Chapter 40

"Do you always look like that?"

Returning to the room, Cynthia asked Rias with a sigh.

"Like what...?"

"Your mother-in-law."

Slipping her body between Cynthia, who was leaning on the sofa, and the backrest, Rias said, "Ah, I see."

"I didn't expect her not to greet us. Even with Cynthia here."

That's not the point.

"I've told her that I don't need a welcome when I return, so she might feel the same way."

"About... meals..."

As Cynthia hesitated, Rias continued.

"We haven't had meals together for years."

Even when she returned to the territory, she doesn't even have meals with her mother.

Feeling Cynthia's surprise, Rias finally seemed to choose his words carefully.

"Mother... has a different way of thinking from you. When my father died and I inherited the dukedom, she said my role was over."

"Role?"

"Perhaps the role of producing an heir for Pencillia."

Cynthia froze at the word.

"To produce."

"That's why she says I can do as I please from now on."

"......"

A moment of silence fell.

"If I've made you uncomfortable, I apologize."

Cynthia gently stroked Rias's slightly dejected cheek.

"It's not your fault."

Indeed, now she knew.

The Pencillia clan had been urging her to have a second child quickly.

Rias had thoroughly hidden this from Cynthia.

She had wondered how such a mindset could prevail, but it had been the norm until the previous generation, and the duchess had accepted it.

—Women were seen as tools to produce good heirs.

And once that role was over, they could live as they pleased. After a life of restriction, they could now do as they wanted?

What about the children?

She was amazed the ducal family had held on this long.

Rias, with a troubled expression, leaned into Cynthia's palm. He then gently placed his hand over hers.

"Anyway, don't worry about my mother. She's staying in the annex, so we might not see her again."

Today's dinner party was a special occasion, but from now on, they would likely be separate unless specifically invited.

Somehow, somehow...

Cynthia felt a bad aftertaste.

It wasn't that she had been treated coldly or had an unpleasant experience.

Just a sense of indifference throughout.

Rias considered it normal, so trying to change it felt wrong.

Perhaps because the king doted on his grandchildren, Eidan and Marivel had imagined their grandmother similarly.

Cynthia was concerned about how the children felt.

The next day.

Rias had a full day of meetings with the governor about the territory's administration.

Cynthia stayed in her room to rest from the journey.

Crash—!

A sound of something breaking echoed through the mansion.

"Oh no... that sound is definitely..."

The maid said she would go check, but Cynthia couldn't just stay.

Cynthia got up and headed to the hall where the sound came from.

The hall was in a bit of a commotion.

Cynthia's room was on the second floor, so she could see from the hallway.

"I'm so sorry!!"

Daria, Eidan's nursemaid, was prostrate on the floor. Behind her, Lena was trembling with a pale face, and Marivel, in her arms, was crying loudly. Eidan's face was hidden as he bowed deeply.

The butler, several maids, and Rula were standing there.

Cynthia hesitated for a moment, seeing Rula in the hall, thinking she was staying in the annex.

"Why did this happen?"

Rula's gaze fell on something shattered into pieces. From the color, it looked like a piece of blue porcelain, shining even from the second floor.

Needless to say, it was a high-end item.

"Well..."

"It was me! I bumped into it!"

Eidan shouted.

"I'm sorry!"

Eidan bowed deeply.

Perhaps he had been playing and bumped into it. Concerned about any injuries, Cynthia leaned forward, but she couldn't see from a distance.

"You should play outside if you're going to run around. ——Can't you quiet her down? You seem quite young to be a nursemaid."

Rula pressed her forehead.

Marivel's cries echoed in the hall.

The high-pitched cries of a two-year-old might be unbearable if you're not used to them.

Rula looked at Lena with a stern gaze, as if unable to bear the crying.

"I'm so sorry. ——Marivel, please stop crying."

"Ugh, ugh, ugh—!"

Focusing on her, Marivel cried even more.

"Eidan, did you break it?"

"Yes..."

"This was a special item bestowed upon Pencillia to honor past achievements, presented by a distant country's envoy. An apology won't suffice."

Rula said matter-of-factly.

Cynthia hurried down the stairs.

"Even so, a child as young as you can't bear the responsibility. The nursemaid will have to take the blame."

"No, no, no!"

"Eidan, everyone makes mistakes. However, Pencillia doesn't tolerate them. Your mistakes will be borne by your subordinates. As the heir of Pencillia, you mustn't lose composure over such a trivial matter."

Rula ordered the butler.

"Take this nursemaid to the dungeon."

"No, no, no! It's not—"

"Not?"

Eidan glanced at Marivel, then at Lena.

"It's not, but... but. My nursemaid isn't at fault."

"She failed in her duty. She let a six-year-old run and break a valuable item."

