Chapter 16
At that moment.
“There’s no other choice. I’m sure the Duke and Iris will understand.”
Rowina was making a solemn decision.
Just a short while ago, Rowina had been engaged in an unexpected game of hide-and-seek.
A game where she had staked her very fate on the outcome!
The reason was simple.
“Where on earth did Dante go?”
After leaving the tearoom, Dante had completely vanished without a trace.
Rowina had chased after him, but even when she asked the servants, hardly anyone remembered seeing him.
Everyone had been too busy getting scolded by Lady Haworth to pay attention to a child.
So, in search of the missing Dante, Rowina had wandered all over the Somerset ducal estate.
Part of her even wanted to say she didn’t need to bother, but this was a matter of survival.
“If Dante hates me, I might get kicked out!”
The reason Rowina had been able to come here in the first place was because she was the solution to the issue of Duke Seymour’s succession.
And that “solution” meant that Rowina would marry Dante and pass on the title.
“If Dante doesn’t want to marry me, I’ll become completely useless!”
No matter how many written agreements she gave Lady Haworth, they would be nothing more than scraps of paper when the time came.
“I thought all I had to do was make the Duke happy.”
But there was an unexpected variable.
And that child was extremely good at hiding. Not even a strand of hair could be seen!
Perhaps that was only natural.
Dante had been to this estate several times before, while this was practically Rowina’s first time here. There was no way she could compete in such a familiar environment.
The only fortunate part was that Freya had left Dante behind.
“I’m just introducing Dante. It’s not like I can take him with me. Strictly speaking, Somerset is basically Dante’s home. I’ll be leaving now, so get along well.”
Thanks to that, there was still a chance to become close to Dante.
“But if things keep going like this, I’ll never find him.”
Rowina was too small, and the estate was too large.
If she had known the layout well—or if she were the one doing the hiding—it would have been an advantage. But in the opposite situation, it only worked against her.
After wandering the Somerset ducal estate aimlessly…
Rowina finally made a very important decision.
“I need to get taller.”
If she became tall enough to see the entire estate at a glance, she’d be able to find Dante easily!
But no matter how much milk she drank, she wouldn’t grow overnight.
So Rowina decided to use her surroundings instead.
Specifically—she would climb a tree!
“Hehe. You picked the wrong opponent, Dante.”
She didn’t know who he thought he was dealing with, but she had ten years of experience in Townshend.
As was common wherever children gathered, chaos always broke out the moment adults disappeared.
A group rolling around on the ground, others climbing trees so high no one knew how they even got up there, and kids going into the hills to pick wild berries only to return crying with scratches from thorns—it was always like that.
And Rowina, who had survived ten years in such a place, could climb a tree like it was nothing.
Of course, she got scolded by teachers every time.
‘I’ll just go up quickly when no one’s looking and come down again!’
Her climbing skills were still sharp. Rowina quickly reached the top of a tree.
As expected, the higher view let her see the entire ducal estate. A pleasant breeze brushed her cheeks and tousled her hair as she smiled down at the peaceful grounds below.
“There’s Louisa hanging laundry!”
And over there, people were struggling to carry sacks of flour.
In the wide garden, a gardener hummed while picking flowers for arrangements, and beside him, a luxurious carriage was entering through the main gate.
A truly picturesque scene…
…Wait.
“A carriage?”
A carriage that luxurious entering the estate could only mean one thing…
Could it be that the Duke had already returned?
Rowina’s face turned pale.
“Th-this is bad.”
This time, she might really get scolded.
As she clung tightly to the tree in panic, the carriage that had been rolling smoothly came to a sudden stop.
Right in front of the tree Rowina was in.
The door opened, and Seymour stepped out with a deep frown.
Did he know she was here?
No way—there was no way he could…
“I already know. Come down.”
“…Hehe. How did you know?”
“I should be the one asking that. How could I not notice when you left your clothes like that?”
“Ah!”
Only then did Rowina realize.
Climbing trees inevitably meant tearing and dirtying clothes.
Until now, she had only worn worn-out orphanage clothes, so it didn’t matter.
But today was different.
She remembered what Iris had said while dressing her that morning.
“It’s such a pretty outfit, isn’t it? It’s made from precious fabric. I’m sure Lady Haworth will like it too. Of course, you are the most precious of all, my lady.”
Kind Iris.
Whether the teachers got angry about her tearing clothes didn’t matter.
But she didn’t want kind Iris to be sad.
So Rowina had taken off the layered skirt, thinking it would be fine since she still had a muslin dress underneath.
‘Even if it gets a little dirty, no one will notice if I keep the clean skirt over it!’
Or so she thought.
But it had ended up becoming evidence instead!
Seymour, standing below the tree, looked thoroughly troubled—in other words, even more intimidating than usual.
“Come down. I have something to say.”
“Are you going to be angry?”
“That can wait—”
At that moment, another person stepped out of the carriage.
Someone Rowina had never seen before.
A man with curly hair styled into an even rounder shape, a very unusual hairstyle.
“Your Grace! May I ask why you’ve stopped the carriage? I must remind you again that my studio still has work piling up! You summoned me like this without warning—my time—”
As he complained with visible irritation, he suddenly saw Rowina hanging in the tree and froze in shock.
Rowina felt slightly awkward.
Were these people seeing a child in a tree for the first time?
Hehe. How embarrassing.
She gave her signature “smile when embarrassed” and waved.
At that, the man—still stunned—spoke again in increasing disbelief.
“Y-Your Grace, are you telling me you brought me here to show me this…?”
“That’s right. It’s slightly different from what you expected—”
“My goodness! It’s perfect!”
He burst into exclamations.
“Your Grace’s judgment is truly inspiring! Exactly that! A simple yet pure and adorable noble child! How did you even find a model like this? I could believe she was a forest fairy!”
“Can you proceed with the work with this model?”
“Of course! No—I’m begging you to let me! It’s overflowing with inspiration! This lighting, this temperature, this humidity!”
The beautiful estate, the clear sunlight, the gentle breeze rustling the leaves…
And on top of the tree, a child smiling brightly and waving—
It was nothing short of a living painting.
