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Chapter 21
My nose stung as well, but the gift-giving had only just begun.
There were still plenty of bottles of floral water left in the box to hand out to the other maids.
So I was about to ask the older sisters to call the rest of the maids when—
“By the way, Vivian, I think you need to tie your hair again?”
“Gasp!”
I turned toward the mirror at those words and was shocked.
The hair my father had tied for me in the morning was not only messy but puffed up all over!
When did it get like this?!
It must have gotten undone when I napped in the carriage earlier.
As I struggled to tie it back up, one of the maids watching me stepped forward.
“Shall I do it for you?”
“Oh, only if you have the time, sister.”
“Then, may I for a moment, my lady?”
The maid asked Rachel’s permission.
Normally, she wouldn’t have even dared to bring it up in front of Rachel.
It was a change brought on by the gifts.
Rachel, glancing between me and my messy hair, gave a small nod.
“Sit down. Let her.”
With Rachel’s permission, we sat side by side at the vanity.
Another maid asked if she should tend to Rachel’s hair as well, but Rachel declined.
In the end, two of them busied themselves with my head.
“Vivian, your hair is so silky. Do you brush it every day?”
“Mm-hm. Daddy brushes it for me every night.”
“Oh my, most men would find that bothersome.”
“True. Your father must really love you.”
“Hehe. My daddy does love me a lot.”
“If that’s the case, he’d probably be really upset if you brought home a boyfriend someday.”
Flinch.
Suddenly, I could feel Rachel’s hand—which had been holding mine—twitch in surprise.
Before I could even ask why, another maid asked me mischievously:
“Vivian, do you have a secret boyfriend you’re hiding from your dad? Or at least a boy you like?”
Through the vanity mirror, I could feel Rachel’s eyes on me.
Huh? Why is Rachel looking at me like that?
Puzzled, I recalled an old memory with some friends from the neighborhood.
Now that I think of it, girls are really hung up on the whole “best friend” thing, aren’t they?
Even if you get along with everyone, there’s always that one person who’s always on your side, always together with you.
That’s your best friend.
And if that best friend gets close with someone else, girls often feel hurt.
Sometimes they even get jealous of a boyfriend.
Of course, I prefer being friendly with everyone, but…
Suddenly I remembered what happened earlier today at the general store.
When Peter and I called each other by name and spoke casually—Rachel had told me to treat him no differently.
Rachel was jealous of Peter, wasn’t she? If that’s the case…
This was my chance to score points as a best friend.
So I spoke firmly, making sure Rachel could hear:
“I’m not ever going to get a boyfriend. That stuff isn’t fun at all.”
“Why not? You’re so cute, lots of boys must like you.”
“Boys only ever tease and play pranks. I hate it.”
When I said it with a grimace, the maids sighed, disappointed at losing a chance to tease me more.
“But what if you meet a boy who’s kind and doesn’t play tricks?”
“Right. And if you never get a boyfriend, does that mean you’ll never marry?”
“I still don’t like it. I’m never getting married—I’ll just live forever with Daddy and my lady.”
Surely Rachel would be delighted to hear that?
When I sneaked a look at her through the mirror, her blue eyes were trembling.
Was my answer really that moving?
Feeling proud, I smiled and asked Rachel,
“Right, my lady?”
Never realizing that Rachel’s face had darkened.
* * *
A late afternoon, with the sunlight turning golden.
While reviewing documents and checking the calendar, Kalts came across a date that felt all too familiar.
“…Already May, is it.”
The month that flows from the end of spring into the beginning of summer.
A time beloved by all living things and people alike—but not by Kalts.
[Daddy! Please wear this flower crown just once, since I made it thinking of you, okay?]
Because May was the month his one and only daughter, Isella, had passed away.
Even though it had already been five years since her death, he could not get used to her absence.
For the rest of his life, every May that came, and every time he saw Rahedis left behind by that child, he would live pierced with grief.
Forcing away the memories of his daughter, he turned a few more pages of documents—then put them all down and rose to his feet.
As always, when he was lost in thought, he went to stand by the window.
“Ah, I found Sister Marina!”
But unlike his sinking mood, the sound of bright laughter rang out from outside.
The owner of that laughter was Vivian.
Since that child came, the villa has grown noisy.
And Rachel, who had always stayed in her room, had begun to come out.
Not only that—she had even started speaking little by little with people other than Margaret and Sally.
A change he hadn’t expected.
It’s just like when Isella was alive.
Caught off guard by the thought of Isella while watching Vivian, Kalts immediately scoffed at himself.
Like Isella?
What nonsense.
The only daughter he loved was Isella. Nothing in this world could ever replace her.
Yet even as he thought that, his gaze lingered on Vivian and Rachel, playing hide-and-seek in the garden.
Then, as though sensing his gaze, Vivian looked his way.
Did she see me?
Kalts froze for a moment, but Vivian soon turned back to Rachel and the maids.
Her clear laughter rang again, carrying through the spring air.
After a while, when that laughter faded, leaving the garden too quiet, he almost felt a twinge of disappointment.
At that very moment, a knock sounded.
“Duke, may I come in for a moment?”
It was the very owner of that laughter just now.
Why has that child come?
Surely not just because their eyes had met?
Though puzzled, Kalts allowed her in.
“Come in.”
As always, the girl entered and bowed with a polite little “belly-button greeting.”
“Hello, Your Grace. Thank you for sparing me your time.”
“What brings you here? Isn’t this Rachel’s lesson hour?”
“Ah, the young lady just left for her successor lessons.”
Answering brightly, Vivian explained her purpose.
“It’s nothing big—I just came to give you something.”
“To me?”
“May I come closer?”
Looking at her with puzzlement, Kalts gave a small nod, and Vivian trotted right up.
What she held out was a small box.
The ribbon and wrapping paper were clumsy, but there were clear traces of effort to make it look nice.
“I bought it a few days ago when we went into town. But you seemed so busy, I only managed to give it to you now.”
Kalts opened the box she offered.
Inside was a wooden bookmark, simple but neatly made.
He glanced between the gift and the child, then asked:
“Today isn’t my birthday, and I don’t recall having done anything special for you recently. Why the sudden gift?”
Vivian flinched.
The truth was, she did have a motive.
If she wanted to mend the relationship between Rachel and the Duke, she had to first find out why they were so estranged.
And above all—
Even among family, there are relationships better left unrepaired.
If the two of them were truly like that, she wouldn’t meddle.
That would just be her nosiness.
But to judge that, she first had to grow close enough to them to hear their true feelings.
Still, if I asked directly about Rachel, he wouldn’t answer honestly.
So as a first step, she had brought a gift to get closer to him.
Hiding her real thoughts, Vivian improvised an excuse.
“There wasn’t really a reason… I bought presents for the maids at the shop, and just happened to see something I thought you might like, so…”
“Hmm. So basically, you had no real intention, but worried the old man might sulk if left out, so you bought one for me too?”
Honestly! Couldn’t he just accept it graciously?
“That’s not it! I really did think hard about what you might like and chose it carefully…”
When Kalts twisted her intentions, Vivian reflexively raised her voice in protest—only to trail off.
She had belatedly remembered that this man was the Duke, ruler over all.
He probably thinks I was being terribly rude, doesn’t he?
Squeezing her eyes shut in self-reproach, she suddenly heard—
A quiet chuckle echo through the solemn office.
Huh…?
