Please Save My Child

He didn’t know what had happened in the early morning to make the child sob, but when he was about to approach her, Estelle came out the door, hugging a pillow. The child whimpered and walked into a room without finding his father.

 

“…”

 

Although he wanted to hold that child in his arms right now, the Duke could not bring himself to do so. He didn’t know if Estelle would come to visit him, because he felt like if he met her at this early morning, she would be scared when she saw his face. He was worried that she might fall or get lost, so he followed the child breathlessly a few steps away. Estelle arrived at the room where Reina and Bonita were staying. Thanks to the Duke placing Reina’s room close to Estelle’s, the child didn’t have to walk for a long time.

 

“Reina…”

 

The child called Reina in a voice full of tears.

 

“Miss?”

 

Reina must have fallen asleep and woke up, and called Estelle in a deep voice. After confirming that Reina was awake, Stem whimpered and walked towards her bed.

 

“Miss, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

 

“Ugh…”

 

“Then did you have a scary dream?”

 

The Duke overheard their conversation through a crack in the door. He knew it was against etiquette to listen to something like this, but he couldn’t help but let go.

 

“So… with the teachers… and the kids…”

 

“I see. So, did you wake up startled?”

 

“…”

 

Reina did not ask the child in detail what kind of dream she had. Instead, Reina patted her empty spot on the wide bed.

 

“Shall we sleep together?”

 

“…Is that okay?”

 

“Sure.”

 

When Reina smiled and nodded, Estelle crawled into bed, hugging her pillow.

 

“I will chase away all your scary dreams.”

 

“Can you do that?”

 

“Of course. Actually, it’s a secret, I’m a wizard.”

 

“…!”

 

Of course, Reina, who couldn’t use magic, couldn’t be a wizard. She was simply saying this to soothe the child who was having a nightmare. Estelle believed Reina’s sweet lies and responded that it was amazing. Reina kept quiet so that Bonita wouldn’t wake up. She consoled Estelle and put her back to sleep. A while later, when the child’s voice quieted down, probably because she had fallen asleep, the Duke took his foot off to leave.

 

“…Master?”

 

“…”

 

At that time, Reina came out from beyond the door and called the Duke. He was surprised by Reina’s actions when she recognized his presence and erased her pretense of popularity.

 

“…How did you know?”

 

“…I just thought you were there.”

 

Reina also said that she really didn’t know there would be one and she smiled awkwardly. She asked the Duke, pointing her finger inside the room.

 

“Would you like to take a look at the sleeping girl?”

 

“…”

 

“She is so lovely.”

 

“…Let’s go and see.”

 

As Reina said, Estelle, who was sleeping, looked like an angel who came down from heaven. Even the white hair, which most people find disgusting, looked like thread carefully woven from pure white clouds.

 

“…I guess she is not having a scary dream right now.”

 

The child who had been crying a little while ago was now so soundly asleep that she didn’t even notice that he was gone. Reina, who was looking at the sleeping children, whispered to the Duke.

 

“I guess she is still anxious and often have nightmares.”

 

“…Is it okay because there is a wizard here who can drive away nightmares?”

 

Reina’s face lit up as she realized that the Winternight Duke had overheard the conversation. She thought it was a good thing that the room was dark right now so the color of her face wasn’t revealed. And the soft smile of the Duke that suddenly disappeared into the darkness.

 

* * *

 

Recently, there was one woman who not only many nobles but also the imperial family were curious about. Reina Borton. She was announced as the benefactor of Estelle Winternight, the only princess and heir of the Winternight duchy. Accordingly, the Duke declared that he would support and protect her Reina Borton from now on, and many people were curious about her to see if she was lying, but it was not easy to get information about her. As a result, several wild rumors began to circulate. She’s a princess who ran away from a foreign country, or she’s actually from an assassination squad. A soldier or a knight who survived a war without being able to die. But Reina, who was at the center of truly outrageous rumors, was putting her luck in peace while her fellow maids were doing the laundry because she was sick with a cold.

 

“Reina, you don’t have to do this anymore.” said Sophia, who was hanging out her laundry with her.

 

“No. I have some time now so it’s okay.”

 

The day suddenly became chilly, and breath leaked out from the mouths of the two people talking. As it started to get cold, Reina remembered that day.

 

“Is the lady taking a nap right now?”

 

“Yes, it looks like you’ve been having trouble sleeping these days.”

