"......"
Diamid, who had been staring with wide eyes, quickly turned his head the moment our gazes met.
His lips moved slightly.
"Today is my birthday......."
No, seriously, what am I supposed to do with that?
I let out a deep sigh and walked outside.
I figured I’d take a few laps around the Crown Prince’s garden until my stomach felt empty again.
But the problem was—
"Where are you going, little one?"
"......Duke?"
Somehow, the Duke had ended up right next to me.
I just wanted to take a walk alone in peace, but that was completely out of the question now.
I trudged forward.
And then—
"......Duke."
Unable to hold it in any longer, I spun around to face him.
"Why do you keep following me?!"
"I'm just taking a walk too."
But no matter ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) how annoyed I sounded, his response was smooth and nonchalant.
Ugh, what can I do? Powerless maids like me just have to deal with this.
I tried my best to ignore the Duke and picked up my pace.
But the real problem was—
"......"
"......"
—now that it was actually quiet, things had gotten unbearably awkward.
This silence was suffocating!
In the end, I admitted defeat and opened my mouth.
"Thank you very much for celebrating His Highness’s birthday with us."
"Well, it's only polite."
Ugh, he's so infuriating! He’s so smug that I want to smack him!
But still...
I stole a glance up at him.
...Well, I do appreciate it.
"To be honest, I thought you didn’t like His Highness the Crown Prince."
At the same time, my unfiltered thoughts slipped right out of my mouth.
Ugh, why can’t I shut up?!
The moment I gasped and clamped my hands over my lips, a calm voice reached me.
"Is there any reason I should dislike him?"
Huh?
Without realizing it, I came to a halt.
The Duke was looking straight at me.
His eyes, deep as a summer forest, seemed unusually subdued.
"If anything, the one at fault is House Rochester."
His expression right now—
It was the same one Her Majesty had worn when I’d asked about Diamid before.
"And as the head of my house, it’s only natural that I bear the burden of my family’s sins as well."
"B-But didn’t Your Grace say you didn’t like how Her Majesty was taking care of His Highness...?"
I asked back without thinking.
The Duke simply shrugged.
"Well, that’s just—"
"Yes?"
"My dear little sister insists on taking a difficult path, so as her older brother, I should at least voice some complaints, don’t you think?"
As he spoke, he gave me a playful smile.
Oh, so he can smile like that.
I blinked in surprise at the unexpected sight.
"But... Rose is right."
"Duke."
"If anything, I’ve been the one who shut my eyes to right and wrong, all for the sake of my family’s advancement."
...House Rochester, the greatest supporter in the current Emperor’s coup.
And the Duke, who inherited his title from his predecessor—the Emperor’s former ally.
I had assumed that the current Duke shared the same views as his predecessor.
But...
‘Maybe that’s not the case after all.’
Well, just because a father and son are family doesn’t mean they have to think the same way.
Just like Her Majesty and the previous Duke.
"......"
"......"
Silence fell again.
But this time, it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence.
How should I put it... It felt like I had seen a side of the Duke I never expected.
Then, something caught my eye.
Chirp, chirp!
It was a bird’s nest, nestled among the branches.
The baby birds, their yellow beaks wide open, chirped eagerly.
Their mother busily brought them worms, feeding them one by one.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
...When I first came to the Crown Prince’s palace, it had felt like a haunted house, completely desolate.
But now, even here, new life had arrived.
"What are you staring at so intently?"
The Duke narrowed his eyes as he followed my gaze.
I smiled awkwardly.
"Oh, I was just a little envious."
"Of what?"
"Those birds. Don’t they look really close?"
I pointed at the bird family with my finger.
"The mother bird is taking such good care of her chicks."
"...That’s only natural for a mother bird, isn’t it?"
At his puzzled tone, I answered sheepishly.
"That’s true. But there are many people in the world without families."
At my response, the Duke pressed his lips together.
A moment later.
His deep green eyes tilted slightly downward to look at me.
"So, you want a family?"
"Of course. I’ve always wanted one."
I nodded firmly.
"If I ever have a family, I’ll take really good care of them."
"...I see."
The Duke’s gaze held a strange complexity.
"Well, at an age when you should still be under your parents’ care... you’re alone."
"...Huh?"
"Nothing, forget it."
The Duke shook his head, brushing it off as a passing remark.
But for some reason, it felt like he had touched on my most vulnerable spot.
Alone? Me?
No, that’s not true.
I have Her Majesty. I have Diamid.
And the maids of the Empress’s palace treat me very well.
I forced myself to think positively.
But...
‘In the end, they can never truly be my family.’
Her Majesty already has her own family, and Diamid will be happy with Sienna.
And as for the other maids, well, they don’t even count.
...Now that I think about it, I guess I am alone.
No, no, I can’t dwell on this. It’ll only make me feel worse.
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Hmm, I don’t know."
In the end, all I could do was smile vaguely and dodge the question.
"Well, either way... Whether I have a family or not isn’t something I can change."
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
The Duke didn’t respond to my words.
Instead, he just stared at me.
Huh? Why is he looking at me like that?
I tilted my head in confusion.
Then—
The Duke suddenly placed his hand on top of my head.
"...Duke?"
I looked up at him in bewilderment.
Was he... trying to comfort me?
"Don’t dwell on pointless thoughts."
...The moment I thought that, he spoke in a sharp tone, as if he had been waiting for me to say it.
"If you start sulking, it’ll interfere with serving Her Majesty, won’t it?"
"Ah, right...."
I pouted slightly.
But his hand on my head was surprisingly gentle.
For some reason... it felt like he was looking at me with a bit more kindness than before.
Was that just my imagination?
A Few Days Later.
Duke Rochester, now openly siding with the Empress, sent late birthday gifts to both Charlize and Diamid.
"Wow, what’s gotten into the Duke?"
Charlize bounced in excitement.
As she gleefully admired her gift, Diamid, who had been watching her, unknowingly flushed red.
‘...So this is what it feels like.’
To have someone celebrate his birth.
To have someone happy that he existed.
He had forgotten for too long how it made his chest feel warm and fuzzy.
And with that warmth, Diamid found himself smiling softly.
A smile utterly free of burden.