‘Did you originally speak informally to me?’

The child had spoken politely to me from the moment we first met.

For now, I swallowed my confusion and departed for the Asitan Count’s residence.

‘It’s hot, so I’d like to put it down for a moment.’

When we arrived at the Asitan Count’s residence, I got off carrying the box with the shawl and the dessert box.

“Mom. Shu Shu, please hold my hand……”

Unable to hold the child’s hand while carrying two boxes in one hand, it was burdensome.

“Um, can I put the boxes down inside and then hold your hand?”

“Okay……”

The child nodded but hung their head anxiously.

‘Even when we’re together, they get scared if we’re just a little apart. Do they think I’m going somewhere?’

As we entered the mansion, the Asitan Countess came out to greet us.

“Earl Boston. You’ve come?”

She had a warm and gentle impression. A servant beside her took the boxes from my hands.

“One is the shawl you lent me last time, and the other is dessert. They say it’s from a famous bakery.”

“You could have sent the shawl with a servant, but I’m glad you came in person.”

“Thank you for your help at the birthday banquet.”

I greeted her as Mary had instructed me.

“The Earl is so polite. After greeting like that last time. Shall we go to the reception room? Some good rose tea leaves have arrived.”

I followed the Asitan Countess, who welcomed me kindly.

I held the hand of the child who was fidgeting nervously. It was very small.

As we entered the reception room, the Asitan Countess sighed.

“Did you get home well that day? You must have been very flustered. I told Marquis Rowe that it would be better for the Earl to go with him, was that rude of me?”

She brought up what had happened at Princess Cassandra’s birthday banquet.

‘I don’t remember any of it.’

She seemed to have helped me and didn’t seem like a bad person, so I thought it would be okay to be honest.

“Madam. Actually, I recently had an accident and injured my head. There’s a lot I don’t remember well.”

“Oh my! Are you alright now? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

The Asitan Countess was surprised to hear the news and worried.

“My body is fine. I’m sorry I startled you. Because I don’t have memories, it feels a bit unfamiliar. I hope you won’t misunderstand if my reactions are lukewarm.”

“No misunderstanding! I’m touched just that you came here.”

The Asitan Countess came closer to me and patted my shoulder.

“If you ever need my help, just let me know. The Earl is about the same age as my daughter, so I feel like you’re my child.”

Her warm smile eased even my subtle tension.

“Oh, look at me. Young lady. You looked so wonderful at the wedding. Even though you fell, you got up bravely and walked out.”

Blanche tried to answer the Asitan Countess who spoke affectionately, but just opened and closed her mouth.

No voice came out, and after struggling for a while, she hung her head.

The Asitan Countess’s expression immediately became serious.

“Could it be that the young lady has aphasia?”

I was taken aback by the mention of aphasia.

‘It’s not aphasia, right. Jade said she’s just a bit shy.’

She speaks properly to me.

Still, I was lost in thought, worried if falling down the stairs had any effect.

“I studied child psychology at the academy when I was young, so I asked. Is there something troubling her…?”

When I didn’t answer, the Asitan Countess’s voice became cautious.

“You’re asking out of concern. I was just thinking about something that’s bothering me a bit.”

I quickly answered, coming to my senses.

“She speaks well to me. I think she’s just shy around strangers.”

That’s when it happened. The child started writing something on my palm.

I followed the writing and read it with my eyes.

[ Shu Shu, I wanted to speak. But my voice doesn’t come out except with Mom. Please speak for me, Mom. Tell her I’m not doing it on purpose. ]

‘She says her voice doesn’t come out except with me?’

It wasn’t that she was deliberately not speaking because she was shy.

“Earl, what’s wrong? What on earth did the young lady write?”

“She says it’s not that she’s not speaking on purpose, but that her voice won’t come out.”

“…You said she speaks well to you, right? Could we perhaps do a few tests?”

Since she said she studied child psychology at the academy, I immediately agreed.

The Asitan Countess immediately spoke to Blanche.

“How do you feel, young lady?”

“……”

“Hmm, would you like to draw this animal?”

She also had her draw something on her palm.

After all the tests were done, the Asitan Countess opened her mouth with difficulty.

