The child was diligently putting spoonfuls of soup into their mouth, but their gaze remained fixed on the jar full of candies, unwilling to look away.

It was quite similar to how Aeli used to behave.

That’s how I could tell. Though they looked like ordinary candies, they were also a snack I loved as a child.

Those colorful candies contained syrup made from the nectar of flowers that only grow in Mason territory.

With a tangy-sweet fruit flavor that changes with each bite, along with a rich honey with a clean aftertaste.

It was an extremely precious honey, as the flowers don’t grow outside Mason territory and only a small amount can be extracted at a time.

Candies made with syrup from such honey would naturally be so expensive that it would take several months of a regular maid’s salary to afford them.

‘No way…’

Forget how, but why on earth did she buy those?

Even if it was for the child, in Aeli’s memory, Mari was definitely not someone who would spend that much money on desserts.

She was the type to rather buy another outfit or have an extra meal.

Looking at the state of both their attire, I became even more certain.

The child’s clothes didn’t match the season or length, and as for Mari, it seemed she hadn’t bought new clothes since Aeli died, with sleeves and hems slightly frayed.

Though not unwearable, it wasn’t the attire befitting a maid who had worked long in a noble household.

Unable to comprehend the situation, Aeli narrowed her eyes in deep thought.

“But… isn’t Mari going to the main house?”

After about half a minute, the child who had been eating enthusiastically carefully spoke up.

Mari tilted her head at the child’s question and asked back.

“Why would I go there?”

“Everyone else was going there today…”

“When I decided to stay here, I agreed to only serve young master. The head butler and head maid are understanding about it, so it’s fine.”

At those words, the child who had been naturally eating soup while conversing with Mari, lit up.

After all, he was just a young child in need of attention, despite trying to act composed.

Both Aeli and Mari knew this as well.

“Young master.”

“…”

“Young master?”

“Uh, yes.”

“What should we do if you remove all the lettuce from your sandwich? Now there’s only bread and meat left.”

But that was that.

Mari called out to the child with a kind face and said with a smile.

“You picked up a vegetable sandwich, but it’s turned into a beef sandwich. I guess our young master was actually a genius alchemist, wow.”

“B-but I’m full now and if I eat it all, I won’t be able to finish the lettuce!”

“For someone who’s full, you’ve picked out all the steak garnish and mushrooms from the soup too.”

“W-well…”

“…”

“That’s because…”

“Yes?”

“…”

As Mari pressed with a soulless smile, the child who had been gauging the situation weakly protested.

Listening to the child’s feeble excuses that were floating aimlessly in a corner, Aeli felt a sense of déjà vu.

[Miss, picky eating is bad.] [But nanny. I’ve heard there’s a drought lately and some poor commoners are starving to death. As a noble, how could I overeat?] [For someone saying that, you’ve cleaned out all the bread and meat, leaving only the vegetables, you know.] [That’s−] [Miss?] […]

Aeli nodded silently and was certain.

Mm. This was definitely her child.

Feeling proud while observing behavior that wasn’t particularly praiseworthy, Aeli only came to her senses after the child had emptied his plate.

Even the face grimacing as if undergoing some bizarre magical potion experiment while chewing and swallowing the lettuce resembled her younger self quite a bit.

As Mari was about to leave with the tray after clearing the empty dishes, the child hastily grabbed her and exclaimed.

“I ate it all! You have to tell me about the candy and mom, you promised!”

That mother is right next to you now, my dear.

Unable to voice the words caught in her mouth, Aeli flinched in surprise at Mari’s next statement.

“Oh right. Then, um… first, take this. What kind of story would you like?”

“I want to hear one with mom and dad together.”

After putting a candy from the glass jar into the child’s mouth, Mari hesitated for a moment before the child eagerly stated what he wanted.

Aeli’s lips curved into an awkward smile at the sight that resembled placing an order at a restaurant.

“If that’s the case, I have a suitable one. Ah. It’s from when the young miss had just had her debutante ball.”

No way. …Surely not.

Unable to show any reaction with the child right in front of her, Aeli glared at Mari with wide eyes.

Of course, sadly, there was no way that signal would be conveyed.

Stomping her feet in frustration and attempting to avoid it with thoughts of escape, Aeli let out a deep sigh.

Even so, there should be some parental image to maintain, surely she wasn’t going to shatter that.

Aeli trusted Mari.

If it were anyone else but Mari, there’s no way−

“Our young miss, that is, young master’s mother, was extremely sociable.”

“Really?”

“Of course. To the extent that on the day of her debutante ball, she took me as her maid to the banquet hall and then−”

−there was. There was a way.

Intuitively realizing what story Mari was about to tell, Aeli’s mouth fell open.

Ignoring the silent wail, Mari continued speaking, while the child’s legs dangled excitedly under the bed.

‘Haha, I guess being great parents in this life is out of the question.’

Aeli recalled the day of her debutante ball.

[Hey Mari, want me to show you something interesting?] […Pardon?] [I read an interesting book in the library when I followed Lutis there before.] [What kind of…book?] [In some Eastern place, there’s a saying called ‘the eternal truth of all ages’. It means something like an absolute principle that never changes…]

It was an ordinary day like any other.

