Chapter – 06
That was because Liliana, standing there with her small lips slightly parted and unable to take her eyes off the townhouse…
‘Our Liliana is so cute, what am I supposed to do?!’
…was simply unbelievably adorable.
A moment later, Liliana suddenly came back to her senses and hurriedly looked up at Anriche.
“I-Is this really the Valois Ducal House’s townhouse?”
“Of course. Why would I lie to you, Liliana?”
Anriche nodded calmly.
After a brief pause, Liliana asked in a dazed voice,
“Th-then… this isn’t a palace where a princess lives…?”
Hearing that, Anriche burst into a small laugh without realizing it.
A palace where a princess lives!
Wasn’t that childlike imagination just too precious?
“Well then, I suppose Liliana can become Valois’s princess from now on.”
At those teasing words, Liliana frantically shook her head.
“No! How could someone like me…!”
“Liliana, what did I say earlier at the dress shop?”
Anriche asked deliberately, putting emphasis into her eyes.
Liliana blinked a few times before answering in a shrinking voice.
“U-um… that I shouldn’t say things like ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘this doesn’t seem right’ anymore…”
“Right. And why can’t our Liliana become a princess?”
Anriche lightly shrugged her shoulders.
“All children in the world are princes and princesses to the adults who love them.”
“Ah…”
“So Liliana is my princess.”
Instead of answering, Liliana simply nodded her head vigorously.
Both of the child’s cheeks were now red like ripe apples.
Anriche mischievously winked.
“But what will you do if you’re already this shocked?”
“Huh?”
“It’ll be a disaster if you faint later when you see the Valois Duchy’s main estate…”
“F-Faint?”
As Anriche spoke in an intentionally worried voice, Liliana’s expression also became serious.
“The Ducal House’s main castle is in the duchy, and its scale is said to rival the Imperial Palace.”
“What? Rival the Imperial Palace? Just how big is it…?”
“Well… maybe about ten times bigger than this townhouse?”
“Eek.”
Liliana slightly shrank her shoulders.
She must have been very startled, because Anriche could feel Liliana’s fingers fidgeting inside the hand they were holding together.
Ugh, she’s so cute! I want to bite her cheeks!!
Suppressing the urge to roll around in excitement, Anriche led Liliana toward the townhouse’s front entrance.
“Come on, let’s go inside.”
“Ah, yes!”
Liliana hurried after Anriche with tiny quick steps.
The child’s expression looked as resolute as a general heading toward enemy territory.
She was so adorable that Anriche couldn’t stop smiling the entire way inside.
“…liana.”
“……”
“Liliana!”
“Y-Yes!”
Only after Anriche called her name several times did Liliana finally snap back to attention.
Reflexively, Liliana cautiously looked at Anriche.
“Um… I’m sorry. I got distracted…”
“It’s alright. It is a bit dazzling, after all.”
Only after hearing Anriche’s casual response did Liliana finally look relieved.
“Well, actually, earlier… that street with the clothing shop…”
“Do you mean Le Morgan Street?”
“Yes! Even when we went there, I thought, ‘There’s actually a place this beautiful in the world,’ and I was so surprised.”
Liliana chattered with her mouth while her eyes busily wandered around the surroundings.
It truly was a perfect place.
Luxurious wallpaper, marble floors shining like mirrors, and furniture that looked like works of art.
Rare artworks that most noble houses would designate as family treasures were nothing more than decorations in the Valois Ducal House.
‘To think I’ll be living here from now on. It really doesn’t feel real…’
Her heart pounded so hard that Liliana unconsciously placed a hand over her chest.
A sigh mixed into her voice.
“But the Valois townhouse is even more amazing.”
“You said it looked like a palace where a princess lives.”
“Yes. That’s what I thought earlier, but now…”
Liliana stretched her neck upward and stared blankly at the magnificent chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
The multicolored lights refracting through the crystal decorations dazzled her eyes.
“…Now it feels like a palace where a fairy queen lives.”
Earlier it was a princess, and now it’s a fairy queen?
Smiling faintly, Anriche suddenly noticed a small boy walking toward them from afar.
Softly swaying black hair, and violet eyes inherited from Anriche herself.
It was Elliott.
“Oh my, Elliott.”
Delighted to see him, Anriche was about to greet Elliott.
