~Chapter 16~
Leah had an early lunch that day and was busy getting Raphaella dressed up.
A few days earlier, the head maid had brought spring clothes into Raphaella’s dressing room—though she hadn’t said it, those dresses used to belong to Penelope when she was a child.
Leah picked a bright dress perfect for the festival: a light pink one with a darker pink corsage on the left chest and detailed frills on the sleeves and hem.
She braided Raphaella’s hair into two pigtails and tied them with flower-decoration ribbons.
“You look so pretty today, Rafi.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, like a little spring fairy.”
Hearing her mom’s compliment, Raphaella blushed and squirmed shyly.
“Hehe, but Mom, why aren’t you changing your clothes?”
“I have some errands to run, so I can’t go with you today.”
“Why not? I want to go with you….”
“Today, go with your dad and tell me all about it.
Next year, we’ll go together.”
Raphaella pouted sadly.
But Leah thought it was better not to join the outing with Johann and Raphaella for a few reasons.
First, it didn’t look good for her to be seen in public with the Duke of Blumenthal, who was engaged to the imperial princess.
More importantly, she had to visit a jewelry shop to exchange the jewels Carolina gave her for gold coins, and then stop by some boutiques to get a few decent spring outfits and shoes.
‘Shopping’s just easier when I do it alone.’
She regretted not exchanging the jewels earlier, but with the maids so busy before the festival, she hadn’t been able to leave Raphaella behind.
‘And taking Raphaella along would’ve been too much work.’
Now that Raphaella was the Blumhardt Duke’s daughter, she couldn’t go out with just a butler—she’d need at least ten attendants.
This might be her only chance to shop alone for a while.
Leah cheered Raphaella up as they headed downstairs to the main hall where Johann was waiting.
He was sitting on a couch in the hall, dressed in a dark navy coat with neatly combed black hair and polished leather shoes.
Though his outfit was more casual than usual because of the festival, his presence still felt intense.
After briefly observing him, Leah looked annoyed that he said nothing after seeing their daughter.
“Don’t you have anything to say after seeing your cute daughter?”
“…You look nice, Raphaella.”
He finally spoke after eyeing Raphaella in her pretty dress.
There were so many things he needed to learn about being a dad.
“…Thank you.”
Raphaella replied shyly to his compliment.
Leah took her daughter’s hand and gently guided her toward Johann.
Today, he would be the one taking care of her.
The three of them walked together to where the Blumhardt family carriage was waiting.
“Rafi, listen to Dad and have fun, okay?”
“…Okay.”
Raphaella looked down, clearly disappointed, as she took Johann’s hand and got into the carriage.
“…Why does she look so upset?”
“She’s sad I’m not going with her.”
“I mean, you could come along.”
“No, I think today should be father-daughter time.”
Leah turned him down and kissed Raphaella on the forehead.
“Rafi, you have to tell me everything you did today, okay?”
“…Okay, but you have to tell me what you did too.”
It seemed Raphaella had accepted that Mom wouldn’t be joining them.
She smiled and gave her a big hug.
“Okay, see you later.”
Leah watched the carriage leave, then quickly went off to take care of her errands.
—
Inside the carriage heading to the central shopping district, the silence was awkward.
Now that the day had come, Johann regretted suggesting this outing.
They were already awkward at home—wouldn’t being out together make it worse?
And he was right to worry.
‘Even with Penelope, I rarely talked much…’
He wasn’t even close to his younger sister.
He had joined the Royal Academy the year Penelope was born and stayed in the dorms, so he barely saw his family except on holidays.
Penelope was shy around him, and since he wasn’t exactly warm either, he couldn’t get close to her.
Even after graduation, they lived together for two years but only made small talk.
Then he disappeared on a monster-slaying mission and didn’t come back for a long time.
‘What am I even supposed to say to her…?’
He wished someone like Samuel, who was good with kids, had come along.
But since he had planned to spend the whole day with his daughter, he gave Samuel the day off.
