“Waaah, don’t go, William.”

The day had finally come for William to leave for the academy. Larisa had been in tears since morning and all the way to the academy.

“I want to go with you.”

“You’ll go there someday too. But before that, you need to work hard in elementary school, right? Don’t cry, stop it.”

“No! I’m going to cry!”

William smiled bitterly and lifted Larisa up.

“I’ll come home every holiday.”

“Sniff, but still…”

“I’ll write letters too.”

“I’m scared to be left alone…”

Larisa wrapped her arms around William’s neck and clung tightly to him. William patted her back gently for a while, feeling her warm body temperature and the damp moisture on his neck.

‘It feels like I’ve really become an older brother now.’

It was as if he had gained a late-born younger sister. And perhaps Larisa was also following him like an older brother. With these thoughts, William adjusted his hold on Larisa and sighed.

“That’s enough, we should go.”

At Guinevere’s words, William had no choice but to put Larisa down. Due to being admitted to the Knight Department with top honors, he was scheduled to give the freshman pledge at the entrance ceremony.

Forcibly separated from William, Larisa sat down next to Guinevere, sniffling.

“Stop crying.”

“Hic, sniff, yes…”

But it’s human nature to cry more when told not to cry. As Larisa continued to sniffle, Guinevere found it irritating.

After frowning for a moment in contemplation, Guinevere said:

“Shall I hug you?”

“Really?”

Larisa promptly spread her arms. Guinevere felt a strange emotion at the child’s warmth as she immediately snuggled into her outstretched arms.

‘Did I ever hug William like this when he was this age?’

When William was 7 years old, he already acted like a grown child. He was excessively intelligent and expressionless. Thinking that it was all because he took after her made her feel apologetic anew.

‘What was I like at 7 years old?’

Though it was such a distant past that she could barely remember, the intelligent Guinevere could still vaguely recall her childhood.

She too was born in the slums like Larisa. And living in the slums was no easy task. She could well imagine how much Marina must have devoted herself to raise such a lovely child as Larisa.

“I may not be like your mother…”

Larisa listened to Guinevere’s voice while sniffling.

“But I’ll try to be a good mother-in-law.”

“What?”

The crying stopped abruptly in bewilderment.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? What price I was to receive in exchange for buying you a carriage?”

This wasn’t something to be discussed in front of so many people. Guinevere was always the center of attention. And Larisa was quick-witted as well.

“I remember, I remember.”

Larisa, who had been snuggled up, awkwardly pulled away and said:

“I’ll sit in my seat now.”

And she began to wait quietly for William’s pledge.

While learning to read, she had read countless fairy tales, but in none of them had she ever seen a story about being captured by a witch and bearing her son’s child.

‘Which means… it’s marriage after all, right?’

Larisa’s brow furrowed deeply. Seeing this, Guinevere also frowned. She wanted to open that small head and see what thoughts were inside.

‘She’s not thinking of running away, is she?’

While the two were lost in different thoughts, it became William’s turn.

“Ah, Mother! It’s William!”

“Yes.”

“He looks so handsome.”

“I see.”

William, making his pledge in the Knight Department’s uniform, looked like the prince of her dreams.

The princes in fairy tales couldn’t be more handsome than William. They probably wouldn’t be richer than William, nor would they have better connections than William.

Even that Empress was constantly watching Guinevere’s reactions. Being the only son of Guinevere Rodante, wasn’t that an even greater catch than the Emperor?

‘…It might be alright?’

The shrewd Larisa pretended to smile innocently while inwardly calculating.

‘Even Cinderella would be jealous and cry.’

A life that would make the princesses in fairy tales envious was about to unfold.

‘Ah, but William likes me as a little sister…’

No matter how she thought about it, there was nothing good in it for William. Someone like a princess would suit William better as a partner than a girl from the slums whose only skill was pickpocketing.

‘That’s right. Like the Empress.’

The Empress was so beautiful. Looking at her reminded Larisa of her mother. She actually resembled her mother, making Larisa keep glancing at her.

Of course, unlike her mother’s fluffy white hair, the Empress had honey-like flowing blonde hair and jewel-like shining green eyes. But looking at her kept reminding Larisa of her mother.

“Did you wait long?”

William returned to his seat after finishing his pledge. Larisa shook off her distracting thoughts and smiled brightly.

*

On the way back home, Guinevere couldn’t bear to leave the crying Larisa behind, so she was riding in the carriage with her.

