(Hildea’s POV)

I couldn’t help but tilt my head to the side.

‘Shoes? No, they’re definitely shoes, right? But why?’

It looks like  sneakers that I could easily see in my previous life……

They have a unique shape with some cute little wings on both sides.

Then my dad said,

“Do you think they’re too rough? Or do you not like them? I should have bought something more shiny…….”

“No, I like them.”

“You like them?”

When I looked at my dad, he quickly turned his face away. That’s why I also dropped my gaze and said calmly,

“They’re so nice. I think my feet will be very comfortable.”

The tension on his lips relaxed for a moment.

The sneakers were truly a perfect gift, especially when I thought of my father who chose them for me.

When I wore them, they would always remind me that somehow he thought about me.

At that time, I suddenly heard a strange noise.

‘What’s that?’

I looked to my father, but he was still avoiding my gaze.

His expression was heartbreaking, but I knew that he cared for me; the gift meant that he was aware that I frequently exercised at night.

It seemed unlikely, but I think he even gave me the right size.

Yeah, this felt good. My heart started to flutter from excitement.

“I really, really like them. Thank you, Father.”

And I’m sorry that I couldn’t express myself better.

Unlike how I felt towards my parents from my old life, I just wanted to say thank you for not saying that you’re sick of me.

“… I’m more grateful, Hill.”

Again, I held the shoes tightly in my arms.

I felt warmth spread across my body.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(3rd Person POV)

Clang. Clang.

“The news! It’s here!”

“Ah!”

The busy maids rushed towards the table after hearing the sound of the bell.

Strangely, there were words being written by someone holding an open notebook.

“What? What does it say? Go ahead and tell me!”

“Wait, she’s still writing!”

The eyes of the maids, who were staring at her, had a bizarre look.

Under their persistent gaze, the letters were quickly written down and deciphered.

[Success! We’ve hit the jackpot!. Hildea-nim smiled!]

[Hildea-nim is shining brightly today! Even if I die now, I have no regrets.]

[The way she smiled while holding her new shoes was so heartwarming. I felt like I won $1mil, because I saw that rare and cute smile.]

[Soon, Hildea-nim’s dazzling smile will be painted as a memorable scene and the title will be “Birthday Smile”. Wait, are you still there?]

“Kyaaaah” , the maids cheered loudly.

“She smiled!”

“Oh, that’s a relief!”

“Miss Hill is so expressionless.”

“But when she smiles, It’s really, really…. Aigoo.”

The maids screamed just thinking about the scene:, Hildea’s expressionless face wash bizarre, but her sparkling eyes and blushing cheeks couldn’t hide her excitement.

“They said that she liked it, right? All that hard work was worth it!”

“Yeah, Sien. You really must’ve had a hard time.

They’re  an unusual pair of shoes, not something that you could buy anywhere. I honestly didn’t expect that you could do it.”

“Even Lira will praise me, right? They’re something that I made using my own imagination. It’s been 10 days now since she started her night routine and I’ve been anxious everyday watching the lady.

While the maids gathered around Sien to praise her for her hard work, another maid was standing in the middle of the kitchen with dazed eyes.

Who among them could have imagined this kind of result?

It seemed incredible that these women, whose daily lives included getting blood on their hands, had made it their main goal to bring a smile to the little lady, who grew up like a bush in a greenhouse.

(T/N: “Grew up like a bush in a greenhouse”  means that she grew up like an invisible person, unlike Roselia who’s shining brightly and always noticed by everyone.)

At the end of the day, they were happy.

“But I’m sure the youngest miss had the hardest time. I was so surprised at first. That you would be making something like this, and considering the amount of money and magic that the Duke offered…..”

Then, as if having a seizure, Sien suddenly screamed. She glared at those who had talked about the youngest miss..

“Ah! You guys are so noisy. I don’t care at all! It doesn’t matter who’s suffering: the important thing is that Miss Hill smiled! She smiled at something that I made and that’s all that matters, okay!.”

Trembling with excitement, she immediately lifted up her most cherished quill in her hand.

As she filled up the notebook with words, a clanging sound was heard  again.

[Silver hair is the best. Do you want it??]

Sien swallowed dry saliva and began to write.

[I want Miss Hildea’s painting! How many are you going to make? 1-10? I’ll buy them all.]

[10, it’s definitely 10 paintings that I would be producing. It’ll  be sold on a first-come-first- serve basis, since it has limited quantities. Secrecy is a must in each transaction.]

In the middle of that,the bell continued to ring. Sien said bitterly.

“I’ll buy them all! All  10 paintings.”

As the maids gradually moved away to their respective jobs, they heard Sien burst into hysterical laughter.

Though it may seem  absurd to a third party, it was a daily routine that they had grown accustomed to.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

The colorful robes were so long that they appeared to overwhelm the boy’s body.

However, the proud upright shoulders and cynical expression were so dignified that everything seemed natural.

Who would laugh at the boy now?

If a sword was lifted by that modest body, no one would be able to ignore it.

The boy’s lived his life saying  that he would grow stronger with every breath that he takes.

Nothing could penetrate him.

That is why the nobles who sided with the Imperial Family were invincible, while the nobles of the Empress’s party have all died.

All because of the boy who survived, and will reign over the Empire.

“Be the firmest sword of the Empire of Mielle and crush your enemies with your sword, so that you will be worthy of  your family name. Your steps and actions will be recorded throughout history, so live with caution and loyalty.”

“I humbly accept it, Your Majesty. I’ll do my best.”

“All right, from now on you are the Duke of Belfius, the only one in the Empire.”

Under the sharp gaze of the nobles, Gabriel remained confident, standing resolute without fear.

In contrast, his arrogant dry tone implied that this grandiose event seemed  boring

The Emperor, Detroit, gave his blessing with a satisfied face, while the empress watched the scene with a cold facade.