“I think the young lady has selective mutism. Of course, we can only make a definitive judgment if this symptom persists for about a month.”

“Selective mutism…?”

“It’s a case where one selectively cannot speak in certain situations.”

Unable to speak in certain situations, huh.

“For the young lady, it seems that specific situation is being unable to speak to others except the Earl.”

The Asitan Countess patted the child’s cheek.

“Selective mutism is different from autism or aphasia. Well, it’s caused by psychological factors. The young lady’s acquisition ability is superior to her peers.”

That was also why she wanted to stick close to me.

“The cause of the current symptoms is not simply an inability to use language or a lack of knowledge.”

“I fell down the stairs while holding her. Could it be because of that……”

I told her about falling down the stairs. I wondered if it was because she was too shocked.

“That might have an effect, but I suspect there’s a separate direct cause.”

She explained that it was likely due to something else.

Selective mutism usually appears when one takes a self-defensive stance due to words heard from someone.

‘What on earth did she hear from whom.’

I hugged the child who was burrowing into my arms and patted her back.

“The young lady tends to be afraid of adults, so if she spends time with peers, she’ll likely start speaking.”

She clapped her hands and took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to me.

‘Who is Baroness Lehr……?’

It was an invitation to Baroness Lehr’s tea party.

“I met my niece, Baroness Lehr, at the birthday banquet, and you two are sorority sisters, right?”

As I wondered who it was, it turned out to be Diane’s sorority sister.

“She was glad to see you at the banquet after you hadn’t attended gatherings for a while. She asked me to tell you she’d like you to attend the next gathering.”

“I see……”

Honestly, I was told I hadn’t attended before either, and since it was Diane’s sorority, I had no intention of attending.

“At this tea party, I hear they’re bringing their children, including my niece’s daughter. Most of them are around the young lady’s age.”

I understood why she was giving me this with the following explanation.

She said if she spends time with peers, she’ll likely start speaking.

“Of course, you might have reasons for not attending, but I think it would be good to attend once to improve the young lady’s condition.”

Selective mutism.

‘It would be better to take the child to this tea party and have her meet peers.’

Since it was a psychological factor that was a self-defense mechanism, I couldn’t just leave it alone.

‘I should look into the sorority first, and consult with Jade as well.’

I was also planning to find out what happened when I collapsed.

[This is the timeline separator]

After finishing my conversation with the Asitan Countess, I was at the Rowe Marquis’s residence to meet Jade.

The butler bowed to me and informed me that Jade was in his office.

The child and I opened the door and entered the office.

“……”

Jade was looking at documents.

He was so focused that he didn’t even notice me coming in, still fixing his gaze.

“Jade!”

“…You’re here?”

He raised his head when I called out his name.

“Have you been working since you came back from Salome Castle?”

My interest quickly faded when Jade wasn’t surprised at all.

“Blanche. Do you want to go to Dad?”

The child curled up and tightly closed her mouth.

‘She at least opened and closed her mouth for the Asitan Countess, but she’s not doing that for Jade.’

Could it be that the reason she stopped speaking to others except me has something to do with Jade?

It was also suspicious that she had particular difficulty dealing with him at Salome Castle.

“Jade. What did you say to the child?”

“…Well.”

He hesitated to answer and pressed down hard on his quill pen.

The ink from the quill burst out, staining his hand black.

The child became even more frightened and trembled violently.

What on earth happened to make her like this?

I was bewildered and hugged the child to comfort her.

“It’s okay, Blanche.”

The child shed tears and covered her mouth to prevent sobs from escaping.

‘It is because of Jade after all.’

I felt sorry for the child who couldn’t even cry comfortably.

For now, thinking it would be better not to keep her in the same space as Jade, I turned around to leave the office.

Through the window, I saw a carriage stopping at the main gate.

“Jade, were you expecting someone?”

“…No.”

Jade said he didn’t have anyone scheduled to meet.

‘It’s too far to see the emblem on the carriage clearly, who could it be?’

For now, I kept looking down, curious about who it was.

As the carriage door opened, a woman with green hair came out.

The woman was heavily pregnant, with a very swollen belly.