“Good morning!”

The first words were normal.

‘You never know when it might explode….’

In response to Eciel’s lively morning greeting, he gave a faint smile, just as he did yesterday.

Although he seemed cold, did he actually smile a lot?

Following behind him, Viscount Rezena smiled along.

Eciel, who had discovered a step late, suddenly stopped in her tracks. Then, hesitating, she gently grasped the sleeve of the approaching Duke Chelsiers.

‘Yeah, he was like an angel on his own.’

… wait! I thought she was going to ask him whether he was an angel? Why didn’t she do that?

In the meantime, Eciel was still firmly holding onto my wrist with one hand.

And Viscount Rezena, being as quick-witted as I thought yesterday.

He quickly noticed Eciel’s hesitation toward him and kindly introduced himself.

“Hello, Miss Eciel. I am Viscount Luis Rezena, an aide to Duke Chelsiers. I introduced myself to your sister, Miss Claire, yesterday.”

“Hello,” Eciel responded kindly, then turned to me. I nodded. As he had already introduced himself yesterday.

Then Eciel looked up at the duke.

Although she seemed to put on a serious expression…. surprisingly, her widened eyes, rather than serious, were just cute.

“Mister, are you the duke?”

“Huh?”

I suddenly realized.

Come to think of it, didn’t Viscount Rezena just introduce Duke Chelsiers?

So, Eciel finally realized that this person was not an angel but a duke?

‘Goodness. Indeed, you have to be quick-witted in life….’

Duke Chelsiers nodded firmly. He barely avoided the danger of being reinterpreted as an angel.

Meanwhile, he slowly knelt down.

Long and straight fingers calmly straightened the ribbons and sleeves of our clothes that had gotten tangled up while running.

Although he didn’t look particularly familiar with doing it, his movement was careful.

During this time, Eciel looked at his face with an unnecessarily innocent look.

‘If it was me, I would ask why she was staring at me, even if it was uncomfortable.’

The duke’s gaze  felt more familiar than his children’s clothing arrangement.

…. Well, just by walking down the street, he could gather people’s attention from both sides.

When he finished straightening her clothes and let go, Eciel leaned in and whispered to me.

“Claire, the duke really resembles you a lot.”

Oh. A surprising and new fact I hadn’t realized… I nodded vaguely, as if I understood.

Eciel said firmly.

“And his hair is sparkling. Just like before Claire’s dyed.”

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly. He clearly heard Eciel’s words.

As he looked at my head carefully, I confessed without hiding anything.

“Mom made me a magic potion. My eyes are already unique, and when combined with the silver hair, they stand out too much.”

My hair was now the most common black. It was also the easiest color for Mom to make with her magic potion.

When I applied the transparent and sticky potion to my hair and eyebrows every month, even the roots turn clean black.

Without damaging the skin or hair, and without leaving any color on the pillow and blanket.

The man who heard my words nodded slowly.

“Charlotte was also skilled in making magic potions. If she made magic potions for you regularly while traveling, she wouldn’t have had much financial hardship.”

Although he didn’t say it aloud, there was relief in every word.

He was right.

All the money we used to cover moving expenses, necessary furniture, and various necessities while we were constantly moving came from the magic potion Mom made.

‘It wasn’t that there was still much to spare after spending it.’

But we never really suffered financially.

There was a brief moment of gentle silence.

Unlike when we left the family room yesterday, the man’s complexion was calm and cheerful now.

That smooth complexion gave Eciel courage.

Eciel once again firmly grasped the duke’s sleeve. It was her little trick. When she had something to say, she would look at someone with sparkling eyes while gently holding his sleeve.

Anyone who saw this child holding his sleeve would gladly smile and listen. The duke, too, remained in the same kneeling position, leaning toward the child.

The early morning sunlight poured over his smooth silver hair and Eciel’s bright platinum hair, sparkling beautifully.

“Duke, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask since yesterday.”

The child spoke softly, gradually bursting into a bright smile as if unable to contain it any longer. That smile was brighter and more radiant than the warm sunshine pouring down.

