I felt as if I had heard a language from a strange foreign land and couldn’t readily answer.

Happiness…

It had been a very long time since I had set happiness as a purpose in life.

I just… seemed to have lived to survive. In my previous life, and now too.

I tightly grasped Leo’s hand, which was wiggling in my palm like a small tropical fish.

The sunset glow had grown more intense, gently illuminating the deep places in my heart that I thought had never been touched by light.

I now realized that there wasn’t just empty darkness there.

A seedling with bright green leaves had taken deep root.

Only then did I understand.

That the six months I had spent here weren’t just a life solely for survival.

To the extent that such greenery could bloom in my once empty interior…

“From the moment I met you until now, there hasn’t been a single moment when I wasn’t happy.”

That the past time had been happy.

Leo’s tense expression finally relaxed.

Eventually, Leo’s hand that had been swimming in my palm clenched into a tight fist.

“Then I want to use the wish coupon I was saving for before.”

Wish coupon?

A beat later, I could recall the prize from the cooking competition held at the mansion.

“Tell me. I’ll grant anything.”

“My wish is for you to become my fa-family, Lady Belinda.”

The surroundings gradually darkened, but Leo’s eyes, which sparkled as if starlight had settled in them, still didn’t lose their light.

“You don’t have to give me anything. Just, please continue to be my home and happiness like you are now.”

At those words, my chest tightened and something welled up inside me.

I’m still an inadequate adult, and perhaps I might make irreversible mistakes while raising Leo…

‘But if this small child is happy being with me, what is there to fear?’

As soon as I thought that, an unexpected system window appeared.

[The intimacy between the Temporary Guardian and the Star of Heroes has increased by +1.]

‘Why suddenly this…’

Soon, I realized that “the intimacy between the Temporary Guardian and the Star of Heroes” didn’t just indicate Leo’s affection toward me.

What had been lacking in our relationship was my mindset.

My cowardice, always staying two steps away from the child, using past wounds as an excuse.

Nevertheless, Leo had always been right by my side.

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and hugged Leo tightly.

Leo nestled into me like a child accustomed to being loved.

Now I could somewhat understand how my uncle might have felt when he adopted Belinda.

I answered the child just as my uncle had done on some day in my memories.

“Thank you so much for becoming my family.”

I could feel Leo’s arms tightening around my neck.

I couldn’t see Leo’s expression, but right now, the warmth felt in my embrace was enough.

And then, in the completely darkened night sky, another system window appeared.

[The intimacy between the Temporary Guardian and the Star of Heroes has increased by +1.]

[Congratulations. The intimacy between the Temporary Guardian and the Star of Heroes has reached 100.

You have earned the qualification to use the ‘Adoption Document Imbued with Special Power’.]

Perhaps because of the pink system window.

The Rozel tree, faintly visible behind it, seemed to have fully bloomed to welcome spring.

Just like the day when Ophelia and Leo would meet and become family to each other.

***

That night, a secret fort made of stacked pillows was built in my room for the first time in a very long time.

The magical light summoned by Leo gently illuminated the inside of the secret fort.

Two butterfly magic stones gifted by Cheshire fluttered around Leo and me like fireflies, creating shadows on the tent walls.

Leo lay prone on the floor, covered with cushions and pillows, waiting for me to read a fairy tale.

As I examined the contents of the book placed slantingly on my raised knee, I opened my past like turning the pages of a very old book.

“Once upon a time, there was a… commoner who lost their family at a young age. Fortunately, instead of going to an orphanage, the child could go to a relative’s house.”

As if reading the words of a fairy tale, I slowly read through my previous life line by line.

“Unfortunately, the child didn’t get along well with the relatives. The child was always alone. So the child wanted to become an adult as soon as possible. But the child didn’t realize that they would still be lonely even after becoming an adult.”

Even after becoming an adult, sleepless nights still came occasionally.

When each tick of the second hand felt like a year, and it felt like I was the only one left in this world.

I learned then that a person could die from loneliness.

Without focusing on something, I couldn’t bear the weight of life.

That’s when I encountered <Hirome>.

