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~Chapter 61~
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you ask me something like, ‘Why are you glaring at your elders like that?’ or ‘Don’t you know how to call first?’ just once?”
“……”
Samantha’s pupils darted from side to side, trying to understand the request.
She had never once doubted her intelligence in her life—until now. She simply couldn’t figure out what Riden meant.
‘What does she mean?’
She glanced at Merrick with a look that asked, “Do you know?” but even Merrick, who usually had an answer, shook his head in confusion.
Samantha carefully opened her mouth.
“That doesn’t sound like something nice to hear. Why would you want me to say that?”
“Um, it’s just…”
“……”
Riden shyly raised her index finger.
“Just once.”
It was a strange request, but it was the first time the child she desperately wanted to get closer to had asked her for anything.
Samantha had no choice but to use her usual tone.
“Why are you glaring at your elders like that?”
“Uh…?”
Riden’s sky-blue eyes went wide like saucers.
Samantha and Merrick were startled, but no one was more surprised than Riden herself.
From her small mouth came a murmur of disbelief:
“Cute? Ah!”
“Huh?”
‘Why did I say she’s cute?!’
Riden was shocked at her own words.
She had just called the terrifying Duchess cute!
But she couldn’t deny it—she really was.
She had asked Samantha to say the words her former mother-in-law used to say, just to test herself.
And even though Samantha’s face was objectively scary as she said them, Riden found her cute.
Riden placed a hand over her chest, where her heart was beating happily.
She didn’t see any strange visions of the past. Her body and mind felt fine.
As her face flushed and she pressed her hand to her heart, Merrick and Samantha quickly asked,
“My dear, are you alright?”
“Young lady, are you in pain? Is it your heart?”
Merrick even stood to call the doctor.
“Um…”
Riden looked at the Duchess and Count and smiled brightly.
“I’m not in pain at all. And that makes me so happy.”
“……”
“……”
Samantha narrowed her eyes at Riden and said in a low voice,
“Merrick, call Norman immediately.”
“……”
“We’ll have to run the test again. Call him!”
Merrick waved his hands as if it wasn’t necessary.
“Mother, it seems to have eased up. We don’t need to—”
“I want exact numbers!”
“Hmm?”
Riden, watching the mother and son bicker, reached shyly for the paper bag she had brought.
“Um… this isn’t much, but I baked these.”
She slid the white bag across the table toward them.
It felt a little embarrassing, like self-promotion, but she was genuinely grateful.
She had thought long and hard about what would make a good gift for the Duchess, but there was nothing she could buy that the woman couldn’t already buy herself.
And in this world, the things noble ladies valued most were handmade.
“I got a lot of help from Madame Madeleine at the shop, so I can’t say I made them entirely myself, but…”
Riden added with shy pride:
“I designed all the shapes myself!”
“Young lady, you did?”
Merrick eagerly took the gift box from the bag.
When he untied the neat ribbon, he revealed cookies shaped like human faces—his and Samantha’s faces.
Samantha covered her mouth.
“This is… me?”
“Hehe, yes. It’s you, Duchess.”
When Samantha immediately recognized her own face, Riden smiled sheepishly.
Samantha’s expression brightened instantly.
“She’s so cute!”
More than anything, she was delighted.
She dared to make cookies of my face? How adorable!
This child was truly opening her heart to her!
Samantha held up the cookie with the red eyes and showed it to Merrick.
“Me.”
Merrick brought his own cookie up to her face.
“Me.”
“Hohoho.”
“Hahaha.”
Riden felt relieved watching the two of them so happy.
But then the Count started urgently rummaging through the cookies on the table, and Riden asked,
“Count, what are you looking for?”
“Ethan.”
“Ah.”
Riden was about to just smile instead of answering, but when the two of them kept staring at her, she reluctantly said,
“They all taste the same even if they look different… If His Grace wants one, maybe you could just… share?”
At that, the happiness vanished from Samantha and Merrick’s faces, leaving them cold.
After a fragrant tea time, some time passed.
Merrick cautiously opened the conversation.
“I have one request for you, young lady…”
He explained that Ethan would soon be leading the knights on an expeditionary training and asked her to stay by his side until then, if possible.
Riden nodded.
“I know. The full moon is coming soon.”
“Yes, and he always struggles on that day—”
Before Merrick could finish, Riden replied with a determined look.
“I’ll go with him.”
Samantha’s eyes widened in shock.
She even wants to follow him?
Samantha and Merrick exchanged a look.
This is it!
“Ahem, if you say so, young lady… then we’ll send a carriage, just as we did when we brought you to the villa.”
Riden nodded lightly.
But she thought to herself:
What would people think if a young lady followed the Duke’s knights on their training expedition?
She didn’t think it likely that every knight would keep their mouths shut, even with the Duke’s family warning them.
Rumors might spread that something was going on between the Duke’s and Count’s families.
But she no longer cared.
A little while ago, she had run into a group of noble ladies who asked nosy questions about whether she had been under Merrick’s protection at Hagens and what kind of relationship they had.
“I paid a huge retainer fee!”
She had said she’d needed the Count’s legal advice and had paid him well, but she doubted they believed her.
So Riden decided:
Let it go!
It was better to give up quickly than stress about it.
Even if rumors spread that there had been a broken engagement between the Kenwolf Duke family and the McCurry Count family, it didn’t bother her.
I’m not planning to marry anyway.
If she went down to the county and found herself a charming commoner lover, that would be better.
She could sit next to him, feed each other ice cream, and be spoiled.
Having a breakup with a high noble in the capital wouldn’t matter one bit in that situation.
After convincing herself, she felt at peace.
Debt bothers me more than gossip ever could.
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind,” she said calmly, nodding as Samantha and Merrick beamed.
A few days later.
A carriage arrived at the Count’s estate.
Watching from the window, Riden recalled the day she first left for the Duke’s villa.
Back then, she had looked up at the bright sky and wished for lightning to strike her.
Today, the sky was just as clear, but she didn’t feel that way anymore.
“My lady.”
Glenn’s voice called from outside the door.
“Come in.”
She had given him a task earlier.
She expected him to report that he had completed it, but when he entered, he only hesitated silently.
What’s with him?
“You’re here to report on what I asked you to do, right?”
She had asked him to prepare a few things necessary for joining the Duke’s knights on their expedition.
“Yes. I packed the luggage just as you ordered, my lady. The servants should be loading it onto the carriage now.”
“As expected of you, Glenn. Thank you. Now we should go.”
But he was still hesitating, so she asked,
“Do you have something to say? You can speak freely, Glenn.”
“Well… my lady!”
Whoa, that startled me. Just say it already!
“I always hope the path you walk is filled with bright and happy things. You know that everything I do is for you, right? You understand that, don’t you?”
Glenn’s eyes were suddenly brimming with emotion, then turned unfairly pained.
Riden’s sky-blue eyes wavered.
Is he feeling sentimental today?
She answered awkwardly,
“Uh… yeah, I know. Of course I know.”
He looked like he would be devastated if she didn’t, so she had to.
Glenn looked relieved and bowed deeply before guiding Riden outside.
The carriage bound for the Duke’s mansion was waiting for her.
Just as she stepped into the carriage with Glenn’s escort, Riden suddenly remembered something and called out:
“Oh! There’s somewhere we need to stop first.”
