Aria’s eyes widened.

“Friends?”

“Yes.”

Luke spoke bluntly.

“I’d like to have more time to adjust, but around this time every year, there’s a social gathering for children.”

“I know that.”

Aria had attended countless such gatherings when she was Elodie.

It was at one of those meetings that she met the real Aria.

“…”

She was silent for a moment as she recalled her first meeting with Aria. Luke watched her.

‘The swelling in her eyes has gone down.’

Despite crying so much yesterday, she looked fine the next morning, which didn’t sit well with him.

…In fact, he didn’t like any of it. Everything about Aria Hilton now irritated him.

‘If it weren’t for Bonita, I’d get rid of her from the estate.’

He clicked his tongue inwardly.

“Usually, a lady accompanies her child to these gatherings, but Bonita doesn’t have a mother…”

Luke’s tone trailed off as he was about to speak about Bonita’s mother.

He was always like this when talking about Elodie.

Even though it had been six years since her death, he still couldn’t escape the shadow of his beloved wife.

Perhaps he never would.

“Then, are you entrusting that role to me?”

“…I plan to accompany you as well.”

“Of course, I’d love to!”

Aria’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

‘A parent-child social gathering!’

Just the name sounded adorable.

The corners of her mouth turned up at the mere thought of Bonita playing with children her age.

‘Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this.’

Such gatherings were usually the domain of noble ladies. Unless it was a rare case where a woman inherited the family name, it wasn’t common for a child’s father to attend.

But it seemed even the Duke didn’t dare to attend such a cute and dainty tea party alone.

‘Well, that makes sense.’

Aria smiled awkwardly as she imagined Luke attending a parent-child social gathering alone.

A 2-meter-tall Duke among 5-6 year old babies less than 1 meter tall.

The children would probably all burst into tears, and the ladies would be at a loss, unable to ask the Duke to leave. The atmosphere would undoubtedly be ruined.

Luke seemed to have imagined something similar.

He picked up his teacup with a slightly pale expression.

“Anyway… noble social gatherings start from childhood. We must attend this meeting for Bonita’s sake.”

“I agree.”

The social world is ruthless.

Of course, no one would dare to mistreat the Duke’s only daughter, but it was impossible to use power to crush everything.

Moreover, the Duke’s family wasn’t the only high-ranking noble family in the kingdom.

There were families with lower titles but deeply involved in central politics, or like the Rothwell Count family, running large businesses and becoming wealthy.

Becoming friends with the children of such families would undoubtedly be helpful when Bonita becomes a Duchess in the future.

‘We can’t let our child fall behind!’

The will of the two people thinking about their child’s future converged.

“Oh my!”

“What’s the matter?”

Viscount Hyacinth tilted his head at his wife’s exclamation while reading a letter.

‘My wife doesn’t usually get surprised easily. This is unexpected.’

The Viscountess Hyacinth was known as a model of noble ladies. Of course, she occasionally showed emotions in front of her husband, but most of the time, she only wore a gentle smile.

Now she was reading a letter with wide eyes. The Viscountess spoke in a slightly flushed voice.

“We’ve received a reply from the Lisianthus Ducal family. They say they’ll attend the social gathering at our estate.”

“From the Lisianthus family?”

As soon as he heard his wife’s explanation, the Viscount could easily understand why she was so surprised.

The young Ducal daughter of the Lisianthus family was currently a hot topic in social circles.

A lost child found after 7 years.

The only daughter of the kingdom’s sole Duke, and the future owner of the vast southern territory.

To the Hyacinth Viscount family with several sons, the young Lisianthus Lady was a very attractive prospect.

Of course, other noble families would think the same.

‘Sigh. I hope our children don’t act carelessly around the young Lady.’

The Viscount inwardly sighed as he thought of his thoughtless sons.

The young Lady was seven years old, wasn’t she?

Girls that age are sensitive.

He was deeply worried that his reckless first and second sons might try to show the young Lady earthworms or something.

At least the third son was calm, so he might get along well with the young Lady, but…

The Viscount’s face turned pale as he thought that far.

“W-wait. Does this mean His Grace the Duke is coming?”

Although Viscount Hyacinth was the most powerful among the central nobles, he feared Duke Lisianthus. This wasn’t about family versus family.

‘It’s just that the man himself is scary.’

If there was a competition for the most intimidating appearance, the Duke would undoubtedly win first place.

Even grown adults trembled at the Duke’s presence, so what about young children?

