Chapter 68

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A few days later.

I looked at the glass bottle in front of me with a tense expression.

In front of me was the bark of the Rügel tree, and on top of it, several bottles containing various liquids were placed in order.

I picked up a bottle and poured a little onto the bark.

At first, just a little, then so much that it overflowed.

The result was the same. The bark absorbed all the liquid, regardless of the amount.

I clenched my fist, sweeping my hand over the perfectly absorbed, dry bark.

At that moment, the sound of running footsteps approached.

"Ellie!"

Damian ran towards me, holding a small wreath in his hand.

"Did you finish making it?"

Damian and I were playing together in the greenhouse.

Inside the peacock castle, there were too many eyes watching to experiment with the bark.

"Let me see if you made it beautifully."

I quickly put on the wreath Damian gave me.

"How does it look? Does it suit me?"

Damian nodded, his cheeks turning red.

"Yeah. ...You look incredibly beautiful."

"Thank you."

I smiled and took off the wreath again.

"Your turn, Damian."

Just as I was about to lower my hand, I paused, feeling the height had changed.

"Damian, have you grown taller?"

"Huh?"

"I thought you were this tall before."

I raised my hand a little higher from my chest. It was at the level of my lips.

"Now you're this tall?"

"I'm not that short. I'm taller than that."

Damian blushed and argued.

"No, you were this tall. I still remember."

I lowered my hand to my chest again, and Damian pursed his lips.

His pouting face was so adorable that I pinched his cheek.

"Just kidding, just kidding. Of course, you're taller than that."

"......No. I hate you, Ellie."

Despite his sulking tone, he didn't push my hand away.

His adorable and lovely appearance made me unable to stop smiling.

"I did it because you're cute. Just look at me once, okay?"

"......"

"Will you forgive me?"

"......Yeah."

After apologizing again, Damian slowly nodded.

Oh, you're so kind. I praised him generously and stroked his head, and his lips curved up as if nothing had happened.

'Ah, this is what it feels like to have a younger brother.'

Just as I felt my heart warm up,

"Oh, what a beautiful wreath."

A gentle, youthful voice came from somewhere. Damian and I looked up.

"Hello."

A girl with brown hair, who looked to be around our age, smiled at us.

"It's an honor to meet you."

The girl curtsied gracefully. At first glance, she looked like the well-loved daughter of a prominent noble family.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Wintia Salome."

When the girl smiled, dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

She was so adorable that the words came out naturally.

"Our Salome family is one of the cadet branches of the Claidor Dukedom."

A cadet branch of Claidor?

I widened my eyes.

How did she get here? I soon understood.

If people from the Claidor side came to see the Claidor Duke, even Duke Schuets would find it hard to hide him.

If he did, they would gossip about the child's identity being uncertain.

In the long run, it wouldn't be good for Damian.

'But I didn't expect her to appear so suddenly.'

Just as I was flustered, Wintia said excitedly,

"What a beautiful greenhouse. The Duke must have taken great care of it!"

Wintia's eyes sparkled.

Then her gaze fell on the wreath I was holding.

"Oh, you're even making a wreath. Can I join you if it's okay?"

Wintia's words made Damian, who was hiding behind me, shrink back. It meant he didn't want to.

'But if we say no here...'

People would gossip about us not knowing our place.

Wintia is a young girl around our age. Regardless of the interests of the families, she is still a child.

If we treated this child coldly, we didn't know what kind of trouble the Claidor side would find.

There was no choice.

"Damian, let's play together."

"But..."

After hesitating, Damian reluctantly nodded.

"Yay, I'm so happy!"

Wintia beamed. Her clear smile showed no malice.

"Making a wreath is easy. Just pick the flowers you like—"

"Which flowers do you like, Young Master?"

Just as I was about to explain how to make a wreath, Wintia suddenly asked Damian.

'Didn't she hear me?'

The intense gaze she fixed on Damian suggested she might have.

"Young Master, I think this flower suits you well."

Wintia approached Damian without hesitation.

"From this side—"

Just as her tiny hand grabbed Damian's arm,

Thud!

Damian pulled his hand away as if it had touched something dirty.

"Ah..."

"Don't touch me without permission."

I was so surprised by Damian's cold tone that I forgot I had been ignored by Wintia.

I looked at Damian with a slightly dazed expression.

"I'm sorry. I just thought this flower would suit you..."

Wintia, who seemed equally shocked, her expression darkened instantly.

Soon, tears welled up in her clear blue eyes.

'Don't cry!'

I quickly raised both hands to form an X, blocking Damian's view.

With a pleading look, Damian reluctantly spoke.

"...I'm just not used to being touched by others."

"Then, will you forgive me?"

Damian nodded silently, and Wintia's face brightened.

Phew. I sighed in relief. We had passed one hurdle.

"Young Master, what flowers are in this greenhouse? Can you introduce them to me?"

"I don't know much."

"Still, please introduce them. Okay?"

Wintia's friendly tone made Damian's face even darker.

If this continued, they would both feel uncomfortable. I stepped in.

"Miss Salome, I'll give you a tour of the greenhouse."

"Huh?"

Wintia blinked.

"I want to be guided by Young Master, not a play attendant. I don't need an attendant's guidance."

Play attendant?

My expression changed, and Wintia tilted her head.

Then I understood.

This girl thought I was Damian's play attendant.

'So she wasn't ignoring me, but deliberately ignoring me.'

With the reason clear, I no longer needed to hold back.

"Miss Salome, I'm not Young Master's play attendant."

"Then...?"

"I'm Ellie Amanta, the newly adopted daughter of the Amanta Viscount family."

After the introduction, Wintia's eyes widened like a rabbit's, and she quickly bowed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't recognize you!"

"It's understandable. The news of my adoption hasn't been made public yet."

"Will you forgive me?"

Wintia grabbed my hands tightly.

"Thank you for your kindness."

The girl smiled brightly.

"Can you help me make a wreath? I'm not very good with my hands."

"Sure."

'Better than making Damian suffer.'

I nodded, and Wintia grabbed my hand and ran excitedly. As a result, I moved away from Damian...

'Damian, I'm sorry. Just play by yourself for a moment.'

Separating them might not be bad.

"There it is."

Muttering something, Wintia approached the red roses.

Indeed, the roses in this greenhouse were particularly red and beautiful, but the thorns made them dangerous to get close to.

"Miss Salome, those roses are dangerous. It's better to look at other flowers."

"Then I'll be careful and get them."

"Miss Salome!"

Before I could stop her, Wintia ran towards the rose vines.

Worried about the danger, I rushed over, but...

"Ah!"

As her hand touched the rose stem, she stumbled and fell.

"Miss!"

"Ah! Ow!"

Wintia, hugging the damaged roses, burst into tears.

I quickly took out a handkerchief and checked her for injuries.

She wasn't particularly hurt, but her beautiful dress was a mess.

"Are you okay, Miss? Can you stand up?"

"It hurts. It really hurts. Ow..."

I reached out and held Wintia's face.

"You're fine. No thorns are stuck in you. Stop crying."

"......!"

Wintia's eyes widened.

She seemed to calm down, and her crying stopped.

"You should have been more careful. What if you had been pricked by a thorn?"

"I... I..."

Wintia, who had been blinking in shock, started crying again.

"What's going on?"

Hearing the commotion, Damian ran over to us.

Damian's eyes widened, and he rushed to me.

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

"I'm fine. It's Miss Salome who—"

"Ow!"

As I explained the situation to Damian, Wintia started crying even louder.