TBRFC 13

As expected, Wendel rescued me from the hell of picture books.

The two of us went outside together for a walk through the eastern garden.

“Cheating! This is cheating! How could you steal Lady Anellia away like this?!”

“M-Miel, calm down. The young miss also wanted to go on a walk with Sir Wendel.”

Of course, Miel expressed her disappointment by biting down on a handkerchief.

But even she couldn’t overcome my stubbornness.

“Anellia has to go walking. I ate too much bread, so my tummy’s full!”

That statement was partly true.

For some strange reason, my meals over the past few weeks had consisted of bread—no, practically nothing but bread.

And they were all bizarre kinds of bread I had never seen before.

Some had fish placed on top, others had sugar-preserved fruits…

‘Still, bread tastes the best.’

Honestly speaking, I really liked the bread in this mansion.

The overly luxurious dishes didn’t quite suit my palate, but the bread was excellent.

And lately, the kitchen seemed to be inventing new recipes on its own, because the bread kept getting more delicious.

“…Bread is the best.”

“It seems the meals suit your tastes.”

Wendel adjusted me in his arms as he spoke.

“Yes. Mister Chef and Aunt Marenes treat me really well.”

“I see.”

Ever since I officially became Abner’s ward, Wendel had started treating me with even greater formality.

“But… did you really miss me that much?”

I glanced up at him.

“Yes. I don’t get to see you very often. Not yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that either.”

“His Grace had matters to attend to throughout the territory. I was accompanying him, so I wasn’t at the estate.”

“I see.”

An awkward silence settled between us.

During the few weeks I had spent in the eastern wing, winter had completely disappeared.

The garden was filled with fresh green sprouts and flowers blooming early.

Wendel muttered again, barely audible.

“By the way, Miss Miel and I are only four years apart.”

His sudden remark made my eyes widen.

“Huh?”

Wendel looked away and cleared his throat.

“I believe Miss Miel is eighteen. Which means I’m twenty-two.”

“Uh… okay…”

Wendel looked at me.

“…You call Miel ‘big sister.’”

His voice had become even smaller than before.

I blinked blankly.

“Huh?”

What did his age have to do with Miel…?

“I mean… Miel is ‘big sister,’ but why am I…”

“……”

“Why am I ‘mister’…?”

I was left speechless.

“My, my. Sir Wendel too, honestly!”

Miel laughed brightly as she pulled the blanket all the way up to my neck.

“So what are you going to call him from now on?”

I furrowed my brows and thought very hard.

“I’m thinking about it. But he doesn’t like being called mister…”

“Right? Sir Knight is waaaay too handsome to be called mister.”

“Then… uncle?”

“Oh.”

Soya’s eyes widened.

“U-Uncle! I think that sounds good.”

“You’re right, uncle really does sound nice.”

Without realizing it, I broke into a big smile.

“Right? Uncle fits perfectly, doesn’t it?”

“Yes! Lady Anellia, how are you so clever? Sometimes you really don’t seem four years old at all.”

“Hehe…”

Feeling guilty inside, I quietly turned my gaze toward the ceiling.

Soya gently tucked my arm back under the blanket.

“When you went for a walk today, y-young miss… the butler came by.”

“The butler?”

“Yes. He said you’ll soon be moving your bedroom to the main building. And once they find a tutor, you’ll start taking lessons too…”

The moment I heard the word lessons, my eyes snapped open.

“Lessons? I get lessons?”

“Yes. You must be upset, right? You probably just want to play at your age…”

“No, I love it!”

Miel and Soya stared at me in surprise.

I sat upright immediately.

“I’m going to learn magic studies, right? What about alchemy? Will we start from the basics?”

Sharon Abner already knew I was special.

But that didn’t mean I could recklessly reveal the full extent of my abilities.

‘If I suddenly reveal the magic formulas I perfected in my previous life at this age…’

People would definitely suspect I had used black magic or forbidden sorcery.

‘I was wondering when they’d finally assign me a tutor.’

No matter what, I needed to learn things properly first and then show what I could do afterward.

