That’s how the four of them sat cozily on the mat and opened the picnic box. Of course, opening the box was Bonita’s job.

“Wow.”

Bonita opened the brown basket shaped like a roof and exclaimed in surprise.

The large basket seemed to have everything in it.

A fancy sandwich with smoked ham, crisp lettuce, and the chef’s special sauce. A pretty glass bottle filled with juice made from whole oranges.

Next to it were colorful macarons with cute animal pictures and neatly prepared fruits.

Bonita’s bottom wiggled at the dazzling array that caught a child’s eye. Catherine watched the delighted child with affectionate eyes, but soon straightened her back and composed her expression.

‘No, wait! We don’t know if she’s really my granddaughter yet!’

Of course, she was likely to be Elodie’s daughter, but there was still a small chance she wasn’t.

She had to keep her wits about her, since her son had already melted completely.

“Bonita, shall I feed you?”

“I want to try eating by myself!”

“Is that so?”

Rarely rejecting Aria’s words, Bonita reverently took out sandwiches from the picnic box and laid them out.

There were six sandwiches lined up in a row. It seemed the chef had intentionally prepared extra portions.

Bonita handed one of them to Aria.

“Oh my! Are you giving this to me?”

“Yes!”

“Thank you, Bonita.”

Catherine’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the two.

‘Who is that woman to receive such treatment from my granddaughter… Oh no!’

Catherine mentally slapped herself as the word ‘granddaughter’ naturally slipped out.

“Duke, please have this.”

“Thank you.”

Meanwhile, Bonita had taken out another sandwich and handed it to Luke. Catherine was still squeezing her eyes shut.

‘That bewitching little girl is cute, but I need to keep my composure. My son is so unreliable. It was so nice when Elodie was here…’

“Um, my lady.”

However, Catherine’s thoughts didn’t last long. Bonita approached her hesitantly.

She asked, stumbling slightly.

“…Did you call me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To give you this.”

Bonita was holding two small cut sandwiches in both hands.

The chef had cut them in half to make them easier for Bonita to eat.

Catherine deliberately replied in a sulky tone.

“Hmph. Aren’t these cut for a child to eat? Why, am I supposed to eat less than those two?”

“That’s not it!”

Bonita jumped up. Though she only rose about 3cm off the ground, it made her all the more adorable.

‘What am I thinking!’

Catherine deliberately tried not to look at Bonita’s face.

But she couldn’t block out the sound of her voice.

“I heard that older people have trouble eating food that’s too hard or big. Since you’re older, I thought smaller cut sandwiches would be easier for you to eat.”

“How could you be so thoughtful…”

“Pardon?”

“What? I didn’t say anything just now!”

Catherine hurriedly denied it, startled.

Bonita tilted her head.

“I thought I heard you praise me as a good child just now…”

“Well, that must have been your imagination.”

“I see…”

So it wasn’t true after all.

Catherine was very concerned about Bonita’s crestfallen look, but she deliberately maintained a stern expression as she snatched the sandwich from the tiny hand.

“Anyway, since you’ve given it to me, I’ll eat it so you won’t feel awkward.”

Catherine muttered quietly.

“It has been difficult to open my mouth wide lately… No, never mind that.”

“Thank you, my lady!”

Bonita smiled brightly.

Catherine had to try very hard to tear her gaze away from that face that reminded her of Elodie.

When the picnic was over and Bonita and Aria had gone into the carriage first, Catherine called Luke and said,

“You’re returning to the mansion?”

“Yes. Do you have any objections?”

Her tone implied she would kill him if he did.

“No, not particularly.”

Luke shook his head.

The duke’s residence was infinitely spacious anyway. One more person wouldn’t make it uncomfortable.

It’s not like the mother-son relationship was terribly bad either.

“How will you travel? If you’d like, you can ride in the carriage I came in.”

“The carriage you came in?”

Catherine’s eyebrow twitched.

“No thanks. Your carriage is too drab and doesn’t suit my taste at all. I don’t understand the bad taste of upholstering all the seats in black like those northerners.”

“Ah, I see.”

Luke turned his body abruptly.

He pointed to Catherine’s personal carriage, lavishly decorated with jewels and gold.

“Then I’ll ride in the duke’s carriage with Bonita and Lady Aria, so you can take that one, Mother.”

What? Bonita?

Catherine’s ears perked up.

“Ahem.”

Sruuk.

She slowly crept closer to where Luke was.

“What is it?”

“Come to think of it, since we’re going anyway, there’s no need to tire out the horses by going separately.”

“Even if you don’t ride in it, that carriage has to go to the duke’s residence anyway.”

