“Tia!”
Hestia went to find her family, who were waiting for her.
As soon as she entered the room, her large family swarmed around her.
“I heard the news! You’re becoming the guardian, right?”
“Sis, is it true that you’ll be living there from now on?”
“Dad changed his mind. He said he can’t leave you there alone.”
“Sis, are you leaving home?”
“Tia, your father acted rashly. After reconsidering, we don’t think it’s right for you to become the guardian. We’ll talk to the young master again and…!”
“Wait, wait! One at a time!”
Seeing her family all talking at once without giving her a chance to speak, Hestia shouted.
At that, everyone fell silent.
Hestia let out a sigh and cleared her throat.
“Ahem, we are in front of the young master. Please try to be a bit more composed.”
She gestured toward the person behind her.
As her family’s eyes naturally shifted to the figure hidden behind the hem of her dress, Leonhard came into view.
Leonhard looked confused, not used to such a noisy atmosphere, which was very different from his own household.
Everyone, except for Eric, clammed up, worried that he might have overheard what they were saying.
“You have… quite a few siblings?”
“Including me, there are four of us. This is the first time you’re seeing them all, right?”
Leonhard, who had only met Derrick before, hadn’t realized the Frost family was so large.
As Leonhard stood there awkwardly, Hestia gently placed her hand on his shoulder and introduced her family.
“As you know, this is my father, Derrick Frost, and my mother, Anna Frost.”
Derrick gave an awkward smile, and Anna lifted the hem of her dress and bowed lightly.
“This is the second eldest, Elvin, the third, Annie, and our youngest, Eric. They are 13, 10, and 8 years old, respectively.”
“Huh?”
Leonhard looked up at her with wide eyes, and Hestia smiled.
“Yes, Eric is the same age as you. Kids, greet the young master.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Elvin Frost.”
“I’m the third, Annie Frost.”
“I’m Eric Frost! I look forward to getting to know you!”
All of them had reddish-brown hair, thanks to a bit of Winston’s blood, and they either had pale blue eyes or ordinary brown ones, taking after Anna and Derrick.
None of them particularly resembled Hestia.
Leonhard had already heard that Hestia was Derrick’s stepdaughter, so he wasn’t surprised.
‘They do share a similar atmosphere, though.’
Despite their individual differences, they all had that distinctive Frost family aura.
Feeling unexpectedly comfortable, Leonhard relaxed his shoulders.
“I’m Leonhard Winston. I look forward to getting along with you.”
The children, who had been nervous because he was the son of a duke, were relieved by Leonhard’s surprisingly gentle reaction.
Although Elvin and Annie, who were older, still maintained their formal manners…
“Isn’t the young master the same age as me?”
But the youngest, Eric, was different.
Excited to meet someone his own age, Eric’s eyes sparkled as Annie and Anna held him back.
“That’s true, but don’t treat him too casually. He’s still a young master.”
“You mustn’t be rude, son.”
“Hmph.”
Eric pouted in disappointment, and Leonhard, watching him, parted his lips.
“That…”
All eyes turned to Leonhard. He hesitated for a moment, looking around before speaking softly.
“I don’t mind. I want to be friends with him…”
At that, Eric’s face brightened, while the others exchanged wide-eyed glances.
‘Is this really okay?’
‘What if Eric causes any trouble?’
‘Fifty-fifty… but Eric is calmer than other kids his age.’
‘Should I keep an eye on him?’
After a brief exchange of glances, Hestia nodded. She cautiously asked Leonhard,
“Have you ever met anyone your age before?”
“There aren’t any kids my age around…”
Knowing Icarus’s protective nature, it wasn’t that he would have deliberately restricted Leonhard’s friends.
It was probably just that there hadn’t been any opportunities.
After all, you can’t just bring any child into a noble household and expect them to get along with them.
“It would be great if my youngest brother could become your friend. Would you like to play with him for a bit?”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. Kids, make sure you’re polite to the young master.”
“Yeah! Don’t worry!”
‘You’re the one I’m most worried about, kid.’
As Eric answered confidently, Hestia narrowed her eyes.
“Hehe, what do you like the most, young master? I’ve been really into playing battle games with knight figurines lately!”
“Knight figurines? What are those?”
“You don’t know about knight figurines? They’re the most popular toys right now! I’ll show you mine!”
With his natural charm, Eric approached Leonhard without hesitation.
Unable to shake a feeling of unease, Hestia kept her eyes on them.
“Sis, I’ll keep an eye on them, so don’t worry.”
“Having you there makes me feel much better.”
Annie, who was the second youngest but the most mature, followed the two boys.
Finally, Hestia had a moment to breathe, but it didn’t last long.
“Tia, did you really agree to be the guardian?”
Her family’s questions started up again. Hestia frowned at the unexpected query.
“Didn’t you tell me to become the guardian? Have you changed your mind already?”
“You really did… Yes, you did…”
Seeing Derrick slump as if his world had collapsed, Hestia was momentarily puzzled. But after listening to Anna and Elvin’s explanations, she understood what was going on.
