Just when they were going to distribute the donations with the priest.
-Hey!
It's Sister Miela!
At the cry of a child, all eyes turned to the entrance of the orphanage.
There was Miela.
Blair's smile faded at the sight.
In her past life, at that time and on that day, Miela was in the main building of the temple…
For her to appear here meant that his reason for choosing the orphanage over the temple was gone.
—Sister Miela!
-Sister!
The children ran in droves towards Miela upon seeing her.
The priest, who saw her late, was surprised.
—Oh, Miss Miela.
What brings you here?
—It's my day off and I came to see the children, but it seems like they need help.
Miela approached Blair with her face lighting up and greeted her familiarly.
—Madam Duchess, we meet again.
Has it been good?
-Thank you.
I'm glad to see you're doing well too.
Blair composed her expression instantly and responded.
He had no talent for lying, but he did have a talent for hiding his feelings.
—The Duke must be very busy.
I thought I would come with you.
What in his past life he would have brushed aside without giving it any importance now sounded a little different to him.
At first glance, it didn't differ much from an everyday question, so Blair decided not to point it out.
It could make her seem like a touchy-feely person.
—As you know, he is a man of many public affairs.
—Ah, I see.
A spark of expectation seemed to cross Miela's eyes, but it was only for an instant.
—Can I help too?
—If you don't mind.
Miela naturally joined in the distribution of donations.
The children crowded more around the familiar Miela than the unknown Blair or the Delmark maids.
Lina, observing the scene, gruffly muttered.
—I feel like a troupe.
Then Melly nudged him in the side to shut him up.
With the addition of Miela, the cast finished ahead of schedule and it was game time.
Blair sat in the shade of a tree and watched as Miela and Lina played with the children.
It was surprising that Lina, who didn't usually deal with children, was so popular.
On the other hand, Miela, as someone who had spent a lot of time taking care of children, quickly detected what they wanted and played skillfully.
Even knowing the future, it seemed that more variables than expected emerged in the details.
While Blair was deep in thought, a girl of about three or four years old with two pigtails approached with short steps.
The girl put the storybook she had received as a gift on the table and tried to sit across from Blair.
But it was difficult for him to get into the adult chair.
—Do you want to sit in the chair?
When asked, the girl nodded.
Blair picked her up and sat her on her lap.
—Do you know how to read?
The girl shook her head.
I had seen her talking to other children a moment ago, but if she just nodded instead of answering, she was clearly shy.
Still, it was adorable that he had willingly reached out to be with her.
—Then I'll read it to you.
Blair opened the storybook the girl had brought.
{The Princess Turned into Stone.}
It was one of the stories he used to read to Aziel.
Blair fought back a sudden wave of homesickness and began to read.
At first it was hard because it reminded him of Aziel, but little by little he calmed down.
Perhaps his body had mistaken the small warmth in his lap for Aziel.
Still, because he liked that feeling of calm and peace, Blair did his best in the narration.
Fortunately, the girl was interested and focused on the story Blair was telling her.
The peace was broken the moment the prince appeared in the story.
—I also want to read a book.
A boy of about five or six years old approached with a story book.
Running behind him was a girl the same age as him.
-Hey!
That book is mine!
Give it to me!
-No!
It's mine!
—You left yours there!
The girl grabbed the boy's book and pulled him.
The boy also resisted without giving in.
—Hey, kids?
Blair, bewildered to see the two struggling, stopped the narration, and the girl on her lap furrowed her little brow to its maximum and screamed in clumsy pronunciation.
—Silence!
But it seemed that the brother and sister had no intention of stopping fighting over the book.
In the end, Blair, who couldn't take it anymore, took the girl off her lap, stood up, and walked over to the two children.
—Children, if you throw like that, the book will be damaged.
I will read it to you, so together...
The moment she grabbed the book the children were pulling, the girl let go and Blair's hand was cut on the sharp edge of the paper.
-Oh.
—Oh.
Seeing the blood on Blair's finger, the two boys stopped fighting.
At the same time, their faces paled.
-Lady?
Melly, who was just approaching, saw the scene and hurried over.
—Oh, his hand...!
Alright?
-I'm fine.
It's nothing, don't make a fuss.
The children get scared.
