LDLDE 08

Chapter 08

The Little Bride Who Handles Everything!

The duchess had treated me like her daughter for the past week, and I shamelessly acted spoiled around her as if she really were my mother.

• “Your mother was a very warm and loving woman, Lisi. She was far too good for your father.”

After hearing the only story my father had ever told me about her, I had imagined what my mother might have been like—and the duchess felt very similar to that image.

“Iris, did you know? When I first came here, this mansion was so desolate. There weren’t even proper flowers in the garden.”

“Is it because the place is too cold for flowers to bloom?”

“That’s part of it. And the previous duchess passed away when Ricardo was very young, so there was no lady of the house to manage things. The men of Windriche probably didn’t have the time to care about gardens.”

I listened carefully to her soft, storybook-like voice.

The duchess often told me stories about Uncle Ricardo that I didn’t know, and they were both fresh and interesting.

So he had that side of him too? I sometimes thought.

“Meanwhile, the south where I lived was warm, so you could see flowers everywhere. Even when you just went out to the fields in spring, you’d see small wildflowers. Now that I think about it, haven’t flowers already started blooming in the Cornel barony? In my hometown, flowers would already be in full bloom around this time.”

“Yes. Since it’s close to the Roiche duchy, flowers would be blooming in my village too. When I left, spring had already arrived there, and the flowers were just about to bloom.”

“Oh my, that must have been beautiful.”

“Do you miss the flowers there?”

“I suppose I do.”

She looked at the garden with a distant expression.

“But I was prepared for that when I came here. My parents, my older brother, and sister all told me this place was really barren and had nothing to see. So I didn’t even show my disappointment. It was a marriage I chose myself. But…”

A faint smile mixed into the duchess’s voice.

“Ricardo must have sensed how I felt, because he filled this garden with flowers. He must have asked a mage to make it possible, since these flowers shouldn’t even bloom in northern weather.”

“Oh my.”

I cupped my cheeks with both hands. I already knew about it, but hearing it directly from her made my heart strangely flutter.

“So every spring, I would have tea time in this garden with the people I care about.”

“Then… am I also someone you care about?”

“Of course you are.”

The duchess gently brushed my hair back behind my ear.

“Iris, to be honest, I thought I wouldn’t see flowers this year. So I was a little disappointed. Last year, I had to go to the capital for Kilian’s entrance ceremony, so I couldn’t have tea time with the men of this house while looking at the flowers. I still felt bad about that.”

“….”

“Ricardo seems to think it’s because of the new herbs he obtained, but I think differently.”

I raised my head at her gentle tap on my head. The duchess smiled as she met my eyes.

“Was it you?”

“Ah…”

“I honestly don’t know what you did. But I know my own body better than anyone else. Whenever you come and talk to me like this, my body feels strangely lighter and more comfortable.”

“….”

“Thank you so much, Iris. Because of you, I think I’ll be able to have tea time with Ricardo this year too. You should join us then. He may look indifferent, but he actually pays attention to you.”

“Then…”

I moved my lips hesitantly. After a moment of thought, I asked.

“What about the young master?”

“Kilian?”

“Yes. Didn’t you regret not having tea time with him last year too? Then you should invite him. Not me.”

The duchess’s smile faded slightly.

“I wonder. I’m not sure if it’s right to disturb him while he’s focused on his studies. The short vacation will end soon and the semester will begin again.”

“But…”

“And if I recover completely like this, there will always be another chance, won’t there? So there’s no need to rush.”

I couldn’t bring myself to press her further.

As she said, she would recover within a few weeks and continue to stay by Kilian’s side safely.

But for some reason, my heart felt heavy.

“By the way, Ricardo was thinking of sending you to the academy.”

“Me?”

“Yes. He thinks you’re smart, so rather than keeping you as a maid, he wants to let you use your abilities.”

In this life, I had already controlled the massive amount of mana surging inside me.

Because of that, even the Windriche mage who had once discovered me in the past did not recognize my talent this time.

And yet Uncle Ricardo wanted to support me. It was probably his way of repaying me for keeping the duchess company.

But I can’t do that. I didn’t come here to receive support.

Unfortunately, it seemed Uncle Ricardo had not told the duchess about my bold proposal.

“And I’ll definitely help you find your father. If Ricardo steps in, there’s no one in the empire he can’t find.”

Unfortunately, Uncle Ricardo had failed to find my father even in the past.

It didn’t seem likely to be different this time either. But my father had only recently disappeared, so maybe this time he really could find him.

I smiled brightly with hope.

“Yes! If it’s the duke, I’m sure it’s possible! I hope we find my father soon! Thank you so much for your help!”

* * * * * *

After talking with me for about an hour, the duchess fell asleep, saying she was tired.

I stayed by her side until she was deeply asleep.

Her claim that she felt better after talking to me wasn’t just an illusion.

She was actually improving day by day.

However, everything did not happen during our conversation, but after she fell asleep.

When she took her nap, I would send mana directly into her body, untangling and clearing the blocked flow inside her.

It looked simple, but it required extremely delicate control and deep concentration.

Just as I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the duchess’s solar plexus—

A hand shot out from behind and grabbed my wrist roughly.

“…!”

At first, I thought it was Uncle Ricardo. He sometimes checked on the duchess quietly while she napped.

But the hand gripping my wrist was not his.

It was larger than mine, with firm joints, but smaller than an adult man’s hand.

The bones were sturdy—clearly not a grown woman, but a boy who was still growing.

And in the Windriche household, a boy of that age would be…

Don’t tell me…?

Was it really who I was thinking of?

My neck and shoulders stiffened with tension.

Then, a voice came from behind me, as if suppressing anger.

“What are you doing?”

An adolescent boy’s voice, not yet fully through puberty.

Higher and clearer than I remembered, but I immediately recognized who it belonged to.

I slowly turned my stiff neck to look at him.

The first thing I saw was violet eyes trembling with emotion.

At this unexpected reunion, I inhaled sharply.

“I asked you what you’re doing.”

It was Kilian Windriche.

It really is Kilian.

A stronger emotion than when I reunited with Uncle Ricardo shook my heart.

After deciding to come to Windriche, I had naturally been waiting to meet Kilian.

What should I say when I first meet him?

He wouldn’t remember me anyway, but how could I leave a good impression?

If I told him again that I would stay by his side, would he trust and rely on me like before?

In my imagination, Kilian had been happy to see me, shy at times, and even teary-eyed with emotions he couldn’t understand himself.

But I had never imagined this furious expression.

And I had never planned for such an abrupt reunion.

“Are you unable to speak? How many times do I have to repeat myself?”