The next day, in the afternoon when it was drizzling slightly.

‘Is it because summer is approaching? It’s been raining often lately.’

I was on my way to Salome Castle in a carriage with Blanche. Weak raindrops were hitting the window.

‘It’s still raining.’

Salome Castle was located half a day’s journey from the capital, so even though we left in the morning, the sun was already setting.

‘Jade said he would go ahead using his beast transformation. We should be arriving at the villa soon.’

I woke up Blanche, who was curled up asleep.

“Blanche. We’ll be arriving at the villa soon.”

“Mmm, Shu Shu’s awake.”

Speaking in a sleepy tone, Blanche crawled onto my lap.

She must have slept well, as her whole body was warm.

“Blanche. How do you feel about seeing Aunt Ayla after so long?”

“Aunt…? Is Shu Shu going to see Aunt Ayla now?”

“Yes. The Marquis will be there too when we arrive.”

Since I had put her in the carriage while she was asleep, when I mentioned we were going to see Ayla, Blanche’s eyelids flickered open.

“Hehe, great! Mama. When will we arrive?”

“Soon. Ah, I can see the castle over there.”

We stopped in front of the stacked castle walls after crossing the bridge floating on the water.

The knights of the Rowe Marquis family guarding the castle walls lowered their flags.

As the castle gates opened and we entered, Blanche pressed her face against the window to watch.

“Wow! It’s exactly like the castle Shu Shu imagined!”

“Blanche. It’s dangerous to stand up, so come down and look.”

Blanche’s eye, nose, and lip marks remained on the window.

“Mama. I want to tour the castle soon!”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

As we got out of the carriage, Jade and Ayla were waiting for us.

“Sister! Blanche!”

“Auntie! I missed you!”

Blanche ran to Ayla and was immediately embraced.

“No, not auntie. You should call me aunt.”

“Aunt? Okay, aunt!”

She must have really wanted Blanche to call her aunt.

‘Making her call you that as soon as she sees you. Ayla just can’t help herself.’

Ayla picked up Blanche and looked at me.

“Sister.”

“…Yes.”

“I have a lot to ask you, but I’ll do it later.”

It must be about how I had deceived her all this time, saying Blanche wasn’t Jade’s real daughter.

I awkwardly smiled and wiped the raindrops falling on my cheeks.

Jade approached me and raised his hand to my head to block the rain.

“The ground is slippery from the rain, so walk carefully. Larien.”

My heart fluttered, excited by his gentle voice protecting me from the rain.

Ayla snickered and burst into laughter.

“Sister. Brother, did you wait out here the whole time until sister arrived? I told you to go inside, but you didn’t listen at all.”

“…Be quiet. Ayla. Don’t say unnecessary things. Let’s go inside quickly.”

Jade’s previously white neck turned bright red.

‘He waited the whole time?’

Even I felt my chest tingle at the meaning that he had been waiting just for me to arrive.

As if a small sprout was blooming.

“My goodness. Blanche. Why are your parents acting like this? Why are they being shy with each other?”

Ayla laughed while patting Blanche’s cheeks.

“I don’t know. Mama and the Marquis are strange.”

The interior of the castle was classic.

‘How can a villa be this splendid?’

I didn’t have high expectations since it was far from the capital, but it was truly a beautiful castle.

“Come on, not auntie but aunt! Show Shu Shu around the castle!”

“Shall we?”

Ayla seemed to have no intention of letting go of Blanche as she carried her up.

“Ayla really likes Blanche.”

“I told you. She kept sending knights to me telling me to bring her.”

I followed them with Jade.

“It’s a huge piano!”

Blanche, who had been looking around for a while, pointed at the grand piano visible through the glass window.

“Aunt! Do you know how to play the piano?”

“…Oh right. Blanche, I made some really delicious snacks for you!”

For a moment, Ayla’s face seemed to darken slightly. Was I imagining it?

“Gasp. Really? I want to go!”

Ayla took Blanche downstairs.

Jade sighed and walked towards the grand piano.

“Jade. What’s wrong? Did Blanche make a mistake?”

“No, it’s not that she made a mistake. It’s just that Ayla has no talent at all. She changed the subject because she was afraid Blanche would find out.”

“Ah… I thought Blanche had made a mistake.”

I felt relieved and stood next to Jade, tapping a few keys.

Dong. Dong. Dong.

Since the cover was on, no proper sound came out.

“Jade. Let’s go downstairs too.”

Jade caught me as I was about to turn around and trapped me in his arms. My head touched his firm chest.

“…What are you doing. Jade.”

My body stiffened as I felt Jade’s breath directly.

For some reason, I felt tense and tingling.