“Waaah! Scary!”

“Mommy! I want to go home!”

“It’s a monster! I’ll defeat it!”

“…”

The Viscount gulped as he imagined the ruined tea party.

Seeing her husband like this, the Viscountess furrowed her brow and said,

“His Grace said he’d come later in the party. And Lady Hilton will be coming with the young Lady…”

“Hilton?”

It was an unfamiliar surname.

As the Viscount asked curiously, the Viscountess clicked her tongue and explained.

“The Baroness who brought the young Lady. Oh, no. Since no one from her family remains except her, we should call her Baroness Hilton.”

To become a high-ranking noble above Count, one must go through a succession ceremony approved by the king.

However, for lower-ranking nobles below Viscount, such complicated procedures weren’t necessary. When the head of the family died, the title automatically passed to the eldest son, or if there was no son, to the daughter, or if there was neither, to a collateral descendant.

One could renounce the inheritance of the title if they didn’t want it.

But there wouldn’t be any noble foolish enough to do such a thing.

“She brought a child? Then the young Lady isn’t the child of the former Duchess?”

“That’s the part that’s a bit puzzling.”

The Viscountess said, opening her fan.

“For example, if the young Lady is the daughter of Baroness Hilton and His Grace the Duke. If that’s the case, she could become the new Duchess.”

“Hmm. Are you saying His Grace took another woman besides the former Duchess?”

The Viscount sighed, recalling Duke Lisianthus from six years ago.

It was unexpected, considering the Duke’s extreme love for his wife.

Of course, he had already lost that Duchess, and with only one child, the young Lady, there wouldn’t be any succession disputes. He was just surprised.

“Then it would be good to build a relationship with this Lady Hilton as well.”

“…Actually, I’m not too pleased about that.”

“Is there another reason?”

There was a hint of discomfort in his wife’s tone. She muttered, covering her mouth with her fan in response to the Viscount’s question.

“Lady Hilton was the late Elodie’s maid. It doesn’t look good.”

“Hmm…”

The Viscount let out a troubled groan.

His wife had been close friends with the late Duchess, that is, Elodie Lisianthus.

Even if she knew rationally that there was nothing wrong, she wouldn’t like a woman stepping into her friend’s place.

Especially if that woman had been her friend’s maid, it would be even more uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry too much. I won’t openly antagonize her in front of her.”

“I wasn’t concerned about your attitude.”

The Viscount hastily said.

His wife was someone who knew how to separate public and private matters.

Although it had been a political marriage, he trusted his wife as a political partner.

“Anyway, we don’t know His Grace’s intentions yet, do we? If you’re uncomfortable, we can just maintain a superficial relationship with Baroness Hilton.”

“…Yes, that’s what we should do.”

The Viscountess said, folding the letter. Her gaze turned to the garden outside the balcony.

“In any case, since the young Lady is visiting our estate, we should prepare wholeheartedly.”

Without being able to imagine what the young Lady looked like at all, the Viscountess rose from her seat.

“I’ll go!”

“Pardon?”

Catherine boldly exclaimed upon hearing about Bonita’s attendance at the social gathering.

“Luke, if a dark and huge guy like you goes, it’s obvious the kids will cry their eyes out. If that’s the case, it’s a hundred times better if I go. Hmph.”

“Dark and huge, you say.”

Luke grumbled.

However, he couldn’t deny it.

…It was true that he was dark and huge.

But he had something to retort with.

“Mother, you’re no less likely to make the children cry. It’s just that our Bonita is so kind, who else could endure your temper?”

“Ugh.”

Catherine also couldn’t refute Luke’s calm words.

Forget children. Even grown ladies and noblewomen tended to avoid Catherine when they saw her face.

Aria, who had been watching their confrontation, chimed in with a bright smile.

“Then I guess it’s best if I go!”

“You’re just as fierce-looking…!”

Catherine tried to object, but she seemed to lose her words when she saw Aria’s beaming face.

She couldn’t help it.

Aria’s appearance was certainly glamorous and prim, but when she smiled, her atmosphere changed a lot.

Besides, don’t they say children like pretty people?

If she wasn’t angry, with a smile like that, she was exactly the kind of beautiful person children would like.

Bonita, who was sticking close to her side, seemed to prove this fact.

At that moment, Bonita, who had been quietly listening to the argument, timidly exclaimed.

“I-I’d be happy to go anywhere as long as it’s with Aria!”

In the end, Catherine raised the white flag.