“How dare you talk back to your mother like that?”

Thwack!

Luke, who had suddenly been hit on the head again, rubbed his crown with an annoyed expression.

“You’re still just a child!”

Luke, who had suddenly become a ‘child’ at thirty years old, made an incredulous face.

It had been 5 years since he lived apart from Catherine. He was still not used to being treated like a child.

“Ah!”

As the two of them boarded the carriage together, Bonita, who was sitting on Aria’s lap, let out a short exclamation.

“Are you also returning to the duke’s residence with us, my lady?”

“Of course, it’s my home, where else would I go?”

“Oh…”

Bonita shrank at the sharp retort. Luke glared at his sulking mother once before quickly comforting Bonita.

“Don’t be scared. She’s been living in another mansion in the southern part of the kingdom for 5 years anyway, so she’ll go back down soon.”

“What nonsense is that!”

“What do you mean? Weren’t you just stopping by briefly?”

Luke looked at Catherine with bewildered eyes.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to stay?”

“…What! Is that not allowed?”

“No, well.”

“What! What!”

“What?”

Aria narrowed her eyes and smiled at the childish bickering between the two.

‘Mother-in-law hasn’t changed.’

She knew well what kind of personality Catherine had. Despite her status as a noble marchioness and her beautiful appearance, she had a bad reputation in social circles because of that attitude.

Of course, Catherine didn’t give a damn about such opinions. She even openly picked fights, grabbing and pulling the hair of a lady who had spilled wine on her dress.

The mad dog of high society.

Even Elodie was a bit worried when she first had to serve such an infamous person as her mother-in-law…

‘But she was actually a very kind person.’

It had all been needless worry.

Catherine was willful and had a fierce personality that demanded revenge no matter what, but she had loved Elodie, her eldest daughter-in-law, like her own daughter.

Elodie felt a bit melancholic at the old memories that surfaced.

Although she had been trying to ignore it for Bonita’s sake, both Luke and Catherine were people she had loved.

It made her heart ache to see that both of them, who had cherished her dearly, now couldn’t recognize her and were looking for traces of her in Bonita.

No one would believe such an absurd claim that a dead person had entered someone else’s body after 6 years.

‘I guess I can never go back.’

For now, it seemed unlikely that she would even be recognized as the biological mother of her only daughter, let alone reunite with her old family.

“Mother.”

Just then, Bonita’s voice was heard.

Aria looked down at her daughter who had called her.

Bonita’s small, cute face was clearly worried about her.

“Are you uncomfortable somewhere? …You look sad.”

Aria failed to notice that Bonita’s concern stemmed from the anxiety that the ‘old Aria’ might return.

But even if the intention doesn’t fully come across, it doesn’t make the emotion false. Aria smiled as she clasped Bonita’s small hands.

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just tired because we played so hard today.”

“Then that’s good! Actually, I’m a bit sleepy too after running around so much.”

“Is that so? Do you want to use my lap as a pillow?”

“Can I really?”

“Of course.”

With Aria’s permission, Bonita gently got off her lap. Aria reached out to hold Bonita’s head and carefully laid her on her lap.

Bonita yawned softly. After blinking a few times, Bonita soon buried her face in Aria’s blue skirt and began to doze off.

Aria was gazing at the child with loving eyes when she soon felt a pair of piercing gazes.

Catherine’s eyes strongly conveyed the meaning of ‘What is going on here?’

Aria was inwardly flustered.

Although she was trying hard not to use the term ‘mom’, she couldn’t stop Bonita from calling her ‘mother’.

Not only would it hurt Bonita, but she was afraid that if she made such a request, her relationship with Bonita would truly become that of strangers forever. Aria patted the child’s stomach in a steady rhythm to calm her anxiety.

Catherine made no effort to hide her discomfort as she stared intently at Aria with a displeased expression. She looked ready to strike her head with the cane she was holding at any moment.

The carriage carrying the four people smoothly traveled down the road without a hint of shaking. Thanks to the well-paved road and the excellent shock-absorbing seat material, the inside of the carriage was very comfortable.

As a result, Bonita, who had been running around all day, getting surprised, and eating sandwiches, juice, and desserts until her stomach was about to burst, quickly fell into a deep sleep.

There was the sound of soft breathing. Bonita, tightly grasping Aria’s index finger in her sleep, looked just like a baby angel.

And in the silence, Catherine, with her arms crossed, opened her mouth sharply.

“It’s about time you explain, isn’t it?”

“My lady.”

“I need to hear right now why that child is calling you, who was Elodie’s maid, mother.”