‘I’ve changed a lot too.’

In the past, she would have teleported, finding even travel time too precious to waste, but now she couldn’t. Guinevere had realized how William had been treated while she only cared about her own convenience.

The carriage adorned with the family crest, a noble’s privilege, was something useless to Guinevere, but absolutely necessary for William, the rightful heir of the Rodante family, and Larisa, his companion.

She realized this even more when she saw the gazes pouring down as she entered the academy riding the Rodante family carriage with William.

‘I used to think it was all just empty formalities.’

What was it like in the past? Back then, no one would have realized that William, who came on a public carriage, was the legitimate son of the Rodante family. Even if they found out later, they might have thought him a half-wit.

In fact, after entering the Magic Department, he failed to successfully perform even one proper spell and repeatedly flunked, so they might have thought he was a half-abandoned child.

‘To realize this only now, I’m quite the fool.’

“Sniff.”

Guinevere snapped out of her reverie and said to the crying Larisa:

“Shall I hug you again?”

“No…”

She didn’t know how to comfort a crying child.

“Then what should I do to make you stop crying?”

Larisa looked at Guinevere nervously and answered with a cowed expression.

“Sniff, I’m sorry…”

“I’m not trying to scold you.”

Is it her expression that’s the problem? Guinevere tried to put on a smile, however awkward. A strange grimace formed, but she didn’t realize it.

“Well, do you need a friend?”

“Pardon?”

“If you’re missing William, don’t you need a friend?”

“No… well…”

“It would be better if it’s a girl around your age, right?”

Guinevere was lost in thought for a moment. Then, as if a good idea had occurred to her, she said:

“I thought of a child who would make a good friend for you.”

“What?”

“She’s about the same age too.”

And shortly after, Guinevere invited the princess to the mansion.

“Now, this is Her Highness the Princess. She’s 10 years old. Her name is Elizabeth del la Adelia. And this is Larisa Rodante.”

“What?”

Larisa was surprised. Introducing her with the Rodante family name. The girl introduced as the princess smiled brightly and said:

“Hello? So you’re the rumored Larisa. Would you please call me Lizzy?”

“What? What?”

“Come now, didn’t we call you here to be friends? Don’t call me ‘Your Highness’ so formally, just call me Lizzy.”

As the princess approached her first in a friendly manner, Guinevere smiled contentedly.

‘Now she won’t be bored without William.’

After Guinevere disappeared through teleportation, the princess bombarded Larisa with questions.

“So, are you really a commoner?”

“What?”

“Is it true that you’re from the slums?”

“What? Yes…”

“Then how did you manage to catch the eye of Lady Guinevere Rodante?”

“Well…”

“Do you have some extraordinary magical talent?”

It was a barrage of questions that didn’t even give her time to answer. Larisa felt slightly dizzy and sat down on the sofa. The princess exclaimed in surprise:

“How dare you sit down before I give you permission!”

“Eek, I’m sorry.”

Larisa jumped up and bowed her head. Then the princess laughed and said:

“I’m just kidding!”

Even the quick-witted Larisa couldn’t tell which tune to dance to. The princess plopped down on the sofa first and said:

“Come on, you sit too.”

After saying it was a joke, this time she gave permission to sit. The intelligent Larisa thought she would never be able to become close friends with the princess.

“So, have you been officially adopted into the Rodante family?”

“No…”

More precisely, she was a prospective daughter-in-law… Not knowing how to explain, Larisa smiled ambiguously.

“Well, I’ve heard she’s very meritocratic. They say she didn’t even acknowledge her own son until he entered the Knight Department with top honors and only then started to pay attention to him?”

“What? That’s not true…”

“What do you mean it’s not true? I, who grew up in the palace, know more than you who grew up in the slums.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Then why did she bring you in? Is it magical talent after all?”

“I don’t have any magical talent…”

“Really?”

The princess tilted her head.

“Then what are you good at?”

‘Pickpocketing? Begging?’

But she couldn’t say such things to the princess. Larisa fidgeted with her fingers and said:

“I can read well and I’m good at addition and subtraction.”

“I can speak Larian and Kadian in addition to Arendian.”

Larisa felt discouraged.

‘What are those…’

“Oh, have you been to Kadia?”

‘As if…’

“What about Larian?”

Larisa shook her head. The princess said, sounding bored:

“Then what should we talk about?”

‘I wish she would go home soon.’

Larisa just smiled.