You Made My Daughter Cry?

While Vermillion headed to the Drake family alone, Kyle and the other two had to stop by the Eleanor family for a bit.

Sylvia had been away from the main house for so long that she needed to explain the situation, and more than anything, since there were only two women in their group, this was the best place to get things that women could use.

“Kyle, are you sure about this? You’re only sending a letter to your main house….”

“Yeah, shouldn’t we stop by the Lyarde family too?”

However, the two women actually felt a bit uncomfortable with this situation.

The journey they were about to embark on wasn’t just a casual stroll around the neighborhood; shouldn’t he at least show his face to his parents and explain the situation properly before leaving?

“It’s fine. My mother might care, but my father won’t be that concerned. If I went, he’d probably just give me a simple ‘Do well and come back’ kind of encouragement.”

Kyle glanced at the Eleanor family’s castle in the distance, shrugged, and replied nonchalantly.

Time was quite tight.

The news from the capital had already reached the Lyarde family, so his parents probably knew the general situation.

Therefore, he felt there was no need to bother going all the way there and back.

He just needed to finish everything and return with a smile.

“If Kyle says so….”

“Ugh, I’m still a little worried….”

His indifferent reply made the two who had expressed concern feel awkward.

Anyway, if that was his choice, there was nothing more they could say.

Sylvia just felt sorry that Kyle had suggested stopping by the Eleanor family to accommodate her situation, even though he wasn’t going to the Lyarde family himself.

“We’ve arrived.”

Soon, the carriage stopped, and the coachman’s voice was heard. The three got out of the carriage.

“Wow….”

Kyle and Sylvia were already familiar with the scenery, but Anise, seeing the Eleanor family’s castle for the first time, let out a soft exclamation.

Kaintreche Castle was luxurious and stylish enough, but this place was… how should she put it?

To put it in perspective, unlike Kaintreche Castle, which felt masculine and grand, this place felt more delicate and feminine.

Kyle and Sylvia stood silently by her side, watching her stand there dumbfounded, captivated by the scenery.

That’s when it happened.

“Have you returned, my daughter?”

“Unni!”

“Mother! Rine!”

The castle’s massive gate creaked open, and two welcoming women appeared from beyond.

It was none other than Sylvia’s mother, Marian, and her younger sister, Rine.

They had sent a letter in advance saying they would be stopping by, but she didn’t expect them to come all the way to the gate to greet them.

Sylvia rushed towards them in surprise, and the two women greeted her warmly, creating a touching reunion between the three mothers and daughters.

“Honestly, you. I told you to leave the family to me, but you’ve been gone for too long. Do you know how worried I was?”

“I’m sorry, Mother. I just couldn’t find the time….”

But that was only for a moment, as Marian’s scolding soon followed.

Although Marian had told her to leave the chaotic family and territory to her, and to live as she pleased and return, she had gone too far.

She could have at least sent a letter to update them on her situation, but the last letter they received was about two months ago.

She was already so anxious that she was considering visiting the Lyarde family, but when she finally learned about her situation through the news from the capital, she was speechless.

“Hehe, I’ve never seen Unni get scolded by Mother before!”

“Rine, really. You should be taking Unni’s side, not….”

Meanwhile, Rine, watching her sister get scolded, just smiled brightly as if she was enjoying it.

Sylvia found her younger sister a bit annoying today, but she couldn’t blame her since she had dug her own grave.

“By the way, there’s a familiar face and someone I’m meeting for the first time behind you. Why don’t you introduce them? Sylvia.”

“Ah, yes. I completely forgot.”

Fortunately, there were eyes watching, so the scolding ended there, and as Marian spoke, Sylvia quickly came to her senses and introduced the people standing behind her.

To be exact, Kyle was already acquainted, so she only introduced Anise.

“This is Anise Blanc-yang. She’s a friend I made recently.”

“Oh my, a friend for our daughter. That’s something. Nice to meet you, Blanc-yang. I’m Marian Eleanor, Sylvia’s mother.”

“The pleasure is all mine. As Sylvia just introduced me, I’m Anise Blanc.”

Unlike the typical aristocratic greeting, Marian could immediately sense that Anise was from a commoner background due to her somewhat awkward posture and etiquette.

However, she didn’t point it out.

After all, her daughter had finally made a friend; what did her background matter?

Besides, she wasn’t a foolish woman who judged people based on their status in the first place.

“And Anise, this is my younger sister, Rine.”

“I’m Rine Eleanor. Nice to meet you!”

“You’re a cute princess. Nice to meet you, I’m Anise Blanc.”

After Rine introduced herself to Anise, a rather heartwarming atmosphere unfolded among the four women.

‘Hmm?’

Then, Kyle, who had been silently watching this scene from behind, felt an obvious gaze and widened his eyes.

Turning his head to the source of the strange feeling, he saw Marian looking at him.

As soon as their eyes met, she averted her gaze with her signature gentle smile, as if nothing had happened.

‘What was that?’

Kyle tilted his head, feeling like Marian’s gaze just now was unusual, and his shoulders trembled slightly.

He felt a strange chill too; was it just his imagination?

“Anyway, let’s go inside. You must be tired from coming all the way from the capital. Let’s all wash up and have a meal first.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Finally, I can lie down in bed….”

While Kyle was racking his brain to figure out the identity of that strange feeling, the women had finished their conversation and started heading inside the castle gate.

Only then did Kyle dismiss it as nothing and followed them.

＊＊＊

“Hoo….”

Kyle, who had been soaking in warm water for a long time and had a proper bath for the first time in a while, let out a soft breath and left the room.

When he arrived, the sun was high in the sky, but now, the sun he saw through the window was shyly hiding between the mountain valleys, creating a red sunset.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

He was originally planning to take a bath as soon as he arrived in his room, but he ended up spending a lot of time talking to Rine, who had caught him, so time flew by.

It seemed that for the young lady, who was like a flower in a greenhouse and was now nine years old, the things that happened in the outside world were quite rare and enjoyable stories.

Thanks to that, Kyle became a storyteller, which wasn’t really his thing, and had to pick out only the interesting stories that he had experienced so far that were suitable for children and tell them to Rine.

It was hard work, but it was quite enjoyable.

Watching the innocent smile and purity of a child made it feel like all the dark events he had experienced so far were being washed away.

Even Kyle, who had never thought about this before, enjoyed it so much that he momentarily thought he would like to have a daughter like that in the future.

“Lyarde-gongja.”

“Marian-buin.”

Kyle, who was thinking of going for a walk during the remaining time, arrived at a crossroads in the hallway when he heard a familiar, gentle voice.

There, Marian was standing with a somewhat strange expression on her face.

Kyle felt puzzled by her subtle expression, which didn’t seem happy or sad.

“Do you have some time? I thought it would be nice to have a cup of tea and chat, since it’s been a while.”

“Ah….”

Kyle scratched his cheek, showing a bit of reluctance at the unexpected suggestion.

He had been traveling straight from the capital today, so he was quite tired and wanted to be alone for a while.

Sylvia knew that, so she deliberately didn’t come to find him and had gone out with Anise under the pretext of showing her around the castle.

‘I should probably decline.’

Since they weren’t leaving tonight anyway, Kyle was about to say that they could talk tomorrow when Marian continued.

“I want to ask you for a moment why you left our lovely daughter behind so suddenly, causing tears to well up in her eyes.”

“……”

As Marian’s chilling words continued, Kyle finally remembered what he had done in the Eleanor family and was speechless.

Was the strange feeling he felt earlier because of this?

“Ah, I understand.”

“Hehe, good.”

Kyle realized that he had no right to refuse and nodded.

Only then did a smile appear on Marian’s face as she led him to a quiet reception room.

‘I’m wide awake now.’

Kyle smiled bitterly, feeling his somewhat dazed mind quickly returning to him.