Ch#62
2023.11.01.
It would probably be summer if they were to have a picnic.
But by early summer, Asiel would be born, and right after that, she planned to leave this place.
Since he had set the contract marriage period to one year, he was likely speaking under the assumption that she would still be here in the summer.
'No need to mention that fact right now.'
Blair hid her thoughts and nodded with a bright smile.
"Sounds good. Let's do that."
Then, as she was about to eat the roasted marshmallow, she remembered something and offered it to him.
Herdin looked at her curiously.
"I saw you eat my marshmallow this morning. You can have it if you want."
One of Herdin's eyebrows arched up.
"......'My' marshmallow?"
"You gave it to me, so isn't it mine now?"
"No. Everything in this house belongs to me. Food, possessions."
As he said that, his gaze on Blair held a strange playfulness mixed with a subtly sharp glint.
"Of course, people too."
Like a beast guarding its territory.
Blair was puzzled by his sudden claim of possession, but since everything in the Delmark Duke's household was indeed his, she didn't bother denying it.
"Anyway, I didn't eat any."
At his innocent response, Blair blinked. If he hadn't eaten it, then it could only have been Rina or Melli.
After thinking for a moment, Blair protested with a somewhat serious expression.
"Rina and Melli wouldn't touch my things without permission."
"Hmm, then it seems there's a ghost in this room."
Realizing from Herdin's deadpan response that he was teasing her, Blair furrowed her delicate brows.
"Don't lie."
Instead of answering, Herdin chuckled softly and overlapped his hand over Blair's holding the marshmallow. He guided her hand to bite into the marshmallow she held.
It looked as if Blair was feeding him.
Blair stared blankly at him eating the marshmallow.
The soft marshmallow disappearing into his mouth somehow felt sensual. Was it just her imagination?
Feeling embarrassed for some reason and about to look away, her eyes met his as he swallowed the marshmallow and lifted his gaze.
Her reflection was captured in his lake-like winter eyes. She couldn't tear her gaze away, as if entranced.
In the silence filled with a strange tension, his lips—redder than most men's—broke the quiet first.
"Let's stop here for today."
With his whispering voice, his firm arm wrapped around Blair's waist.
"I want to eat something else."
What that 'something else' was, his lips pressing against hers answered in her place.
* * *
"Madam, we've arrived."
Blair, who had dozed off briefly using the carriage's rocking as a lullaby, woke to Melli and Rina's voices.
Through the carriage window, the orphanage building came into view. The Temple-affiliated orphanage had the Temple's emblem carved on its outer walls.
Upon stepping out of the carriage, a priestess who had been waiting after prior notice greeted her with a beaming smile.
"Welcome, Duchess! It's an honor to meet you like this. I'm Miriam."
"Nice to meet you, Miriam. Thank you for making time for us despite being busy."
"Oh, don't say that. We're the grateful ones."
Blair instructed the knights to unload the donation items, then entered the orphanage with the priestess.
Even before entering, children had been peeking through the windows, and now they clustered at the entrance.
The children whispered among themselves while looking at Blair.
"Wow, she's super pretty. Like a princess."
"But she really is a princess."
"That's all lies. Why would a princess come to a place like this?"
They thought they were whispering quietly, but unfortunately, Blair heard everything.
Blair tried to pretend she hadn't heard and held back a smile. But Rina, without such reservations, chimed into the children's conversation.
"You little ones have good eyes. She really is a princess."
"Whoa! For real?"
"Yeah, for real."
"But how do you know, lady?"
"I'm the maid who serves the princess. ......But who are you calling 'lady'?"
"Then you're not a lady, you're an uncle?"
"No, not an uncle, you dummy poop dog."
The children giggled at their inside joke. Blair and Melli laughed watching Rina get caught up in the kids' teasing.
"Calling a guest a dummy poop dog— you can't say things like that."
The priestess clapped her hands to gather the children's attention after scolding them.
"Alright, kids. Come gather here."
The children hesitated, glancing at Blair's group, then slowly approached one by one.
The priestess introduced Blair to them.
"This is the guest your teacher mentioned earlier."
