Cassel’s brow furrowed slightly. Seeing his tightly closed lips reluctant to open, it seemed this was something he found extremely difficult to say.

While he hesitated, Noah, who had already opened up a bit, answered brightly.

“Okay, uncle.”

Riena chuckled softly.

‘He’s still awkward, but it looks like they’ll become close soon.’

She took the child’s left hand.

“Shall we go inside then? I’ll show you your room.”

“My room?”

“Yes.”

Noah, who was about to walk while tightly holding Riena’s hand, turned to look at Cassel standing still. The child thought deeply for a moment, then reached out a hand to him.

“…?”

“Come with us, uncle.”

Cassel awkwardly raised and lowered his arm repeatedly, but soon seemed to make up his mind and took the small hand.

The three of them headed towards Noah’s room prepared on the third floor. When they opened the door and showed him inside, Noah’s eyes widened.

“Where is this?”

“Your room, of course. I said we were coming to see your room, didn’t I?”

Noah had a puzzled expression.

“My room?”

“Yes.”

“But it’s so nice…”

The child hesitated at the doorway, unable to enter.

When Riena brought the child into the room, Noah’s eyes grew even wider. Seeing him look down at his feet, it seemed he was thinking ‘Is it okay for me to step on this carpet?’

“It’s really alright. This place was decorated just for you.”

“…”

“From now on, you’ll stay here, have good dreams, and make happy memories. Once you get used to it, you can study, make lots of friends. If you want, you can even go to the academy.”

Noah hesitated for a moment before burying himself in Riena’s arms.

“Thank you, sister.”

“You should thank Uncle Cassel, not me. He’s the one who suggested bringing you here.”

Riena whispered in the child’s ear.

“Uncle may look scary, but he’s actually very kind and a good person. Above all, he loves Noah very much.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Noah hesitated for a moment before gathering his courage and approaching Cassel. Then he snuggled into his arms.

“Thank you, uncle.”

Cassel’s eyes widened slightly, as if he hadn’t expected Noah to approach so readily. His arms awkwardly hovered in the air, not quite managing to embrace the child.

He had seemed to hug the child emotionally at the Viscount Loraine’s estate, but now he appeared a bit awkward.

Riena mimed hugging the child to show him. Cassel hesitated before embracing Noah. His touch was careful, as if worried he might hurt the child if he applied even a little force.

“I’m very late, but make yourself at home here.”

“Yes, uncle.”

It was a comforting beginning for both Noah and Cassel.

There was a big change in the breakfast scene at Winckler. Noah now joined Riena and Cassel for meals.

Though rubbing his sleepy eyes, Noah was led down to the dining room by a maid. Seeing the food spread out on the table, his half-closed eyes opened wide.

“Wow.”

Usually, the two of them had simple breakfasts, but today was different.

A feast considering nutritional needs was prepared for the child who was smaller than his peers.

Noah ate breakfast diligently with Cassel’s help. Cassel put down the newspaper he usually read during breakfast and constantly attended to Noah, spreading jam on bread or cutting up omelets for him.

Riena was also busy doing various things for Noah. She changed the menu to suit the child’s tastes and asked the kitchen to make lots of snacks that children would like.

She also selected a nanny from among the trustworthy maids to look after Noah, and hired a tutor. The tutor was chosen not only for skill but also for good character. She was worried Noah might get hurt again.

Cassel repeatedly told Riena that she didn’t need to worry about Noah. He said she should focus on her own affairs, and he would take care of Noah in various aspects. In fact, he was involved in most of Noah’s matters.

However, Riena couldn’t take her eyes off Noah. Noah also felt anxious without her. So Riena spent all day with the child until he adjusted to the mansion.

After about a week, Noah seemed to have become somewhat accustomed to the Winckler household and didn’t feel anxious when separated from Riena. He also became confident that the people in the mansion wouldn’t bully him, and realized they were very kind to him.

