet his father.
“Is Uncle Terriot coming?”
“No. Why would I go? Have I lost my mind?”
He was about to say that, but instead he sat down and rubbed his face.
“Ha… seriously.”
“Uncle?”
His daughter was like a black jaguar. Really. Maybe a black panther or something like that.
And his father, with his graying hair, looked like a snow leopard.
So there was a black panther-like woman on the left, and a snow-leopard-like old man on the right.
And right next to him was a cat that gathered all the world’s sharp temper in one body. And this kid, Ronell…
“I was living just fine without any conscience…”
But living without conscience isn’t really living well, Ronell thought, though she stayed quiet.
“You’re poking at my nonexistent conscience…”
And Ronell? What was she?
A canary? A sparrow? A chick? No idea. Anyway, something that looked like it would get swallowed whole. A bird.
“…Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying, sir.”
Ronell looked close to tears.
Seeing her small feet shift nervously, Terriot rubbed his face again and stood up.
“You don’t need to understand. I just finished a deep philosophical crisis about my existence in a few seconds.”
Ronell blinked in confusion.
“Let’s go, kid.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go eat breakfast.”
It was the morning Terriot Duncan finally showed up in the Duncan mansion dining hall after decades.
And the moment he appeared—
The butler, maids decorating the table and windows with flowers, and even the cook all dropped what they were holding.
The butler dropped a glass of water. The maid dropped flowers. The cook dropped a pepper shaker.
“Hah.”
The old man sitting at the head seat clicked his tongue.
Ronell, startled, hid behind Terriot.
“Don’t worry, kid.”
Terriot sighed.
“They won’t eat you. Probably.”
“What do you mean ‘probably’?! You ungrateful son! You’re treating your father like a cannibal!”
Reinhardt grumbled as he stood up, then crouched down to meet Ronell’s eyes.
“Hello, little lady?”
Ruby wagged its tail and placed its paw on Ronell’s face.
It’s okay, servant. He meowed. He’s just my old servant. Don’t be jealous.
He’s a bit weird and annoying, but not a bad person.
Ronell carefully stepped out from behind Terriot and bowed politely.
“H-hello…”
“What is your name, young lady?”
“Ro… Ronell.”
While Reinhardt and Ronell struggled to continue their conversation, Terriot glanced aside.
Aisila slowly stood up. She was holding something in her hand. Terriot smirked.
Red eyes glanced at Ronell. Confirming the child was focused on Reinhardt—
“Hah.”
Aisila threw salt.
White powder hit the man.
“I thought you were a ghost.”
“If you wanted me dead, you should’ve said so, daughter.”
Terriot calmly wiped the salt from his face. He remembered well that throwing salt at the dead was a tradition in the Kingdom of Fernburg.
Aisila raised her eyebrow.
“Is that something a daughter should hear?”
“Is throwing salt something a daughter should do?”
“I thought you were possessed.”
Then maybe don’t act strange.
Both of them stopped speaking at the same time.
Because Ronell was staring at them while hugging Ruby.
Across from her, Reinhardt’s light brown eyes sharpened.
Terriot and Aisila quickly spoke at the same time.
“We weren’t fighting.”
“Right, child. We weren’t fighting. Fighting is for equals.”
There’s no way that bastard is my equal.
Aisila thought bitterly.
“Let’s eat, child.”
“Yes…”
Ronell tried to calm herself.
Her stomach had been ruined from starvation before, so she worried she might get sick.
Just soup should be fine. Meat might be hard.
She stared at the table nervously while the three Duncans looked at her with concern.
Only Ruby looked completely carefree.
Yes, servant! Eat a lot! You need to eat well to hold me!
If the servant gets fat, that’s even better!
A true selfish cat thought proudly.
“Child.”
Reinhardt looked at Ronell.
“Why are you just staring at the table?”
“Ah—sorry!”
Aisila sighed.
“I’m not blaming you.”
“Yes, yes…”
“I’m just curious what you were thinking.”
Ronell lowered her head. Ruby pressed its paw on her arm.
It meowed reassuringly.
Don’t worry, servant.
Terriot spoke next.
“Kid.”
“Yes?”
“If your stomach hurts, say so.”
He had heard she was abused. And from her thin wrists, she likely hadn’t been fed properly.
Ronell smiled immediately.
“Yes, thank you.”
Aisila froze slightly.
That child said thank you instead of sorry.
She forced herself not to smile too brightly.
Terriot alone kept scoring points.
“Mr. Duncan.”
A servant arrived and handed Reinhardt a letter.
Ronell turned her head—and froze.
A familiar symbol.
A black camellia.
The Artez family crest.
Her breath stopped.
This was reality.
Everything really had been real.
The miracle, the dream-like night—it had all been real.
And now it was ending.
Her body went cold.
“Refuse it.”
Reinhardt frowned.
Before he could finish—
“Sir…”
The servant spoke nervously.
“The Artez Count is already in the reception room on the first floor.”
CRACK.
A glass broke.
The cat screamed loudly.
Silence fell.
Aisila spoke calmly.
“Child.”
Ronell panicked.
“I’m sorry!”
“I didn’t mean to cause trouble… I’ll do anything… please don’t send me back…”
Aisila felt a strange guilt.
Reinhardt silently questioned his own parenting.
Terriot looked at Ronell standing up suddenly.
“Sit.”
She immediately sat down stiffly.
Aisila sighed.
“Child.”
“Yes…”
“If you abandon your pet, you’ll be punished.”
“P-punished?”
Ronell trembled violently.
Aisila continued calmly.
“Your cat is here. Where are you going?”
“I-I wasn’t abandoning it!”
“Just stop talking.”
Ronell closed her mouth.
Terriot pointed toward the door with his fork.
“Go out with that mouth and cook the count instead.”
“…Yeah, that sounds good.”
Aisila stood up, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“Wait here, child.”
She winked playfully.
“I’ll be right back.”
