Chapter 33

Miriam drew in a sharp, startled breath.

Her face was vividly painted with a look of profound regret.

“…Please, do not mind it.”

Diana slowly shook her head.

“While I may envy you, it is an emotion I never possessed to begin with. To feel anger toward one’s father out of love for a mother… what such a thing feels like, I cannot even begin to imagine.”

“Diana…”

“Did I not just tell you to pay it no mind?”

Diana’s slender finger flicked Miriam lightly on the forehead.

Before either of them realized it, the distance between them had closed until their shoulders brushed.

“…Have you never quarreled with your father, Diana?”

“Oh, of course I have. Countless marriage proposals used to fly into our household, after all.”

“Well, that is only natural.”

At Diana’s words, Miriam nodded in agreement.

Whenever a nobleman of high rank was left without a spouse, those around them would always attempt to push a new partner into the home.

That was a truth that remained unchanged for any aristocratic family.

“Why, there was even a time when a woman brazenly marched right into our home while my father was away!”

“My goodness!”

At Diana’s exclamation, Miriam feigned exaggerated astonishment.

In doing so, she implicitly urged Diana to continue the tale.

“At the time, my twin sister and I were still quite young, so we were far more preoccupied with protecting our own place in the home than with our father’s happiness. We thought to ourselves, We must find a way to chase this woman out! and the two of us frantically plotted a scheme to make her miserable.”

“And what came of it?”

Miriam’s eyes shone with curiosity she made no attempt to hide.

“Well, you see. Our harassment campaign against the lady was a brilliant success, and we did manage to drive her away; only to discover that the woman was never a candidate for a stepmother at all!”

“Oh? Then who on earth was she?”

“She was a private tutor that our father had personally arranged for Cordelia and me!”

A hasty misunderstanding by a pair of young twins.

Children though they were, both of them had been desperate to protect their sanctuary.

Perhaps that sentiment from back then resonated with Miriam, as the two of them exchanged glances and broke into natural, affectionate smiles.

“To this day, my father still complains about how dreadfully difficult it was to find a replacement tutor after that.”

“That is quite impossible to picture from the Diana of today.”

Seeing the smiles return to Miriam’s face, Diana let out a soft sigh of relief.

(She seems to have calmed down a little…)

The uproar surrounding her father’s potential remarriage was a situation Diana understood all too well.

For Diana and Cordelia, who were mere children at the time, and especially for Miriam, whose wounds from losing her mother had yet to fully heal, it was simply not something she could easily accept.

The scars of the heart would eventually be healed by time.

Yet, for now, she still did not wish to have her wounds touched.

There is a time for everyone when they feel precisely that way.

“…I wonder if I said something terribly cruel to my father.”

The face of Miriam as she murmured those words was cast in a dark shadow.

If you feel that way, you ought to sit down and have a proper conversation with the baron.

I wonder if my father would even be willing to speak with me.

To Miriam’s hesitant query, Diana offered a reassuring smile.

(I am certain it will be fine.)

There was truly no need to be afraid.

Because the baron cherished his daughter dearly.

While such things might be obvious to an outsider, they could often remain entirely invisible to the people directly involved.

Diana narrowed her eyes as she watched her classmate agonizing over her relationship with her father.

Half an hour later, the two of them visited the greenhouse located in a corner of the baronial estate’s gardens.

Miriam had wished to show off her mother’s prized greenhouse to Diana as their guest.

The moment the door opened, a wave of humid air and sweet fragrance washed over them.

Sunlight filtered through the glass, passing through delicate petals and causing countless vibrant colors to shimmer and dance.

A sanctuary entirely isolated from the outside world.

The moment they stepped inside, a warm breeze caressed their cheeks.

Diana, whose attention had been instantly stolen by the brilliant sea of green blooming all around them, only noticed a moment later that Miriam’s gaze was entirely locked onto something.

“Miriam…?”

From the eyes of Miriam, who continued to stare fixedly ahead, a single droplet of moisture spilled over and slipped down.

Drop by drop, flowing tears traced her cheeks and dripped softly from the young lady’s chin.

Following the direction of her gaze, Diana finally understood.

The greenhouse her mother had loved so dearly.

Contained within it was precisely what Miriam had believed was thrown away; the paintings that Miriam herself had created, now beautifully displayed for all to see.

At the very center of the greenhouse.

Positioned in a spot surrounded by blossoming flowers was a portrait of her mother, undoubtedly painted by Miriam’s own hand.

Arrayed to encircle it were landscapes of the Quilter domain… seascapes, rolling hills, vast meadows, and paintings of the garden her mother had cherished above all else.

The interior of the greenhouse felt almost like another world entirely.

Gathered there were numerous miniature worlds brought together as one.

“…It would seem the baron holds both your mother and you very close to his heart.”

Weeping freely as tears streamed down her face, Miriam could not manage a single word in reply.

Yet, she must have realized it as well.

Every single painting she had believed thrown away had instead been preserved and displayed inside the sanctuary her mother had loved.

The distance between parent and child had simply grown apart due to a tragic misunderstanding; there was never a true chasm between them at all.

“I-I’ve said so many terrible things to my father…”

Diana pulled the sobbing, childlike Miriam into a warm embrace, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

It will be all right, for if you speak with him, he will surely understand… No, I am certain he has simply been waiting for you to open your heart to him all this time.

(What Lord Alan said was not mistaken at all…)

Baron Quilter was simply clumsy with his words.

He, too, was a father who cared deeply for his child, just like Wesley.

And Alan had seen right through that with absolute precision.

With this, the father and daughter of the Quilter household would surely be fine.

Just as that thought crossed her mind,

“My Lady, there is an emergency! We have received word that a large number of unidentified vessels have appeared off the coast─!”

Waiting for Diana and Miriam upon their return to the mansion was the sudden, violent onset of a turbulent storm.