Chapter 70
It was a day filled with especially warm sunlight.
It was the season when the Is flowers, the most famous flowers in the Baldur Empire, bloomed in full. People gathered outside in small groups to admire the flowers.
Ruby and the children were no exception.
Even when their parents were still alive, they had gone flower viewing every year—but this time, they were here with someone else.
“The falling petals are really beautiful, aren’t they, Lady Ruby?”
She was with Lady Sennis.
Even though having younger siblings along could be troublesome, Lady Sennis willingly suggested that they all go on a picnic together.
The children didn’t seem to dislike Lady Sennis either, because they immediately agreed.
Ruby was happy too—she welcomed the chance to picnic with her.
They settled down under a large Is tree and spread out a picnic mat.
The area beneath the tree had already been filled with people who had arrived early in the morning.
“Thank you for inviting us to such a lovely place, Lady Sennis. I’m not sure if this counts as proper thanks, but our head chef said he put extra effort into the lunch boxes.”
Standing beside Ruby, Diana placed down three large picnic baskets.
“Wow, that’s so many!”
Lady Sennis was shocked—not by the food itself, but by the sheer quantity.
Ruby smiled awkwardly.
“My siblings are at an age where they eat a lot.”
Including the basket Lady Sennis had brought, there were now four picnic baskets total.
“I had no idea… I asked for something simple…”
“Oh, not at all. My siblings just eat a lot. It would’ve been rude to ask you to prepare meals for them too.”
Ruby waved her hands dismissively.
Curious, Lady Sennis opened the baskets one by one.
Each one was filled with food that looked delicious, and she couldn’t stop exclaiming in admiration.
“Your head chef must be incredible.”
“The food you brought looks beautiful too, Lady Sennis.”
As they looked into each other’s baskets, Ruby and Lady Sennis met eyes and smiled.
Meanwhile, Calix, who couldn’t sit still on the mat, ran off into the crowd while dragging Sasha with him.
“I’m going for a bit, Sis.”
“Don’t go far—stay where I can see you.”
“Don’t worry!”
Even though it looked like he wasn’t listening at all, Ruby knew Calix would keep his word.
“I’ll keep watch too!”
Sasha jumped up and followed him.
The two often bickered, but at times they were the best of friends.
Sasha became “it” and chased after the quick-footed Calix through the park.
Thankfully, the park was wide enough that they weren’t bothering anyone.
And since it was grass, even if they fell, they wouldn’t get seriously hurt.
Still, Ruby kept her eyes on them, making sure they never left her sight.
“You always take such good care of your siblings.”
Lady Sennis spoke with sincere admiration.
Ruby’s gaze shifted to Maria, who was sitting quietly between them.
“My siblings are very important to me.”
The gentle look in her eyes as she watched Maria carried an unspoken message:
You’re my sibling too.
Whether Maria understood or not.
“The way you look at your siblings is really special, Lady Ruby.”
Since Lady Sennis was an only child, she seemed to find Ruby’s relationship with her siblings ideal.
“Having siblings is nice—but it’s not always easy.”
When the children caused trouble, Ruby sighed just like anyone else.
She realized anew how hard it must have been for their parents to raise them.
After all, Ruby herself had caused plenty of accidents as a child too.
“Still, when I watch you and your siblings, my heart feels warm.”
“Thank you for seeing us that way. And thank you for inviting the children to this picnic—they’ve been excited ever since we got the invitation.”
“That much? Oh my, how adorable.”
Thankfully, Lady Sennis didn’t find the children bothersome. She thought everything they did was cute.
Ruby was grateful for that mindset.
Since Ruby had been busier lately, it had become harder to go out together as a family. Moments like this were precious.
Lady Sennis also showed interest in Maria.
She gently poked Maria’s cheek with a finger, then covered her mouth, whispering in awe,
“She’s so soft and squishy!”
“Haha, it’s the age when her cheeks are the chubbiest.”
Lady Sennis couldn’t stop reacting to everything Maria did.
Ruby continued chatting with her while occasionally checking on the children.
When the topic of Maria ended, Lady Sennis suddenly looked like she remembered something.
“Um… Lady Ruby?”
“Yes?”
Lady Sennis bit her lip, hesitating.
“It’s okay. You can ask anything.”
If it was Lady Sennis, Ruby was willing to answer even an impolite question.
“…Are you and Prince Ivan in a special relationship?”
“What?”
Ruby blinked rapidly, too startled to respond.
“Well… you meet often, and Prince Ivan seems especially kind to you. And you always smile at him too!”
Lady Sennis’s face was red, as if she had been confessed to.
Ruby even wondered if this picnic had been arranged just to ask this question.
“Ah… Prince Ivan and I are just friends.”
“You don’t have to hide it from me. I won’t tell anyone. If you have reasons to keep it secret, I’ll keep my mouth shut—just tell me.”
Unfortunately, Ruby couldn’t meet Lady Sennis’s hopeful gaze.
“We’re not secretly dating.”
“Then… are you openly dating?”
“No.”
Ruby was getting frustrated—why wasn’t she understanding?
“Lady Sennis, listen carefully. Prince Ivan and I are friends. Nothing more, nothing less. He doesn’t have romantic feelings for me, and I see him as a good friend.”
“Oh, but feelings don’t work like that! You can’t draw a line just by calling it friendship. They say love comes like a cold—maybe it slipped into Prince Ivan’s heart without you noticing!”
Ruby shook her head internally.
Having lived far longer than her apparent age, she found it a little cute that a ten-year-old was lecturing her about love.
“Well… I don’t catch colds easily.”
Ruby answered with an awkward smile.
“So you’re really nothing at all?”
“Yes.”
“And you won’t be anything in the future either?”
“We’ll stay good friends.”
Ruby said it with certainty.
Her relationship with Ivan was pure.
They helped each other without calculating benefits.
Ivan helped her freely—and she planned to do the same.
Adding unnecessary emotions would only complicate things.
She also knew the Emperor wanted her as Ivan’s fiancée—but Grand Duke Lux would never agree so easily.
Friendship was acceptable. Engagement was not.
Ruby knew that boundary well.
That was why she made sure not to cross it.
“So… I see…”
Lady Sennis looked disappointed.
Ruby felt bad for disappointing her.
Maybe Lady Sennis had wanted to talk about romance.
If so, Ruby had something to ask too.
“Then what about you, Lady Sennis? How do you feel about Young Master Barker?”
Lady Sennis frowned sharply.
“Why is that coming up?”
Startled, Ruby continued carefully.
“You seem quite comfortable with each other. Don’t you feel something more?”
This time, Ruby’s eyes sparkled.
“I think you’ve misunderstood.”
“Why?”
“Barker and I aren’t like that.”
“But you never know. By your logic, love comes like a cold—maybe it’ll sneak in…”
Lady Sennis quickly covered Ruby’s mouth.
“Barker and I are nothing but bad karma.”
“…Did something happen?”
