Chapter 56

6. Family

Finally, the time has come to do the noble work.

I was looking at the stacked letters. Most of them are invitations.

‘Social world.’

I don’t like it very much.

I don’t have any happy memories from my childhood.

‘Still, I can’t help but go.’

When you become an adult, you have to put up with things you don’t like.

While rummaging through the letter, I found a familiar family crest.

“Ehh.”

A flower-like shape. It’s a pretty crest, but I know very well that the inside of this family is rotten.

‘The Count of Opion.’

That is the family I was born into.

‘Why did they send me a letter?’

There’s no way it was out of goodwill. They are terribly selfish people.

I burned the letter without opening it.

After further rummaging, I found another familiar crest.

This time I’m very happy.

“It’s from Michael!”

A close relative of mine who has been friends since childhood. Although he is two years older than me, we are childhood friends.

He is also the person I trusted the most in the world.

‘I thought I was going to lose my throat waiting for his reply.’

Since he is a person who is praised as an archmage, there is nothing I can do about it.

He is probably still on a horribly hectic schedule.

I excitedly opened the letter and read it.

The letter began with a gentle and soft rhetoric, as befits his gentle personality.

Above all, there’s one important content for me.

‘He’s going to stay in the capital for a while?’

What a good news. I have a lot of questions, but it’s okay since I’ll have plenty of time to ask.

‘Suddenly finding memories of past life, precognitive dreams, stopping time, etc.’

There are a lot of questions that cannot be solved alone.

He is the only one I can rely on.

After that, I checked the schedule of the prom, which I had to attend.

‘I’ll have to ask about Rupert’s schedule.’

It’s difficult to go alone without a partner.

I went to his office. Unlike before, I can get in and out of this place with ease.

Rupert is working with Ordin as usual.

He looked at my face and said, “You look good, Noel.”

“Oh, is it that obvious?”

That’s because of the news that Michael is coming. It isn’t particularly a secret, so I responded comfortably. “Michael is coming to the capital. I think we’ll be able to meet after a long time.”

“You mean Sir Michael Berris?”

The reaction came from an unexpected person. Ordin asked with a surprised look.

“Do you know him too, Ordin?”

“Of course, he is a genius of the century.”

“Ordin also thinks so… .”

He murmured lightly, “What kind of person do you see me as?”

To be honest, he has high self-esteem, so I didn’t expect that he could praise someone else.

“But you have Rupert.”

‘Aren’t you supposed to respect your master the most?’

Rupert, who was quietly listening to our conversation, felt beaten up out of the blue.

“Noel, don’t use such offensive expressions.”

“Of course, my master comes first.”

“Stop saying such disgusting things, too.”

I look at this situation with great interest.

“You’re the first, Rupert.”

“I’m fine with the fourth or fifth, no, much later. So, Noel, please don’t make such a face.”

His reaction made me even happier.

“It’s good that your wife is happy!”

“… … .”

Just then, I suddenly had a question.

Rupert isn’t even that kind, so why is his aide so loyal?

‘Neither of them is sociable.’

“But Ordin, how did you come to work with Rupert? If it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s not a special secret, but… The Marquis picked me up.”

“What did he pick up? What Ordin lost?”

“No, me.”

“……?”

Question marks filled my mind. Can you pick up someone?

No, why did he pick him up in the first place?

“… Rupert, you brought your aide through a legal process, right?”

Did you kidnap him because you thought he would be competent?

Fortunately, Ordin corrected my deepening misunderstanding.

“I was an illegitimate child of a merchant family, and thanks to my biological father, I was able to live a normal life. But after my father passed away, I was dumped on the street right away by my stepmother.”

‘It’s a story that’s extraordinarily heavy.’

I wonder if I can keep listening to this, but the two of them don’t seem to care much.

“Did Rupert help you then?”

The answer came from my husband, who had a sullen expression on his face.

“I found him starving to death in the alley next to the candy store.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” he added. “I was an orphan at the time, so it definitely wasn’t a kidnapping. It was more like two boys whose lives had just been twisted somehow getting together.”

If he was also an orphan, it seems that he met Ordin after his mother passed away.

I muttered awkwardly, “It’s like I’m digging up the memories of you two for no reason….”

They have a much deeper relationship than I expected. That strict aide deservedly hated me back in the day.

“I’ll be nice to you from now on, Ordin,” I said, reflecting on myself.

Even if you show a bit of rudeness, I won’t go overboard like last time.

But this cold-headed aide gave me a blunt answer after glancing at his master.

“Even if Madam has been kinder, I will only be in more pain, so now is enough.”

You’re cold-hearted, indeed.

“If you really think of me, please take care of the work of the mansion as soon as possible.”

That’s true from one to ten, so I can’t deny it.

After a short chat, I decided to work hard at the given job as he wished.

“… Rupert, since your aide said so, please check your schedule. Invitations to prom are piled up.”

He asked back in disbelief, “Is your partner, me?”

“No? Then it doesn’t matter to any knight who is proficient in aristocratic etiquette. Honestly, Sir Aren is the best.”

I wanted to get to know each other more, and I thought it would be easy to get closer if I used a woman-to-woman approach.

‘Sir Aren has a surprisingly cute side.’

“Why Sir Aren?”

“He’s the closest to me among the knights.”

This is a very personal opinion. Unlike me, Aren may not be very comfortable with me.

Rupert replied dissatisfied. “Alright, I’ll go.”

“You don’t have to overdo it… .”

“Not at all.”

“I mean it.”

“No.” Ordin beside him said with a blank stare. “How long do I have to listen to this conversation… I’ll just try to adjust the Marquis’ schedule.”

In the end, it only increased the work of the aide.

I handed over the invitation with an awkward expression.

“Then, please.”

***

The schedule was quickly set.

For a while, I matched the dress with the help of the maids and chose the jewelry.

Next to me, Leah sat quietly, looking at me curiously.

“Mom, you’re shining!”

I smiled. “Am I? Thank you, sweetheart.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Leah opened her mouth. “Can’t I go with Mom and Father too?”

I leaned back and made eye contact with her.

“Do you want to go with me?”

“Yes!”

I’d like to go with her, but there’s something I’m worried about. Not because of Leah, but because of the people I have to meet at the prom.

Although the social world may look glamorous and beautiful on the outside, it’s nothing more than a muddy pool.

Personally, I wished Leah to see things like that later. As a mother, I only want my daughter to see beautiful things.

‘Am I too overprotective?’

Noble children have known each other and built friendships since childhood.

If I keep my daughter in the fence too much, she might have a hard time growing up.

Social skills grow the more you socialize.

After thinking about it, I asked, “Would you stay close to me?”

“Yes!”

“If there is a strange person, shout.”

“Don’t worry!” Leah replied bravely.

In fact, I’m not afraid that she’ll make a big mistake. She is gentle and well-mannered compared to her peers.

“Then what would you like to wear?”

Leah smiled. “Same color as Mom’s!”

Those words touched my heart.

Aww, so cute!

“Okay, then let’s wear matching dresses.”

That’s great. Dressed in matching dresses between mother and daughter.

So we had fun choosing dresses, and finally, it was the day of the prom.

“… … .”

Seeing us dressed to match, Rupert had a complicated expression on his face.

“You don’t like it?”

Come to think of it, I didn’t consider my partner’s opinion.

“No, it looks good.”

“But your expression… .”

“You two’s outfits look great together, I feel like I’m the only one being left out.”

Only then did I see his clothes. It’s a suit for prom, but it doesn’t match ours.

I reflected on myself quietly.

“I’m sorry. I will tell you in advance next time.”