AFRPR 16

Episode 16

Winterlen Castle was peaceful as always, even though its master, Duke Lennox, wasn’t there.

The only thing close to an “event” was the head chef insisting he be the one to cook Duren’s meals from now on.

‘It’s not really my job anyway, and I’ll be leaving someday, so this is for the best,’ Estelle thought, happily agreeing.

[“It’s a meal for Madam and the young master! Let’s make the best dish ever!”]

Thanks to the kitchen staff’s hard work, Estelle carried a meal made with love to Duren’s room.

As she reached the door, she suddenly heard a sound and paused.

Tot tot tot tot…

It was Duren’s footsteps, rushing to greet her after hearing her walk up.

Just thinking of him waiting on the other side made Estelle smile.

“Duren!”

The moment the door opened, Duren jumped into her arms.

Thankfully, she brought the food on a trolley—if she’d carried it by hand, it would’ve spilled everywhere!

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yup!”

“What did you dream about last night?”

“Dream?”

Duren tilted his head and thought hard. Then, raising both arms, he said, “No dream!”

Estelle felt relieved.

No happy dream—but at least no sad ones either. That meant Duren probably hadn’t cried last night.

“Remember Mr. Baker? He made today’s meal. Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

“Okay!”

Duren ate eagerly, his cheeks puffing out.

‘He must really like it.’

Estelle had recently learned something new about Duren after spending more time with him:
When he got excited, dog-like ears or a tail would appear.

She chuckled quietly at how fast his tail wagged, like someone was fanning it.

The tail vanished once the meal ended. Estelle wiped the crumbs from Duren’s mouth, feeling a bit sad the tail was gone—it was so cute.

“Duren, want to go outside and play today?”

He couldn’t stay inside forever.

When Estelle carefully suggested going out, Duren’s face lit up.

“A walk?”

“Yup, a walk.”

As soon as he heard the word, his tail popped out again.

“I love walks! Let’s go, let’s go!”

‘That tail’s wagging so hard I can barely see it.’

Duren was about to sprint outside.

Estelle barely managed to grab him in time, calming him down until the tail disappeared. Only then could they head out.

“Duren! Let’s slow down a little!”

Zoom—!

As soon as the door opened, Duren darted out. When Estelle called, he stopped and looked back briefly.

“I caught—Duren!”

But as soon as she got close, he started running again.

“That’s not the right way—it’s this way!”

Thankfully, Duren still listened to her, and they made it safely to the garden.

Winterlen Castle was large and well-kept. Just walking through the garden could take over an hour.

“Yay!”

“The young master looked at me!”

The staff were quietly amazed as they saw Duren happily running around.

These days, everyone in the castle adored him. He was so different from the first time they met him—back then, he had glowing red eyes and looked like a wild beast.

Now, his soft cheeks and sparkling eyes made him incredibly lovable.

He always had a smile, and the adults couldn’t help smiling back.

“But why do they call me ‘young master’?”

Duren tilted his head and asked the maid, Riley.

His grandma used to call him “my baby,” so he understood “baby” was part of his name.

But what about the “master” part?

“It’s because you’re someone more important than us, so we call you ‘young master,’” she explained.

‘I’m higher up!’ Duren understood right away.

“You must’ve been wondering why we all say that,” Riley said to Estelle, who had caught up.

“One day, you’ll have a friend who’ll just call you ‘Doo-Doo,’” Estelle added.

“Doo-Doo?”

“It means someone who’s so close to you, they call you by a nickname.”

Duren was smart. He understood and nodded.

“Yup, got it!”

Then he took off running again.

“Duren!”

“Madam, should we go help you watch him?” a servant asked.

“No need. We’re only walking around the garden.”

Estelle turned down the help out of kindness and followed after Duren.

As they continued the walk, Estelle got both reactions:
Some people smiled lovingly at Duren, while others looked a bit worried about her.

Sniff sniff.

Duren paused to smell the grass, and Estelle finally caught her breath.

She wiped her forehead, sweating and breathing heavily.

