Bonita held Reina’s two fingers in hers as usual and headed to the room. It was quite a strange sight for anyone to see her, a servant and the servant’s daughter walking side by side with the Duke. The people crowding the windows took a deep breath and then left to do their business. That’s because it wouldn’t be good if someone found out that they were secretly watching that scene. Thanks to that, Reina rolled her eyes as she walked down the unusually quiet hallway.
Damien noticed that Bonita was upset and opened his mouth to say something that was not typical of him.
“Reina Borton.”
“Yes!”
“When all your classes are completed and you are qualified, I will give you a congratulatory gift.”
“Mommy, do you get a gift from the Duke too?”
“…It’s okay.”
“It’s separate from the salary, and it means it’ll be good to you in the future, so take it.”
‘What do you want me to give you?’
Reina knew the gifts Damien gave Estelle. He even said that when the star was born, he was going to give territory to Estelle, and he was going to give herself hundreds of millions of theon, but she put it off.
‘What are you really trying to give me?’
Damian’s gift was an unknown fear to Reina. It’s not that she really hated it, but was it too big of a deal? But looking at Bonita with sparkling eyes, Reina couldn’t say anything. After that she just said that she understood and sent Bonita back to her room. She did not forget to remind Bonita that she should only eat five of the snacks she received today and not all of them. She closed the door and walked a little further out of the room before Damian spoke in a serious tone.
“…I will refrain from playing games like this from next time. I was short-thinking.”
“More than that, why were you playing with my daughter?”
Reina’s face paled when she realized that this question was not the first rude sentence.
“Even if a child asks, an adult must judge and say that it is not dangerous!”
“…”
“Are you going to do everything the child asks you to do?! No matter how great the master is, he might make a mistake at least once!”
“I’m sorry.”
A commoner yelling at a noble. Reina now asked, ‘What happened?!’
“She was appalled.”
But she got an unexpected answer.
“Because what you said was valid.”
“No, no, no matter what! No matter what, I’m sorry. I guess I was so shocked that I couldn’t see.”
“You must be a good guardian. Aren’t you doing that to me because of your daughter, not for yourself?”
“Well, that’s…”
“It is not wrong to act to protect your children. As a parent myself, I can understand why you did that.”
Damian stopped and looked through the window where the light was shining. There were several marks left on the snow that had not yet been completely cleared. Looking closely, she saw cute-sized footprints left by Bonita.
“Still, it’s better to be careful in crowded places, because it can’t be said to be nice to look at.”
“All right.”
Reina had no intention of getting that angry again.
“It seems like your daughter spends a lot of time alone, and she hasn’t found a teacher yet.”
“Oh, I asked another friend, but it seemed like Bonita was blocking the day…”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
“Lord, master?”
“Okay.”
Reina looked at Damian in surprise, but Damian looked at her again with an expression that asked her what was wrong.
“You just need to make a place for her in one corner of the office. If she’s near me, she’ll be a tormentor.”
There’s nothing to worry about, it’s the safest place.
“That might be true.”
Reina slowly blinked her eyes and then realized something even stranger.
‘But why does the master of this estate say he will take care of his employee’s child?’
When Reina challenged herself to pose this question, Damian opened his mouth first.
“Then it is decided. I will instruct the butler to prepare the furniture. Starting tomorrow, take Bonita to my office and go to your classes.”
Reina opened her mouth slightly and looked at Damien. Even as he turned his body to meet Reina’s eyes, she couldn’t avoid his gaze. It was because she was so surprised.
“What is the answer?”
“Oh, it’s an honor…”
* * *
“Ugh! It’s gray hair!”
“Run away! If you touch her gray hair, your hair will turn white too, right?”
Among Estelle’s peers at the orphanage where she stayed, there was no one younger than Estelle. An ungainly, skinny body, gray hair that was dull from using poor-quality dye, and pink eyes. Due to lack of nutrition, her eyes were blurry and his skin was pale, not to mention white. It’s not right, but Estelle was standing in the empty back yard where everyone had left, muttering her words inaudibly. Estelle dyed her white hair gray from a very young age. The reason it was gray was simple. The gray hair dye was the least popular and cheapest. But the cheap hair dye gave off a really bad smell.
