Looking closely, it seemed not to be wariness but rather surprise.

“Thank you.”

He slightly opened the envelope with his fingers. Amidst the rising aroma of savory butter, I caught a glimpse of a smile.

“Miss.”

In the calm atmosphere, the little one spoke while looking at me with expectant eyes.

“Did you only buy for the Duke? Is there nothing for me?”

A black cat with sparkling eyes waiting for a snack.

Imagining Rublion’s reaction to receiving the soft candy, I took out a palm-sized candy container.

“I bought yours too. These are candies you chew.”

“You chew candies?”

“Yes, they’re harder than caramel, but they soften as you eat them.”

How to describe it, like a giant candy that’s chewy like taffy.

“Wow! Thank you!”

The little one raised his arms in a victory pose. Then he quickly opened the candy container and popped one into his mouth.

“It’s delicious.”

The child smiled brightly while rolling the candy around in his mouth. Then, saying it seemed to have softened on the outside, he crunched it noisily.

Just as I was about to open the candy container to try one myself.

“Rublion?”

The Duke called the little one in a subtle voice. I felt a chill run down my spine for a moment.

I looked at Rublion without properly closing the candy container lid.

“Ah… Miss.”

Rublion’s expression, which had been happily eating the candy, suddenly contorted. My heart sank.

Drip. Drop.

Blood flowed from the corner of Rublion’s mouth as our eyes met.

“Ahhh! A d-doctor, no, first spit out the candy!”

I screamed and approached the child. My hands were shaking. Tears welled up in Rublion’s eyes.

I feared the child might have bitten his tongue because of the candy I gave him. I was afraid I might have hurt him. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest.

“Move aside.”

The Duke, who had approached without me noticing, squeezed between Rublion and me. I bit my lip and shuffled my feet anxiously.

“Open your mouth.”

At the Duke’s command, Rublion slowly opened his mouth. A tear rolled down the child’s cheek.

The Duke inserted his finger into the mouth and removed the candy. Seeing the candy covered in blood, my mind went blank.

“Go call for a doctor.”

I trembled as I watched the servant hurriedly leave.

‘If only I had been a little more careful…’

Tears blurred my vision with regret and guilt, wishing I had bought two bags of butter cookies instead of candy. As I anxiously watched the situation from behind the Duke examining the inside of the little one’s mouth.

“Rublion, your right molar has fallen out.”

The Duke murmured softly as he withdrew his hand that had been holding the mouth.

“Ah, really? It was a bit loose.”

For a moment, I doubted my ears. What fell out?

Meanwhile, the tears that had welled up in my eyes spilled over, unable to bear their weight.

“Duke, the miss is crying.”

The little one said, wiping his blood-smeared mouth with the back of his hand. Only then did the Duke turn around, and upon discovering me shedding tears, he explained seriously.

“The candy softened and became sticky, causing the molar to be pulled out. It’s a baby tooth that was meant to fall out anyway, so there’s no need to worry about anything else.”

“How… How shocked I was.”

The little one looking at me with his pink-tinged mouth and the Duke thinking nothing of it are just the same!

I had worried about all sorts of things, like whether there was something in the candy that shouldn’t be eaten, or if chewing the candy meant biting the tongue.

My hands were still shaking. My racing heart refused to calm down easily.

The little one approached me with a tissue wad in his fallen tooth socket and held out a handkerchief. Seeing that made me feel relieved, and he looked quite mature.

The Duke peeled off the fallen tooth that was stuck to the soft candy. Then he gave it to Rublion and said.

“Don’t say anything until the doctor arrives.”

“Mm.”

“If saliva builds up, just let it drip.”

“Mm, umderstood.”

“It can’t be helped if it gets messy.”

I was amazed at how the Duke understood what was said.

I looked at the tooth in the little one’s palm. The hollow inside made it look like a tooth that was bound to fall out someday.

Meanwhile, the doctor rushed in hurriedly. He took out sterilized and sealed cotton from his bag and pushed it into Rublion’s tooth socket.

“The bleeding has almost stopped. Just keep it in for about 5 more minutes.”

The doctor said, adjusting his glasses. Then he also gave some nagging advice about brushing carefully as the permanent tooth was coming in before leaving.

“Mmiss.”

“Hm?”

“Are you mot cryimg amymore?”

I understood up to being called “miss,” but couldn’t make out the rest.

“He’s asking if you’re not crying anymore.”

“Ah.”

I nodded and answered.

“Yes, I was just a bit surprised, that’s all.”

“Thamk you, miss. But…”

“What is he saying?”

I looked at the Duke and asked. The little one then poured out words to him, who was about to interpret.

“Dom’t tell her what I’m sayimg.”

“Why? The lady might like it.”

“Mo.”

The little one and the Duke glared at each other as if they would devour one another. I had thought this before, but the two of them were so alike. Both in personality and appearance.

“Shouldn’t we take it out now?”

