***

Theodor mentioned that he did not have a mother. Actually, she had died, but as she had succumbed to a fever shortly after giving birth to him, the village regarded him as a child without a mother. Although she had known and heard this before, this was the first time she had heard the full story. In contrast to the tearful whispers he had told her when he was feverish, Theo now spoke with calm composure.

“Before I was a year old, my father carried me around every day to get milk from other people. So it’s not surprising that the village calls me the child without a mother.”

He said this with a faint smile that carried a subtle sadness. It reminded her of Swan, although his situation was slightly different, since neither of his parents had deliberately abandoned him.

Still, when Theo pointed out that he had been a motherless child from the start, without even the faintest memory of her, Swan offered him a faint smile.

In many ways, Theodore mirrored her. From the loss of a parent to the childhood dream of building a loving family. And now, with both of their remaining parents gone, they were essentially orphans – another similarity they shared.

“We really do have a lot in common, don’t we?”

They were crossing the river by boat when Theo, sitting next to Swan, suddenly murmured softly. His gaze, warm and gentle, rested on the sleeping Mirabella. Swan remained silent, her eyes stinging as she looked at the young man outlined in the faint glow of dawn.

“Don’t you think we could have a good life together?”

As he turned to look at her, the shifting light of the rising sun reflected in his eyes. Her heart began to race. For the first time, she felt the exhilaration of being chosen, her pulse quickening unexpectedly.

She had always been afraid of being abandoned, clinging desperately to others out of fear. It had been that way since the moment of her conception, as if her fate had been sealed. Her father, her mother – both had turned their backs on her.

Separation and loss had become second nature to her, deeply ingrained in her life. Even when she thought she had finally created a real, harmonious family of her own, she realised it had been a mistake. As if by fate, things had gone wrong again. It was the point where she felt she had nothing more to hope for or dream of.

“I don’t know who the father of this child is… but if it’s all right with you – if it’s all right with you, Swan – if you’ll let me, I…”

Her eyes filled with tears, she sat quietly watching him. The crowded boat forced them to sit close, their breaths often intertwined. Noticing Swan’s pale face, Theo pressed his lips together hesitantly.

“I’m sorry, I… I…”

His voice trailed off as he lowered his eyes. Just then, the boat reached the shore. The passengers hurriedly gathered their belongings and disembarked. Theo took Mirabella in his arms and turned to help Swan. Instinctively, she reached for his hand, her eyes fixed on his back.

This might be her chance. Maybe, just maybe, this time she could finally have something truly her own…

A family.

Her family. Mirabella’s father. A home Mirabella could always return to, no matter where she went or what she did. A family she could entrust Mirabella to even after she was gone. Maybe even the chance to give Mirabella a sibling.

As Theo stepped onto the shore and patted the fussy Mirabella, Swan tugged at his sleeve. He turned to face her, the freckles on the bridge of his nose twitching as his face flushed.

Theo looked at the faint moisture glistening in her glassy eyes. He swallowed hard, then looked down at the child with the soft golden hair. The baby, now awake, stared back at him with quiet curiosity. Before the pale fingers gripping his sleeve could slip away, Theo gathered his courage, his heart racing, and spoke again.

“Will you be my family?”

The summer sunlight bathed the vibrant green in a brilliant glow. Her eyes, like tiny leaves, sparkled like shards of glass in the light. Watching the waves of emotion rise and fall like ripples on water, Theo gently took hold of the fingers that clung to his sleeve.

“I’ll make you happy.”

***

Una was like a small round white stone in a stream – delicate and pure. She was as tiny as an acorn, with a slender and fragile frame. Her hair shone brightly, like the golden glow of summer sunlight, resembling the tangy colour of lemons or the sweetness of honey in a jar. Her small, upturned nose was beautifully complemented by her amethyst-coloured eyes, rosy cheeks like ripe apples, and lips as charming and delicate as a tiny berry.

