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(Lurelia’s Christmas Bonus – Update 1/4 🎉)

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Suddenly, a chuckling laughter was heard.

“Then there’s no need to worry. Aria is good at scolding people.”

Well, that’s not entirely wrong. I smiled and released Elodie from the hug. We didn’t have to leave for the duchy right away anyway. It would take at least two weeks to settle things with the house and the shop. Until then, I planned to do my best running the cafe.

“Duchess, could you watch Elodie for a bit?”

“…What’s with the ‘Duchess’.”

The old lady grumbled.

“Just call me Monica.”

“I can’t do that.”

“If someone overhears you saying ‘Duchess’ this and that, it’ll be more troublesome. Or call me ‘Madam’ like before.”

“Yes, Madam.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Even if she was hiding her identity, it wouldn’t be right to call the Duke’s mother by her first name. The old lady’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t even think about mentioning the ‘Ba’ of Baniche. I have no intention of being associated with those people anymore.”

“I’ll be careful.”

I hastily promised. It seemed there had been some unpleasant history between the former Duchess and the Baniche family. Although I was curious, I doubted she would answer if I asked, so I changed the subject.

“By the way, did you hear the conversation between His Grace and me outside?”

“I couldn’t hear anything at all.”

The old lady’s brow furrowed.

“But Elodie seemed to be hearing something continuously. Is her hearing good because she’s young?”

“I told you. The wind told me.”

Elodie spoke as if frustrated.

“Oh, the wind told you? That’s very kind of it.”

I smiled at Elodie. I didn’t want to spoil her childlike imagination.

“Yes! That’s why I thanked it!”

Before I could respond to Elodie, the bell announcing a customer’s arrival rang.

“Welcome!”

I reflexively greeted them and headed to the counter. It was time to be faithful to my precious daily routine, which I didn’t have much left of now.

***

“Aria, the carriage has arrived!”

“Is that so?”

I was in the middle of doing a final check of the house to make sure we weren’t leaving anything behind when I looked up at the child. Wearing a thick bonnet and a coat decorated with fluffy wool beads, Elodie looked so cute I wanted to bite her cheeks.

“Are we going now? Are we leaving?”

“Just a moment.”

There were still a few places I needed to check.

‘Let’s see. I’ve packed all the accessories. Nothing much here or there. Ah, right!’

I had forgotten about the drawer where I kept important documents, including the shop contract. The drawer itself belonged to the landlord so it had to stay, but the contract was a different story.

‘I should get rid of unnecessary things before we go.’

I started looking through the documents, starting from seven years ago. There was a mix of expired documents that were now useless and important ones that needed to be kept.

‘This is…’

My hand stopped automatically when I saw a contract written on particularly high-quality paper.

‘Come to think of it, I made this with the Duke back then.’

It was the contract for Elodie’s upbringing. It even had a grand clause stating that the ownership of the Baniche mansion would be transferred if the contract was broken.

‘I guess this is no longer needed?’

I smiled wryly and classified the contract as burnable trash. Now that we’ve decided to move to the Baniche mansion, it’s no longer applicable, and even if someone saw it, they couldn’t use it. There was no need to preciously carry it with us.

“Did you wait long?”

“Yes.”

Elodie answered immediately with a flushed face.

“I waited so long even my fingers got bored!”

I felt happy at Elodie’s honest answer. Until recently, she would have watched my reaction and said, “Just a little.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. There were a few last things I had to check… Let’s go now.”

Elodie seemed excited, holding my hand tightly and hopping.

Before completely leaving the house, I took a moment to look at the home that had been my base of life for the past few years. A rental house that was neither expensive nor cheap. Although it hadn’t been a long time, all my memories with Elodie were here. But there wasn’t much time to dwell on memories.

“Grandmother!”

Elodie called out in an excited voice. When I turned my head, I saw the old lady approaching us with a gentle smile. Elodie looked at the old lady with eyes full of expectation.

“Are you coming with us too, Grandmother?”

“No.”

The old lady shook her head.

“I’m sorry. I prefer living here.”

“…Elodie would like it if Grandmother came with us too.”

Seeing Elodie act uncharacteristically clingy, it seemed her paternal grandmother’s presence was truly important to her.

“I’ll miss you every single day.”

“This old lady will miss her puppy too.”

The old lady’s eyes reddened.

“But try to understand. I have bad memories of that house. Still, I’ll come visit often. Okay?”

“What kind of memories?”

Elodie asked innocently.

“Memories that you shouldn’t know about yet.”

The old lady answered simply and turned to look at me.

“Please take good care of Elodie. Living in that house might not be as easy as you think.”

“Is there something dangerous?”

I asked in a lowered voice. According to Duke Baniche’s explanation, he had removed all the vassals who had been ignoring his orders and acting arrogantly, but still, one never knows.

“…That’s not what I meant. Being a member of a ducal family is a headache. That’s all.”

“Elodie will have a hard time, won’t she?”

The old lady sighed with a sad face.

“Miss Bertin, don’t you understand yet? Now that you’ve agreed to be Elodie’s guardian, you too are a member of the Baniche ducal family.”

***

Fortunately, Elodie enjoyed the second carriage ride as well.

“Aria, look over there! It’s a banana-shaped cloud!”

Elodie, leaning on my shoulder, pointed at the window.

“You’re right. And the one next to it looks like an apple, doesn’t it?”

“To me, it looks like a monkey’s head.”

“Have you seen a monkey before?”

“Yes. I was locked up with one and it bit me five times.”

“Five times?”

“It didn’t hurt when I was bitten.”

Elodie mumbled.

“But later, it started to hurt a lot…”

“I see.”

My heart ached. Elodie had grown up in an environment where not only was a young child locked up with a fierce animal, but the bite wounds were left untreated, leading to infection. The extent of the wounds she must have received during those few years of disappearance was unimaginable.

“That’s why I like it when Aria treats my wounds. You make it so Elodie doesn’t hurt much.”

“You understand well. Elodie is really smart.”

I smiled at Elodie.

“Aria is much smarter. But, Aria…”

Elodie’s voice became softer.

“Can I… ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Earlier, Grandmother called me a puppy.”

Elodie was now whispering in my ear.

“Mhm.”

“Does that mean I smell and I’m noisy like a puppy?”

“…”

For a moment, I couldn’t find the words to say.

“E-Elodie.”

By the time I gathered my thoughts and called Elodie’s name, it was too late. Her large, clear eyes were already brimming with tears.

“No. That’s absolutely not what it means.”

“But you don’t know for sure either!”

“How could that be?”

I explained firmly and clearly.

“It means you’re as cute as a puppy and she wants to hug you. Don’t you like puppies, Elodie?”

“…I don’t dislike them, but all the men hated them. And it’s true that puppies smell and are noisy, isn’t it?”

“Listen, Elodie.”

I gently held Elodie’s hand. The poor child’s body was all tensed up.

“Do you have fur like a puppy?”

“…No.”

“Do you bark like a puppy? Woof woof?”

“No.”

“Do you walk on all fours like a puppy?”

“Not at all!”

Now Elodie looked somewhat indignant.

“Then it means you’re as cute as a puppy. I’m sure the old lady… I mean, your grandmother, must love puppies very much?”

Elodie fell into thought for a moment.

“…I’ll ask her next time.”

“Yes, make sure you do.”

Elodie fell silent and gazed out the window. I didn’t try to start a conversation. Even young children need time to think.

***

The Baniche mansion, seen for the second time, was still large and splendid. If anything, it seemed even more magnificent than before.