Rula ordered the butler again.

"Quickly—"

"Please wait, Mother-in-law."

Cynthia finally reached the hall.

"First, I'm very sorry."

She was out of breath.

After a few deep breaths, she composed herself. Fortunately, everyone waited.

Eidan looked anxious. Taking Marivel, who was still crying, into her arms, she finally calmed her down.

"Marie, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Ugh, ugh, Mama."

"Yes, Mama. ——Eidan, are you hurt?"

"......Yes."

His voice was barely audible. Speaking seemed to make him want to cry. He bit his lip and looked down.

Cynthia turned to Rula.

"I'm very sorry for what the children did. However, if it's a child's mistake, it's the parents' responsibility. If you want someone to take responsibility, I will."

Since it's Pencillia's property, it's also mine.

Rula looked surprised.

"Princess, what do you mean?"

"What do you mean?"

"The education of children is the nursemaid's responsibility. There's no reason for you to be blamed."

"No, Eidan and Marivel are my children. I'm responsible for everything they do."

Cynthia's firm and resolute statement left Rula speechless.

After all, even though Cynthia had married into Pencillia with a debt, she was the first princess of the royal family. To Rula, a distant relative of the previous duchess, Cynthia was someone far above her.

She had tried to be careful not to make any mistakes.

She thought that if something was broken, she should handle it according to the usual rules, in a businesslike manner.

Looking at Marivel, who had cried herself to exhaustion in Cynthia's arms, and Eidan, who was standing stiffly beside her,

—This is why children are so troublesome.

You can't understand what they're thinking. They don't follow adult logic. They think that if they cry loudly, someone will fix it.

So Rula had first tried to eliminate this childishness in her own children.

Quiet, logical speech. Unobtrusive children.

A sigh escaped her, which Cynthia noticed.

"I'm very sorry for the noise the children made in this quiet and dignified mansion. I feel bad for troubling you, Mother-in-law."

"No, no, it's not—"

"Our stay will continue for a while. I know it's a lot to ask, but could we store away the valuables in the mansion during our stay?"

"Is that acceptable? It's also important to teach proper manners in a formal setting."

Swallowing the words, "For a two-year-old and a six-year-old, manners..."

"Yes, I agree. But..."

Cynthia gently stroked Eidan's head, which was still bowed.

"I want to see them play and make noise like children for now."

"Oh..."

Like children.

"Princess, you are very generous."

A slight frown appeared on Rula's forehead.

It wasn't so much displeasure as incomprehension.

"I believe that the experiences children have when they are young will strengthen them like treasures. So, I'm sure it will be fine."

Cynthia was absolutely confident about this.

She wanted them to grow up feeling loved and free.

That was her wish.

"If that's what you want, Princess, of course, I'll leave it to you."

"Thank you."

Rula left without a word to the children.

She was truly indifferent. She had just happened to see the incident and tried to handle it in her own way, without any deeper meaning in the punishment.

Cynthia sighed, looking at the now small Eidan and Marivel, who was still hiccupping from crying.

It was too early for them to understand that there are such adults.

"Madam, I'm very sorry."

The nursemaids bowed deeply.

Cynthia knelt down and pulled Eidan closer.

"What happened?"

"We were playing hide-and-seek. I'm very sorry."

Lena spoke in a barely audible voice.

"I was accompanying them, but Marivel got angry because I was too close and would find her easily. I was following from a distance, but then... I lost sight of her."

It seemed they had been searching for Marivel, who had hidden.

Eidan spoke softly.

"I found Marivel here. She was reaching for that vase."

The blue porcelain was a vase.

The servants had already started cleaning up.

"I told her not to... but Marivel didn't listen..."

Tears welled up in Eidan's eyes.

"Even when I told her to stop and wait, Marivel... ugh, ugh, ugh—"

Eidan finally started sobbing.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault... Daria..."

"It's okay, Eidan."

Cynthia hugged both of them tightly.

"You're not at fault. You thought that because of what you said, Daria might be taken away. Your mother would never allow that."

"Ugh, ugh..."

"You were trying to protect Marivel. You're a kind big brother."

She released her embrace and wiped Eidan's tears.

"In such situations, call for your mother first. Tell the butler or servants to call for your mother."

"......Yes."

Eidan's tears stopped, but the bad aftertaste remained. Saying "You're not at fault" wouldn't fully convey the message.

The feeling of being blamed by their grandmother, the fear of the nursemaid being blamed. She wanted to lighten their spirits somehow.

It's not right to say, "There are such adults," and she couldn't speak ill of Rias's mother.

Cynthia felt frustrated and helpless, wishing the children wouldn't be left with any emotional scars.

Isn't it difficult when children are involved with adults who can say, "There are such people in the world"?