Right after the butler’s statement, Aeli froze with her eyes wide open.

As if the news was sudden not only for her, the butler hurriedly added to the child who was just staring up while holding the doorknob.

“Due to circumstances, most of the annex servants have quit their jobs. It was judged that it would not be suitable for the young master to continue staying—”

“But I was alone anyway?”

“Well, that…”

“I only had Mari and Duri.”

“…”

The look in her eyes staring blankly at the butler was saying, what problem could there be if servants who were useless anyway disappeared?

Although he knew it was the sincere thought of a young child without a trace of malice, it was not that he wasn’t perplexed.

The butler was momentarily flustered, trying not to show it, then soon answered.

“Even if not for that reason… now that the Duke has returned, I think there’s sufficient reason to move your residence to the main house.”

“…Is Father going to confine me?”

“He ordered to bring you directly.”

The child’s fingernails turned white as if strength entered the hand holding the doorknob. It seemed she couldn’t easily answer.

That was understandable, as it was just a few days ago that she had cried and wailed saying her father wouldn’t come to see her because the flower pot she cherished broke.

For Aeli, who remembered the gloomy face of waiting late into the night for Lutis on her birthday only for him not to show even a strand of hair, it was something she didn’t know how to react to.

‘Why now of all times…’

Her eyes narrowed slightly, unable to hide her confusion.

The child who had been glancing sideways to observe Aeli’s reaction, seeing this, jumped up right after.

“I, I don’t need to!”

The butler asked in surprise as the child rejected with a pale face, shaking her head.

“…Pardon?”

“I just want to stay here… I won’t go!”

The child kept glancing towards where Aeli was, not knowing what to do.

She probably wanted to run right over here but couldn’t because the butler was there.

Just as tears were about to well up in her trembling eyes, Aeli pursed her lips and cleared her throat before speaking.

-Adi. It’s okay to go if you want to.

“But!”

“Young master?”

“Ah, no… I mean…”

The child who had shouted without realizing it lowered her gaze, remembering the butler was in front of her.

…It wasn’t meant as a hint, but really that she could do as she wished.

Seeing the dejected expression as she moved her lips but ultimately couldn’t say anything, Aeli felt she had said something wrong.

Aeli moved a bit closer to the child and opened her mouth.

-Adi, do you want to see your father?

“…”

The beautiful purple eyes sparkled for a moment.

Although there was bewilderment in the child’s reaction, Aeli read a hint of affirmation and continued speaking.

-I frowned not because I dislike you leaving the annex, but just because I was a bit surprised. If you were being cautious because Mother’s face looked scary, you don’t need to do that.

“…”

-If you go to the main house, the room will be much bigger and more comfortable than where you’re staying now. The food will be tastier too…

And you’ll be able to freely go outside as well.

Seeing the child who had been looking down suddenly raise her head at those words, Aeli smiled faintly.

Going to the main house also meant being able to go outside the annex.

‘Though I don’t know why they didn’t let her go out until now…’

Now that that order had already been reversed once, the chances of confining her just to the castle grounds even after returning to the main house were not very high.

Even if she couldn’t be certain… that was her expectation.

Aeli observed the greatly shaken child and drove the point home.

-Don’t you want to go outside and see?

“Can I… go out?”

-Yes.

“…”

-You’ll be able to see and touch the flowers and trees in the garden. While doing that and basking in the sunlight, a cool breeze will probably blow too.

Mother would like for Adi to experience those things. As Aeli said this, the child hesitated before turning to look intently at the butler.

Soon after, an answer came from the butler. He seemed to have taken the child’s words just now as a question directed at him.

“Though I’ll need to check once more to be certain, yes.”

“…”

“There was no mention of placing separate restrictions on your movements.”

-Did you hear that?

“Uh, um…”

-Sweetie. Don’t you want to go for a walk with Mother?

I can teach you how to make flower crowns too. She said enticingly.

For a child who had been curious about and longing for the outside world, how could such a temptation not be effective?

Even if she had climbed onto the roof to find her before, coming out only briefly that time couldn’t make a meaningful difference.

The child gulped and slowly opened her mouth in a suppressed, tense voice. It was quite a cautious movement.

“…Can Mari come too?”

“Yes. I’ve already instructed her to be ready to move immediately if the young master permits.”

“Then…”

“…”

“…Then I’ll go.”

As soon as those short syllables were uttered, the butler who had quickly packed up escorted the child to the main house along with Mari.

Though it’s said quickly, it was no different from coming down the stairs right away.

“I’m just going like this?”

“The items in the annex would not be appropriate for the young master’s use, so we were told to come immediately.”

Well, the packed luggage consisted only of a few sheets of paper with the child’s bucket list written on it, and a ribbon that Mari had washed and brought after it got dirty when the flower pot broke.

By the way, the one remaining ribbon was now neatly tied in the child’s hair.

Mari, who had been staring intently at the child’s hair, asked.

“Young master, did I tie your hair at dawn?”

“No?”

“…My goodness, so you tied it yourself?”

Saying how could there be such a dexterous five-year-old, Mari praised the child with a very flushed face.

