Chapter 04 …
“Still awake?”
From what Lorinus knew, Daniel should have already been asleep by now. Both the former Countess Winchester and the housekeeper, Sionne, had told him that children needed a lot of sleep.
Since Lorinus knew absolutely nothing about children or childcare, he believed them. Besides, by the time he usually came home, Daniel was always already asleep.
“Ah…”
Though his question was just that—a question—it came out so bluntly that Daniel fidgeted nervously, as if he were being scolded.
“Grrrrrrr~”
Suddenly, a small stomach growl broke the silence between an unsure Daniel and the stone-faced Lorinus.
The rumbling sound that echoed between them clearly came from Daniel. It was far too small to be an adult’s.
“…!”
Daniel’s face turned beet red from embarrassment, further confirming it.
“Are you hungry?”
At Lorinus’s question, Daniel hesitated for a moment. But his empty stomach made his head nod up and down on its own.
“Is that why you were trying to eat that cookie?”
Lorinus asked again, eyeing the cookie in Daniel’s hand.
“No. A lady gave this to me.”
Daniel shook his head and replied.
“But… Father said I shouldn’t eat things from strangers…”
Daniel trailed off uncertainly, not knowing how to finish. The small hand clutching the handkerchief-wrapped cookie trembled.
The father he rarely saw was somehow cold and scary. Daniel missed him all the time, yet when they actually met like this, he didn’t know what to do. Lorinus was aware of that.
That was why—even though the child had remembered and followed his advice—he couldn’t easily praise him. Nor could he gently explain that he’d once survived a few poisoning attempts in his childhood and that Daniel should be cautious, too. Nor could he simply say, “It’s okay to eat when you’re hungry.”
He just didn’t know how.
After all, Lorinus had never heard those kinds of kind, soft words growing up. His father had been strict with him as the heir, his mother had died early, and his stepmother despised him.
He couldn’t speak words he had never heard, nor act in ways he had never learned.
“You can eat it.”
In the end, all that came from his lips was a blunt, curt permission. Fortunately, that alone was enough to make Daniel’s eyes sparkle. He was hungry, and those simple words of permission were more than welcome.
“Because Miss Neary is someone I know.”
Lorinus mentioned the name he’d heard a short while ago. Though her identity hadn’t been properly confirmed, he gave Daniel permission to eat the cookie anyway.
That clear voice, full of sincerity. The kindness that had offered a cookie to a hungry, unknown child. The unwavering dark-brown eyes that had looked directly at him—those were what made Lorinus say what he did.
The moment he gave permission, Daniel quickly popped the cookie into his small mouth. The way he munched on it was so adorable that Lorinus forgot he was supposed to head downstairs and just watched.
As Daniel happily ate the sweet cookie, his platinum-blond head bobbing, Lorinus’s large hand slowly moved toward the top of that round little head. But Daniel, focused on eating, didn’t notice at all.
Just as Lorinus’s hand was about to touch Daniel’s hair, it suddenly stopped midair—frozen, as if someone had grabbed his wrist from out of nowhere.
And it didn’t move any farther.
“…”
In the end, Lorinus never touched Daniel. Instead, he silently clenched his empty hand into a tight fist.
“It might get a bit noisy, but try to sleep well.”
Withdrawing his hand, Lorinus said those words. That was the kindest thing he could manage to say.
“That lady said she got invited. She said thank you for inviting her to such a nice house.”
Daniel smiled as he answered. Even though he had denied it earlier, he was happy because Neary had made it sound like he was the rightful host of this house.
“I see.”
With that, Lorinus stepped out of the room. He was being considerate, so Daniel could eat comfortably.
“Bring Daniel something light that won’t upset his stomach. If he’s already fallen asleep, don’t wake him.”
“Yes, understood.”
At Lorinus’s words, Edan gave a slight bow and quickly headed downstairs.
Lorinus, too, was about to go downstairs when he passed the hallway where he had spotted Neary earlier. Without realizing it, he stopped.
Those clear brown eyes that had stared at him so directly came to mind again.
“Neary de Pomautz…”
An ordinary name. One that wouldn’t stick even after hearing it once or twice.
But Lorinus had already memorized it.
* * *
“What happened? Please, just tell me—come on!”
Sophia unni clung to me, shaking my arm. Ever since she heard I was invited to the Winchester family’s ball, she had been green with envy and came rushing over at dawn the next day.
Then, after hearing from Mother that I returned home in the Winchester family’s carriage, she started pestering me like this.
“Wait! What’s that band on your neck? You—you—you! Don’t tell me!”
Suddenly, my sister freaked out. Even Mother, who had been calmly sipping her tea, turned toward me in alarm. I had covered my neck last night so she wouldn’t worry, which is probably why she didn’t know.
“Who did this to you?”
“…Lord Winchester.”
I had no choice but to confess.
“That’s why you came back in the Winchester family’s carriage?”
“What?! Are you going to become the Countess of Winchester? Am I supposed to treat you formally now, as a Baroness?”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Come on! You went to a ball! You came home in a different noble family’s carriage! And now you’ve got that on your neck! It’s obvious!”
“What is?”
“Oh my! Do I really have to spell it out? Even if we’re sisters, I’m still a refined lady, you know!”
Seeing her flutter her fan and bat her eyelashes as if she were a noblewoman, I was speechless. Where did “refined” come from all of a sudden? And when have you ever been refined?
“How was it? Did you like it?”
Then she scooted closer and asked, all eager again.
“Like what?”
“With Lord Winchester, of course!”
“It was awful.”
“Well, the first time can be like that. Did it hurt a lot?”
“It didn’t hurt that much.”
Watching her nod like she understood everything, I wondered—was having a knife at your throat a common experience here? Is that what couples’ fights are like in this world? I used to think my brother-in-law was a decent guy…
“Neary!”
Suddenly, my mother called my name loudly, startling me. I looked over and saw her face had gone completely pale.
“I didn’t press you yesterday because you said you didn’t want to talk… but did something really happen with Lord Winchester?”
“I didn’t tell you yesterday because I was tired and nervous…”
“Of course! That’s a very draining experience!”
Sophia cut in again, nonchalantly.
“I thought you’d worry if I told you…”
“Oh my! But a mother should know these things!”
“It’s already over, and it was kind of an accident. There wasn’t even that much blood.”
“Oh heavens! Did he say that? That it’s over? That it didn’t happen?!”
She kept jumping in between every sentence, and eventually just hijacked the whole conversation.
“He didn’t exactly say that, but I think he intends to just let it go. He apologized, saw me home…”
“Oh my goodness! I didn’t think Lord Winchester was like that. He’s total trash!”
Huh? Why is the conversation going in this direction now? Sure, he was a bit rude to me, but I sort of brought it on myself. I can understand why he reacted that way.
“Sophia. Help me upstairs, would you? I need to lie down.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Once Sophia led our mother upstairs, the room finally quieted down.
‘Was she faint from shock?’
Thinking of her pale face, I started to feel a little worried.
