Chapter〈004〉
“Still awake?”
According to Lorinus, Daniel should have been asleep by now. Both the late Lady Winchester and the housekeeper Sionne had told him that children need a lot of sleep.
Lorinus, who knew nothing about children or raising them, simply believed them. Besides, whenever he came home, Daniel was indeed always asleep.
“Ah…”
His question was just that—a question, not a reproach—but because of his blunt tone, Daniel squirmed like he had been severely scolded.
Grrrrrgle~
Just then, a small rumbling sound echoed between the fidgety Daniel and the silent Lorinus.
The gurgling sound, coming from between the two, clearly belonged to Daniel. It was too faint to belong to an adult.
“……!”
Daniel’s face turned bright red from embarrassment, proving it was indeed his.
“Are you hungry?”
At Lorinus’s question, Daniel hesitated for a moment. But his growling stomach made him nod.
“So you were trying to eat that cookie?”
Lorinus asked again, glancing at the cookie in Daniel’s hand.
“No. A lady gave this to me.”
Daniel shook his head as he answered.
“But my father said I shouldn’t eat things given by strangers…”
As if unsure how to finish, Daniel trailed off. His small hand clutching the cookie wrapped in a handkerchief trembled faintly.
His father, whom he rarely saw, felt cold and intimidating. Daniel often missed him, but when they finally met, he didn’t know how to act. Lorinus was well aware of this.
That was why—why he couldn’t easily praise a child who remembered his warning. Why he couldn’t explain kindly, saying that he too had survived several poisoning attempts in his youth, so Daniel should be careful too. Why he couldn’t simply say, “If you’re hungry, just eat something.”
Lorinus had never grown up hearing gentle explanations or kind words. His father had been strict with him as the heir, his mother had passed away early, and his stepmother hated him.
He had never heard such words in his life and had never learned how to act that way.
“You can eat it.”
In the end, all that came out of his mouth was a curt, blunt approval. Fortunately, Daniel’s eyes lit up just from that. He was hungry, after all, and the permission was enough.
“Miss Neary is someone I know, too.”
Lorinus mentioned the name he had just heard. Though her identity wasn’t fully verified, Lorinus permitted Daniel to eat the cookie.
It was that sincere, clear voice. The kindness of giving a cookie to a hungry child she didn’t know. Those upright, brown eyes that had looked straight at him. All of it made Lorinus say that.
The moment he gave his permission, Daniel eagerly put the cookie into his small mouth. Crunching away adorably, he looked so cute that Lorinus forgot he was supposed to go downstairs and just stood there watching.
As Daniel chewed the sweet cookie, his round, platinum-blond head bobbing with every bite, Lorinus’s large hand moved slowly toward it. But Daniel, too absorbed in eating, didn’t notice a thing.
Just before Lorinus’s hand could reach Daniel’s head, it suddenly halted—frozen mid-air, as if someone had grabbed his wrist. He couldn’t bring himself to move any further.
“……”
In the end, Lorinus couldn’t touch Daniel. He only clenched his empty fist tightly.
“It might get a little noisy later, but try to sleep well.”
Withdrawing his hand, Lorinus spoke. That was the kindest thing he could say.
“She told me—she was invited here. She said thank you for inviting her to such a nice house.”
Daniel smiled bashfully as he said this. Even though he had said otherwise earlier, he was happy that Neary had told him he belonged in this house.
“I see.”
Lorinus left the room after that, giving Daniel space to eat comfortably.
“Bring Daniel something light to eat to his room. But if he’s already asleep, don’t wake him up.”
“Yes, understood.”
At Lorinus’s words, Edden nodded slightly and quickly walked downstairs ahead of him.
As Lorinus was about to follow, he passed by the hallway where he had seen Neary earlier—and stopped instinctively. Those clear brown eyes that had looked at him came back to mind.
“Neary de Formots…”
A plain name. One you wouldn’t remember after hearing just once or twice.
Yet Lorinus had already memorized it.
* * *
“What on earth happened? Please, just tell me, okay?”
Sophia clung to me, shaking my arm insistently. Ever since she’d heard I was invited to the Winchester family’s ball, she’d been terribly envious and had rushed over at dawn the next day.
And when she heard from Mother that I had come home in the Winchester family’s carriage, she hadn’t left me alone.
“Wait a minute! What’s that band on your neck? You—no way!”
Suddenly, she started making a huge fuss. Even Mother, who had been quietly sipping her tea, looked at me in shock. I had hidden my neck when I came home yesterday so she wouldn’t worry.
“Who did this to you?”
“…Lord Winchester.”
I had no choice but to admit it.
“That’s why you came back in their carriage.”
“What?! Are you going to become the Countess of Winchester now? Do I, a Baroness, have to start using honorifics with you?”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Come on! You went to the ball! Came back in another family’s carriage! And you’ve got that on your neck! It’s that!”
“What’s that?”
“Oh my! How can I say it out loud? Even if we’re sisters, I’m still a refined lady!”
She suddenly fluttered her fan primly, acting all ladylike, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Why was etiquette coming up now? Besides, she’s never had any to begin with.
“How was it? Did you enjoy it?”
Then she immediately stuck to my side again, acting overly familiar.
“Enjoy what?”
“Lord Winchester, of course!”
“It was horrible.”
“Well, it’s often like that the first time. Did it hurt a lot?”
“Not that much.”
Watching her nod knowingly, I found myself wondering: Is having a knife to your throat that common? Are marital spats in this world that extreme? I had thought my brother-in-law was a decent man…
“Neary!”
Mother’s sudden shout startled me, and I looked over to see her face had gone completely pale.
“I didn’t press yesterday since you didn’t want to talk, but really… did something happen with Lord Winchester?”
“I didn’t say anything because I was tense and tired…”
“Of course! That kind of thing is mentally exhausting.”
Sophia interjected smoothly.
“And I didn’t want you to worry…”
“Oh come now! A mother has the right to know!”
“It was just a small accident, really. It’s already over. I didn’t even bleed that much.”
“Oh dear! Did Lord Winchester say that? That it’s over? That we should just forget about it?”
My sister, who had been making dramatic interjections with every sentence, ended up cutting me off entirely.
“He didn’t put it quite like that, but… he did apologize and made sure I got home safely, so I think he plans to leave it be.”
“Oh, my, my, my! I didn’t think Lord Winchester was like that—what trash!”
Huh? Why is the conversation heading that way? Sure, he was a little rude, but I was partially at fault. I could understand where he was coming from.
“Sophia, will you help me upstairs? I need to lie down.”
“Yes, Mother.”
With Sophia supporting her, Mother disappeared to the second floor, and finally, the room fell quiet.
Is she anemic?
I recalled my mother’s pale complexion and began to worry a little.
