“Wow. Buying new clothes. Aren’t you excited?”
I forced out the words to break the icy silence, and an answer came back at once.
“Uu-uu!”
“Yeah, I’m excited!”
“I see.”
And that was the end of the conversation, just like that.
All three of them only looked at me while talking, never once trying to meet each other’s eyes. As if I were some kind of relay station.
Haa. Whatever I said, it kept going like this. I’d been hoping they’d talk to each other, so why was everyone only looking at me!
At this rate, Jayden and Cain will never have a chance to get closer.
I should have at least arranged the seating better.
Jayden had naturally claimed the seat to my left when we got into the carriage.
And so I’d suddenly found myself with Melody on my right and Jayden on my left, sitting directly across from Cain, who sat all alone on the other side.
Ugh, my head hurts.
Where should I even begin with this? I’d been lost in thought for a while, having given up on opening the conversation myself, when—
“Viola.”
“Yes?”
Cain suddenly reached out and leaned toward me.
“There’s dust in your hair…”
It was the very moment his hand was about to brush against my hair.
Hup. Jayden, sitting pressed right up against me, flinched, his shoulders drawing in with alarm.
A reaction that made it obvious he was afraid of Cain, as if a beast’s paw were reaching toward him.
Cain’s hand froze in midair for a moment, then simply brushed off the dust and drew back, indifferent.
This is a disaster…
The mood sank even lower than before. Would these two even manage to exchange a single word by the end of today? Surely they would… right?
Ugh. There was a long, long road ahead.
Unable to bear it any longer, I finally raised my hand.
“I have a suggestion!”
“Uu-uu!”
Approved!
Huh? We hadn’t even started the discussion yet, and Melody raised her hand cheerfully as if giving her consent.
Not to be outdone, Jayden hurriedly called out too.
“M-me too, approved!”
I hadn’t even said anything yet.
But well, fine, then. Majority rules, decision made!
“Let’s all eat together after we buy the clothes! Something delicious!”
Huh?
Jayden’s face flashed with belated realization, but this was exactly why you had to vote carefully. There was no taking it back now, Young Master.
“Is that all right with you too, Your Grace?”
“It’s already been decided by majority vote.”
He gave a light shrug.
“Wonderful! Then it’s settled!”
We’re eating something good.
Meanwhile, the carriage seemed to have arrived at the boutique district, slowing down before finally coming to a stop.
“We appear to have arrived.”
Stepping out of the carriage, what unfolded before us was a lavish shopping street.
The shop windows lined up along the road caught the sunlight and sparkled like jewels.
“Wow…”
Winterwald really is huge, isn’t it.
This area was even more dazzling and luxurious than the district I’d toured when I first arrived. It seemed to be a street mainly used by nobility.
“Even the silk gloves here look so refined.”
I found myself stopping in front of one shop, murmuring to myself without meaning to.
Even though they were men’s gloves I’d have no use for, the simple yet elegant design caught my eye.
While I stood there in a daze, Melody tugged at my clothes.
“Mommy? Uu?”
“Viola, Viola! It’s this way!”
Jayden was already far ahead, waving his hand at me.
“Oh, I’m coming right in!”
What was I even doing there? I gathered my wits and followed after Jayden.
And so, the four of us finally stepped into the largest boutique on the street.
Ding. Along with the clear ring of a bell, the interior we stepped into was a whole other world.
Dresses and suits displayed atop luxurious velvet carpeting showed off their elegant lines.
Unlike Melody and me, both dizzied by the dazzling sight, our heads spinning, Cain and Jayden looked perfectly at ease.
Once the boutique door closed, Cain took off the robe he’d been wearing.
Shhk. His beautiful silver hair, revealed in an instant, made it obvious to anyone that this was the Duke of Asheln.
The boutique’s madam showed no particular surprise; if anything, she bowed politely as if she’d been expecting exactly this.
“We greet His Grace the Duke of Asheln. We were informed of your visit in advance.”
Ah, come to think of it.
I’d thought it odd that a boutique this large didn’t have a single other customer, not even one…
Don’t tell me he’s rented out the whole place?
