Chapter〈008〉
Lord Winchester looked up at me in silence. Even though I had called for him suddenly, there was no trace of surprise or curiosity on his face.
His expressionless face resembled that of a mannequin. He looked almost too handsome to be real.
“Would it be possible for me to see Miss Daniel before I go?”
“…Why are you looking for Daniel?”
My question must have come as a surprise, because for the first time, Lord Winchester hesitated. He even gave me a probing look, as if to search me for answers—just like that night, with eyes that seemed to pierce through a person.
“I wanted to say hello in advance. If one day her father suddenly gets married and someone who isn’t her mother claims to be her mother, it would be confusing for a child.”
“That’s possible. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
Upon hearing my explanation, Lord Winchester gave a slight nod and granted his permission.
“Would Miss Daniel be in her room on the second floor?”
“Probably.”
“Alright, thank you.”
This time, I truly left Lord Winchester’s office.
“Daniel?”
When I knocked on the door, the rustling sounds from inside abruptly stopped. Unsure if the silence meant I had permission to enter, I waited a little. Then the door suddenly swung open.
“Who are you?”
As the saying goes, do servants take after their masters? It wasn’t Daniel behind the door, but a maid with a sharp voice and suspicious eyes scanning me up and down. A stray thought crossed my mind—if I became the mistress of this house, would everyone else’s presence fade so much that the Camellia Mansion might start being called a ghost house?
“I came to see Daniel. She’s not in the room?”
“Who are you to be asking for the young miss?”
Plenty of questions, but no answers. I hadn’t visited many people’s homes here, but I had seen the maids in my own house and at Sister Sophia’s. Compared to them, this maid had no manners.
“I’m Neary from the Baron Pomotz family. I came to see Daniel.”
“…The young miss isn’t in her room right now.”
Only after I revealed my identity did the maid’s voice lose a bit of its thorns. Not that they were completely gone—more like shifting from sharp rose thorns to annoying burrs.
“Then where is she?”
“The young miss goes out to the garden when we clean the room.”
“Isn’t that backwards? It’s not the lady who should leave during cleaning. You should clean when the lady is out.”
“What’s the difference?”
She responded with a scoffing tone, as if mocking my logic. I felt a surge of annoyance but held it in. I might look plain, but I was still the daughter of a baron. Even if she was from the prestigious household of an earl, she was still just a maid. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them.
“What’s your name?”
“Why?”
“I asked what your name is.”
“Why are you asking my name?”
This maid seemed entirely incapable of answering questions and only skilled at asking them. This wasn’t ping pong. A back-and-forth without answers was just exhausting. Better to go find Daniel than waste time on this.
“Forget it.”
As I shook my head and ended the conversation, a flicker of smug satisfaction appeared on her face—as if she’d triumphed over a noble lady.
Fine. Let’s see if you still wear that smirk next month.
I made sure to remember her face clearly before turning away.
The Camellia Mansion’s garden was large, but finding Daniel wasn’t difficult.
‘Oh my! So dazzling! She’s literally glowing!’
Under the apple tree, a glowing bundle of light practically blinded me. I closed my eyes dramatically, overwhelmed by the sight.
Okay, deep breaths. Inhale, exhale. Can’t go gasping like a creep in front of Daniel. One more time, slowly. Inhaaaale… exhaaaale…
“Hi, Daniel.”
“Ah…! Hello!”
Daniel, who had been sitting under the tree, head bowed and fiddling with something, looked up at my greeting. As soon as she recognized my face, she jumped up and gave me a polite bow, showing off her adorable little head.
So. Freaking. Cute.
“What were you doing?”
“I saw a flower ring in a book and tried to make one… but it’s not working.”
At her words, I glanced down and saw a few clovers scattered in front of her. Some were already squashed, and a few had broken flower heads.
Just imagining her tiny hands fiddling with those clovers made my heart race from cuteness overload.
“Want me to help?”
I sat beside where Daniel had been sitting, and she quickly scooted over to sit next to me. Only then did I notice that she was wearing the same shabby, worn-out dress from before—something I had missed in the glow of her overwhelming adorableness.
“Let’s see here~”
From the remaining clovers, I picked the two prettiest and fullest ones. I pressed my thumbnail into the stem just below the flower, making a mark. Gently, carefully, I spread it apart with both hands to create a small hole.
“…Wow!”
Daniel stretched her neck out, eyes and mouth wide open in amazement at the tiny hole I’d made. Too cute!
“It’s not that hard. Just press the center with your nail like—”
I trailed off as I looked at her fingernails.
Daniel didn’t have nails. Not that they’d fallen off, but—
Her nails were frayed and torn, like she’d been biting them incessantly. The white parts weren’t just gone; they were so badly chewed that even looking at them made me wince.
There was no way she could make a dent in a clover stem with nails like that.
“Ah…”
Realizing I had seen her fingers, Daniel quickly curled her small hands into fists and glanced at me nervously.
Tears began to well up in her clear eyes, as if she expected to be scolded.
That wasn’t what I meant to do…
“Let me see your hand.”
I quickly turned my gaze away and inserted another clover into the hole I’d made.
“Daniel, do you know the meaning of clovers?”
I tried to change the subject to stop her from crying. If she thought of something else, the tears might fade.
“What do they mean?”
Her voice was still damp, but she seemed curious.
“Each flower has its own meaning. That’s called the language of flowers.”
With wide eyes full of wonder, Daniel looked at me, as if hearing about this for the first time.
I smiled gently at her and looked down at her hand. Her fingers were too short for a flower ring to stay on, so I decided on something else.
“The meaning of clover is happiness.”
I gently wrapped the clover around her chubby wrist, tying it softly to make a pretty flower bracelet.
“All done! Now this bracelet will bring you happiness.”
“Wow!”
When the pretty clover bracelet appeared on her wrist, a bright smile replaced her tears. What a relief.
“How did you do that?”
“I’ll teach you next time. When your nails grow out nicely.”
At my words, Daniel quickly curled her hands again. Even her round little fists were adorable.
“I’m sorry. I was told biting nails is bad manners…”
“Hm… It’s not very hygienic, either. There are lots of bad germs under your nails. If you put your fingers in your mouth, those germs go in, and then your tummy might hurt, or your head, and then you’ll be sad.”
“Who would be sad?”
“Hm?”
“Who would be sad if I got sick?”
“…”
“There’s no one who would be sad.”
Daniel asked the question with pure, innocent curiosity.
“I would be sad.”
As I brushed a leaf out of her hair, I gave her my answer.
“Because I’m going to be your mother.”
“Mother…?”
Daniel repeated the word mother as if it were entirely unfamiliar, shaping it cautiously with her small lips.
“Yes. But if calling me that feels strange, you can call me whatever you like.”
The leaf was already gone, but I kept stroking her shimmering hair.
“I’m counting on you from now on, Daniel.”
I gave her a warm smile—as a mother would to her daughter.
