123. There is only one thing left
"You think I'm a fool. You think I didn't even consider that ridiculous letter when I received it?"
Kaitlyn smiled coldly.
"You're my son. Even though you're half that stupid Van Drake Meyer, you still look more like me. That means I can see right through such shallow tricks."
Grojean was out of breath.
How did that woman know? What on earth did he miss?
Jetson blew it, the hitman confessed, I thought everything was perfect... Where did it all go wrong?!
Did I rely too much on Jetson? Could it be that it was... a trap?
Grojean's blood ran cold. Kaitlyn continued, as if answering him.
"I've been using people for a long time. I'm talking about real puppets, not some slacker aide."
This can't be happening!
Grojean, unable to overcome his wobbly legs, put his hand on the back of the chair.
Who the hell is that? A real scoundrel...!
Tobias? Pip? Or maybe...
The faces of his close associates flashed through Grojean's mind. They were all people he had personally rescued through background checks. He even crossed the border to rescue servants beyond the reach of the Duchess of Meyer.
I went that far and still got hit... Damn it!
I was so foolish. I was so impatient. I should have been more careful. I shouldn't have missed the fact that that woman could easily fool me!
It was when Grojean was in a state of confusion and shock, unable to come to his senses.
A knock on the door broke the tense tension in an instant. No one answered, but the door flew open.
"Who is this?!"
Kaitlyn turned her head coldly and couldn't continue speaking. The stranger who had barged in without permission had dared to slam the door shut.
“Hello.”
A cheerful voice, completely out of place in the atmosphere, flowed from Hardius' mouth.
"This is Hutton Schumann. I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to introduce him to my mother."
Kaitlyn's eyes began to sharpen, losing the composure they had just had.
“What is this? What kind of joke are you trying to pull, Hardius!”
"Don't be so pretentious, Mother. Before the last bit of compassion vanishes."
Pretentious?
A dizzying realization struck Grojean. He wiped the sweat from his vision and looked back at Kaitlyn Meyer. Then, as if a hazy fog had lifted, the truth began to dawn on him.
One corner of his mouth, curled into a crooked smile, was twitching violently, and his hand gripping the armrest was trembling.
Yes, maybe that was just a bluff. A last-ditch effort by someone with no cards left.
His pulse, which had been racing wildly, returned to normal in an instant.
“Should you hurry and greet the Duchess?”
As Hardius spoke softly, Hutton stood before Kaitlyn Meyer.
“Stop it, Hardius, just enough...”
“Kanoa Schumann.”
A sinister-sounding name interrupted Kaitlyn's words. Her head snapped back to the man.
“I am Kanoa’s older brother.”
A look of shock crossed his cold pupils.
“No... You're lying...”
Kaitlyn, who had been so proud, gradually turned pale.
“That’s a lie...”
She kept looking at her son, fussing.
"Don't lie, Hardius. There's no way. Absolutely not..."
“You don’t want to believe it.”
Hutton joined in with a bitter laugh.
“Whether you believe it or not, I am that child’s older brother. That poor child you killed.”
She stared blankly up at the strange man who seemed ready to strangle her at any moment, then turned her head back to her son.
“No, that can’t be... Hardius...”
Hardius didn't answer. He simply crossed his arms like a bystander watching from outside the window.
"Ah...!"
Belatedly realizing the situation, Kaitlyn braced herself and tried to scream. But Hutton was faster. He quickly gagged her. Then he pulled out his gun.
A beastly moan ripped from Kaitlyn's throat. She couldn't even breathe.
If Hardius had pointed a gun at me, I wouldn't have been so scared.
But he is Kanoa's older brother.
He really is that woman's older brother.
The woman I killed by hiring a hitman...!
"Do you know how long I've waited for this moment? For the past ten years... how much I've wanted to get rid of you..."
Kaitlyn's heart sank. Only then did the fear of death begin to cast a shadow.
Grojean, who had been just watching quietly until then, was also shocked.
The atmosphere is a bit ominous. It was also unplanned.
"Master!"
Grojean blocked his master's path. His mind was filled with only one thought.
Hardius Meyer couldn't let his mother die. William Richard might have been helpless, but not Kaitlyn Meyer. Wasn't she his mother?!
"Master!"
But Hardius didn't blink an eye.
While he stood by with a cold expression, Hutton's face was turning mad. The muzzle of the gun was pressed firmly against Kaitlyn's temple.
“You must have known how good a child Kanoa was, how innocent she was.”
