Then one night, Etienne looked for Martha while she was sleeping. When Martha woke up and held the candle, she saw Etienne's pale face.
"Sir, what is the matter?"
"I need to send someone to Highbell to bring a doctor."
"Oh my goodness, what on earth is going on?"
There was still a month and a half left until her due date, but Shioana started having labor pains.
"Sir, it will be too late to call someone now."
"Th-then, our Shioana."
Martha rolled up her sleeves as she watched the Duke acting as if he were about to die at any moment.
"Did I mention that I acted as a midwife? So please do not worry. I will take care of both the young lady and the baby."
Harriet woke up to the commotion in the middle of the night and began to cry, and the whole house was bustling as the servants boiled hot water and prepared a cloth.
"Shioana, Shioana."
Shioana, groaning in pain, could not properly answer Etienne's words, and at the sight of her, Etienne was so anxious he rolled around.
Shortly after, everything was ready to receive the baby in the bedroom.
"I think it would be best if you went outside, sir."
"I'll be by her side."
"There is no such law. Please go outside and try to soothe our young master."
As Etienne walked out of the bedroom holding Harriet's hand, he nervously bit his nails. Every single thought swirling in his head was negative, making him feel as though he were being strangled.
'If something happens to Shioana...'
Etienne no longer had the strength to endure.
He, who had been deeply immersed in worry, felt his heart tighten at the groaning coming from the bedroom.
'This isn't the time for me to be doing this. I need to pull myself together if I want to protect Shioana.'
Just as he was barely managing to regain his composure, Harriet, with red eyes, came and stood beside him.
“Ah, father.”
“...Oh yeah”
“Who are those people?”
The portrait Harriet pointed to depicted Shioana's family. Since Shioana had not yet been born, only the Count, Eli, and the Countess were present
What Harriet was particularly interested in was a small boy who looked exactly like him. The handsome boy with blonde hair and blue eyes was holding his mother's hand tightly.
"They are Count Evgenia's family. They will be your maternal grandfather, grandmother, and uncle."
"Then where is my uncle now?"
At Harriet's question, Etienne hesitated before speaking. The uncle the child was asking about was actually his biological father.
"He died of illness."
He had been searching for Eli's whereabouts since he was in Urcheka, but there was no way to find out any news.
He thought that perhaps he had left for another empire and was hiding.
However, Etienne heard unexpected news through Joseph, who had recently returned to Regbell.
'Master Eli passed away from alcoholism.'
Eli, who wandered from one gambling den to another with the money he took with him when he ran away, became an alcoholic.
And while Joseph was away for a moment, drunk Eli fell asleep on the street.
He was someone he hated so much, but he could not bring himself to laugh at his miserable end.
At that moment, Etienne snapped out of his thoughts at Harriet's words.
"Then it's just us for Mom?"
At the word 'we,' tears welled up in Etienne's eyes. Siomay, him, and Harriet had all lost their parents and families. To them, each other was everything, and they were now waiting for a new family.
"Yeah. We are everything."
Etienne spoke in a trembling voice.
"I wish the child were a younger brother."
Harriet opened his mouth quite seriously.
“Why?”
"I need a subordinate to fight with me."
"...Ha."
Etienne burst out laughing at the sight of the little boy, who couldn't even hold a wooden sword yet, acting as if he were going to be a knight.
"Father, I am sorry, but you cry and then laugh."
As Harriet looked quite troubled, Etienne picked up the child and lifted him up.
"Harriet, when you grow up a little more, I will teach you swordsmanship."
“Ah. Thank you, father.”
Harriet still felt a little unfamiliar with Etienne. Etienne reached out and ruffled the child's blonde hair.
And just call me Dad. A little kid should act like a little kid.
Just as his blue eyes seemed to well up slightly, Harriet cautiously called out to him.
"... Dad."
Just then, the sound of a baby crying came from inside the bedroom, and one of the employees opened the door.
"Sir, the mistress has given birth to a child."
"Is Shioana healthy? Is she okay?"
After handing Harriet to the servant, Etienne hurriedly ran into the bedroom.
"... Shioana."
From how hard she had strained, Shioana's small hands were swollen, and tiny blood vessels in her eyes had burst.
Shioana, with her wet bangs covered in sweat, exuded a sublime beauty.
Etienne knelt on the floor just as he was, held Shioana's hand, and kissed her.
"Sigh..."
He had to protect her, so he had to show only a reliable side, but tears kept welling up, and he couldn't bear it.
Tears flowing from Etienne's eyes, who had bowed low, dampened the back of Shioana's hand.
