Please Save My Child

‘It’s an angel.’

 

‘So lovely.’

 

‘Two angels came down.’

 

‘I guess today is the day I die.’

 

Estelle and Bonita, who had made about six snow bunnies, laughed and said that they were going to make a family snowman, and then they joined forces with the knights and started making a family of snowmen. Then they started adding stories to the snowman they had made. Everyone’s reactions were slightly different, but it all boiled down to ‘Miss Estelle and Bonita are so cute!’ The children gathered together and made a snowman for a while, and then they looked at the remaining snow and

 

“I don’t have enough snow…”

 

“I know, right…”

 

“What should I do…”

 

“What should I do…”

 

They had a sullen expression.

 

“Well, it’s okay! Miss! We’ll collect the snow and come back!”

 

“Hey! Just wait a moment! I’ll sweep up all the snow in the backyard!”

 

Reina thought as she watched the knights perplexed by the children’s sullen expressions.

 

‘I’m sure I’d be called a demon somewhere else.’

 

Looking at these people, she was sure that no one would be able to tell that they were members of the Order of the Winter Knights. Reina looked down at the shovel she was holding and wondered if she should help.

 

“Oooooh!!”

 

“Hurry! Collect the snow quickly and come!”

 

“The person with the least amount of money will be punished by completing 30 laps of the training ground!!”

 

“…”

 

It didn’t seem necessary. Rather, it was clear that if she got in between them, she would come in last place in the eye-collecting contest (this was the name Reina had just decided on in her head).

 

‘And in the end, I ended up spinning 30 laps.’

 

Of course, Reina didn’t seem to want to participate in that competition, but she didn’t want to create an awkward atmosphere. After thinking about it for a while, Reina decided that it would be better to bring something to drink. She placed the shovel on a nearby tree and headed toward the mansion.

 

“Fo…”

 

Thanks to the knights clearing away all the snow, I now took a deep breath as I walked on the land that she could clearly see. White breath came out in spurts. Reina said she would provide cocoa to the children and tea or coffee to the adults. And while he was walking, he noticed a swarm of carriages visiting the mansion.

 

‘This…’

 

Did they say that vassals visited? What kind of meeting did you say there was? Anyway, it wasn’t a very good feeling. As Reina got closer to her kitchen, she could hear bustling noises. However, contrary to the sound, it did not look as busy.

 

‘What…?’

 

Don’t you usually prepare a place to entertain when there are a lot of visitors? But no matter where I looked in the kitchen, there was no sign that the tea set had been taken out.

 

“Boton, what are you doing here?”

 

As Reina was pacing around the kitchen with an awkward look on her face, a cold voice came from behind her.

 

“Anne-Marie.”

 

“What are you really doing here in such a frustrating way? What if you block the road in a place like this? This is a road where hot items are often transported! Be careful!”

 

‘It’s rather comfortable…’

 

Although she was Reina, who was still working as a maid (actually Estelle’s nanny), she was treated like a VIP. But she, Reina, had never been treated with respect by anyone before. Since she was always in a position where she was concerned about what others thought of her, she found it rather awkward that people around her were seeing what she thought. She felt ridiculous and awkward, as if she was wearing clothes that didn’t belong to her. Everyone was not aware of Raina’s speed and looked closely at her mood. Among those people, Anne Marie would jump out and start arguing with Raina about everything. As a result, Raina felt most comfortable with Anne-Marie.

 

“So, why did you come? You said you were going to play with the snow today?”

 

“Ah, I was wondering if I could ask for two cups of warm cocoa and several cups of tea.”

 

“How many drinks?”

 

“Ah…”

 

How many people came together to build her snow house? While Reina was thinking for a moment, she heard another person’s voice next to her.

 

“Eleven cups of tea are enough.”

 

“Sir Dean Peronte.”

 

Anne-Marie blinked a few times when she saw Dean suddenly appear.

 

“Please give me a tray.”

 

“…Sir Dean!”

 

“Reina and I will listen, so two trays will do.”

 

“What’s going on here?”

 

“I want to help. I was there earlier too.”

 

Dean smiled and held up both his hands. It looked warmer than the gloves the knights usually wear.

 

“Ah.”

 

“Yes. I was selected as a member. It was really difficult. At the last minute, the knight commander manifested an auror~”

 

‘What on earth happened in the early morning?!’

 

How was it possible to not wake up even once in all that noise? Reina may have been the type of person who sleeps more deeply than expected. Speaking of Auror, it was an ability that only existed in those who were talented in swordsmanship. Reina was an ‘Auror’ who was mentioned in novels. She recalled a story about this.

 

‘They said it was a very rare talent.’

 

Wasn’t this extremely rare in this order? Reina asked Dean, tilting her head slightly.

 

“Can Sir Dean use Aurors?”

