Reina took out the lovely navy blue dress she had bought the last time she went out and put it on Bonita. Its lining was striped vertically, and the lace inside it was so rich it looked like a cream-colored peony. Her clothes were dark in color and might have looked heavy, but the imitation pearls here and there gave them a bright feel. Lastly, she put a bonnet on her with large ribbons on either side.
“Wow!”
Bonita looked at her reflection in the mirror and hopped in delight. Bonita said she didn’t need to buy clothes that day, but she still liked new clothes.
“Look at these, these are pretty shoes, right?”
Reina looked at the child’s bright appearance with pride and held up a pair of Mary Jane shoes that she had just bought and had never worn. After she put on the shoes that fit the child’s feet perfectly, Reina looked as if she were a princess somewhere. She wanted to hug her and kiss her, but Raina held back and finished her preparations.
To put it in a good way, Reina was dressed elegantly, but to put it in a bad way, she was dressed plainly. Reina tied her hair up, finishing it off with her white ribbon, and after checking the time, she took Bonita’s left hand.
“Look, there will be a lot of people outside today.”
“Huh.”
“You know what mom always says?”
“Yes! When there are a lot of people, don’t pay attention. Hold mummy’s hand tightly. If I get lost, don’t go anywhere and wait there!”
“That’s right.”
Reina smiled and went outside. As she came out of the mansion, she felt the chilly air. She could definitely feel that the weather was colder than before. Starting from the birth of a star, the days always got colder. Until last year she had to worry about firewood, but the reality that she no longer had to worry about it made Reina smile sincerely.
“Reina!”
As Estelle put on her fluffy pink cape, she smiled brightly and called out to Reina. It seemed to be a set with the checkered dress she wore underneath. Perhaps to hide her gray hair from view, the child tied her hair up and wore her narrow-brimmed bonnet.
“Miss, are you already here?”
“Yeah, we were supposed to go out together today!”
Estelle smiled brightly, took one of Reina’s hands and led her to where the Duke was standing. The Duke was looking at the winter landscape with a dry face. It was a winter landscape, but the garden of the castle was full of flowers due to the magic stones, so it seemed quite far from winter.
“Master, were you waiting?”
“…hmm.”
Estelle and the Duke were dressed simpler than usual because they were going out of town today, hiding their status as nobles. Of course, that didn’t mean that the elegant atmosphere they had from the beginning disappeared. Because their bodies smelled good and their hair was particularly nice.
‘Anyone can see that he looks like a nobleman dressed as a commoner.’
Still, he was probably acting like a commoner, so Reina just laughed so as not to break the excitement of the two. The four of them decided to take a carriage to the vicinity of the city, and opened the door of a very ordinary-looking carriage that did not match the status of a Duke’s family. The exterior was extremely ordinary, but the interior was so luxurious that Reina could not help but be surprised. First, they picked up the two children and put them in the carriage. The Duke did not get into the carriage until the very end, but instead stared inside. Reina, who entered first, looked at him.
He stood for a while and asked Reina.
“…Are you going to call me master even in the city?”
“…”
Now that she thought about it, the title “master” caught her eye. To be more honest, there was something about the Duke of Winternight and Estelle that caught people’s attention even without those titles. First of all, he was so tall that even though he was cute, he attracted people’s attention wherever he went. Reina wondered if she should point that out first, but he decided not to say anything again and nodded.
“I know, right. The title ‘master’ may feel foreign. What should I call the lord?”
“…Damian.”
She suspected something li…
“…what?”
“Call me Damian.”
Was this a fake name he prepared for today? Even if she tried to brainwash herself, Reina couldn’t have known. The name of the ducal patriarch whom she served was Damian Winternight, and the Duke, the patriarch, was now telling Reina to call him by his name.
Reina rolled her eyes at the awkward situation.
“It’s my name, so it’s okay.”
The Duke said so and got into the carriage. He banged on the wall of the carriage and the carriage started. The children clung to the window and watched the rapidly changing scenery. Inside the carriage, Reina took care of the children, and the Duke folded his arms, closed his eyes, and said nothing. Raina was very concerned about this situation, but she was also surprised because it wasn’t as uncomfortable as she thought.
‘Is it because I’ve already been through a few things?’
