Chapter 79

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 79

Chapter Title: The Baby Bird

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The steward had revealed a secret that had been kept from me.

Nine years ago, the late duke, ousted by my father, refused to give up until the bitter end and brought in a band of ruffians.

It happened when Father was away from the castle on business, forcing Lady Reset—who was heavy with child—to flee for her life.

Escorting her were Lea, who was just a girl at the time, and Reina, Lea's older sister, who served as Lady Reset's personal maid.

The three managed to escape the castle unharmed, but suddenly, Lady Reset went into labor, so they hurriedly took shelter in a nearby mountain.

The duchess gave birth safely. Reina assisted with the delivery and took the baby into her arms.

Meanwhile, Lea fended off Cain's soldiers who had pursued them, but she couldn't hold off that many on her own.

In the end, the duchess passed away, and Reina entrusted the baby, wrapped in a blanket, to Lea.

Reina acted as a decoy to throw off the pursuers, but she met her end at the blade of one of them.

Lea desperately protected the child as well. But amid a hail of arrows, she lost her grip on the baby.

"...After that, Your Grace quelled the rebellion and searched the area, but he could never find the young miss."

I nodded as I listened to the steward's account.

"They had no choice but to hide what happened to Lady Reset, since the late duke was the ringleader of the revolt."

If word got out that he'd lost his wife and child in a duel with the late duke, the Duvered name would have been dragged through the mud.

More than that, Father had crumbled, if only for a moment, after losing both his wife and unborn child at once.

In such turbulent times, if another enemy targeted him in his weakened state, the situation would have spiraled out of control.

So it seemed the retainers, led by Viscount Dubos and the pro-duke faction, had banded together to cover it up.

One of the retainers had noticed the child was a Duvered lady.

The innkeeper's daughter he encountered while traveling looked so much like Father that it struck him as uncanny, and he reported it to Viscount Dubos.

The viscount, who knew the full truth, sent someone to investigate and learned that the childless innkeeper couple had found the baby in the mountains and raised her.

"But why did it take until this life to find the baby bird? Nothing like this happened in my previous life."

The future only changed in one circumstance. When I intervened.

"Where did things diverge?"

As I muttered to myself, the steward dropped a sugar cube into my teacup and said,

"Thanks to you, Little One, the retainers got some time off, so they could travel. It must have been a fortunate coincidence."

"..."

"Or she could be a fake."

"The second option is almost impossible. Only a handful in the Duvered household even know Lady Reset gave birth and died."

The girl had silver hair, blue eyes—all the hallmarks of a Duvered.

They'd even checked with magic to rule out any body-swapping spells, just in case.

And on top of that, she carried the Duvered aura.

'The Duvered chief sorcerer couldn't have been wrong. He's an exceptional mage, fiercely loyal to the family.'

He was the loyal retainer who would one day die defending Father.

That was when it happened.

The greenhouse door burst open, and a girl my age came rushing in.

Our eyes met, and I widened mine in shock.

'It's the baby bird.'

"Miss!"

Lea and the west annex maids followed her in, hurriedly bowing to me and the steward.

"We're sorry, Little One."

Then she whispered to the baby bird,

"You can't just barge in during a conversation."

"But Mireyu missed her big sister!"

I blinked at the baby bird, who had just called me "big sister" out of nowhere.

'She has affinity on Mina's level.'

I was shy and bad at mingling, so this felt utterly novel.

The baby bird approached me with an innocent smile.

"Hi, I'm Mireyu... Oh!"

She paused, spread her skirt wide, and dipped into a slight curtsy.

"Mireyu Duvered, fourth child of the Duvered family. Pleased to meet you."

She glanced at Lea and the maids with a "How was that?" look. Lea smiled helplessly, and the maids stifled giggles.

"Mireyu introduced herself, so now it's big sister's turn!"

Suddenly all eyes were on me, and I felt incredibly awkward. I was already shy, and her bold approach left me flustered.

"Hi, I'm Leblain..."

"Waaah!"

Mireyu threw her arms around mine.

The maids' eyes sparkled as they murmured, "Cute plus cute equals super cute..."

"Come with Mireyu. We're going to eat."

"Ah, but I..."

I still had things to discuss with the steward.

As I hesitated, Mireyu peeked at him and said,

"Grandpa. Mireyu wants to play with big sister. Can we?"

"You don't need my permission for that."

Mireyu pouted briefly at his polite reply, then tugged me along.

"Come on, big sister. He said it's fine."

I was practically dragged out of the greenhouse, mouthing "Sorry" to the steward as I went. He nodded lightly.

Mireyu really was a bright child. She chattered nonstop the whole way, bubbling with excitement.

"Mireyu and big sister are the same age, actually. Mireyu's mom had her in January, and big sister was born in February. But Mireyu likes being the baby. Babies get more love, right? So big sister is big sister."

"That's not really up to me..."

"They say Mireyu is super precious. So the retainer uncles told her she could do whatever she wants. When Mireyu said she wanted big sister as her big sister, even Daddy didn't say no. Daddy thinks Mireyu is super precious."