"The princess?"
"She's not a princess anymore; she's the Duchess now."
"Hello. Nice to meet you all. My name is Blair."
As Blair greeted them, the children clapped enthusiastically as previously instructed by the priestess.
Then, a curious child shot up their hand.
"But why did you come here?"
It might have seemed rude from an adult, but from a child, it was just adorable.
Since she was about to explain her reason for coming anyway, Blair answered in a gentle voice.
"Today is the day my husband's mother went to heaven. She wanted this day not to be sad for you all, but a happy one. So I prepared snacks and gifts."
"Wow!"
The snacks and gifts excited the children. With their interest now fully on Blair, they asked another question.
"But if she's the princess's husband, is he a prince?"
Blair gave a troubled smile.
To children, a duke or a baron was just some high noble anyway, so no need for detailed explanations.
"Well...... not a prince, but he looks like one."
"Wow, I want to meet a prince too."
"Me too, me too."
Not just the girls, but even the boys who admired princes buzzed with excitement about a 'prince.'
After finishing the introductions amid the children's expectant gazes, Blair toured the orphanage with the priestess and went out to the yard.
While inspecting the place, the donation items unloaded by the knights were stacked in one corner of the yard.
"Alright, boys line up over here. Girls over there in two lines to receive them. Don't forget to say thank you!"
That was when they were about to distribute the items with the priestess.
"Huh? It's Miela sister!"
At one child's shout, everyone's attention turned to the orphanage entrance.
There stood Miela.
Blair's smile faded upon spotting her.
'Why...... did she come here?'
In her previous life, at this time on this day, Miela had been at the Temple's main building......
Her appearance here meant the reason Blair had chosen the orphanage over the Temple had vanished.
"Miela sister!"
"Sis!"
The children who saw Miela rushed toward her. The priestess, noticing Miela late, looked surprised.
"Oh, Priestess Miela. What brings you here?"
"It was my day off, so I came to see the children, and it looks like you need an extra hand."
Miela spotted Blair and approached with a bright smile, offering a warm greeting.
"Duchess, nice to see you again. I hope you've been well."
"Thanks to you. I'm glad to see you've been doing well too, Priestess."
Blair quickly composed her expression and responded. She had no talent for lies, but hiding her feelings was her strength.
"The Duke must be very busy. I thought he might come with you."
Words she would have brushed off without thought in her past life now sounded different.
It seemed like casual small talk at first glance, so Blair decided not to point it out, lest she seem overly sensitive.
"As you know, he's swamped with work."
"Ah, I see."
For a fleeting moment, expectation seemed to flicker in Miela's eyes, but it was gone in an instant.
Miela stepped beside Blair and asked,
"May I help too?"
"If you're fine with it, Priestess."
Miela naturally joined in distributing the donations.
The children flocked more to the familiar Miela than to the stranger Blair or Delmark's maids.
Watching the scene, Rina muttered grumpily.
"Feels like we're just standing around as extras."
Melli poked Rina's side to shut her up.
With Miela's help, the distribution finished faster than planned, and it was time for play.
Blair sat in the shade of a tree, watching Miela and Rina play with the children.
It was surprising that Rina, who rarely dealt with kids, was so popular.
In contrast, Miela, experienced with children, quickly read what they wanted and played adeptly.
'Did my different actions from my past life cause this ripple, bringing her here now?'
Even knowing the future, small changes seemed to create more variables than expected.
As Blair was lost in thought, a girl who looked about three or four, with her hair tied on both sides, toddled over.
The child placed the fairy tale book she received as a donation on the table and tried to sit opposite Blair. But the adult-sized chair was too hard for her.
"Want to sit on the chair?"
The child nodded at the question.
Blair lifted the child onto her lap.
"Do you know how to read?"
The child shook her head.
Blair had seen her talking with other children earlier, but since she only nodded instead of answering, she must be shy around strangers.
Yet the child had boldly approached her to spend time together, which was endearing.
"Then I'll read it for you."
Blair opened the fairy tale book the child brought.
<The Princess Who Turned to Stone>
