I glanced briefly at Eciel.

From the moment Dad opened the window, the wind carried not only flower petals but also the details of their conversation to me.

The passion hidden behind harsh words. Pain covered with a cold tone.

Even if you couldn’t see the emotions, what he felt was visible to the eye.

As the atmosphere grew sharper, I was just waiting for the right moment to intervene, pretending to know nothing, bringing Eciel forward….

But now that things had calmed down a bit, there was no need to go.

Dad’s gentle question added another layer of relief to me.

“And what about Claire?”

Mom hesitated for a moment… her voice sounding contemplative.

It seemed she was choosing her words carefully, not because she didn’t know what I liked, but rather what to say.

‘Well, you’d have a harder time telling me on what I might like than Eciel.’

Eciel was a very ordinary child. She was someone who would brighten up when someone made a wreath and put it on her, saying that she felt like a princess.

Her favorite book was a fairy tale. One where the princess and the knight got married after overcoming hardships and lived happily ever after.

Like all kids her age, she preferred snacks and cake over a proper meal.

When I looked at my younger sister, she leaned towards me and suddenly asked, “Where are Mom and Dad?”

“Over there. They’re talking.”

“…Can you hear them?”

It was true that I could hear them due to my ability to manipulate the wind and Astariol’s sensitive perception, so I nodded.

Even without me paying attention, the sound came lightly gently filled my ears.

“Claire likes books. But rather than just liking reading… she always seems to want to know something.”

“Yes?”

Dad asked with a puzzled tone, and Mom chuckled briefly.

Her cheerful and smooth laughter was like a water strider sliding on the water surface.

Listening to that sound, I suddenly realized.

Before I knew it, a friendly lake was slowly filling the space between the two of them.

The invisible conflicts and worries were swallowed gently by the unheard lake. Unreachable emotions flowed into my ears.

Mom’s voice, filled with laughter, reached me like a gentle wave.

“Just… anything. Anything she doesn’t know. Whenever we go out to the meadow, Eciel sees the wildflowers first, but Claire sees the horizon first.”

My shoulders slightly twitched.

‘I didn’t think I showed it to Mom.’

Why did we live in hiding and why was I different from others?

I had never asked such questions out loud, wondering alone without telling others what was inside my head.

‘But if Mom already understood my feelings …’

Was that why she followed Dad so obediently?

I looked up at the sound of the two rising from their seats.

Eciel and I made eye contact. She quickly whispered as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“What are Mom and Dad talking about now?”

“Well… They love us.”

That was the most beautiful answer my dry emotions could draw from that conversation.

Since my sister didn’t know the countless stories before and after, she blinked her eyes and asked cautiously.

“… So suddenly?”

“It’s not particularly sudden, just during this and that conversation.”

Eciel seemed to be even more puzzled. If she had actually heard it, she might have become more confused….

Then, she giggled softly and whispered.

“I love Claire too.”

“Thanks.”

“No, Claire. In this situation, you should say ‘I love you too, Eciel’.”

“….”

As I fell silent, Eciel deliberately brought her face closer to mine.

Making a slightly rough expression.

Although it looked cute in its own way, I still answered honestly.

“It gives me goosebumps, so I can’t.”

Eciel laughed.

“Claire. If you keep finding reasons like that, you might regret not saying what’s really important later.”

My sister continued speaking while swinging her legs.

“I really like Claire. I’m happy we were born as twins. I was envious when Claire said she remembered holding hands with me inside Mom’s belly. I want to remember that too.”

I blinked silently.

“In that case, if Claire doesn’t say much, I can say a lot. It’s okay. I know you well.”

“….”

“But Claire. If someday you come to love someone who isn’t our family…”

Eciel looked at me with bright and cheerful eyes.

“Since that person won’t know you well, make sure to tell him that you love him. Got it?”

I lowered my gaze, avoiding her earnest and transparent eyes. Thank goodness there was no Fermata here.

Meaningless words flowed out without conviction.

“I promise.”

Now our parents were very close to where we were.