So now there was no one to help him out.
Tap tap.
Raphaella gently tapped his arm.
“…What’s that over there?”
He turned to look out the window.
She was pointing at the big clock tower in the central plaza.
“That’s the clock tower.
The royal family built it long ago so people passing through the square could tell the time.”
“Wow, it’s so big!”
“Yeah, so it’s easy to see from anywhere.”
“What about that statue?”
“That’s a royal magician from 100 years ago…”
Thankfully, Raphaella was better at this than him.
Her curiosity and nonstop questions helped melt the tension between them.
Soon enough, Johann found himself explaining things with genuine effort.
‘Are kids always this curious?’
He started finding her pretty cute with all her questions.
Without thinking, he reached out toward her head—then stopped, a little startled by his own action.
Raphaella tilted her head.
“Why’d you stop? Weren’t you gonna pat me?”
“…What?”
“Weren’t you trying to pat my head?”
She pointed at his hovering hand.
“…Yeah.”
He awkwardly put his hand on her head and gently patted her, as if she were made of glass.
It felt strange.
He kind of wanted to pull his hand away, but also didn’t.
“…Did your hand get smaller?”
Raphaella asked, confused.
“What?”
“Your hand used to be so big.
Now it feels smaller.”
She held his hand up over her head.
“…It’s not that I shrank.
You just grew.”
“Really?”
Her big, round eyes stared up at him, making him smile.
That’s how they arrived at the central plaza where the festival was happening.
Johann stepped out first and helped Raphaella down.
The streets were much more crowded than usual, and colorful paper created by magic sparkled as it rained down.
“Wow, so pretty.”
“The royal mages made it to celebrate ‘Day of Rest.’”
Raphaella jumped up trying to catch one, but the paper disappeared as soon as she touched it.
“It’s like snowflakes!”
“…Yeah, it kind of is.”
Vendors lined the streets selling all kinds of things, shouting to draw customers in.
“I wanna eat that!”
Raphaella pointed excitedly at some fruit skewers.
“One of those, please.”
Johann handed over a gold coin without even asking the price.
“Oh, noble sir, this is just one copper coin!”
The seller waved his hands, startled.
Johann realized he had nothing smaller than a gold coin.
“…Well, since it’s a special day, just take it.”
“Thank you so much!”
The happy vendor handed them two of the biggest skewers.
“I only needed one.”
“Please, sir, try one too! They’re really good!”
“…Fine, I’ll try it.”
‘I’ve never had this before…’
Johann took a reluctant bite after watching his daughter enjoy hers.
“…Not bad.”
“Hehe, it’s really yummy!”
Father and daughter walked side by side, munching on their skewers.
Music from street performers filled the air, lifting the festive mood.
Vendors sold food, handmade accessories, and old trinkets.
Raphaella stopped in front of a young woman’s stand, staring at colorful thread-woven bracelets.
“Do you want one?”
Nod nod.
“I want to give one to Mom!”
“You have your own allowance, so pick something for her.”
“…I do?”
“You didn’t get to use it since you came in winter, but yes.
You get spending money every year.”
“Spending money?”
“I give you money to use for the year.”
“Wow, does Mom get money too?”
Johann paused.
Saying Leah doesn’t get anything from the Blumhardt family might confuse Raphaella.
Even if she could understand, this wasn’t the time to explain.
‘A little white lie won’t hurt.’
“…Yes, your mom gets some too.”
“Wow, Blumhardt is the best!”
Raphaella beamed, and Johann felt a little awkward.
Excited, she picked out a bracelet with pink and sky-blue threads and a cute shell in the middle.
Since Johann still only had gold coins, he used another one to buy it.
“Lalalala~”
Raphaella skipped happily, clutching the nicely wrapped gift.
Seeing her so cheerful made Johann smile.
Was it really that exciting to buy such a small bracelet?
He turned his gaze ahead—just in time to spot someone unexpected.
Raphaella also stopped, clearly seeing the same person.
