Chapter 05
A few days had passed since bringing Jacquette to the mansion.
The child seemed to be adapting well. He even volunteered to do chores like cleaning and laundry.
It seemed like he couldn’t understand the idea of living here without conditions.
Daphne had told him that his only job was to eat well, sleep well, play, and grow up healthy. He said he understood, but his eyes showed doubt.
She would have to explain it to him as many times as needed. That was the role of an adult.
As Daphne watched Jacquette folding paper, she glanced down at the blank sheet in front of her.
A clean, empty piece of paper.
The first thing she had to do was escape this mansion. With Jacquette.
Everything she had done so far would be meaningless if she didn’t leave this place.
But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a good escape plan.
“Mom…!”
Daphne flinched at the unfamiliar title.
Even after hearing it for days, she still wasn’t used to it.
In her past life, she had never raised a child, and in this life, she hadn’t had much interaction with them either.
She quickly put down her pen and smiled as if nothing was wrong.
“What is it?”
She tried to sound gentle, but her naturally low voice still came out firm.
People often mistook her tone for anger and became cautious around her.
But Jacquette didn’t seem to mind. As if he instinctively knew she wasn’t mad.
“Are you okay…?”
Jacquette rested his chin on the desk, fidgeting with his fingers as he asked.
He was very sensitive to even the smallest changes in people’s moods.
She couldn’t let him worry.
There had to be a way.
Daphne gently patted the child’s round head and answered.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
At her words, Jacquette’s face brightened with relief. He grinned and held something out to her.
“T-This….”
It was a bit crumpled and uneven, but still recognizable.
“A flower?”
Jacquette’s smile widened.
“Yes…! I made it because… it looks like you….”
Daphne took the paper flower from him. He had probably thought about giving it to her for a long time.
The evidence was in the stem—it was the most wrinkled part, likely from him holding it tightly.
“Thank you, it’s beautiful.”
Even though she didn’t react as excitedly as Becky would have, Jacquette still looked delighted just from her small compliment.
According to parenting books, physical affection is an important part of forming an attachment with a child.
Even getting used to patting his head had taken her several days. She had no idea how long it would take to get used to everything else.
“I can… make more…!”
Even though he was shy and observant of his surroundings, Jacquette was still just a child.
A single compliment made him look like the happiest person in the world.
Knock, knock.
Daphne and Jacquette both turned toward the door.
“Come in.”
As soon as she gave permission, the door opened. Becky entered, carrying a silver tray with cookies and milk.
“Becky!”
Becky was the main reason Jacquette had adapted so quickly to the mansion.
“Are you happy to see me, or the cookies?”
Becky teased, and Jacquette giggled. Her playful and easygoing attitude had helped him open up faster.
“Both!”
Becky laughed and set the cookies on the table. Jacquette quickly grabbed one.
Then Becky turned to Daphne.
“Why does my lady look so gloomy?”
Daphne hesitated, then asked,
“Becky, what do you think is the best way for a noblewoman to leave her family?”
Becky tilted her head.
“Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“No reason, just curious.”
Becky thought for a moment before answering.
“Marriage, maybe?”
“Marriage?”
“Yes. When noblewomen become adults, they usually change their family name through marriage.”
“Marriage….”
Daphne had considered it before, but there was a problem.
She would need a husband.
She had to find one and get married before the Marquis returned.
And the groom’s family had to be powerful enough not to be crushed by the marquis’s influence.
If the family was too weak, the marriage could be annulled.
“Marriage, huh….”
Daphne started making a mental list.
The only families that could stand against the marquis’s power were other marquis families, border dukes, or the imperial family.
She immediately crossed out “imperial family.”
Forming ties with royalty in such a desperate situation would be impossible.
But the other families—most of their young men were already married.
“How am I supposed to find….”
She mumbled, then suddenly froze.
She had been thinking only of young men who hadn’t inherited a title yet.
But then, a certain man came to mind.
The young duke of the Anaxi family—Theophanes Anaxi.
“The Anaxi mansion has reopened recently…?”
The Anaxi family had once shut its doors completely.
But recently, a new head of the family had taken over, and the gates had reopened.
And from her past life, Daphne knew exactly how to get in touch with him.
She also knew what he needed the most.
Daphne suddenly stood up with a grin.
“Thanks, Becky.”
“Huh? For what…?”
“I need to go out. Help me get ready.”
Daphne grabbed Becky’s shoulders and smiled brightly.
Becky looked suspicious.
“Where are you going?”
“To propose to my future husband.”
Daphne had told Becky the truth, but to the rest of the mansion, she gave a different excuse.
Especially because if Baron Bruce found out her real goal, he would report it to the Marquis immediately.
Her excuse? Buying parenting books.
Some had pointed out that she could just send a servant to buy them, but Daphne wouldn’t back down.
She argued that since the baron had no experience raising children, she wanted to read and choose the books herself.
The baron had been flustered by her argument.
His expression had been priceless.
Now, standing in front of her destination, Daphne looked up at the building.
It was a small, two-story shop.
The sign above the door simply read:
[Bookstore]
A very straightforward sign.
Through the window, she could see an old man at the counter, reading a book.
There were no customers inside.
Daphne pushed the door open. The old hinges creaked slightly.
It was a quiet sound, but in the dead silence of the store, it felt loud.
“Welcome.”
The old man didn’t look up from his book and greeted her in a bored voice.
“Feel free to look around.”
“Thank you.”
Daphne glanced at him briefly before stepping inside.
As expected, the bookstore was as small inside as it looked outside.
She slowly browsed the shelves, but she also kept an eye on the counter.
The old man didn’t seem interested in selling books at all.
Which made sense—this wasn’t a bookstore.
This was one of the hidden branches of Phantom, an intelligence guild disguised as a bookstore.
Publicly, Phantom was known as a mercenary guild, so very few people knew its true nature.
But Daphne had chosen this place for a reason.
Because the owner of this guild… was none other than the Duke of Anaxi.
