At that time, I was wandering around the Duke’s garden with my children, looking for Baridas and Ren. Even though I told them they would come on their own, they said we had to go together and that the children had to find Baridas. I had no way of knowing why the children seemed so happy. At that time, my eyes caught sight of Chantz, Baridas, and Ren, who were engaged in a strange war of nerves. What kind of situation is that again? I tilted my head at the serious-looking atmosphere. Why are they doing that…? However, the serious atmosphere was soon broken. This was because the children, who misunderstood that Ren was injured, gathered around him, saying something. The children looked at Ren’s face and held her hand as if they were worried about her.
“No, it’s because it’s a little difficult. Rather than that, let’s go to the prepared place.”
Saying that, Ren stamped her feet as if trying to get out of Baridas’ embrace. But he didn’t seem to have any intention of putting Ren down. Her strength went into her arms of Baridas holding her.
“Leave it like this.”
Ren’s face heated up at his words.
“…thank you.”
Baridas laughed at Ren’s words and lifted her hand to stroke her hair. It felt like their relationship had become a little closer, which made me feel better. Baridas, holding Ren, me, the children, and the children followed Jasmine’s guidance and headed somewhere. The place we arrived was the garden located in the innermost part of the Duke’s house. It was a place I passed by a few times while walking. However, the garden was decorated several times more splendidly than I remembered. Silver candlesticks and plates were placed on the table with a white tablecloth, and around it were multi-colored roses and beautifully crafted white sculptures. I let out a soft exclamation. But what was all this? When I looked at Baridas, his pupils were also dilated. It seemed like it was something I didn’t know about. At that time, the children shouted together.
“Congratulations on your engagement.”
Lima approached me before I knew it and placed a paper-folded wreath on me.
“Thank you.”
When I said thanks, Lima nodded shyly.
* * *
Baridas looked at Fiora, smiling brightly while wearing a flower crown, stroking the children’s heads. I felt grateful to the children who made the otherwise formal engagement ceremony shine. Also to Fiora. She had a lot to do with being so close to the children.
“Thank you for congratulating me like this.”
The children’s faces turned red at Baridas’ greeting, but soon smiles appeared. Seeing the children like that, Baridas burst into laughter. How did you see them reflected in you? These children are so lovely just by existing in themselves. Baridas reached out his hand and stroked Greenly and Lima’s heads. Lima and Greenly hugged Baridas at his actions.
“Congratulations, brother.”
“Brother, congratulations.”
Baridas held his twin in his arms. Several thoughts passed through his mind. There were many emotions, including guilt and regret for ignoring the children for half a year and gratitude for the children who still considered them family. Baridas thought as he looked at the brightly smiling children. That you are so, so lovely.
‘I love it.’ It was a feeling he had never felt before. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t express it in words, and it felt like my heart was filled with fluffy cotton candy.
“Okay.”
Baridas responded with a bright smile.
* * *
He seemed to have improved his relationship with the children a lot, so I felt somewhat proud. At that time, Ren and Thomas stood up at the same time. They headed towards the piano and violin that were prepared next to them. Ren took up the piano and Thomas took up the violin and started playing. A clear, elegant, and lovely melody that resembled a child began to echo through the garden. I knew that Ren was good at playing the piano, but Thomas’s skills were surprising. Before we knew it, the performance was over and we all applauded them together. Ren and Thomas got down from the piano chair and approached me and Baridas and opened their mouths.
“It’s nothing compared to the real engagement ceremony that will be happening soon, but I worked hard to prepare.”
“I hope you like it.”
There was no way I wouldn’t like it.
‘You guys prepared it like this, so how can I not like it?’
But even taking that into account, the engagement ceremony prepared by the children was excellent. Well, of course it seemed like a huge amount of money was used. I thought as I looked at the white piano and violin that looked expensive at first glance.
“That was so great, thank you.”
Ren and Thomas, smiling brightly, ran to Baridas and gave him a small box.
“Because my brother prepared the ring.”
Inside the box was a bracelet with a purple gem and a silver band decorated with the same gem. It looked too small to be called a bracelet. I tilted my head, unable to figure out its identity, but Baridas was smiling as if he knew its identity.
“Because you don’t wear jewelry.”
“Thank you for being a good gift.”
Baridas said, took out the belt and tied it to the sword. The silver belt matched his sword to the extent that it found its place where it should have been.
‘Ah, that’s what it’s for.’
I was amazed by the children’s sense. And then I looked down at the bracelet that was still showing off its brilliant appearance in the box. This gift, as well as the engagement party, were gifts of a scale that I couldn’t really get used to. At that time, Baridas took the bracelet out of the box and held out his hand to me.
“Hand.”
As if guided by his words, I held out my hand and he put a bracelet on my wrist. It fit like it was custom made for me. It seems like I am receiving more from you by coming here than I have ever enjoyed in my entire life on Earth.
I smiled brightly, knowing that the greatest return for a gift was laughter.
“I really like it, thank you.”
The children burst into laughter as if satisfied with what I said. At that moment, Crimson appeared, holding a plate covered with silver. I didn’t think it was on a scale that children could prepare for, but it looks like he helped behind the scenes. And Baridas was troubled as to whether he should criticize or praise Crimson for putting aside the work he had been asked to do and preparing for this. He placed the plate on the table and lifted the cover. Then the hidden whipped cream cake was revealed. This was my first time seeing such a large cake in my entire life and this time. It was a huge cake big enough to feed ten, no, twenty people. There was even a piano made out of cookies and a huge castle that looked exactly like a duke’s house.
