Chapter 8
As repayment for the napkin-flower gift, a huge table of desserts had been set before Rowena.
“Wow!”
Her already round eyes became even rounder. Wide with shock, really.
The table was covered with all kinds of sweets.
Sponge cake piled high with strawberry jam.
Cream puffs that melted the moment you bit into them.
There were so many desserts that the whole dining room smelled sweet.
But the reward waiting for Rowena did not end with sweets.
“I am considering taking you in as my adopted daughter, Rowena.”
With a much softer expression than before, the Grand Lady of Hayworth dropped a bombshell.
Should this be called good news?
The Grand Lady of Hayworth was offering to adopt her!
But…
“Join the Hayworth family. I will raise you.”
“…Huh?”
It would have been better if she had heard the offer after finishing what was in her mouth.
Because at that moment, Rowena had an Earl Grey madeleine stuffed into her left cheek and a chocolate cream puff in her right.
Her already plump cheeks had puffed up like a squirrel’s.
She almost hiccupped in shock.
But skillfully swallowing both desserts, she asked,
“A-adopted daughter?”
“Yes. It is a proposal, but also a request. I have taken a liking to you.”
Honestly, anyone in the room who knew how strict the Grand Lady was could tell that was true.
Even with chocolate cream smeared near Rowena’s lips, Freya looked nothing but gentle.
“I cannot make you the heir of Hayworth. But this would still be a very beneficial offer. If you become my daughter, everything I have becomes yours.”
Why was she called the Grand Lady?
The current head of Hayworth was Duke Seymour Somerset.
But he only handled the formal role and external affairs.
Everything internal in the family was managed by the Grand Lady.
Which naturally meant the vast Hayworth fortune was hers.
That was why society respectfully called her the Grand Lady.
And becoming her daughter meant inheriting all of that.
Standing behind her, the butler Henry nodded and added,
“Living at Hayworth would be much more comfortable than living at the orphanage, little miss. If you wish, you could eat food like this every day and wear beautiful clothes.”
“Every day?”
“Of course. You would become a noble lady like the Grand Lady herself.”
There was an enormous gap in status between an orphan and a noble girl.
So yes—
This was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Now the child will understand, both Henry and Freya thought.
There was no reason for Rowena to refuse.
And yet—
“Thank you very much… but I don’t think I can.”
She refused.
Even Freya looked shocked.
“W-why? Is there a reason?”
“Yes!”
Unlike the stunned adults, the child smiled brightly.
“Because I want to become Duke Somerset’s family!”
Another bombshell.
***
Become Seymour’s family!
This was the conclusion Rowena had reached after a lot of thought.
While folding napkin flowers and waiting for Freya to wake up, she had been thinking.
No matter how I think about it, this is the only answer.
At first, she had only thought about meeting Seymour.
Maybe if she clung to him somehow, she could get the cure.
But after learning that the Grand Lady’s illness was caused by grief over Rose—
Her thinking changed.
This isn’t something that can be solved with a few meetings.
She couldn’t get the White Lily Disease cure so casually.
And Seymour was in even worse condition than the Grand Lady.
He’s living like a wreck because he lost his wife.
Because of that, his business would suffer for years.
If not for that, he would have imported the cure much earlier.
It wouldn’t have taken seven whole years.
If she could move things forward by just two years—
That would be enough.
But to do that, I have to pull Seymour out of this broken state first…
Even the Grand Lady couldn’t persuade him.
So would one hug from Rowena magically fix him?
Of course not.
There was only one answer.
Close surveillance!
If you want to catch a tiger, you enter the tiger’s den.
If you want to deal with the hidden villain, you go into the villain’s house.
So if she wanted to fix Seymour—
She had to move into his home.
As family.
But first she had to overcome one obstacle.
The Grand Lady.
At Rowena’s declaration, Freya looked bewildered.
“You want to become Seymour’s family? Rowena, have you ever even met him?”
“No.”
“Then I understand even less. I thought you were a sensible child…”
A blade-like chill entered Freya’s eyes.
“Are you saying becoming my adopted daughter—though not an heir—is beneath you?”
“No! It’s not like that!”
Rowena waved her hands frantically.
“I don’t want to be an heir. You don’t have to give me anything.”
“Then why?”
“Well…”
Fidgeting with her fingers, Rowena said,
“I heard what happened while you were unconscious. I heard you’re always worried about the Duke.”
Freya frowned slightly.
“Henry, did you tell the child such things?”
“No, madam. But… I suspect she overheard the servants.”
There had been plenty of talk in the mansion.
Talk about the Grand Lady’s sudden illness.
About Rose’s death.
About whether worry over Seymour had made her heartsick.
A wandering child could easily have heard those things.
“So… because the Duke lost his family, I wanted to become his family. Then you’d worry less.”
At Rowena’s small, subdued words—
Freya, Henry, and even the maids visibly softened.
“So that was why…”
“What a kindhearted child…”
“How can she be so sweet…”
Not missing the warm shift in mood, Rowena quickly added,
“And if I become the Duke’s family, I think I can solve the Duke’s problem too!”
“His problem? You mean the heir issue? How?”
“Well…”
Rowena hopped down from her chair and ran over to Freya.
Then she whispered into her ear.
“…And that’s why…”
“Oh?”
After listening for a while, Freya nodded with interest.
Then Rowena covered her mouth and giggled.
Her green eyes sparkled.
“What do you think, Grand Lady?”
Will you make me the Duke’s family?
And now—
Back to the present.
The Grand Lady had turned out to be a wonderful ally.
She had actually pushed even Seymour into taking Rowena in.
And so—
Rowena was now sitting in a carriage on the way to the Somerset ducal estate.
Hehe.
I really am smart.
Winning over the Grand Lady had been the right move.
Of course, it hadn’t been easy.
The Grand Lady had not trusted a child’s proposal so easily.
“Rowena, I do not think you are trying to deceive me. But people change. Do you think the you of ten years from now will be the same as you are now? I cannot guarantee you won’t grow greedy for the heir’s position.”
“So write a pledge. If you write that you will honor your proposal even then, I will make you Seymour’s heir.”
And so—
Rowena had written a pledge beside the Grand Lady.
And the Grand Lady had kept her promise.
Now all that’s left is…
Smiling brightly, Rowena turned her gaze to the man sitting across from her in the carriage.
A man wearing a deeply uncertain expression.
A man for whom an heir had suddenly dropped from the sky—
The unfortunate…
No, fortunate man—
Seymour Somerset.
