I took Brianna to a nearby ice cream shop.

I had been worried when she hadn’t appeared for over a month, but thankfully, the child looked healthy.

“Would you like us to step away so you can speak with the child?”

Joseph asked, glancing down at Brianna.

When I nodded, Joseph moved away from the table and led the soldiers to form a perimeter around the shop.

They maintained a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

Medlin also stood beyond the perimeter with Joseph.

“Have you been well?”

When I handed Brianna the ice cream, her mouth fell open as her attention was captured by the treat.

She quickly adjusted her posture, however, and looked up at me.

“Yes, I’ve been doing well. I can go to school every day now.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!”

“The person who drove me home in the carriage that day found a place where my father could work. He said the Grand Duke ordered him to do so.”

“…Is that so?”

It seemed Carlo had given such instructions after my conversation with Brianna at the museum.

My mouth opened halfway in surprise at this unexpected news, and Brianna added excitedly:

“Since he started working as a park cleaner, my father seems more energetic. He treats us really well now. But…”

When Brianna suddenly hesitated and lowered her head, I gently took her hand.

“Yes? What’s wrong?”

“…I sold the hairpin Your Highness gave me. I could have gotten a lot of money for it, but… I’m sorry. I thought it would be better to sell it and give the money to my mother rather than keeping it myself…”

“No, that’s what I gave it to you for. I’m glad if it helped! Your ice cream is melting, hurry and eat it.”

After placing a spoon in Brianna’s hand and pushing the ice cream bowl closer, she couldn’t resist her curiosity and her eyes sparkled.

A bright smile filled her face as she carefully took a spoonful of ice cream.

“It’s delicious!”

“Isn’t it? I’ll buy you another one if you want more. But you might get a stomachache if you eat too much, so only up to two. We can have more next time.”

“One is plenty! Thank you so much for the treat.”

Brianna politely thanked me and began eating her ice cream.

What could have been the lie this bright, spirited child told for my sake?

I rested my chin on my hand and stared at her until I noticed the ice cream bowl was empty.

“I’ll order another one.”

“No, thank you. I’m full.”

“Do you need to go sell flowers now?”

At my question, Brianna put down her spoon and looked at me.

“Father told me I don’t need to sell flowers anymore… But until yesterday, I still sold them whenever I had time.”

“Why?”

“Because I thought I might meet that person.”

“That person…?”

The child nodded.

Wondering if what Brianna was saying might be related to the lie the system had revealed, my eyes widened without my realizing it.

“Sometimes that person would come when I was selling flowers. That gentleman.”

“…The gentleman you mentioned back then?”

“Yes.”

While listening to the child’s words, I felt conscious of Joseph and Medlin’s direction and slightly turned my head.

The two of them were standing facing forward, as were the rest of the soldiers.

“Go on.”

“But I lied back then… I felt like I had to for some reason.”

Brianna carefully continued.

“That person doesn’t actually come here but to Grand Town. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him either. He had bought flowers from me several times.”

“…Then why did you lie?”

“Because I didn’t know… you were the Grand Duchess.”

My eyelashes fluttered at these incomprehensible words.

“When I saw you with the Grand Duke… I felt like I shouldn’t tell the truth about that gentleman.”

Brianna trailed off and looked at me.

Her eyes showed fear of my sudden silence.

I quickly shook my head and patted the back of her hand reassuringly.

“No, I just don’t quite understand. How did you come to think that…?”

“That gentleman would buy all my flowers at once, then designate one. Then I would wait until Your Highness came to Grand Town and give you the designated flower.

Dillan’s method of sending messages written on flower petals flashed through my mind.

“Then a few days later, I would see the two of you meeting in Grand Town. Actually, Your Highness came to Grand Town more often than that gentleman. You always asked me…”

“It’s okay, Brianna. You can continue.”

“You always asked me if I had a flower for you.”

I suddenly recalled the fear in Brianna’s eyes when I met her again in Mertid Square.

What had Lea done when she went to find Brianna in Grand Town and asked if she had any flowers for her?

I gently smiled while caressing the child’s hand, which had gained some weight since I last saw her.

