Chapter 47………….
I watched the teardrops dangling from the child’s chin and finally opened my mouth.
“You want to live with me?”
“Sniff… y-yes…”
“Then pick an item.”
“……Pardon?”
“I promise not to send you away until that item wears out and disappears.”
“……R-really?”
“Do I look like the kind of person who lies?”
“N-no! No, not at all!”
“Hurry and choose. Wipe those tears properly.”
“Yes!!!”
Piace rubbed her tears roughly with the back of her hand.
Caroline quickly pulled out a handkerchief.
“Oh dear, my lady, you’ll hurt yourself like that. Let me wipe them for you.”
“Mm, mm!”
“There… all done. Now go ahead.”
“Yes!”
Brightly responding, Piace eagerly began picking through the items.
She only glanced briefly at dresses and accessories, but lingered for a long time at the stationery section.
‘Is she avoiding the dresses because they’re too expensive?’
I glanced at Caroline.
“Caroline, help her.”
“Yes, master!”
Caroline, who already looked frustrated watching the girl, guided Piace toward the dresses.
“How about this ribbon and these shoes? They’d look so pretty with the dress.”
“Mm…”
“Not to your liking? Then… oh my! Look, here’s a pair of pink loafers you love, my lady. What do you think?”
“Mm, they’re pretty.”
“You don’t have to choose just one. Try on everything you like.”
“U-um, P-Piace has decided.”
“Really? Which one? Show me, my lady.”
“This one!”
What the child held up was a pen.
A cute pen with fluffy pink feathers attached.
So many luxurious, glittering things to choose from, yet she chose a mere pen.
“A pen? My lady, surely not just….”
Caroline looked genuinely pained, but I understood Piace’s heart.
‘A pen won’t wear out and disappear, no matter how much time passes.’
I put down my teacup and stood up.
“Buy everything she prepared and everything the child so much as glanced at.”
Elise’s lips stretched wide in delight.
“Oh my! As expected, Your Grace has such a generous heart! There are quite a lot of items, so it may take some time to load them into the carriage. Will that be alright?”
I looked at Piace.
She was clutching the pen in both hands, her mouth hanging open.
“Piace, will you be taking that pen?”
“Yes… um, b-but Piace only chose this one… just one…”
“Right. I chose the rest.”
“Eh?”
“My lady, these are gifts from His Grace. Say thank you and accept them. Go on.”
Caroline whispered with a smile to the bewildered girl.
Piace’s face turned bright red.
“T-thank you…”
“You may take the pen with you now. Send the rest to the estate.”
“Of course! Our darling young lady must truly love that pen. I’ll pack it into a pretty handbag for her, so please wait just a moment!”
Just as Elise turned, the boutique’s door flew open and someone came in.
It was a noblewoman with soft chestnut-brown hair elegantly done up, accompanied by a girl who looked about seven or eight.
“How could you do this? Canceling an appointment unilaterally—do you think that’s acceptable?”
It seemed Elise had canceled all her appointments for my sake.
Since my business was done anyway, I intended to step aside.
Until—thud.
Piace, face gone pale, dropped her pen.
The moment she saw the noblewoman and girl, she darted behind Caroline.
She clutched Caroline’s skirt so tightly her knuckles turned white.
“M-my lady?”
Shake shake shake!
Piace furiously shook her head, her face twisted in fear.
As if begging us not to let them notice her.
Caroline shot me a troubled look. I gestured for her to stay still.
“How dare you treat me like this, after all the times I’ve patronized this shop—!”
The furious noblewoman suddenly spotted me, her eyes widening.
Her voice, moments ago shrill with anger, transformed into elegance.
“Oh my, I didn’t realize there was a guest… Could it be His Grace the Duke of Ibrante?”
“And you are?”
“I am Floria Molton. I’ve long wished to meet you—what a coincidence, here of all places.”
“And the child?”
“This is my daughter, Bianca. She’s seven. Bianca, greet His Grace.”
“……”
“Bianca?”
The girl’s pouting lips opened.
“Noooo!!!”
Wow…
What a shriek.
“You said you’d buy me a new dress! When are you going to buy it!”
“Alright, alright. If you greet the Duke nicely, Mommy will buy you a dress. You’re a good girl, aren’t you? Now, greet him.”
“No! No! I saaaaid nooo!”
Bianca plopped onto the floor and threw a tantrum.
A weary-looking maid tried to pull her up.
“My lady, please, you mustn’t. Stand up.”
“Go away!”
Whack!
Bianca punched the maid in the face.
“Ugh!” The maid groaned softly and stepped back, covering her eye.
It wasn’t the first time—her face was already covered in bruises, big and small.
“You promised! Why won’t you keep your promise! Buy it now! Buy it right nowww!”
Her piercing scream rattled my skull.
Even Elise, who was used to this, finally plugged her ears.
“Oh dear, what’s gotten into her…”
Seeing me, Marchioness Molton forced a graceful smile.
“My Bianca must be in a bad mood. Normally she’s such a sweet girl, but she was very hurt when she couldn’t get her dress today. I hope you’ll understand.”
She didn’t scold her daughter.
Even though the child had struck her maid and was rolling on the floor, she maintained her elegance.
To demand my understanding for a child causing such a scene in a shop…
It was beyond my comprehension.
“What did you just say?”
“…Pardon?”
“She’s so noisy, I couldn’t hear. Say it again.”
“……”
The marchioness’s expression stiffened with humiliation.
At her sharp glance, the maid once again tried to calm Bianca.
“My lady, please, don’t do this…”
“What are you! I told you to go away! Get lost, get loooost!”
“Kyaaah!”
This time, Bianca grabbed the maid’s hair and yanked it violently.
‘Seven years old and already that strong?’
She thrashed the maid’s head back and forth.
I was dumbfounded, while Elise and the staff seemed utterly unfazed.
They only looked at the maid with pity, not surprised at Bianca’s cruelty.
Just the atmosphere of, “Here she goes again.”
‘So she’s like this outside the house too.’
Is this how all noble children are raised?
With only Piace near me, I wasn’t sure if I was the strange one for being outraged.
Bianca, busy venting on the maid, grew quiet for a moment.
The marchioness seized the chance to speak again, her tone still ever so refined.
“I promised to buy my child a dress today, but the boutique canceled our appointment without notice. She was so hurt that she can’t control her feelings. I hope Your Grace will understand.”
“I cannot.”
“…Pardon?”
“Is missing out on a dress such a grievous wound? That it warrants this chaos? What exactly am I supposed to understand?”
Cracks appeared on her graceful façade. Her smile slowly vanished.
“In my view, if a child disrupts business this badly, it’s only natural to discipline them. It seems you and I have very different ideas, Marchioness.”
“……”
“Of course, I don’t mean to interfere with your parenting. But at seven, shouldn’t a child at least know not to disturb others?”
I paused, then smiled elegantly.
“Oh, our Piace is only five, and even she knows that much—so don’t take it the wrong way.”
“…I heard the news. Piace has become the Duke of Ibrante’s official ward. I was deeply concerned.”
“Concerned about Piace?”
“No, of course about you, Your Grace.”
Why on earth would she be concerned about me? Not worth answering.
The marchioness shook her head as if in pity.
“Piace lags so far behind children her age. She’ll surely become a great blemish upon Your Grace.”
