Instead of answering, Elodie just shook her head in my arms. The front of my skirt became damp from her crying and burying her face, but I didn’t mind at all. If anything, I was grateful that the fabric was soft.

“You know.”

I continued, trying my best to reassure Elodie.

“This is a flour sack that’s distributed across the entire continent.”

“……”

“It means that the message looking for you has spread not just in our Tarian Empire, but to other countries as well. Who do you think would do that?”

“The, the Duke.”

“That’s right.”

I nodded.

“Duke Baniche must have loved Elodie very much. That’s why he’s searching for you so desperately.”

“……But, the Duke might not be Elodie’s Dad.”

“You’re right, he might not be.”

I stroked Elodie’s hair.

“So what? If it’s a mistake, we can just apologize. If he is Elodie’s Dad, you’ll find your family. As a merchant, I can tell you, it’s a very profitable deal.”

“……”

Elodie twisted her body to escape from my arms and lifted her head. Her face, all covered in tears and snot, looked pitiful.

“You know, if the Duke is really Elodie’s Dad……”

Elodie’s lips quivered.

“Will Aria keep living with Elodie?”

A heavy emotion settled in my heart with a thud. Only after a moment did I realize that this emotion was a deep sense of responsibility and guilt.

“……I’m sorry. I can’t live with Elodie in the Duke’s mansion. Instead, Elodie will live with her real Dad. You don’t dislike that, do you?”

“I do dislike it.”

Elodie answered immediately without a moment’s hesitation.

“Elodie wants to live with Aria!”

Elodie’s shoulders trembled as if she was barely holding back from bursting into tears. I hugged Elodie. The child’s fear, worry, and affection transmitted directly through her trembling body.

“Even if Elodie lives in the Duke’s mansion, it’s not like I’m going to disappear somewhere. If Elodie wants, you can come visit the café anytime.”

“……Is it okay to come every day?”

“If the Duke allows it.”

“Will Aria allow it too?”

“Of course.”

I answered firmly.

“I’d be extremely happy if Elodie visits often.”

“……Really?”

“Really.”

I nodded. Fortunately, Elodie was no longer trembling or crying.

“You know.”

Elodie slowly opened her mouth.

“If Aria wants, I’d like to know if the Duke is really Elodie’s Dad. But, if he’s not……”

Elodie’s voice took on a hesitant tone.

“Can I keep living with Aria? Until Elodie grows up?”

“……”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words as I looked at Elodie. A child who has only been properly known for barely a month, but who has already occupied such a large part of my heart. A child who lived without even a name, and now has the name ‘Elodie’, wants to say that name over and over again with her own mouth. A child who gets along well with strangers, but needs to sleep by my side when night falls.

“Ah, Elodie……”

I opened my mouth, trying to hide my reddening eyes.

“I promise. If your real parents don’t show up, you can stay at my house until I become a hunched old granny.”

Elodie hugged me tightly. I hugged her back just as firmly. I thought I could understand why Duke Baniche went mad after losing this lovable child.

***

To cut to the chase, I did my best to find Elodie’s father. When there was no reply to the letters sent to the Duke’s mansion, I even closed the café for over a week and went to the Duke’s mansion with Elodie. Unfortunately, we were turned away at the door.

“Miss, aren’t you taking the Duke’s family too lightly? Sure, the eye color and hair color are similar. But so what? There are plenty of little girls in the Empire with similar eye and hair colors!”

Perhaps because there had been so many scammers coming before, we were harshly driven away by the gatekeeper of the Duke’s mansion. Even showing the star-shaped mark on her calf made no difference.

“I admit it’s an unusual mark… but it’s better for you to go back. There have been quite a few children who even had similar marks. I’m saying this for this little miss’s sake too.”

I frowned at his admonishing tone. I realized that no matter what I said, this man would never let me in.

But I couldn’t just turn back obediently like this. I had closed the café for ten days, enduring the loss, to come all the way here. To let Elodie meet her birth father who loved her so dearly.

‘I need to find another way.’

The first method that came to mind was to camp out in front of the Duke’s mansion with Elodie. If the Duke, or even someone who looked important enough, came out, I planned to beg them to just check Elodie once.

At first, it seemed like a decent plan. Until I realized that no one entered or left through the main gate for three whole days.

‘People do live there, though…’

At night, the Duke’s mansion was brilliantly lit, and someone could be seen moving about inside.

‘Is there another entrance?’

Giving up on the main gate, I thoroughly searched the perimeter of the Duke’s mansion for other entrances. Taking the risk of being interrogated for looking suspicious. But no one stopped us as we made a big circle around the mansion’s boundary.

‘Oh…!’

My eyes widened. Among the overgrown weeds, I saw a small hole, like one for a dog. I hurriedly pulled at the weeds. It was a hole too small for an adult like me to pass through, but a child could easily fit.

‘If we do this, the problem is…’

Elodie would have to enter the Duke’s mansion alone and find the Duke. Could this small, fragile, frightened child do it?

As expected, Elodie’s reaction was not far from what I anticipated.

“I, I can’t do it. I don’t want to! Without Aria, going alone…”

“I’m sorry I can’t go with you. But I’ll be right here, not moving an inch. Praying for you to do well.”

Elodie’s eyes reddened.

“But Aria still isn’t coming with me. Elodie can’t do it alone. I don’t want to do it alone…”

I didn’t want to make the frightened child face the villain alone either. But preventing a father-daughter reunion wasn’t the right thing to do either.

“Elodie, don’t you want to meet your real family? It’s not just your Dad. The Duke’s family will be your family too. So you’ll have lots of family members. Do you still not want to?”

“……”

Elodie kept her mouth shut.

“If the Duke or anyone else gets angry at you, just come straight back to me. I’ll protect you, okay?”

“……Okay.”

Elodie nodded reluctantly and crawled through the hole. I listened anxiously to every sound Elodie made. At first, Elodie seemed to pass through the hole and enter the Duke’s mansion well. But then…

“Sn, sniff, ughh……”

I heard what sounded like muffled crying.

“……Elodie?”

As soon as I called out to Elodie carefully, I heard the sound of her hurriedly wiping away tears.

“It, it’s nothing. I’m going now. Now……”

But Elodie stood still, as if rooted to the spot, for a long time. I bit my lip. I could force Elodie to go if I wanted to. Elodie wants to do things that please me so much that it’s pitiful, so I could use that. But is there a need to force the child to move against her will like that?

‘……Forget it. I’ve done enough.’

I sent letters and even came in person. It’s not my fault that the letters were ignored and we were turned away when we came in person. If Duke Baniche really wants to find his daughter, he can come find us later since I left our address. I raised my head and spoke with a firm resolve.

“Elodie, come here.”

“……!”

Elodie instantly crawled out of the hole and clung to me. She had been crying while holding her breath, so her face was covered in tears.

“I’m, I’m sorry…… But I was so scared…… I don’t want to be separated from Aria……”