Bonita’s sudden behavior raised many suspicions. What on earth was the child afraid of? Although loud noises and commotion were what caused her to run, there was something else that caused Bonita to get scared.
‘Gift.’
However, when she checked Bonita and Estelle’s gifts, there was no significant difference in the contents. He asked Estelle if there was anything strange, but she just shook her head. Damian asked his men to find out about the gifts from the temple, but the contents were all blue-black jam cookies and black dried fruits. Damien felt bad for some reason and threw away all of Estelle and Bonita’s gifts. Instead, he gave each person a can filled with more delicious and pretty cookies. Damian was lost in thought as he tapped the papers with his pen. That part was a question that remained unresolved over the past few days during ‘A Star’s Birth’. He wondered if it was something completely different from the kidnapping incident, but if that were the case, there’s no way Reina wouldn’t have known. She obviously didn’t expect her child to be so surprised. She casually asked Bonita and Estelle to accept the gift.
‘In the end, it’s true that it’s related to the kidnapping incident.’
The restoration of the Pentail Count’s family was already complicated, so there were a few things to worry about. Damian sighed and washed his face dry.
‘…It’s becoming a bother.’
Damian had to go to the capital before daylight set. This was because, unlike him, he was in charge of the Pentail family lottery. Because of this, the relationship between him and the imperial family, with whom he had already had a delicate relationship, was heading towards the worst. Although he was outwardly a vassal to his lord, Damian became displeased when he recalled the emperor’s cold gaze. Damian was familiar with that gaze, so it could only end in discomfort. But Estelle had never been exposed to such gaze. There was no telling what the little child would feel when he met their gaze. Estelle was of Winternight’s bloodline, but also has Fineke’s blood mixed in with her. He didn’t care about that part at all, but what would the noble royal family and nobles think? Even though he muttered that he was inferior, it was clear that he would take aim at the child’s last name, ‘Winternight’. The child who was so precious to him would become the empire’s greatest prey.
‘They must have already approached Reina Borton with that in mind.’
Reina, who was the person Estelle trusted and relied on the most in this mansion, would have been able to kidnap Estelle without raising anyone’s suspicions. She didn’t want to go up to the system, making various excuses, but the issue of the Countess of Pentail’s lottery was at stake. Damian, who was heavily involved in the matter, could not attend all the meetings. The longer he stayed on the island, the longer he had to take Estelle with him. And unlike Damian, since they were taking in a very fragile child, the minimum amount of protection was needed.
‘At the moment, there is no one better suited than Reina Borton.’
Reina, who was still completely on Estelle’s side, didn’t seem to have any greed. But Reina had weaknesses.
‘Bonita’
As long as she had her young daughter, Bonnie Borton, who looked exactly like Reina, Reina could be threatened as much as she wanted.
‘She actually was threatened once already.’
Damian thought deeply about this problem alone.
“…”
As he was walking down the long hallway, sunlight came in through the large window in the wall. The color of the winter sky was strangely a poisonous blue. It was amazing how the sky changed into different colors as the seasons changed, even though it was always the same. When Estelle first came to this mansion, it was early winter, but now it was winter as cold as the color of the sky. Since it always gets cold so quickly after the birth of a star, she thought it was fortunate that she found her child before it got too cold. Damian looked through the window at the outdoor garden, which was now so cold that even magic stones could no longer maintain the flowers.
‘I want to stay in the glass greenhouse.’
So, it was a quite strange decision for him to head to the glass greenhouse, but it was also natural.
* * *
Unlike the cold winter air, the inside of the glass greenhouse was warm. There was no need to wonder where it was. As we headed towards the place where we heard happy laughter, there were people Damien was looking for. Estelle’s face turned bright red, wondering what on earth she had heard, and Reina and Bonita were laughing at the child. While Reina had a gentle smile as always, Bonita had a mischievous smile. When she saw Bonita making different expressions on the same face, she wondered if Reina would ever smile like that. There was a few bites of uneaten dessert on the table, but it seemed like everyone was focused on conversation rather than food. She wondered if she could come in between these three perfectly lovely people. She was also worried that it would be like throwing ink on a famous painting that was already being completed after talking to him for no reason. As Damien was looking at them with his feet glued to her feet for a while, unable to do anything, Reina turned her head towards him.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, but judging by that, she didn’t seem all that surprised. She got up from her seat, greeted Damien, and invited him to take her seat. For some reason, Estelle looked at Damien nervously.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know the master would come so I couldn’t prepare an extra glass for him. Shall I get it now?”
