HPBUY Side Story 2

“Where have you been, young lady? His Grace has been waiting for quite some time…!”

“It’s not even that late.”

Despite the anxious maid’s fussing, Soliet walked in with a nonchalant expression.

Even as sharp glances shot her way the moment the carriage door opened, Soliet pretended not to notice and quietly got into the carriage.

Unlike her casual response to the maid, once alone with Declan, she began to cautiously observe his reaction.

Seeing the child with a displeased look, Declan sighed.

“Soliet.”

“Hmm…?”

Soliet tilted her head slightly without properly meeting his gaze.

From experience, when her father lowered his voice like that while calling her name, it was a precursor to a full-blown scolding. Moreover, since she was aware of her wrongdoing, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Sure enough, the reprimand followed.

“I told you not to go to the annex without permission. Haven’t I repeatedly explained that there’s a proper procedure to follow when meeting His Majesty?”

“I got His Majesty’s permission before entering.”

At this prim response showing no sign of remorse, Declan narrowed his eyes.

“You didn’t throw another tantrum, did you?”

“What do you take me for!”

“What do I take you for? Do you think I don’t know you’ve been frequenting the annex day after day?”

“That’s not true.”

After briefly flaring up, Soliet crossed her arms with a haughty expression.

“Besides, His Majesty doesn’t seem to mind my visits.”

As Declan stared at her in disbelief, Soliet boasted proudly.

“The Emperor doesn’t have any friends except me.”

“Hah…”

Hearing words that left him speechless, Declan heaved a deep sigh.

He had no idea where to begin retraining his daughter’s etiquette.

Despite hiring renowned tutors like those employed by other nobles with children her age, he wondered what purpose it had served in the end.

Soliet maintained proper manners in front of adults, behaving like a refined young lady, but the problem lay in her attitude toward the Emperor.

Given that they were cousins of similar age who had practically grown up together, it might be unavoidable, but he still felt the urgent need for stricter education.

Indeed, both Sienna and himself tended to be too lenient with Soliet.

With everyone from the Monches brothers of the Grand Duchy of Monferrato to the Empress Dowager and Dahlia—all high-ranking nobles—doting on her, she had only grown more proud.

In her previous life, Sienna had been quite strict about etiquette, but after Soliet returned to her care, she raised the child with such adoration that barely a trace of her former self remained.

Declan was no different, though lately he’d been trying to discipline her more sternly. Of course, his efforts and the results were entirely separate matters…

Pressing his temple to relieve the oncoming fatigue, Declan belatedly noticed the tiny hand clutching a flower and raised an eyebrow.

“And what’s that?”

“I’m not telling you.”

Though her reply still carried lingering resentment, it wasn’t difficult to guess the meaning behind that messily tangled, crude bunch of flowers.

“Is it for your mother?”

Finding her thoughtfulness rather admirable despite everything, Declan asked in a slightly softer tone.

“Won’t they wilt by the time we reach Ricata?”

“It’s fine. Theo… I mean, Sir Monches applied a special treatment to keep them from wilting.”

Soliet was about to blurt out Theodore’s name habitually but quickly corrected herself while checking Declan’s reaction.

Come to think of it, the lilacs and hydrangeas looked quite different from their usual appearance.

It seemed Theo had applied some preservative treatment, though apparently there hadn’t been time to do the same for the roses picked from the annex.

“Mother will like it, won’t she?”

Declan opened his mouth but promptly closed it when he met Soliet’s expectant gaze.

He lacked the courage to dash his daughter’s hopes, and…

If he told her the truth, she would undoubtedly insist on stopping the carriage right away to have the same treatment applied to the roses. So he chose to remain silent instead.

But of course, it didn’t take long for Soliet to discover the truth. By the time the carriage entered Ricata, Soliet’s lips were jutting out in disappointment.

Though the outcome had been predictable, Soliet was still too young to consider such things. She knew flowers would wilt eventually but couldn’t anticipate exactly when that “eventually” would be.

To console the upset child, he bought her a fresh bouquet of roses from a nearby market, but she still seemed displeased.

