“Sigh……”

In the returning carriage, Blanche slumped and let out a sigh.

‘Did something happen? Why is she like that?’

Where did the lively appearance from when she came to eat orange juice go? She had no energy.

“Blanche, if you’re tired from playing a lot earlier, do you want to sleep for a bit? I’ll wake you up when we get home.”

When I patted my knee, Blanche shook her head.

“No, Shu Shu is not sleepy at all.”

I thought she’d be sleepy from playing so much outside, but that wasn’t it.

Now that I looked closely, her face showed signs of being upset.

“Then why is our baby in such a bad mood?”

I sat Blanche on my lap and gently comforted her.

“Can you tell Mommy? Mommy’s worried because Blanche’s face looks dark.”

Blanche snuggled into me and clung on.

“Umm….. Mommy, actually, when I was playing with Daddy earlier. Daddy threw the ball far and when I went to get it, I couldn’t see it.”

“Were you upset because you couldn’t see the ball?”

“No. I found the ball. Shu Shu was so excited when she saw the ball that her wolf ears came out.”

For a moment, I was horrified thinking Jade had seen the wolf ears.

“……What did the Marquis say when he saw that?”

“At that time, the Marquis was squinting his eyes like this because of the sunlight, so when I said I must have seen wrong, he didn’t pay attention right away.”

Blanche explained that Jade had been squinting by stretching her eyes to the sides.

‘I guess. If Jade had seen it clearly, he wouldn’t have acted so nonchalant.’

Until the end, Jade didn’t show any signs of suspicion. As Blanche said, he seemed to have brushed it off as nothing.

I was proud of Blanche’s calm handling of the situation, but I couldn’t be entirely happy.

“Blanche, do you want to tell the Marquis the truth?”

“I remember Mommy said if the Marquis finds out, we can’t go back to how things were before. Shu Shu promised. That I wouldn’t throw a tantrum.”

“……Blanche.”

“Shu Shu is fine even now. Because the Marquis plays with Shu Shu often, and gets along well with Mommy too!”

My heart ached seeing Blanche speaking so maturely.

‘At just 4 years old, she should be throwing tantrums and such.’

Did I raise her to be too considerate?

“Blanche. I think we can honestly tell Daddy. That the Marquis is Blanche’s daddy.”

“Really? Can I tell him now?”

“Not right this moment, but if you wait just a little bit.”

If she was going to be this happy, why did she say she was fine even now?

“Mommy! Then, Shu Shu wants to show the Marquis her wolf form! I’ll practice a lot starting today, so let’s tell him when Shu Shu can transform into a wolf!”

“……Okay. Let’s do that.”

I went along with Blanche’s excitement about showing her wolf form.

But there was a high possibility that Blanche wouldn’t be able to shapeshift into a wolf.

Not only had she already missed the timing by quite a bit, but my blood of a different race was mixed in.

‘There’s still so much I don’t know about raising a child.’

It was already difficult to think about how to tell her when she got a little older and reached the age of contemplating her identity.

“Blanche, Mommy will protect you. So that no one can make you upset.”

I could only hope that she wouldn’t get hurt.

“Then, Shu Shu will protect Mommy!”

……You, who say you’ll protect me with these tiny hands.

A few days passed, and the day of the wedding dawned.

I brushed Ayla’s hair and tied it down in the waiting room as she took deep breaths.

“It’s still too short to put up.”

I felt disappointed that her short hair length couldn’t be put up.

“……Sister. Do you know why I cut it?”

Ayla held my hand.

“If it wasn’t you, I didn’t want anyone else touching my hair. If it’s short, I can manage it myself, right?”

“Ayla……”

“Even though I can’t put it up, I’m happy just to have you brush it again.”

The reason she kept her hair short was related to me.

I got choked up and tears welled up at Ayla’s response that she was happy just to have me brush it.

“Sister, don’t cry. If you cry, I might cry too. I woke up early to do my makeup and it’ll all come off.”

“……Okay. I won’t cry.”

I wiped away my tears, trying not to let them fall.

I put the veil on Ayla’s head and secured it with a tiara.

Seeing Ayla in the perfect bride’s appearance made it feel real that the wedding would be held soon.

“Ayla, how’s Viscount Lumiere who’s going to be your husband? Is he okay?”

“Brother gave me three candidates. I chose from among them. His title was the lowest, but brother said he has a nasty personality so a kind person would be better. He’s gentle and listens well.”

Ayla’s criteria for choosing a husband was based on Jade’s personality.

“That’s true……”

As I was nodding, I saw Jade leaning against the door.

