Janet heard the sound of the window sliding open.

Anyone else might have missed it, but Janet’s sensitive ears—honed from growing up in the underworld—caught it clearly.

She didn’t get up, but rolled her eyes toward the baby’s crib.

Judging by the steady breathing and lack of movement, Charlotte fortunately hadn’t woken up.

Janet remained still, suppressing any signs of her presence as she listened carefully.

“Are you sure this is the youngest lady’s room?”

“Yes. I confirmed it a few days ago. Look, there’s the crib—it’s definitely here.”

“I see.”

The assassins crept stealthily toward the baby’s crib.

Currently, the Riesta Ducal House’s status far surpassed other noble families.

If the youngest daughter were to grow up to be another genius, it was obvious that power would concentrate entirely in the Riesta Ducal House.

That’s why the assassins had been commissioned to eliminate Charlotte before she grew older.

“Tsk, how troublesome.”

The man who approached the crib drew a sharp dagger from his chest.

The blade was coated with poison that would kill the baby instantly upon contact.

As the man raised the dagger high, there was a sudden thud behind him.

He flinched and quickly turned around.

Then a chilling voice whispered in his ear.

“Didn’t anyone teach you that entering this place means forfeiting your life?”

“What?”

Those were the man’s last words.

He didn’t even have time to scream.

Janet had perfectly pierced his carotid artery with her dagger.

As the man collapsed sideways with a thud, Janet wiped the blood splattered on her cheek with her dagger-holding hand.

“How filthy…”

Just then, she heard Charlotte whimpering softly.

Janet hastily wiped the blood from her dagger and sheathed it in the scabbard strapped to her thigh.

Then she hurriedly picked up Charlotte and began soothing her.

“Oh, my little lady. Did you wake up?”

Janet held Charlotte with one hand and pulled the bell cord with the other.

Shortly after, Laura entered the room.

“What’s going on?”

“I need to clean this up. Could you help me?”

“Ah…”

Laura wasn’t surprised by the sight of the corpse either.

She simply nodded with a calm expression.

“It’s been a while since someone infiltrated the mansion.”

“Yeah. Looks like they were targeting the young lady. They knew this was the baby’s room.”

Janet shrugged and continued.

“I killed one and knocked out the other.”

“I see.”

Laura nodded briefly and grabbed one leg of each intruder in each hand.

Then she began dragging them away.

Blood stains would remain, but it would soon be time for Merry, the cleaning staff, to wake up.

Merry would complain a bit, but Laura rationalized that it couldn’t be helped as she headed toward the underground prison.

Surprisingly, Jackal was already in the underground prison.

“Ah, Duke.”

“Go take care of the corpse.”

“Yes, sir.”

Laura bowed her head and dragged the corpse deeper into the prison.

All servants in the Riesta Ducal House were people from the underworld who belonged to Jackal.

That’s why they weren’t surprised by corpses or blood and could kill cleanly.

Jackal grabbed the unconscious intruder by the collar and threw him into the cell.

“Ugh!”

The intruder let out a low groan and opened his eyes from the strong impact.

What he saw was Jackal emanating a terrifying aura.

He was in a very displeased state.

His blood was boiling at the much earlier movement than he had anticipated.

Although the risk of Charlotte being hurt or killed by assassins was low, the thought of such threats increasing in the future irritated him.

The assassin swallowed hard as he met Jackal’s icy gaze.

“Huk!”

“If you want to die in a relatively intact state, it would be better to confess willingly.”

Jackal smiled coldly.

* * *

A few days later, Yvonne finally recovered enough to move around.

As soon as she got up, the first place she headed to was Charlotte’s room.

When Yvonne carefully opened the door, Janet, who had been sitting, jumped to her feet.

“Madam! Are you feeling better?”

“I’m fine, Janet. How is Charl?”

“She just had a hearty meal.”

Yvonne chuckled as she approached Charlotte.

Sensing her approach, Charlotte, who had been looking elsewhere, turned her head to look at Yvonne.

“Oh my…”

Charlotte’s eyes were a light green, exactly like Jackal’s.

Janet quickly moved beside her and chattered.

“Aren’t her eyes beautiful? When I first saw them, I was so captivated by their beauty.”

“No wonder he wouldn’t tell me about them.”

Yvonne carefully extended her arms and held Charlotte.

“They’re a beautiful color too difficult to describe in words.”

Charlotte’s eyes contained lush greenery, vast fields, and leaves swaying in the wind.

Charlotte stared intently at Yvonne.

‘Mom…’

She wanted to call her “mom,” but couldn’t make any sound.

Yvonne was looking at Charlotte with eyes that conveyed overwhelming love.

