Episode 15
“Come to think of it, the young heir of the Marquis of Bayev should be about sixteen now. If we form a marital alliance with that side, the power of the Grand Duke of Crayton’s family will become even more solid.”
Guiding Daniel to the Grand Duke of Crayton wasn’t difficult.
All I had to do was retrace the path I had come and knock on the door.
“If not the Bayev marquis family, then the Khalid count family would also be fine. If I start listing them one by one, I might go past ten fingers.”
However, listening to Daniel mutter on and on about which noble child I should be connected to—like he was choosing a place to sell goods—was utterly disgusting.
When you think about it, I was only a nine-year-old girl.
It was at least ten years too early for me to be thinking about marriage.
And besides, Daniel wasn’t even my parent.
For someone like him to evaluate me and think about which family to tie me to was completely absurd.
Perhaps Daniel was already planning to take over the Grand Duke of Crayton’s house in the distant future and sell me off politically.
Otherwise, it made no sense for him to say such things so naturally.
“If age weren’t an issue, Duke Georges wouldn’t be bad either.”
I couldn’t stand listening anymore and came to a sudden stop. Just as I was about to turn around and snap at him—
“What do you mean by that, Great-Uncle?”
While Daniel was lost in his delusions about who to pair me with, someone approached and shattered them.
At the familiar voice, I turned my head and saw Elliot walking down the opposite corridor, his appearance slightly disheveled.
Unlike the gentle image he had shown yesterday and earlier today, his face was stiff with displeasure, looking quite fierce. The expression resembled Brian’s so much that I found myself staring at him blankly for a moment.
“Mirabel is only nine years old. What exactly are you talking about? As far as I know, Duke Georges doesn’t even have children—surely you’re not considering him as Mirabel’s marriage prospect?”
Elliot walked straight toward us and stood in front of Daniel, almost as if shielding me behind his back.
Only then did I notice that his clothes were damp with sweat. His neatly arranged hair from the morning was now tousled in all directions.
It seemed he had just returned to the mansion after finishing training that hadn’t been scheduled earlier.
“Have you forgotten Duke Georges’ age? It seems I should gift you some herbs that help with memory, Great-Uncle.”
“……”
Daniel looked at Elliot, who stood guarded, and smiled gently—so kindly that anyone else might have been fooled.
“Elliot, it seems you’ve misunderstood. I merely mentioned Duke Georges as someone who could help look into potential matches. He has wide connections, after all—he might be able to introduce someone suitable for Mirabel. It saddens me that you would twist my good intentions.”
Daniel lied without batting an eye. Elliot stared at him, clearly unconvinced, before speaking again.
“If it was truly with good intentions, may I relay what you just said to Father and His Grace the Grand Duke?”
Daniel smiled, watching Elliot with interest.
“Go ahead.”
“Yes. And…”
Trailing off, Elliot turned to look at me.
His eyes were filled with concern.
“I don’t understand why Mirabel is guiding you, Great-Uncle. Or am I mistaken about that as well?”
“No. Great-Uncle asked me to guide him to where Grandfather is.”
I quickly answered before Daniel could interrupt.
Elliot tilted his head, as if he couldn’t understand.
“Without asking a servant?”
“Mirabel knows where my elder brother is, so I asked her. Must I explain even this to you?”
“…But isn’t it unreasonable to have Mirabel—who has only been in this mansion for a day—guide you? What if she took a wrong turn and led you somewhere else?”
Though Elliot sounded concerned, it wasn’t Daniel he was worried about.
Daniel seemed to realize this as well. He coughed awkwardly and shrugged.
“I’ve been to this mansion more than once. I won’t get lost.”
“In that case, there’s no need for Mirabel to guide you. Mirabel, I’ve been informed that your room is ready. Since you’re not familiar with the mansion yet, I’ll take you there.”
Elliot held out his hand to me.
Though he was only thirteen, his hand was rough with calluses.
But the kindness he showed me was anything but rough.
Since arriving at the Grand Duke’s residence, everything had felt uncomfortable and awkward—but because of Elliot, that feeling began to melt away a little.
“Mirabel?”
When I just stared at his hand without taking it, Elliot called my name, urging me.
Only then did I smile and take his hand.
He gently wrapped his hand around mine and turned to Daniel.
“I believe you can be guided by Varden instead. We’ll take our leave now.”
After politely bowing his head, Elliot pulled me along.
As I followed him, I glanced back.
