Lesia’s eyes darted quickly as she eavesdropped on the conversation. From what she could tell, there was going to be an enormous banquet at the Grand Duke’s castle, and everyone except her would be attending.

“What should I do?” 

Lesia desperately wanted to attend the banquet. The events she had only heard about from Grandma Lulu’s stories sounded beautiful, dreamlike. They represented a whole new world to her. It was her greatest wish to attend such an event before she died.

Lesia wanted to burst in and protest the unfairness of being excluded from the banquet. Meanwhile, the conversation continued rapidly.

“Although the notice requires everyone seven years and older to attend, Lesia’s personal information shouldn’t be recorded in the Grand Duke’s registry. Am I right, Juliana?”

Juliana nodded urgently at Grandma Lulu’s question. “She’s registered in the imperial records, but not in the Velius Grand Duke’s registry.”

“Even if they notice, Lesia is small for her age, so we could claim she’s only seven and they wouldn’t know the difference.”

“But…”

Though Grandma Lulu’s reasoning made sense, the villagers couldn’t shake their uneasiness. Disobeying the Velius Grand Duke’s order was serious. The fact that they had sent an official notice meant the punishment would be severe if caught.

One villager cautiously spoke up. 

“May I ask why? All children from other villages will attend, so why can’t Lesia?”

Grandma Lulu fell silent at the question. As the silence stretched on, the villagers began speaking up one by one.

“That’s right, her information isn’t registered. One child missing shouldn’t cause any problems.”

“Besides, Juliana as her guardian is refusing, so we have no right to insist.”

“And Lesia would probably be overwhelmed by suddenly going outside.”

When everyone’s opinions aligned, Juliana’s gloomy expression brightened. 

“Thank you.”

Seeing the situation resolved, even the villager who had questioned Grandma Lulu nodded in acceptance. After that, Lesia’s name didn’t come up again in the meeting.

After creating a detailed schedule, everyone dispersed. Lesia had snuck out before the meeting ended and returned home. Shortly after Lesia got back, Juliana came home too.

“Mom, you’re back?”

Juliana jumped, startled by Lesia’s voice, not expecting her to be awake. She then smiled unnaturally and replied, “Yes, you looked tired so I didn’t wake you. When did you get up? Are you hungry?”

“I just woke up and I’m… hungry! Mom, let’s have lunch.”

“It would be breakfast for you.”

“I guess so. Hehe.”

Juliana’s expression softened at Lesia’s innocent response. While Juliana put on an apron and prepared a simple meal, Lesia quietly watched her back.

She thought about the adults’ meeting. Her mother had adamantly opposed her attending the Grand Duke’s banquet. When she first heard the objections, Lesia had wanted to rush out and demand to be taken along. 

She desperately wanted to see with her own eyes the beautiful banquet scenes Grandma Lulu had described. When even Grandma Lulu opposed her attendance, she felt an indescribable sense of betrayal.

Tears had welled up, and she felt wronged at being the only one excluded. But then she noticed her mother’s face. The moment she saw her mother’s pale complexion, Lesia completely abandoned her desire to attend the banquet. 

No matter how much she wanted to go, it wasn’t more important than her mother.

“There will be other opportunities later. I’ll ask to be taken along then.” 

While it would be a lie to say she had no regrets, Lesia consoled herself this way. Then she hugged her mother’s thin back tightly.

When Lesia suddenly wrapped her arms around her mother and buried her face in her back, Juliana stopped cutting vegetables in surprise. 

“Lesia?”

“Mom, I love you more than anyone in the world. So I won’t do anything that makes you sad.”

“…”

Juliana was taken aback by Lesia’s unexpected words, but she gently unwrapped Lesia’s arms and turned around. A pretty little girl with snow-white hair and blue eyes, looking like a doll crafted with blood and sweat by a master artisan, gazed up at her with clear eyes.

Juliana took in her face for a moment, then knelt down to match her eye level and spread her arms wide to pull Lesia into a tight embrace. 

Normally, Lesia would have squirmed and complained about feeling suffocated, but now she stayed quietly in her mother’s arms without protest.

“You’re the most precious thing in the world to me too, Lesia.”

“…”

“I would gladly give my life for you.”

“Me too…”

Lesia nuzzled her face into the comfortable embrace. Though it was winter, the midday sun was warm. Was it the sunlight that was warm, or her mother’s embrace? 

One thing was certain: she didn’t want to lose this warmth.

“I definitely made the right choice giving up on the banquet.” 

A smile spread across Lesia’s face.