Of course, whether Elliott would accept that greeting was another matter entirely.
“……M-Mother?”
The moment his eyes met Anriche’s, Elliott reflexively stepped backward, trying to run away.
But then—
‘Huh?’
The problem was the girl standing beside Anriche.
A girl with long bright blonde hair and vivid light green eyes.
Wearing a dark yellow dress, the girl looked as radiant as a spring flower.
“……”
Elliott stared blankly at the girl.
He felt like he had never seen such a pretty child in his life.
At that moment, their eyes met.
The girl smiled brightly with her eyes and lightly lifted the hem of her dress with both hands in greeting.
“Hello. Are you Young Duke Valois?”
The instant he heard her voice, Elliott’s face turned bright red.
Without realizing it, he even started stammering.
“W-Who are you?”
“It’s my first time meeting you. I’m Liliana Averitt.”
“Liliana… Averitt?”
Elliott blankly repeated Liliana’s answer to himself.
How is even her name so pretty?
While he was thinking that—
“Uwah!”
Crash!
Elliott fell flat onto the floor.
He had been too distracted staring at Liliana and ended up tripping over his own feet.
“A-Are you alright?!”
“Oh my goodness, Elliott! Are you hurt anywhere?!”
Liliana’s horrified voice and Anriche’s voice overlapped together.
Anriche quickly held out her hand so Elliott could stand up.
But right then—
“Young Master Elliott!”
A frantic voice rang out.
A maid came rushing over and gently wrapped an arm around Elliott’s shoulders, helping him to his feet.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m okay.”
Her attitude was almost as though she herself were Elliott’s mother.
After carefully checking Elliott over, the maid kept him close beside her before finally turning toward Anriche.
Then she bowed politely.
“…Greetings to the Duchess of Valois.”
It was a perfectly respectful greeting, yet Anriche sensed a faint feeling of discomfort.
Somehow, that behavior looked as though she were deliberately trying to keep Elliott away from Anriche…
“Yes, Meg.”
Meg.
She was two years older than Anriche and the head maid who had served the Valois Ducal House the longest.
She was also someone highly trusted by Aleksei.
‘…I heard Meg’s family itself has deep ties with the Valois Ducal House.’
Well, that made sense, since Meg’s father was the head butler working at the Valois Duchy’s main castle.
Because of that, Meg and Aleksei had apparently been close like friends during childhood.
Though naturally, they had grown distant as they got older.
Clinging tightly to Meg’s skirt, Elliott looked up at Anriche with wary eyes.
“I’m glad you’re not hurt.”
“…Yes.”
Anriche spoke in the gentlest voice she could manage, but Elliott only quietly turned his head away.
Inside, Anriche sighed heavily.
This wasn’t much different from trying to tame a wild kitten.
When would he finally let her get close?
Anyway, since this was Elliott and Liliana’s first meeting, she should at least introduce them properly.
“Liliana is your fiancée.”
“My fiancée?”
Elliott’s eyes widened.
Anriche shrugged.
“Yes. Didn’t your father tell you before? That you had a fiancée.”
“H-He did, but…”
Elliott secretly glanced sideways at Liliana.
Of course, he had heard about it.
But vaguely being told, ‘You have a fiancée,’ and actually meeting her in person were completely different things.
‘Besides, nobody ever told me she’d be this pretty…’
Elliott couldn’t take his eyes off Liliana.
Anriche smiled softly with her eyes.
“So make sure you treat her well from now on.”
“…Okay.”
Oh ho?
Anriche’s eyes sparkled.
Elliott, who normally bristled at her every word, had answered so obediently…
The heroine effect really is amazing!
“Shall we return to your room now, Young Master?”
Just then, Meg deliberately spoke up to Elliott as though wanting Anriche to hear.
But Elliott, who normally listened obediently to Meg, shook his head this time.
“No, you go back first, Meg.”
“…Pardon?”
Faced with the unexpected response, Meg’s eyes narrowed.
At the same time, Elliott slowly approached Liliana.
Confronted with the young duke suddenly coming closer, Liliana looked confused.
“Y-Young Duke?”
“You know… about Mother.”
After carefully checking Anriche’s reaction, Elliott quickly lowered his head.
Then he whispered quietly into Liliana’s ear.
“Did Mother yell at you or anything?”