The ominous voice was mixed with sobs, and the hand holding the gun was trembling as if it was about to pull the trigger at any moment.
"She was such a good child. So innocent and kind, to trust and follow someone like you. Every time I met her, she would say you were the most generous Duchess in the world. She did... She trusted and followed you so much... How... How could she be such a kind and pitiful child!"
“Ha... ha... ugh!”
Kaitlyn looked at her son, her teeth clenched and teeth clenched, her eyes desperate for help.
“Your Excellency, please...”
Grojean also pleaded.
He was trembling, fearing that Hutton, losing his mind, might actually pull the trigger. If that happened, someone would die. It would be a son, of all people, watching his mother die!
“Hey, please... put the gun down...”
Grojean gave up on his master's and approached Hutton.
“This isn’t it. This isn’t right.”
“...!”
"Isn't your goal to bring that woman to justice? You're not seeking bloody revenge. We're not criminals."
Hutton's eyes became bloodshot, and his face was drenched in sweat. He seemed unable to see or hear anything.
“What the heck...”
“...Fuck...”
As he hurled curses, he saw an uncontrollable rage seething within him. His trembling hands regained strength.
“No, no...!”
It was the moment Grojean shouted. Hutton's fingertips tightened, and he finally pulled the trigger.
“Oh my goodness, Emilia, look outside, it’s snowing!”
Emilia raised her head. Pure white snowflakes danced down beneath the heavy, dark clouds.
“Really? Is it really snowing?”
Emilia took Charlotte's hand and stretched it out the window. Every time her cold eyes met, a bright smile spread across the child's face.
“Let’s make a snowman later when there is some snow.”
"Good!"
Emilia sat back down in the chair in front of the fireplace and continued her work.
She was staring blankly at the pile of diapers that were piling up when a sudden thought occurred to her, and she picked up the scissors.
She cut the fabric into a square shape. Then, she folded and sewed the edges neatly to prevent fraying. Finally, it was time to embroider. After much deliberation, Emilia chose a gray thread that matched the color of his eyes.
H. Meyer
Looking at the initials engraved on the end of the handkerchief gives her a strange feeling.
E. Meyer
Emilia Meyer? She doesn't seem to fit. What about their child?
A small laugh seemed to reach Charlotte's ears.
"What's the matter?"
“Huh? Uh... It’s nothing.”
Emilia folded the handkerchief neatly, put it in the basket, and continued sewing.
She started doing this to clear her mind of distracting thoughts, but her mind started to fill with that person again.
When on earth will he be back? Captain Maesen said he'd be back sometime today.
"You don't have to worry about the Young Master. Although we let our guard down, and this happened to Miss Bern, everything else is perfect. It's something we've been planning for a long time, so there's no way anything could go wrong."
The answer was as enigmatic as a riddle. Yet, Maesen's face hardened, as if he'd said too much.
Emilia placed her hand on her stomach.
Honey, it'll be okay. Nothing'll happen.
It was different from William Richard's time. There were no deafening gunshots, no exploding bullets, no pools of blood instantly staining the floor.
Click.
The gun made a deafening noise, leaving everyone present stunned.
Grojean felt his heart suddenly shrink, as if a string that had been pulled taut had been snapped.
Hardius walked out, cutting through the air that was both bewildering and vain.
“There are no bullets. I saved them.”
Hutton froze, and Kaitlyn's body collapsed forward.
“You promised me. You wouldn’t mess things up out of revenge.”
“Ma, Master!”
“Grojean, put the gun away.”
“Yes? Ah... yes!”
Grojean finally came to his senses and staggered toward Hutton. He snatched the gun and hid it in his jacket, his head still dizzy as if in a dream.
“I wouldn’t kill my mother. I couldn’t commit such an act of treason.”
Hardius spoke calmly and approached his mother.
“Are you awake?”
Kaitlyn gasped for breath, her face looking as if she might faint at any moment. She had to blink several times to regain focus, her eyes blurring with shock. Hardius turned his head back to Hutton.
“I think this is enough to vent your anger.”
As Hardius said, that alone was enough.
Hutton took revenge on Kaitlyn Meyer, and she died on the spot. At least for the moment, he pulled the trigger.
“Listen to me carefully, Mother.”
Kaitlyn looked at her son with a completely blank expression.
"William Richard is dead. Jetson, who was chasing him, is also missing. He may be dead."
There was no room for surprise. Kaitlyn could only slump and listen to her son's words.