‘Why does this feel like a workout…?’

Her heart was pounding, her legs were shaky, and her head felt dizzy. This was definitely exercise.

As she caught her breath, a gardener nearby started a friendly conversation.

“Madam, isn’t it cold out here?”

“I’m used to the northern weather now.”

“You must be joking! No one gets used to this cold in just a few weeks!”

She had been running after Duren so much she didn’t feel the cold anymore.

She glanced at Duren, making sure he wasn’t running off again, and continued chatting.

Duren came over and quietly listened.

Then he suddenly shouted:

“Madam!”

Everyone was surprised and turned toward him.

“Madam? What?”

Estelle asked, looking puzzled.

With bright, innocent eyes, Duren looked up at her and yelled:

“Madam-a! Let’s go!”

Madam-a, let’s go.

Everyone froze, including the gardener.

“What did you just say, Duren?”

“I want to go over there too!”

It seemed Duren only wanted to keep exploring.

‘Does he think my name is “Madam”…?’

No one at Winterlen Castle called Estelle by her real name—only “Madam.”
So Duren must’ve thought that was her name too.

‘And the “-a” part must be because we just talked about nicknames…’

It seemed like Duren saw Estelle not just as family, but as a close friend.

Estelle stayed silent for a moment, then smiled. Duren tilted his head in confusion.

“Duren, you shouldn’t call me Madam.”

“I shouldn’t?”

But… everyone else does! His eyes seemed to say.

Estelle knelt down to meet his gaze.

She had always told Duren they were family—but she’d never actually explained she was his stepmother.

She’d been worried it might upset him.

‘Gaining a new family member and gaining a new mom are two very different things…’

But she couldn’t hide it forever.

“I’m your stepmother,” she finally said.

“Stepmother?”

“Yes. I decided to become your mom.”

What if he thought of his old family and became sad?

“So instead of ‘Madam,’ you should call me ‘Mom.’”

“……”

“You’re the only one here who gets to call me that. Do you understand?”

Estelle closed her eyes, nervous about how he’d react.

Then slowly, she opened them—and…

“Okay!” Duren smiled brightly.

“Mom! Let’s go over there!”

With a happy, innocent face, he grabbed Estelle’s arm.

“W-wait, Duren!”

Estelle got up clumsily, trying to hold him back before he ran again.

“Yup?”

“This time… let’s hold hands, okay?”

It was exhausting keeping up with him. Holding hands would help him slow down a bit.

Duren stared at her outstretched hand, then quietly placed his own small one in hers.

Clasp.

Estelle gently squeezed his hand.

The wind was chilly against her cheek—but their hands were warm. So she didn’t feel cold at all.

‘…I’m exhausted.’

After playing with Duren all day, Estelle felt ready to collapse.

She felt ten years older.

Just one day of play, and her body couldn’t keep up.

‘Maybe I should’ve exercised more…’

“Mom!”

Still rubbing her sore arms, Estelle turned to look at Duren—now clean and fluffy after his bath.

Doo-doo-doo…

“I want to go outside again!”

…Estelle felt like the sky had fallen.

“Let’s sleep now and go again tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow again!”

“Yes, we’ll play again tomorrow.”

Thankfully, Duren didn’t insist. Estelle sighed in relief and patted his head.

“Go to sleep early so tomorrow comes faster. Goodnight, Duren.”

It was time for her to return to the separate building where she stayed.

But as she left, she felt someone chasing after her.

Doo-doo-doo…

“Duren?”

It was him.

“We’re done playing today. You need to go back to your room.”

“But you’re my mom.”

When she gently pushed him away, his eyes looked hurt.

“I want to stay with you.”

Even after all that fun, he didn’t ask to play more—but now, he was stubbornly refusing to be apart.

‘He probably doesn’t understand why we live separately.’

Explaining that her staying in the main building would upset his dad, Duke Lennox, was too complicated for him to grasp.

As Estelle stood there unsure what to do—

Duren said softly:

“Don’t throw Doo-Doo away.”