‘What kind of amazing person will they bring in? A professor from the Academy of Alchemy? Someone from the Magic Tower?’

Excited, I kept talking.

“Usually, in magic studies, you start with basic formulas. Then you learn applied formulas, and after that—”

Then I stopped.

The silence in the room suddenly felt strange.

Sure enough, Miel and Soya were frozen in place, staring at me with stunned expressions.

“Young miss… you know magic studies?”

“W-Where did you hear about alchemy?”

My eyes darted around as I clutched the blanket tightly.

And then, as always whenever I found myself in a difficult situation, I gave the answer I always used.

“At the orphanage…”

Miel staggered where she stood.

“W-Wait a second.”

She spoke incoherently.

“I think I heard rumors. They said there’s a genius child at the southwest edge of Abner territory.”

“……”

“T-That genius was supposed to be four years old too. They said the child could memorize magic dictionaries and alchemy books word for word…”

Miel’s gaze slowly turned toward me.

Then she spoke in disbelief.

“That’s you, young miss?”

“……”

“It is you! It’s really you!”

Miel jumped up from her seat.

“I knew you spoke too well! I wondered why the master suddenly decided to sponsor a child!”

“Y-Young miss, can you read?”

I hesitantly nodded.

“H-How much? Can you even read difficult words?”

“Um… at the orphanage, I used to read books to the younger children every day…”

Miel collapsed onto the bed.

“So that’s why… this morning, that poop picture book…”

“N-No wonder. You didn’t seem interested at all…”

Both of their faces were filled with shock.

“Young miss! Why didn’t you tell us?!”

“T-That’s right! Someone who already memorized the basics of magic studies, and we made you read poop books of all things…”

Noticing the guilt spreading across their faces, I quickly shook my head.

“No! I like picture books!”

“Young miss…”

“Really! I like playing with you two.”

Soya shaking dolls in front of me while imitating fairy voices.

Miel bringing stacks of picture books because she wanted to read to me.

I complained sometimes, but honestly, I hadn’t hated it at all.

“They say you can learn lots of things from picture books too!”

“……”

“They say children who read lots of picture books first can read difficult books later too.”

“I-Is that so?”

I wrapped my short arms tightly around Miel and Soya.

“I like you big sisters.”

Perhaps the confession was unexpected, because Miel’s eyes widened.

Soya also stared at me silently.

But I didn’t care and tightened my embrace around them.

‘Do they know how important they are to me?’

I knew what it felt like to be abandoned alone in a huge mansion filled with countless people coming and going.

So how many people could truly be this kind to a commoner child who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

“The blankets always smell nice. And the room is big. And you give me food every day too, so thank you…”

Even through the smallest gestures, Miel and Soya showed me genuine affection.

‘That’s why I need to treat them well while I still can.’

I absolutely had to.

Just in case Sharon Abner ever cast me aside.

In my previous life, when something similar happened, I hadn’t had a single person on my side.

And once I was alone, I had no idea what to do.

‘No matter how much I loved research, I shouldn’t have locked myself away in my room all the time.’

Over the memories of my past life overlapped the image of Hiana, who had been my complete opposite.

“Wow, nanny! What is this? It’s so pretty! What would I ever do without you?”

She would kiss her nanny on the cheek without hesitation.

“Cory, Celine, Maya, thank you all so, so much. I absolutely love this dress for the banquet! The three of you are my wings!”

She was endlessly warm and affectionate even toward the maids helping her dress.

‘I… don’t think I can go that far.’

I steeled my resolve.

‘But I can at least meet halfway.’

Putting on the brightest smile I could manage, I looked at Miel and Soya.

“So let’s keep playing together from now on too, okay?”

Miel, who had been frozen stiff, finally nodded.

“Of course. This Miel will always play with Lady Anellia. I’ll read you a hundred picture books—no, a thousand of them.”

“M-Me too, young miss.”

I smiled brightly, genuinely happy.

And because of that, I failed to notice the serious look Miel and Soya exchanged with each other.