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Reuniting with the Two

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*****

「My Lady, you have a guest arriving for tea time.」

「A guest? For me?」

Thomas replied with a warm, gentle smile. 「Yes, My Lady.」

Since the townhouse was usually left without its master, time seemed to flow a bit more slowly for the servants here. To be clear, they still did their chores just as quickly and impeccably as the staff back at the main estate, but there was an overall air of relaxed comfort about them.

(Probably because they aren't constantly being chased by extra work, though.)

「I wonder who it could be... Is Big Brother going to join us?」

When she asked the smiling Thomas, he simply shook his head.

「No, My Lady. Well then, I shall come fetch you when the time arrives. Please make yourself at ease until then.」

Magnolia tilted her head as she watched Thomas walk away without giving a straight answer.

(Well, he was smiling, so it's probably not anyone weird.)

Deciding to map out her schedule for the townhouse stay and do a little research, she headed for the library.

Magnolia opened a set of historical records from the final years of the great war. The war had ended when Servas was forty-one. That was also around the time he had taken Claude in.

And right around then, a coalition army from the desert nation and several smaller states had indeed invaded and conquered the Principality of Azenda. The Grand Duke and Duchess surrendered, were captured, and were ultimately executed. The text noted that immediately afterward, the Gilmore Knights moved in to suppress the invaders and liberate the territory.

There was absolutely no mention of a Grand Prince anywhere. Publicly, he simply "didn't exist."

There were two possible explanations. First, a discrepancy between the game and reality, meaning Claude really was just the survivor of a baron's household. Second, the grand ducal couple had foreseen their tragic fate to some extent during the war, leading them to give birth in absolute secrecy and hide his existence.

She began searching for portraits of the Grand Duke and Duchess. Since people from Azenda generally tended to have dark hair, it made sense that Claude, being originally from Azenda, had black hair too.

「Is this it? ...It's too small to really tell.」

She managed to find an illustration of the couple leaning close to each other in a loving manner, but the detail left a lot to be desired. The only clear takeaway was that both of them had dark hair; their fine facial features remained a mystery.

As she kept reading through the text, a casual sentence caught her eye.

*The Grand Duchess possessed blue-violet eyes.*

If he really was the Grand Prince, it meant he inherited those eyes from his mother.

(Oh, right!)

The family name carved on the tombstone had been Lindberg.

She hurried over to the bookshelves housing the peerage directories. Since the Gilmore family frequently dealt with foreign nations, they naturally kept an extensive collection of peerage registries for neighboring countries. They were supposed to be updated every few years, but...

Just as the thought crossed her mind, Magnolia suddenly froze in her tracks.

(Wait... I shouldn't be digging into this. Whether he's a Grand Prince or the son of a baron, who cares? It doesn't change anything.)

If they were hiding it, it was because it needed to stay hidden. Or maybe he just didn't see any reason to bring it up.

Magnolia smacked both her cheeks with her hands and looked out the window. Right now, taking care of what she actually needed to do came first.

Visiting or meeting with the Campbell Trading Company. Checking out the capital's markets. She also wanted to meet up with Violet at least one more time before heading home. Since she was here, she really wanted to do some proper capital sightseeing completely detached from work.

Going with Violet, Dean, or Lily sounded fun, but exploring with Claude—who shared her exact taste in food—would let her try all kinds of dishes. Still, she wondered if he was too busy. After all, he had technically come here as her escort while simultaneously handling military affairs.

(Even though I used to live in the capital, I never once stepped foot outside the mansion back then.)

Your typical young noble lady wouldn't exactly go wandering around outside anyway, and if a family held a fief, their children would usually spend their time out in the country. Though highly dedicated families like the Steizens apparently kept their children in the capital even if they held regional lands...

A short while later, Thomas arrived to announce that her guests had arrived.

Quickly tidying up her appearance, she made her way to the salon. Stepping through the open doors, she found Daisy and Lila—both looking a fair bit more mature—sitting inside.

「Daisy! Lila?!」

The moment Magnolia entered the room, the two of them stood up and offered a flawless, elegant bow.

「Lady Magnolia, it has been a very long time.」

Daisy, once a bright and energetic girl, now exuded a gentle, composed aura, while Lila had transitioned beautifully from a refined young lady into the absolute picture of a loving wife and mother.

「We are overjoyed to see you in such good health. Rumors of your accomplishments have reached even our ears.」

Lila gave a graceful smile.

「Wow... You totally caught me by surprise!」

「We did it, Lila-san!」

Seeing Magnolia completely at a loss for words, Daisy flashed her old, vivacious grin and turned back to Lila.

