#Chapter 8. The Gift Lucy Wants

The marchioness, who had greeted Ariel with a nod, stepped aside for a moment.

“It’s nothing major, but I want to go hunting with my brother after a long time, but he won’t give his consent at all. The war is over, so I was hoping you could help me, Lady Ariel .”

“…… His schedule seems busy, so it might be difficult, but I’ll ask once.”

Ariel nodded appropriately and closed her mouth as if telling him to go ahead.

In the silence that immediately settled, Ariel only blinked while looking at Bruno, but far from leaving his spot, he smiled brightly and spun his champagne glass between his fingers.

“Oh right, I heard there was some conflict between Lucy and Derek.”

Conflict?

Ariel tilted her head slightly.

“As you know, Derek is alone, so he doesn’t know how to treat a young sister.”

“…… I see. But this is the first time I’m hearing about conflict between Lucy and Derek. Was there something I didn’t know about?”

“I heard you were there too. At my brother’s victory banquet.”

This time Bruno tilted his head.

His reaction suggested that since Ariel was also there, she couldn’t possibly not know.

“Oh my. While there was indeed a bit of commotion yesterday, fortunately they didn’t fight each other.”

“Derek left the hall crying, but you’re saying they didn’t fight?”

“During their play, Derek seemed to feel frustrated with himself. Lucy was very worried about Derek.”

At Ariel’s words, Bruno chuckled.

“I must have spoken too indirectly.”

Bruno, who drank his champagne as is, continued with a smiling face.

“Rather than fighting, Lucy didn’t treat Derek well. How hurtful must it have been for Derek to be ridiculed by Lucy in front of so many people?”

Ariel blinked slowly.

Though still a smiling face, her lips were stiff. Ariel, who spared her words, just met Bruno’s gaze.

When the uncomfortable silence lengthened, Bruno quickly broke the stillness.

“What I wanted to say wasn’t to assign blame. I was thinking it might be good to arrange a meeting between the children who had their feelings hurt. The children could play at the duke’s residence, and my brother and I could enjoy some light hunting behind the mansion.”

“I see. I’ll check the schedule once I return and let you know by letter.”

“I’ll be waiting for a positive reply.”

Bruno, who bowed his head slightly, moved away.

*

Ariel, who returned to the mansion after the award ceremony ended, untied Damian’s necktie.

Today especially, Damian’s gaze persistently fixed on Ariel’s face.

Ariel looked up at Damian with a slightly flustered expression.

“Damian, is there something uncomfortable or anything like that?”

“…… No.”

Damian shook his head.

Ariel, who placed the necktie on her wrist, tilted her head sideways while looking at him.

It was because Damian’s answer was a bit questionable.

“…… I was thinking of having dinner with Lucy today.”

“Fa, family…… din…… ner……?”

Ariel, who stretched out the words intermittently and at length, looked at Damian with surprised eyes.

Unlike her, Damian unfastened his cufflinks with his usual expressionless face.

He, who took off his vest and straightened his shoulders, stopped undressing and chuckled at the frozen Ariel.

He pulled down two buttons of his shirt and took a step closer to her.

His softly flowing blonde hair gently wrapped around the side of his face.

“Seeing you keep watching, shall we eat tonight’s dinner together in the bedroom?”

“…… No!”

Ariel flinched and shook her head vigorously.

“No. I’ll go prepare quickly.”

Ariel slightly averted her gaze and smiled brightly.

Still wearing Damian’s necktie around her wrist, she moved away from the spot.

The door opened with a click, and Ariel, who had stopped walking for a moment, turned around.

Damian, who was continuing to unbutton his shirt, turned his head toward Ariel.

“…… Damian, thank you.”

Along with Ariel’s bright smile, her fluttering eyelashes soon turned toward Damian.

Ariel, who had spoken such pretty words, immediately moved away to the corridor.

Damian followed Ariel’s retreating figure with his gaze, but she had already left, and only the closed door remained in that spot.

“Do we really need to have dinner first?”

Damian, who rolled his eyes in the air as if pondering, soon gave up.

He wanted to see Ariel’s cheerful face longer. Because in the bedroom, tears would be welling up in her eyes.

*

“Butler.”

Ariel called the butler.

“Today Damian will also be dining with us, so tell the kitchen to set his utensils as well.”

At her words, the butler’s eyes widened.

Ariel, who confirmed that pleasant surprise, nodded gently and quickly moved to Lucy’s room.

Damian usually dined alone. Mostly in the bedroom or on the outdoor terrace.

It was both for complete rest and because he often ate outside of normal hours.

“Lucy. Dad will also be having dinner with us today.”

“Dad will?”

Lucy, who was putting away her book, asked back in surprise.

Seeing that Lucy was also surprised, Ariel nodded vigorously.

“Yes. Having dinner all together is really nice. Right?”

“Really? Ehehehehe.”

At Lucy’s sudden laughter, Ariel flinched.

“Lucy……?”

Ariel, who looked at Lucy’s villainously laughing face, blinked.

Her laugh was just like Damian’s. Is this what father and daughter are like? How can their laughs be so identical?

But when a girl laughs like this…….

Oh my, what am I thinking right now?

If this is Lucy’s real laugh, I should support it. I almost taught the child something bad.

