Chapter 30

“Countess, I hope the food suited your taste. Since it’s been a while since the Wale family welcomed guests, there may have been some shortcomings.”

It was the Duke who gently pieced together the shattered atmosphere at the table.

“Oh, yes! Your Grace, every dish suited my taste perfectly. I can only envy that you employ such a skilled chef.”

The Countess quickly regained her composure, even offering a smile to the Duke.

“Thank you for saying so, Madame. I heard Roden, our butler, put in a great deal of effort to match the famous chef of the Lautrec Earldom.”

“Hoho! Has the reputation of our chef reached Rettrang? That makes me quite happy. Hohoho.”

Regardless of what the Countess truly felt, the Duke was once again leading her into a conversation filled with the refined etiquette of nobles.

“Lady Heina, did you enjoy your meal?”

The Duke, with a smile gentle enough to kill, asked the Young Lady next. This time, unlike before, he called her by name, not by her family name.

The Duke knew exactly what weapons he had, and he was the type who could wield them freely when necessary, regardless of whether the other person was hurt or not.

“Yes, I enjoyed it very much.”

As always, his charm struck the Young Lady’s heart without fail.

When the beautiful Duke smiled and asked kindly, Young Lady Heina’s cheeks flushed. She seemed to forget the awkward mood from just moments ago, and answered with a shy smile.

“That’s a relief. Lady Heina. As the Head of Family, I should have paid more attention to the dinner menu. My apologies to the teacher. Fortunately, a different dessert will be prepared for tea time.”

It was a subtle and delicate flow of conversation.

The Duke seemed to be speaking with the Young Lady, but then immediately apologized to Diane about the strawberry cake.

Even though he switched conversation partners and apologized to Diane, who was only a tutor, his smooth skills, gentle tone, and impeccable manners made it so that the Lautrec family did not show any sign of displeasure.

“Oh! No, it’s fine, Your Grace.”

Diane barely managed her reply, but despite the now warm atmosphere, her expression grew even more troubled.

A different dessert for tea time—  

The Duke had so naturally implied that she would be attending tea time after the meal.

Diane bowed her head to hide her crumpled expression.

Her eyes landed on the strawberry cake, mangled by Leon’s fork—the very cause of all this trouble.

‘I really hate strawberries.’

Just like that day fifteen years ago when she first met Prince Aed, strawberries were always a problem.

* * *

Fifteen years ago, on the day Diane first met the Prince—whom she believed was “Ed,” but was actually “Ad”—the Lina Orphanage was busy preparing for the once-a-year Night of Gratitude event.

The Director was especially tense, as Duke Wale and other prominent nobles would be visiting, and this year, the issue of Marquis Jude’s adoption had been added to the mix.

He revealed the adoption plan, which he had kept secret until then, to the Deputy Director only on the day of the event.

“Marquis Jude is going to adopt a daughter. After losing his child past infancy and failing to find her, it seems he’s finally given up. I think Diane is the most suitable. She’s the same age as the daughter he lost, she’s pretty, has a good personality, and is just a lovely child.”

At this, Deputy Director Kitten’s eyes widened.

“Marquis Jude? The sponsorship money must be enormous!”

“Exactly. So for Diane’s sake and for our orphanage, we must make this adoption happen.”

If the adoption was successful, a substantial donation was expected. After learning the Marquis’s intentions, the Director had cast Diane as the lead in the charity performance and had her practice diligently.

If all went well today, Diane would be adopted into the Marquis’s family, and the orphanage’s finances would be secure for a while.

“By the way, why did that rich family lose their daughter?”

“No one knows for sure. Anyway, a few months after losing her, Marquis Jude first came to our orphanage, which is closest to Rettrang city. He’s been searching the whole Kingdom ever since, but never found her.”

“There must have been some distinguishing feature…”

“Right. He’s visiting our orphanage one last time, and I think he’s ready to give up and adopt instead.”

Click.