‘It stings.’
Her long bangs occasionally pierced her pink eyes.
“Grey hair! What are you doing there? Go back to your room quickly.”
“Y-Yes.”
Everyone bullied Estelle because she inherited Fineke’s appearance.
“It’s ominous.”
None of the daycare teachers treated Estelle kindly. She could feel their malice from the moment they dyed gray hair gray and called her gray hair. The director of the orphanage always spoke with a benevolent expression.
“Grey-haired, I could have abandoned you, but I didn’t. Everyone said you were disgusting, but you were so pitiful as a child.”
However, it was the director who took the initiative and called her gray hair. Estelle lived alone in the attic, away from outsiders. She couldn’t even reach the warm magic heater.
When the children all gathered together to eat, Estelle had to eat hidden away from their eyes. Every time the teacher saw Estelle eating he or she has something to say.
“How can you eat so messy?”
At first her heart ached at every word, but now it didn’t hurt so much. She was just a little stingy.
“Please give me just 1 Theon.”
Estelle’s persecution did not end there. The child often wandered the streets begging. Because when the director got drunk, she scolded Estelle and said that she cost her a lot of money. Estelle was scared.
‘What if she really abandon me?’
A few months later, the cold winter began.
‘Then I’ll freeze to death.’
Even in the attic, where the magic heater couldn’t reach, it was warmer than outside. And there were blankets, an old bed, and food. Since it was a better house than the streets, Gray Hair didn’t want to be kicked out. Taking care not to reveal her eyes as much as possible, the child grabbed every passing adult and begged for just one theon. And one day, while begging as usual, Gray Hair met Damian, the Duke of Winternight, and became Estelle.
* * *
“The fever is gone! I’m glad.”
The doctor checked the thermometer and breathed a sigh of relief.
“I was worried because you were sick for a really long time. The Duke will kill me if you don’t wake up like this. Haha.”
“…”
Estelle had a very long dream. It didn’t seem like a particularly good dream.
“Would you like to stand up?”
“…”
The doctor glanced at the assistant standing next to him. The assistant carefully placed a pillow on the back of the bed and made Estelle sit down.
“My neck hurts…”
“You’ve had a fever for a very long time. You’ll need to take medicine for a while. Do you like the taste of strawberries? It’s strawberry-flavored medicine.”
Estelle nodded her head instead of answering.
“The maid will be here in a moment. She informed me that the young lady is awake. I think washing will come first.”
‘Is it Reina?’
Estelle blinked her eyes slowly.
“Then I will report to Your Excellency. Please wait a moment.”
And the person who appeared after the doctor left was not Reina. With her light brown hair and brown eyes…
“Miss, this is Sophia Varan, who was in charge of taking your bath today.”
It was a maid named Sophia.
“Where’s Reina?”
Was she busy? After listening to the doctor, Estelle found out that she had been lying down for a long time. In the meantime, Reina may have been temporarily assigned to a different position. Estelle tried her best to understand that fact. If she makes a fuss about wanting to see Reina, Reina would be in trouble.
Sophia took Estelle in her arms and headed to the bathroom.
“Oh my gosh, you just barely gained weight, but you have lost it again. I’ll have to ask the chef for a full plate soon.”
“It’s fine…”
Sophia carefully washed Estelle’s body while chatting with her to keep her from getting bored. Meanwhile, the only question on Estelle’s mind was, “Why didn’t Reina come?” Then, she suddenly felt embarrassed because she felt like she was being too greedy.
‘Reina is not my mother.’
Even though she knew Reina wasn’t her own mother, she sometimes wished she was. But what she knew and what she felt did not match. The day she first met her, the day Reina picked her up and headed to the bathroom. The kind words spoken there. For Estelle, Reina was the one who first made her feel kindness. But she couldn’t continue to rely on Reina.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on January, 14.
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