Perhaps because of the shattered plate or due to the burden received from Cedelois’s summons, Ariante left about half of her favorite pudding.

“Please have some more, Lady.”

Thinking it might be better to eat something sweet to lighten the mood, I suggested, but Ariante stubbornly lowered the spoon and shook her head.

“I’m done. I’m full now.”

Then she glanced at Venti.

“Venti, you can have it.”

Originally, employees could eat the remaining food on the table with the owner’s permission. Since it wasn’t particularly offensive, and most nobles did the same, Venti casually accepted Ariante’s offer.

“Oh, really? Thank you.”

Then Venti used an unused spoon to scoop a bit of pudding into her mouth and looked at Meiana.

“Do you want some too?”

Meiana shook her head.

“I’m good. Lady, I’ll take care of clearing the table since I’ll accompany you to the Duke’s house.”

“When did you do that? I’ll do it, so you can go.”

Venti gestured for her to leave quickly. Meiana took Ariante’s hand, led her to a small washstand, and brushed her teeth, gently cleaning her with a soft brush. After touching Ariante’s slightly wobbly front teeth with her fingers, Meiana spoke.

“Your teeth are shaking more.”

“That’s normal. If they shake a lot, you just pull them out later.”

“Does pulling them out hurt?”

Meiana smiled and tilted her head.

“Not at all. If you close your eyes for a moment, it’ll be over.”

“It feels like they’ll fall out soon if I shake them.”

“Still, don’t shake them.”

Grabbing the child’s thin wrist, Meiana carefully brushed and rinsed the small teeth and soft gums with water.

Each time Meiana helped Ariante with brushing, she thought that this place was relatively more developed in terms of hygiene.

If this were a place where it was natural to leave cavities alone until they swelled or pull them out with a big pair of pliers when they became swollen… she didn’t even want to imagine it.

“Right, Meiana.”

“Yes, Lady?”

“Do you dislike eating leftover food?”

Unexpectedly, Meiana’s hand paused. She looked at Ariante for a moment, then smiled slightly and tilted her head.

“Why would you think that?”

“Even if I leave something, you never eat it. You never ask if you can eat it.”

Ariante’s tone was serious and grave, unlike usual. It was as if it were the most important question of her life.

How should I answer? Meiana pretended to wipe Ariante’s mouth and thought for a moment. It was hard for her to adapt to the common sense of eating the remaining food someone left. So, even if Ariante urged her several times, she would refuse or, sometimes, even clear the table before such words came out.

She didn’t know that Ariante had been observing her. Come to think of it, Ariante hadn’t suggested that Meiana eat leftovers for a while. She either finished them herself, or occasionally gave them to Venti like today.

Lost in thought, Meiana looked up at Ariante’s face as she crouched down.

“I don’t particularly like eating leftover food. But it wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that my feelings are uncomfortable…”

Ariante, with her lips slightly pursed, moved her toes.

“You won’t eat with me in the future, will you?”

This time, Meiana’s eyes widened.

“What are you talking about?”
“Kosha said so. The Lady who climbs trees like a monkey and searches the whole world won’t find another like me. So, wouldn’t it be fine to have a meal together?”

Miss Kosha… Meiana sighed inwardly. Kosha, the housekeeper, was a woman who had long passed middle age. She wasn’t as sly and wicked-tempered as Jocelyn, but she was quite talkative.

In a way, it seemed like she viewed Meiana more as a mischievous granddaughter than a Lady serving Ariante. So, she didn’t hesitate to say things that would startle others.

“Well, I’ll think about it.”

“Venti can join us if she behaves nicely.”

Ariante spoke as if giving a sermon. Meiana chuckled softly and held the child’s small hand.

“I think Venti would be thrilled if she heard that. Now, Lady, shall we go?”

“Yeah… Going to see Father?”

“That’s right.”

Meiana glanced down at Ariante’s face. The corners of her mouth were slightly tense, and there was already a blush on her cheeks, but Meiana said nothing, pretending not to notice. Making a light-hearted joke wouldn’t ease the mood; instead, calmly listening to her in this slightly tense state might be better.

As she held Ariante’s hand and entered the western corridor of the mansion, the servants who were lighting lamps discreetly disappeared, glancing around to see if anyone was watching.

Once they used to mock Meiana, expose Ariante, and ignore them. However, even those bold and rough servants, who used to sneer at Meiana, began to subtly avoid her. Most importantly, even those who seemed fearless began to be cautious if Meiana was present.

This change was Cedelois’ doing. He had told Jocelyn several times to ‘keep the servants in check,’ but after realizing that his orders weren’t being followed, he gave the same order to Jemero instead of Jocelyn.