“Calon, look at this tree! It’s huge!”

“Yes. It’s quite large.”

Jade scanned the estate with curious eyes, and Calon patiently followed alongside him.

“How old do you think this tree is?”

“You can tell by the growth rings.”

“Where are those on the tree? I want to see them myself.”

“They’re in the garden pavilion, watching Jade and Calon with a bored expression.

Sitting here reminded her of when she looked after Ray at the marquis’s estate. Back then, like now, she just sat at a distance and watched the child play alone.

“The Duke entrusted Young Master Jade to me.”

“So why do I have to—”

“Taking care of you is also my job! So you need to stay by my side too.”

It was absurd. What kind of lady in the world adjusts herself to her maid’s schedule?

“You’re the master here, really.”

“If I don’t do this, you won’t come out. The weather’s so nice!”

Jo brazenly grabbed Arinne’s arm and shook it.

“I can’t live because of you.”

“That’s a lie. You live for me, don’t you?”

“Honestly.”

Arinne shook her head with an incredulous laugh at Jo’s charm, which would be less annoying if she just kept quiet.

Her eyes caught sight of Calon and Jade spending time together affectionately on one side.

If Lawrence had seen that, he’d definitely be digging himself into the ground again.

For someone with so much to be proud of, why did he lack so much confidence? Watching him sometimes felt frustrating, and sometimes he seemed pathetic.

The same went for how he dealt with children. Since he found children difficult, naturally the children found him difficult too.

He could afford to be more confident.

“What an uncool person.”

Arinne muttered quietly to herself, thinking of Lawrence. Jo tilted her head beside her.

“Hm? Me?”

“Not you. Jo, know when to b*tt in.”

When she gave her a look, Jo pouted her lower lip sullenly. She’d answered because she heard the comment, only to get scolded for nothing.

“The Duke really doesn’t mind?”

Arinne kept her eyes on Jade as she properly addressed Jo this time.

“No. He actually seemed happy about it? Before he left, he made sure to prepare dessert for Young Master Jade first, and he sent some of the Young Duke’s childhood clothes to be altered.”

“Good grief…”

What’s gotten into that old man?

Arinne made a sour face as she listened to Jo.

It was surprising enough that ‘that’ Duke would dote on a child, but even more surprising was that Jade seemed to like him quite a bit too.

She was so shocked this morning when she heard he’d greeted him with “Grandfather.” She thought she was dreaming.

“Oh! The room where Young Master Jade is staying—it used to be your room, right?”

Jo clapped her hands and spoke in an excited voice.

“And all those abstract paintings decorating the third floor room and hallway are your work too!”

Jo’s eyes sparkled without any sense of tact, curious about her master’s childhood stories she didn’t know.

She seemed to hope Arinne would share even trivial anecdotes for fun, but Arinne had nothing to tell Jo.

“I painted abstract art?”

“Ah. Well, sensory? Um, very unique? They were paintings like that.”

Jo hesitated for a split second, then quickly worked her brain to make a smooth excuse.

Even thinking back, they didn’t look like representational paintings, but it was a servant’s virtue to agree when the master said something was so.

“Were they seriously bad paintings?”

“Oh no~! Not at all!! They were just a bit… ahead of their time? Um, what’s the word. Well, they had a slightly futuristic feel?? Something like that!”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I feel pretty terrible right now.”

“I’m sorry.”

Arinne raised one eyebrow. Whether the paintings hanging on the third floor were abstract or representational, before even arguing that point, she couldn’t tell how they were painted or even if she was really the one who painted them.

Her memories of living in the capital as a child were hazy like something in smoke, so even the fact that she’d lived here sometimes felt like a lie.

“But the room was really lovely! Any child would dream of such a pretty room!”

Jo didn’t hide her admiration for the third floor room and her envy of Arinne for spending her early childhood there.

“Don’t you want to see it after all this time?”

“Not particularly.”

Arinne answered without a moment’s hesitation. Surprised by her firm refusal, Jo bit her lip and widened her eyes cautiously.