While the Director and Deputy Director were deep in conversation, the door to the Director’s office was quietly closed.

The sound was so soft that neither noticed.

‘Diane is going to become a noble’s daughter? No way!’

Kate, who had come to ask when the guests would arrive, overheard the conversation through the open door and clenched her fists, trembling.

‘Absolutely not! Why is it always Diane who gets the good things? I hate it!’

Kate was the same age as Diane, but it was always Diane who received everyone’s love.

Now, she was going to become a noble’s daughter too.

Kate, shaking, let go of the doorknob and walked away.

Soon, the noble guests would arrive. Diane would leave the orphanage to become a noble’s daughter, while Kate would remain behind.

‘I hate this. Diane already does well here! I’ll be the noble’s daughter!’

Kate hid in the storage room next to the kitchen, which was empty because everyone was busy preparing for the performance in the hall.

In the food storage, there were chocolates given out only on special occasions.

There were two kinds of chocolate—  

They looked the same, but one was banana chocolate and the other was strawberry chocolate.

A few years ago, Diane had a severe reaction after eating strawberries, even struggling to breathe. The incident was vivid in the children’s memories, and of course, Kate knew about Diane’s strawberry allergy.

From that day on, the Director always gave Diane only banana chocolate—a fact Kate knew very well.

‘Diane, you always wanted to try strawberry chocolate too.’

Kate grabbed a handful of strawberry chocolates from the jar, put them in her pocket, and headed to the hall where Diane was.

Diane, dressed in her cleanest, prettiest clothes and with her hair done up, was rehearsing her lines with her friends.

“Diane, come here for a second.”

Kate called Diane out to the end of the hallway.

“Aren’t you practicing? Why did you call me?”

Diane asked, puzzled.

“Diane, I have something for you.”

Kate took the chocolates from her pocket and held them out to Diane.

“You like chocolate, don’t you?”

“Where did you get chocolate?”

Diane asked, suspicious.

“These are banana chocolates I got before. I saved them for you.”

“Hmm… Can I eat them? Just me?”

“You’re the star today, so you should eat chocolate and do well in the performance. If you do well, our show will be even better.”

Diane hesitated, but when Kate brought the chocolate to her lips, she opened her mouth without thinking.

The chocolate tasted especially sweet.

“I think it tastes better than usual.”

“Really? Eat a lot.”

Banana and strawberry chocolates tasted different, but Diane didn’t eat chocolate often, and since she’d never tried strawberry chocolate, she didn’t realize what she was eating contained strawberries.

A little later, Diane was crying, and the Director looked flustered.

Diane was red from head to toe.

This rash only ever appeared when she ate strawberries.

She couldn’t understand why she had the rash today.

At least her condition wasn’t serious—  

It was just hives, not the breathing trouble she’d had before.

Feeling sorry, the Director sent Diane to her room to rest.

There was no way she could go on stage covered in red rashes.

“Since Diane can’t perform, is there anyone who can take her role?”

Kate raised her hand faster than anyone.

So Diane was left alone in her room, and Kate, who didn’t even know the lead lines, ended up starring in the performance and was chosen for adoption by the Marquis Jude family.

Two days later, the Director called Diane to his office.

“Diane, did you sneak strawberry chocolate from the food storage on the night of the event?”

“What? No!”

“It’s okay to be honest. There was a lot less strawberry chocolate, and you broke out in a rash.”

“But…!”

At that moment, Diane remembered the rash from the night of the event and the chocolate Kate had given her.

“She said it was banana chocolate she’d saved…”

“So you did eat it.”

The Director saw Diane’s changing expression and looked at her with pity.

If it hadn’t been for the rash, sweet and good Diane would have joined the Marquis’s family.

Of course, it was also good for Kate, but even with many children, there were always some you loved more.

“It’s just… I didn’t know it was strawberry chocolate.”

For some reason, Diane couldn’t bring herself to say Kate had given it to her.

She didn’t want to tattle, especially since she wasn’t completely sure.