But if she laughs like this even after her social debut, she’ll become the subject of gossip…….

Ariel began to worry seriously. What would be the real choice for Lucy?

“…… Lucy. Mom loves every aspect of you.”

At Ariel’s suddenly solemn words, Lucy tilted her head.

Ariel swallowed and gently grasped Lucy’s shoulders.

Being the subject of gossip and being ridiculed by others would be twice as psychologically difficult.

“When you laugh, I mean, you shouldn’t open your eyes so wide like that.”

“…… What?”

“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with our Lucy laughing like that. It’s good for Lucy to laugh however she wants to laugh. You can laugh like that as much as you want at home. But when you enter high society, the children might whisper about you.”

“Ah. Of course, Mom.”

Lucy, who nodded immediately, smiled very prettily.

She gently pulled up the corners of her mouth and created a gentle angle in her eyes as she smiled.

“Is it okay if I smile like this?”

At Lucy’s quickly created smile, Ariel felt a bit sad.

…… So it ends up like this after all.

When Ariel’s complexion didn’t improve even at Lucy’s smile, Lucy instead grasped Ariel’s hand tightly.

“Mom.”

“…… Yes?”

“I just need Mom to be happy. Really, that’s all I need. So don’t be sad. Whether I smile like this or like that, I’m happy. And so what someone talks behind my back in high society? I’m the lady of Duke Zenova, whom no one can say anything about.”

Seeing Lucy’s face full of pride, Ariel hugged her daughter tightly.

“That’s right. Our Lucy is the lady of Zenova no matter what anyone says. Of course.”

“…… That’s right. I’m…… I’m…… the lady of Zenova.”

Ariel thought her daughter’s voice seemed to tremble a little, but when she faced the child’s face again, she was just a pretty and cute daughter, so she passed it off as just her own feelings.

*

Ariel smiled like someone who had gained the whole world when she saw Damian arrive shortly after.

How much had she dreamed of harmonious family meal times?

“Dad, what whim made you sit at the dining table today?”

However, as soon as she sat down, Lucy’s sharp words pierced Damian.

Clearly Lucy had also been happy when she learned about dining with Damian…….

Ariel looked back and forth between father and daughter, restless at Lucy’s confusing attitude.

Damian’s eyebrows twitched.

“Usually only Mom and I ate, so I was wondering what wind brought this today.”

“Lucy.”

Ariel called Lucy sternly.

However, Lucy’s eyes looking toward Ariel contained a firm intention not to back down even an inch.

“Did Mom know too? That Dad doesn’t love Mom.”

“…… What does that mean? Lucy?”

At Ariel’s question, Lucy turned her head sharply toward Damian.

“Her Majesty the Empress said that when His Majesty returned victorious from war during his days as crown prince, His Majesty gave Her Majesty the Empress a great gift.”

Damian’s expression frowned.

His narrowly opened eyes didn’t change, but he leaned his upper body toward the table as if he intended to listen to Lucy’s words.

“A gift?”

At Damian’s questioning response, Lucy nodded her head firmly once.

“Yes. That gift showed how much His Majesty the Emperor loves Her Majesty the Empress. Dad also received a gift from His Majesty the Emperor. That was also the size of love the Empire shows to Dad.”

Oh my.

Ariel bit her lower lip briefly with an “oops” expression.

It seemed Her Majesty the Empress had spoken of Damian’s award ceremony as the size of love.

It would have been meant to say how much the Empire loves Damian, how much the imperial family cherishes Duke Zenova, but it seemed Lucy had interpreted it differently.

“Lucy. That size of love means……”

“Butler.”

Damian, who cut off Ariel’s words, rang the bell. While Ariel was flustered, the butler stood beside Damian.

“Transfer all the gifts I received today to Ariel’s name.”

Ariel, who was greatly surprised, hurriedly called Damian.

“Damian. The gifts are presents His Majesty the Emperor gave, and that means the imperial family……”

However, this time Lucy cut off Ariel’s continuing words.

“It’s fine. You can say it’s to commend Mother’s achievements in protecting the Zenova ducal residence on behalf of the imperial family. Her Majesty the Empress would also be very pleased. Because Her Majesty the Empress also received hers from His Majesty the Emperor under such a pretext.”

Ariel, whose words had been cut off twice in a row, only moved her mouth soundlessly.

Damian, who nodded, concluded the situation.

“That would work.”

For some reason, the father and daughter looked identical.

Ariel, who felt that something was wrong, first called her husband Damian again.

“Damian. It’s really good that you respect Lucy’s opinion. You know too. That was the story of when His Majesty the Emperor bestowed gifts upon Her Majesty the Empress. The imperial family would absolutely not view it favorably……”

“Let’s give a gift to the daughter who gave good advice too. Is there a gift you want?”

She felt like she was the only one at the dining table moving her mouth soundlessly.

Ariel looked at Damian who had ignored her words. His gaze was already on Lucy.

Even though Mom’s words had been cut off in the middle, Lucy looked at such a dad and smiled brightly as if she didn’t care at all.

“A sibling! A little brother!”

Damian, who nodded satisfactorily, turned his gaze to Ariel.

“If I’m going to pray all night, I should eat a lot. Ariel.”