Chapter 209: Meeting Again
In the end, Armand never gave a clear answer to the question Carle asked.
He just vaguely replied, “You could say the three of us are a pretty harmonious family,” and then said nothing more.
But actually, both Carle and Armand knew, the moment Armand hesitated and avoided giving a direct answer, the real answer had already taken shape in his heart.
“The lecture should be starting soon.”
Carle glanced at the clock on the wall and reminded Armand not to lose track of time.
“…It’s already that late, huh.”
Armand ran his fingers through his hair, which had gotten messy again from lying on the sofa, then sat up and drank a few sips of plain water he had poured for himself.
“It takes about ten minutes to walk from the Knights’ headquarter to the lecture hall, so if I leave soon, I should—”
“Captain! Are you inside?”
Just as Armand lazily thought about whether he should cut it close and go later, an urgent voice came from outside the door.
He hadn’t finished his water yet, but quickly put the glass down on the table. Before the person came in, he straightened his tie, which he had loosened earlier for comfort.
Carle also got off the desk where he had been sitting and sat properly on the chair across from Armand, looking serious.
The two exchanged a quick glance to make sure they were both presentable, then Armand cleared his throat.
“Come in.”
Click.
The door opened softly, and the first person to enter was a young knight.
She was a regular visitor to this office. Just like Armand had Carle as his right-hand man, Carle, being the vice-captain, had his own trusted assistant. This young female knight was one of Carle’s closest subordinates.
“What’s going on, Lorin?”
Since she was part of Carle’s team, it was natural for him to speak first.
The knight named Lorin had short, silver-gray hair that looked sharp and practical. Not too long to get in the way, not too messy to block her view. She gave off a cool and capable vibe.
“Captain, sir. The Viscount of the Scassia family is requesting to see you.”
“…Scassia?”
When Armand heard that name, his expression clearly changed.
“The Viscount Scassia? He wants to see the Captain?”
Even Carle seemed surprised that this man was here to see Armand.
Because Carle’s wife’s family had some ties with the Scassia family, it wasn’t unusual for the viscount to contact Carle in private. But this time, he came looking for Armand?
“If it’s something important, let the vice-captain handle it. I have something to attend to later. Just write up a report and give it to me.”
Unexpectedly, Armand, who was usually calm and polite, showed a rare hint of annoyance.
He stood up, clearly ready to leave. Carle nodded, accepting the plan.
But before Armand could walk out the door, an old man suddenly came rushing in.
“Captain—! You must help me!”
The person who came in was none other than Viscount Scassia.
“…Didn’t I say to report it to the vice-captain? You normally go through him anyway.”
Seeing the old man rushing at him, Armand instinctively stepped to the side. The overly excited old nobleman stumbled and almost fell over. He was dressed properly and looked like a noble, but his behavior was far from dignified.
“Yes, Viscount Scassia. If there’s something, you can speak to me.”
Carle could tell that Armand clearly didn’t want to deal with this man. Though he didn’t know the reason, Carle didn’t push the issue. He was ready to take over. After all, the viscount often came to them asking for help, and it usually had to do with money.
“N-no… it’s not something between just me and you, Lord Carle…”
Viscount Scassia nervously rubbed his hands together. His mouth was dry from worry, but even so, he swallowed hard because of how anxious he was.
“I—I want to request protection from the Knights. My family… we’ve been threatened by the ‘Red Crow’…!”
“Hm?”
Hearing this unexpected statement, Carle lifted his head and looked at the hunched, clearly distressed Viscount Scassia.
Armand, who had already walked a few steps out, also turned around to look at the old man.
“…‘Red Crow’?”
He repeated the name, frowning deeply.
At that moment, Evelia and Rachel were sitting quietly, waiting for the lecture to start.
According to the invitation ticket, the lecture would begin in about fifteen minutes.
At a time like this, the difference between rich and poor didn’t seem so obvious anymore.
Even though everyone wore different clothes, had different backgrounds, and came for different reasons, for now, everyone was simply waiting for the lecture hall doors to open. No one could enter a second earlier than anyone else.
“Rachel!”
While Rachel was lost in thought, secretly planning her escape, a familiar voice suddenly called her name.