Perhaps because she had never received such a look in her entire life, Charlotte felt shy and embarrassed.

Unable to keep looking at Yvonne’s face, Charlotte leaned against her chest and nuzzled her face against it.

Yvonne melted at how adorable it was.

“Who does she take after to be this cute?”

“Of course, she takes after you, my lady.”

“Hoho, that’s right, isn’t it?”

But just then, someone entered and interrupted.

“No, she takes after me.”

Yvonne turned around quickly while holding Charlotte.

Jackal, who had somehow approached closely, stroked Charlotte’s cheek with his finger.

“You haven’t gone to work yet?”

“…I’ll go soon.”

Jackal answered, slightly averting his gaze.

Yvonne raised an eyebrow.

She was aware that Jackal’s departure time for work had been getting later these days.

Of course, it was because he checked on Charlotte every morning before leaving.

“Her eyes look exactly like yours.”

“They’re similar, but I think they’re more beautiful than mine.”

While Jackal’s eyes had a certain coldness swirling in them, Charlotte’s contained warmth.

Charlotte flailed her arms toward Jackal, reaching out to him.

He was moved and carefully took Charlotte from Yvonne’s arms.

“Charl, I’m your father.”

When Jackal extended his finger, Charlotte grabbed it firmly.

That sight was so incredibly cute that all three people in the room simultaneously let out satisfied sighs.

Yvonne glanced at the clock and said to Jackal.

“If you don’t leave now, you’ll really be late.”

“…Alright.”

Jackal reluctantly handed Charlotte back to Janet.

Yvonne left the room with him to see him off.

In front of the carriage, she smiled brightly and said.

“Be careful and don’t get hurt.”

“I will. I’ll be back on time.”

Jackal naturally placed a brief kiss on Yvonne’s forehead.

Charlotte’s heart warmed at their harmonious relationship.

Their happy expressions made her happy too.

Yvonne stood there until the carriage became a dot in the distance and disappeared.

“Theo.”

“Yes, madam.”

Theo, the butler who had been standing a short distance away, quickly came to Yvonne’s side.

“Contact the Magic Tower now and tell them to send all the new recording stones they have. As quickly as possible.”

“Understood.”

As Theo left to carry out her order, Yvonne smiled with satisfaction.

“I wonder why I didn’t think of recording stones until now.”

Recording stones were magical tools that could record situations when infused with mana.

Although recording required mana, they were convenient tools that could be operated later even by people without mana.

Yvonne planned to use these recording stones to capture Charlotte’s cute and beautiful moments.

And she would keep them as family treasures for life.

“I should make copies too, in case I lose them…”

The thought of being able to preserve Charlotte’s adorable moments forever made her feel content.

Yvonne hurriedly headed back to Charlotte’s room.

When she arrived, Royan and Chesar were there, gazing at Charlotte and whispering in soft voices.

Janet was absent, having temporarily left the room.

“Her hair is so soft.”

“Her eyelashes are long too. And her skin is so white. Her chubby cheeks are so cute.”

Yvonne let out a small laugh.

Hearing her laughter, they both turned around simultaneously.

“Mother.”

“You’re here?”

Yvonne approached and stroked their hair.

“Were you looking at Charl?”

“Yes.”

Chesar nodded, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

Charlotte was lying in her crib, watching the mobile spinning above her.

Looking at the sparkling mobile made her sleepy, and she let out a long yawn.

Royan noticed and said to Yvonne.

“I read in a book that newborns sleep a lot. I think Charl is sleepy now.”

“Yes, it seems so.”

Before long, Charlotte fell into a deep sleep.

Whatever she was dreaming about made her smack her lips and smile happily.

They watched her intently.

Just then, the door opened again and Janet entered.

“Madam, I’ve brought the recording stones.”

“Really? That’s perfect timing—I needed them.”

Janet was carrying several small recording stones along with a thick white towel.

Since it was the Magic Tower Master’s order, the magicians must have sent them right away without slacking off.

Yvonne took one of the recording stones from Janet.

The recording stone wasn’t very large, just small enough to fit in one hand.

She carefully held the recording stone and infused it with mana.

The recording stone emitted a faint light and began to work.

At that moment, Charlotte suddenly opened her eyes and turned her head.

She stared intently at the unfamiliar object.

She wanted to touch it and stretched out her arms, but all that could be seen were her round hands wrapped in mittens.

“Charl, do you want to see it up close?”

Yvonne turned off the recording stone and showed it to Charlotte.

She rolled her eyes around, examining the recording stone carefully.

While playing with Charlotte using the recording stone, Yvonne looked at Royan and Chesar who were watching from the side.