The Duke of Belfius, who was formally recognized with everyone’s congratulations, was only 12 years old.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

“My Lord, did it go well?”

“As you can see. It wasn’t that much.”

The adjutant, who smiled warmly even at his unkind words, quickly grabbed the seal that was about to be thrown on the ground.

“Oh my, my Lord. We are still inside the Imperial Palace.”

“So?”

“You can’t throw away the seal that the emperor gave you like trash.”

“Didn’t you catch it? That’s already enough.”

“Huh? But you don’t look happy. Isn’t this the long-awaited moment? Did the empress pick a fight with you again? Haven’t you sorted out all the things that might cause an argument?”

The adjutant noticed that the boy’s icy purple eyes were colder  than usual.

This boy didn’t usually get angry.  Because anger, irritation, and the like belong to the realm of emotions.

Because the boy’s heart was frozen a long time ago.

And yet the adjutant could see the anger emitting from the boy, which was not present when he underwent the ceremony to be appointed Duke.

The adjutant looked carefully, and Young Duke of Belfius’s mouth eventually opened in response to his persistent gaze.

“Not the empress. This time, the Emperor ordered it.”

He sounded sick and tired of everything.

“Oh, is it about….. That?”

“Yes, marriage. He never gave up.”

“Oh, that’s definitely a headache.”

Gabriel, known for rejecting everyone, quickly climbed into the carriage with his adjutant and left the Imperial palace as if annoyed that someone might catch him.

“It’s annoying. I need to take care of it.”

The adjutant quickly shook his head.

“But it is something that cannot be postponed any longer. There were excuses for procrastinating because the successor had not yet been able to receive official title. However, it is unreasonable to delay any further. The emperor, who always arranges useless marriages, brings trouble to a lot of nobles.

Gabriel’s delicate eyebrows furrowed in displeasure.

“It is pathetic that the Emperor is still holding onto the will of the dead. Did you  investigate the Hillington family?”

“Oh, it’s the Hillingtons, right? Not that much. You already know most of it, and…”

“And?”

“It’s hard to say, but…”

The adjutant frowned while he rubbed his chin.

“From the time, when I returned to the capitol years ago, the security of the mansion at night has become very strict. The cause is unknown, but even if the Emperor’s Shadow Knights tried to break in, it would be hard to penetrate.”

Gabriel, who was looking outside the carriage’s window, stated in an icy voice.

“All right, let’s take advantage of it.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

“If it’s a marriage, we can just make an excuse and break it. Was there a token of the marriage that my grandfather sent me?”

The adjutant opened his mouth wide.

“My Lord, are you sure?”

It was very important to share a token of marriage.

But what if it suddenly disappeared and was lost?

If the other side no longer had their token, they can never claim marriage,  because they lost their justification.

In response, if the other party refused to talk, the marriage would be broken.

“Are you planning to move on your own?”

“Then who’s gonna break inside the Hillingtons?”

The adjutant said in a hurry,

“But the opponent will be the head of Hillington. If you get caught by him, the situation will be very complicated. Furthermore, knowing the inside details of the Hillington family is a big deal for them.”

Gabriel’s eyes sharpened.

Although he wasn’t physically beaten by Gabriel,the adjutant felt that way.

Nevertheless, Gabriel didn’t have a choice. Although the master  is now well-behaved, Hillington’s head is still Sears.

Even the Empress, who was called a crazy dog before, has been very careful around him.

“Who do you think I am? All I need to do is not get caught.”

“He’s a beast. If you let your guard down, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“You are the only one who dares to tell me that. Let’s move on.”

“But… I don’t have a good feeling about this. Please reconsider.”

Gabriel’s lips twitched, but it wasn’t something you could call a smile.

“It’s better to be certain. I’m going inside myself.”

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Hildea’s POV)

AsI tried to get up from my bed, I could feel someone next to me who was hugging me like a pillow.

Oh, she’s here again.

As expected.

While tugging on the blanket, I could see clearly the face that was covered.

“Rosé.”

Even though Lira nagged, there were  times that Rosé would snuggle into my bed and fall asleep.

To be honest, I didn’t like that behavior either. Because Rose is warm blooded.

“…… For a while…… Delicious…”

I burst into laughter.

“What are you dreaming about? What are you eating? What is it?”

“Uh-huh, yummy…….”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her.

Fluffy pink hair that clings to her cheeks and scattered over the duvet.

Her lips are constantly clenching as if she’s dreaming of eating something delicious.

A cute little girl, whom I can’t hate, is clinging to me and breathing heavily.

“Rosé. My little sister.”

It’s my sister.

At first, I was uncomfortable approaching Roseriel, because I didn’t know how to treat her.

But it was Rosériel who made the first move between the two of us.

This child, who smelled like a soft rose, talked to me, acting fondly to make sure  I wasn’t scared.

Sister. My sister!

Although we were born on the same day, I’m just not as cute as my little sister.

“I always laugh because of you.”

How can I hate the pink haired girl, who always follows me around? And who was always there when I opened my eyes?

As I pinched her pale white cheeks and slowly let go, I could see her shaking her head slightly and unconsciously biting the duvet that covered her body.

Are you eating meat?

It was then.

“Sister…? Huh?”

As if she was woken from her sleep, she opened her eyes.

“It’s okay, sleep more.”

“Uh-huh…….Sister Doo-woo.”

Okay. To be honest, one of the things that I envy about her is her candor.

Her confidence to approach and reach out to anyone at any time, with a big smile.

Her ability to socialize, being able to get along and converse with anyone inside the mansion.

And her unshaken belief that no matter what she says, the other person will respond with a smile.

It was then.

‘Huh? Who is it?’

I heard someone talking outside.

TO BE CONTINUED……