Chapter 5
“Yesterday, it was the butler of Duke Edelvine who was standing next to His Grace.”
The butler approached me and my father with a firm step, staring blankly.
“Hello, Vivian.”
My father’s wary gaze shifted to me.
“Vivian?”
Unlike the usual gentle gaze and smile, Mr. Goldman’s eyes sharpened slightly as he demanded an answer.
It was an unspoken question: How does this person know you?
Pretending not to notice the gaze, I greeted the butler.
“Hello, Mr. Butler. What brings you here? Are you here to buy bread?”
“I came for another matter.”
“Another matter?”
Instead of answering, the butler looked up and stared at my father.
“I am Owen, the butler of Duke Edelvine. Are you Dias Hessen, sir?”
“Yes, but…”
“I’ll be straightforward.”
After briefly lowering his gaze to me, the butler spoke.
“The Duke wishes for Miss Vivian to be a playmate for the young lady of the Duke.”
‘Wow, incredible!’
This was a golden opportunity for me, who had been aiming to enter the aristocratic circle.
But my father’s brow furrowed.
“Why are you suddenly saying this?”
“It seems the Duke became aware of Vivian’s potential after hearing about her from yesterday.”
My father, who had heard about my meeting with the Duke, shot a questioning glance at me, but…
‘This man seems ready to kill his daughter with his eyes.’
I subtly avoided his gaze and hugged my father’s waist.
After the butler left, I was sure there would be a torrent of scolding from my father, but for now, I intended to pacify him with a hug, if nothing else.
The butler continued speaking.
“Miss Vivian will study and learn with the young lady. If there’s anything you need, it will be provided under the name of Edelvine.”
“…”
“Oh, of course, not every day, just three days a week at the mansion will suffice.”
Even disregarding my intentions to approach Rachel, this was an offer worth considering.
I believed my father would accept this proposal.
However…
“While I appreciate the offer, there is still much I haven’t taught her. She may seem harmless, but she’s far from being a suitable playmate for the young lady.”
‘What…?’
I looked at my father, who outright rejected the proposal, and silently groaned.
‘No! How can he do this?’
I pinched my father’s sturdy waist and shouted.
“Dad! We need to talk.’’
I silently screamed as I watched my father refuse in a single stroke.
“No! What kind of nonsense is this!”
I jabbed at my father’s firm side and shouted.
“Dad! Let’s talk.”
Then, dragging my father along, I turned back belatedly and yelled at the butler.
“Please wait while we browse the store, Butler. It’ll only take a moment!”
I dragged my father into an alley next to the store.
But my father was quicker than me in opening his mouth.
“Vivian, why did you go there?”
His usually cold eyes and voice sank unusually.
‘Sigh. I thought I could get through with some coaxing and tantrums, but it seems not.’
I quickly changed my strategy and began to fabricate lies.
“I was just curious… I went out to take a look around, but I ran into the Duke.”
Of course, I couldn’t even meet his eyes.
My father glanced at me for a moment and then sighed as if he were giving up.
“I’ll talk to the butler about it, let’s not go to the villa. Got it?”
Desperately, I grabbed my father’s clothes as he tried to turn back to the butler.
“Oh, no! I have to go there, Dad.”
“Why do you have to go there?”
My father, sensing that I had a different purpose, asked.
Before I could unwittingly speak honestly, I quickly shut my mouth before the words came out.
‘I can’t talk about the story I know from the original work.’
Rachel’s constitution, absorbing mana from her surroundings, was kept secret externally to avoid the Emperor’s restraint.
In other words, it meant it was unreasonable for me to know Rachel’s constitution.
‘And it’s even more unreasonable to talk about this world being a novel.’
Not only did I not want to add worries to my already concerned father, who only worried about his sick daughter, but I also didn’t want to add worries that his daughter was crazy.
I told the story without mentioning the original, honestly.
“I want to cure my illness.”
But whether that statement backfired or not, my father’s already pale face turned even paler.
“W-why all of a sudden? Are you still in a lot of pain these days? Are you hiding something from Dad—”
“No, it’s not like that! I’m fine, so calm down, Dad.”
I quickly reassured my father before he could raise more concerns.
“I just want to get better quickly so that I can live healthy and long with you, Dad. I don’t want you to worry.”