"Of course, Jetson's body won't be found. Only a letter and a notebook, presumably his will, will be found. It will likely contain the account of his pursuit of William Richard at the behest of the Duchess of Meyer, his accidental discovery, and his accidental killing. The notebook will likely reveal other, more secret details, such as the carriage robbery and the attempted poisoning of the Duke of Meyer."
Kaitlyn's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. Her body began to tremble again. Hardius looked down at his mother and continued speaking calmly. His voice was dry, as if he were reading a newspaper.
“Investigators will arrive shortly.”
“Ugh... Huah...!”
“I repeat, I do not intend to harm my mother directly.”
As he spoke, Hardius released the gag. Even with her mouth free, Kaitlyn couldn't even moan.
“Don’t resist, just accept it. That way, the pain will lessen.”
Huh, Kaitlyn was chewing her lip, but on the other hand, she realized something.
She was completely defeated. She was completely defeated by her son, by her successor.
"I hope you will readily admit your crime and willingly accept the punishment. Otherwise, you may end up paying for something you didn't commit. The evidence is everywhere. It could be in the secret study, the Duke's dresser, or even right here, in Madame Meyer's private quarters."
At that moment, Kaitlyn felt a crushing sense of frustration throughout her body.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let the one-time Duchess of Meyer rot away in the dungeons for the rest of her life.”
“...!”
"We'll rescue you when the time is right. It'll probably be house arrest or exile. Since you said you wanted to stay away from social circles for a while, I don't think it's too much of a shame."
"This person...!"
Kaitlyn Meyer glared at her son, her whole body shaking.
"Of course, you must wait until I become Duke Meyer. Become weak as quickly as possible. Enough so that you won't even dare to think of harming my world."
That was when.
The faint commotion outside the door grew closer. Then, with a bang, someone really knocked on the door.
Open the door, no, get out of the way, what are you doing? Do you even know where this is...!
Hearing the commotion, Hardius leisurely walked to the door and opened it. A swarm of people poured in, swarming haphazardly.
They were special investigators directly under the royal family.
After leaving Kramwitz, Hardius looked up at the sky. Snowflakes danced down, covering the world. He stood for a long time in the pouring snow.
At this very moment, she couldn't tell if what was weighing down her body was fatigue, a sense of liberation, or just pain.
Snow fell on his face, frozen like a statue. The white trails, like tears, evaporated in an instant, vanishing into thin air.
Hardius walked slowly again.
The pure white snow completely covered all the world's filth and meanness. Even the last remaining regrets and sorrows.
Yes, now I have nothing. There is only one thing left.
“Your Excellency, the carriage is ready.”
Grojean approached. Hardius turned away.
Looking out the window, Emilia saw a fairly thick layer of snow. Charlotte was already outside, rolling a snowman with Beppy.
Emilia put on her shawl and went outside. The silent snow falling made the quiet garden even more desolate.
Emilia took a deep breath. The cold, clear air penetrated deep into her lungs.
It's only been two days, why do I miss you so much?
Her heart keeps pounding, as if she's waiting for her husband, who has gone off to war.
Her head, which had been staring blankly at the snow-covered branches, suddenly dropped. Unable to bear the feeling of impending doom, she reached out and rubbed her innocent eyes.
Charlotte must have gotten tired from rolling the snowball, so she came over and sat down next to me.
"What are you doing?"
"Just..."
Charlotte, who had been blowing on her hands, suddenly clapped her hands.
“Oh, right. Sister, we did that a lot at the beach.”
The child muttered and drew something on the ground.
“Is this a star?”
Perhaps it was because she had never seen a star in her life. What the child had drawn wasn't a star, but a series of unidentifiable lines. Emilia chuckled and grabbed the child's wrist.
“I’ll teach you again.”
Emilia took Charlotte's finger and drew a precise star shape over her eyes.
“Clover too.”
A clover was drawn along the child's index finger. Charlotte clapped her hands in delight, wondering what was so wonderful about it, even though she couldn't see it.
"Now I'll do it alone. What should I draw? Ah!"
Charlotte played her fingers diligently.
“Now, look at this. This is the young master’s heart.”
The shape drawn on the pure white snow made Emilia's heart race.
“And now I hope it’s my sister’s heart too.”
It was the moment Charlotte whispered softly. A carriage was seen approaching through the silently falling white snow.
As always, Brave and Charlotte noticed immediately. The child jumped up as the dog barked. The carriage stopped. The man's sleek shoe soles stamped on the snow.
He walked quietly and stopped in front of the small, pretty heart Charlotte had carved.
