Chapter 6

Despite his claim to be an orphan, his clothes, though dirty, were still luxurious enough to show that Edward was a child from a noble family.

No matter how many times Director Lina asked where he came from or where his home was, Edward kept repeating the same thing. Next, he said he wanted to meet ‘Strawberry.’

“Is Strawberry here? The one who’s all red! I want to see her.”

There was one orphanage child that came to mind at the mention of ‘Strawberry.’

Director Lina, guessing that ‘Strawberry’ must be Diane, brought her in even though she was already asleep.

Edward seemed to know who Diane was.

Diane didn’t know who Edward was, but she did know he was the young noble who attended the Night of Gratitude event.

Only when Director Lina finally remembered that Edward was the young master of the Wale family did she rush off to the Wale mansion. Meanwhile, Diane, who had been called out of bed to the director’s office, sat next to Edward.

“Strawberry, were you sleeping?”

“I told you I’m not Strawberry! Why did you come again?”

The girl glanced at Edward, then rubbed her eyes to chase away sleep and asked,

“I’m going to live here now.”

“Why?”

“I’m an orphan now. Just like you.”

The girl, who had been yawning, suddenly opened her eyes wide as if her sleepiness had vanished and stared at Edward.

As the girl blinked her round eyes and looked at him, Edward’s ears turned red before he knew it.

Strawberry looked pretty even when surprised.

“Why are you an orphan? You always said you had a mom and dad who kissed you every night.”

Finally, the girl asked again.

“Not anymore. My mom died.”

“……!”

The girl fell silent for a long time. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

“Did your mom really go to heaven?”

After a long pause, the girl asked.

“Yeah.”

“So now you don’t have a mom?”

“Yeah.”

Edward nodded, acting as if it was nothing.

“Sniff, sniff.”

The girl started to cry the moment Edward nodded.

“Waaaaaah!”

Her crying grew louder and louder, echoing through the director’s office.

“Hey, why are you crying!”

“You said your mom… your mom is gone. Prince, is that why you got so dirty? Because you don’t have a mom to wash you, hug you, and kiss you. Waaaah.”

Edward was both stunned and embarrassed.

He was the one who lost his mother, not the girl. Yet she was crying as if her own mother had died, and saying he looked dirty made him self-conscious.

Finally, Edward looked down at himself and, just as the girl said, felt even more miserable about his messy appearance.

“Hey! Don’t cry. Why are you crying? She was my mom.”

“I’m just sad. Prince, your mom went to heaven. I’m sad, waaaah.”

“I said don’t cry!”

“No, I’m going to cry. I cry when I’m sad.”

Edward shouted, but the girl kept crying, her face growing redder.

Neither Edward’s words nor his gaze could stop her tears.

As Edward helplessly watched her cry, he suddenly felt something welling up in his chest and realized something hot was streaming down his own cheeks.

It was the first time he’d cried since his mother passed away.

‘Idiot. I’m crying.’

Edward quickly wiped the tears with the back of his hand before anyone could see.

But the tears wouldn’t stop. In fact, it was as if a dam had burst, and the tears flowed endlessly. He ended up sobbing so hard that he could barely breathe.

Edward, who hadn’t understood or expressed his emotions, had instead responded with anger and frustration.

Now, the walls he’d built were breaking down because of this girl, and the honest emotion hidden inside him—grief—was pouring out.

“Sniff, sniff, ohhh.”

Eventually, Edward’s crying grew louder than the girl’s.

Diane, who had been crying endlessly, even paused to look at him in surprise.

But then Diane started crying again, and soon their sobs echoed through the director’s office and into the first-floor hallway.

When Edward’s tears finally stopped, as if he had run out, the girl was still sniffling.

“Stop crying, silly.”

“I’m not silly!”

“You made me cry too.”

“It’s normal to cry when you’re sad. Your mom went to heaven, so of course you’d cry.”

Edward closed his mouth.