Uwah. An unrefined exclamation slipped out of me before I could stop it.
Not missing my reaction, Cain turned his head and asked:
“What is it?”
“Oh, n-nothing…! It’s nothing!”
I said that, but my heart was pounding. I’d only wanted an excuse to go out with Jayden, but the whole thing seemed to have grown far bigger than I’d expected, and I was rather flustered, but…
Money really is the best, after all.
Since the children were having such a wonderful time.
Whatever else was true, I felt it had been worth bringing them out after all.
“Goodness, so adorable…!”
Before I knew it, Melody, dressed in a light pink lace dress, was spinning around in front of me.
The oversized light-green ribbon at her waist looked just like butterfly wings.
Ugh. All this time, Mommy couldn’t afford to dress her like this even once. I’ve been letting Melody’s beauty go to waste…!
I was melting over Melody’s cuteness, covering my mouth, when—
“Viola! Look at this!”
The fitting room curtain was pulled back, and Jayden strode out triumphantly.
Dressed in a snow-white shirt with a deep red vest, he looked every inch a little young lord.
Except…
Hm? Something seems a little off?
With his shirt collar popped straight up like a frilled lizard’s frill, the boy shrugged his shoulders.
“Cool, right?”
At his slightly disheveled outfit, I bit back a laugh and reached out to fix it, then stopped.
Come to think of it, I’d had another goal in coming here entirely…
Glancing back, I saw Cain standing quietly, leaning against the wall, just as he had been all this time.
I’d brought him along hoping he’d bond with Jayden, but as if determined not to interfere, he’d stayed silent from start to finish.
We’d come all this way; I couldn’t just leave it like this.
Clapping my hands toward Jayden, I deliberately shot Cain a meaningful glance as well.
“Wow, Young Master. You look so cool!”
“Really?”
“Yes! Go show His Grace right away! Go on!”
The truth was, Cain had already realized it the moment he’d gotten into the carriage to leave. Why Viola had proposed such a nonsensical outing.
Asking him to help pick out clothes was surely just an excuse; what she actually wanted, it seemed, was for Jayden and him to grow closer.
But that was never as easy as she made it sound.
Jayden was a boy who nearly fainted from fright whenever Cain so much as spoke to him.
He’d once heard from Conrad that his nephew’s fear of him came from the powerful Dragonblood presence he gave off.
After that, he’d tried deliberately suppressing his presence as much as possible when approaching the boy, but Jayden had remained just as frightened of him regardless. Their very first meeting had probably set things off on the wrong foot from the start.
Even if these were nephews he’d only taken on after his brother and his wife died suddenly in an accident, Cain had wanted to fulfill his duty as their guardian.
But he could never truly replace their parents.
Much of it was because, having inherited the dukedom, he’d had almost no time to stay in the residence, what with monsters constantly stirring up trouble across the territory.
Of course, even setting that aside…
Perhaps it was an impossible goal from the very beginning.
Even his own mother had called him a monster when he was young.
If even his own mother had feared the child she’d carried and borne herself, it was only natural that his nephew feared him too.
And so, having noticed Viola’s true intention behind proposing this outing, Cain couldn’t bring himself to grant her wish. He knew exactly what his role was.
Not getting in the way of the children’s fun.
Come to think of it, Conrad had once given him some advice, saying it might be overstepping but he’d say it anyway: that a scary but good boss was one who kept his mouth shut and simply paid the bill at a meal.
This wasn’t a gathering with a subordinate, but today, his role was probably about the same.
Simply lean against the wall, let the children enjoy themselves, and quietly pay for it all.
But Viola didn’t seem to have forgotten the goal of this outing.
“Wow, Young Master. You look so cool!”
“Really?”
“Yes! Go show His Grace right away! Go on!”
She shot him a look, as if urging him to answer.
It won’t do any good.
Whatever he said in response, the boy would clearly just run off.
“…Huh?”
Sure enough, the moment he was told to show Cain, Jayden, who had been so excited, started in alarm.
Ordinarily he would have shrunk back at that. But astonishingly, Jayden began, hesitantly, to approach him.
…He listens to Viola’s word alone with remarkable obedience.
