“Thank you for explaining.”

There were no follow-up questions.

Bonita and Luke were silent for a moment.

The atmosphere wasn’t uncomfortable.

They were just lost in their own thoughts.

Bonita buried her face in the heart-shaped cushion she was hugging.

‘Was it all my imagination?’

The existence of the first Aria and the second Aria, could it all just be a delusion?

‘No, it’s not.’

The two are different.

It can’t be thought of as a typical case of one person having multiple personalities, or simply losing their memory.

They were clearly different.

They were different people.

But Luke said there was no such thing as a soul. He said it was nonsense to have two people in one body.

‘Dad is wrong.’

Bonita concluded internally.

Luke is a very kind and good father, but that doesn’t mean everything he says is always right.

So this time, her own thoughts were correct. Luke was wrong.

But Bonita didn’t voice it out loud.

She thought he might be hurt if she bluntly said he was wrong.

Moreover, while Bonita herself was certain, this was a difficult matter to explain to others.

Bonita had noticed the existence of the second Aria thanks to her innate attentiveness and observational skills, and her deep interest in Aria.

Luke, who didn’t know the first Aria, wouldn’t be able to tell that she had changed. It was a difference in information.

Bonita, who had been swinging her feet, sat up with the rebound.

Sitting up straight, Bonita turned her head towards Luke.

“Um, can I ask one more thing?”

“Anything.”

“If Mom came to you looking completely different, you wouldn’t recognize her, right?”

Luke’s face turned serious.

He said firmly.

“No.”

It was a tone filled with certainty.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize her.”

“……”

Bonita was momentarily at a loss for words.

‘It seems like you don’t recognize her though?’

No matter how she thought about it, that was the case.

Given the circumstances, the second Aria was certainly Elodie, Bonita’s birth mother.

“Mom is sorry. For dying too early, for not being able to find you……”

Otherwise, there’s no way she would say such things.

Bonita’s expression became ambiguous.

“Wouldn’t it be a bit difficult even for Dad? If it’s a completely different face……”

“That’s impossible. What kind of fool in this world wouldn’t recognize their loved one right in front of them?”

Right here.

Bonita swallowed the words that had risen to the tip of her tongue.

Even if it was his own words, calling an adult a fool was still too disrespectful.

Seeing that Bonita still had a disbelieving expression, Luke lowered his eyebrows and said.

“Dad recognized Bonita at first glance, didn’t he?”

“Well……”

But didn’t everyone else recognize me too?

Bonita thought so, then started to worry if she had become too ill-mannered compared to before.

Two Bonitas appeared in Bonita’s mind.

One of them shouted.

“It’s starting to happen as you worried! If this continues, you’ll end up like those spoiled rich kids who throw tantrums in the marketplace!”

Then the other one retorted in a sarcastic tone.

“So what if you’re a bit ill-mannered? It’s not like Mom or Dad would abandon you for that.”

The two shouting in Bonita’s mind suddenly started fighting with each other.

“What are you saying! Then what about all those children abandoned every year? How can you trust adults?”

“It’s not about trusting adults, it’s about trusting Mom and Dad!”

“They are adults too!”

She let out a groan.

The two selves at opposite ends argued fiercely and then flew off in completely different directions.

At that moment, Luke’s hand came to rest on her heated head.

She could clearly feel the gentle caressing touch. Bonita opened her eyes that had been closed.

Luke’s face filled her vision.

He asked.

“Bonita, shall we write the letter now?”

Bonita nodded quickly.

Luke had good handwriting.

Like most nobles, he had been educated from a young age to write in elegant cursive.

His handwriting, with his habits and personality added to it, looked quite stylish.

Bonita felt a strange sensation looking at the somewhat wild-looking letters.

“It’s the content I said, but I can’t read any of it.”

“You’ll be able to read it soon.”

Although Luke said so, she was feeling uncomfortable for the first time in her life about not being able to read. Bonita fidgeted with her fingers.

“I hope that happens soon.”

“Then, will you continue taking lessons with Lord Rottern?”

“I will.”

Bonita answered, taking the letter from Luke.

“I’ll learn the letters and write letters like Dad.”

“That’s a wonderful idea.”

Luke smiled, seeming pleased.

“Who do you want to write to first? Once you can write letters, I mean.”

“Hmm……”

Bonita answered honestly.

