Luke still lacked confidence in his drawing, but if he didn’t show the picture he had completed, Bonita would be disappointed.

That was absolutely unacceptable.

But at the same time, he was embarrassed to show such a messy drawing to her.

It was truly a dilemma.

“One, two…”

“Wait-”

“Three!”

Luke reflexively held out the paper. Regret washed over him belatedly, but that feeling didn’t last long.

Luke’s eyes widened as if they would pop out when he saw the picture Bonita had drawn.

“Oh my!”

Aria let out a delighted exclamation. And rightly so.

Next to Luke, who was seriously drawing, Aria could be seen smiling happily like a young girl. Her mischievous expression was so vivid that it seemed she might wink at someone outside the picture at any moment.

“Ah…”

Luke, who had been staring at the picture in a daze, belatedly observed Bonita’s expression.

Bonita was looking at Luke’s drawing with an expression that was difficult to define.

Luke swallowed hard.

‘As expected… she probably doesn’t like it?’

If Bonita had been at the level of an ordinary child, Luke’s drawing might not have looked so bad.

However, Bonita was exceptionally good at drawing.

It was immediately understandable why Aria had even used the word genius.

He watched his daughter’s reaction.

“…Bonita?”

He was confused whether he should be happy about Bonita’s newly discovered talent first, or ashamed that his crooked drawing was next to such a vivid masterpiece. It was a terrible mixed feeling.

“…Hmm.”

A moment that felt like an eternity passed.

Bonita slowly picked up the picture of herself that Luke had drawn, and asked with an innocent expression.

“So… um… you drew this really well. This… character?”

Sometimes kindness can be more cruel.

“Hahahahaha!”

Aria burst into laughter beside them. She was laughing so hard that tears were almost forming in her eyes.

Luke secretly tugged on Aria’s sleeve, out of Bonita’s sight.

“Can you stop laughing?”

“Pfft, no, hahaha! How can I not laugh at this?”

‘Damn it…’

Luke ran his hand through his hair.

Honestly, even he hadn’t known he was this untalented at drawing.

Come to think of it, Elodie wasn’t particularly good at drawing either.

That was separate from treasuring that bear mug as an heirloom.

It wasn’t because of the great drawing, but because Elodie’s heart, which must have drawn the picture on the mug for him, was precious.

‘But this…’

Luke once again unfolded the picture Bonita had drawn.

He and Aria in the picture looked very peaceful and happy, even to Luke’s eyes.

“Do you like it?”

Bonita asked, swinging her short legs. Her large eyes sparkled with anticipation.

A faint smile spread across Luke’s face.

“I love it very much. Thank you, Bonita.”

“Really?”

“Of course. …Though I couldn’t draw a picture you’d like.”

Luke added in a slightly dejected tone.

Bonita shook her head in response.

“That’s not true.”

“But it’s such a mess.”

“But it’s the first time someone has drawn a picture for me since I was born.”

Bonita smiled brightly, clutching the picture Luke had given her.

“And anyway, since I’m good at drawing, it doesn’t matter if you’re not so good at it!”

Luke, who was about to be moved by Bonita’s words, suddenly held his breath.

Aria, who had been chuckling while looking at Luke, did the same.

The two looked at each other with slightly surprised faces… and then focused their attention on Bonita.

Luke’s voice trembled as he spoke.

“Bonita. Just now.”

He hesitated for a long time, then slowly blinked. His head tilted towards the ceiling.

If he didn’t do that, he felt like he might cry.

Seeing Luke’s reaction, Aria leaned her upper body forward. She approached Bonita and exclaimed with a slightly excited face.

“Bonita, say it one more time!”

“Uh, eh? What?”

“What you just said!”

“What did I just…”

Bonita, who had been muttering in confusion, realized what she had just said.

Bonita’s face turned bright red. She had said it naturally, but the two’s reactions were so intense that she became embarrassed instead.

“Bonita…”

Eventually, Luke, who had been rubbing his eyes, approached.

Bonita was tightly embraced before she could escape.

“Hiccup.”

Startled, Bonita hiccupped.

Luke flinched, finding even that unbearably adorable.

He spoke as if exhaling deeply.

“I’m so happy you said that. Really…”

He couldn’t bring himself to ask the child to call him father first, afraid it might seem like he was forcing her.

As they had been getting closer recently, he thought of approaching gradually with patience. So that someday, the word ‘father’ would come out naturally.