“…no need. It’s because I came without saying anything.”
Damian motioned for her to sit down, and only then did she sit back down in her seat. Fortunately, there were four chairs at this table, so there was no unfortunate incident where one person had to stand. Reina seemed concerned that the teacup and cake were not set only in front of the duke, so she seemed to be thinking for a while…
“Estelle.”
“…Y-Yes?!”
Her daughter strangely continued to worry about her.
“What’s wrong? Is there some problem?”
“Oh, no! That’s not it…!”
“Who bullied you? Is there anyone in this mansion who dares to bully you?”
Just thinking about it made Damian feel worse than if his feet got stuck in a swamp, and in his eyes, it seemed like it was hard to live. Estelle was so startled that her father would catch an innocent person and punish her, so she got up and held Damian’s hand tightly.
“Well, that’s not it! I just wanted to say something…!”
“…You wanted to say something?”
Speaking of what she wanted to say, was there something she wanted to have? He was the child who always shook his head even when she asked him if there was something he wanted. Besides, she held his hand first. He stiffened because Estelle had never shown this kind of behavior before.
“…You can say anything.”
“Well, that is…”
The Duke became anxious, wondering what on earth he was taking so long to say. Could this be bad news? Maybe it’s that she didn’t want to stay in this mansion anymore, or that she didn’t like it. Estelle glanced at Reina after her, and Reina just smiled. The child immediately spoke with a determined look on her face.
“…This, among the star’s birthday gifts…!! The one my dad prepared… is the best!”
“…”
Estelle finally let out her words, her father, and her cheeks flushed red as she took in and out a deep breath. She was able to confirm that it wasn’t a big decision. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like Reina had tipped off Estelle. As the Duke stared at Estelle with his mouth slightly open in surprise, Estelle suddenly started crying again.
“W-As expected… Is the word ‘dad’ really meaningless? If the Duke keeps doing that… Ugh!”
Estelle, who had been fidgeting as if I called her dad for no reason, suddenly became more alert. The Duke, holding the startled child, flashed the brightest smile he had ever seen.
“Could you say that again?”
“This… of all the Star’s Birthday gifts, the one your dad prepared is the best…?”
“…Once more.”
It felt like they had finally become a family. There was still a long way to go to repay the crime of defenselessly losing a child for eight years. Now he finally felt like he was recognized by Estelle as her father. Just what was its name? Damien, who held Estelle in his arms, did not hide his happy face.
“Okay, I guess I should tell everyone. Today is an auspicious day, so I should give everyone extra allowance and make it an anniversary.”
“…Oh, Dad?”
“Yes.”
Reina had expected the Duke to react that way, but when she saw it, it was even more amazing than she imagined, so she smiled bitterly. Watching Damian leave the greenhouse with great strides to show off with her child, Raina followed along, holding Bonita’s hand tightly. Estelle’s face turned as red as an apple, as if she was embarrassed by Damian’s unusual reaction, and she asked Reina, who was following behind her, for help with her eyes. Reina drew a soft line at the corner of her mouth and called out to the Duke.
“Master, such a big reaction is not good for the children’s emotions.”
“…”
At those words, Damian stopped while opening the glass garden door.
“I think this is natural.”
“Because the master’s ‘natural’ and the lady’s ‘natural’ are different. Since the two of you grew up in different environments, the standards of normality are different.”
In other words, the Duke’s unusual celebration seemed like a burden to Estelle. Damian, who understood the meaning of those words, narrowed his eyebrows.
“…Then how should I celebrate this joyful heart?”
“Hehe, that’s something to think about in the future.”
Damian glanced at Estelle in his arms. Estelle was barely able to calm her bright red face. He thought he shouldn’t make such a fuss.
“…ah.”
At that time, white snowflakes fell from the sky.
“It’s the first snow of the year.”
“I know, right.”
The four of them left the glass garden and looked up at the sky. Estelle asked Damien to put the child down, and Bonnie and she took her hand and skipped off. Damian, who was looking at the little children, suddenly said.
“Is that what you said?”
“What?”
“That’s how I want to be called by Estelle.”
Damian had never revealed that he had such a desire for Rayna, but she was not oblivious, so she might have noticed it herself.
“Yes, I told you.”
“…Why?”
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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