"Etienne, why are you crying again?"
As Etienne lifted his tear-stained face at her frail voice, Shioana smiled faintly at him.
“Could it be that you-.”
He couldn't show it because Harriet was by his side, but she had no idea how scared he was.
"Etienne, I will never leave you."
As if she knew what he was worried about, Shioana raised her hand and stroked Etienne's cheek. He blinked slowly at her touch and kind words, and Shioana spoke again.
"Etienne, our baby."
"Ah..."
"My lord, she is a healthy princess."
Etienne actually hadn't been particularly interested in babies until now.
Because to him, there was no one in the world as precious as Shioana.
“...My child.”
Etienne wore a blank expression as he held the baby wrapped in cloth in his arms. The baby had blonde hair and blue eyes, and already possessed pretty, delicate features.
"May I hug her?"
Etienne, holding the baby awkwardly, trembled.
"My lord is holding her well."
"It's so small I'm afraid it might break."
Martha, who was wiping Shioana's forehead, laughed loudly at Etienne's muttering.
"My Lord is a notorious doting father, and it looks like you're about to become even more famous."
"...Martha."
Shioana had absolutely no energy, but she tried to remember this moment for a long time.
'...I'm happy.'
She realized that the happiness she had been searching for since childhood was already by her side.
"Mom, doesn't it hurt?"
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
Harriet, who had approached the bedside before anyone realized it, held Shioana's hand tightly. Then, she quietly gazed at the child in Etienne's arms.
"Harriet, she is your sister."
“...Isn’t it a doll?”
Everyone in the bedroom burst into loud laughter at Harriet's words.
***
Shioana and Etienne named their daughter Larissa Bernhard. One day, well over half a year after Larissa was born, Harriet appeared holding a foxtail grass in his hand.
"Larissa, can you see this?"
As the foxtail grass was shaken from above, Larissa reached out her arm to try and catch it.
"It's called foxtail grass."
From the day Larissa was born, Harriet went in and out of the nursery as if the cradle were coated in honey.
"Larissa, I hope you grow up soon. I know where there are lots of pretty flowers."
Martha, who was knitting next to him, smiled sweetly.
"Young master, is Miss Larissa that cute?"
"Yeah. I've never seen such a cute doll in my life."
"I'm telling you, she's not a doll."
“Oh, right.”
Harriet, sticking his tongue out, had quite long blonde hair that reached his shoulders. With his fair skin and melancholic blue eyes, it was clear that he would be popular when he grew up.
'Just like Master Eli.'
However, the fortunate thing was that while they resembled each other in appearance, his temperament seemed to be exactly like his mother, Elizabeth Demory.
'I've never seen her, but I'm sure she must have been a distinguished and beautiful person.'
Whenever Martha saw Harriet, a corner of her heart ached for no reason. Not only did he not know the face of his birth mother, but his father had abandoned the child before he was even born.
"Martha, Martha! Did you hear what Larissa just said?"
"... Yes?"
She could hear the young lady babbling, but it wasn't specific words yet.
"Larissa likes me?"
"Ah, I see."
Martha bowed her head and barely managed to hold back her laughter at the sight of Harriet's overwhelmed face as he tightly hugged the foxtail grass.
***
After dinner, Shioana and Etienne went for a walk. It was a walk they took every day after returning to Regbell, but it felt new every day.
"It's funny, isn't it, because this wind feels cold?"
When she was born and raised in Regbell, she never thought it was cold because it was just the way things were. It was a place that was naturally cold enough to require a heater all year round, except for midsummer.
"Urcheka is definitely much warmer."
Etienne took off the cloak he was wearing and wrapped it around Shioana's shoulders, who was shivering from the cold.
"You'll get cold if you do this."
"I'm fine."
Just then, a biting wind blew from the valley. As a pile of bushes soared into the sky, Shioana became extremely tense.
Sometimes, such a wind blew. Whenever that happened, she remembered seeing old roofs being torn off or cows flying up into the sky.
"You have to get away right away."
Shioana grabbed his arm and led him somewhere.
"I almost flew away."
Startled, Shioana ran her hands through her arms, but Etienne said nothing. Only then did Shioana realize that this place was a hunter's resting place.
A smile quickly formed on her face at the familiar and heartwarming scenery.
No matter where you go in Regbell, there isn't a place that isn't filled with their memories.
"It was here that you let me hear your voice for the first time."
The memory of being momentarily cold from her dress getting wet in the lake, only to be captivated by his low, deep voice, was vivid. Just then, Etienne whispered softly, just like on that day in the past.
“Miss, this way."
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