“We made it ourselves.”
Ren said triumphantly.
“That’s amazing.”
Baridas thought as he watched the small engagement ceremony prepared by the children.
‘I hope what I prepared doesn’t get pushed aside. I was grateful to my younger siblings, but at the same time, I felt a sense of competition.’
But I read his eyes differently. Even though he praised them like that, he also noticed that the cakes the children made were not of a level they could have made on their own. The pastry chefs must have been quite divided. How difficult was it? I remembered the day when I practiced cake making with the students at a daycare center. That day was truly a nightmare. In Taiwan, it took half a day to clean up the cream that fell on the floor, whether it was spraying cream on the floor or throwing cookies. By the way, it’s not just a cake, it’s a cookie castle. There are those ginger men… How much trouble did it take to make that icing… ! I don’t know who helped make that cake and cookie castle, but I have to tell them to give them a bonus. I was determined to repay the favor.
At that time, Lima held out a small ginger man to me and Greenly held out a small ginger man to Baridas. Baridas and I, who confirmed its identity, burst into laughter at the same time. What the kids gave us was a ginger man that resembled the hair and eye colors of me and Baridas.
Although it was difficult to say they resembled each other.
“Wow, you look just like me.”
The kids laughed as if they were satisfied with my artificial reaction, but Baridas covered his face with his hand and started chuckling. I hated him like that and glared at him from the corner of my eye. Hey, you think reactions are easy? You too, please say something. Baridas, perhaps reading my thoughts, also opened his mouth.
“How can my younger siblings be so talented?”
It was a more artificial compliment than mine, but I knew the great meaning that the word ‘little brother’ had for children.
‘Damn it, I lost.’
I admitted defeat. That reaction couldn’t be beat.
Darkness fell over the garden, and the lights began to turn on one by one. And then the prepared dishes started coming out one by one. Duke House’s usual food was as good as that of a high-end restaurant, but today’s food looked several times better than usual… Crimson and the chefs must have had a hard time. I thanked them in my heart. The food was as delicious as usual, better than usual, and the cake made by the kids(?) was also great. When I looked up at the sky, I saw stars densely packed in a clear night sky that is rarely seen in Korea. It was very different from Korea, where only airplanes and satellites were visible in the night sky. How long has it been since I last saw such a clear night sky?
I smiled at the wondrous sight. Then, Ren opened her mouth.
“Can’t we all sleep together tonight?”
At her words, all the children looked at me with eyes full of expectation.
My bed was quite big, so it wouldn’t be a problem for everyone to sleep together. The kids were cute, so I smiled and nodded.
“OK.”
When I answered that I understood, the children looked back at Baridas.
“Brother too.”
“Brother too.”
Baridas, who was unusually embarrassed by the children’s eyes, looked at me as if asking me to stop them. Likewise, I refused to sleep with him.
“Grown adults aren’t supposed to sleep together.”
But the kids were smarter than I thought.
“No, mom and dad always slept together.”
“Both of them did, so you can sleep together.”
The children’s stubborn insistence continued. In a situation where it was difficult to refuse, Baridas looked at me. I, too, had failed in persuasion, so I nodded to indicate that it was okay. We all sleep together with the kids anyway, so there’s no way anything special could happen. Then Baridas sighed and nodded his head.
“…Sure.”
It was his first defeat, having never lost since becoming a duke. After showering, he and his children all gathered in Baridas’ room. The children liked it better that way, and the bed in Baridas’ room was the largest among the beds in the mansion. While all the children were wearing pajamas, Baridas and I were wearing our most comfortable daily clothes. The reason was that it was still too early to show each other in pajamas.
Baridas sighed as he looked around the room occupied by the children.
‘What is this?’
If he was asked to sleep next to Fiora, it would be a disaster. He was a vigorous and healthy man in his twenties, different from other innocent and naive children. If that were the case, he would have been better off slipping away and sleeping in another room. While he was thinking that, Jasmine shouted.
“I’m between my brother and the princess!”
Other children also shouted at her words.
“No, that’s my place!”
“Then I’ll just stay next to the princess.”
Without any time to stop the children, they started bickering and arguing over who would come out and lie down next to him. Seeing the children like that made Baridas blush, uncharacteristically. It was because of the idea that there would be at least two more children between her and himself.
‘…Well, that’s a good thing.’
Unlike Baridas, who fell into a hole he had dug himself, I was busy trying to stop the children. But no matter how much I called, the kids didn’t stop arguing as if they couldn’t hear me, and eventually I pulled out my secret trick for the first time in a long time.
“Let’s become a hermit crab. Stop!”
“Stop!”
The children who reflexively shouted “Stop” quietly looked up at me, and Baridas let out a low exclamation at the sight.
Was that the technique that Crimson praised? It was even more amazing to see it in person, to make those kids quiet in an instant.
“If you fight, I’ll make you go back to your room.”
At my firm words, the children became sullen and lowered their heads. In the end, the kids used rock-paper-scissors to decide who would lie next to whom, with Greenly and Jasmine lying next to me, Ren and Thomas lying next to Baridas, and Lima lying in the middle.
The bed was so huge that even after all the children lay down, there was still more than half of the space left. The lights in the room were turned off, and Baridas and I lay down next to the children we had chosen.
“Sleep well, Mrs. Hwang.”
While saying that, Jasmine hugged me.
“Good night, guys.”
Bright moonlight came into the room from outside the window, and before we knew it, the children had fallen asleep with comfortable expressions. Except for just one person.
—————————————————————
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 March, 29.
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