Daniel stood there, eyes narrowed, watching the two of us. With that sharp gaze, he looked like a snake that had just lost its prey.
Only after we had walked quite a distance down the corridor and climbed the stairs did Elliot let go of my hand.
Since I wasn’t used to physical activity yet, just climbing the stairs quickly left me out of breath.
As I leaned against the wall and caught my breath with my head lowered, Elliot hesitantly approached and lightly patted my back.
“Sorry. Was it too much for you?”
After a few deep breaths, my breathing finally returned to normal.
I straightened up.
“No, I’m fine. Actually, I felt more suffocated earlier.”
Feeling refreshed, I looked at Elliot. Unlike me, who had been panting, he looked perfectly fine.
“Thanks for earlier.”
“You mean with Great-Uncle?”
Elliot frowned as if he already knew. I nodded.
“Yeah.”
“This is just my opinion, but it’s best to avoid contact with Great-Uncle as much as possible.”
After confirming I had caught my breath, Elliot began walking ahead again, guiding me.
As I followed him, I glanced at his face.
From the reactions of the Grand Duke and my mother, it seemed like they had a favorable impression of Daniel—but Elliot clearly didn’t.
“Adults don’t seem to notice, but Great-Uncle is sometimes… a bit suspicious.”
Elliot hesitated, choosing his words carefully, then nodded.
He stopped in front of the second room to the right of my mother’s room. A servant who had followed us stepped forward and opened the door.
The blue wallpaper greeted us first.
Inside, the room was decorated with blue, sky blue, and white furnishings in a luxurious arrangement.
Unlike my mother’s room, it felt cool and refreshing.
“This is your room.”
I looked around in a daze, then sat on the edge of a large bed that could easily fit five people.
The bed was quite high, so I had to hop a little to climb onto it.
Just like my mother’s bed I had used the previous day, it was soft and fluffy—like sitting on feathers.
“What do you think? Do you like it?”
“Yeah. I really like it.”
Even if I still found it hard to accept the Crayton family as my own, I didn’t dislike having a room of my own—especially one so luxuriously furnished.
After enjoying the softness of the bed for a while, I looked straight at Elliot, who was watching me with satisfaction.
“But Elliot, why do you think Daniel is suspicious?”
“Why do you think? For reasons similar to what he did to you earlier.”
Elliot shrugged and pulled a chair over, sitting across from me.
“When there are no adults around, don’t be alone with Great-Uncle. To him, servants might as well not exist, so even if they’re around, leave. Don’t stay with him and end up hearing unpleasant things.”
It seemed like Elliot had suffered something from Daniel before.
That raised another question.
If Elliot was this wary of Daniel, wouldn’t the adults have noticed?
Elliot was the direct heir of the Grand Duke and Brian’s only child.
It didn’t seem likely they would neglect him.
As I stared with wide eyes, unable to hide my confusion, Elliot scratched his cheek.
“It’s similar to your situation.”
“Marriage?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded, hesitated briefly, then continued.
“Originally, marriages like ours are unions between families, but Great-Uncle is strangely… like he’s—”
“Trying to sell us off?”
At my blunt wording, Elliot looked startled for a moment, then nodded.
“…Yeah. But are you really nine years old?”
He asked in disbelief, though he didn’t seem to expect an answer.
I shrugged and stared at him.
I reacted more strongly because I had memories of being an adult.
If I had truly been a normal nine-year-old, I wouldn’t have understood even half of what Daniel was saying.
Maybe I wouldn’t have even realized why it felt unpleasant.
But Elliot felt the same discomfort as I did.
Was it because he was older and understood what it meant?
When I remained silent, Elliot turned his head and looked out the window. His face seemed slightly flushed.
And seeing that, I felt like I understood something.
“Do you have someone you like?”
When I asked casually, Elliot flinched and looked at me.
Then he shrank back slightly and answered.
“Yeah. I do.”
“Who is it?”
“I do. Her name is Jeniel Shupern.”
He said it in a barely audible voice.
Realizing it was a young boy’s first love, I opened my mouth to respond but then closed it again.
Seeing my reaction, Elliot suddenly jumped up from his chair and narrowed his eyes at me.
“…It’s a secret.”
With that, he left the room.
Left alone, I recalled the future I knew and tried to remember whether Elliot and someone named Jeniel Shupern ended up together.
Fortunately, from the depths of my memory, I vaguely recalled that the young Duke of Crayton married the daughter of the Count Shupern.