"You think I'm a fool. You think I didn't even consider that ridiculous letter when I received it?"
Kaitlyn smiled coldly.
"You're my son. Even though you're half that stupid Van Drake Meyer, you still look more like me. That means I can see right through such shallow tricks."
Grojean was out of breath.
How did that woman know? What on earth did he miss?
Jetson blew it, the hitman confessed, I thought everything was perfect... Where did it all go wrong?!
Did I rely too much on Jetson? Could it be that it was... a trap?
Grojean's blood ran cold. Kaitlyn continued, as if answering him.
"I've been using people for a long time. I'm talking about real puppets, not some slacker aide."
This can't be happening!
Grojean, unable to overcome his wobbly legs, put his hand on the back of the chair.
Who the hell is that? A real scoundrel...!
Tobias? Pip? Or maybe...
The faces of his close associates flashed through Grojean's mind. They were all people he had personally rescued through background checks. He even crossed the border to rescue servants beyond the reach of the Duchess of Meyer.
I went that far and still got hit... Damn it!
I was so foolish. I was so impatient. I should have been more careful. I shouldn't have missed the fact that that woman could easily fool me!
It was when Grojean was in a state of confusion and shock, unable to come to his senses.
A knock on the door broke the tense tension in an instant. No one answered, but the door flew open.
"Who is this?!"
Kaitlyn turned her head coldly and couldn't continue speaking. The stranger who had barged in without permission had dared to slam the door shut.
“Hello.”
A cheerful voice, completely out of place in the atmosphere, flowed from Hardius' mouth.
"This is Hutton Schumann. I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to introduce him to my mother."
Kaitlyn's eyes began to sharpen, losing the composure they had just had.
“What is this? What kind of joke are you trying to pull, Hardius!”
"Don't be so pretentious, Mother. Before the last bit of compassion vanishes."
Pretentious?
A dizzying realization struck Grojean. He wiped the sweat from his vision and looked back at Kaitlyn Meyer. Then, as if a hazy fog had lifted, the truth began to dawn on him.
One corner of his mouth, curled into a crooked smile, was twitching violently, and his hand gripping the armrest was trembling.
Yes, maybe that was just a bluff. A last-ditch effort by someone with no cards left.
His pulse, which had been racing wildly, returned to normal in an instant.
“Should you hurry and greet the Duchess?”
As Hardius spoke softly, Hutton stood before Kaitlyn Meyer.
“Stop it, Hardius, just enough...”
“Kanoa Schumann.”
A sinister-sounding name interrupted Kaitlyn's words. Her head snapped back to the man.
“I am Kanoa’s older brother.”
A look of shock crossed his cold pupils.
“No... You're lying...”
Kaitlyn, who had been so proud, gradually turned pale.
“That’s a lie...”
She kept looking at her son, fussing.
"Don't lie, Hardius. There's no way. Absolutely not..."
“You don’t want to believe it.”
Hutton joined in with a bitter laugh.
“Whether you believe it or not, I am that child’s older brother. That poor child you killed.”
She stared blankly up at the strange man who seemed ready to strangle her at any moment, then turned her head back to her son.
“No, that can’t be... Hardius...”
Hardius didn't answer. He simply crossed his arms like a bystander watching from outside the window.
"Ah...!"
Belatedly realizing the situation, Kaitlyn braced herself and tried to scream. But Hutton was faster. He quickly gagged her. Then he pulled out his gun.
A beastly moan ripped from Kaitlyn's throat. She couldn't even breathe.
If Hardius had pointed a gun at me, I wouldn't have been so scared.
But he is Kanoa's older brother.
He really is that woman's older brother.
The woman I killed by hiring a hitman...!
"Do you know how long I've waited for this moment? For the past ten years... how much I've wanted to get rid of you..."
Kaitlyn's heart sank. Only then did the fear of death begin to cast a shadow.
Grojean, who had been just watching quietly until then, was also shocked.
The atmosphere is a bit ominous. It was also unplanned.
"Master!"
Grojean blocked his master's path. His mind was filled with only one thought.
Hardius Meyer couldn't let his mother die. William Richard might have been helpless, but not Kaitlyn Meyer. Wasn't she his mother?!
"Master!"
But Hardius didn't blink an eye.
While he stood by with a cold expression, Hutton's face was turning mad. The muzzle of the gun was pressed firmly against Kaitlyn's temple.
“You must have known how good a child Kanoa was, how innocent she was.”