The third floor room where Jade was staying now was one she’d used until she was eight. It was a room that hadn’t been used for nearly twenty years.

She’d thought it would either be left neglected and dusty or cleaned of all traces, so she was actually a bit curious to hear it was still maintained as a ‘child’s’ room.

Since she hadn’t seen it herself, she didn’t know if it was really the same as when she was little. And even if she saw it, she probably wouldn’t recognize it well.

That time had long since been pushed to the back of her memories.

“Why didn’t they clean it out?”

She also wondered what the Duke was thinking, maintaining that room for nearly twenty years.

“Well, he probably wanted to reminisce about when you were little.”

“Reminisce my as$. The Duke wouldn’t do that.”

Arinne spoke curtly and shuddered like the mere thought disgusted her.

From Jo’s perspective, Arinne always had unreasonably low expectations of her family.

To Jo, Arinne was always a beloved lady. So sometimes it was hard for her to understand Arinne’s loneliness.

The Duke frequently sent gifts to the east, threw grand banquets for her birthday, and whenever he came to the east, Jo knew he checked on her wellbeing first.

Most of all, Jo could see how tender the Duke’s gaze was when he looked at her.

“I still have all my childhood things. Remember that doll you said was tacky? I still keep it!”

Jo skillfully changed the subject.

“Ah. That ugly doll you used to wrap in Josephine’s scarf?”

“It’s not ugly!”

“Sure, if you say so.”

Now that a story she knew came up, Arinne’s expression became much more relaxed.

The ‘childhood’ she remembered started from age eight onward, spent in the east.

Her memories from the capital were all fragmentary, limited to a few strongly imprinted moments.

Scenes of the Duke holding her, taking her hand—those damned moments came to mind from time to time, but…

‘Forget it. Don’t think about it.’

Arinne consciously stopped her thoughts. It didn’t matter anymore whether he cared for her or not.

Whether he cared then and doesn’t now, or even if he still cares for her now just like before, they couldn’t return to being as close as they once were.

As a family, the relationship was already ruined.

“Just be careful when you go up to the third floor.”

Arinne glanced around unnecessarily and lowered her voice. Jo gulped and leaned her ear forward.

“Careful?”

“Yeah. There’s a ghost there.”

Jo’s face turned deathly pale.

“A, a, a, a ghost?!! You’re joking with me, right…?”

“Why would I joke with you about something like this?”

She did mean to tease her, but it wasn’t a lie. She clearly remembered seeing a ghost on the third floor when she was eight, before going to the east.

“Is something wrong?”

Calon approached with a puzzled look at the commotion. Jade peeked his head around beside him.

“No. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Nothing?! She says there’s a ghost on the third floor!”

Jo shouted with a pale face.

“A ghost?”

Jade pushed past Calon and approached Arinne, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.

“There’s really a ghost?? I haven’t seen it…”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“What’s there to be scared of?”

“Oh.”

Like most children his age, Jade put on quite a brave front.

“You’re brave.”

Jade seemed slightly surprised by her praise, but soon became even bolder.

“Let’s go look now. All together.”

Whether Jade searched the estate for ghosts or went on an adventure or did whatever, it didn’t matter, but ‘all together’ was a different story.

“Does that include me by any chance?”

“Are you scared?”

There was no need to explain the whole situation to a child, so Arinne just agreed vaguely.

“Yeah. I’m too scared, so I absolutely won’t go. Go without me.”

Hmm—

Jade, who’d been pursing his lips, carefully reached out his hand toward her like he’d made up his mind.

“I’m here, so it’s okay. I’m not scared of ghosts… I can protect you.”

Jade’s cheeks and ears flushed like pink roses.

“Ah.”

Jade snatched up her hand as she hesitated in confusion.

“Um, Jade?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep it a secret that you’re a scaredy-cat, my lady.”

“No, you don’t have to keep it a secret…”

Jade truly seemed to believe he could protect her—the more Arinne showed signs of hesitation, the more resolute Jade’s eyes became.