Chapter 26.1

I was that desperate. I wanted him to catch me. I hoped that he would prevent my shaking heart and despair from penetrating me.

But he . . .

He just laughed.

Then he patted me affectionately and hugged me in his arms as if to soothe me.

That was not what I wanted, but he turned away from me once again.

The broken heart was torn down again without any sign of healing.

“Isn’t it delicious?”

That’s how he laughed like that.

When I was young or an adult . . .

This time, I laughed at myself for putting an eight-year-old into a thirty-year-old.

I’ve often been heartbroken when I see him.

“I don’t know,” I answered.

I turned my head and avoided eye contact with him.

Looking at him, I felt like I was going to burst into tears. Without knowing that, I was embarrassed.

It was even more like that. I was reminded again when I was a thirty-year-old woman.

“Do you want more?”

“Later.”

“Do you want to read a book together?”

“Later.”

His voice trembled at my curt answer. I glanced and saw a pale face with a smile on it. Then, when our eyes met, he smiled again.

I sighed.

I don’t know what to do anymore.

My mind was changing twelve times a day, or even more than that. Even if I treated him bluntly, or even if I looked at him like that, I knew that I would still accept him without realizing it.

The harmless eight-year-old Gerald was too harmful to me.

“. . . I want to eat cake.”

Only then did his face come back.

He fed me a small bite of the cake he brought. Then I smiled brightly when I saw myself eating.

Very sweetly, with a face that feels like I was looking at my favorite person in the world.

Oh . . .

He was really harmful.

* * *

Mercé couldn’t get rid of her thoughts about Louella all day.

My daughter is a genius. I didn’t know about it till now!

She wanted to discuss this with her husband, who would be back tonight. In fact, she didn’t think that she’ll go to an academy due to Lulu’s personality, but she was already thinking about asking for help from a teacher.

She was taking liberal arts classes now, but if Lulu has talent, it would be good to open it up a little faster.

The parent’s hasty heart was fluttering like no other.

In fact, Merce thought it would be nice to invite Billiers Hilliard, who visited the other day, as a teacher.

Even these days, he is exchanging letters with Louella.

According to the nanny, the contents of the letter were not shown to anyone.

It is not that she was not curious about what Louella and Billiers are talking about, but she decided to respect her daughter’s privacy.

Should I write to Dean Rowland . . .?

She didn’t know if a busy graduate would be willing to take care of Louella, but wouldn’t he accept that it would actually help with his research?

Even though she was preparing for the war all day, her mind was somewhere else.

“Madam, madam!”

“Oh, uh . . . Yes, please place an order for this list. They will be ready before they go to war, right? And I want the knights to prepare something to cheer me up . . .”

One thought after another, as Merce was preparing.

She thought that she was caught thinking about it, so her cheeks turned red without realizing it.

Merce, who coughed, cleared his throat. The maid smiled lightly when she saw such a figure of Merce.

Merce was a good hostess.

She was fair and prudent in everything. And she was a person who had a lot to learn when raising children. She was that amazing.

Merce was a person who respected her children’s opinions and supported their choices. She was also the one who brought smiles to the Leander family, which was filled with bluntness and quietness.

At first, she was worried that she would marry a Turant prince who had very different customs    . . .

A kind and gentle person like a spring flower came, but she was the feisty and sensitive royal daughter that the maid had imagined.

Nevertheless, he was a man of good manners and duty.

As a result, loyalty was born and sincerity was served.

Perhaps because of his sincere heart, she became warm and passionate.

Merce cleared her throat and ordered the rest of the work to be done.

“And I need to get my husband’s armor done. I don’t think he’ll wear his uniform for a while, so it’ll be good to have it repaired. It won’t be good to see the thread lose when my husband will wear it to the ceremony, right? Well, I think it’s better to take this opportunity to get a new one. What do you think, butler?”

“Your opinion is great, madam. I think it would be good to take this opportunity to get a new one.”

“Okay, I’ll call a tailor. The size will be the same as before, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, while we’re at it, we’d better get our boots back together. He’s not so interested in this kind of thing. They don’t even think about the host losing the honor he worked hard for.” Merce smiled.