Chapter 62. I Wanted to Eat Something Else
If there were to be an outing, it would probably be in summer.
But in early summer, Asiel would arrive, and right after that, she planned to leave this place.
He had set the contract marriage period for one year, so he must be speaking thinking she would still be here even in summer.
'There's no need to mention that fact right now.'
Blair hid that thought and nodded with a relaxed smile.
"Alright. Let's do that."
Then, about to eat the roasted marshmallow, she recalled something and held it out to him.
Herdin looked at her with questioning eyes.
"I saw you ate my marshmallow this morning. If you want some, you can have it."
One of Herdin's eyebrows rose.
"……'Your' marshmallow?"
"You gave it to me, so wasn't it mine?"
"No. Everything in this house is mine. The food, the belongings."
As he said that, his eyes held a peculiar playfulness along with a strangely sharp glint.
"People too, of course."
Like a beast guarding its territory.
Blair was puzzled by his sudden claim of possession, but since everything in the Delmarque Duchy was indeed his, she didn't particularly deny it.
"Anyway, I didn't eat it."
At his nonchalant answer, Blair blinked. If he hadn't eaten it, then it had to be Lina or Mellie.
After a moment's thought, Blair protested with a rather serious expression.
"Lina and Mellie aren't girls who would touch my things without permission."
"Hmm, then I suppose a ghost must live in this room."
Hearing Herdin's deadpan response, Blair finally realized he was teasing and furrowed her elegant brow.
"Don't lie."
Instead of answering, Herdin chuckled and grasped Blair's hand that held the marshmallow. Then he guided her hand and bit into the marshmallow.
It looked as if Blair was feeding him.
Blair stared blankly at him eating the marshmallow.
The sight of the soft marshmallow disappearing into his mouth somehow felt indecent—was it just her imagination?
Just as she was about to look away, feeling somehow embarrassed, she met his eyes as he finished swallowing and looked up.
Her reflection was captured in his winter-lake eyes. As if caught by those eyes, she couldn't look away.
In the silence where a strange current flowed, his lips—red for a man—broke the silence first.
"Let's stop here for today."
Along with his whispering voice, his firm arm wrapped around Blair's waist.
"I wanted to eat something else."
What that 'something else' was, his lips that pressed against hers answered in place of words.
* * *
"Madam, we've arrived."
Blair, who had dozed off using the carriage's vibrations as a lullaby, woke at the voices of Mellie and Lina.
Through the carriage window, the orphanage building came into view. The temple-run orphanage had the temple's emblem carved into its exterior wall.
As she stepped down from the carriage, a priest who had been waiting after receiving advance notice welcomed her with a bright expression.
"Welcome, Duchess! It's an honor to meet you. I am Miriam."
"It's nice to meet you, Miriam. Thank you for making time for us even though you must be busy."
"Oh, please don't say that. We're the ones who are grateful."
Blair instructed the knights to unload the donated items and then entered the orphanage with the priest.
The children who had been crowding against the windows to watch Blair even before entering the building were now clustered around the door.
The children whispered among themselves as they looked at Blair.
"Wow, she's super pretty. Like a princess."
"But she's a real princess."
"That's all a lie. Why would a princess come to a place like this?"
They seemed to think they were speaking quietly, but unfortunately, Blair heard everything.
Blair tried hard to hold back her laughter, pretending not to hear. But Lina didn't seem inclined to do so, and she abruptly interjected into the children's conversation.
"You little runts sure have good eyes. She is indeed a real princess."
"Whoa! Really really?"
"Yeah. Really really."
"But how does the auntie know?"
"I'm the maid who serves the princess. ……And who are you calling auntie?"
"Then you're not an auntie but a mister?"
"No, not a mister, you stupid mutt."
The children giggled as they played pranks that only they understood. Blair and Mellie laughed as they watched Lina get caught up in the children's teasing.
"Calling a guest a stupid mutt—you shouldn't say things like that."
The priest who had scolded the children clapped her hands to gather their attention.
"Alright, children. Gather around."
The children hesitated, glancing at Blair's party, before coming forward one by one.
The priest introduced Blair to the children.
"This is the guest the teacher mentioned earlier."
"A princess?"
"She's not a princess anymore, she's a duchess."
"Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Blair."
When Blair greeted them, the children clapped enthusiastically as they had been instructed by the priest beforehand.
Then a child whose curiosity was piqued raised a hand high and asked.
"But why did you come here?"
It was a question that would have been somewhat rude if an adult had asked it, but coming from a child, it just seemed cute.
Since she was about to explain the reason for her visit anyway, Blair explained in a gentle voice.
"Today is the day my husband's mother went to heaven. She wanted today not to be a sad day, but a happy one for you. So I prepared snacks and gifts."
"Woah!"
The snacks and gifts excited the children. The children who had developed boundless interest in Blair threw another question.
"But if the princess's husband, is he a prince?"
Blair gave an awkward smile.
To the children, whether a duke or a baron, they would be someone of high status, so there seemed no need to explain in detail.
"Um……. He's not a prince, but he does look like one."
"Wow, I want to meet a prince too."
"Me too, me too."
Not only the girls, but the boys who admired princes also swelled with expectations about the 'prince.'
After finishing the introduction amid the children's expectant gazes, Blair looked around the orphanage with the priest and came out to the yard.
While touring the orphanage, the donated items the knights had unloaded were stacked in one corner of the yard.
"Alright, boys on this side. Girls on this side, form two lines to receive them. Don't forget to say thank you!"
It was just as she and the priest were about to distribute the donated items.
"Oh! It's Sister Miella!"
At one child's exclamation, everyone's gaze turned toward the orphanage entrance.
Miella was standing there.
The smile disappeared from Blair's face upon seeing her.
'Why…… is she here?'
In her previous life, Miella had been at the temple headquarters at this time on this day……
Since she had appeared here, the reason Blair had deliberately chosen the orphanage instead of the temple was now moot.
"Sister Miella!"
"Sister!"
The children who saw Miella swarmed toward her. The priest, who noticed Miella belatedly, made a surprised expression.
"Oh my, Priestess Miella. What brings you here?"
"It's my day off, so I came to see the children, and it looked like you needed extra hands."
Miella saw Blair and approached with a bright expression, offering a warm greeting.
"Duchess, we meet again like this. Have you been well?"
"Thanks to you. I'm glad to see you've been well too."
Blair quickly composed her expression and replied amiably. Though she had no talent for lying, she was confident in hiding her expressions.
"It seems the Duke is very busy. I thought he might come with you."
Words that she would have passed over without meaning in her previous life sounded a little different now.
At first glance, it wasn't much different from an ordinary question, so Blair decided not to point it out. She might instead be seen as an overly sensitive person.
"As you know, he's a man with many duties."
"Ah, I see."
It seemed like a glimmer of anticipation flashed in Miella's eyes, but it was only for a fleeting moment.
Miella stepped closer to Blair's side and asked.
"May I help as well?"
"If you don't mind, Priestess."
Miella naturally joined in distributing the donated items.
The children flocked more to the familiar Miella than to the unfamiliar Blair or the Delmarque maids.
Lina, watching the scene, muttered sullenly.
"Somehow I feel like a bridesmaid."
Then Mellie poked Lina in the side to make her keep quiet.
With Miella's joining, the distribution of donated items finished faster than planned, and it was playtime.
Blair sat in the shade of a tree and watched Miella and Lina playing with the children.
It was unexpected that Lina, who had no business with children, was popular.
Meanwhile, Miella, as someone who had looked after children for a long time, quickly caught on to what the children wanted and played with them skillfully.
'Did my different actions from my previous life cause her to be here now as a ripple effect?'
Even knowing the future, it seemed there were more variables than expected in the smaller details.
While Blair was lost in thought, a girl of about three or four with her hair tied in pigtails toddled over.
The child placed the picture book she had received as a donation on the table and tried to sit across from Blair. But it was hard for her to sit on an adult chair.
"Do you want to sit on the chair?"
At the question, the child nodded.
Blair picked up the child and sat her on her lap.
"Do you know how to read letters?"
The child shook her head.
She had definitely seen the child talking with the other children earlier, but seeing her only nod in response instead of answering, she must be shy.
Even so, the child was cute for approaching so readily to be with her.
"Then I'll read it for you."
Blair opened the picture book the child had brought.
It was one of the picture books she used to read to Asiel.