Chapter 41: Chapter 41

I was about to put on the cuff when I opted to halt.

My father called out my mother’s name in desperation.

My mother died more than ten years ago, which is why I have no remembrance of my mother.

It’s the same as in my previous life.

I was no different from an orphan back then.

I don’t have any parents to care about.

In my previous life, I had a person who was like family, friend, and teacher to me.

And I witnessed that person’s deathbed.

But at that time, I had enough time to prepare myself and that person told me that he was happy to be with me.

As a result, I was glad to be with him at the end.

It was heartbreaking, but it wasn’t just a heartbreaking breakup.

My father’s breakup with my mother, on the other hand, was said to be rather sudden.

I looked at my father, who had his lips pressed together, attempting to keep his tears at bay.

People believed that time would heal the wounds of my father’s abrupt loss of my mother, but even after ten years, the wounds of my father’s loss of my mother did not appear to heal.

‘I envious my mother……’

There was no one left to mourn my demise in my previous life. I reasoned that it would be preferable to leave my loved one in such misery.

I wrapped my arms around my father.

“Isn’t Ina here, Papa? Don’t be sad.”

“That’s right. Papa only has Ina.”

My father affectionately patted me on the head.

I like the sensation of his large hands mess my hair. However, my father has no one in his life save me, which is a little issue.

I was considering what to do with my father when I saw the butler was becoming agitated.

“Oh, by the way. Papa has to go to work now, right?”

“There’s no need to haste. My kid is the most significant person in my life.”

That’s the issue.

I glanced into my father’s eyes, which were fixed on me as if I were the most precious thing in the world.

Is it necessary for me to bring in a stepmother?

But it didn’t appear to be simple.

I heard that my father fell in love with my mother, who came to the Empire as a hostage from the Kingdom of Rochelle, and ended up marrying her.

I couldn’t imagine how deeply they loved each other.

Karpel was very precious to me, and I loved him, but it wasn’t the same as my father’s love for my mother.

‘Now that the entire Kranberia seems to be the emperor’s target, I can’t hastily ask my father to find someone precious.’

I pushed my father’s back and begged him to hurry up and get to work.

“Papa, Ina understands that papa’s work isn’t as important as Ina, but it’s still important, right?”

“Okay. Papa needs to put forth a lot of effort for Ina.”

“Still, Ina knows Papa is working hard for Ina, but don’t overdo it, Papa. Papa is also precious to Ina.”

“I can’t believe you know how to say that, my sweetheart.”

As I saw my father sway with emotion, I sighed.

It seemed like there would be no end to this.

It’s inconvenient, but if I didn’t do it right, I’d only have two years to laugh and chat like this.

I instantly questioned my father since the weight of the phrase invasion seemed to weigh on me.

“Papa, can’t we put more soldiers in Kranberian territory?”

A grin developed across my father’s mouth as he caressed my hair.

“Other than the current guards, private soldiers are restricted by law.”

As expected, it won’t work.

I gave a little nod of approval.

It would be impossible to plan ahead of time without knowing anything about recruiting or training soldiers, only to be immediately accused with treason.

As expected, I have no choice but to negotiate well with Elysium.

* * * *

The picnic had been meticulously planned.

I used to do a lot of social gatherings, but I don’t anymore, so the people in charge of finding event venues seemed to take care of everything day and night.

So, perhaps because it was an event after a long time, they seemed so excited that they even made a report and showed to me that they would make the best outing.

Indeed, the people in authority must have been anxious about the future because they had suddenly found themselves with nothing to do.

They also prepared a lot of activities such as composing poems and guessing words.

My father seems to have liberally released the funds, so it appeared like luxury items were on the line in every game.

They also made gifts for everyone who participated.

Even if it’s a picnic for the kids, I’m not sure what they’re trying to accomplish.

‘Well, I’ll find out when I get there.’

By carriage, the Silver Lake Villa could be reached in an hour.

The picnic would begin at ten in the morning with a brief talk, so I finished my preparations early.

I was going to leave when Stein approached me.

“Lady, may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I need to get Lady Float’s invitation out by tomorrow, but she still hasn’t written a proper invitation.”

“I have an invitation letter that I composed at the library while studying. Allow her to compose it how she thinks fit.”

“Lady Float is unable to write it in its current form. Above all, her handwriting is so terrible that it doesn’t appear like a genuine invitation even if she writes it properly. It won’t be doable tomorrow, I believe.”

Is it really that bad?

Indeed, the invitation she would send would be in the hands of Duke Kranberia’s daughter, thus it shouldn’t be sent hastily.

Stein bent down to the point where I couldn’t see his face.

“Please accept my apologies. Although you trust in me, I’m inept…”

“No, I think you did a very good job. Isn’t it difficult to deal with a child?

Stein, who had raised his back in response to my words, gave me a strange look.

That’s right. I am a kid, too.

I pretended I didn’t know and reached for a stack of invites on the desk, which I held out to Stein.

“This is…”

“Invitations. Send these instead.”

The kids who participated in today’s picnic will also be invited to a tea party next week, so I wrote all the invitations along.

It’s a tea party with my name on it, in case that Shabelle couldn’t write the invitations due to injury or illness forced by the plot of the original story.

Stein pondered the invitation he had received and inquired.

“Why are you so concerned about Lady Float, Lady?”

She’s Shabelle, after all! Shabelle, from the .

The heroine whose name appears in the title.

I’m not sure if doing nice for her will benefit me, but if I try to ruin the heroine, my life will undoubtedly fall apart!

I couldn’t say it, but I laughed.

Stein’s eyes trembled just a smidgeon.

Then he nodded, his look compelling.

“I understand.”

About what?

“Nothing hurts more than losing what you hold in your hand.”

Don’t tell me he believed I was trying to torment Shabelle by doing this.

Stein’s face believes that I will punish Shabel greatly, so I guess that’s what he means.

I, on the other hand, did not attempt to clarify his misconception.

When Shabelle swore and stated Karpel was going to die, she had Stein’s whole attention, so if I explained that I wasn’t trying to intimidate Shabelle, Stein would interfere like the villain’s right hand.

I left the room with a convincing Stein and found Karpel was standing there.

With an outing outfit, complete to go out.

“Where are you going, Karpel?”

“……”

Only by looking at his crumpled face did I know that he came to escort me.

I was a little taken aback.

I had the feeling that he was being forced to escort me up until now, so I assumed he wouldn’t do it if I didn’t call him.

“If it’s because of me, I’m only going to the villa today, so it’s okay for me to go alone.”

I stated this, but my justification was inadequate.

Until now, I had forced Karpel to escort me even during tea time at the mansion.

Despite my assurances that I was prepared to move alone, Karpel’s face remained creased and unwilling to relax.

‘What does he want……’

Of course, he isn’t acting this way because he wants to join us.

The only people coming to the villa today are girls my age, so there’s no way he wants to go.

“……”

No. I gathered the kids to heal myself, don’t tell me, Karpel too felt happy seeing young kids rattling around like chicks?

“Karpel, would you want to accompany me to the villa?”

“…What?”

“No, right?”

I inquired, my gaze fixed on the crumpled Karpel’s.

“Do you want to go to a villa full of young kids?”

“……”

When Karpel didn’t respond, he appeared to be desperate to go.

“As expected, no, right? Then, Karpel, I’ll go by myself.”

I walked out on my own hurriedly and boarded the carriage. The carriage soon departed.