Blair quickly covered her bloody finger to calm the frightened children, but a little girl who saw it burst into tears.
—It has become a pupa!
—Who was hurt?
Miela, who had heard the commotion, approached.
Blair's plan to not escalate things had already gone awry.
The boy pointed at Blair and said in a dull voice.
—T-The princess has hurt herself.
-I'm fine.
It was just a small cut from the book.
Blair insisted she was fine, but the kids didn't calm down easily.
It seemed to be out of guilt.
Then, as if remembering something, a girl approached Miela.
—Sister Miela, can't you cure her?
—Y-Yes!
Help her, sister.
-Alright.
Then I will heal the lady, and you promise me that you will not fight again.
The children nodded vigorously.
Miela made them promise by intertwining their little fingers and then dismissed them.
And he approached Blair.
—You do the favor of taking your valuable time to come, and we put you through this unnecessarily.
That his words sounded like he didn't appreciate her visit was probably just an impression of his due to his personal feelings towards that woman.
Blair tried hard to hide her emotions and responded.
-Alright.
Thank goodness the children weren't hurt.
—I'm glad you think so.
So, ma'am, may I see the wound?
Miela held out her hand to Blair.
Blair placed his hand, which was belatedly beginning to sting, over hers.
At the same time, a memory from his past life suddenly overlapped.
In his past life, also that day, although for a different reason, he had received healing from Miela.
In the main temple building, by the heel of the foot skinned by the new shoes.
Then he remembered Miela's hands caressing Herdin's abdomen to heal his ribs.
As he recalled that memory, the tips of his fingers trembled.
At that moment, Blair accidentally withdrew the hand she had extended to Miela.
-…No.
Miela looked at her strangely.
-Lady?
—Now that I think about it, I don't think it needs healing.
It's using the lady's valuable energy.
Blair clasped her hands together and hid them, afraid Miela might grab them.
He had an unfounded feeling that he should not receive healing from her.
—There is no problem for me, but if you don't want it, there is nothing to do.
Just when the conversation with Miela was about to end.
-Princess!
Several children came running out of breath.
Blair and Miela looked at them strangely.
-What's happening?
—The prince!
The prince has come!
—…The prince?
—The person who looks like a prince.
You said he was your husband.
Looking where the children's little hands were pointing, they saw Herdin approaching.
Blair's eyes widened in surprise.
Today he had a state council in the morning, he had to go through the imperial palace and then go to the temple when he finished.
I was planning to go to the main temple building at that time.
But since he had arrived earlier, he and Miela had met.
Faced with the unexpected situation, his heart began to pound.
—Blair.
Herdin's gaze, who had strode closer, rested briefly on Blair and then turned to Miela at his side.
His eyes narrowed as he recognized her.
The woman Blair said he would love in the future.
It still seemed like an absurd story to him, but imagining Blair laughing and chatting animatedly with that woman just a moment ago darkened his mood.
Miela, who could not know how he felt, greeted him with a radiant face.
—Good afternoon, Mr.
Duke.
We meet again.
—So it seems, another meeting.
What brings you here?
I understand that the work of priests is considerable.
Herdin responded appropriately to Miela to deliberately observe Blair's reaction.
—Ah, it's my day off and I came to see the children, and I ran into the Duchess.
It seemed like they needed help, so I was lending a hand.
—I appreciate you doing it in my place.
—Oh, no.
It's a pleasure for me.
But Blair just watched the conversation between them in silence.
With that expression of his from which no emotion could be deduced.
As if the intruder in that conversation was not Miela, but herself.
Herdin, who even while talking to Miela kept his gaze fixed on Blair, was the one who finally took Blair's hand first.
—Then, we have matters to attend to and we retire.
Blair was helplessly dragged by his hand, without even time to say goodbye to Miela.
—Ah…
A hint of longing and, at the same time, regret was reflected on Miela's face, who was watching the two's backs walk away.
Poor man.
When you should be happy without fail.
Of that infernal arranged marriage.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
The two, after leaving the orphanage, headed to the temple annex.
Most of the nobles of the Ardel Empire rested eternally in their own territories.
But since they spent long periods in the terraced houses of the capital, it was not easy for them to visit the family graves on anniversaries.
…To be continued