Side Story – Chapter 5
Damian spent several days carefully preparing his plan.
He needed to be cautious so that his father wouldn’t find out, and because of that, it took longer than expected.
When everything was ready, Damian straightened his shoulders proudly.
But since the plan wasn’t successful yet, he calmed himself and hurried over to Diana.
“Mother, have you finished your work?”
“Not yet. Why?”
“If it’s something that can wait, would you like to go out with me to the town square?”
“Hmm—shall we?”
Since Diana had already finished her important work, she said she’d get ready to go out.
Damian beamed with excitement, his round cheeks turning pink.
At the moment, Harold was away from the mansion for an official schedule.
That was exactly why Damian chose today as the perfect day to carry out his plan.
Before changing into his thick winter coat, Damian went to find Finn, his mother’s escort knight.
As expected, Finn was also preparing to leave, having heard about the outing.
“Sir Finn.”
“Good day, young master.”
“Don’t come with us today. Mother and I will be playing somewhere safe.”
Finn frowned awkwardly and shook his head.
“I can’t do that. I must escort both of you.”
…Damian had expected this. His mother’s knight was too loyal to give in easily.
“Sir Finn, you like the maid Meira, right?”
“H-how do you know that—?! Uh!”
Finn froze, face turning red like a tomato. Damian’s navy eyes sparkled mischievously.
“Please, Sir Finn. I really want to spend the day alone with Mother.”
“…You won’t go anywhere dangerous, right, young master?”
“Of course not! I’d never take Mother somewhere dangerous.”
Finn sighed deeply, rubbing his face with a large hand.
“…At times like this, you don’t act like a child at all.”
“Sir Finn, you’ve been by my side for years—what are you talking about?”
“Yes, that’s true. Young master, you really take after your lord—”
“I’m not a child, I’m seven years old!”
“…Yes, that’s right. Seven years old. But please promise me you won’t go anywhere unsafe.”
“Of course. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Mother.”
Damian’s eyes widened with joy. He had succeeded in persuading Finn.
Then, his pink hair fluttering, he ran off to change clothes.
Damian and Diana arrived in the bustling district by carriage.
A strong wind blew Diana’s hat away, and Damian quickly chased after it.
“Mother, I got it!”
“Thank you, Damian.”
Diana put her hat back on properly and called out to the coachman.
“Go ahead and return to the mansion. Damian and I will spend some time here and return by hired carriage.”
“Yes, my lady.”
As the coachman departed, Damian smiled secretly.
He had planned to send the coachman away himself, but since his mother did it first, things worked out perfectly.
Feeling that luck was on his side, he took Diana’s hand.
“Mother, there’s a dessert shop I really want to visit. May I escort you there?”
“My little gentleman, if it’s a place you want to go, then of course. Where is it?”
Holding her hand, Damian led her to a shop called Etwing.
“Oh, it says the store will be closed for three days due to personal reasons.”
“Ah…”
Damian let out a disappointed sigh.
Of course, he was the one who arranged for the shop to close.
He had secretly paid them using his saved-up allowance—an amount equal to three days’ profit.
“I really wanted to go there…”
“That’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. Damian, let’s come back three days later.”
“Mother.”
“Yes?”
“The main branch of Etwing is in the nearby city of Elnas. It’s only an hour away by carriage. Can we go there now?”
Elnas was a developed city right next to the capital.
The roads were well built, so traveling there by carriage took about an hour.
Damian clasped his hands together and looked up at his mother with big pleading eyes.
He knew this look always made her soften.
“…All right, let’s go. My Damian wants to go so much—how can I say no?”
“Thank you, Mother!”
“I should’ve known not to send the coachman away.”
“It’s fine, we can just take a hired carriage!”
Everything was going according to his plan.
Damian felt like luck itself was following him.
He led his mother to a carriage rental station—one he had already contacted in advance.
Because of the crowd traveling toward Elnas, the trip took longer than expected,
but they arrived safely. Diana looked around in surprise at the large crowd.
“Why are there so many people here?”
“Mother, look! It says a festival starts tomorrow!”
“Ah… it’s already that time of year. The roads back to the capital will probably be packed.”
Damian looked up at his mother, who was already worrying about the return trip.
It was time to persuade her completely.
But Damian wasn’t too worried—because he had a secret weapon.
“Mother, I want to use my wish ticket!”
That’s right—his wish ticket!
He praised himself for saving the birthday wish until now.
“All right, Damian. What’s your wish?”
“I want to spend time alone with Mother until the end of the festival!”
Diana thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded—just as Damian had predicted.
“If that’s your wish, of course I’ll grant it. I wanted to go on a little date with you too.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But let’s send Father a letter so he doesn’t worry.”
“You don’t have to worry about that! I already wrote it!”
The letter was written carefully to confuse their location.
After all, Damian knew that if his clingy father found out where they were, he’d come immediately.
Damian was thrilled. He was finally going to spend days alone with his mother!
He almost jumped with joy—but quickly stopped himself. ‘No, I’m seven. I can’t act like a little kid anymore.’
“Damian, you already had the letter written? So you planned this trip from the start?”
“…!”
Thump. Damian felt his stomach drop.
Seeing his mother’s serious expression, he bit his lip nervously before confessing everything.
“Yes… that’s right. I brought you here on purpose. I’m sorry for lying.”
“Since you apologized, Mother forgives you. But promise me you won’t do this again, all right?”
“Yes!”
“I know you’ll keep that promise.”
Damian nodded quickly.
When he did, Diana’s firm expression softened. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek.
“My baby’s cheeks are freezing. Let’s find a dessert shop first—or maybe a place to stay?”
“I already asked one of my servants to reserve a room!”
“Really? My Damian takes after his father—so well prepared.”
“T-that’s just basic stuff! I’m seven now!”
“Most seven-year-olds can’t do that, sweetheart.”
Diana laughed and kissed the tip of his nose.
After visiting a dessert shop, the two headed to their inn.
The trip had taken longer than expected, so it was already evening.
They ate dinner and lay down together on the bed, chatting about what to do the next day.
Damian’s eyes grew heavy, his smile soft as he snuggled into his mother’s arms.
Her arms were warm like sunlight, and she smelled so nice. Sleepiness washed over him.
He wanted to keep talking, but…
Half-asleep, he murmured softly,
“Tomorrow, let’s have so much fun that Father gets jealous… okay, Mom?”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Diana patted his back and sang a lullaby.
When his breathing became steady, she knew he had fallen asleep.
Still, she sang for a while longer before quietly standing up.
She tucked the blanket up to his chin so he wouldn’t get cold and kissed his cheek.
“Goodnight, Damian. My baby.”
As she stepped out of the room, she glanced around—
and couldn’t help but chuckle softly when she saw a familiar figure leaning against the wall beside the door.
“Damian’s asleep, Harold. You can come in now.”
