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Chapter 07
“The Little Daughter-in-Law Takes Care of Everything!
“Then…!”
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to make you my daughter-in-law.”
I blankly stared at the uncle’s back as he finished saying what he wanted and walked toward the door.
‘I was going to wait a few days because I thought it would be too presumptuous to say this now… but maybe it’s fine to say it today instead.’
I hurriedly called out to him as he reached for the doorknob.
“Young Master of House Windritche!”
He paused with his hand still on the doorknob.
“Shouldn’t you contact the Young Master?”
“Contact him?”
The uncle let out a faint laugh again.
“What, are you thinking it’ll be too hard to convince me, so you’ll try to convince that guy directly instead?”
“No, it’s not that.”
I tightened my grip on the glass bottle in my hand. Even when I had asked him to make me his daughter-in-law, I hadn’t been this nervous—but now my palms were sweating.
“You haven’t told the Young Master about the Duchess’s condition yet, right? Because it would interfere with his studies. Am I wrong?”
“…Yes. It was Diana’s request.”
I had hoped things might be different this time, but it was exactly the same as before.
“That shouldn’t be the case. The Young Master has the right to know his mother’s condition. Of course, now that I’m here, she’ll recover soon—but what if her condition worsens before then?”
“……”
“If the Duchess were to… pass away like this, the Young Master would have to say goodbye to his mother without any preparation. That would be terribly sad.”
I drooped my eyebrows.
“I regretted a lot after my dad left. I should’ve told him I loved him more. I should’ve hugged him more. I shouldn’t have complained about not wanting to eat carrots. My life was filled with regret.”
“……”
“If you truly love the Young Master, then…”
“Stop.”
The uncle cut off my words in a low voice.
There was an unmistakable anger in his tone—cold and sharp, unlike anything I had heard before, even in my previous life or earlier in his office.
“Don’t mistake things just because I indulge your childishness, kid. This is House Windritche’s matter. It’s not something you should interfere with.”
So it was still too presumptuous after all.
I drooped my shoulders in disappointment.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm. If I offended you…”
“I’m not offended.”
His voice returned to normal.
“I’m just telling you something you need to know.”
After he entered the Duchess’s room, I stared at the closed door for a long time.
‘It’s okay. You already prepared for this kind of treatment.’
I tried to act calm, but I couldn’t hide my bitter feelings.
Afraid someone might see my complicated expression, I quickly headed back to my room.
The moment I locked the door, tears welled up.
“It’s okay, Rishi. You can just get closer to him later. You already became close once, so why not again? It’s fine…”
But that resolve didn’t last.
“Ugh… sob…”
The truth was, I wasn’t okay.
When my magic had succeeded in a miracle, I hadn’t even had time to celebrate before realizing my dad was no longer by my side.
My heart felt empty.
I had returned to the past to protect the people I loved—but they weren’t with me anymore.
If it weren’t for Emma auntie, I might not have been able to endure it at all.
Still, I pushed forward, believing I would one day reunite with them.
Even when I first talked to Uncle Ricardo, I had briefly felt like I had returned to the time when we were like family.
But just now, seeing the line he drew between us, I realized again that I was an outsider here.
It was natural, but still—it felt unfair that he didn’t remember me.
Honestly, I might have wanted him to remember me not just in his head, but in his heart.
How foolish.
I wiped my wet cheeks roughly with my sleeve and forced a bright tone.
“Trying to win Uncle over again might actually be fun. He’ll fall for my charm soon anyway.”
So now wasn’t the time to dwell on this.
I glared at the glass bottle I was holding.
It was time to uncover the identity of the illness afflicting the Duchess.
A while later.
“You’re up early!”
I greeted the Duchess brightly as she sat by the window.
She turned toward me with a gentle smile.
“Welcome, Iris.”
Her voice calling my name was warm. Just hearing my name made my chest feel tight.
I ran over and sat beside her.
“How are you feeling today?”
“I feel unbelievably well.”
Her voice sounded genuinely cheerful, like a young girl’s.
And it wasn’t an exaggeration—her appearance had clearly improved since I first saw her.
Her once pale cheeks now had a faint color, and her wrists—once so thin they looked like they might break—had regained some flesh.
Her dry lips were now soft and healthy.
Most importantly, she could now move on her own without needing a maid’s help.
All of this change had happened in just a week.
She still needed two or three more weeks to fully recover, but the shadow of death that had once hung over her was already gone.
Even the family doctor acknowledged that her condition was improving.
Ricardo uncle was very surprised by it—but he didn’t believe I was the one who healed her.
- It must be the new herbs starting to take effect.
- I told you, I was the one who treated her!
- Well, maybe having you around talking to her helped strengthen her will to live.
- That’s not it, I’m telling you it was me…!
No matter how much I protested, he didn’t even pretend to listen.
‘Once I fully analyze that cosmetic water, they’ll all believe me.’
Unfortunately, I still hadn’t figured out the ingredients of “Silver Lake Ripple.”
I had identified some common cosmetic ingredients, but the key component still eluded me.
The thing that disrupted the Duchess’s mana and ultimately threatened her life.
When compared to similar substances, it was slightly different each time.
‘Maybe it contains something I don’t know yet.’
If my suspicion was correct and this was a poisoning attempt, then it likely used something even Windritche’s intelligence network couldn’t easily trace.
‘If it was made in the Holy Kingdom, maybe I should look into their records…’
But that would require Windritche’s full information network.
While I was thinking about how to convince Uncle Ricardo, the Duchess spoke in a bright voice.
“It feels like buds will sprout soon. The wind is getting warmer too.”
“Yeah. Flowers will bloom soon too. Everywhere else must already be in full bloom—this northern Windritche territory really is still cold.”
“Would you like to drink tea with me in the garden when spring comes? I received some tea that goes well with flower scents.”
“I’d love to!”
The Duchess, who had been looking outside, turned her gaze to me.
I understood the signal and got down from the chair. Then I knelt on the floor and gently rested my head on her lap.
Her soft hand stroked the hair that Richell had carefully braided.
A comforting scent followed her touch.
Like the smell of a blanket dried under sunlight.
I smiled softly, enjoying her gentle caress.
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
‘Is this what it would feel like if I had a mother?’