“Brianna… I didn’t treat you badly, did I…?”

“……”

Startled by my words, Brianna blinked her large eyes and hurriedly shook her head.

“No! Your Highness gave me a hairpin, and my father…!”

The child reacted so quickly it seemed as if she might have been mistreated before. She hastily listed the things I had done for her, denying that I had ever done anything wrong.

But Redemption Coins could only be received from people I had wronged.

It seemed I had definitely done something wrong to this child.

“No, Brianna. I’ll keep listening. So I always asked you if you had any flowers for me.”

“Yes… So when I saw you… I didn’t think you were someone else’s wife. I didn’t know you were married.”

“…Is that so?”

“Because you always cried after meeting that gentleman. Then he would just leave. And when you asked me if I had any flowers for you, and I said the gentleman hadn’t left any, you would cry again.”

As I stared blankly at Brianna, she hesitantly took out a flower basket.

“…And yesterday, he came to Grand Town.”

“What?”

“He bought flowers just like before.”

“……”

“I was afraid that if I didn’t sell flowers and he bought them from another child, the Grand Duke might somehow hear about it…”

Brianna glanced around cautiously and held out a flower from her basket.

I took the flower reflexively.

Brianna looked down at her hand in mine, then spoke carefully as if gathering courage.

“I… think the Grand Duke is a much better person than that gentleman who makes you cry.”

“…I think so too.”

“What?”

“I think so too, Brianna.”

When I belatedly nodded with a faint smile, Brianna finally looked relieved and smiled brightly.

I bought the child another ice cream before secretly opening the flower petal.

[21st, 6:30 PM

Urban Theater, 5th Avenue, Grand Town]

“My lady!”

When I returned to the castle, Jeanne ran toward me with an anxious expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well… Odin has been crying all day since morning…”

“……!”

Odin!

Come to think of it, I had been taking Odin with me to December every day, but I completely forgot today.

All my attention had been focused on Carlo leaving for the Novahans Islands without saying a word. That’s why I didn’t think about Odin at all when I left the castle.

Even while working at December today, I had been acting like someone missing a screw, prompting even the quiet Brandon to ask several times if I was alright.

Sigh… He must have felt so frustrated all day!

I hurried to my bedroom with Jeanne.

“Odin!”

When I opened the door, Odin was lying weakly on the bed and barely lifted his head.

He looked exhausted, as if he had indeed been crying all day as Jeanne had said.

“Shall I bring more snacks?”

“Thank you, Jeanne.”

“I’ll bring them right away!”

Jeanne quickly ran out, closing the door behind her.

I approached Odin carefully, as if expressing my apology.

“Odin… I’m sorry. I was so distracted…”

“I’m so tired… My throat is sore… Being trapped here all day felt like my life was fading away. How could you forget me?”

Seeing his blue eyes brimming with tears broke my heart. But still…

“You were only here for half a day, aren’t you being a bit dramatic? Why don’t you try going for walks with the other servants?”

“They don’t understand me. Now, tell me. Why didn’t you take me with you?”

“Well, if I may explain, Carlo suddenly disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“No, not disappeared exactly. He left for the Novahans Islands without giving me any notice that he would be away from the castle…”

“So you forgot about me because of that?”

Odin asked, raising himself up and leaning against the pillow.

I had no choice but to nod in acknowledgment as I sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry. Somehow I felt empty all day too. I had no one to talk to.”

“…Is that true?”

“What?”

“That you felt empty. I thought you abandoned me and ran off feeling unburdened.”

“How could that be? We agreed to run away together. You’re the only one who knows my true identity, how could I leave you behind?”

Satisfied with my answer, Odin finally brightened up, his blue eyes sparkling as he happily wagged his tail.

“But Carlo really left for Novahans without any explanation to you?”

“Yes, isn’t that too much?”

“Well, considering his personality, it’s not that surprising. However…”

Odin stopped speaking and waddled off somewhere.

I watched to see where he was going. He tapped a cushion with his soft paws, pushed it with his head, and then bit something and brought it to me.

“He left this with me before he went.”