If there was one difference, it was that Lutis was still staying at the Mason household at the time.

Another difference was that it was a day when the implicit rule that applied on particularly sunny days was in effect.

Though they hadn’t explicitly agreed on it, Lutis would mysteriously disappear somewhere every sunny afternoon.

[What, you’re here again?]

With high probability, when Aeli went to look for Lutis at this time, she headed to the second floor library.

[…I’m reading a book, be quiet.]

The left window seat by the fourth bookshelf from the back, where the sunlight shone best.

There, Lutis could always be found sitting with a cushion behind his back, reading a book.

The subjects varied. Sometimes literature, sometimes theology, and other times military science.

Then Aeli would stare intently at the book Lutis was reading, pick out a book on a similar topic, and sit down leaning against the bottom.

No one had told her to do so, and she couldn’t understand more than half of the book’s contents, but it just always happened that way.

Perhaps this was why she, who hated studying, was able to maintain top grades throughout her academy days.

Aeli still thought so even now.

[…Hey.] […] [Hey, Mason.] […] [Hey!] [Hm.]

It was a time when they didn’t even call each other by name yet.

That meant it was that long ago.

At the time, Aeli had thrust the book she chose at Lutis, along with a distorted explanation she had heard somewhere, and with the impulsiveness of adolescence to try anything, she had finally set things in motion.

For instance, something like this.

[As you know, I don’t have any close lady friends yet.] [That’s right…?] [So naturally, I’m meeting all the ladies here for the first time today.]

Mari nodded affirmatively at Aeli’s confident statement, with a suspicious look on her face.

It was a look as if she was seeing something about to cause trouble.

And to cut to the conclusion, that guess was not wrong at all.

[But from now on, I’m going to become the best of friends with those ladies.] […Pardon?] [Just trust me!]

No, I don’t want to trust you.

That was exactly the expression on her face, but Mari, who maintained strict boundaries despite their close relationship, couldn’t bring herself to stop her mistress.

Leaving such a Mari behind, Aeli strode towards the group of young ladies huddled together, and unfolding the fan in one hand with a flourish, she opened her mouth cheekily.

[Oh my, my lady! It’s been so long!] [Y-yes?] [How long has it been since we last met at the party? Did you receive the letter I sent recently?]

The young lady’s eyes trembled slightly at Aeli’s sudden question, her face full of bewilderment. It was a reaction as if she couldn’t remember.

Of course. They had met for the first time that day.

But at the time, Aeli had something she believed in. When someone greets you with such a welcoming face pretending to know you, if you really can’t remember them at all,

[…Of course! Did you get home safely that day, my lady?]

You pretend to know them back.

Literally the ‘eternal truth of all ages’. Nine out of ten people reacted the same way.

Those who awkwardly laughed and went along with the deliberately vague statements that left out the subject, only realized the truth when Aeli, who had disappeared after laughing and chatting for a while, re-entered as if nothing had happened.

How shocked they must have been to learn that the person they had just been conversing with was a complete stranger who hadn’t even debuted in society yet.

Of course, she had to endure a thorough scolding from Lutis, who had entered the banquet hall late, before re-entering.

[Do you know everyone’s in an uproar looking for you? The debutante disappearing without her partner, and how did you even get in here?!] [I snuck in well… through the servants’ entrance?] […That’s not what I was asking…]

People frozen in bewilderment, a cuckoo boldly declaring that since it was her day as the protagonist, she could use it however she pleased.

Lastly, Lutis pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes tightly shut.

The person who had watched this entire process from quite far away was Mari.

Though her carefully constructed poker face was quite skilled, Aeli, who had grown up with her for a long time, could accurately discern Mari’s true feelings at the time.

It was a face that said, “What kind of person is this?”

“Anyway, you were quite famous for a long time after that day. Your nickname in society was ‘the hydrangea of high society’.”

“Why? Was she too pretty?”

“That… that’s right.”

Mari awkwardly nodded, avoiding the child’s gaze. But that was a lie.

‘It was because I was always playing pranks and was called fickle.’

For reference, the flower language of white hydrangeas is fickleness and caprice.

How sick I was of the label that had stuck after boldly sweeping through banquet halls and tea parties without knowing any better.

There was a time when I belatedly learned about the existence of gossip, backbiting, rumors, and evaluations in high society and was thoroughly disgusted.

It was all due to the influence of this time that Aeli came to create rules for living a peaceful life.

‘After getting burned once, I just wanted to live quietly, without all that nonsense.’

Aeli became rather detached from Mari, who was now clearly trying to cover up after saying everything, unable to shatter the child’s innocence.

Only the child, completely captivated by Mari’s vivid storytelling skills based on experience, continued to sparkle with excitement.

“Hey Mari, so did mom have lots of friends?”

“…Of course.”

“What about dad?”

“…”

“…?”

“The, the Duke had many too. It’s getting late, young master should go to sleep now!”

I need to take this back to the kitchen too, so I’ll be going now.

Before there was a chance to stop her, Mari pulled the tray and disappeared from sight.

It was clearly an evasion.