Guinevere decided to visit the magic tower at Hedel’s request to oversee the magicians’ research.

However, she felt uneasy about leaving Larisa alone in the mansion. In the past, she wouldn’t have cared, but now Guinevere felt anxious without Larisa.

In the end, Guinevere visited the magic tower while holding Larisa. As Guinevere entered a laboratory, all sorts of strange plants greeted her.

“Ohhh, you really came!”

Joseph, who had been crumpled in the corner, shouted in excitement. Guinevere looked around awkwardly inside.

“Is Margaret doing well?”

“Margaret is here!”

The cheeky weed seems to be healthy.

Guinevere was honestly uninterested in plant research, so she felt indifferent.

However, according to Hedel and the estate manager, Joseph Phyton was actively involved in crop cultivation, so agriculture was progressing smoothly, which is why she visited him first.

“I hear you’re the god of agriculture?”

“Huh? Puhit, that’s right.”

Ignoring the strange laughter, Guinevere praised him again.

“I heard you suggested a way to continue farming without fallow land.”

“Puhuhit, that’s right! I personally selected crops that can be planted in late spring and participated in cultivation myself.”

“If production increases and the Rodante estate becomes wealthy, we might be able to invest directly in the magic tower from the estate. If that happens, you’ll be making a great contribution to Arendia’s magical world.”

“Huhat, thank you.”

Guinevere repeatedly praised Joseph Phyton as if brainwashing him, pretending to look at the strange plants, and then quickly left.

“Larisa, are you alright?”

Larisa, who had been looking at the carnivorous plants with a slightly frightened face, quickly nodded.

“I’m fine. But I want to go for a walk. There’s a lot of new things outside that I want to see.”

“A walk sounds good. Let’s go.”

Although she had planned to visit one more place, what could she do when Larisa wanted to go for a walk? Guinevere began to walk around the estate while holding Larisa.

The newly paved stone path by the magicians was quite nice to walk on. And maybe it was just her imagination, but when she was holding Larisa, the fearful gazes directed at her seemed to be neutralized somehow.

“Ah! A windmill! I’ve never seen a windmill before, Mother!”

“I see.”

Guinevere didn’t realize that her own expression softened naturally every time Larisa smiled.

“Can we go inside?”

“Of course.”

Although the interior of the windmill was empty as there were no grains to mill yet, Larisa was fascinated nonetheless.

“What’s that spinning thing next to the windmill?”

“A water pump. It draws water and supplies it to the farmland through waterways. Our estate is in an area with low rainfall, so water pumps are essential.”

Larisa exclaimed in admiration.

“It’s so amazing. I wish William could have come with us.”

William was at the academy on weekdays.

“William designed the town, so that boy probably already knows what’s being installed.”

“Still, it would be nice to see it together.”

Guinevere didn’t understand what was so good about seeing it together, but she just nodded. Larisa’s hair tickled in the spring breeze.

“Please put me down. I want to walk all the way over there!”

Larisa pointed to the spring farmland. When they arrived at the spring farmland, the women who were farming with babies on their backs began to hesitate upon seeing Guinevere.

“Don’t mind me and continue working.”

However, the mothers still hesitated and stood still. Just as Guinevere was about to leave them be, one of the women cautiously spoke up.

“Um, Witch…”

“Thank you for reducing our tenant farming fees.”

“It wasn’t me, but my son who decided that.”

“Even so. We heard that the lord is you, Witch. So I really wanted to thank you.”

Guinevere stared at the woman bowing her head and asked.

“What did you do originally?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, what was your original job.”

“Ah, I worked as a maid in a noble household.”

No wonder she seemed educated. Guinevere was reminded of Marina for some reason and asked a question she normally wouldn’t have.

“How did you end up here?”

“…”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

The woman seemed to hesitate, but revealed her circumstances more readily than expected.

“I… got pregnant with a child of someone high-ranking… and was chased out. I tried to run away as far as possible…”

“I see.”

It was a situation she could guess. Guinevere left without offering any particular comfort or response.

As they leisurely walked through the farmland, Larisa started singing. Guinevere was lost in thought as she listened to Larisa’s singing voice.

‘It’s too inefficient to only have them do fieldwork when they have children.’

If she didn’t have a child, she would probably still be working as a maid in a noble household. That was considered quite elite among commoners.

It was sad that such a woman had suddenly become an unmarried mother and was driven to this point. If she had sent the child to an orphanage, she wouldn’t have had to do this. Was she unable to abandon the child?

