Chapter 22
“Mikhail? What is this…?”
“Please forgive my rudeness.”
The polite kidnapper bowed a perfect 90 degrees, then swiftly scooped the young master up by the waist. Jeremiah clung to Mikhail’s arms like a well-behaved puppy.
Not pleased with the kidnapped one’s attitude, the kidnapper quietly whispered,
“Young Master, it would be better if you resisted a bit more.”
“…Mikhail! Put me down! I said put me down!!”
“Young Master!! What on earth are you… Mikhail?”
“The young lady requires your presence.”
Without another word, Mikhail opened the window and jumped out. Pavel, at a loss for words at the absurd spectacle, could only stand and stare blankly at the two disappearing across the garden.
“Noona, I told you I wouldn’t be attending the picnic.”
“Jeremiah.”
“Yes.”
“Say it without that smirk. Your face and your words don’t match.”
“Yes, Noona.”
Tch, playing hard to get.
“Unnie! Look at the sky! It’s so blue!”
“It really is. Looks like someone spilled paint all over it. So pretty.”
Davina, Jeremiah, and I sat under the shade of the Lemur Oak, which had been rooted here for over a thousand years, gazing endlessly at the sky.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve watched the sky with you and Oppa.”
“Noona, I believe it’s the same for me.”
…Yeah, same here.
Probably the first time in both my past and present life.
The midday sun poured mercilessly over a cloudless blue sky.
The silver hair that shimmered even in darkness now fluttered brilliantly in the sunlight, like an invaluable gem.
The silver-haired pair laughed brightly, soaking in the warm rays, and that laughter alone was enough to turn an ordinary moment into a special memory.
“Mikhail!”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Do you know where the Duke’s camera is?”
“If you mean a camera that can print photos immediately, I have one with me. I’ll fetch it right away.”
…You mean in an era when Earth only just invented person-sized cameras, you have a Polaroid? Fantasy worlds really are something else.
I wanted to ask where on earth he got it from, but decided not to. I just assumed he was an AI with camera functions.
“Jeremiah, Davina, want to open the basket together?”
“Yes, Unnie!”
“Yes, Noona.”
Forgetting their usual bickering, the siblings chatted away, busying their small hands setting the food on the picnic mat.
Normally, this was work for the servants, but today they were doing it themselves.
“Wow, sable cookies!”
“What? Sable?”
Ignoring the sandwiches, fruit, and cherry pie, their eyes were drawn to the cloud-shaped cookies. No wonder the kitchen staff had insisted we bring them.
Now that I thought about it, I’d promised Davina we’d eat them together before. I wondered just how good they were to make such a fuss.
“Are they really that good?”
“Yes! Try one, Unnie!”
A pink cloud floated from Davina’s hand straight into my mouth.
Like snow in sunlight, it melted instantly, releasing a pleasant sweetness and rich floral scent over my tongue.
A meringue cookie with floral essence—exactly the sort of thing kids would go crazy for.
“You can’t just eat that. You need to have sandwiches and fruit too.”
“…Yes, Noona.”
“Uh-huh, okay, Unnie.”
At least they answered nicely.
Predictably, though, they kept sneaking the sable cookies when they thought I wasn’t looking. By the time the food was all set out, the cookies were gone.
“My lady, I’ve brought the camera.”
“That was fast.”
The camera Mikhail brought looked nothing like what I’d imagined.
Its design was beyond modern—practically futuristic, the sort of thing that would make even 21st-century people wonder if it had been made by torturing aliens for tech secrets.
“Mikhail, take lots of different shots of us from now on.”
“Yes, my lady. I’ll mix individual, full-body, and group shots appropriately.”
“Good. And don’t give any of today’s photos to the Duke. They’re all mine.”
Mikhail’s eyes narrowed slightly, clearly curious why I wanted the siblings’ photos so badly.
I slid my gaze slyly and smiled.
Because they were going to be bargaining chips—very valuable ones.
I handed the Vallienor-exclusive butler two sandwiches and gave one to Davina as well.
I couldn’t just let her keep sipping sweet juice after all those cookies.