Exasperated, Hestia put her hands on her hips.
“So you thought I was going to stay in Byron this whole time?”
“We figured you’d go back and forth between Byron and the duke’s estate…”
Since Derrick was the lord of Byron, he had to visit the estate periodically to manage his affairs. But that wasn’t the case for Hestia.
“The carriage has already left.”
“I was the one who told them that.”
At Elvin’s remark, everyone except Derrick shook their heads in dismay.
Leaving the disappointed Derrick behind, Anna cautiously approached Hestia.
“Have you spoken with the young master? What did you decide?”
“I’ll do my best as his guardian. We just signed the contract a little while ago.”
“A contract? Is that for the Imperial Court?”
“No, it’s just to prepare for any potential issues. I’ll handle the handover when I return home. I didn’t get the chance to properly finish my foundation work because I suddenly had to become a guardian.”
At Hestia’s sharp gaze, Derrick looked crestfallen.
“Sniff. Daughter, do you want to switch with me now?”
“The young master said he only wants me. Even if you wanted to switch, you can’t.”
He was the one who insisted on pushing her into the guardian role in the first place, so she couldn’t understand why he was regretting it now.
“Hestia.”
At that moment, Anna, with a worried expression, took Hestia’s hand.
“Mom’s worried that you’re taking on something too dangerous.”
Her words were full of meaning.
She might be worried about sending off her daughter, who had just come of age, or she might be concerned about Hestia managing the duke’s household on her own. Or perhaps she feared the pressure and opposition from other nobles.
‘Probably all of the above.’
The guardian position was a poisoned chalice. It came with a lot of power but also significant burdens.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m your daughter, after all.”
“Even so, if things ever get too hard, promise you’ll tell us. Remember, Frost is always behind you.”
“I haven’t even started yet. I’ll handle things just fine. The real problem is not being able to manage the foundation anymore. They’ll be in chaos without me.”
“It’ll be rough at first, but they’ll adjust with time. You’ll just have to divide up the responsibilities now.”
“Still… make sure to keep me updated on the foundation. You know I have a significant role in it, right?”
“My goodness. Do you really love working that much?”
“I built it with my own hands, of course, I’m curious. Let’s talk more about this when we get home.”
Since they weren’t parting ways just yet, Anna stifled her worries for now.
“Are you going home today?”
As Anna comforted Derrick, Elvin asked quietly, “You were planning on leaving tonight, but I think you’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning. Wouldn’t those two be really disappointed if you left now?”
Following Hestia’s gaze, Elvin turned his head.
By now, the two eight-year-old boys had become lost in their own world, laughing together.
Through years of helping raise her younger siblings, Hestia had learned just how difficult it could be to calm children who were at the height of their excitement.
Additionally, she had noticed the loneliness that Leonhardt occasionally displayed during their conversations. This made her want to take this chance to give him some much-needed companionship.
‘I need to give him the best memories possible,’ she thought.
That way, Leonhard wouldn’t fall into darkness and could grow up to be a well-adjusted young man.
“Honestly, I don’t understand why you volunteered to become the guardian.”
“Excuse me?” Hestia turned to him, unsure if Elvin was trying to start trouble like he usually did. But this time, his voice was unusually serious.
Sure enough, Elvin was looking at her with a concerned expression.
“You don’t even like Winston.”
Hestia’s eyes widened, and her mouth slowly opened in surprise before she let out a small, incredulous laugh.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“I’ve noticed that all the strange things you’ve done were related to Winston.”
Hestia was about to wave off his words when Elvin’s next statement stopped her in her tracks.
“Good or bad, you always overreact when it comes to Winston.”
“Elvin, you…”
“I remember when I was five and we heard about the birth of the young duke, you were upset for days. After that, whenever Dad got news from the Duke’s household, you always checked the details first. And if there was ever a suggestion to visit, you’d always find some excuse to avoid going.”
Hestia was speechless. Elvin was far too specific in his observations.
It was true—she had always overreacted when major events involving Winston occurred.
But she had never shared her feelings about Winston with anyone else.
“It was odd. I couldn’t figure out whether you liked Winston or if you were uncomfortable with them. But at some point, I realized… You weren’t just uncomfortable. You were scared of them.”
Elvin studied his sister closely.
The eldest of the Frost family, she had always been the reliable sister to her younger siblings.
Though they often argued, Elvin knew Hestia cared for all of them.
She was usually relaxed and smiling around her siblings.
But now, Hestia wore an unfamiliar expression—one that Elvin had only seen once before.
The first time was yesterday when she left the room alone after the funeral.
“You could’ve turned down being the guardian. Why did you accept?”
Hestia’s expression was now stiff, like someone who had been caught trying to hide their true feelings.
[Translator Note: Hope you guys like it, if you guys like this chapter, please feedback this novel on “Novelupdates”.]
Crianças são muito perceptivas