Just as I could hear my parents’ conversation, Dad could probably hear this one too. Let’s just pray that the owner of Fermata didn’t have the ability to discern the truth.

Fortunately, Eciel seemed satisfied with my uncertain promise. Her small face broke into a radiant smile.

As I looked at her quietly, Eciel’s gaze finally met our parents’.

“Mom! Dad!”

“Having fun?”

“Yes. With Claire…”

Dad calmly listened to Eciel’s excited chatter.

It was just a guess for now, but Dad seemed like he would be a good father to Eciel. He didn’t even need to ask Mom what Eciel liked.

‘I hope he’d be like that with me too.’

Watching his smiling face that noticed my gaze, I made a childish wish.

And that wish came back in a completely unexpected way.

* * *

Objectively, Dad seemed like someone who had been preparing to be a good father his whole life.

‘Has he bought everything a nine-year-old girl would like in this area?’

Such suspicions arose as an immense number of items arrived at the mansion every day during our stay.

Clothes, toys, storybooks…

‘Isn’t this excessive?’

No. It probably wasn’t excessive, considering that the income was much bigger.

‘Still, isn’t he spending too much?’

Eciel’s favorite snacks were constantly stocked.

It only decreased a bit after Mom, who was angry, scolded us to eat sweets less.

Before that, there would still be leftovers to be shared among the staff.

It was astonishing when the fairy tales featuring princesses were piling up in the so-called ’playroom’.

‘Is this possible?’

There were many adventures and mythical creatures in fairy tales. So how did they manage to pick only the ones with princesses?

It perfectly suited Eciel’s taste.

Moreover, what was this ‘playroom’? Giving such a spacious room just for the children’s playroom? And even filling it up with toys?

Summing up all these questions…

‘…How much is he planning to spoil his nine-year-old daughters?’

What was even more surprising was the amount of time he spent, just as much as his wealth.

Did he want to become close to his daughters, whom he hadn’t known before, even for a moment?

Most people, having spent such a sum, would naturally become close on their own. But he followed us every day, every hour.

Of course, part of it was probably because Mom wanted some time alone… But, wouldn’t he have a lot to do as Duke Chelsiers?

‘At least… he must have something more important to do than watching Eciel draw all day, right?’

Anyway, speaking of that week, he was someone who had prepared to be a good father.

What I didn’t know was one thing.

Regardless of what kind of father he was, the fact remained that I wasn’t a child who could warmly welcome the father I saw for the first time in my life.

Unlike Eciel.

“Dad!”

Eciel called out from almost being buried in a neatly organized toy box.

Dad readily approached Eciel as he had been watching her with worried eyes.

In casual attire with a comfortable shirt.

So, he looked even more like an ordinary father.

“What should I get for you?”

“Color pencils. Red!”

How could she call him ‘Dad’ so easily? I was a bit amazed.

It came so easily from Eciel’s mouth. Dad, give me this. I don’t like that, stay with me from now on…

‘I can’t do that.’

I knew he was my biological father as soon as I saw him, but I couldn’t naturally say it out loud.

However, Dad didn’t seem at all upset by my awkward ‘…Dad’. He didn’t even show a hopeful expression of expecting me to get used to it and call him that more often.

That composure was remarkable.

I surely saw him smiling every time Eciel casually called him ‘Dad’.

He didn’t act in a way that made it obvious that he was trying to be a proper father.

He also didn’t force himself to talk to me or give me more attention just because I wasn’t good at speaking like Eciel.

‘In fact … he seems to be happy just being with us.’

Whether I could say “Dad” properly or not.

Dad, who took out colored pencils for Eciel, suddenly glanced at my way with his purple eyes that were exactly the same shade as mine.

I hastily lowered my gaze to the book I was holding.

I still wasn’t accustomed to seeing those purple eyes from someone else.

I felt goosebumps every time I saw that face which was so similar to mine.

…Above all, it was strange to have someone look at me like that, other than Mom and Eciel.

An affection in the realm of absolute certainty, which never wavered, changed, or deteriorated.

Something I had only found in Mom and Eciel’s green eyes since I was born.