Jeremiah, having witnessed Davina’s fate, quickly put a sandwich in his own mouth. It was a strange one, filled only with cucumber and a bit of mayonnaise.
“Oppa, do you actually like that?”
“Little kids like you usually eat ham and cheese with strawberry jam, but a gentleman like me eats things like this.”
“Fine. Eat up, Oppa.”
“Good idea.”
Not being a gentleman myself, I preferred the ham and cheese with strawberry jam.
The two of them each finished two sandwiches and stood.
“Unnie! Can I go to the fence? I want to see the pink roses up close.”
“Noona, may I take a walk around? It’s been a while.”
“Sure. Have fun. That’s what the picnic’s for.”
‘Roses and Davina,’ ‘Jeremiah at Noon’—the Duke’s going to love these.
I nodded to Mikhail, and he clicked the shutter without needing more explanation.
The siblings ran around like low-maintenance kids, never straying out of my sight.
Whether they were just cautious around me or genuinely mild-mannered, I’d have to wait and see…
“Davina!! What are you doing?!”
So much for mild. Davina was climbing a fence far taller than herself.
She didn’t care at all that her dress was snagging and tearing on the rose thorns.
“Wait a sec! If I put these roses in your hair, you’ll look so pretty! I’ll get them for you!”
“It’s dangerous! Get down!”
“It’s fine! I’m good at this!”
“I know!! But your dress is ripping!!”
While I stamped my feet watching Davina, Jeremiah called from afar.
“Noona! Nooona!!”
“Jeremiaaah?!!”
When I saw what was in Jeremiah’s outstretched hand, I staggered back in horror.
In the cheerful child’s palm wriggled a shiny-shelled, sharp-clawed creature.
“Noona!! Look at this weird bug!!”
“I know!!”
We call that a stag beetle!!
Jeremiah paused, then eyed the grass. Without hesitation, he picked up a long, smooth green insect—the kind where the female eats the male after mating.
“Noona!! This one has long arms!!”
“That’s because it’s a mantis!!”
The mantis flailed its long forelegs, trying to escape. Unbothered, Jeremiah set it gently on top of the stag beetle and walked over.
The beetle and mantis sat awkwardly together, sizing each other up without making the first move.
“Noona! Isn’t it fascinating?”
“Why did you bring them? Going to make specimens?”
“S–Specimens? No! That’s terrifying. After showing you, I’m letting them go back to nature.”
“…Good idea.”
Sorry, but I only think of collecting them when I see bugs.
I clapped without thinking as the countryside-puppy-like boy gently released the insects. Somehow, it felt like I should praise him.
“My little brother is kind. Life should be treasured.”
No sooner had I spoken than Davina’s voice screeched from behind me.
“Ah! What is that!!”
She’d found the stag beetle crawling in the grass and promptly kicked it away. Jeremiah and I could only watch the beetle fly off.
“…Uh, oops.”
“It’s fine, stag beetles are tough.”
“Unnie! Roses! Lots!”
“Davinaaa!!”
I turned to see her dragging an entire rose vine, roots and all.
I’d assumed she’d just pick a few large, pretty roses from the fence. I was completely wrong.
Davina had the vine looped around her waist and slung over her shoulder, smiling even brighter than the red blooms.
“They’re all for you, Unnie!!”
I looked between Jeremiah—who had just returned from safely releasing the mantis—and Davina, struggling with the tangled vine, and said firmly,
“Picnic’s over.”
“Yes, Noona.”
“Okay, Unnie.”
The two scruffy children nodded in unison. Too tired to lift a finger, I let Mikhail carry me back to the annex.
The still-energetic siblings, meanwhile, exchanged cheerful insults—“What kind of lady looks like that?” “Look at yourself first, Oppa.”—as they were herded to the bath.
I wanted to wash up badly too, but I was more worried about the cat, so I headed straight to my room.
Pulling back the bed curtains in a hurry, I saw the note I’d left before the picnic fluttering in the wind.
*If you’re awake, shall we have a talk?
I know your true identity. Please stay quietly in bed.
– The one who saved you*