A sweet, childish voice. Definitely a child’s.
“Salana?”
She looked up and saw Salana Morr, Carle’s daughter, waving at her from not far away.
“Rachel, you came to the lecture too!”
Salana ran over with light steps. She didn’t act like the quiet, well-behaved noble children around her at all.
But even though Salana was being a bit loud, none of the noblewomen dared to look at her the wrong way. That was because the elderly maid following behind her wore the family crest of the Morr family.
Those noblewomen knew exactly what that meant. Gaining the favor of Lady Melian, Carle’s wife, was a very important step to entering high society. As smart nobles, of course they wouldn’t do anything to displease her.
Besides, it was common knowledge in both social and financial circles that the Morr family cherished their youngest daughter very dearly.
“Ah—I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Rachel hopped down from the bench and greeted the enthusiastic Salana.
Kids are always more excited to see each other than adults are. Salana took only a few quick steps before giving Rachel a big, tight hug with all her strength.
Rachel wasn’t very good at dealing with people this outgoing, but considering Salana was just a kid, she awkwardly returned the hug, though she seemed a little shy about it.
Evelia looked down at the little silver-haired girl hugging Rachel.
She had heard the name “Salana” before. When she first got close to Armand, she had done a simple check on the people around him. Salana’s name appeared in Carle’s profile. And with that silver hair, which looked just like Carle’s, it was obvious this was the vice-captain’s precious daughter.
“Miss, please slow down.”
Now that the two little girls had gone from hugging to holding hands, the old maid hurried over, lifting her skirt slightly as she walked. When she saw Rachel and Evelia, she politely bowed to them both.
“You must be Miss Rachel and Miss Evelia, right? I’m Gina, Salana’s nanny. I’ll be accompanying her for now in place of the Madam, who’s running a little late.”
“Hello, Miss Gina.”
As a fellow maid, Evelia instinctively put aside her role as “Rachel’s mother” the moment she saw Salana’s nanny. She responded respectfully, treating her like a superior.
After all, in the past, Evelia only moved when ordered. Deep down, she still had the mindset of someone beneath others, someone always waiting for someone else’s kindness.
“Oh my, there’s no need to be so polite to an old woman like me. You’re Rachel’s guardian, so I should really call you ‘Madam.’ But since you’re still young and not married, I’ll call you ‘Miss’ for now.”
“I’ll work hard to get married.”
When Evelia heard those words, her expression became serious. It seemed like it was time to try harder, to change from being called “Miss” to being called “Madam.”
“Haha, Miss, you’re funny. Marriage isn’t something you can force. It all depends on you and the gentleman from your family.”
This time, Evelia didn’t try to argue about whether Armand was “from her family” or not.
“Rachel, Rachel! Is this beautiful big sister your Mom? She’s so pretty!”
Kids naturally love soft, pastel colors. As soon as Salana saw Evelia, her eyes couldn’t leave Evelia’s long pink hair. She grabbed Rachel’s hand excitedly and looked up at Evelia with sparkling eyes, like she was a fairytale princess.
“…Mm.”
For some reason, admitting that Evelia was her mother in front of a child made Rachel feel strangely embarrassed.
“This is… my mom.”
Even though, technically, Rachel was the one who created Evelia.
“So pretty~~~~!!!”
Salana’s excited face looked like a “greater than” and “less than” sign (> <) combined.
“Um… Rachel’s Mom, can I touch your hair? It’s so beautiful~!”
Salana, full of admiration for the pink color, took two steps toward Evelia and reached out her soft, chubby little hands, her eyes full of pure and innocent hope.
“Mm, okay.”
Of course Evelia wouldn’t refuse. She had no reason to say no.
She gave the nanny a polite smile, then knelt down and lifted a strand of her long hair for Salana to touch. Salana held it gently in her hands like it was treasure, stroking the soft strands with great care.
‘Hmph, I knew my sense of beauty is good for boys, girls, young and old alike~’
Rachel let out a proud little hum. Salana’s reaction was like a big compliment to her own taste and design.
“Rachel, your Mom is just like a princess… So does that make Uncle Armand the prince on a white horse?”
Salana was at the age when she was still deeply into fairy tales. She didn’t understand romance, but she knew how nice it felt to be with someone you liked.