First, Magnolia asked about what had happened after her departure, something that had been weighing heavily on her mind.

It turned out that, just as Gerald had promised, they were treated with proper consideration and were able to work under normal conditions right up until their retirement. She had spent so much time worrying that they might face unfair backlash or false accusations—like being blamed for instigating things using the documents Magnolia herself had uncovered—but seeing them now, she was incredibly relieved to know those fears had been entirely groundless.

They had gone on to retire and marry exactly as planned; Daisy fell pregnant right away and gave birth the following year, and she was currently expecting her second child. Lila had conceived about a year later and was now the proud mother of one.

「Wow~, both of you are mothers now. Time really does fly...」

As Magnolia let out a deeply sentimental sigh, the two of them giggled at her adult-like reaction. Their smiling faces carried such a calm, radiating sense of fulfillment that Magnolia could tell they were living happy lives without even having to ask.

Magnolia smiled back, filled with deep satisfaction.

「You have grown so much as well, Lady Magnolia. We have heard that you are actively involved in so many areas, from curing illnesses to launching new businesses and reforming the territory.」

「We were quite startled by everything back then... but seeing you now, you look like you are truly living life on your own terms. In the end, it was absolutely for the best.」

Was it the passing of those four years? Or was it the deep maternal instincts that came with being a mother? Magnolia could clearly feel the profound warmth and affection both Daisy and Lila were directing toward her, despite her still being a child.

「...Well, Father and the others had their fair share of issues too. But looking back on everything, I really think moving to Azenda was for the best.」

Rather than staying there and constantly hurting each other, taking that distance had allowed them to understand one another just a little bit better, making it all worthwhile.

She listened to them talk about their weddings and their children, and when Magnolia shared stories of her own four years in Azenda, they were absolutely flabbergasted. When she mentioned running into Iris as well, Lila's eyes softened with fond nostalgia.

「Do you happen to know if Rosa is doing well?」

She asked about the final person whose post-departure life she had been deeply worried about. She had secretly wondered if Rosa might have transferred over to the Margrave family's townhouse instead, but there had been no sign of her.

「A short while after we left, it seems Rosa-san's mother collapsed back at her family home... She resigned from the estate to take care of her.」

Daisy explained with a look of concern.

「Oh, I see...」

If she was Rosa's mother, she must be quite up there in years.

「I hope she's feeling better now...」

At Magnolia's heartfelt murmur, the two women nodded with solemn expressions.

As they prepared to leave, Magnolia handed them some packages she had brought along from Azenda. They were patchwork lap blankets made from incredibly soft fabric. She had originally prepared them with the intention of having Thomas mail them out once she confirmed whether they had given birth.

「I'm so incredibly happy I got to see you both out of the blue. Thank you so much for coming all this way when you must be so busy with your homes and your little ones. ...Here, maybe you can use these for your children's naps?」

「Lady Magnolia... thank you so much. We will cherish them.」

Daisy nodded right along with Lila's words.

「Daisy, please take good care of your health and deliver a beautiful, healthy baby.」

「I will. Please take the utmost care of yourself as well, Lady Magnolia.」

Just like old times, Daisy's eyes turned bright red with tears. After asking for permission, Magnolia gently stroked Daisy's barely-noticeable baby bump. Then, letting out a wry chuckle, Magnolia gently dabbed away Daisy's tears with her handkerchief.

「You too, Lila. Raising a child is hard work, so please don't overextend yourself. Make sure to take breaks whenever you can, okay?」

「Thank you very much. If you ever find yourself in a bind, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We may not be able to achieve grand feats, but I am certain we can find ways to be of help.」

Apparently, all kinds of conflicting rumors were still swirling wildly regarding the "Hidden Daughter of the House of Gilmore." Having people who genuinely cared and worried about her welfare even now was something she was truly grateful for. Magnolia offered them a reassuring smile and nodded.

As she was seeing them off, Claude and Thomas walked up to join her. Together, the three of them watched the departing carriage roll away.

「Geez... keeping it a total secret from me was uncalled for!」

It wasn't fair. As she pouted her lips, Claude and Thomas exchanged a look and burst into shared laughter.

「You've been worried about them this whole time, haven't you? Since opportunities for you to visit the capital are few and far between, I reached out to them.」

「Thank you so much. I'm just so relieved to see how genuinely happy they are.」

She spoke while keeping her eyes fixed on the carriage, which was rapidly shrinking into the distance, quietly praying that their newfound happiness would last forever.

「...Is that so.」

Claude replied with a short, yet deeply kind voice.

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