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A man who abandoned my sick mother and me when I was young, and later treated me like a mere money bag.
'Now that I think about it, I'd expect to hear from my father after hearing about the news with Paydan. Why is it so quiet?'
Just as I began to wonder about my father's strangely quiet reaction.
Amon, having made up his mind, nodded with a heavy expression.
"Lady Leticia is right. I think it would be more helpful for the child to see a wider world next to Lady Leticia than to be hurt by me like today."
Just then, a cautious presence was felt from the direction of the second-floor stairs.
I chuckled and looked up the stairs.
"Then, Aria."
At the same time, I made eye contact with Aria, whose eyes widened like a rabbit's.
"Shall we go play today?"
"...Where?"
"Hmm..."
Where should I mention to capture the little lady's interest?
After pondering for a moment, I recalled the 'prince' who had easily won Aria's favor a few days ago and suggested.
"How about the house where the prince lives?"
"The house where the prince lives?"
As expected, Aria's eyes began to sparkle.
"Is it a huge castle?"
"Well, something like that. It's huge, and there's a lot of delicious food."
"Then Aria too! Aria wants to go too!"
Aria hurried down the stairs.
Her eyes, still bearing traces of tears, were shining brightly as if she had never cried.
Amon stared at such Aria with bewildered eyes, then burst into a hollow laugh.
"Thank you, Lady Leticia. Then... I'll leave Aria in your care for a few days."
"I'll take the thanks as a result."
I held out my hand to Aria.
"Shall we go then, Aria?"
Aria, glancing at Amon for a moment, snorted and took my hand.
"You should say goodbye to your dad. You won't see him for a few days."
At my words, Aria glanced at Amon once more, hesitated for a moment, and then approached him.
Amon hugged the child as if he had been waiting for it.
"Listen to the adults, eat lots of delicious things, and have fun."
"Okay. Dad, work hard too."
I took Aria's hand, who had finished saying goodbye with a hug, and turned around.
Then, suddenly remembering something I had forgotten, I stopped abruptly.
"Ah, right. I almost forgot the purpose of coming here."
"Purpose?"
"I was worried that it might be difficult to come up with something because I gave you such a vague topic."
"Ah... As a matter of fact, I was struggling to grasp a concept since there was no theme..."
"The theme is butterfly."
"Butterfly?"
"I'm thinking of making the butterfly the symbol of the brand we're launching."
From the moment I decided to start the clothing business, the symbol had been decided as 'butterfly'.
"Is there a reason you chose a butterfly?"
"The common reason is to symbolize a brand that creates beautiful clothes like butterfly wings, and the second reason is..."
I added, recalling the butterfly I had seen just before my regression.
"Like the butterfly's wings, earned after enduring the caterpillar and pupa stages, our clothes will open up new lives for our customers."
Just as it had opened up a new life for me.
After listening to my story, Amon, who had been lost in thought for a moment, nodded as if something had occurred to him.
"Wings toward a new world... Hearing that, I feel like I might catch some inspiration."
"I'm glad if that's the case."
I left him with encouragement and left the store with Aria and Wig.
But...
"...Aria?"
The elated mood from before was gone, and Aria was frozen, hiding behind me.
Puzzled by that, I found a sulky Wig at the end of Aria's gaze.
That alone seemed to explain the problem between them.
'Aria is afraid of Wig...'
But unfortunately, Wig was very fond of cute things.
No, he loved them beyond just liking them.
Small rabbit dolls, stray cats, and so on...
Now I'm used to that face and know his nature is gentle, so I just find it funny.
But seeing a subordinate being rejected just because of his appearance made me feel a little sorry for him.
But I understood Aria's fear too.
"'Our bear is gentle,' but who would readily believe that...'"
After pondering for a moment, I said to Wig, who was sulking and standing far away.
"Wig, go to that candy store and buy some snacks."
"Yes, Boss."
Whether it's animals or people, the best way to become friendly is with food.
Wig, who noticed my intention, hurriedly left for the candy store, and I said to Aria, who was hiding behind me.
"Aria, that mister is going to buy snacks to give to Aria. Shall we get in the carriage first?"
"Okay."
I took Aria and got into the carriage first.
"Wow, it's like a princess carriage! It's huge!"
After looking around the carriage for a while, Aria suddenly seemed to remember something and sat quietly next to me.
Then, after hesitating for a moment, she cautiously opened her mouth.
"Hey, Boss Unnie."
"...Boss?"
"Yeah. Isn't Unnie's name Boss?"
She must have misunderstood after seeing Wig calling me that earlier.
'Now it's not Duchess, and it's weird to call me Miss... But I'm old enough to be her aunt if I tell her to call me Unnie.'
Well, it's funny for now, so should I just leave it?
"Hmm... For now, keep talking."
I giggled and waited for Aria's next words.
"If we go to the castle, can we meet the prince too?"
Aria's eyes, asking that, were shining brightly with anticipation.
'Look at this kid?'
So the 'prince' was the purpose of her coming along so willingly?
'Kids really care about faces.'
Just as I was laughing in disbelief at her attitude, which was completely different from when she was with Wig, I remembered an important fact I had forgotten.
'Wait, but... Is it okay to take Aria to the mansion without Idris's permission?'
Worrying like that, I brought Aria to the Duke's residence anyway...
"Go ahead."
Permission was given so readily that I was embarrassed for worrying.
"Really... Is it really okay? You don't have to say it's okay if you don't want to."
"Do I look like someone who would force themselves to say it's okay if they don't like it?"
"I'm saying it because you're not as cruel as you think."
At my words worrying about him, Idris chuckled.
"There's no reason why it wouldn't be okay, right? The mansion is large, and it's not like there aren't any servants to take care of a little one."
"That's true, but..."
Even if everything is in place, one might not want to bring a stranger into one's personal space.
But Idris said as if it didn't matter.
"From the start, the annex is a space I lent to you, so do as you wish."
'This man really doesn't suit being a villain.'
Anyway, it was fortunate from my point of view.
"Thank you for allowing it. Then, Aria, let's get going—"
I stopped as I was about to leave with Aria, after seeing the child.
Aria's eyes, looking at Idris, were sparkling to the point of being overwhelming.
At that sight, I chuckled.
'Is she that happy?'
But unfortunately, Idris was going to be very busy today dealing with the rush of work.
"Aria, the prince is very busy today, so he can't play with Aria."
"Since we have a guest, I'll try to make time tomorrow instead. How about that?"
As Idris added, Aria's lips, which had been sulky for a moment at my story, spread into a smile as if nothing had happened.
"Yeah, I like it!"
I took the child, who was nodding vigorously, and left the office.
That night, not knowing what truth the child's pure feelings would reveal.
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