The ominous voice was mixed with sobs, and the hand holding the gun was trembling as if it was about to pull the trigger at any moment.
"She was such a good child. So innocent and kind, to trust and follow someone like you. Every time I met her, she would say you were the most generous Duchess in the world. She did... She trusted and followed you so much... How... How could she be such a kind and pitiful child!"
“Ha... ha... ugh!”
Kaitlyn looked at her son, her teeth clenched and teeth clenched, her eyes desperate for help.
“Your Excellency, please...”
Grojean also pleaded.
He was trembling, fearing that Hutton, losing his mind, might actually pull the trigger. If that happened, someone would die. It would be a son, of all people, watching his mother die!
“Hey, please... put the gun down...”
Grojean gave up on his master's and approached Hutton.
“This isn’t it. This isn’t right.”
“...!”
"Isn't your goal to bring that woman to justice? You're not seeking bloody revenge. We're not criminals."
Hutton's eyes became bloodshot, and his face was drenched in sweat. He seemed unable to see or hear anything.
“What the heck...”
“...Fuck...”
As he hurled curses, he saw an uncontrollable rage seething within him. His trembling hands regained strength.
“No, no...!”
It was the moment Grojean shouted. Hutton's fingertips tightened, and he finally pulled the trigger.
***
“Oh my goodness, Emilia, look outside, it’s snowing!”
Emilia raised her head. Pure white snowflakes danced down beneath the heavy, dark clouds.
“Really? Is it really snowing?”
Emilia took Charlotte's hand and stretched it out the window. Every time her cold eyes met, a bright smile spread across the child's face.
“Let’s make a snowman later when there is some snow.”
"Good!"
Emilia sat back down in the chair in front of the fireplace and continued her work.
She was staring blankly at the pile of diapers that were piling up when a sudden thought occurred to her, and she picked up the scissors.
She cut the fabric into a square shape. Then, she folded and sewed the edges neatly to prevent fraying. Finally, it was time to embroider. After much deliberation, Emilia chose a gray thread that matched the color of his eyes.
H. Meyer
Looking at the initials engraved on the end of the handkerchief gives her a strange feeling.
E. Meyer
Emilia Meyer? She doesn't seem to fit. What about their child?
A small laugh seemed to reach Charlotte's ears.
"What's the matter?"
“Huh? Uh... It’s nothing.”
Emilia folded the handkerchief neatly, put it in the basket, and continued sewing.
She started doing this to clear her mind of distracting thoughts, but her mind started to fill with that person again.
When on earth will he be back? Captain Maesen said he'd be back sometime today.
"You don't have to worry about the Young Master. Although we let our guard down, and this happened to Miss Bern, everything else is perfect. It's something we've been planning for a long time, so there's no way anything could go wrong."
The answer was as enigmatic as a riddle. Yet, Maesen's face hardened, as if he'd said too much.
Emilia placed her hand on her stomach.
Honey, it'll be okay. Nothing'll happen.
***
It was different from William Richard's time. There were no deafening gunshots, no exploding bullets, no pools of blood instantly staining the floor.
Click.
The gun made a deafening noise, leaving everyone present stunned.
Grojean felt his heart suddenly shrink, as if a string that had been pulled taut had been snapped.
Hardius walked out, cutting through the air that was both bewildering and vain.
“There are no bullets. I saved them.”
Hutton froze, and Kaitlyn's body collapsed forward.
“You promised me. You wouldn’t mess things up out of revenge.”
“Ma, Master!”
“Grojean, put the gun away.”
“Yes? Ah... yes!”
Grojean finally came to his senses and staggered toward Hutton. He snatched the gun and hid it in his jacket, his head still dizzy as if in a dream.
“I wouldn’t kill my mother. I couldn’t commit such an act of treason.”
Hardius spoke calmly and approached his mother.
“Are you awake?”
Kaitlyn gasped for breath, her face looking as if she might faint at any moment. She had to blink several times to regain focus, her eyes blurring with shock. Hardius turned his head back to Hutton.
“I think this is enough to vent your anger.”
As Hardius said, that alone was enough.
Hutton took revenge on Kaitlyn Meyer, and she died on the spot. At least for the moment, he pulled the trigger.
“Listen to me carefully, Mother.”
Kaitlyn looked at her son with a completely blank expression.
"William Richard is dead. Jetson, who was chasing him, is also missing. He may be dead."
There was no room for surprise. Kaitlyn could only slump and listen to her son's words.
