MDCHC 12

chapter 12

“Oh, Daniel! That dress is so cute! Let’s buy this one!”

“Doesn’t it hurt your feet? Isn’t it too small? Not too big, right? Great! Then let’s get this one!”

“Oh my! This is crazy! Daniel, it’s so pretty! I saw that they also had it in blue—should we try the blue one too? No, it’ll probably be pretty in blue anyway. Let’s get both!”

“Kyaa! Look at this lace! So~~ cute! Let’s get this bed! Oh, it must be a set with this little sofa, so we need that too! Doesn’t the desk come in a set?”

“Whoa! What’s this bunny hat? It’s totally Daniel’s! Let’s buy it!”

“Um, um—hey!”

With a small, urgent voice, a tiny hand tugged at my skirt.

“Hm? What is it?”

I looked at Daniel with a smile.

“I-I’m scared!”

“Scared? Of what? Who?”

I quickly hugged Daniel and glanced around. Did some intruder suddenly appear? Or a wild boar come down to the village? Or did someone glare at us because I was being too noisy?

“The… situation is scary.”

A small voice pressed against my chest.

Oh no, she’s going to suffocate!

I quickly pulled back and looked at Daniel. As she had said, she was staring at me with a genuinely frightened expression.

“The situation is scary?”

Her little head nodded vigorously.

“What part of it?”

“My eyes feel like they’re spinning, and whenever I try something on, you buy it all, and even just looking at things makes you say you’ll buy them, so I can’t look at anything.”

Daniel tightly shut her eyes as she said this.

I guess I got too carried away. But everything looked so good on her—what could I do?

I still wanted to buy more, but judging by Daniel’s state, I thought it was best to stop for now.

“Really? Then shall we head home for today?”

“Let’s see~”

In the Countess’s office, I reviewed the checkbook and organized today’s purchases and expenses. It wasn’t about the amount, really—I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything.

“Ah! Curtains! We need to change the curtains too. The kids’ room has these dull purple blackout curtains—ridiculous.”

I quickly added curtains to the shopping list and carefully recorded everything again. I had bought five dresses, two sets of pajamas, and two pairs of shoes, but it was far from enough. Since Daniel had been tired today, we came back quickly, but it seemed I’d have to visit the shopping district again soon.

“Oh! Right. The nanny! I need to look into that first.”

I immediately marked the word “nanny” with a star. I’d better handle it myself, otherwise Mrs. Perrede might just hire anyone.

“I’ll ask my sister-in-law tomorrow.”

Since my niece Aisha was five, a year younger than Daniel, it seemed likely my sister-in-law would know about this. If lucky, she could even introduce a good candidate.

“No, I should send a letter asking everyone to come home the day after tomorrow. I need to properly introduce Daniel. When we go, should she wear the blue dress we bought today? No, was the yellow one cuter? Hah… what am I saying. Our Daniel is cute no matter what. Anyway, I need to make sure everyone stays home to see our cute Daniel.”

Originally, I planned to finish shopping and briefly stop by home to introduce Daniel to the Pomots family, but since Daniel had been scared by my shopping spree, we had to return home early.

It actually worked out well. I didn’t want anyone to miss seeing our adorable Daniel because they weren’t home.

Everyone, look! Our daughter is this cute!!

“Ma’am, dinner is ready.”

I looked up at the knock and voice. Between piles of documents and receipts, I could just barely see the clock hands.

7:15 p.m. Compared to Pomots, it was quite a late dinner.

“Alright.”

I’d been hunched over for a while, so my back and neck were stiff. Thinking of Lord Winchester and Daniel waiting, I had no time to massage my sore muscles and headed straight to the dining room.

“Hm?”

Upon arriving at the dining room, I let out an involuntary surprised voice. I had dined out with Daniel for lunch, and we ate breakfast here, so I knew the dining room was large, but…

I hadn’t expected seats to be set at both ends of a table that could fit about 20 people. And it wasn’t for three, but two people.

“Is there a problem?”

Lord Winchester, already seated, spoke first as I just stared at the seats. One of the two-person seats was his, and naturally, the other was mine. Daniel had no seat.

“And Daniel?”

“Children are supposed to be asleep, aren’t they?”

Even though my question suggested it wasn’t bedtime for a seven-year-old, Lord Winchester responded. Daniel’s niece, Aisha, a year younger, didn’t go to bed until 9. Or maybe Daniel just sleeps a lot?

“Normally, it’s not their bedtime.”

I tilted my head as I sat, facing Lord Winchester. …I think.

‘If Lord Winchester’s facial features were slightly less distinct, I wouldn’t even know where his eyes, nose, and mouth are.’

He was too far away to see where he was looking or his expression. But his strong, prominent features made it clear that it was indeed Lord Winchester sitting there.

‘Well, a daughter takes after her father. To have a pretty daughter like Daniel, the father must have this kind of beauty too.’

I convinced myself silently and looked at Lord Winchester in front of me. I couldn’t see his expression, but from his movements, it looked like he was waiting for me to sit. I saw him pick up some cutlery, and I lifted my spoon and took the first bite of soup.

“……”

“……”

This isn’t some silent 007 bread mission… The dining room was filled with nothing but silence. I made a little noise with the dishes, but he, having been trained in proper etiquette at the esteemed Count family, didn’t make a sound at all.

It was nothing like the dinner at Pomots, where we shared stories and laughter. It felt more like the strict, suffocating mealtime at the orphanage I remembered from childhood.

A mealtime where you mustn’t speak, even joking, or risk being dragged out and starved—a suffocating silence and pressure.

“Dinner is rather late, isn’t it?”

I finally spoke, fearing past trauma would overwhelm me. I raised my voice enough to be heard from this distance. Thankfully, I saw Lord Winchester’s hand pause, so it seemed he heard me.

“Is that so?”

His low voice was clear to my ears, probably because there was no one in between.

“If dinner is too late, you may eat first without waiting for me.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that.”

I quickly replied. Breakfast is bright enough, but eating alone in this vast dining room with candles, no matter the feast, felt lonely.

“What time did you wake up this morning?”

“I always wake at 5:30 a.m.”

“That’s very early. Is it because of morning training?”

“That is not a concern. You may wake freely.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

No matter what I said, there seemed to be no room for conversation in his answers.

‘Does he not want to talk?’

I wondered if my constant talking annoyed him, so I looked at Lord Winchester.

‘How should I know!’

Even with his prominent features, I couldn’t see his expression at this distance. I couldn’t tell if he was ignoring me out of annoyance, in a bad mood, or just naturally curt.

“Um, Lord Winchester?”

He raised his head and looked at me. From this distance, I couldn’t see clearly, but judging from his movement, I assumed he did.

“May I move closer, if it’s not rude?”

“……”

The usually prompt Lord Winchester gave no reply. Did he not hear me?

He seemed stiff. I couldn’t see clearly from afar, but probably.