“I want to help Luciard grow up comfortably, even now. I’m not sure if I deserve to feel sympathy for that child.”
In fact, Icarus didn’t need to care about Luciard this much.
He was a bastard child and a potential threat to his title.
If it were someone else, they might have dealt with Luciard out of sight long ago.
However, because of his parents, Icarus harbored guilt for not looking after Luciard.
Before Luciard was born, Icarus was also neglected by his parents.
After Luciard was born, his mother had taken more interest in him, but that was merely a defensive reaction to the appearance of someone who might threaten her position.
There was no love for her child in that.
‘Maybe I see my younger self in my brother.’
Icarus thought of his younger brother, who was trying hard not to meet his gaze.
“I’m sure He’ll understand the Duke’s feelings as well. Look at me. I’ve been trying hard, and now my daughter understood my feelings, didn’t she?”
Icarus’s eyes trembled for a moment.
If it were someone else, it would have sounded like flattery, but Derrick was in a similar situation.
Next to Derrick, a girl who looked nothing like him caught his eye.
“Hestia.”
“Yes.”
“Until now, my brother has never made friends his age or relied on anyone. So, if you meet my brother, would you be willing to extend your hand first?”
Hestia paused to think for a moment.
Luciard Winston.
The reason she had completely forgotten about him until now was that he would soon leave the Duke’s household.
He hadn’t shown up at Icarus’s funeral, nor would he appear in the distant future.
So she vaguely thought that Icarus and he didn’t get along…
‘But that doesn’t seem to be the case.’
At least the look in Icarus’s eyes when he asked her was sincere.
If she hadn’t spent time with him today, she would have refused. She still believed they needed to keep their distance from the Winstons.
‘But maybe this much is okay?’
“Yes, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you, Hestia.”
Seeing Icarus smile gently, Hestia shook off the lingering discomfort inside her.
* * *
In the dark room, heavy curtains were drawn, making the large space feel even more desolate.
However, a small lamp near the bed hinted that someone was present in the gloomy room.
The flickering candlelight made shadows grow and shrink repeatedly. The owner of the shadow was a small child.
The child, leaning against the candlelight, lifted the hem of their clothing to reveal their arms.
Even in the orange glow, the child’s body was visibly bruised and mottled.
“…Ugh.”
The child, feeling their skin, curled up with a small whimper.
The injuries were not limited to just their arms.
There were bruises and contusions hidden beneath their clothes.
Looking down at their battered body, the child’s eyes were cold and sunken.
They wore an expression closer to resignation than anger or sorrow.
Burying his face between his knees, he suddenly lifted his head at the sound of footsteps in the hallway.
Knock knock—
“…”
As the knocking sound came, the child curled up tighter, pressing against the corner as much as possible.
“Luciard, are you asleep?”
At the familiar voice from outside the door, the child relaxed slightly.
“Are you feeling unwell? I heard Flora visited.”
“…Yeah, I’m okay.”
“That’s a relief.”
Even though the child answered in a small voice, the person outside clearly caught it.
“I heard you didn’t eat. Aren’t you hungry?”
The child clutched their empty stomach.
He was hungry. He hadn’t eaten a meal since breakfast with him.
When he thought about asking for lunch, he recalled the faces of those who laughed and hit them.
Clatter—
They heard something being placed outside the door.
“Just in case, I brought you some sandwiches and fruit. It’s good if you’re not hungry, but if you are, at least eat this. You can’t starve.”
“Okay…”
“…Luciard, aren’t you going to show your face to me?”
The child didn’t respond. After a moment, a small sigh was heard.
“Tomorrow is my wedding, you know?”
He knew. Because of that, the bullying from others had lessened a bit.
“I was hoping you could be our flower boy, but I guess that’s not possible?”
“…”
“The dress is ready, so think about it by tomorrow morning. I’m not forcing you. If you don’t want to, it’s fine.”
“…Okay.”
“…Alright, I’m sorry for bothering you. Rest well.”
The presence outside faded away. There were no more sounds, but the child cautiously opened the door after ten minutes.
Outside was a neatly prepared sandwich.
“This should be okay.”
If it were something someone else brought, he wouldn’t have eaten it, but since it was from his brother, he figured it wouldn’t be a prank.
His brother was the only one in the Duke’s household who hadn’t hit him.
The child picked up the tray and went inside.
And after a considerable amount of time passed, the tightly closed door showed no signs of opening.
* * *
“What? A flower girl? Me?”
“Yes, originally, Luciard was supposed to do it, but… it seems he doesn’t want to.”
Hestia, who had been getting ready early in the morning for Icarus’s wedding, was taken aback by the unexpected news.
‘What was it like before the regression?’
She didn’t think she had seen Luciard back then. In fact, it seemed they hadn’t used a flower girl…
“Dad asked me to do it instead. Elvin is too young for it. Can’t you do it for us, Tia?”
“Yes, I’ll do it.”
“Just like my daughter!”
“Ugh! You’re messing up my hair, Dad!”