Somehow, they had a private meeting, did some business, had meals together, and even made flower crowns. Reina turned her attention back to the children, thinking that the Duke was not as difficult as she thought and that he was just clumsy. Before they knew it, the carriage had arrived at the entrance of the village and stopped in a deserted place.
The Duke then gently opened his eyes and looked out his window.
“I guess we’ll have to walk from here.”
The Duke hopped out of the carriage first and hugged Estelle. Raina was also about to get off the carriage first to drop Bonita off.
“…!”
A large hand grabbed Reina’s waist and lifted her up. For a moment, she saw the hair fluttering and the eyes of the man who lifted her slowly blinking.
“…”
Estelle and Bonita looked at the scene blankly, and Reina also had a hard time understanding the situation. The Duke set her down on her ground lightly.
“This carriage is so high that if you slip, you will hurt your legs.”
“Okay, thank you, master.”
“Damian.”
“…Damian…”
“…”
“…sir?”
“Okay, that should be enough.”
Bonita, who was frozen inside the carriage, was also lifted out of the car.
“It’s heavier than last time.”
“S-sorry.”
“I don’t mean it in a bad way, so there’s nothing to apologize for.”
Reina comforted Bonita, who was approaching her with shaky legs. She had just been so surprised herself, but she couldn’t even imagine how surprised her child would be.
“Well, Damian. Do you know where the performance is taking place?”
“I heard about it roughly.”
He answered hesitantly and watched for a while as Raina and Bonita held hands happily. A small hand was holding Reina’s ring and small fingers together.
“…”
The Duke gently gave Estelle his hand so that she could hold his ring and ring fingers together, and Estelle pushed him away, wondering why he was doing this again. Shocked, she looked around and grabbed his hand. As if he was satisfied with that, the Duke slightly raised the corners of his mouth. Bright sunlight beat down on the father and daughter.
Reina looked at them both, her face flushed from the cold.
‘He really seems like the main character of a novel…’
Weren’t these people so perfect even on the outside? Reina could tell that the seemingly ordinary clothes the two people were wearing were actually high-quality items carefully prepared for today. What was this misery that she felt even though she was always happy? What was this inferiority complex that pushes oneself even though they did not try to make her miserable?
“…mom?”
Bonita pulled the hand of Reina, who was standing still. Reina finally came to her senses and spoke with a friendly smile as always.
“I have been there myself, so I will guide you.”
“Hmm. Thank you.”
“What.”
* * *
The birth of a star was a festival celebrated and enjoyed by the entire empire. As the festival began, all stores decorated their stores with various star decorations. They also sold items that children would like and gifts that lovers would like to exchange.
“The whole city is bustling…”
“Have you never been to a place this crowded with people?”
“Honestly, no.”
The children struggled in the large crowd and clung tightly to their guardians. Duke Damian looked down at the children, then bent down and picked up both children at once. When he held Estelle in one arm and Bonita in the other, not only the two children but also Reina were shocked.
“Lord, master…”
“Damian.”
“Damian…! It’s heavy! I’ll carry Bonnie, so please give her to me.”
Reina’s arm as she was going to hold out Bonita was quite thin. She said she could handle two buckets of water, but he was sure she would struggle in such a crowded place.
“I’ll just carry her to the theater.”
“Ah, but…”
“It’s okay. I’m just worried that you’re both too light.”
The children had no hands to support their bodies, so they ended up clinging tightly to Damien’s shoulders. For some reason, it looked like he was holding two large paper bags. Reina watched him shaking his feet, and when he seemed like he had no intention of putting the kids down, she thought it would be better to get to the theater quickly. Reina, carefully holding Damian’s collar, made her way through the crowd of people and headed towards the theater. There were so many people that they had to move for a while before they could barely see the edge of the tent.
“Wow, there are a lot of people…”
“So… are these all people who came to see the play?”
“…”
There were definitely a lot of people. The line seemed endless, with no idea if it would be able to accommodate all these people or not. Even if the performance was held several times, it seemed like it would be possible for the four of us to see it only around sunset.
“We’ll have to wait a while… what can I do? Even if it were me, the kids would be hungry.”
When Reina said that she would have to wait a long time, Damian showed an expression that he did not like at all. He looked around, found a street vendor with seats to sit on, and walked over with the children.
“Wait here.”
“Yes?”
Damian left a message to Reina, who was following behind him, and gave her money to buy something light at a street vendor, then walked toward the tent with great strides.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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