“Huh?”

The trembling viscount, checking the contents of the letter with squinted eyes, soon let out a puzzled voice.

He blinked his eyes.

“Viscount? What’s wrong?”

“No, this is…”

Certainly, it was the Marquis’s handwriting, but the recipient and sender written in the letter were not the viscount and the marquis.

He carefully read the letter.

To Maya,

Hello, it’s me, Bonita.

Do you remember playing together at the marquis’s mansion last time?

Actually, the 8th of next month is my birthday, so I want to invite you to the party.

I don’t know if you’ll like it, but I hope you can come if you have time.

Talking to you back then was really fun.

Dad said he would prepare a lot of delicious snacks, so you might enjoy it too. Well, probably…

I’ll be waiting for your reply.

Bonita
“Birthday party invitation…?”

The viscount mumbled in amazement.

If it were Maya, his youngest daughter who just turned seven this year.

Reading and rereading the letter, the viscount soon discovered a small drawing at the bottom.

It was his daughter’s face. It was more intricate than an ordinary portrait.

“Did she become close friends with the Marquis’s daughter after receiving the drawing I personally gave to the Marquis’s daughter last time? Honestly, the drawing was too absurd for a child to have drawn, so he chuckled it off, thinking, ‘Children indeed have rich imaginations.'”

However, now that he saw it in front of him, he couldn’t help but think that maybe those words were true.

If it were a different drawing, it might be unknown, but how could someone else’s daughter’s face be in a manufactured item? Unless it was hand-drawn, it seemed impossible.

The viscount pinched his nose to gather his thoughts.

Regardless of the process, it was a pleasant thing that his daughter was getting along well with the maid of the Ricianthus Marquisate.

In noble society, friendships from childhood often came back around. Whether it was in business, strategic marriages, or politics, connections were always important.

Of course, aside from that, he was happy that his introverted daughter had a friend close enough to invite her to a birthday party. Even if the friend was… the formidable Marquis’s daughter.

‘Did I say my daughter takes after her mother?’

It wasn’t a significant fact.

The viscount called his daughter, who was practicing knitting awkwardly in her room, and showed her the letter.

Maya was overjoyed as soon as she saw the party invitation and said she would write a reply immediately. The viscount, as if he had been waiting, handed her the prepared letter paper and helped her send the reply.

The Ricianthus Mansion was very lively.

The day that used to be sent as a token every year became the precious lady’s birthday, so everyone was delighted.

Everyone in the mansion liked Bonita, who recently entered the quiet mansion. There were few adults who disliked the cute child who smiled broadly at them.

“Put it over there!”

“Here?”

“No, over there!”

“Is it okay now?”

“It’s okay!”

Colorful balloons that children would like were stuck all over the walls.

Some maids had quite a talent for tying balloons and even made animals or heart shapes. Bonita, passing through the hallway, saw it and rushed over.

“What are you making?”

“A puppy, Miss.”

“Wow!”

Bonita, receiving a balloon puppy from the maid, touched the surface of the balloon as if it were magical. The smoothness was fascinating.

“Is this a balloon?”

“That’s right, Miss.”

“How are balloons made?”

“Hmm? Probably not made of rubber?”

“Rubber?”

“When you blow air, it expands and becomes firm.”

“It expands?”

“Yes, before you blow, it’s much smaller and squishier.”

Bonita, who had never witnessed the process of blowing up a balloon, tilted her head in amazement.

Squish, squish.
Bonita played with a long balloon shaped like a puppy, tying it with her fingers. When she pressed it, she could feel the balloon filled with air inside.

As she rubbed it with her hands, there was a squeaky sound.

“It sounds like when you rub against a glass window.”

“Oh, definitely.”

The servant who listened to the young lady’s words nodded as if it was indeed true.

Bonita, who was tapping the balloon against her ear, exclaimed.

“It’s fascinating!”

The servant looked at her with admiring eyes. Although he was still unmarried and had no children, just seeing the little lady made him smile involuntarily.

‘Such a reaction with just a puppy balloon, how satisfying.’

He was genuinely pleased to have made the young lady happy with such a simple skill.

As he was about to say his final farewell and return to the party venue, Bonita called out.

“Daddy!”

The servant quickly lowered his head towards Luke. Luke, who received his greeting appropriately, looked at Bonita.

“What were you doing?”

However, he got an unexpected response.

“Dad, do you have a pen? One with a sharp end.”