C 123
I clicked my tongue at the numerous boxes and hangers that Scarlett had lined up.
Although I had ordered them, it was because the quantity was greater than I expected.
"And you ordered this too!"
Scarlett dragged a hanger. This was the clothing that the servants would wear. To be precise, it belonged to Laurent, several maids, and the escort knights who accompanied me.
It had a similar design to what they usually wore, but it facilitated mobility a bit, and the design was a bit simpler.
At first glance, you wouldn't notice the difference, but if you looked closely, the details were slightly different.
"Laurent!"
"Yes, matriarch... I mean, young lady."
Laurent looked at Scarlett and spoke quickly.
As I watched, Laurent subtly rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.
"This is a gift."
"... What?"
When I took one of the garments off the hanger and showed it to him, Laurent's eyes widened like lamps.
"My lady...?"
"I was thinking about what to give you, and I thought it would be better to give you clothes and accessories."
In fact, since I didn't want to rely too much on a maid after Mayla, I tried to keep a low profile with Laurent.
Isn't it better to have a relationship that is neither too close nor uncomfortably distant?
I thought I had put up a wall, but before I knew it, Laurent had knocked down all the walls and was by my side.
There was no way Laurent didn't know that I was trying to keep my distance.
However, there was no way he would have thought I had other thoughts when he always held a photo stone with bright eyes.
"My lady..."
Laurent covered his mouth and teared up.
"Well, everyone gets pocket money."
Still, I was glad he liked it.
"This belongs to Iona, Adam, and Easter, who accompanied me last time."
Embarrassed, I pushed the hanger forward quickly.
"Do I call them?"
"No, no, no. From now on, I'll be giving gifts for Laurent to deliver."
There were already many places to go today.
It was a gift for someone who had helped me so far.
And...
"Scarlett! My sister Sharnae will be arriving soon, and she'll show you the greenhouse. You'll decorate that place, alright?"
"Yes, miss!"
At my words, Scarlett lifted her glasses with the back of her hand and clenched her fists.
"She's ready, isn't she?"
"Of course, everything is perfect."
"Laurent!"
"Yes, the imperial pastry chef will be arriving soon. The invitations are also completely prepared."
"Great!"
When I smiled happily, Laurent smiled.
"Eirin!"
The door burst open, and Sharnae rushed in, hugging me tightly.
"Ah, it's so hard to see your face... It's not good enough..."
"Oh, eh...?"
Sharnae stroked my face and sighed.
"Eirin, I'm so fed up with all this that I want to get rid of society and everything else."
"Why...?"
"It's just that everything is annoying. I want to spend my time collecting your dolls."
Sharnae murmured. I reached out and gently stroked Sharnae's head.
"I've received so many calls! I don't want to go to all those places and sit there."
The conversation isn't very interesting either; it's about which restaurant is good or which boutique is famous.
Was Sharnae originally like this? I think she was a bit softer than boisterous.
"Besides..."
Sharnae's expression darkened slightly. Her lips twisted, but then she closed them.
"What...?"
"Oh? Why?"
"What were you trying to say?"
"... It doesn't matter."
Sharnae shook her head.
I wanted to talk more because she seemed very tired, but Sharnae quickly turned to Scarlett.
She moved so fast that I thought she might have escaped.
"Then I'll get ready with Scarlett."
"Eh? Ah, yes! Thank you."
Scarlett hurriedly left the room with Sharnae, wearing a bright expression on her face.
"Laurent, what's going on with Sharnae?"
"Oh... Well. Can I ask?"
"To whom?"
"To Lady Sharnae's maid in charge! Her name is Jessie, and I'm quite close to her."
"Then... could you ask quietly? Not today."
"Yes, of course."
Laurent said as he held the clothes I gave him in his arms.
The accessory was a silk ribbon, and Laurent kept fiddling with it as if he really liked it.
"Can I put these on quickly?"
"Of course!"
When I smiled cheerfully, Laurent quickly disappeared. I looked at the room full of clothes and accessories and started packing my things one by one.
"If she hates birthday parties..."
The focus should simply not be on Dad.
I thought it would be a good idea to celebrate my dad's birthday by throwing a party with everyone.
"My mother..."
Actually, it was a little awkward to call her that.
I still couldn't believe that I could call someone I had never met "mother," or that I really had a mother.
By the way...
"Did my mom die on her birthday?"
I think my dad liked my mom more than he thought.
And usually in parent novels, most of the father's trauma is related to the mother.
"I still find it a little hard to believe that I'm really my father's daughter."
In fact, I found out that my dad was my biological father, but not much changed.
Dad seemed a bit stunned, but he still treated me kindly, and Callan and Sillian treated me as usual.
I was very grateful for that.
"Anyway, I hope my dad doesn't feel traumatized."
I took out several of the gifts I had prepared and set them all aside.
Then Laurent brought a yellow bag from somewhere, put my gifts in it, and wore it on his back.
"Yellow...?"
It seems to have some kind of chick drawn on it.
"Laurent, you know I'm ten years old, right?"
"Yes!"
"You know I'm not a chick, right?"
"Of course!"
Laurent replied with quite some enthusiasm, as if he had no doubt.
"...Then, what's this?"
"It's a yellow Bapsae!"
"...Where's that bird?"
When I said this with a ridiculous expression, Laurent quickly picked up his clothes and took the hanger out.
"Then I'll share this clothing with the knights! I'll come see you right away when I get back!"
"...Uh, yeah."
Thanks for that.
Click-!
As I watched Laurent without understanding, he quickly took a picture of me with the photo stone and disappeared.
"...I feel like I'm getting weaker."
I rolled my eyes slightly and thought.
While looking at Laurent's back, I slowly packed my things.
"First, I have to go to Uncle Charniel and Aunt Nelia."
I guess I'm too small to pack everything... No, because the chick bag disguised as a bird was very small.
It was large enough to fit three or four accessories, so I put in as many accessories as I could.
"Because there's too much for my dad."
I was going to transfer everything to the greenhouse and give it to him.
"Let's go!"
I ran straight to Charniel's office.
As I walked, I saw Chronos Etham approaching from a distance, looking somewhat tired.
"Oh, Uncle Chronos too..."
Did I bring him?
I took off my bag, crouched down on the floor, and rummaged through it with my hands, searching for its contents.
"I did it!"
I jumped out of my seat and shouted:
"...Ugh."
Then, as if he had spotted me, Chronos Etham stopped and frowned at me.
"Uncle?"
"You..."
When I tried to run away, he quickly extended his palm and pretended to block me.
"Don't go!"
Chronos Etham frowned at me with a very tired expression.
Looking closely, I saw that his body was slightly covered in dirt, and his fingers were wrapped in bandages here and there.
He even had a hammer in one hand.
I stood still and tilted my head.
"Uncle, what have you been doing?"
"What have I been doing...? I'm fixing what you did!"
"Eh?"
"I built them a house!"
A house?
The moment I tilted my head, I saw several traces of fur on my uncle's clothes.
"Oh, don't tell me you did it yourself...?"
His eyes became fiercer as he added with embarrassment.
"How can I leave this to other people? What if those furry things get hurt? And I heard that if the owner does these things themselves, they'll live warmly. They won't feel anxious if it has the owner's scent. And you have to choose the food, check the level of straw, and make the tall structures that cats like so much, do you know how much work it takes?"
For some reason, the fast-paced speech with a very angry expression and a low voice is simply embarrassing.
"Maybe... Uncle... has always wanted to raise a pet?"
Moreover, I don't think it was just the scent that came with it.
I thought as I looked at the bandaged fingers that had been smeared with a light red paint.
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