Having eaten three meals a day plus snacks, Noah’s face and body filled out in that week. Riena called Madame LaChapelle and gifted Noah new clothes, who until then had been wearing Asher and Cassel’s childhood clothes.

With his messy hair tidied up and wearing new clothes, Noah looked so refined it was hard to believe he was the same child they first saw.

As those peaceful days continued, one day…

“My lady.”

The head butler came to Riena, who was leisurely reading a book after leaving Noah with the tutor. The head butler usually relayed messages to Riena through Amy.

As it was rare for him to come directly like this, Riena greeted him with a puzzled face. Looking closely, the head butler’s face was slightly stiff.

“What’s the matter?”

“You have a visitor, my lady.”

“A visitor for me? Is it perhaps Viscountess Donovan?”

“No, Lord Berna has come.”

“Really?”

Riena brightened and stood up. It seemed Raoul had finally received the letter she sent as soon as she arrived in the capital.

“Is he in the reception room?”

“Yes, I guided him to the reception room for now, but…”

The head butler looked around cautiously and held back his words. Riena moved closer to him and asked.

“Is there a problem?”

“The master is currently away, so he cannot greet the guest together.”

“That’s alright. I can meet Raoul alone…”

Riena was answering nonchalantly but soon realized what the head butler was worried about and closed her mouth.

‘Right, this isn’t Viscount Dyke’s territory.’

At Viscount Dyke’s estate, where everyone knew Riena and Raoul were close friends, no one thought it strange for the two to meet. Rather, Viscount Dyke welcomed Raoul’s visits. Because Riena was always so excited and happy when Raoul came.

But this was the capital, and moreover, the Winckler ducal residence. Additionally, Riena was in the position of Cassel’s fiancée, with their wedding coming up next spring.

Cassel himself probably wouldn’t mind, but to third parties who didn’t know about their contract, it might not look good for Riena and Raoul to meet privately.

‘But I want to tell him about everything that’s happened after not seeing him for so long. I want to tell him about Cas too.’

Raoul would probably be glad to know that the Duke of Winckler was his childhood friend, the timid Cas. Cassel might not show it due to his personality, but wouldn’t he be happy to meet an old friend after a long time?

It would be nice if the three of them met, feeling like they’ve gone back to their childhood.

Waiting for Cassel to return and greet Raoul together would be the safest option, but it was uncertain when he would be back. However, sending Raoul away like this didn’t sit well with her either.

After some thought, Riena came up with a compromise.

“How about meeting with the door open? That’s usually how it’s done without a chaperone, right?”

“But still…”

“Raoul is my longtime friend. Our families were close too. If I were to invite a friend to my wedding, he would be the only one, that’s how special a friend he is. I only told him I was in the capital without any explanation, so he must have been very surprised.”

The head butler still continued to worry. Riena explained further.

“He knows Cas too. When Cas stayed in Dyke territory as a child, they played together a few times.”

The head butler seemed a bit surprised at the name ‘Cas’ coming from Riena’s mouth, but soon composed his expression.

“So the master knows him as well.”

“Yes. Cas would be very happy to meet Raoul too.”

After a moment’s consideration, the head butler relented.

“I understand. I will guide you to the reception room.”

Though he seemed to have withdrawn cleanly, in fact, the head butler was planning to contact Cassel immediately. Unaware of this, Riena headed to the reception room with quicker steps than usual.

“Raoul!”

As she opened and entered the reception room, she saw the face of her old friend. Raoul wasn’t sitting in a chair but was pacing around the reception room. Seeing him, Riena was immediately filled with emotion.

‘He seems to have grown even taller.’

It had been a whole year since she last saw her friend. Having worked hard in the Imperial Knights for the past year, Raoul’s build had become more sturdy, and his face was a bit more tanned. It was touching to see how that little boy younger than her had grown so much.

However, Riena’s reminiscence didn’t last long. Upon seeing her, Raoul skipped greetings and went straight to questioning.

“What on earth is going on here?”