 

“Oh, no. I can’t. I don’t have much talent.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

If he didn’t have talent, it would have been difficult to join the Winter Knights, and above all, it would have been impossible to become a member of today’s ‘Snow House Building Time with Estelle’. But even though he was proudly part of it, he had no talent. It was truly an ironic remark.

 

“Yes, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it. When I first joined, I was examined by a magician belonging to the duke’s family, a magician to be exact.”

 

“A prosecutor?”

 

“Yes, I assume it is a separately processed magic stone. I use it to measure magical power. The weaker the light, the lower the magical aura, which means the less divine power it has.”

 

“Can’t you tell the three apart?”

 

“I haven’t developed to that level yet. Anyway, I was just average. No matter how I looked at it, manifesting an aura was impossible.”

 

The more Reina listened to Dean’s explanation, the more she thought he was amazing in a different way.

 

“Sir Dean is a great man.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Even though he can’t use Aurors, he stands on equal footing with other knights.”

 

She couldn’t even imagine how painful it must have been for Dean to be in the same position as everyone else.

 

“…”

 

Dean didn’t respond to Reina’s words.

 

“Sir Dean Peronte! Reina Borton! It’s ready, take it!”

 

“Ah, Sir Dean. Let’s go now.”

 

“…!”

 

Reina took the lead and held a tray containing two cups of cocoa. Dean played with his slightly heated ears and took a step to help Reina.

 

“But is it okay if you help me? I heard you collect snow, and last place is 30 laps of the training ground.”

 

Reina, who was walking carefully to avoid falling while holding the trays side by side, suddenly asked him.

 

“Ah, that?”

 

Dean smiled calmly and spoke to Reina.

 

“It’s okay. 30 laps can be done as a light exercise.”

 

“…?”

 

Reina’s face turned pale at Dean’s answer. From what Bonita said before, the training hall was quite large. Actually, it was a training ground belonging to the Winternight Dukedom, but if it was small, it did not match its status. Dean looked at Reina, who had stiffened, and laughed softly.

 

“I’m just kidding. I said you would look at me a little bit if I tried to help Reina.”

 

“…ah.”

 

It was a joke. Only then did Reina feel safe and slowly walked away.

 

* * *

 

“That’s annoying.”

 

Damian had already finished one meeting and locked himself in his office. Damian, who had become extremely sensitive, was letting go of his anger so as not to take out his anger somewhere else.

 

“Be patient.”

 

“I’m holding on.”

 

Peter glanced at Damian, who said he was holding back with a frown.

 

‘You lost a lot of temper.’

 

If it were the old Damian, he would have grabbed the sword several times already. It seemed like that wasn’t the case anymore because Estelle was there.

 

‘Is not it? Come to think of it, I haven’t done that in years.’

 

It seemed like the vassals had not touched Damian for several years unless it was something serious. As Damian lost his wife and grew stronger, his retainers seemed to have decided that messing with him would do more harm than good, so they stayed quiet most of the time except for important meeting days. But this time, they gathered in a hurry because they were worried that the amount of beans they could get would be reduced due to Reina Boton. 

 

‘There was no soybean water in the first place?’

 

Damian was never influenced by them except when he was young. He hasn’t given me any soybean water since, and he doesn’t plan on giving it in the future. Damian clicked his tongue.

 

“Did you say next month? Count Embron is coming.”

 

“Yes, he said he would leave after finishing his work at the academy.”

 

Damian looked through the letter that had arrived. Count Embron was one of the nobles who followed the Winternight Duke family. He worked as a professor at a renowned academy, visited several orphanages, and was on good terms with the previous Duke and Duchess.

 

“I think it would be a good idea to entrust him with the young lady’s education.”

 

He was someone that even Peter trusted. Damian nodded his head.

 

“You should send the reply.”

 

“All right.”

 

Damian handed the letter to Peter after examining its contents. Peter bowed lightly and left the office.

 

“Ha…”

 

Damian then lowered his head in the only space left alone. He didn’t know if he’s doing it right. It’s something Damian has been thinking about all the time lately.

 

“Am I doing it right?”

 

Wouldn’t it be better to prepare a separate mansion? That might have been a good choice for both of them. Damian took out a small box hidden in the bottom compartment of the desk.

 

Ring.

 

There was a lonely ring with a jet black jewel left in the box. A slightly worn gloved hand carefully swept the pitch-black jewel. It was a movement as if he was trying to shake off something.

 

“What should I do?”

 

But Damien’s senses were speaking. If you let Reina and Bonita out of the mansion now, something will definitely happen to them. Damian has already ignored his own senses twice and suffered heart-breaking pain. He didn’t want to experience anything like that anymore. Actually, the mother and daughter and Damian did not have any relationship whatsoever.

 

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Translator Note: