Chapter 27
<Chapter 29>
A very, very busy afternoon.
“I’m busy enough to die, so why do I have to write this?”
Sigh.
I let out a heavy breath, but I didn’t stop moving my crayons, even as my fingers turned a little red from the effort.
In my past life, I was an accounting major at a vocational high school.
As a rule, a PPT should always include a blue sea otter to make it stand out and look pretty!
“Haa. I’m so busy. Honestly. Making me write a bucket list all of a sudden…”
Mumble, mumble.
The sound of my babyish grumbling echoed softly through the quiet office.
“I told you that you didn’t have to do it if you didn’t want to.”
“Nooo. You’re the one who told me to do it, Mister, so I have to. By the way, why did you ask me to write a bucket list anyway?”
I lifted my head, trying my best to look demure and indifferent, but…
“It’s going up.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s going up. That corner right there.”
The Duke stopped his work and narrowed his eyes, pointing at the corner of my mouth.
“Hmph!”
Startled, I clamped my mouth shut, which only caused my chubby cheeks to puff out even more.
Then, a long finger reached out and poked my cheek. Boop.
“Whoa!”
I had been lying flat on my stomach to write the list, and the unexpected attack sent me rolling over onto my side.
“Oops, my mistake.”
At the sight, the Duke bit his lip as if suppressing a laugh, then quickly turned his head away and pretended to focus on his work.
Is this man really the ruler of the North? Is this guy, who pokes a five-year-old’s cheek and runs away, truly the hero of the Frozen Kingdom?
“Pfft… Pwahaha!”
“…What?”
In the end, I burst into a fit of giggles, kicking my legs and laughing my head off.
“Hahaha! I’m sayin’—why did you want me to write a bucket list anyway? Who’s it for? It’s not like you’re gonna do anything for me~.”
I was laughing so hard my pronunciation went completely out the window.
Sighing softly at the sight of me, the Duke flipped a page and spoke as if muttering to himself.
“That’s the thing. You have to finish writing it before I can do anything… If you keep dawdling like this, well. I can’t give you anything even if I want to.”
“Gasp.”
My guardian, my financier, my bread, my water, my bed, and the god of my food, clothing, and shelter had spoken.
If I wrote a bucket list, he would make it all come true.
“I will write it immediately!”
Heave-ho.
I jumped up right away, rolled up my sleeves, and went back into work mode.
‘Hmm. First of all…’
I picked up a random red crayon and began to write.
Go… to… the downtown… area…
Go… shopping… alone…
And…
Get… a surprise… gift…
Done!
These were the items on my bucket list so far.
[Go to the downtown area]
[Go shopping alone]
[Receive a surprise gift]
…
There were about 101 items after that, but since there were so many, I’ll skip them.
“Mister! I’m done!”
“Then let’s head out. I’m going to post it on your bedroom door.”
“Pardon?”
I blinked, wondering if I’d heard him correctly.
Why would he post this? How embarrassing!
“Knox and the servants asked for it. They said they want to help make your bucket list come true.”
“……!”
At his answer, which was full of amusement, my eyes widened like ringing bells.
Wait a second.
I hurriedly rolled up the paper. Then I pulled out a fresh sheet.
“Then I’ll make another one for public display!”
“What’s the one you just finished, then?”
“That’s the private version! I’ll only show it to you, Mister.”
I was a little embarrassed to show my 101-item bucket list to everyone in the Duke’s Castle.
But the Duke was fine, since he was my guardian, financier, bread, and whatnot.
And so, once the new public bucket list was complete—
“Heehee. I’m going to go stick it on my bedroom door!”
Beaming, I stood on my tiptoes to open the office door, rolling the large sheet of paper with my small hands.
The paper itself was light, but it was longer than my body, so I had to carry it over my shoulder.
In a typical parenting novel, this would be the moment where the doting father would step in and carry the paper himself.
But this wasn’t a parenting novel.
The Duke gave me a glance and then went back to his work. It meant that if it was something I could handle on my own, he wouldn’t interfere.
‘A real father figure.’
So straightforward. Just my style.
I was walking down the hallway with the light roll of paper on my shoulder when it happened.
“Lady Aisha.”
Someone called me from behind.
I turned around to see May running toward me with a welcoming face.
“Hello!”
“Hello.”
Since her apology, May had been smiling noticeably more.
My first impression of her was that she was blunt and seemed like a woman with a complicated past, so it had been a bit awkward.
She was still quiet by nature, but every time our eyes met, she would give me a gentle smile or greet me warmly.
We had become close enough that she would call out to me first just by seeing my back in the hallway.
“What is that paper?”
“This? It’s my bucket list! I’m going to put it on my bedroom door…. Oh, it’s not because I want to, the Duke ordered me to put it up.”
“Ah, so you’ve finished your bucket list. I’ve been waiting for it.”
May nodded as if she already knew and naturally took the paper from me. It seemed she intended to carry it for me.
“Shall we go put it up together?”
“Hee. Thank you.”
“Before that, I have something to give you.”
May hesitated, a somewhat shy smile touching her lips.
Now that I looked, her right hand was hidden behind her back.
“It’s quite modest and nothing compared to the dresses or accessories you’ll be wearing from now on, but…”
Then, a blue box suddenly appeared.
“Would you like to open it?”
“……?”
As I took the box, caught off guard, the heart inside my small body began to beat like a drum.
The box was tied with a pretty blue ribbon.
I carefully set the box on the floor, untied the ribbon, and opened it—
“!”
The moment I saw what was inside, my mouth fell open.
Inside the box was a beautifully folded scarf.
Threads of deep navy and light sky blue were woven together, creating a rich, vibrant color.
Right in the center of the tightly knit scarf, a wolf—the symbol of Crost—was embroidered.
Is this a gift?
Contextually, it had to be. But why would May give me this?
“You mentioned before that you liked the color blue.”
May spoke cautiously, watching my expression.
“The weather in the North is always cold. I knitted this scarf myself. How do you like it?”
“…You made this scarf yourself?”
Oh my god.
“Yes.”
My voice trembled slightly as I asked again, unable to believe it.
“You made this yourself, with blue yarn, because I like blue? Then, it’s mine?”
“Of course. Do you like it?”
May was anxiously watching my face, worried that I might be disappointed.
This is bad.
May knitted a scarf while thinking of me.
A scarf that must have taken days to make!
“Th-thank you…”
I was so overwhelmed that I instinctively bowed my head, but May quickly corrected me, looking startled. “Mylady, you must not bow your head to those below you.”
Oops. Sorry about that.
“…….”
I pulled the scarf out and wrapped it around my neck right then and there.
My gift.
A scarf May made by hand while thinking of me.
Thump-thump.
I had achieved one of my bucket list items less than a minute after writing it.
A few days later.
“Lady Aisha. Have you caught a cold?”
Knox asked a nearby maid as he watched Aisha run off somewhere.
“No. She says she just likes wearing it. Head Maid May gave her a handmade scarf as a gift, and she seems to really like it.”
“Hmm.”
Knox silently watched the back of the Lady as she scurried away.
Knox wasn’t the only one watching Aisha.
“Dandelion. Wouldn’t it be better to take that scarf off? It looks uncomfortable to eat cake with it on.”
It was dessert time. At Lucas’s words, Aisha, sitting across from him, stopped her fork.
“Oh, this?”
Her small face was buried in the wrapped scarf, leaving only her large eyes visible.
“I can eat just fine.”
Determined not to take the scarf off, she tilted her head back toward the ceiling.
Then, she opened her mouth wide, stabbed a piece of cake, and let it drop vertically into her mouth.
“…….”
Lucas watched the bizarre sight with a bewildered expression and whispered to a maid.
“What’s wrong with Dandelion?”
“Well, you see…”
Whisper, whisper.
And so, the rumor that Aisha had received a gift from May spread quickly through the Duke’s Castle.
Of course, rumors have a way of becoming exaggerated as they spread.
“I heard Lady Aisha was so moved by Head Maid May’s gift that she burst into tears.”
“I heard Lady Aisha likes that scarf so much she even wears it while she sleeps.”
“I heard Head Maid May researched Lady Aisha’s tastes specifically to make that scarf.”
While walking down the hallway.
While having a meal.
While changing clothes.
Calips, Lucas, and Knox, having heard these stories in their respective situations, all thought the same thing.
‘She’s that happy just from getting a scarf?’
The next day.
At the dinner table where the whole family gathered.