I could tell what she wanted to ask just by looking at that smile.

But even so, instead of being embarrassed like before… for some reason, I also smiled a little.

The duke seemed to understand too. He smiled and gently asked.

“What is it?”

“Duke, Claire and I are twins. We have our ninth birthday in February this year. So… what I want to ask is…”

Eciel paused for a moment, then whispered with excitement and hope, making her voice even smaller and more desperate.

“Are you, our father?”

He smiled and nodded. A clear and definite affirmation.

Giggling, Eciel let go of my hand and leaped into his arms without hesitation. The man also effortlessly embraced Eciel.

I watched their affectionate scene with a proud feeling.

Eciel. You might not know, but today, I rescued you from many traps….

Then our eyes met. The man’s eyes, which passed the same color as mine, softened gently.

“Claire, come here.”

Me too?

I hesitated.

I wasn’t like Eciel, who easily got along with people…. I even still felt awkward for Mom to hug me.

It wouldn’t be strange for me to be out of place among people depicting a peaceful family.

Still, the man and Eciel were waiting for me to approach them.

I reluctantly took the first step. Slowly and uncertainly.

‘…Oh, it’s a lot closer than I thought.’

Strong arms hugged me tightly. Even though it was the same embrace I had been nestled in since yesterday in the carriage, it felt warmer than before.

‘It’s probably because Eciel is with me now.’

Their combined warmth.

But if that was really the case… where did this warmth, overflowing to the bottom of my heart, come from, like when Mom hugged me?

There was no rational basis for this heat that warmed my throat.

I awkwardly let my arms hang at the side as if I would be in big trouble if I touched them any further and rolled my eyes, not knowing what to do.

Eciel laughed when she saw me like that.

Then, my younger sister released one arm and wrapped it around me. Her good, warm arm pressed against my back as if I was going to get burned.

“Hug me, Claire.”

This child’s self-conscious requests always made me tremble and scared… I finally got my hand to move.

‘Wouldn’t it be funny to others to see us all lumped together?’

While thinking that, I wrapped my right hand around Eciel’s back and my remaining arm around my father’s shoulders.

It felt like a strangely twisted piece had found its place and fit perfectly.

* * *

After that, there were some minor crises, such as Eciel introducing our father to Mom as ‘Our father sent by the May Fairy!’

But anyway, it was peaceful until breakfast was over.

At least until Dad handed Eciel the dessert tray he promised yesterday.

It was a subtle scene of Eciel clapping her hands happily and the other three of us looked at her warmly.

And it was really peaceful until Eciel focused on the refreshing fruit jelly.

Then Mom started the interrogation.

The prisoner was Dad.

“Now, tell me what you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I realized yesterday that I have to see the children to be able to talk to you calmly…. Tell me quickly, don’t pretend to know nothing.”

Hmm, pretending not to know might be better for me. I lifted the teacup in a gesture of etiquette.

Eciel and I were alone on the terrace, and our parents were talking inside the connected room.

The distance between the sofa where the two were sitting and the terrace was sufficient.

If we just spoke quietly, Eciel wouldn’t hear anything special.

‘But that doesn’t mean I can’t hear them.’

My parents probably knew it too.

But I still pretended not to hear anything and knew nothing. In general families and society, we were taught that these were manners and virtues.

As I drank my tea, I looked somewhere in the garden as if I couldn’t hear anything.

A small sigh was heard, and Mom spoke again step by step.

“Don’t pretend not to know. It’s the part where I received amnesty in exchange for erasing your name from public record of contribution.”

Dad, who judged that it would be difficult to turn the conversation any further, replied quietly.

“It’s as I said. There is a register of cooperation after the coup.”

A coup. Overthrowing an unjust ruler and correcting the country, things similar to that.

The herb’s pungent taste spread in my mouth. I swallowed it with a gulp.

Until yesterday it had little to do with me, but now I know it had a lot to do with me.

Because my mother’s father was dethroned, and her cousin ascended to the throne.