“Then one day, the commoner who had become an adult was given a magical… yes, mirror. A magical mirror. The magical mirror had a wondrous power to show other worlds. Whenever the commoner felt too lonely, they would look into the magical mirror.”

It was just a game, but how much comfort I had received from the world that unfolded beyond the phone screen and from Leo.

Only when I was immersed in <Hirome> could I avoid dwelling on the lonely thought that I was alone in this world.

“Did that person… yawn… become happy?”

Leo asked, blinking with eyes full of sleepiness.

“Yes, they went into the mirror and found a new family.”

Yes, this is that kind of story.

A story where the protagonist eventually becomes happy.

I kissed the forehead of Leo, who had completely fallen asleep with closed eyes, and whispered.

“Sweet dreams, Leo.”

***

The annex of the Blanche family was very noisy from early dawn.

This was because their master was entering the royal palace to hold the succession ceremony.

Tanya, who had been rapidly promoted to head maid of the annex at a young age, reported to Terry about the outfit Belinda would wear today.

“You handled it meticulously despite the tight deadline. The Master will be satisfied.”

“Thank you.”

Tanya bowed her head with a bright face at Terry’s praise.

“I’m going to the Master right away, so gather the outfits and follow me.”

“Y-yes.”

Unable to hide her tension at the mention of going to Belinda, Tanya exchanged glances with her fellow maids.

The maids lined up, each carrying a box containing outfits and accessories, and headed toward Belinda’s room.

Terry, who was at the front, paused briefly in front of Belinda’s door and said to Tanya standing behind her.

“I’ll check the Master’s mood and come back, so enter when I signal.”

“Yes, be careful, Butler.”

Tanya opened Belinda’s door as if seeing off a superior entering a beast’s den.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Terry shrugged her shoulders and said to Belinda, who had finished her early breakfast.

“The maids look at the Master as if you’re some fierce dog. Is this really okay?”

“It doesn’t matter. The head maid will manage the subordinates, and that head maid is completely loyal to you. And you, Terry, are loyal to me. Isn’t that right, Assistant?”

After the divine trial, there had been another round of personnel changes in the annex.

The employees who had sided with Tanya safely kept their positions as they didn’t participate in the divine trial or royal trial, but the employees recruited by Mary were eventually expelled for testifying against Belinda in the divine trial.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the pearls Mary had used to recruit maids had been stolen from Belinda.

Of course, Mary argued that she had received them from Belinda, but no one believed her words.

In the end, she was stripped of her possessions, flogged, and expelled for the crime of touching a noble’s property.

People clicked their tongues, saying she was fortunate just to have kept her life.

Afterward, Tanya, who became the head maid, pledged her loyalty to Terry, who had looked after her when she was falsely accused and had supported her whenever she confronted Mary.

“It’s called the good boss, bad boss strategy.”

Belinda laughed like a villain.

Terry patted herself, saying she was the most pitiful one caught in the middle.

“I’ll have you dress in the outfit shortly, so please leave for now.”

Following Belinda’s words, Leo took Terry’s place as she withdrew.

Leo, still with messy hair from not having prepared for the morning, stood in front of the desk at Belinda’s gesture.

“I’ve prepared something to grant the wish you mentioned yesterday.”

Following Belinda’s index finger, Leo looked at the stiff paper placed on the desk.

Because it was filled with difficult legal terms in tiny writing, Leo couldn’t understand what the document meant.

“For us to become family, I need to formally adopt you, Ratchet. And that procedure requires paperwork like this.”

Leo nodded carefully while listening to Belinda’s explanation about the adoption process.

When Leo bit his lower lip tightly, unable to hide his excitement and joy.

“So I need to write your name, Ratchet, on the document. How about creating a new name on this occasion? To commemorate us becoming family.”

“A new name?”

“Yes. Actually, I’ve had a name in mind for a very long time. I hope you’ll like it.”

Soon, Belinda wrote a name at the very bottom in elegant handwriting.

[Leo Blanche]

Leo looked at that name for a very long time, holding his breath.

As if the name might fly away like a timid bird if he moved even slightly.