When Lucia called, the child hesitated a bit before approaching.

When she scrutinized the child’s face with a curious expression, it was at another time; now, there was a tense air about her, freezing her fingers.

Such a reaction was oddly familiar to Lucia, who promptly brought out the prepared words.

“I am a mother of one child. My name is Lucia.”

“…!”

Maybe it was because there were many black knights around her following her every move, the child seemed quite surprised.

But it didn’t matter much.

After smoothing her expression, Lucia spoke softly.

“I… am a mother of a child. My name is Lucia.”

“……!”

It was an unexpected remark, but it was rather fortunate.

It was a hundred times better than crying because it was scary.

“No. In the lodging over there. Your room is prepared. You might have to stay there for a few days. Is that okay? However, bring anything you need.”

“…Really? Can I, though?”

As she nodded, the eyes of the hesitant child were filled with tears as if she couldn’t believe it.

“…Such a thing to happen to me…”

The child, bowing her head, wiped away the falling tears, murmuring.
And when Lucia offered a handkerchief, the child’s pupils widened as if she had discovered something.

“……Huh? That child… Ani?”

At the mention of Ani, Lucia momentarily turned around, revealing Nia’s face in Vernon’s arms, rising above his shoulder.

‘As expected, recognizing Nia as they both come from the same orphanage.’

It was a mistake to come with the child without knowing when the noble lady would appear.

First, Lucia quickly turned her body to block the child’s view and urgently began changing the topic.

“Wow, is this really my room?”

“It’s a hastily prepared room, but feel free to let me know if you need anything.”

“I’m so happy! I’ve never had my room before…!”

Since there was no room at the lodging, they had organized a storage room, and fortunately, the child’s reaction was better than expected.

And now, the next issue was at hand.

‘Since there’s a promise, I’ll probably have to take care of the child while eliminating the forces trying to undermine the peace talks. And more importantly…’

Explaining the fact that her parents were murdered and that she was a noble lady was a daunting task for Lucia.

Moreover, Lucia had discovered her daughter’s trauma at the orphanage a while ago.

Since then, she had become more cautious in dealing with children, realizing that she lacked sensitivity.

“Ms. Lucia, Lord Volten has sent the child’s belongings.”

The bag brought by the royal maid was the luggage from the place where Isabelle had been.

After the maid roughly organized things and left, now only the short child peeked through the door.

Holding the narrow opening, Nia, with an excited expression she couldn’t hide, stuck her head through.

“Isobel unnie…!”

“…Ani? Ani, as expected!”

Holding the narrow opening, Nia, with an excited expression she couldn’t hide, stuck her head through.

The two were quite close, and soon Nia rushed over, grabbing Isabelle’s hand and expressing joy at each other.

Since there wouldn’t be any strangers coming here for a while, Lucia didn’t want to disturb their reunion more than her daughter’s situation.

“Then rest together until dinner time.”

“Oh, Ms. Lucia! Just a moment…!”

The child ran over and hugged Lucia’s waist.

“…Thank you…!”

A bit surprised by the proactive child’s actions, Lucia soon smiled gently and patted her head.

Although they didn’t know each other’s circumstances yet, she was happy to have left the place where she was.

However, Nia’s two eyes watching quietly seemed somewhat uneasy.

And she recalled Roy’s flattering manners.

As if the children were making fun of Roy, Nia shook her head as if to get rid of the thought.

Watching her mom leave, the child, seeing something in her pocket, fumbled around.

A small hand held up three rabbit dolls.

“Isobel unnie, here. Shaun, Mul.”

Among the three rabbit dolls, Nia handed the one with the yellow ribbon, her favorite, to Isabelle.
“Huh? Wow, what’s this! It’s so cute!”

It wasn’t as much as Mia, who had been together like sisters, but as an older sister who always took care of the children, Isabelle had prepared it.

“A doll mom gave me! Now, with Nia, we’re both valuable. Dolls are valuable too.”

“Thank you. I could only see something this luxurious in Jeanette’s room.”

“Jeanette?”

“Yeah, she was the mistress of the Marquisate I was in, a really unlucky girl. She used to say if she was with me, the smell was so bad she couldn’t eat. Without experiencing what’s really smelly, you shouldn’t talk, right, Ani?”

Nia looked sulky at Isabelle’s words, but the girl somehow had a smile on her face.

Even that smile made Nia, who had become sad, even more melancholic.

“Sis, you’re so pretty and nice to Nia’s mom, and so, so nice. Now, we’re both valuable.”

“No, Nia. We won’t be together for that long.”

“…?”

At the child’s words, Nia’s rabbit-like eyes blinked.