At such warm words, Luciel frowned and her nose turned red. Bessie laughed softly upon hearing the cute sound. She reacted like a little child for the first time.
“That’s right. That’s how you do it. But you shouldn’t do it often. Because my heart won’t last.”
“Bessie is too much, too.”
Luciel’s cheeks turned red because she was embarrassed and ashamed. She draped the hood, with fluffy ears of the wool cape that Bessie gave her, over her head. That was the only place to hide.
“By the way, how long are you going to be polite to me or Rose? We got a lot closer now, right?” “But…”
Come to think of it, Luciel was being polite to all the servants of the Duke of Bellstein.
“Please speak comfortably. It’s a promise. Because I want to get closer to my Little Madam.”
Luciel nodded, still wearing the hood down.
“Yes….”
Bessie, who barely got Luciel’s permission, smiled broadly. Luciel seemed to like the people of Bellstein more and more.
Now that my contract marriage with Kizef has been made, can I enjoy this happiness a little more?
‘I can think of it as mine, right?’
Suddenly, I remembered the word the Duke had said in a small comment.
Luciel, why don’t you be my adopted daughter instead of my daughter-in-law?’
I can’t believe it, but the Duke also said that. If I really become the daughter of this family…… What would it be like?
Grandfather becomes a real grandfather, and Leoni becomes my brother. I can become a princess and be together for a long time in Bellstein.
It was a sweet dream.
Luciel had a dream that night that she became a princess of Bellstein. It was a really happy dream.
“Luciel.”
The next day, a person who did not have a previous appointment or was not next in the waiting list, came over.
“Father-in-law!”
“You sound good. Did you get some rest?”
“Yes, I finally used a magic wand for the first time yesterday. Of course, it’s thanks to the wand, but it’s so amazing that I can cast magic.”
“You’re doing well. You’ll do even more.”
The Duke, who praised Luciel, who was babbling eagerly, called Eva and his attendant to bring something. It was a huge pure white box tied with a red ribbon.
“……?”
Question marks and curiosity floated over Luciel’s head. It was because the box was almost as tall as her.
“I stopped by a toy store on the way from the capital. I heard girls like things like this.”
The Duke’s body was leaning toward Luciel, but as if to disprove that he was very curious
at her reaction, his gaze and tone were indifferent. He gave off an attitude that he was passing by somewhere and bought something small. Eva, who was standing behind such a Duke, smiled slightly.
A toy store was a place an adult would never just ‘stop by on the way’ to somewhere.
It took a full month to make a reservation for the mysterious store of Zerda, a famous wizard and toymaker, which opens only for a limited time. It was the dream of numerous noble children because it was an expensive toy with outstanding value.
“Come here, Little Madam.”
Eva beckoned Luciel and put the ribbon in her hand, asking the child to untie it herself. Luciel went to the box taller than her and pulled the ribbon gently.
Pink pollen like smoke popped and the box opened. There was a nice toy palace in it.
It was such a delicately decorated palace that one would feel sorry to call it a simple toy. The garden, banquet hall, restaurant, the princess dressing room, and bedroom were decorated in a lovely fashion, and one could play with the furniture inside by moving it themselves.
“This is the palace of the most popular Princess Rabbit series.”
Eva added an explanation, and several dolls with a rabbit face were lined up side by side, including a rabbit princess wearing a cute dress, there was a king, a queen, a baby rabbit, and a prince.
“So cute.”
Luciel said, putting the princess rabbit doll up in front of the dressing table. They were cute and lovely little dolls that made her smile just by looking at them.
“There is a magic cast in this toy, so if you turn the roof of the castle once, the scenery of the four seasons changes and the Princess Rabbit’s puppet show begins. If you turn it twice, it stops.”
The more I heard the explanation, the more interesting and fun it was. Even for adults, it was a fascinating toy. As she wandered, around the white Rabbit Castle and was enchanted, Luciel suddenly remembered Leoni.
“I want to watch it with Leoni. Father-in-law, thank you for giving me such a nice gift every time…… what.”
However, the Duke had already left the room quietly. Eva replied instead.
“Leoni got a magic pirate ship as a gift and is in the midst of playing.”
“Oh… I should write to him that I liked the present.”
“The Master was already satisfied with Little Madam’s smile.”
“Really?” “Yes. He had a very happy face as he selected the toys himself. In fact, he used to be the one who left everything to me.”