‘Was my mother like that too?’

She couldn’t even remember her mother’s face anymore. When she was young, she resented her mother for giving birth to her and then becoming nothing but a burden.

If only she had been abandoned at an orphanage, she could have eaten at least two meals a day without worry. Only now was she beginning to consider the feelings of the mother she had only resented.

“Larisa.”

“Yes?”

“You said you envied the orphanage children too, right?”

“Huh?”

“Have you ever resented your mother?”

Larisa tilted her head.

“Why?”

“If your mother had abandoned you at an orphanage… Never mind.”

Guinevere swallowed the words she was about to say. Larisa tilted her head the other way and said.

“I was happy living with my mom though?”

“Even though Marina made you suffer?”

“My mom was the kindest and prettiest, even if she couldn’t earn money.”

Larisa went on praising Marina.

“And she had a pretty voice, sang lullabies, played with me, made cakes, and everyone envied my mom.”

“I see.”

“I was so proud of my mom.”

“I see.”

Larisa smiled brightly and added.

“I like you too, Mother.”

“…I see.”

Guinevere picked up Larisa, who was walking just fine. The sound of her giggling laughter tickled her ear.

*

At dinner time on the weekend, Guinevere spoke first.

“There’s no orphanage in our estate.”

“Pardon?”

“An orphanage.”

William’s expression turned serious.

“Ah, we’ll need one someday, but… I was worried that if we built an orphanage, people might abandon all their babies, so I haven’t yet…”

“People who want to abandon will do so even without an orphanage.”

William’s face hardened. Orphanage, cemetery, lord’s castle… There were still mountains of unsolved problems.

“William, we need to build an orphanage sooner than other things.”

“Why?”

“So that women can work freely.”

William looked troubled.

“You want to let people abandon their children?”

“Those who want to abandon will do so even without an orphanage. What I mean is… Right. Then let’s call it something else. How about a nursery?”

“A nursery?”

“A place where they can leave their children during the day and take them back at night. Of course, some people will still abandon their children. But even just that will increase productivity. They’ll worry less about their children.”

William looked at Guinevere with a strange expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m surprised to see you taking interest in estate affairs, Mother.”

“There was a woman like Marina in our estate.”

“…”

“There must be more. People who can do other work besides farming.”

William nodded. On the surface, he tried to appear calm, but inside he was thinking:

‘Our mother has changed!’

After finishing dinner, William asked Larisa as they walked down the corridor.

“Lala, did something happen while I was gone?”

“Huh?”

“Mother seems to have changed a bit. She’s even taking interest in estate affairs first.”

“We went on an estate walk and had fun playing together!”

William exclaimed in amazement.

“You went on an estate walk?”

“Yeah. When I begged to see the estate, she took me along.”

“That’s amazing…”

Larisa didn’t know what was amazing, but she was happy to be praised. Larisa shrugged her shoulders and said.

“Mother does everything I ask!”

“That’s true.”

William thought for a moment and then grabbed Larisa and said.

“Larisa, I have a favor to ask.”

“Yeah?”

“Could you go on estate inspections with Mother more often?”

“What’s an estate inspection?”

“A walk. An estate walk.”

“Why?”

I’ve already seen everything. Larisa tilted her head, and William hastily said.

“The estate will keep changing. We’ll keep building new buildings…”

“Will you plant lots of flowers too?”

“Yes. We’ll plant lots of flowers too.”

“And trees?”

“Of course.”

“Wow!”

Larisa clapped her hands in delight.

“So please go on walks with Mother often. I think Mother has changed a bit thanks to you.”

“I don’t think so?”

Larisa grabbed William’s hand and started walking down the corridor, swinging their hands. As William was pulled along by Larisa’s hand, he said.

“What do you mean you don’t think so, you’ve changed her so much since you came.”

“No. It’s all because of William.”

“How would you know…”

Larisa squinted her eyes as if to say ‘how can you not know this’ and said.

“Willy Willy is silly. Mother is nice to me because of you.”

William froze in shock. He suspected that Larisa might know something.

“…Huh?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“By what?”

“Why is our mother being nice to you because of me?”

Could it be that Larisa remembers the past too? William broke out in a cold sweat. Did she recall what kind of relationship we had in the past?

Larisa still had an innocent face as she said.

“You don’t know that either? It’s because William feels sorry for me.”