Her status would be officially sorted out on paper soon enough, so I just hummed in response.

"Hey. This is the fanciest castle Mireyu's ever seen. Everyone's so nice to her too."

"They're all good people."

"But that grandpa seems mean."

"Huh?"

I turned to her in surprise.

"Mireyu asked nicely, but he yelled."

"He wasn't yelling. The steward just isn't used to kids."

"Why? He must have kids of his own. Why isn't he used to them? Does he not have any?"

"He does. But his son had an accident a long time ago..."

"Grandpa must have been so grumpy that his son died. Right?"

I stopped in my tracks and stared at her, my face involuntarily twisting in disapproval.

"You can't say things like that!"

"...Huh?"

"Those are mean words that hurt people's feelings."

Mireyu drooped, her eyebrows sagging.

"...Okay."

I sighed and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"The steward loved his son so much. If you say something like that, it'll break his heart. Promise you won't ever say it again?"

"Got it... Mireyu was wrong... Don't be mad, big sister. Okay?"

I nodded, and just like that, she perked right back up as if the gloom had never happened. Even as we entered the dining hall, her mouth never stopped.

Father, Nos, and a few retainers were already there.

I gave Nos a little wave as I sat, and Mireyu scooted right up next to Father, waving enthusiastically at him too.

"Hi!"

The retainers startled at her voice and turned to look.

"Her voice sounds just like Lady Reset's..."

"Indeed. If she grows up, it'll be hard to tell them apart."

Meanwhile, Mireyu was deep in conversation with Nos.

"We saw each other yesterday, right?"

"Yes, miss."

Mireyu covered her mouth and giggled. "She called me miss."

"Mireyu still thinks 'miss' sounds weird."

"You'll get used to it soon enough."

"Yeah, Mireyu has to get used to it quick—'miss,' how I talk, everything! Or she'll keep messing up."

"Messing up?"

"Mireyu made big sister mad today. She said Mireyu said mean things. Maybe 'cause Mireyu isn't used to fancy noble talk yet."

Everyone in the dining hall turned to me. Then they awkwardly changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, where will the miss be staying now?"

"What kind of question is that? The west annex, obviously."

"Does the west annex even have a room ready for such a young miss?"

After the late duke's death, Father had completely renovated the west annex where the Duvered bloodline resided.

He'd demolished the late duke's room and those of his deceased brothers, refitting everything from scratch.

Because of that, there weren't enough children's rooms at first. Even after I was officially added to the family registry, I had to wait for new construction before getting my own room.

Father asked Nos,

"Has the work started?"

"Yes. Unlike with Little One's room, we've stocked up on spinel, so the security installations shouldn't take much time."

"Timeline?"

"We're estimating two weeks. We've unpacked the miss's things in the room next to Little One's for now. Will that be all right?"

That's when Mireyu shot her hand up like a student. "Mireyu has a suggestion!"

"Mireyu wants to share a room with Daddy!"

"Miss, that's..."

"The castle's so big, it's scary at night. Right? Riiight, Daddy?"

"..."

"Is that okay?"

The retainers looked a bit troubled, but they clearly found her wheedling adorable.

"You're the first to throw a tantrum at His Grace like that, miss."

"Yes, Little One was always so mature, even as a child."

"Mireyu's mature too. She eats her beans real good."

She picked at the beans served with the meal, and the retainers chuckled. "Very mature indeed."

While they carried on, I quietly ate my meal alone. It was easier without the retainers prompting me to talk as usual.

That evening, as I headed back to my room, a familiar retainer approached—one who always doted on me.

"Um, Little One..."

"Yes?"

"It might be best to avoid quarreling with Miss Mireyu for a while. All eyes are on you two."

He must have thought we'd fought because of what she said about making me mad.

"No, we didn't quarrel."

"That's a relief. I was worried she was upset about getting scolded by you."

He smiled in relief, and I nodded back.

If he came all the way to advise me, it meant everyone was watching our relationship closely.

'I should tell Mireyu we should get along.'

I headed to the candy room Father kept stocked for me and gathered some snacks.

The bear-shaped cookies were my absolute favorite—they melted in your mouth with a sip of milk.

I arranged them neatly on a tray with some milk and made my way to Mireyu's room.

As I raised my hand to knock, a bright voice leaked through the cracked door.

"The inn daddy always read Mireyu fairy tales. It's a habit now—Mireyu can't sleep without one. Won't you read to her, Daddy? Your voice is so nice, it'd make her sleepy right away."

A whiny tone was followed by Ishak's grumbling.

"Just go to sleep. I thought something was wrong when you kept calling everyone."

"Why not break the habit and sleep without it?"

That was Henri's voice.

"Nooo, it's Mireyu's first night here. She wants to sleep with everyone. Big brother, don't gooo. Tell him not to go, Daddy!"

"Let go."

"Mireyu, lie down here."

They were spending family time together.

It made sense—they'd been reunited after nine long years, so they needed that bonding.

I stood there awkwardly, fiddling with the edge of the tray, then turned and walked away.