As Derrick hugged her tightly and rubbed his cheek against hers, Hestia pulled away in disgust.
It was only natural for Derrick to pout.
“What’s my sister doing?”
Elvin, dressed up nicely, tugged at Hestia’s skirt.
“Sister is going to be a flower girl.”
“A flwer girl? What’s that?”
“It’s not a flwer girl; it’s a flower girl. In short, it’s someone who scatters flowers.”
“I want to do it too!”
“It’s only for my sister!”
“No! If my sister does it, I’ll do it too!”
Elvin dramatically flopped onto the floor.
“Elvin, this isn’t a game. You can’t insist on things that aren’t allowed.”
Seeing Hestia’s firm demeanor, Elvin realized that his stubbornness wouldn’t work.
As Elvin looked at Hestia and slowly got up from the floor, the nearby maids and Anna burst into laughter.
“What would Mom have done without our Tia?”
“Mom is busy taking care of Annie. I can look after Elvin.”
The casual tone didn’t match the chubby face of the eight-year-old at all.
“You know Mom loves our Tia very much, right?”
As Anna hugged Hestia and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, Hestia’s cheeks flushed pink.
“I love Mom too.”
Saying “I love you” to my parents felt embarrassing, but perhaps because I had already lost them once, I didn’t want to hide my feelings.
In fact, as I suppressed my embarrassment, my heart felt full.
As I nuzzled my face into Anna’s embrace, I felt Elvin quickly cling to me.
“I love you too, Mom! Elvin loves you!”
“Hahaha, of course. Whose son are you?”
“Ow!”
Annie, who was in Anna’s arms, babbled. The three of them exchanged wide-eyed glances.
“Annie is jealous!”
“Right? Does our Annie also want to hear that she is loved?”
Hestia kissed Annie’s small hand and brushed back her reddish-brown hair. Annie laughed merrily.
“…Hey, where’s Dad?”
Derrick, who had naturally felt left out, sniffled as he appeared.
“Does Dad not love us? Huh?”
“Dad loves… loves you.”
“Dad, you’re being lazy.”
Seeing his eldest stammering out the words of love and his second child turning away, Derrick seemed frozen in shock.
Soon, he began to whine and hugged Elvin tightly, causing Elvin to cry out for help.
As the room filled with happy laughter, someone knocked.
“Excuse me. I was wondering if Lady Frost is ready for the rehearsal before the wedding?”
“Yes! I’ll go now.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.”
Hestia approached the attendant who had come to fetch her.
“What should I do?”
“You just need to scatter flower petals in front of the bride as she enters. I was worried we’d have to rush to fit the dress, but thankfully, it’s light pink.”
“I heard Prince Luciard was supposed to be the flower girl.”
The attendant paused and looked back at Hestia.
“Is something wrong with the prince?”
“…The prince is not in a condition to be a flower girl.”
“Is he sick?”
“Rather than sick… it’s just a bit inappropriate to present him in front of others.”
With the corners of his mouth slightly turned up and a hidden smirk, Hestia frowned.
“Anyway, you don’t need to worry about it, Lady. And you don’t have to call him prince. Just calling him ‘he’ is fine…”
‘What’s going on? Why this attitude?’
It seemed like they were ignoring Luciard.
Is it acceptable to disregard your master like that?
Having spent over ten years as a maid, she knew that not all servants were loyal to their masters.
But that didn’t mean they should be so openly disrespectful.
In this case, there could only be one explanation.
‘They don’t recognize Luciard as their master.’
Was he a bastard child?
From what Icarus had said yesterday, Luciard must have been marginalized within the Duke’s household while the previous Duke and Duchess were alive.
Now, Icarus seemed to care for him rather than neglect him…
‘Long-standing bad habits won’t just disappear overnight.’
Moreover, it had only been half a year since Icarus inherited the title.
It would be difficult for the servants’ attitudes to change in such a short time.
‘Does the Duke know about this?’
At least his concern for his brother seemed genuine. If he had known, he surely wouldn’t have tolerated the servants’ insolence.
And from what he could tell, it didn’t seem like Luciard had any say in the change of the flower girl.
As Hestia’s mind spun with these thoughts, she arrived at the bride’s waiting room with the attendant.
“Oh my. You look so cute, Lady Frost.”
Flora looked stunning in her pure white wedding dress, like an angel fallen from the sky.
“…An angel is speaking.”
As Hestia muttered in a daze, Flora waved her hands.
“The angel is right here. Thank you for agreeing to be the flower girl, even on such short notice.”
“It’s an honor for me to be the flower girl at the Duke’s wedding.”
“Pfft, you don’t need to be so formal in front of me.”
Flora’s delicate hand caressed Hestia’s cheek.
But as her hand began to squeeze Hestia’s cheek, Hestia felt like she was becoming a stuffed toy.
It seemed that both Flora and Icarus found her adorable.
Having received such treatment for the past three months, she was now somewhat used to it.
Resigning herself, Hestia willingly offered her cheek to Flora and momentarily pondered over Flora’s wedding dress.