At my words, the Duke raised his hand and wiggled it. The servant standing next to Rublion approached and removed the cotton.

“Ah, it feels empty.”

The little one’s lower jaw moved this way and that. It seemed he was feeling the gap where the tooth had fallen out with his tongue.

“Little one, you should throw the fallen tooth onto the roof.”

“Throw it on the roof?”

“Yes, don’t you know? The tooth fairy goes around at night and takes the children’s teeth from the roofs.”

When I was young, my mother used to throw my fallen teeth onto the mansion roof and tell me to make sure to say what I wanted out loud. Looking back, I think it was probably so that my mother could hear what I wished for.

“They say the fairy takes the tooth and leaves a gift in return.”

At ten years old, there should still be some innocence left. Wouldn’t it be okay to create one such memory with me?

“They give a gift?”

“Yes, I was told the tooth fairy leaves the gift you want. I received one when I was young too.”

The little one’s eyes sparkled as I shared my experience.

“Really? What did you get, miss?”

“A brooch. Animal-shaped brooches were trendy back then.”

The Duke, who had been listening quietly, nodded slightly. It was something he could relate to, being from a similar generation.

“Duke, have you ever received a gift from the tooth fairy?”

At the little one’s question, he shook his head.

“Rublion, actually, the tooth fairy…”

“T-the Duke must not have brushed well when he was young. The tooth fairy likes strong teeth that are brushed well!”

As expected, the Duke didn’t seem to have any intention of preserving the child’s innocence. I hurriedly cut off his words.

The Duke, who had unintentionally become someone who disliked brushing teeth, looked at me with terrifying eyes.

“Ha, haha. So, shall we throw the tooth onto the roof?”

The little one’s shoulders rose high with excitement.

“Yes!”

The child smiled, clutching the fallen tooth in his small fist. I felt a lump in my throat, proud of having preserved his innocence.

After the party.

Rublion and I had agreed to meet separately on the third-floor balcony. As I climbed upstairs, anticipating what gift the child would ask for, I found the little one standing alone, gazing at the night sky.

“It’s spring, but the nights are still cold.”

Seeing his thin-looking pajamas, I took off my outer garment. Then I draped it over Rublion’s shoulders and fastened it well.

Rublion grinned and made an excuse.

“I wanted to come quickly.”

What gift could he be so eager for that he came out in just his pajamas?

“Did you bring your molar?”

“Yes!”

The little one opened a small leather pouch. Then he turned it upside down and poured out its contents onto his palm.

“…What’s all this?”

The teeth that came out of the leather pouch weren’t just molars. There were various types, from tiny teeth barely half the size of a pinky nail to what looked like canine baby teeth.

“I’ve been collecting all the ones that fell out without throwing them away. I thought whoever becomes my mother might be curious about them.”

The little one pointed to a small, stubby tooth and said.

“This was the second one to fall out. The first one fell out when the Duke was on a border patrol, and I lost it while crying in surprise.”

Along with the cold night air, the child’s voice, speaking softly, tugged at my emotions.

“Since that day, I’ve been collecting them like this. I want to tell all about how I grew up and what happened to me.”

I felt a lump in my throat without realizing it. Though he smiled brightly, loneliness seeped through the cracks of his smile.

After sharing a few more stories, the little one looked up at the high roof and muttered.

“Since I’ve collected so many, the tooth fairy will give me a gift, right?”

How could I not give a gift when he smiles so lonely like that?

“Yes, they definitely will. So throw them high.”

The little one smiled, blowing air through his nose. Then, with a face full of determination, he threw them with all his might.

The throwing accuracy of a ten-year-old child only managed to get half of them onto the roof. A few fell with a soft thud below the balcony.

“Here, throw them one by one.”

As I handed him the teeth I had picked up, he threw them higher, successfully landing them on the roof. The little one shook the leather pouch thoroughly to make sure nothing was left, then closed his eyes. And he assumed a praying posture with his hands clasped together.

“Tooth fairy, I haven’t received any gifts until now, so I believe you will surely grant this wish.”

The little one’s eyelashes, with his eyes closed, looked long and soft. I stood beside him and clasped my hands in the same way.

Rublion was silent for a long time. It seemed he was contemplating what to say, so I waited quietly.

At last, the child’s lips parted.

“…Please give me a mother as a gift.”

It was an unexpected request. The child’s fingertips were steady as he spoke softly, but his voice, laden with desperation, trembled slightly.

“I’ll brush my teeth well and won’t lose any more fallen teeth, so…”

The closed eyelids slowly opened. Our gazes met with golden eyes as beautiful and serene as the moon in the night sky.

“Please grant my desperate wish.”

Though he was clearly speaking to the tooth fairy, listening to each word, I could tell he was addressing me. I held the little one’s small hand. And, forcibly holding back the feeling that tears might flow, I said.

“Yes, they will surely grant it.”