 

“Phew… Our poor girl, how many bad things must have happened.”

 

“…”

 

“You guys! Stop fooling around while you’re working!”

 

While the two were whispering softly, one of the maids screamed. This was Anne-Marie, a maid who had worked at this mansion for more than eight years.

 

“…Oh, I’m sorry.”

 

Anne Marie said that from her birth, she was the daughter of a count’s maid, and she grew up as someone who served nobles. She said that she had achieved her current position after several years of hard work. However, Reina got a job as a maid just because she caught the Duke’s attention, and because she liked Estelle, she took the honorable position of taking care of Estelle. Anne Marie was cold to Reina. It also made sense.

 

“Anne-Marie has a really bad personality. Haha. She is immature.”

 

When Reina just laughed, Sofia scolded Reina and asked if she had any speed. But Reina laughed it off again because she didn’t like the beating.

 

“It’s the star’s birthday soon, so what are you planning?”

 

“That’s right. I have a lot of worries.”

 

She had never paid much attention to ‘A Star’s Birth’ before. The most she could do was buy cheap snacks and small meals and share them with others.

 

“Wouldn’t it be great if I made pancakes again this year…?”

 

“Have you ever made pancakes for Star’s Birthday?”

 

“Well, I did that about twice.”

 

When she was six and seven years old, Bonita loved pancakes so much that she made them for her when she was seven.

 

“I think it was because pancakes were the most delicious food I ate at the time.”

 

Even though it was a pancake, it wasn’t the sophisticated food that other people thought it was. Syrup was expensive so she couldn’t get it, so she guessed she just scraped up the jam she used to eat sparingly and ate it with cheap butter. Reina said this without thinking, but Sofia was already looking at Reina with a pitiful expression on her face.

 

“I knew you had a hard time… but I never thought you would be so unhappy…”

 

“Huh? I wasn’t that unhappy.”

 

“No, there’s no need to hide it, Reina… I’m fine. I’ll do better from now on….”

 

“No…she really never thought she was that unhappy…”

 

Even though she felt unhappy sometimes, she wasn’t the type to cry like that. Bonita was there too, and she sometimes had delicious food on her table, although it wasn’t often. Even though it was difficult for her, she never felt that she was unhappy enough for others to pity her. Sofia pitied herself, which made Reina feel like an unhappy person.

 

“Reina.”

 

At that time, a sad man appeared, flipping through the fluttering cotton cloth.

 

 

“Lord Dean?”

 

“Oh my, Sir Dean Peronte! That’s it! What’s going on?”

 

Dean, with brown hair like a field of ripe wheat and lavender eyes, was a handsome man that anyone would find attractive. The most handsome man in the mansion was by far the Duke of Winternight, but the one who stole the hearts of many women was Dean Peronte, who was kind to everyone. However, there was only one maid who called him by his name, Reina Boton, and he was the only man who called Reina not Boton but Reina. Because of this, many people doubted their relationship, but those doubts quickly disappeared due to Reina’s status as a single mother with a daughter. Sophia blushed as she looked at Dean’s smile like sunshine. Probably the only woman who didn’t blush at the sight of him was Reina Borton.

 

“I wanted to ask what Reina plans to do during ‘Star’s Birth’.”

 

“…yes?”

 

Reina looked at Dean while holding an empty laundry basket, wondering why he was asking such a question. Dean smiled bitterly after asking that question, but only after a while did he realize that there was a possibility of misunderstanding this question.

 

“Oh, no! It’s not like I’m asking you out on a date!”

 

“Ah yes…”

 

“Well… on the day we went out together, Reina asked Bonnie to watch a play with her…?”

 

“…!”

 

“Reina has been busy lately, so I came here to ask if she may have forgotten.”

 

Dean’s words reminded Reina of Bonita, who was interested in a traveling theater company. She smiled brightly with a lively face, as if Reina finally remembered her long-forgotten promise.

 

“Thank you. I was thinking, I shouldn’t just end it with pancakes this time. She almost forgot her promise to the child.”

 

“No, that…”

 

“Then I have to go ask Bonita now. The laundry just happened to be hung out. Sophia, can you put away the basket by yourself?”

 

“Of course. It was originally something me and Becky should do.”

 

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t be with you until the end.”

 

After giving Sofia her empty basket, Reina hurried off to the room where Bonita would be waiting. Dean watched Reina disappearing into the distance with lingering eyes.

 

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