Even though she hadn’t seen Evelia and Armand together, Rachel figured she must’ve heard a thing or two from Carle.
“Prince on a white horse…” Evelia softly repeated the words, her face showing no expression. “I’m not sure about the prince part, but Mr. Armand does have a white horse.”
She still hadn’t gotten over that horse.
“Uncle Armand is super handsome! And Sister Evelia is super pretty! You two are totally a prince and princess, you’ll definitely have a happy ending!”
If Anna had heard that, she probably would’ve punched Clund right in the face. Even a kid knew how to say sweeter things than he did.
But what Rachel really wanted to complain about was, why did it feel like everyone around her was shipping Evelia and Armand?
Seriously, if those two didn’t end up together, it’d feel like the world had gone crazy…
But wait, why is it “Sister Evelia” but “Uncle Armand”? Is that something Carle taught her?
“Oh right! I brought presents for you, Rachel, and one for Sister Evelia too!”
Salana said this as she started digging through her little pastel-colored purse. But as she kept searching, her expression suddenly changed.
“...It’s… gone…?”
The moment she said that, her eyebrows started to turn red, and her voice began to tremble.
“M-My bookmark… the one I spent so long making… it’s gone…”
Salana looked like she was about to cry. She was pouting sadly while digging through her little shoulder bag. Her nanny was also anxiously helping her search, but no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find the handmade bookmark Salana had carefully worked on for so long.
“Ugh…”
Salana bit her lip, and tears started to gather in her eyes.
For a child, losing a gift they had worked hard on, especially one meant for a dear friend, is one of the saddest things that can happen.
She had wanted to show her feelings, to give something meaningful… but because of a small mistake, she ruined everything. That kind of disappointment is hard for any child to bear.
And Rachel wasn’t just anyone, she was Salana’s first and best friend.
“I-It must’ve fallen out when I was grabbing candy! I was secretly digging through my bag for some sweets earlier… it must’ve dropped then… ugh… I shouldn’t have eaten them… even though they were really yummy…”
It was easy to see how ashamed Salana felt about her mistake. But as the daughter of the vice-captain, she was showing a surprising amount of strength and maturity.
Unlike kids who throw tantrums or roll on the ground when something goes wrong, Salana was trying her best to hold back her tears. Her eyes were red, her lips tightly pressed together, even her nose was starting to run. But she just didn’t want to cry.
“Don’t cry, Miss… don’t cry…”
Her nanny quickly knelt down and gently patted her back, trying to comfort her.
“I’m not crying! I… I just… I just—!”
She stuttered, unable to find another excuse.
Salana wanted to be strong. Even she knew that as the vice-captain’s daughter, a knight’s daughter, she couldn’t just cry whenever she wanted. Even if her parents had told her not to push herself too hard, she still didn’t want to cry in front of others.
“Then let’s go find it!”
Rachel finally couldn’t take it anymore.
She wasn’t great with kids, and she definitely couldn’t stand to see such a sweet little girl trying to act tough while clearly hurting.
She was the adult here!
She was the oldest one in the group!
She was supposed to be the reliable one!
How could she just stand by and watch a kid cry?
So Rachel grabbed Salana’s hand and looked her in the eyes with a serious expression.
“There’s still time! Let’s go find it together!”
The moment she said that, and the moment Salana felt Rachel’s hand firmly holding hers, those tears she had tried so hard to hold back suddenly burst out like a flood.
But it didn’t mean she was sad. Her tear-filled eyes reflected Rachel’s strong and caring gaze, and her feelings were swept up in that moment. She nodded hard.
“O-Okay…! Let’s go find it… together!”
Even though her voice was still soft and childlike, it carried determination. She wiped her tears and took Rachel’s hand, then ran back toward the direction she came from.
“Oh my, those two little ones… Miss Evelia, please wait here. I’ll go after them.”
Seeing the scene, the nanny quickly asked Evelia to stay where she was before running after them.
Evelia didn’t argue. She calmly agreed and stayed in place just like the nanny asked.
A breeze blew by, rustling the leaves.
Evelia instinctively looked up toward a nearby rooftop, but there was no one there.
…Was it just her imagination?