“Aria.”

She hurriedly added.

“And then I’ll write to Dad, and Grandmother too. And to my friends as well.”

“That, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Luke’s hand went up to Bonita’s head.

At first, his hand wandered as if touching almost every single strand of hair, but now it stroked Bonita’s head quite naturally.

It was possible because he knew the child didn’t dislike it when he did so.

“But there’s no need to push yourself. Let’s learn slowly.”

“Yes.”

“But I think it might be difficult to cut the finished letter into a train shape.”

“Hmm……”

Bonita, who was about to cut the letter for Allen with scissors, pondered. Then Luke suggested.

“Instead of cutting the letter into a train shape, how about drawing a picture at the bottom?”

“Ah! That’s a good idea.”

Bonita grabbed a pencil and started moving it quickly. She might not be confident in writing, but she was confident in drawing.

Luke was newly impressed by this sight.

Any noble who had learned enough could write beautifully in cursive. But drawing was different.

It wasn’t that there weren’t nobles who learned it as a hobby, but it was mostly at the level of painting landscapes with oil paints on canvas.

But Bonita was creating drawings that looked like they might jump out at any moment, using just a single pencil.

Luke became curious as he looked at the steam locomotive Bonita had drawn.

“Have you seen a train before, Bonita?”

“No.”

“Then how did you draw it?”

Bonita, who had even drawn smoke coming from the locomotive, lifted her pencil and answered.

“Allen had one. He said it was a magic toy that looked exactly like the real thing. It even produces steam.”

“Do you want one too?”

At that question, Bonita thought for a moment.

There were many interesting toys in the Hyacinth viscounty. Among them, the most intriguing was undoubtedly the train toy that seemed like a miniature version of the real thing.

The small steam locomotive running on a magical railway even had tiny human figures inside. No wonder Derek coveted it.

Bonita spoke honestly.

“It would be nice to have one.”

Most of what was currently in Bonita’s playroom were cute dolls made for girls.

There were dolls with real jewels embedded in their eyes and noses, and they felt nice to hug because they were so soft.

However, such things didn’t stimulate Bonita’s curiosity.

Rather than dolls with simple structures, Bonita was deeply interested in things that operated with complex mechanical devices.

“Then I’ll give you that train model as a gift on your birthday.”

“Really?”

Bonita’s expression brightened.

When she saw the train at the Hyacinth viscounty, she only observed it, unable to touch it carelessly. She was worried about damaging someone else’s property.

But if she received it as a gift herself, she could play with it however she wanted, couldn’t she? Bonita began to have pleasant thoughts about how she could disassemble the gifted train.

Luke, completely unaware of such thoughts, asked again with a warm smile.

“Is there anything else you want?”

“I’m not sure. What kind of gifts do you usually get on birthdays?”

“Usually, it’s something the person wants, or something special……”

Luke tried to recall the gifts he had received when he was young.

Mostly, they were toys that boys would like or things like jewels. When he got a bit older, he sometimes received fine horses or expensive decorative swords.

‘Getting her a pony might be good too.’

It wasn’t like he was going to give just one gift anyway.

Luke added a steam locomotive model and a pony to the list in his head.

Meanwhile, Bonita had drawn small pictures at the bottom of the letters she wrote to the other Mayas as well. They were of such quality that one might believe they had been printed on the stationery from the beginning rather than hand-drawn.

“I’m done!”

“Then, now put it in the envelope and press the seal onto the sealing wax. Ah, I’ll help you with sealing it with wax. You might get hurt.”

The sealing wax was hot until it hardened, so Luke did that part instead.

Bonita pressed the seal onto the red sealing wax that had cooled slightly and become soft, sealing it.

Bonita picked up the envelope with a satisfied look.

It was complete.

The letter Bonita sent arrived at the Hyacinth viscounty exactly one day later.

Maid Anna, upon receiving the letter from the duke’s servant, immediately rushed to the brothers.

“Young masters, Miss Bonita has sent a letter.”

“A letter!”

“Wow!”

“From Bonita?”

The children who had been bickering flocked over.

They opened the letter Anna handed over, and soon looked at each other with surprised eyes.

The letter read as follows:

To Derek, Allen, and Cassis

I want to invite you to my birthday!

Please come to our house at 12 pm on April 8th.

I’ll be waiting for your reply!

From Bonita