“…”
“Since the Duke knows capable doctors and wizards of the system, wouldn’t he help if we asked?”
Despite my earnest persuasion, my father remained reluctant.
Even his gaze upon me seemed sorrowful for some reason.
“But still, I can’t back down this time.”
There were moments when I had to yield whenever my father made such expressions, but this time, I couldn’t afford to lose.
Because my life was at stake!
And it was also for my father’s sake, moving forward.
After observing me with earnest eyes for a while, my father eventually raised both hands as if conceding.
“Alright. Let’s ask the duke for a favor.”
A smile lit up my face as I finally heard the answer I had hoped for.
It was a dramatic negotiation settlement between father and daughter.
The next day.
I rode a carriage sent by the duke to his estate.
“Wow!”
Even though I had entered through the side gate a few days ago, entering through the grand main gate in a carriage felt completely different.
It finally sank in that I would soon meet Rachel.
The carriage eventually came to a halt.
Just before stepping out of the carriage, I quickly checked my appearance.
“Since it’s my first official meeting with Rachel, I should look nice.”
I checked if my hair was neatly tied and gave my cheeks a gentle pat to make them look rosier.
I also smoothed out the wrinkles on my dress that had been slightly creased from riding in the carriage.
Finally, I stepped out of the carriage.
“Welcome, Vivian.”
The person welcoming me was none other than the butler.
“Hello, Butler.”
“You’ve arrived safely, Vivian. I’ll inform the young lady, so please wait in the greenhouse.”
“Of course.”
When the housemaid led me to Rachel’s room, another maid disappeared and guided me to the greenhouse in the backyard.
Once alone in the greenhouse, I wandered around the vast space, marveling, “Certainly, the duke must be wealthy.”
Despite being a small resort town villa, the greenhouse was grand and spacious.
As I sat at the table in the center of the greenhouse, observing exotic birds perched on branches and chirping away, I heard the sound of a door opening behind me.
But the person who entered the greenhouse was not Rachel—it was Sally.
Seeing Sally’s irritated expression, which seemed to always be on the verge of chasing me away, I couldn’t help but feel amused.
I greeted her with a bright smile, “I’ve become your playmate, Sally. Please take care of me from now on.”
I even reached out my hand to her.
Upon seeing this, Sally scoffed, “Someone like you?”
Then she swatted my hand away and demanded, “Who are you anyway?”
“What do you mean?” I replied, feigning ignorance.
“Who let someone like you in here without our mother’s permission again?” Sally snapped.
I chuckled before retorting, “Does the duke need your mother’s permission too?”
“What……..?’’
Sally’s expression shifted from annoyance to shock.
Even the arrogant Sally couldn’t defy the duke’s words.
“You should inform your mother that the duke has brought me here as the young lady’s friend without permission,” I added.
“Ugh…!”
Sally glared at me with frustration before storming off.
Watching her disappear, I stuck out my tongue in amusement.
“Anyway, it seems like quite some time has passed. Rachel hasn’t come yet.”
A mix of anticipation and concern filled me as I continued to wait for Rachel.
My heart raced suddenly.
My heart began to beat rapidly, and it became difficult to breathe. At the same time, a surge of pain hit me as if it would burst.
“Ugh….”
Mana overdose symptoms, which were usually nothing out of the ordinary, came on suddenly and violently like this.
It was a pain that was all too familiar, yet never became any easier each time.
There was no way to fix it, no way to alleviate the symptoms. I could only endure.
I staggered to my feet.
“Let’s hide for a while until it gets better.”
I hadn’t told the Duke about my illness yet.
Even though it wasn’t contagious, I didn’t want to subject a sick child to entertain the Duchess.
Above all, because the problem would be resolved once I met Rachel, there was no need to mention it.
But I didn’t know how long it would take for the symptoms to disappear even after meeting Rachel.
In that case, if I were caught in a sickly state, I would have to explain it to Rachel, so it was better to avoid it altogether.
With my aching heart in my grasp, I reached out towards the greenhouse door.
But….
“Huh?”
Because the door opened from the outside first, I collapsed forward.
Into the arms of someone in front of me.
“I’m sorry―”
As I desperately tried to get up and lifted my head.
Our eyes met.
With the child who had been watching me from outside the window for the past few days.
