Chapter 69

Damian frowned.

"It seems she’s in a lot of pain. We should take her to the doctor."

"I guess we have to. Lady Salome, can you stand?"

Wintia sniffled and nodded.

"But... my legs hurt."

Wintia sniffled again and shook her head.

It seemed she had slightly strained her ankle when she fell earlier.

"Can you help me?"

I nodded, and Wintia reached out her hand.

However, due to her much smaller stature, there was no other way but to carry her.

Even for me, carrying a small girl for a long time would be difficult.

"I’ll do it."

At that moment, Damian approached Wintia.

"Give me your arm."

"Ah... thank you, young master."

Wintia blushed and extended her hand to Damian.

Once she wrapped her arm around Damian’s shoulder, her movements became much easier.

"Let’s find a place to sit outside first."

"Okay."

We left the greenhouse with Wintia. Just as we were looking around for a place to go, a voice called out.

"Lady Wintia!"

From a distance, urgent footsteps could be heard.

Judging by the unfamiliar face, it seemed to be one of Wintia’s servants.

"Oh my, what happened! Are you alright?"

"Nanny... "

Wintia sniffled and reached out her hand.

The woman called nanny quickly embraced the child.

"You disappeared suddenly, and now you come back in such a state. Are you trying to break my heart?"

"Nanny, I’m sorry. I just..."

"And who are these people?"

The nanny’s gaze fell on us, and her eyes were filled with suspicion, making us feel like outsiders.

Even though we were the guests.

"No, Nanny. Don’t. They played with me until now."

Wintia shook her head vigorously.

"I got hurt because I was clumsy. They did nothing wrong."

"Really... how can you be so kind-hearted?"

The nanny patted Wintia’s back.

"Still, I can’t just let this go. As play attendants, you just stood by and watched Lady Wintia get into this state."

The nanny glared at us.

She seemed to think of us as play attendants, just like Wintia.

"I will report this to Duke Schuets and hold someone accountable—"

"Who are you going to hold accountable?"

At that moment, a voice colder than the chill wind made both the nanny and Wintia shiver.

Duke Schuets was looking at them with an exceptionally fierce expression.

"Y-Your Grace..."

"I thought I heard something strange just now."

The duke looked down at her.

"Who are you going to hold accountable in my castle, for my children?"

The duke’s intimidating presence was so strong that even onlookers held their breath.

The nanny, who was trembling, knelt down with Wintia in her arms.

"Please forgive me, Your Grace. I beg for your forgiveness!"

"Forgiveness is not my place to give."

The duke’s gaze shifted to me and Damian.

Realizing the implications, the nanny bit her lip.

It seemed quite humiliating for her to beg for forgiveness from us, mere children.

"Please... please forgive me. I was rude."

However, there was no other choice. The nanny approached us and bowed her head.

Her face was a picture of barely contained anger.

I looked at the bowed nanny, then at Damian.

Damian was looking down at her with a surprisingly indifferent expression.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, the man called out "Wintia!" urgently.

"Don’t you dare wander around carelessly!"

"A-A-Father..."

"How can you be so rude! And why are your clothes in such a state?"

At the words of Wintia’s father, Viscount Salome, Wintia shrank back and spoke with difficulty.

"...I was admiring the flowers in the greenhouse and accidentally fell."

"Didn’t we have plenty of flowers at the Salome manor? Why did you do something you never do?"

"W-Well, I thought the red roses would suit Your Grace..."

"What?"

Wintia began to shed bitter tears.

"The red roses seemed to suit Your Grace. I wanted to give them to you..."

At that moment, a rose appeared in Wintia’s arms.

It seemed to be a result of her magic. The crumpled rose flew to Duke Schuets.

"I’m sorry... I could only get this one..."

The retainers who followed behind looked worried at the sight of Wintia crying bitterly.

"To think she would end up like this just trying to give a gift..."

"What a kind heart she has."

"I heard that the late duchess loved red roses very much."

"Goodness, what a coincidence."

They muttered a few words, their footsteps heavy.

'So that’s why the greenhouse was so well-maintained.'

I understood why Wintia insisted on the roses.

But anyone would be moved by a gift from such a cute child.

However, the duke only looked at the rose in front of him with an indifferent face.

Wintia sniffled louder and looked at me.

"It’s all my fault. I’m sorry for wandering around. Please forgive the nanny."

"Oh, my lady...!"

The nanny hugged Wintia tightly. The retainers and collateral relatives looked at them with pity.

It was as if they were a family facing an execution.

'And we are the executioners, I suppose.'

If we were too harsh here, it would be talked about for a long time.

'They would gossip about how heartless children can be.'

I couldn’t show any weakness to those who were just waiting for a chance to tear into Damian.

After finishing my thoughts, I placed a hand on my chest and shook my head sadly.

"It’s okay, Lady Salome. Please stop crying."

"But... "

"I’m not at all upset."

I smiled and said.

"My attire was a bit simple. I should have picked the roses for you."

"Y-You...?"

"You thought of us as play attendants, didn’t you? So, it’s only right that I should have picked the roses for you."

At my words, the nanny and Wintia’s faces turned pale.

If they had pretended not to understand, it might have been easier to let it go.

It seemed they weren’t skilled at hiding their expressions.

"I-I... "

Wintia stammered, her face full of fear.

"It’s okay, it was just a misunderstanding."

I smiled kindly.

"Next time, let’s try picking the roses that are higher up. They receive more sunlight and are even more beautiful. With your magic, it will be much easier to pick them. Then, you won’t fall like this again."

"..."

"Will you join me?"

At my gentle words, Wintia bit her lip.

Viscount Salome also seemed to realize my intentions, his face contorting.

Wintia could have used magic to pick the flowers but chose to do it by hand.

As a result, her dress got dirty, and she burst into tears in such a state.

I was with her, and the situation naturally made me the villain.

But my words exposed her true intentions.

Wintia bit her lip, looking humiliated.

But she couldn’t speak rashly in front of so many retainers.

"If Lady... if you invite me... I will gladly... "

Wintia struggled to speak, her face even more disheveled than when she cried.

"Excuse me, but it seems my lady is quite shaken. We will take our leave now."

The nanny was quick to notice.

With a bow, the nanny carried Wintia and hurriedly left the scene.

"Lady Salome had a big misunderstanding."

"It’s natural, since we just met. Such things can happen."

"Children feel like friends regardless of their status."

One of the Claidor retainers tried to lighten the mood with a bright voice.

But I saw it.

The fleeting smirk on the retainers’ faces as they looked at Viscount Salome.