“Enough, stop talking about him.”

“Alright…… If you ever need Dad’s help, just say the word. Advice, or anything, alright?”

“Advice for what, am I a child?”

“You’ll always be a child to your dad.”

Warmth settled into the blue eyes, a shade lighter than her twin’s. At those gentle words, Rieta let the prickly edge she’d been holding up come down.

Whatever else was going on, this was the first time just the two of them had sat down for tea since she’d arrived at the villa. No Viscount, no other siblings.

Rieta savored every bite of the pound cake her father had baked himself and let the peace sink in. The orange fragrance that melted against the roof of her mouth was wonderfully sweet.

“You’re set to be in the capital from autumn?”

“Yeah. I need to be there by the first weekend of September.”

“A teacher right out of graduation, what subject was it again?”

“Ancient imperial languages. I’m still an assistant teacher, but. It’s partly thanks to my professor writing me a recommendation letter……”

“Even so. How many people your age become assistant teachers? The academy recognized your hard work all these years. And there was an exam and an interview too, wasn’t there?”

“There was.”

“I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.”

Her lips, which had been moving slowly through a response she’d imagined many times, broke into a wide smile. Rieta couldn’t even think to bring her cheeks back down as she asked back like a little child.

“You’re proud of me?”

“Of course. Doesn’t Santia say the same?”

“She did. We went out to eat the day the acceptance letter came. Bought a few outfits to wear in the capital too.”

“……Is she doing well?”

“Yeah, Mom’s doing well. She’s been busy lately getting ready for the expedition, though…”

“What?”

The voice that had been soft and warm as sun-soaked earth cracked in an instant. Thud, the teacup came down too quickly and yellow tea sloshed over the rim. Cardmon paid no attention to the spreading stain on the tablecloth and frowned.

“An expedition, where? Aratan?”

“That’s right.”

It was only natural, given that ancient ruins in that region were the main focus of archaeologist Santia Sha’s research. Unlike Rieta, who had watched the expedition preparations up close over the years, her ex-husband, who’d only exchanged letters about the children, seemed genuinely shaken.

“That’s on the other side of the kingdom……. How long? When is she coming back? Six months? A year?”

“Two to three years? Could be longer.”

Cardmon pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a pained sound. His gentle expression hardened quickly into something like a soldier bracing for battle.

“How could she leave you for that long?”

“I’m heading to the capital anyway.”

“Even so, you’re only just twenty. Your mother, honestly, she hasn’t changed a bit from ten years ago……”

The man who, before and after the divorce, had never once spoken ill of his spouse in front of his child, even in jest, let out a long sigh. Rieta tried to lighten the mood by sliding an untouched pastry toward her father, but it didn’t do much.

“Two to three years…… Does she have any plans to come back even briefly in that time?”

“Probably not. She said even exchanging letters would be difficult.”

A region where postal services were well established wouldn’t require an expedition in the first place. Cardmon, who had spent over ten years as the spouse of an archaeologist, couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.

“She really doesn’t think about the people left behind.”

“Still, Mom did wait until I came of age.”

“No matter how important the work, even so……”

Rieta said nothing more and took a quiet sip of the remaining tea. Every time she was reminded of the reasons the two people who’d raised her couldn’t stay together, her mouth went bitter.

Reading that silence somehow, Cardmon made an unexpected suggestion.

“Rieta, do you want to live with Dad?”

“Hm? With you?”

“We have a townhouse in the capital. Come stay with us. We won’t be there year-round, but it’d be better than being alone, wouldn’t it?”

“No, I couldn’t possibly……”

That might have been a different story ten years ago, but it wasn’t as though only Rieta’s real family would be there.

‘The Royal Theatre Academy is in the east.’

Viola would never commute that distance, so the people actually living in the townhouse would be the Viscount couple and their young daughter. Just the three of them.

Being together for a short summer was already uncomfortable enough. If they were to actually live together……

“It’s fine, the academy has staff housing.”

“Still…”

“I’m really alright. And apparently the first stretch is so busy with settling in that there’s no time to go home anyway. Living in the staff housing means I won’t be late either, which is nice.”

