Chapter 50
Aria often had sides to her that didn’t seem like those of a five-year-old child.
Come to think of it, Charlotte had never actually taught Aria how to read. Yet when reading a fairy tale, Aria would point to the picture of a rabbit and say, “Rabbit!” Or, when she saw the sender’s name on a letter, she would tilt her head and ask who it was.
Commoners could read and write too, of course, but the words used in high society or noble names were often complicated and long, making them difficult for even adults to read at times.
But Aria… she was the opposite. She read difficult words more easily than simple ones. It wasn’t that she could read impossibly hard words without pause, but there were times when she would say something so advanced and fluent that Charlotte wondered, “Did I ever teach her that word?”
If asked who had taught her, Aria would either clamp her mouth shut and run away or shake her head.
What’s more, when Aria was alone, she gave off a strangely mature air. Of course, she would quickly return to smiling sweetly and clinging like a child, so Charlotte had never dwelled on it. And right now was just such a moment. Charlotte stroked Aria’s hair.
When Aria said her wish was to have a family meal together, she spoke as if she were someone about to go far away. Could it be… did she somehow know about the plan to send her off for adoption? No, that was impossible. And yet, her tone carried something more—like the resignation of a patient near death, voicing a final wish.
That couldn’t be true. But it felt that way. Charlotte’s heart dropped with a thud. She immediately took Aria from Ash’s arms and held her tightly. When she patted her back, Aria squirmed and buried her face in her chest.
“Your wish is to have a family meal together?”
“…”
“Aria?”
Aria lifted her head, and her bright blue eyes gleamed strangely. But only for a moment. Soon, she smiled innocently and rubbed her face against Charlotte’s cheek. As if she hadn’t heard the question at all, she beamed and reached out toward Ash.
“I want to eat white bread with the Duke.”
“…Alright. On the way back, we’ll buy warm bread. Enough for you to eat until your tummy is full.”
Charlotte wasn’t the only one startled—Ash had noticed the fleeting change in Aria’s aura as well. When she returned to acting like a normal, spoiled child, he let out a breath that was half relief, and patted her head.
Hearing Ash say they would buy lots of bread, Aria burst into giggles with a delighted “Kya-kya!” Charlotte found herself momentarily unsettled, as though Aria were a stranger, but she pushed that aside and focused on the child’s earlier words about wanting a family meal.
Could it be that Aria’s parents had died early on? Was that why she longed for something as simple as a family meal, something she never had?
If that were the case, Charlotte would gladly grant her wish. In fact, she could give Aria family meals every day, three times a day. She pressed a kiss against Aria’s pale cheek.
Just then, Pedro and the mountain scouts appeared, carrying large packs slung over their shoulders. The servants, struggling with the loads, looked pitiful in comparison. The burly scouts hoisted the heavy bags as easily as if they were bundles of straw and carried them toward the carriages. Flustered servants trailed behind them.
Pedro spotted Aria in Charlotte’s arms and cheerfully called out, “Aria!” He approached with a grin. Aria’s eyes sparkled in awe at the sight of him so effortlessly lifting the massive pack.
“Mister, Mister!”
“Hmm? What is it, Aria?”
“I want to ride on your shoulders too!”
That’s not a shoulder ride, Charlotte whispered quietly. Aria pouted, lips drooping halfway down. Pedro looked at the bags he carried in both hands and turned to Edmond, but Edmond was also fully loaded.
“Edmond, take this for me.”
“Do I look like I have four arms to you?”
“Sigh… You should’ve been born with four arms then. No sense at all.”
“Are you insane?”
Failing to offload his burden onto his comrade, Pedro instead turned to Ash and said to Aria:
“Aria, the Duke will give you a ride!”
“Pedro.”
“Yes? He’s going to lift you up high for a shoulder ride! As expected of our Duke!”
“Wait—”
Ash glared silently at Pedro. The truth was, Ash had never given a child a shoulder ride before. Shoulder ride? Does that mean a wooden horse? He had no idea. He couldn’t. But faced with Aria’s sparkling, expectant eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He shot Pedro a desperate look for help.
Finally realizing that Ash didn’t know what it meant, Pedro hastily demonstrated with hand gestures as best he could while still holding the bags. Though clumsy, it was enough for Ash to catch on. Awkwardly, he managed to hoist Aria up for a shoulder ride. When she squealed with laughter, Ash’s lips slowly curved into a smile.
“There. Is this right?”
“Hehe, I like it, Duke.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. I’ve lived to see the Duke giving shoulder rides. Now I can die without regrets.”
Had Charlotte not been standing there, Ash would probably have kicked Pedro in the rear. Instead, he gestured sharply for him to get moving. Pedro kept teasing until the end. Charlotte fought back laughter and looked up at Aria—then gasped.
