I have very common brown hair, with brown-eyes, and an ordinary-looking face.
However, perhaps because of the color of my hair and eyes, my face and the atmosphere reflected in the mirror were completely different.
Somehow, my eyes looked a little small, and my nose also seemed a little low. It wasn’t a pretty face at first glance, but if I look at it carefully, it looks a little cute.
When I returned to the guild, I laughed, thinking that if the executives saw the portrait I was holding, they’d say it’s very similar and add a word or two.
In my heart, I felt like I knew myself now. But still, the strange discomfort lingered.
So I impulsively asked the Master who was just passing by.
〈Master. Even in Master’s eyes, my features look brown, don’t I?〉
〈…〉
He didn’t even answer. I didn’t see his expression properly, but he probably looked dumbfounded by my question.
At the time, I thought that I had asked an embarrassing question, so I hurriedly left.
Strangely, now that I have come to this, I am very curious about his answer.
“Sister?”
“…”
“Sister!!”
“Oh, I’m sorry,”
It was funny that I was distracted by the word ‘pretty’ that the child had spoken lightly, but her eyes were still twinkling, and I kissed Diana’s cheek, who looked soft and sweet for no reason.
Perhaps it tickled, but Diana burst into laughter.
Not only did the Duke of Ellad, who’s called the cold-blooded man, couldn’t stop loving her, but also admired the appearance of Diana, who looked so lovely that even the Archduke and his wife, the Duchy of Belus, claimed to be her godparents.
It was very strange that the famous princess, with overprotective brothers, and who received the oath of knighthood from Jack, one of the three great knights of the Empire, was now lying in an old orphanage bed like this now.
“But, sister…”
“Yes?”
“What’s this?”
Diana asked, waving her little finger.
The child’s finger pointed to a mysterious red bead necklace hanging from my neck.
“Ah, this,”
It was something I had been wearing since I was abandoned in front of the orphanage, and it was like an amulet that I had never taken off from my body.
“Isn’t it pretty?”
I thought it might have been left by my parents, and it was something I had cherished for a long time.
“Uhm…”
Diana chewed on her cherry-like lips and stared at the beads without blinking.
Suddenly, the mysterious light inside the bead seemed to rotate rapidly.
“Huh?”
Then I hesitated and grabbed the necklace quickly.
A mournful voice came out of my mouth. Because I discovered the gold in my necklace I’ve been wearing.
Thinking that it might be taken away, not only the director but also an object that I had never shown to others.
I kept it as one body with myself enough to forget that I had it on my neck, and I didn’t know when it had cracked.
“…Well, it’s all useless now.”
I cherished this necklace because it might be an important token that would help me meet my parents.
But even after 10 years, that hasn’t happened.
It was a necklace that I had worn all my life, but now I thought it was useless anymore.
Still, I had no intention of throwing away the only valuable thing I had, so I bitterly tucked the necklace into my clothes.
“Sister, what about meat?”
As she ate, Diana tilted her head as she whipped a spoonful of soup.
“…What is that kid talking about now?”
“Da- Dana said she’s hungry! Let’s eat.”
“Yes!”
Trying to avoid the gazes of the children gathered at Diana’s innocent words, I hurriedly tore apart some hard bread.
Fortunately, Diana grimaced, putting the bread I had given her into her mouth without thinking any further.
“Well, you’re eating well. You have to chew it thoroughly.”
Even though it was not the white, fluffy bread or luxurious food that this child would normally eat, I was very proud to see her eat it so deliciously.
In particular, she looked so cute that her white and plump rosy cheeks moved with each bite.
Diana looked like a baby bird, eating with its mouth open.
But the problem was…
“Is there no more, sister?”
It was that this small, cute four-year-old’s appetite was much more vigorous than I had expected.
Diana, who had been staring at her soup bowl that was already empty, turned her head to look at my soup and bread.
Looking into the sparkling eyes of the child, it’s impossible to answer and say that there was nothing left to eat.
“…Eat this too, Dana.”
I may be very hungry as yesterday, but I thought I could bear it because I was an adult anyway, and I pushed the bowl of soup in front of the child.
But I’ve overlooked an important fact here.
No matter how matured my mind was, my body was young, weak, and still a child’s body.
“Urgh!…Gasp.“
‘This, this feels like dying’
Less than a few hours after the meal, I was gasping out of breath. I felt so stupid for even carrying a bucket of water to do the laundry and get water.