From what I heard, the content was that she was confident one couldn’t find anyone as talented as the young master even if searching the whole continent.

“…Huh?”

The child who opened her mouth slightly upon hearing those words asked back in a daze. She unconsciously raised her hand to feel her hair as well.

In fact, it was true that the child had tied the knot alone, but the person who had held her hair together so she could tie it was Aeli.

-Mari seems happy because Adi tied her hair so well.

“That…”

But since it wasn’t wrong that the child tied it herself, Aeli shrugged her shoulders towards the child looking up at her with rolling eyes.

Finally, when they reached the entrance door of the annex that had never been properly crossed before, the child stopped abruptly.

-…Adi?

“…”

Aeli crouched down to meet the eyes of the child who couldn’t easily take a step.

She held and stroked the child’s hand, careful not to be noticeable to others.

Flinch.

There was a faint response from the child.

It was so subtle that one wouldn’t notice unless paying close attention due to being conscious of the surroundings, but she didn’t mind.

-The weather seems very nice today. Can you see the sky?

“…Yeah.”

-The Duchy or Mason territory generally has more clear days, but the capital has relatively few such days.

The sun seems to be in a good mood too since it’s the day Adi is properly going outside for the first time. At Aeli’s words, the child blinked rapidly.

Seeing the blush slowly rising on her white, soft cheeks, Aeli opened her mouth.

-Should we go visit Mason territory together later if we get the chance? We’ll meet your uncle, grandfather, and grandmother there too. They all cherish and love you very much.

“…”

-So for now, let’s go see your father first. I’ll scold him as much as you were upset.

Aeli spoke in a playful tone on purpose and smiled mischievously.

As she curved her eyes into crescents and pulled up the corners of her mouth, she felt the child’s gaze fix on her cheeks.

‘Come to think of it, you probably didn’t know I have the same dimples.’

Though she had smiled before, she had never shown such a wide smile, so the child wouldn’t have known.

Even when painting her portrait, she didn’t smile enough for the artist to draw her dimples.

-How about it?

“…”

Beaming.

When asked again, the child finally smiled brightly and squeezed Aeli’s hand.

It was the moment she finally took a step out of the cage.

[This is the timeline separator]

-…

But no matter what, isn’t this really too much?

Aeli, with a twisted expression, recalled what had happened over the past few months.

[As the room for the young master to use has not been prepared yet, this is the room you’ll be staying in temporarily.] [Uh…?] [Also, I’ve instructed the maids to bring clothes, so you can choose whichever you like among them and change…] […] [There wasn’t enough time for custom tailoring. We’ve selected the best quality ready-made clothes available in the market.] […Umm?] [The quality may be somewhat lacking for the young master to wear, but please bear with it for a few days. The tailor shop owner and tailor will visit this afternoon to take detailed measurements for new clothes to be made.] [Umm?]

The child’s expression of not understanding what was being said at all, blinking her big eyes, was quite cute.

Though her mood seemed to improve a bit as she recalled the child’s cute expression, Aeli, still displeased with the situation, frowned and tapped her nape with her finger.

‘The living conditions are… not bad, I suppose.’

Except for the first few days, they properly fitted clothes, and the food was much better compared to the poor diet in the annex.

Not only did they provide three meals a day without fail, but they also set times for morning and afternoon snacks including desserts, so she grew taller significantly.

She also gained some weight and looked much better.

‘No wonder they called the tailor to order new clothes less than two months after fitting.’

In other words, it wasn’t bad.

Strictly speaking, it was merely returning to how things should be, but whether they had heard about the annex or not, the attitude of the main house servants was impeccable.

That was all fine, but…

“Mother, Mother!”

It was when Aeli was looking out the window below, basking in the sunlight from one side of the spacious room.

As soon as Mari left after finishing the meal, the child came running, and Aeli unfolded her arms and opened her mouth.

-Yes, Adi, what is it?

“Are we going outside today too?”

-Hmm… it’s a bit early now, so shall we go out after having a snack and resting a bit?

“Okay! Mari said, in a little while the snack will be pudding, and the dessert after lunch will be chocolate cake!”

-Oh really? Adi, you must be happy?

“Hee…”

When she clapped her hands saying how nice, the child giggled and hugged her. Perhaps due to her living area expanding and moving around a lot, she had become noticeably brighter.

Although she could only move around within the Duke’s residence with the garden being the limit, the child seemed satisfied with just that.

So to summarize again, the overall living conditions were fine.

If there was a problem, it was…

‘Why on earth haven’t they changed the room for over two months?!’

There’s a perfectly suitable room right there! Aeli trembled her lip corners while clenching her jaw, hiding it from the child.

Even if it hadn’t been used for a long time, does it make sense to take over two months to prepare? Because of that, the child was still staying in a guest room.

That was the first problem.

-…

Aeli turned her head and scanned below the window she had been looking down at until just now.

“Mother?”

Following Aeli, the child looked out the window.

‘That, that again…!’

The figure who had been talking with the Knight Commander just a moment ago had disappeared without a trace.

Aeli finally grabbed the back of her neck as she watched Lord Montero left alone.

Lutis is avoiding the child.

That was the second problem.