Touching someone else’s child without caution is against etiquette, even if she is the daughter of a sincere friend. She quickly withdrew her hand, erasing any trace of regret. The only one who noticed her momentary hesitation was Aria.

Then came the thudding sound of footsteps. Small footsteps mercilessly trampled the fresh spring grass.

“Hey!”

“…Alan?”

Hazel’s eyes sharpened as she spotted her son. After tossing him into the playroom with great effort, how did he manage to escape again? Hazel’s expression turned fierce. If he throws another tantrum, expressing his dislike for the social gathering in front of the noble ladies, Hazel decided that she would make Alan sit in the “thinking chair,” his most disliked place, without moving for two hours.

However, Alan didn’t lie sprawled on the floor as usual, as expected.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Instead, the boy approached Bonita directly, holding a cute red butterfly-shaped tie in his hand.

‘Who is this kid?’

Bonita blinked. Although she didn’t understand what he was up to, considering the way he was dressed and the fact that he had held the hand of the Countess earlier, the boy in front of her was undoubtedly the young master of this house.

A young master from an affluent family.

Bonita didn’t know how to handle such children. The only children she had seen were the offspring of merchants who roamed the market, shoulder to shoulder with their parents.

Are real nobles different somehow? What should I say?

Should I greet them by holding onto the hem of my dress like mom?

“Hey!”

As Bonita kept rolling her eyes, the impatient Alan shouted again.

“What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Bonita……”

“Is that so?”

Hazel, with sharp eyes, signaled Alan to be careful.

“Hmm……”

But instead of saying something mean to Bonita, Alan just observed her with narrow eyes.

“What’s your name, young master?”

“Young master? What young master, you’re not even our maid.”

Alan chuckled and turned away.

“I’m Alan Hyasynths.”

That was a relatively modest thing to say.

“Follow me! I’ll take you to the playroom instead of your mom!”

At the mention of “mom,” the expressions of the noble ladies briefly stiffened.

However, there was no adult who would bother about the words of an eight-year-old boy.

Bonita’s head turned to Aria.

“Can I go? It’s a good opportunity to make friends.”

“Aria will stay here, right?”

“Of course.”

With Aria’s firm reply, Bonita occasionally followed behind Alan, who was a little distance away.

As the two boys and a girl moved away, the noble ladies watched and sighed.

“So cute.”

“So adorable.”

“Miss Hilton, how old did Bonita say she is this year?”

Suddenly becoming the target of the question, Aria quickly answered.

“She’s seven years old.”

“If she’s seven…”

If it happened seven years ago, it matches the birth time of the former Duchess.

‘She really was seven.’

‘Well, if she looks like that, it’s only natural.’
In that brief moment, the noble ladies exchanged glances, engaging in unspoken conversations with each other.

Their gaze soon returned to Aria.

The first to speak was Lady Ruviniere.

“By the way, Miss Hilton.”

“Yes?”

“How did Bonita end up growing up outside the Duke’s residence? In fact, everyone was curious about it until Miss Hilton and Miss Bonita arrived.”

The other ladies nodded. Hazel’s index finger twitched.

It was a curiosity so blatant that it furrowed the brows, but Hazel knew that such honesty was much better.

In social circles, expressing genuine feelings to someone could mean two things.

First, to ignore and insult the person in front of you.

Second, to show favor.

This time, Lady Ruviniere and the other ladies, including the Countess, clearly demonstrated the latter. Perhaps they had changed their minds after seeing Bonita.

After all, it was quite common for a maid to care for and teach the master’s child. It was much more sensible than the scandal of becoming the husband’s concubine, let alone the issues of becoming the mistress over the lady.

Moreover, not far away was the tea table with the children’s playroom nearby.

The children’s social gathering was healthier, fostering friendship rather than involving complicated intrigues like the adult social parties. The recent question could be seen as an extension of that atmosphere.

‘…Is it just an excuse?’

Hazel smiled bitterly to herself.

Yes, in fact, setting aside all those reasons, she was curious herself.

‘Elodie’s daughter was supposed to be dead…’

Unlike the other ladies present, she had met Elodie in person.

Elodie had unequivocally stated that the child had died. So the Duke didn’t even bother trying to find the child.

But the child was clearly alive.

It was undoubtedly Elodie’s daughter.

Human as she was, Hazel couldn’t help but be curious about what had happened.

Aria, aware of such gazes, gave an awkward smile.

“As for that…”

“As for that?”

“His Grace requested that I keep it a secret for now. Unfortunately, I cannot provide an answer.”