“Didn’t you want to play? I’ll teach you.”

“Jade. Do you know how to play the piano?”

“I never said I couldn’t play.”

Jade rolled up his sleeves to his forearms.

He stretched out his long fingers and began to play skillfully.

The lean muscles with visible veins moved.

The melody produced by his large hands was pleasant to hear.

‘Jade plays the piano quite well. I didn’t know.’

Jade took his hands off the keys and placed my fingers on them.

“Try to follow along. Larien.”

“…No, no. Move aside now.”

Feeling embarrassed to stay in this position after the performance was over, I left Jade’s embrace.

He touched my cheek and gently stroked it.

“Your cheek. Is it okay now?”

He was still worried about me getting slapped by Princess Cassandra.

“I told you it’s fine. It just stung a bit yesterday, that’s all.”

In fact, it had subsided long ago when Jade touched it yesterday.

There wasn’t even any swelling.

“Stay still for a moment. Let me take a look.”

Jade’s face came closer as he brushed my hair aside to examine my cheek.

At a distance where our lips could almost touch.

“St-stop looking!”

I hurriedly pushed him away.

“Be careful not to twist your ankle. You might fall again.”

Jade said in an amused voice as he followed me.

‘He’s teasing me again.’

Blanche was eating cherry pie in the dining room downstairs.

“Drink some milk with it so you don’t get indigestion. Blanche. Is it delicious?”

“Yes! Aunt! It’s so delicious!”

Next to her, Ayla rested her chin on her hand and looked at her with loving eyes.

‘Maybe I should have told Ayla beforehand.’

I felt a pang seeing how much she adored Blanche.

“Why are you two coming down so late? What were you doing?”

Ayla gave me a suspicious look when she saw me.

“Ja-Jade was teaching me how to play the piano.”

“Hmm. Really?”

She didn’t seem to believe it at all.

Really, we didn’t do anything, but I felt wrongly accused.

I sat down next to Blanche and wiped the crumbs around her mouth. Blanche cut a piece of cherry pie with her fork and put it in my mouth.

“Isn’t it delicious, Mama?”

“It is. Ayla, you said you made it yourself, right? You did a good job.”

“Really? Is it delicious? I’m glad.”

The moist texture melted softly.

‘Blanche must be enjoying it because she likes sweet things. I don’t dislike sweets either, but this is too sweet.’

The cherry compote was so reduced that it was overly sweet, filling my mouth with a sugary taste.

“Marquis!”

Blanche cut a piece of cherry pie and held out the plate to Jade.

“You eat together too!”

“No.”

Jade turned his head and passed by Blanche to sit in the center.

He probably doesn’t want to eat it because it’s sweet, but if he refuses so bluntly…

“Sniff… The Marquis is mean. Shu Shu will eat it all by herself.”

“Blanche, you eat it all. Brother, aren’t you being too much? Do you know how hard I worked to make this!”

Blanche swallowed her welling sorrow with her lips pursed.

Even with Ayla’s gaze on him, Jade ignored it without caring.

‘He ate all the fruit skewers at the Ice Festival, but this must be sweeter than that.’

Knowing that he really didn’t want to eat it, I comforted Blanche.

“Blanche. Mama wants to eat more. Can you give me some?”

“…Okay!”

I forced myself to eat the cherry pie Blanche handed me again.

“Hmph! Marquis, look at this! Mama is eating it deliciously!”

“It’s not like you made it, so why are you acting like that?”

A bickering argument went back and forth between Blanche and Jade.

“But… Blanche. Why ‘Marquis’?”

Ayla, who had been quietly observing, asked Blanche.

“Huh? The Marquis is the Marquis, isn’t he?”

“That’s not it. I’m your aunt, right? Sister is your mom? Then shouldn’t it be ‘Papa’ instead of ‘Marquis’?”

“Umm…”

Now that I heard it, it did seem strange.

‘Calling Jade Papa, that’s right. She wanted to call him that, so why?’

Even on the parchment where Blanche wrote down the things she wanted to do with Jade, that was included.

“Come on. Repeat after your aunt, Blanche. Papa.”

“Umm…”

Blanche just stared at Jade without repeating after Ayla.

She had just found out the whole truth from Jade and cleared up the misunderstanding about him disliking her.

Is she used to calling him ‘Marquis’ since she’s been doing it since they first met?

It was a moment filled with various questions.

Blanche’s hesitant lips opened.

“Shu Shu. I don’t want to call him that. I won’t do it.”

She whined and shook her head.

“If you don’t want to call him that, you don’t have to.”

Seeing Blanche’s tears, Ayla was flustered, and Jade left the dining room.