“Ahhhhhhhh! Mommyyy!”

Len and Pin, who had come to their senses, ran to their mistress and hugged her.

Whether they had been crying for a long time, their faces were smeared with tears and were beyond recognition.

“Oh, Goddess Asir! Thank you! Thank you, thank you. Len, Pin. Are you hurt anywhere? Show me, show me.”

The mistress, who had been examining the children’s bodies everywhere, cried out, wiping the tears that were bursting out when she saw no visible wounds.

“Are you trying to worry me to death!? Why were you out so late! Why!”

“……Shiny stones are expensive……”

“I told you Mom earns the money!! Okay!? Never do that again! Understood?”

“But, those ladies said so! They said it’s a big deal because there’s no father. They said we need to earn money too!”

The gazes of the latenight tavern customers were focused on the mistress’s friends, whom Len had pointed to.

“You’ve gone mad? What nonsense did you tell our son!?”

“……When did we, ever……”

“Ma, mad? That’s harsh. We didn’t tell him to go into the forest.”

“Yeah, if we don’t come to this remote place, who will? Is it right to treat us like this?”

The mistress’s forehead throbbed at their words.

“I let you off because we were friends as children, but do you see me as a fool? You all come here because there’s nowhere else to keep your secrets, right? You find it fun to come here. Am I wrong?”

The chattering mistress silenced the tavern’s guests, who began to bow their heads as if something was broken.

Only when the women, who had kept their mouths shut, withdrew one by one, did the mistress approach Lucia and Leon.

“I should have thanked you first, I’m sorry. How can I repay this favor? Thank you for bringing our children back safely. Thank you.”

As the mistress’s words ended, wiping the tears welling up in her reddened eyes, the children ran to Lucia and hugged her.

Then, her surprised hands went up awkwardly, as if waving a white flag.

“Sister, thank you for saving my sibling. And you were so cool!”

“Maja, Nuna. Pin, was scared!”

The children, clinging to her waist and legs, sparkled as they spoke.

The people in the place looked somewhat surprised.

Apparently, they hadn’t imagined that Lucia, a woman, had saved the children instead of Leon, a magician.

Seeing this, the mistress quickly approached and took Lucia’s awkward hand.

“You’re the one who saved our children. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you……!”

Seeing the mistress, who was crying and holding her hand, Lucia blinked in surprise.

It was probably because this was the first time someone had thanked her for saving a life.

“Tsk, right, isn’t it? You have to comb the customer’s hair, right?”

At Ivonne’s words, Nia stared blankly at the doll in her hand.

A doll with hair scattered like a lion’s mane.

The two, playing hairdresser, one would comb the doll’s hair, and the other would braid it and sit it in a chair.

Ivonne, frustrated by the situation, puffed her cheeks and said,

“Nia isn’t fun today!”

“……Sorry, sorry!”

Although she was desperately combing with a brush, her clumsy hands couldn’t manage it properly.

An even angrier Ivonne.

“Hey, Ivonne. That’s not allowed.”

Julie, who was working nearby, spoke as if naturally without even looking.

“Hmph!”

Soon after, Ivonne left for another place, and Julie approached Nia with a resigned look, stroking her hair.

“You miss Mom a lot?”

“…….”

Nia, who had been looking out the window for a while, as if caught off guard, rolled her eyes and said nothing.

“Hold on a bit, she’ll come early tomorrow morning.”

“……She must come, or I’ll be very sad.”

When the child suddenly trembled and began to sob, Julie embraced her, very touched.

“Aww, Nia really loves Mommy~ Of course, she will come. Would a mother not come to find her daughter? Hohoho.”

“…….”

However, at those words, Nia became even sadder, and tears dropped one by one.

‘……Nia isn’t really her daughter…….’

Living with the secret that she was not her biological daughter at a young age was a challenging task, despite her promise not to tell Lucia.

During the child’s lifetime, the time with her mother was only half a year.
But as Lucia, with whom he had spent the night, disappeared, a forgotten loneliness that he didn’t even remember revived unwittingly.

And to that heart, the longing for his mother was added.

At that, Nia’s small chest trembled as if it could no longer bear it.

Then,

“Phew, Nia. Found it. Don’t be disappointed even if it’s wrong. Here you go. This will comb well.”

“My daughter, you were trying to help Nia? Ah, you’re kind. What is this? Hmm~ It smells good?”

Ivanne said, smearing the oil she brought on the doll’s hair.

“Yes. I found it in mom’s room. Did I do well?”

It was a luxurious hair oil gift that Julie had hidden.

A premium of premiums with pure gold inside, with a royal mark engraved, exuding the scent of all kinds of gardens.

It sparkled in Ivanne’s small hand.

Even the bottle was empty.