The days that followed continued to flow peacefully and warmly for the mother and daughter. The next day, Grandma Lulu and Chalson headed for the Grand Duke’s castle.

The pair reached the castle after a week, and a week after that, repairs on the old bridge began. Chalson and Grandma Lulu stayed near the castle, planning to meet the Flora villagers there on the day of the banquet.

The repairs were completed quickly, and as soon as the bridge was finished, the villagers packed their belongings and prepared to depart for the banquet. They even brought carts to sell their products while they were out, making time of the essence.

At the end of the departing procession, Juliana gave Lesia some final instructions. 

“You understand, right, Lesia? Everything you need is…”

“I got it already. You’re making my ears fall off.”

Juliana, clearly uncomfortable leaving young Lesia alone, had been repeating information about where necessary items were located and how to store the prepared food, almost like brainwashing. With all dangerous items put away and notes already written by Juliana, Lesia spoke with an exasperated tone.

In truth, despite her words, Lesia was also anxious. The thought of staying alone for almost ten days without Juliana was unsettling. 

Fortunately, Flora Village’s isolated location actually eliminated many dangers, so there wasn’t much to worry about as long as she kept her promises.

“Juliana! We need to leave now!”

Since they needed to depart before sunrise, one of the villagers called out urgently.

“Coming! Lesia, I’ll be back soon. But before I go…”

Juliana offered her cheek to Lesia. Naturally, Lesia kissed her mother’s cheek and said, “You be careful too! When you come back, you have to tell me everything about what it was like!”

“Of course. I’ll bring you a gift too. See you soon, Lesia.”

After saying goodbye, Juliana joined the procession, which crossed the bridge and disappeared into the forest. Lesia watched the forest where the procession had vanished for a while before turning away, thinking about how bored she would be for the next ten days.

After the procession had traveled some distance, one of the villagers, Jordan, suddenly stopped walking and said, “Oh, I left something important behind. You all go ahead. I’ll grab it and catch up quickly.”

Surprised by Jordan’s sudden announcement, a villager at the front of the procession said, “How unlike you to be so careless. We’ll wait for you, so hurry back.”

But Jordan adamantly shook his head and backed away from the group. 

“No, no. I’d feel terrible if everyone was delayed because of me. I’ll be fine, so please continue without me.”

Before anyone could stop him, he rushed back toward the village. Though puzzled, the villagers resumed their journey since they were in a hurry, as Jordan had pointed out.

Juliana, who had been walking near Jordan at the back of the procession, looked worriedly toward the village.

“Juliana, what are you doing? Worried about Lesia? Don’t worry too much, she’s a smart child.”

Juliana responded with an awkward smile. 

“You’re right. This is the first time I’ve been separated from Lesia for so long, so I can’t help feeling anxious.”

She continued walking with the procession. Taking the opportunity to discuss the topic, another villager commented, “You two seem to have such a close mother-daughter relationship. I had a daughter too. We lost contact after she got married.”

When Juliana looked at her, the villager smiled faintly. 

“That’s why seeing you and Lesia together makes me so happy.”

“…Thank you.”

“Why don’t you buy a gift for Lesia while we’re at the Grand Duke’s castle?”

“I was planning to do just that. She seems to have outgrown her clothes, so I thought I’d get her new ones…”

“Oh, what a wonderful idea. If you’d like, I can help you choose.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Hoho, Lesia isn’t just your daughter. She’s like a daughter to all of us.”

At that moment, a villager who had been listening to the conversation from ahead chimed in. 

“That’s absolutely right. Come to think of it, it might be for the best that we didn’t bring Lesia to the banquet.”

“Why?”

“What if she catches the eye of some boy from another village and declares she wants to court him! I wouldn’t stand for it, not even if I were dead and buried.”

“My goodness, anyone would think she was your daughter the way you talk.”

“Didn’t you just say it yourself? Lesia is like a daughter to all of us. That makes her my daughter too!”

“You have a point there.”

Before long, all the villagers were enthusiastically discussing Lesia. Whether they would approve of her courting someone, what they would do if she decided to leave the village and live independently, and so on.

Some opposed, others approved. What they all had in common was that they genuinely cared for and loved Lesia. Juliana could feel their sincerity.

Looking at the chattering villagers, Juliana spoke with heartfelt gratitude. 

“Thank you, everyone.”

The villagers laughed, saying her words gave them goosebumps. Watching them, Juliana thought she had made the right decision coming here.

But Juliana didn’t know that dark hands were already reaching out for Lesia.