At the time when Renan and Aria were deeply immersed in a serious conversation.

Luke and Bonita were together in the playroom.

What they were doing in that playroom-

“Hmm, this is difficult.”

It was dart throwing.

“Wow! I hit it again!”

“Bonita, you’re much better at this than daddy.”

Bonita jumped up and down excitedly as the dart she threw from very close landed near the center. Her cheeks turned rosy.

“Do you want to try one more time?”

“Yes.”

Bonita, now confident, moved with a dignified stride.

“This time I’ll do it from this far back.”

“Alright. You can do it.”

Luke, now with a completely serious expression, clenched his fist and cheered for Bonita.

Bonita’s short arm swung back. Her ears peeking out from her hair twitched.

“Yah!”

Finally, the dart was thrown.

The magnetic dart flew wobbly, then soon stuck to the 5-point section of the dartboard. Bonita made a disappointed face.

“I only got 5 points this time.”

“Oh? Then do you want to try once more?”

“No. It’s the duke’s turn now. The match should be fair and square!”

“Hmm, hmm. That’s right. As expected of the Lisianthus duke’s daughter, your character is upright and just.”

Luke praised Bonita with a pleased expression and stood at the starting line. The dart shot from his hand.

“Oh my, I missed again.”

Thwack.

The magnetic tip of the dart stuck to the wall right next to the dartboard with a harsh sound.

Bonita eyed Luke suspiciously.

“Are you really trying your best?”

“…Uh, huh?”

Faced with this rather sharp observation, Luke sweated and made an excuse.

“Of course. Dad’s specialty is swordsmanship, so I’m not good at throwing things.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.”

Bonita cheered up again at Luke’s words. She smiled brightly, savoring her victory.

Luke was pleased as well.

He recalled the advice he had received from his servant before spending playtime with Bonita.

“Are you planning to just sit and have tea with the young lady for an hour? Do something physical.”

“…Something physical?”

“Yes. There are many options. Darts, running, horseback riding.”

“But what if my fragile daughter gets hurt doing such activities!”

“She won’t get hurt! And sports are the fastest way to get close!”

‘He’s certainly a useful talent.’

As Ed had said, choosing to play a game with Bonita was the right decision.

The awkwardness that used to show on Bonita’s face when facing Luke had now mostly disappeared. She had quickly adapted to him.

“Want to play another round of darts?”

“Hmm, I think we should do something else.”

Bonita said with a serious face in response to Luke’s suggestion.

“At this rate, I’ll keep winning, and that won’t be fun for you, duke.”

“Cough!”

“Duke?”

“Ahem, ah, it’s nothing.”

Luke covered his mouth and inwardly exclaimed.

‘So cute!’

It’s really too cute. He unconsciously tried to hit the wall but stopped, fearing the pillar might collapse.

Instead, he picked up a dainty cocoa cup and took a sip. With less sugar, it was slightly bitter, just to his taste.

After wetting his throat, he made an effort to control his expression.

‘No good. I shouldn’t laugh when Bonita is being serious.’

Right. This is a serious game.

Composing himself, he asked with a grave face to match Bonita’s.

“Then what would you like to do?”

“Hmm, hmm, hmm…”

Bonita, also holding a cocoa cup, pondered with “hmm, hmm” sounds.

What games could the two of them play?

It’s a question children of this age could easily answer. But not for Bonita.

To begin with, she rarely had the chance to play with anyone. Even for the darts they just finished, she had to listen to Luke’s explanation at first because she didn’t know the rules.

“What did you usually play?”

“Usually…”

Bonita recalled her “usual” routine.

After Aria finished her late breakfast and left, Bonita would spend all day waiting for her mother. During that time, she usually cleaned window sills or went grocery shopping.

But those couldn’t be called “play.” Bonita thought for a moment, then remembered something.

“I look at books or draw pictures.”

“Books? You can read?”

Luke’s eyes widened in surprise at Bonita’s answer. He might have expected it from a noble-born child, but not from Bonita who grew up among commoners.

Bonita’s face reddened slightly.

She felt embarrassed to admit she couldn’t read.

She spoke in a small voice.

“I can’t do that.”

“Then you looked at the pictures?”

“It’s a bit different from that too.”

Bonita shook her head.

“When mother sometimes read books to me, I memorized them. Then I could imagine the stories that went with each picture.”