Una was like a doll carried around by the youngest daughter of the wealthiest family in the village, the Tolly Merchant Guild. In fact, even that doll wasn’t as beautiful as Una. She was truly breathtaking. Her long, delicate eyelashes that lingered on her eyelids were more refined than any doll’s.

Her skin was as smooth and luminous as milk, and her hair, fluttering gently in the breeze, had a charm that could soften even the roughest and most hardened of hearts. Every detail of Una’s appearance was radiant and exquisite. It was as if the brightest and most fragrant elements of the world had been gathered together to create her.

But Una’s most beautiful feature was her eyes. Even if a princess from a distant royal palace appeared, Una’s beauty could easily surpass hers. Her long lashes, as if dusted with the golden light of summer, framed her eyes, which sparkled with a soft mix of violet and amethyst. They shimmered like the dim, glowing light fading behind mountain ridges – mesmerising and otherworldly.

Una possessed a beauty so unique and extraordinary that it defied comparison. Sometimes it seemed she didn’t even resemble her mother. So where did Una’s remarkable beauty come from?

The answer began to unfold with the arrival of a group of men who wandered into the village from beyond the distant hills. Dressed in shining steel armour with blue cloaks draped over their shoulders, it was clear to all that they were knights.

The village was in an uproar. It was a small and typically quiet place. The most exciting thing that had happened recently was that the bricklayer’s dog had impregnated the shepherd’s dog across the road.

This incident had led to quarrels between the bricklayer and the shepherd, or stories of the bricklayer’s children stealing the shepherd’s dog’s puppies and trading them for baskets of pears at the market. Such petty quarrels and short comedies were the extent of the village’s usual troubles.

Since the Romencastle estate had established villages large and small in the area, this quiet and peaceful village had known only trivial disputes and fleeting moments of joy and sorrow. For Una, it was the place where she had been born and raised – a world that meant everything to her. A fragile and delicate peace, so easily shattered.

“Your hair ribbon has flown away.”

It was a tall man who spoke. Una had watched quietly as the wind carried away her blue ribbon, an almost distant look on her face. The wind of the field was fierce and merciless. Once it took something on its back, it never gave it back. They said it wouldn’t even return a young shepherd’s straw hat.

Una furrowed her brow and looked up at the tall man, who cast a large shadow over her. Even with her head tilted back as far as it would go, she couldn’t see his entire form in her line of sight – he was towering.

Una thought of her father. He was tall, just like this man. No matter how much she craned her neck, she could never see his face clearly because she was so small. So her father always lifted her into his arms. Once on her feet, Una could see his deep brown eyes and touch the golden hair that curled softly across his forehead.

The man, clad in steel armour that covered his shoulders and chest, lifted Una gently into his arms.

She thought of the blue ribbon her mother had tied in her hair. The memory felt distant and dreamlike. A week ago there had been a celebration at Mr Tolly’s mansion. It was the day his eldest son, who had been studying in a distant city, had come home. Her mother had gone to help, along with other women from the village.

Her father had also left. Her mother mentioned doing laundry and helping with food preparation at the mansion. As with most day jobs, the tasks had included various odd jobs that hadn’t been mentioned beforehand.

Lately there had been even more work. The Tolly family’s long-serving maid had become too old and frail to manage the household properly, so much of the work had been passed on to others. As a result, her mother often took on extra responsibilities.

Occasionally, her mother would join the other women of the village to work as a maid in the mansion. Late in the evening, after completing her duties, she would come home with her wages and a beautiful blue satin ribbon decorated with delicate lace. She would sit Una down and carefully tie the ribbon in her hair.

“Ribbon…”

Una, who had watched the ribbon disappear with the wind, shifted her gaze to the man holding her. Supporting her with one arm, he steadied her with his strong hand beneath her. She looked up at him with a dazed expression. His hair was black and his uncovered forehead was pale and flawless.

Beneath his dark eyebrows, his blue eyes shone like polished glass as they met hers. The man, his hand clad in steel gloves, patted Una’s round head gently.

“Do you like ribbons?”