‘I didn’t think I’d be so attached to the title.’

The power of words was greater than expected.

To exaggerate a bit, it felt like he was finally being acknowledged as the child’s father. His eyes stung.

“Um, excuse me.”

Bonita, held in Luke’s arms, rolled her eyes with a bewildered expression.

With her nose buried, she could smell the crisp scent of Luke’s new clothes with every breath.

Bonita, peeking out her head, fidgeted with her small hands.

“Could you please let me go?”

“…”

There was no answer.

Bonita gathered her courage and asked again.

“…Your Grace?”

“Huh?”

At those words, Luke’s arms slowly loosened. He opened his mouth, looking at Bonita with wide, shocked eyes.

‘The title is back to where it was?!’

Why?!

Luke’s eyes wavered, not knowing it was due to his own excessive reaction.

Seeing this, Bonita became even more embarrassed. That’s how children of overly doting parents feel.

“I, I’ll go to my room and sleep now! Good night!”

While Luke stood frozen like a statue, Bonita bowed quickly and scurried out of the playroom.

Aria, equally dazed, muttered while looking at the clock.

“We haven’t even had dinner yet…”

Luke was frustrated.

‘I’m an idiot.’

He shouldn’t have shown such an excessive reaction in front of the child.

‘How can something so difficult be managed?’

But he couldn’t help it.

Although he was restraining himself, every single movement of Bonita was still marvelous.

Could there be another life form so small and lovely?

Probably not.

Luke, having asked and answered himself, sighed. The mental shock was great in many ways.

“Your Grace, don’t be too disappointed.”

Aria patted his shoulder.

“You were acknowledged once, after all? Bonita will call you father again soon.”

“…Shut up.”

Luke glared at Aria.

It was a fierce look that would have made an ordinary person tremble immediately, but Aria didn’t even blink.

“You looked so down, I was trying to comfort you.”

“Who’s down…”

“You are, Your Grace.”

Aria grinned.

In the end, Luke sighed.

They say you can’t spit on a smiling face.

While that saying doesn’t always apply, it was difficult to stay angry when Aria was smiling.

He brushed his bangs back.

As his bangs, always neatly covering his forehead, were pushed back, his straight forehead was clearly revealed. Seeing his face, Aria openly admired.

“Wow, Your Grace. You seem to have become even more handsome than before.”

“What…”

Luke was at a loss for words and decided to ignore her.

“Hmm.”

Then Aria began to follow Luke, trotting along.

Even though he deliberately took large strides, she managed to keep up somehow. It was incredibly annoying.

He asked in an irritated tone.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I do. Something important.”

“Important? It’s probably something trivial.”

He frowned and snapped.

Aria’s footsteps became even quicker.

“No way! It’s really important!”

“What is it?”

“Your Grace, do you know what day it is today?”

“April 1st.”

“That’s right! It’s April!”

Luke’s expression crumpled.

He couldn’t understand what she was going on about.

He was about to threaten Aria that he couldn’t guarantee her safety if she didn’t leave immediately.

“Bonita’s birthday is coming up soon!”

“…What did you say?”

Screech.

Luke’s brisk steps came to an abrupt halt.

He turned his head like a broken tin robot. His blue eyes, which met Aria’s, were filled with reproach, as if asking how he could not know that.

“How could you not have prepared for it yet?”

“No, well, I…”

Luke closed his mouth, his excuse sounding lame.

Birthday. A birthday, of all things.

Every April had been just a sad month for him. He didn’t particularly celebrate it. It had been overwhelming enough just to cope with Elodie’s death.

But to think he had forgotten even now, after getting Bonita back…

It felt like he had been hit on the head.

Aria sighed, reading Luke’s expression.

“You forgot, didn’t you.”

“…I didn’t forget.”

He spat out an excuse that wouldn’t even be believed. Even he thought it was pathetic.

Aria lowered her eyebrows as she watched Luke writhing in self-loathing.

Although she was disappointed, she could understand his feelings. Even she herself, until Bonita was found, had considered Bonita’s birthday not as the child’s birth date but as the date of her death.

Aria comforted Luke.

“Don’t be too disheartened. We still have a week left, after all.”

“Only a week left.”

Luke muttered with a pessimistic face.

However, no amount of regret could bring back the lost time.

He rubbed his face with both hands and his eyes lit up.

“I need to prepare a birthday party.”