Eva smiled lightly.
“The Lord changed since the Little Madam came. So playing with it happily will be the biggest gift for the Lord. All right?”
“Yes, I will.”
It was the first time I had such a luxurious toy. The Duke’s heart was so happy when he thought of her, so Luciel often felt happy while watching Rabbit Castle.
Since then, not only the vassals but also the ladies and their children have been busy visiting Luciel. It seems that Luciel’s news was well-received in the estate.
Luciel, who was now able to speak comfortably with Rose, looked happy.
Come to think of it, I’ve been curious. What the situation in Ivnak was like and whether he had found the glass craftsman.
“Ellington. Welcome.”
Ellington came into Luciel’s room, waving the paper with a waiting number on it.
“It’s hard to see you, my dear”.
“We have worked a lot together, haven’t we?”
Luciel laughed as she covered her mouth with her small hands.
“Did you get to know young master Kizef?”
“…..What? Oh…yes.”
“I heard that you two have decided to get married. You must not go anywhere else. Young master Kizef is handsome, right?
As Ellington teased Luciel, he spoke with friendliness and affection.
“Yes, Young Master looks a lot like the Duke.”
“That’s right. When young master Kizef was born, we used to call him Little Louis.”
“Little Louis”?
“Oh…his Majesty’s name is Louivid, and his nickname was Louis. Both in appearance and in his sensitive personality, Master Kizef was a perfect mini Louis.”
At Ellington’s words, Luciel also burst into laughter.
“He’s so shy that it’s hard to get close to him, but he’s a soft-hearted person.”
Thad no idea he was soft.
Luciel, who was thinking of Kizef, said with a sad face.
“He looked lonely and exhausted at the academy.”
“The Young Master doesn’t like to stand out, so it must be hard for him to be in such a place.”
Ellington also responded whether he was well aware of Kizef’s situation. His green eyes were also slightly dimmed.
Luciel changed the subject with a very curious face.
“What happened to the inspection of Ivnak? Did you find the master I told you about?”
At Luciel’s words, Ellington carefully opened his mouth.
“Yes, there were a total of three glass craftsmen who I found with the information you gave me.”
Luciel, who was listening, tilted her head.
“There are 3 people with the surname Hamel from Ivnak who were glass craftsmen?”
There is no way that there will be three people, with the same surname in a small village like Ivnak.
“The three seem to be brothers.”
“Yes. They were famous for the glass workshop of the Hamel brothers. I have found the eldest of them.”
“Oh… How old does he look?”
“He looked like he was in his 30s.”
“Then it must be another brother, not him.”
The uncle whom Luciel had met in her previous life would be a young man in his 20s now. If so, at least he was not the eldest son. Luciel, who finished thinking while rolling her eyes for a while, said.
“Then can I meet all of them?”
“Mr. Hamel, who remains in Ivnak, is the eldest son, and the remaining two brothers left far away by boat.”
‘There’s a rumor that glass crafts can’t survive in northern Ivnak. Let’s tell them to come out to make the most beautiful and durable glass vault in the world.’
The emperor’s aide who brought the uncle said so. He will be sharing the skills that have been passed down from generation to generation, so it would also be beneficial to meet the eldest son.
“Then let me meet him.”
At Luciel’s words, Ellington pondered for a while and suggested.
“Wouldn’t it be better to wait for them to come back and meet them all at once?”
Luciel shook her head at Ellington’s opinion.
“No. It’s okay to meet just one person at first. Glass crafting is a traditional family business. Their father would have passed on glass craft techniques to all brothers.”
Luciel’s guess made Ellington think it would likely be the same for this family.
“Yes, then I will call him to the castle with permission from his Grace.”
“That would be nice. How was the other glass workshops in Ivnak?”
At Luciel’s question, Ellington’s expression clouded.
“Most of them closed their doors and were engaged in other work. There were about a dozen glass craftsmen left in the village, and, there are currently three open workshops.”
“I see.”
I expected it, but it was bitter. Ellington continued. As if he remembered something, he pulled a small red velvet pocket from his coat.
“What?”
“Mr. Hamel said he wanted to give this ornament to you.”
“Oh, this to me?”
Luciel received the small glass ornament that Ellington offered. It was a baby bird made of clear blue glass.
‘This is…’
Although it was less than the glass vault she had seen in the past, it was a beautiful and sophisticated glass work. I had a feeling that things were going to work out.