“You memorized the books? That’s amazing.”

Luke was astonished.

Of course, the books Bonita memorized were likely just children’s fairy tales. The kind that even young children could easily memorize after hearing them repeatedly.

However, to most parents, even small achievements of their children appear grand. Luke’s lips twitched as he thought.

‘Could our daughter actually be a genius?’

In his imagination, Bonita was already the top entrant to the Imperial Academy’s Political Science department. No, with her smarts, she might even become a magician.

‘I should bring in a lot of books first.’

While toys and play equipment for children were already being brought in continuously, he hadn’t yet procured picture books or educational materials.

He began adding various items to the order list in his head.

Though he had no intention of forcing studies due to her young age, he was planning to teach simple arithmetic and essential etiquette separately.

‘Sc-scary face.’

Bonita shuddered at Luke’s grinning expression.

For better or worse, Luke was too absorbed in his thoughts to properly notice Bonita’s expression.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“I’ve brought some snacks. Would you like some?”

“Wow!”

Bonita’s eyes lit up.

Although she had been enjoying sweet snacks every day since coming to the duke’s residence, such things never seemed to get old.

“Come in.”

At Luke’s permission, Ed entered pulling a tray. On it, colorful desserts were piled up like a mountain, to put it a bit dramatically.

Bonita swallowed her saliva. Ed saw this and inwardly smiled, then shifted his gaze to the dartboard with darts stuck here and there.

‘Crazy.’

Except for the darts clearly thrown by Bonita, the rest were almost all stuck in the wall. Ed was shocked.

It was fortunate the child wasn’t crying.

‘The young lady is quite strong-hearted, it seems.’

Blood will tell, as they say.

Ed watched Bonita take a bite of an eclair with sparkling eyes, then checked the clock.

It was an hour past since the two had started playing in the room. He tilted his head.

Luke asked.

“Ed, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, well.”

Ed hesitated for a moment, then said.

“Miss Hilton said she would return after an hour, but she seems to be a bit late.”

“…It’s been an hour already?”

Only then did Luke check the time and look surprised. He truly hadn’t noticed the time passing.

He awkwardly touched the corner of his mouth. It had been a long time since he’d had such fun since Elodie died.

“Where is Aria?”

“She said she was going out for a short walk alone… She hasn’t returned yet.”

“That woman?”

Luke furrowed his brow. Aria Hilton was a woman who never left Bonita’s side.

Of course, it was the same for Bonita, but it was quite unusual for her to go out alone, leaving the child behind.

“I should go look…”

for her. As he was about to say that, Luke stopped mid-rise.

‘…Why should I?’

Aria Hilton, what did it matter whether that woman came late or not? In fact, it seemed better if she came late so he could spend more time with Bonita.

“Ed, you go look for her.”

“Understood.”

“Um, Duke.”

As Ed was about to leave with a bow, Bonita tugged lightly on Luke’s sleeve and spoke.

His expression softened immediately.

“What is it?”

“I want to go look for her too.”

Bonita said in a slightly unsure voice.

“It’s already so dark outside. What if she got lost?”

Although Aria probably wouldn’t have gone outside the mansion grounds, considering the size of the duke’s property, it was entirely possible.

Especially the rose garden, which was almost like a maze. It would be for someone seeing it for the first time.

“…”

But not for that woman.

Luke recalled Aria’s face and fell into thought. But his deliberation didn’t last long.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

If Bonita requested something from him, he naturally wanted to grant it.

Even if it was a request to look for a woman he didn’t like.

He stood up first and waited for Bonita to get up from her seat. Bonita pattered down from the large sofa, using the footstool made for children.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Luke’s gaze was drawn to Bonita’s tiny hand.

He wanted to hold it. He wanted to, but…

‘It’s still too early, isn’t it?’

Although they had gotten quite close over the past hour, Bonita still called him “Duke.”

It felt awkward to ask her to call him “Dad” separately. Besides, he didn’t like the idea of forcing her to do so.

Luke fidgeted with his fingers, then soon sighed and smiled.

‘There’s plenty of time.’

He could approach slowly.

For Bonita’s sake, he wanted to seep into the child’s life little by little.

Thinking this, he was about to take a step when.

Bonita grabbed Luke’s index finger.

Luke’s eyes widened.