“Episode 16”
“Looks like they’re having fun.”
Watching those children, Diana was able to momentarily escape from the intense worries that permeated her life. And as the sun began to set, Diana finally rose from the bench.
“I guess it’s time to go now.”
The headmistress and Baserni, who had finished all their tasks, gathered around her.
“We’ve been keeping you here for too long.”
The headmistress wore a slightly regretful expression.
“No, I stayed because I wanted to. Thanks to you, I feel at ease.”
Diana reassured her in a calm tone.
Although she wanted to stay longer, it was almost time for the children’s meal. While they had lunch in a separate dining area arranged specifically for Diana earlier, she didn’t want to stay until dinner. If she stayed until dinner, the same thing that happened earlier would surely occur again.
“So, I’ll go now.”
The headmistress looked at the children with an expression of resignation.
“We should say goodbye. The Grand Duchess Mama is going to leave now.”
“Do we have to go?”
“Play with us more!”
“We haven’t played enough yet.”
“I knew it. I’m tired of people coming and going all the time.”
Among the complaints directed at her, Diana’s heart sank at the final remark. To the children, all of this might be hurtful. Adults always come for their own benefit, and children always end up being used.
“I’m just like that too.”
No matter how well she packaged it with kind words, it was all self-consolation.
“What should I do?”
At that moment, Baserni hugged the child who had just spoken.
“It’s because they have a lot of hurt feelings. Many people come and go without staying.”
“Oh…”
“Just come next time, and the time after that. Children… they get sad if no one comes to see them.”
As if she had seen into Diana’s heart, Baserni’s words seemed to soothe her. Diana nodded her head.
“I’ll keep coming, over and over again.”
As long as she was the Grand Duchess, throughout the entire duration. With the ability to provide substantial support. Diana smiled brightly as she looked at Baserni and the children, brighter than ever before.
However, the children still seemed hesitant to believe. Diana sensed that. So, she resolved once again in her heart. Instead of saying it a hundred times, instead of promising with pinky fingers like children do, she would show it with her own actions. That was the only way to protect their trust.
With that determination, Diana boarded the carriage.
“Should I turn the carriage towards the Grand Duchy, Mama?”
“No. Today, I want to go to the market.”
“Are you feeling frustrated?”
Seeing Beta cautiously ask, Diana stiffened her face. She wondered if Beta was also trying to control her like Ellen did, but Beta seemed very cautious.
“If you’re feeling frustrated, may I dare to make a recommendation?”
“A recommendation? Where are you thinking of?”
With a flushed face, Beta quickly spoke up.
At Diana’s firm request, Beta, who had reopened the carriage window, relayed her words verbatim to the coachman. Thanks to that, the carriage dropped them off by a deserted lake bathed in the setting sun. Then, as Diana instructed, Beta diligently parked the carriage a long distance away.
Watching the scene for a moment, Diana slowly made her way to the edge of the large lake. The three knights who followed her down, along with Beta, trailed behind her.
“It’s a beautiful place.”
“Do you like it?”
“Very much so.”
A smile spread across Beta’s face.
“I’m glad!”
“Thank you.”
Expressing gratitude to Beta, Diana moved towards a nearby bench. Benches were placed throughout the area, as if expecting many people to come and rest. Sitting down, Diana quietly gazed out at the lake. The setting sun tinted the sky a vivid crimson, and the lake interpreted that light in its own unique hues.
It was beautiful and enchanting. Like someone enchanted, Diana sat by the lake, gazing at it endlessly. Her face, as she watched the people milling around, was brighter than usual.
For quite some time, Diana spent time there. The shimmer of the lake, depending on how the light hit it, felt different hundreds of times over, never getting boring.
It was an hour after Diana had arrived at the lake, lost in her thoughts, that someone approached her. By then, the sun had set, and night had fallen.
“It seems you have some concerns.”
At the sudden voice, Diana turned her head slightly. The sight of a man with blonde hair and red eyes made her body twitch for a moment. At first glance, he looked just like Rixio. However, Diana soon realized that the person approaching her wasn’t him.
“…What brings you here?”
“It seems you know who I am.”
“I wonder. I’ve familiarized myself with the portraits of my husband’s family, at least.”
Diana’s gaze met his without much emotion.
“I didn’t expect to meet Lord Rohan here like this.”
Rohan Paul Bevito, the third son of the Grand Duke, and Rixio’s younger brother. He hadn’t attended the wedding, so Diana had only seen him through portraits. Therefore, even his speaking to her was unexpected. However, he bore such a resemblance to Rixio that it wasn’t difficult to recognize him.
“Did you come here from the Grand Duchy?”
She had never even spoken to him directly while living in the Grand Duchy, let alone seen him. It was surprising that someone she had never interacted with, let alone seen, would approach her here at the lake. And judging by the expressions of the knights and Beta, it wasn’t their intention either.
“Well…”
“Or did one of them inform me of where you were going?”
“It seems you’re quite sensitive to the idea of someone following you.”
“No one would enjoy being followed, would they?”
Smiling as if pondering something, he shrugged.
“That’s not it. I really just happened to see the Grand Duchy’s carriage coming towards the lake, purely by chance.”
Mmm right chance. Thanks for the tl!