“I’ve folded all the towels and put them in the cabinet, Estella.”

“Good grief, I told you to rest in your room.”

Vivianne burst into the kitchen where Estella was preparing dinner by the fireplace, scolding her with exasperation.

The orphanage was nestled in a small mountain valley, quite distant from the nearest village. Its rear bordered the sea, providing a natural boundary.

“But staying still in my room was so boring! I want to help too.”

“Honestly, you’re not much help anyway. Stop getting in the way and go back to your room.”

“Come on, I’m good at laundry! And ironing too.”

She was also skilled at serving tea, but somehow those talents seemed useless at the orphanage. So she mentioned what she felt most confident about.

“Please call me Vivi. I’ll work hard to learn anything else you can teach me, okay?”

“No need. It’s faster if I just do it myself.”

Despite Vivianne’s friendly approach, Estella kept responding curtly. She seemed difficult to befriend, but Vivianne wasn’t about to give up. This woman had taken in her, Theodore, and even An despite their limited means—she was truly a kind person.

The large pot hanging over the fireplace bubbled away. Vivianne smiled brightly as she snatched the ladle from Estella’s hand.

“Actually, I came because the food smells so good. I’m hungry! Is stew on the menu tonight?”

“Stew was dinner yesterday, and the day before that too. Well, dinner is always stew here.”

Estella answered dryly. Unlike Matilda, who was always warm and affectionate, Estella was rather blunt and expressionless, making it difficult to gauge her thoughts. Perhaps she found their sudden appearance burdensome.

The orphanage clearly wasn’t well-off. Though Vivianne felt sorry about this in many ways, she refused to be discouraged. After all, she’d managed to befriend someone like Kian—what was there to fear?

She prided herself on her sociability, and since she was indeed imposing on them, she wanted to make herself useful.

“Do I stir it like this? I’ve been watching carefully how you do it, Estella.”

Vivianne swirled the contents with the ladle, then scooped a small amount into a dish to taste.

“Wow! It’s really delicious today too.”

“Delicious? It’s just a plain vegetable stew.”

“Plain? There must be a secret recipe. Can you share it with just me?”

“I added carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. Plus salt and pepper.”

She truly meant it was an ordinary vegetable stew.

“Did you chop the cabbage finely? I can hardly see it.”

“Yes. If I don’t, that troublemaker Thomas picks it all out.”

Thomas was a nine-year-old boy covered in freckles. Vivianne chuckled, remembering how he’d been scolded by Estella when caught removing cabbage pieces from his plate.

“You know, of all the stews I’ve tasted, yours is definitely the best, Estella.”

“No need for flattery. Stew is stew, nothing special about it.”

“It’s not flattery! I had two bowls yesterday.”

Estella, who had been grumbling throughout their conversation, finally cracked a smile, seemingly giving up on staying stern.

“Then have three bowls today, Vivi. I added mushrooms I gathered from the mountain.”

“You finally called me Vivi!”

“That’s what you asked for, isn’t it? Should I take it back?”

“No, no! I’m so-o happy. Thank you, Estella!”

Vivianne flung her arms around Estella’s neck.

“Ack, can’t breathe…!”

“Sorry! I’m just so happy. Hehe.”

Despite her grumbling and pretense of indifference, perhaps because she was Matilda’s friend, Estella truly was a good person. Vivianne felt overjoyed at making another good friend.

“What’s there to be happy about? Pregnant women need to eat meat. How will you have the strength to deliver a baby eating only greens?”

“I’m strong. I’ll be fine.”

“Complete weakling, if you ask me. All talk.”

Estella clicked her tongue and took out some bread, cutting it into small pieces. The hard, tough bread didn’t slice easily. She always cut it as small as possible. When placed in the stew, it became warm and easier to eat.

On the day Vivianne first arrived, she had fallen ill from the release of tension. Being pregnant, they said they couldn’t use medicine carelessly. Thanks to Estella’s attentive care, she recovered quickly.

Though she appeared indifferent and sometimes snappy, moments like these revealed Estella to be more sensitive and warm-hearted than anyone.

Estella picked up an empty pot and ladle, thrust them outside the door, and began banging them together.

Bang bang-! Bang bang-!

“Alright, dinner time! Everyone gather in the dining room!”

The sound of children gathering and bustling about filled the air.

* * *

Vivianne observed Thomas and Theodore sitting across from each other at the table.

“Don’t like cabbage?”

He must have been caught pushing the barely visible cabbage to one side of his plate.

Thomas glumly nodded in response to Theodore’s question.

“Thomas, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

“Someone really strong. Like… a knight! But they say I can’t because I’m too short and small.”

“Is that so? I was like that when I was young too. But look at me now—I became a knight.”

Theodore rested his chin on his hand and lowered himself to the little boy’s eye level.

“Want to know my secret?”

“Yes! Please tell me!”

“I ate my vegetables well. Especially cabbage—it’s the best. That’s how I grew tall and strong.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Why not try eating it and see?”