“J-Jade, w-when did you come?”

I got the hiccups from talking about him behind his back.

“Since you said I gave three candidates, and that you chose Viscount Lumiere because of me.”

“……You h-heard. Where’s Blanche?”

“In the lounge with Mary. Larien. I need to talk to Ayla, so step out for a bit.”

“No! Sister! Don’t leave me alone!”

I slipped out, avoiding Ayla who was crying out not to leave.

‘I wonder if Blanche is very nervous.’

I was on my way to the lounge where Blanche was, wearing the pendant around my neck.

“Mother, where’s Father?”

“I don’t see him anywhere, I wonder where he went. His legs must be hurting, so he’s probably sitting somewhere resting.”

“The ceremony is about to start, we need to find Father quickly.”

“I’ll look for him, you go escort the young lady of Count Nier.”

People with dark green eyes were walking towards me from the opposite direction, conversing.

‘Of all times.’

It was the Duchess of Belaste and Uriel.

“……Larien?”

The Duchess of Belaste who faced me suddenly burst into tears. She covered her mouth and sobbed for a while.

‘She should see me as Diane, why Larien?’

I touched my neck in confusion. The pendant was still there.

“Mother, it’s not sister but Count Boston……”

At Uriel’s whisper, she realized it was a momentary mistake.

‘She didn’t see me as Larien after all. That’s a relief.’

The Duchess of Belaste bit her lip as she wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

“I’m sorry. Viscount Diane, no, you recently inherited your father’s title. Seeing the Count who resembles my eldest, I couldn’t help but tear up.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to hold back more tears that were about to fall.

I burst out laughing at her calling me ‘eldest’.

“Why are you laughing, Count?”

Uriel glared at me with a crumpled face.

“……It’s funny. I didn’t expect that of all people, you would miss Larien upon seeing someone who resembles her.”

Of course, I received an apology from the Duchess of Belaste.

Even in the moment of escape, I remember Uriel’s worried words.

Yet I laugh, perhaps because they declared me dead within hours of my death.

‘Even though the Belaste ducal family wanted to erase my existence……’

It felt like hypocrisy mocking me.

She acted like a loving mother before, and still does the same.

“Honestly, I’m uncomfortable with this belated behavior. You don’t have to act like this every time, just be at ease.”

“Count. How could you say such things……”

The Duchess of Belaste’s dark green eyes wavered.

She had no right to pretend to mourn my death.

“Didn’t you try to drive out Larien when she was just a newborn?”

She shouldn’t have pretended to be a mother who lost her precious daughter.

“Don’t be rude, judging based on fragmentary information when you don’t know anything!”

Uriel stood in front of the Duchess of Belaste and pointed out.

As if to say I had no right to interfere and shouldn’t dare to step in.

“I remember. How lonely Larien was, how many times she hoped and was disappointed…… how much she longed for family. Larien will never forgive you. Any of you.”

I spoke sharply on purpose, as it seemed like they were getting defensive out of guilt.

“Step aside, Uriel.”

“But, Mother……”

“Quickly. I have something to say to the Count.”

Uriel backed down at the firm rebuke of the Duchess of Belaste, who had been quietly listening.

“……It’s a misunderstanding. I wasn’t trying to drive Larien out.”

“You weren’t trying to drive her out, ha.”

I was dumbfounded by that brazen voice.

“Because my husband wouldn’t look at Larien after losing Rachel, I thought… if we separated for a while, he might realize how precious Larien was.”

I couldn’t even tell if this was sincere or not.

“I hoped he would realize that Larien didn’t cause Rachel’s death, but that she tried to protect her until the end.”

Acting as if she had never hated me once.

“The more I approached, the more he disliked me. Because I acted so selfishly to save my child……”

Acting selfishly to save Uriel?

It was utterly incomprehensible.

“If I had embraced her a little more, if I had hugged her and asked how hard it was instead of telling her to leave that day…… I wonder if she wouldn’t have died like that.”

The Duchess of Belaste clutched her solar plexus tightly.

“You don’t have to forgive me. If only I could go back to that day, if only she would come back alive…… I wouldn’t ask for anything more.”

Guilt, sorrow, regret.

Various emotions mixed and appeared in her eyes.

‘Now of all times……’

I wasn’t sure if this belated regret was truly heartfelt.

I didn’t want to watch any longer.

That day she wished to return to was already a past long gone.

I walked past her and Uriel towards the lounge.

Mary was pacing outside with an anxious look.

“Mary, what’s wrong? Did something happen to Blanche?”

“Blanche is inside with that person……”

“That person?”

“The Duke of Belaste!”