Some might criticize her life as shortsighted and narrow-minded, but given the limited options in this environment where she was involuntarily reborn, it was the best choice for Meiana. That’s why, initially, she had firmly rejected Cedelloi’s advances. She thought he was indulging in unrealistic fantasies.

If her trust in Cedelloi’s humanity had been slightly less, she would undoubtedly have made a sarcastic judgment that he merely wanted a partner he could easily enjoy.

Perhaps it would have been better that way, Meiana thought. But it was already spilled water, and spilled water could never be gathered again.

After her feelings for Cedelloi became impossible to hide, Meiana felt a knot in her chest, as if she were tying a bow between the reality she had been avoiding and her true feelings.

With each shake of the knot, her emotions jumped as well. While admitting that she liked Cedelloi and felt a strong attraction to him, she couldn’t help but constantly doubt herself, Cedelloi, and the relationship between them.

“I don’t need that.”

When Arianthe spoke, Meiana, who had been mechanically moving the brush, chuckled a beat late.

“What are you talking about, Milady? What do you mean by ‘that’?”

“You shouldn’t marry someone other than Father.”

“Are you saying you don’t need a mother, Milady?”

At that, Arianthe stared at Meiana. “No! It’s not about not needing someone else. It’s about not needing anyone else but you as my mother.”

“I’m not a noble, Milady.”

While she might become Cedelloi’s mistress, Meiana, who had swallowed the harsh words, smiled with an awkward expression. There was no need to say such cruel words in front of a child. It was a terrible thing to say, to Arianthe, to herself, and probably to Cedelloi.

“Even if you’re not a noble, it doesn’t mean you can’t get married.”

Arianthe stubbornly asserted, “Why can’t Father marry you?”

“Milady, are you really saying that sincerely?”

“Of course! I don’t want Father to marry anyone else but you, Meiana.”

Sitting huddled, holding the edge of the bathtub, Meiana’s body slid down.
Sitting directly on the completely wet floor, Meiana, who had accidentally dropped the brush she was holding into the water, stared at Arianthe’s face, unsure if it was innocent or composed.

Arianthe’s expression was so stubborn that the rippling water on the surface of the bathtub in her blue eyes looked like teardrops. Seeing that sight, Meiana suddenly burst into laughter and, in turn, felt the urge to cry.

“Why are you like this, Meiana?”

Pressing her cheek against the solid and smooth edge of the bathtub, Meiana pushed Arianthe’s soaking wet bangs behind her forehead.

“If I really become Milady’s mother, would you be happy?”

Arianthe, with eyes wide for a moment as if surprised, then nodded very seriously without excitement or jumping around.

“Yeah, really. It would be really nice. I’d be really happy.”

Meiana gently brushed the round and white forehead of the small child and said, “I’d like that too. But I can’t promise right away.”

Even though she knew Meiana would respond like that, Arianthe made a face about to cry and pouted her lips.

“Why can’t you promise?”

“Because later on, Milady, or maybe the Duke, might regret it.”

Once again, Arianthe, who had splashed the water with her hand, shouted, “I won’t regret it!”

The high voice of the child echoed sharply along the not-so-wide bathroom walls.

“But what’s regret?”

Meiana chuckled.

“It’s when you do something, and later, you think, ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’ Milady might not think that now… You might think it would be nice if I became your mother, but when you grow up and become a lady, you might think, ‘I wish someone else was my mother.’ No one knows what will happen in the future.”

“I won’t think like that. I definitely won’t.”

It was a blindly optimistic thought due to being seven years old and unconditional love that could only exist because of being seven.

How good it would be if she could believe Arianthe’s affection or Cedelloi’s affection as it was, without questioning the genuine love… But Meiana couldn’t do that. That’s why she knew too much. If she were an ordinary person, she wouldn’t need to know, and there would be things she couldn’t know.

Keeping the memories of her past life, living one more life could be an opportunity and a blessing for someone, but Meiana didn’t think so.

The experiences and knowledge that were inappropriate for her age, the memories so vivid that it was hard to distinguish from reality, had turned her into a cynical person. She made it difficult to believe anything easily.

When Meiana first saw Ash Lorren, she knew that he had no human trust or expectations for her. Why could she recognize it immediately? Because Meiana belonged to the same category of people as Ash.

Arianthe’s small hand shook Meiana’s shoulder. While gently caressing the back of the child’s hand, dripping with moisture, Meiana said, “If you still think the same way after Milady grows up… If you still wish for me to be your mother, I’ll consider it seriously then.”