At last, he realized he wasn’t angry because his mother went to heaven—he was sad.

Diane looked at Edward’s now-sad face for a while, then stood up.

Edward looked up at her with a puzzled expression, and the girl simply hugged him.

“Ah!”

Edward flinched and tried to push her away, but Diane didn’t budge. In the end, Edward quietly let her hold him like a gentle puppy.

It was warm and comforting.

The embrace from this much smaller girl was the first real comfort Edward had received since his mother died.

In the house where his mother, who always comforted him, was gone, only his grieving family remained, and there was no one to comfort Edward’s sadness.

“Tonight, I’ll be your mom, Prince. When you go to sleep, I’ll give you a kiss.”

Diane held Edward for a long time before speaking.

It was at that moment.

“Hehe.”

Edward’s golden head shook in Diane’s arms as he suddenly burst out laughing.

Diane let go of him and stepped back, looking at Edward.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Hey, how could you be my mom? You’re three—no, five—years younger than me! I’m your older brother! How could you be my mom?”

“Tsk! Is there anyone else here who can be your mom? There’s only me.”

“Are you really silly? Moms have to be grown-up girls.”

“I’m a girl too.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re a mom. My mom was really pretty, and you’re not at all—oh! You’re… pretty too…”

Edward’s voice faded so Diane didn’t hear the last part.

Diane, looking sulky, seemed to be deep in thought for a while.

“Then, instead of your mom, I’ll just be your girl!”

Finally, after her pondering, Diane spoke with surprising seriousness.

“What? What does that mean?”

“You were my older brother when I cried. So I’ll be your girl, Prince. I’m not a grown-up, but I am a girl. Right?”

“……?”

Edward blinked and tilted his head.

‘What was she talking about? My girl?’

But soon, the words ‘my girl’ were etched onto Strawberry’s pretty face in Edward’s mind.

For such a pretty Strawberry, even though it was a strange phrase, being ‘my girl’ seemed fitting.

“But what about your dad?”

Diane asked.

“Huh?”

“Did your dad go to heaven too? Are you here because you have nowhere else to go, like me?”

Edward’s face turned red in an instant.

This girl didn’t have a father either.

He’d come here saying he didn’t need a father, but he did still have one.

<Didn’t you see the children at the orphanage! Kids with no mom or dad. If you don’t need a father, do you want to go to the orphanage too? If you have a lot, be grateful. Stop whining!>

His father’s words came to mind, and it was hard to meet the girl’s eyes.

This girl didn’t just lack a mother—she had no father, and not even a brother.

And yet, she cried for him, hugged him, and became his girl.

This pretty girl had no one at all…

Edward lowered his head, but when he met Diane’s eyes peering up at him, his mouth opened softly.

“Do you want to come to my house?”

He didn’t know why he suddenly said it.

“What?”

“Come to my house. There are only men there. If you come, it’ll be nice. You’re my girl… and pretty.”

Again, Edward’s voice faded, so Diane didn’t hear the last part.

But unlike his fading voice, this sudden thought was solidifying in Edward’s heart.

His pretty Strawberry was now his girl, so he’d bring her home.

“Hmm… your house, Prince?”

Unlike Edward’s firm resolve, the girl tilted her head, as if weighing whether the orphanage or Edward’s house was better.

Seeing her face, Edward was already planning in detail.

When he went home, he’d tell his father he wanted to bring this pretty girl home.

Even Marquis Jude had brought home a silly girl who couldn’t even memorize her lines. Surely he could bring home his girl, Strawberry, too.

But that resolve was never fulfilled.

After almost a year of behaving well, keeping manners, not getting angry, and pleading with his father, when Edward finally visited the orphanage again at age twelve, it had already closed.

He didn’t know the reason at the time, but the orphanage had been shut down abruptly, and the children there were either adopted or sent to other orphanages.

From that day on, Edward never forgot his resolve to find and bring home his girl, Strawberry.

Like a quest, he searched for her.