Her father still looked unsatisfied but didn’t push any harder.

“If anything comes up, contact Dad right away.”

“I will.”

“My girl, when did you go and grow up so fast……”

A large, broad hand covered the back of Rieta’s. It was the same fond warmth that had wrapped around her countless times when she was small.

‘This is nice.’

Rieta had missed moments like this sometimes, no, often. Even as she said I’m grown up now, part of her had always wanted to be indulged without limit.

If Viola was her other half, her father was her closest friend. Rieta soaked up her father’s affection and let herself enjoy the afternoon to the fullest, the early summer sunlight and the sweet pound cake.

It felt like being a child again. Like the days she’d come home after a fight with a friend and eaten her dad’s cherry pie through hiccupping sobs.

On days like those, this gentle man had always said ‘my poor girl, that must’ve hurt’ and taken her side without fail. He never needed to be asked. He always just did.

So this time too……

‘Maybe I can tell Dad just a little.’

Whether Elliot Rehart had smugly tried to silence her or not, it was too frustrating to carry the truth about that fraud all by herself. Even more so given that he’d had no hesitation in saying such awful things to someone he’d never even met.

‘He’ll probably scold me for going there.’

But she’d promise never to do it again and he’d let it go. That was the kind of person her father was.

‘He’ll treat me like a child…… can’t be helped.’

Honestly, she’d always preferred being an indulged little girl over a composed young woman, at least with him.

Squeak, squeak. The clean side of the fork with cake crumbs on it traced slow circles on the empty plate. Rieta drew it out for a long moment, like a child pulling out a hidden report card, then finally opened her mouth.

“Hey, Dad. Earlier, you asked if Elliot Rehart and I had a falling out?”

“I did.”

“Well, Dad. The truth is…”

“Daaad!”

The quiet peace of midday shattered. The little girl who flung the door open without knocking didn’t look around before running straight to Cardmon and throwing herself into his arms.

“My girl!”

Naturally, Cardmon shot to his feet and scooped his young daughter up. Red hair that matched the Viscount’s swayed softly against her father’s chest.

“Dad, Dad! Why are you in here? I looked everywhere for you!”

“Really? Why was our Didi looking for Dad?”

“Look at this, I drew it today. Everyone said it was good, right?”

Ah……

‘Right. Of course.’

‘My girl’ was no longer just Rieta. Cardmon Obrion had a young daughter of his own now. One who smiled easily, was gentle, and was the spitting image of the woman he’d come to love.

Rieta lurched to her feet the way someone does after cold water gets dumped on them in their sleep. The sweetness that had filled her mouth was completely gone.

“Rieta, Rieta? Didi, just a moment… sweetheart?”

Her father said a few more things, but Rieta didn’t really hear them. Not because she couldn’t, but because she didn’t want to. It wouldn’t have done any good anyway.

What a wretched feeling.

“I’m so annoyed……”

Rieta scrubbed at her bare face and crossed the corridor in long strides. Her footsteps were loud enough that it seemed like she wanted someone to notice, but no one crossed her path.

Unlucky or lucky, she couldn’t decide.

Her worn-heeled boots wandered through the manor in circles. She had nowhere else to go and nowhere she wanted to be. Any other time she’d have slipped into the group of Viola’s friends and at least filled a seat, but……

“Viola! We didn’t change this line, did we?”

“Look here. Mmm, I did revise it… hey, Dylan, why do you have the original draft?”

“Viola, I think this dress needs fixing. The sleeve seam came apart. Maybe the fabric’s too cheap?”

“I think the decorations are too heavy…… hand it over.”

Watching them move around in a sweat made it hard to find the courage to walk in. Even with the person she was closest to in the world right there, the yawning distance made her tongue feel dry.

‘They’re working hard.’

Even without Rieta.

A play set to be performed at the villa later in the summer.

Once Viola entered the theatre academy in autumn, she’d be doing this until she was sick of it. They’d all be seeing each other plenty after this. What was there to be so happy about. Things like this were always……