Certainly, that’s true. Meiana thought so. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t Meiana who needed to change clothes and wash her face, but Ariante. Whether she had come in straight from playing outside and been fed snacks, the dust sticking to her neck and cheeks due to the summer heat was clearly visible.

‘Men!’

Meiana sighed inwardly. Well, she did feed her snacks. She planned to let her wash up a bit and then eat…

At least she managed to get her hands clean, maybe it’s fortunate. Meiana quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped Ariante’s cheeks and neck.

“Lady, you should wash up too. Ugh, what is this on your neck? It’s entirely covered in dust, making it sticky.”

Ariante protested vehemently.

“No! It’s not sticky.”

“It is sticky. It’s as sticky as a puppy lying on a grassy field. Come, let’s go bathe together. And then, let’s go see the Marquis.”

When Meiana reached out her hand, Ariante resisted with a show of reluctance, but she couldn’t resist taking Meiana’s hand. The moment she felt the small fingers firmly grasping her palm, Meiana felt an oddly clear-headed sensation.

In fact, throughout her return to the Marquisate, she had been enveloped in a melancholic mood. Naturally, her steps slowed, and the thought of wanting to go back to an irreversible place kept coming to mind.

The daily life and family scenes from her previous life that she had almost forgotten vividly resurfaced as if it happened yesterday, tormenting her.

Yet, holding Ariante’s hand and feeling her warmth, Meiana suddenly felt invigorated. When Meiana stared at Ariante with a curious look, the child who felt the gaze lifted her head.

“What’s wrong?”

Meiana, who didn’t receive an answer, smiled wryly.

“No, our lady is so nice. She doesn’t complain when I suggest bathing, doesn’t throw a tantrum, and doesn’t run away.”

“Bathing is bothersome! I don’t know who came up with the idea of bathing. I wish there were no rules like ‘you have to bathe.'”

Meiana chuckled.

“There aren’t any rules saying ‘you have to bathe.’ But Lady, do you really want that? Do you want to skip bathing every day, not cutting your hair, and liking it all messy?”

Lady grumbled.

“Those who don’t bathe are like squirrels. Their tails are fluffy and cute.”

“Do squirrels take baths?”

“No! Squirrels don’t bathe. Squirrels are…”

Ariante, who suddenly got deeply concerned about rodent hygiene, puckered her lips with a somewhat serious expression. Back then, she had seen squirrels several times with Marshal near the forest.

They were agile creatures, and Marshal once lured an innocent squirrel with a piece of bread, catching it and showing it to Ariante. The round, fluffy tail was incredibly cute.

“…Anyway, squirrels are cute even without bathing.”
“But, our lady, if you don’t bathe, you become all sticky. Even if you become sticky, it might be cute, but I prefer our fragrant and cute lady.”

“Tsk.”

Ariante, who ran out of words, kicked the floor in frustration.

It seemed that Vainty hadn’t returned yet, and Ariante’s room on the east side was chilly. Meiana placed the caramel and nougat she bought from the snack store on the table and took off her bag. While loosening her hair, which had been pinned up, a suspicious rustling sound came from outside.

Without looking outside, Meiana said, “Lady, you should eat that after taking a bath.”

The rustling sound abruptly stopped. After a moment of silence, the sound started again. This time it was a more cautious noise…

As Meiana leaned her head out of the door, and Ariante, who was about to put a caramel in her mouth, made eye contact.

“Oh, Lady. You should wait.”

“Ah, I haven’t eaten it yet.”

Ariante put the caramel down with a sulky expression. However, her gaze kept going to the bag.

“What’s this? Huh? Meiana, what is it?”

“You’ve already opened all of them, and you’re asking what it is?”

“I only opened one! Seriously!”

Meiana glanced sidelong at the bag on the table. The entrance of the bag with caramels was clearly open, but it wasn’t clear whether someone had opened the bag with candies.

“You’ve seen what’s inside.”

“Is it just caramels? Is that all it is? Who gave it to you?”

Meiana picked up Ariante, who was hanging onto her skirt, and held her with a pretending-to-be-dusty cheek, saying, “Knowing everything but acting foolish. Of course, I bought it to give it to you. What if I bought it for Vainty?”

Ariante then laughed, covering her mouth with both hands.

“Then, I’ll secretly eat them all before Vainty comes.”

“If you eat all of those, you won’t be able to have dinner tonight. I told you. Snacks are only for adults to have as a meal. Now, behave and take a bath, and I’ll give you one caramel.”