The girl who had just been laughing with delight at the elevated view was now nodding off, clinging to Ash’s head as though it were a pillow, fast asleep.
Ash stiffened when her tiny hand fell across his eyes, blocking his sight. Worried he might stumble, Charlotte hesitated, then grasped his arm. Ash immediately realized it was her hand, and his body went rigid.
“Duke, wait a moment.”
“!”
“Aria, come to Mommy.”
Charlotte rose on tiptoe and gently lifted Aria down into her arms. When she looked up, she found Ash’s face flushed. Not entirely like a rose, but the tips of his ears and the back of his neck burned red. Was it because Aria had suddenly fallen asleep and caught him off guard? He lowered his eyes halfway and ran a hand through his hair.
“Aria has been sleeping a lot lately. Sometimes she even dozes off while eating, or collapses in the hall mid-run. I never thought she’d fall asleep while on a shoulder ride though. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t know much about children Aria’s age, but I’ve heard that little ones sometimes fall asleep suddenly like that.”
“Really? This is the first time I’ve seen her drop off so abruptly. It startled me.”
“I’ve seen something similar before… a long time ago.”
Oh right—Charlotte remembered hearing that Baroness Bubel said Ash often played with the orphanage children.
“I think the child was about four years old. She came carrying an armful of dolls, asking me to play with her on the bed. She kept nodding off, and though I told her I’d carry her to bed if she was sleepy, she stubbornly refused. Before long, she fell fast asleep clutching her dolls. I had to hold her in one arm and clean up the toys with the other. I’d never seen someone drift off so quickly before.”
Ash chuckled softly.
“Later, Lord Ronan told me it had been her nap time. But she wanted to play with me so much that she brought all those dolls. That’s why she fell asleep so suddenly during play. I carried her back, and Lord Ronan was surprised to see her asleep. That memory came back to me just now.”
“…Ronan? My father?”
“Yes.”
Charlotte stared at him. So the child he was talking about… was me?
“She was truly adorable.”
“Duke!”
Charlotte’s face flamed as she shouted, but Ash quickly turned away and walked off. Charlotte hugged Aria close and hurried after him, her face still red. Ash smiled a little more brightly than usual. The mountain scouts, watching all this, found themselves amused—seeing their normally stiff, old-man-like commander acting like a young man for once.
The road to Nostri wound upward through a sloping path, flanked by forest. Normally it was passable, but with heavy snowfall, the road iced over and carriages struggled to climb. Wrapping chains around the wheels was a necessity. Not knowing this, however, the Kenis couple were having a miserable time.
“Damn this outdated carriage!”
“Be patient, dear. Nostri is close.”
“You couldn’t at least get a proper carriage?”
“Sorry. But when we get to the Kingdom of Marsha, I’ll buy you a platinum carriage.”
“Hmph. I’ll be watching to see if that’s just talk.”
Baron Kenis—though he had complained bitterly when his father starved to death and left not a penny behind—was nevertheless a devoted husband to his wife, Beth. As she stomped down from the driver’s seat to kick the wheel, he soothed her.
Just as Jamil had confessed, the Kenis couple were on their way to Nostri for one final escape from the Empire without leaving loose ends.
Normally they would have hired a coachman, but to leave no trace, Tilla sat in the driver’s seat himself. Unfortunately, while he had ridden horses before, he had never managed two horses pulling a carriage with a single set of reins. As a result, the carriage lurched forward and halted again every five minutes, driving him to tear at his hair.
“Ugh, it’s freezing! As expected of the North, it’s unbearably cold. And why is there so much snow? I already hate Nostri. Can’t we just grab the kid quickly and be done with it?”
“We can’t just snatch her recklessly. You know how a single rumor can ruin everything. We just need to show ourselves as good, caring people to the child and her guardian. Then we can take her quickly.”
“Acting like some virtuous lady was such a waste. Once we’re in the Marsha Kingdom, I’ll live however I want.”
Kenis nodded along and coaxed Beth back into the carriage, before climbing onto the driver’s seat again.
Nostri was near. Just as he’d told Beth, the plan was simple: present themselves as kind guardians, then take the child swiftly. They had already liquidated their assets, secured smugglers with gold, and rehearsed the act of a “poor couple adopting a pitiful child and leaving for a better life.”
Should I add a backstory about Beth being barren? That’d make it more dramatic.
He tapped his foot against the horses’ flanks, urging them forward.
I wonder what the kid looks like. If she’s pretty, I’ll sell her for a hefty price. Then I’ll buy Beth a huge diamond necklace with the money.