Throughout the journey, Declan had taken care to ensure Soliet wouldn’t find the trip difficult, but he deliberately ignored her pleas to turn the carriage around and return to the Imperial Palace right away.

Instead of ordering the coachman, he stroked Soliet’s head as she clutched the wilted flowers in disappointment.

“Your mother will be touched just by the fact that you’re giving her a gift.”

“But… I wanted to give her the roses from the annex.”

Her downcast eyes suddenly turned triangular as she looked up at him.

“We can go wherever we want, but Mother can never return to the Empire. She can’t visit Monferrato territory, or the Imperial Palace’s annex, or Chesperl Castle.”

“It’s all right. She’s getting a much better gift than those roses.”

At his nonchalant response, Soliet tilted her head in confusion.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, Declan turned his gaze toward the window.

As soon as the carriage arrived, he saw a woman from the group standing at the top of the wide staircase hurriedly rush forward.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at how someone who normally despised showing undignified behavior in public completely disregarded grace and dignity in front of Soliet.

He gestured toward the window and whispered to the child.

“Look who’s come to greet us.”

Instinctively turning her head, Soliet’s face brightened when she spotted Sienna.

Having witnessed this scene countless times, Declan stared at Sienna through the window, then glanced down at Soliet, who was fidgeting in her seat inside the carriage.

The mother and daughter were incredibly attached to each other, even with just a window between them.

“Soli.”

As soon as the carriage door opened, Sienna lifted Soliet into her arms and spun her around.

While this tender reunion between mother and daughter took place, Declan calmly stepped out of the carriage.

The others who had come to greet them seemed rather embarrassed, but he was accustomed to being relegated to second place.

It wasn’t as if they had been apart for years—they saw each other at least once every few months—yet every meeting still resulted in a flood of tears. He couldn’t help but get used to it.

After holding Soliet tightly and showering her with kisses for a long while, Sienna finally looked up. She reached out her other hand to grasp his, silently mouthing ‘I missed you’ without making a sound.

A smile escaped through Declan’s lips. He gently patted Soliet’s round head, which was buried in Sienna’s embrace, and then moved on.

“Where’s Manuel?”

In place of Sienna, who was preoccupied with Soliet, Jane, who had been standing behind her, tactfully guided him.

“It’s his naptime, so he might be a bit fussy.”

Understanding the subtle warning, Declan, who knew his son’s temperament well, nodded.

When he entered the bedroom, the nurse handed the child to Declan while praising how beautiful the baby was, with long eyelashes despite his young age.

“When we go for walks, everyone thinks he’s a baby girl.”

Indeed, his sleeping face looked truly angelic.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Manuel opened his eyes. Upon making eye contact with Declan, Manuel’s eyes immediately welled up. Soon, the previously quiet air was filled with the child’s cries.

The nurse’s face fell in dismay, but Declan, already accustomed to such situations, assured her it was fine and dismissed her.

“Manuel, be good.”

Manuel differed from Soliet in many ways.

Their appearance was so similar that anyone could tell they were siblings, but their personalities couldn’t be more different.

Unlike Soli, who had been so agreeable as a baby that she would smile even when held by strangers, Manuel reacted sensitively to the slightest stimulus.

While he generally resembled Declan in appearance, his sensitive disposition was more like Sienna’s.

Even Sienna, who rarely showed signs of difficulty, occasionally expressed her exasperation in letters. She would write that his outward appearance resembled his father, but his temperament seemed to take after her.

He would burst into tears over trivial matters, leaving his eyes constantly wet.

He would remain relatively calm when in the arms of his nurse or Sienna, but as soon as someone else held him, he would cry as if the world were ending…

Naturally, his biological father, from whom he had been separated for extended periods, was no exception.

Manuel, with tears brimming in his eyes, turned his head from side to side, searching for his mother. This prompted a sigh from Declan.

“Why do you cry every time I see you?”

Whenever this situation repeated itself, the nurse would console him by saying it was because they had been apart for so long and the child found him unfamiliar. However, by now, Declan was beginning to think the opposite might be true.

Just as in his previous life, Declan couldn’t readily rejoice at Manuel’s existence this time either.