"Of course, Jetson's body won't be found. Only a letter and a notebook, presumably his will, will be found. It will likely contain the account of his pursuit of William Richard at the behest of the Duchess of Meyer, his accidental discovery, and his accidental killing. The notebook will likely reveal other, more secret details, such as the carriage robbery and the attempted poisoning of the Duke of Meyer."
Kaitlyn's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. Her body began to tremble again. Hardius looked down at his mother and continued speaking calmly. His voice was dry, as if he were reading a newspaper.
“Investigators will arrive shortly.”
“Ugh... Huah...!”
“I repeat, I do not intend to harm my mother directly.”
As he spoke, Hardius released the gag. Even with her mouth free, Kaitlyn couldn't even moan.
“Don’t resist, just accept it. That way, the pain will lessen.”
Huh, Kaitlyn was chewing her lip, but on the other hand, she realized something.
She was completely defeated. She was completely defeated by her son, by her successor.
"I hope you will readily admit your crime and willingly accept the punishment. Otherwise, you may end up paying for something you didn't commit. The evidence is everywhere. It could be in the secret study, the Duke's dresser, or even right here, in Madame Meyer's private quarters."
At that moment, Kaitlyn felt a crushing sense of frustration throughout her body.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let the one-time Duchess of Meyer rot away in the dungeons for the rest of her life.”
“...!”
"We'll rescue you when the time is right. It'll probably be house arrest or exile. Since you said you wanted to stay away from social circles for a while, I don't think it's too much of a shame."
"This person...!"
Kaitlyn Meyer glared at her son, her whole body shaking.
"Of course, you must wait until I become Duke Meyer. Become weak as quickly as possible. Enough so that you won't even dare to think of harming my world."
That was when.
The faint commotion outside the door grew closer. Then, with a bang, someone really knocked on the door.
Open the door, no, get out of the way, what are you doing? Do you even know where this is...!
Hearing the commotion, Hardius leisurely walked to the door and opened it. A swarm of people poured in, swarming haphazardly.
They were special investigators directly under the royal family.
***
After leaving Kramwitz, Hardius looked up at the sky. Snowflakes danced down, covering the world. He stood for a long time in the pouring snow.
At this very moment, she couldn't tell if what was weighing down her body was fatigue, a sense of liberation, or just pain.
Snow fell on his face, frozen like a statue. The white trails, like tears, evaporated in an instant, vanishing into thin air.
Hardius walked slowly again.
The pure white snow completely covered all the world's filth and meanness. Even the last remaining regrets and sorrows.
Yes, now I have nothing. There is only one thing left.
“Your Excellency, the carriage is ready.”
Grojean approached. Hardius turned away.
***
Looking out the window, Emilia saw a fairly thick layer of snow. Charlotte was already outside, rolling a snowman with Beppy.
Emilia put on her shawl and went outside. The silent snow falling made the quiet garden even more desolate.
Emilia took a deep breath. The cold, clear air penetrated deep into her lungs.
It's only been two days, why do I miss you so much?
Her heart keeps pounding, as if she's waiting for her husband, who has gone off to war.
Her head, which had been staring blankly at the snow-covered branches, suddenly dropped. Unable to bear the feeling of impending doom, she reached out and rubbed her innocent eyes.
Charlotte must have gotten tired from rolling the snowball, so she came over and sat down next to me.
"What are you doing?"
"Just..."
Charlotte, who had been blowing on her hands, suddenly clapped her hands.
“Oh, right. Sister, we did that a lot at the beach.”
The child muttered and drew something on the ground.
“Is this a star?”
Perhaps it was because she had never seen a star in her life. What the child had drawn wasn't a star, but a series of unidentifiable lines. Emilia chuckled and grabbed the child's wrist.
“I’ll teach you again.”
Emilia took Charlotte's finger and drew a precise star shape over her eyes.
“Clover too.”
A clover was drawn along the child's index finger. Charlotte clapped her hands in delight, wondering what was so wonderful about it, even though she couldn't see it.
"Now I'll do it alone. What should I draw? Ah!"
Charlotte played her fingers diligently.
“Now, look at this. This is the young master’s heart.”
The shape drawn on the pure white snow made Emilia's heart race.
“And now I hope it’s my sister’s heart too.”
It was the moment Charlotte whispered softly. A carriage was seen approaching through the silently falling white snow.
As always, Brave and Charlotte noticed immediately. The child jumped up as the dog barked. The carriage stopped. The man's sleek shoe soles stamped on the snow.
He walked quietly and stopped in front of the small, pretty heart Charlotte had carved.
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