In the end, Theodore successfully coaxed Thomas into eating his cabbage. It was a fascinating sight to witness.

“See? When you think about growing taller, it doesn’t taste so bad, does it?”

“No!”

Next, a young girl ran over from her meal and clung to Theodore’s knee.

“Theo! Please tie my hair!”

“Sit quietly and finish your food first, then I’ll tie it up prettily with a ribbon.”

“Okay!”

After checking that she had finished her meal, Theodore elegantly twisted her hair up.

Though it seemed random and chaotic, it was an endearing scene.

“Vivi will have it easy later on.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“Theo is so good with children.”

Estella smiled contentedly. She probably assumed Theodore was the father of Vivianne’s baby, but he had originally promised to stay only until they settled safely.

She couldn’t impose on him any further than that. She would have to raise the baby herself.

Suddenly, she remembered Kian reading books about pregnancy and childbirth.

He had mentioned that br*ast engorgement would be painful. How would she handle that?

“No, Theo is…”

“Do you think my skills are decent, Estella?”

Theodore brought his bowl over and sat down next to Vivianne.

“I’d say so. Theo, you might be better suited to childcare than knighthood.”

“I’m honored to receive recognition from an expert.”

Then he began transferring food from his bowl to hers.

“It’s okay. You need to eat too, Theo.”

“I’ve had plenty. I’m full. You eat, Vivi.”

The poor-quality bread and thin vegetable stew were humble compared to what she ate at Larson, but somehow they tasted much better, perhaps because her mind was at peace.

* * *

“Where are you going, Theo?”

“Ah, I have some business up in the mountains.”

Theodore had been on his way to check if any rabbits had been caught in his snares when he ran into Vivianne.

He wanted to provide meat for the pregnant woman, but somehow couldn’t bring himself to be honest with her. He remembered hearing how she had spent a long time lamenting over a taxidermied eagle.

He simply couldn’t show her a dead rabbit.

“I’ll come with you. I can help.”

She clutched her skirt tightly, looking pitiful. An was cradled in her arms.

“Hiking the mountain is too strenuous for you right now. I’ll be back soon, Vivi.”

“But I want to help too.”

She must have been chased away by Estella again. Despite being told to rest, she kept fidgeting, eager to do something.

Meanwhile, Vivianne had her own reasons. Though she appreciated being told to rest, staying in her room brought unwanted thoughts to mind.

“Then how about picking flowers to make a bouquet?”

“A bouquet?”

“Yes. Estella loves flowers. Since we’re constantly relying on her, I think she’d appreciate one. I spotted a place with beautiful wildflowers. I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

“Sounds good!”

“I think An will enjoy it too.”

Vivianne nodded and smiled brightly.

* * *

“An, no matter how excited you get, you can’t wander far. Stay close by.”

An clearly preferred this place to Kian’s bedroom. The puppy dug at the soil with its front paws and chased dragonflies, running around energetically.

“I don’t want to lose you. You understand me, right?”

Woof!

It was pleasant to watch. Somehow, Vivianne felt a sense of kinship, thinking that she wasn’t the only one liberated from the grand mansion of Larson.

She wondered how Matilda was doing. Theodore told her not to worry too much, but she couldn’t help feeling uneasy. If she felt this way, Theodore must feel even worse, though he didn’t show it.

He had said that once some time passed and the search died down, they would travel to a very distant place. Then Matilda could join them too.

When would that day come? She had no idea.

And… was Kian alright?

Had he heard about the baby? It was his child too, after all.

How had Kian reacted when he learned about the baby?

Was he happy? Perhaps he felt nothing special since it wasn’t a child he had wanted to create.

Her resentment toward him could never be erased.

Though she still feared him and thinking about him brought pain… he was once someone she had loved with all her heart. She couldn’t completely erase him from her mind. It felt like a thorn stuck in her throat, choking her.

This was why she kept trying to stay with others and keep busy—to avoid reaching these thoughts. Still, it was much better than the days spent alone in an empty room, cycling between sleep and wakefulness, repeating the same bitter thoughts about him.

Surely, someday… things would get better than they were now.

“It’s done.”

She had made a bouquet but had nothing to tie it with. Vivianne decided to use the ribbon that had been holding her hair to complete the bouquet.

Her platinum blonde hair with pink undertones cascaded over her shoulders. She gathered the stems and tied the ribbon prettily around them.

“…Beautiful.”

It was a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.

She seemed to have a talent for making bouquets—perhaps she could make one each day?

Vivianne looked at her creation with satisfaction, the corners of her mouth turning upward.

Woof woof! Woof! Woof-!

Suddenly, An began wagging his tail and barking, then dashed forward at full speed.

“An! I told you not to run off on your own!”

Vivianne rose from the grass in shock, dropping the bouquet.

Woof woof! Woof!

In the distance, atop the hill, she spotted a small figure. When her eyes met those of the man who had easily picked up the charging An, her blood froze.

It was Kian.