DKVM Ch 21

Chapter 21

Even I was getting teary-eyed, but the gift-giving was just beginning.

There was still plenty of makeup left in the box for the other big sisters to receive.

So I was about to ask the big sisters to call the others over.

“By the way, Vivian, do you think you need to tie your hair back?”

“Ugh!”

I turned to look in the mirror and was surprised.

My hair, which my dad had tied up in the morning, was all tangled and puffy!

‘When did this happen?!’

It must have gotten messed up earlier when I was sleeping in the carriage.

As I fumbled to tie my hair back up, one of the older sisters who had been watching approached me.

“Do you want me to tie it up for you?”

“Uh, sure, if you have a minute.”

“Do you mind if I take a moment, then, Miss?”

She turned to Rahel and asked for permission.

Normally, she wouldn’t have even brought it up, out of respect for Rahel.

The gift had changed that.

Glancing back and forth between the big sister and my messy hair, Rahel gave a small nod.

“Sit down.”

With Rahel’s permission, we sat side by side at the vanity.

Another maid asked Rahel if she would like her hair fixed too, but Rahel declined.

Ultimately, both of them worked on my hair.

“Vivian, you have very fine hair. Do you brush it every day?”

“Yeah. My dad does it every night.”

“Gosh, guys would find that annoying.”

“That’s right. Your dad must love you a lot.”

“Hehe. My dad does love me a lot.”

“Then if your dad is like that, wouldn’t he be upset if his daughter brought home a boyfriend?”

*flinch*

Suddenly, I could feel Rahel’s hand startle in surprise.

Before I had a chance to ask what was wrong, the other big sister asked, her face full of mischief.

“Vivian, do you have a boyfriend you’re hiding from your dad or a boy you like?”

Then I felt Rahel’s eyes on me in the vanity mirror.

‘Huh? What’s with the look on Rahel’s face?’

Puzzled, I recalled an incident with my neighborhood friends.

‘Come to think of it, girls are obsessed with the idea of best friends, aren’t they?’

Even if you’re friends with everyone, there’s always one friend who’s always there for you, who’s there for you no matter what you do.

That’s a best friend.

If that best friend had other close friends, girls would get upset about it.

Sometimes even their boyfriends were jealous.

‘Of course, I like to be close to everyone, but…’

Suddenly, I remembered what happened today at the general store.

Rahel saw Peter and me calling each other by our first names and being comfortable talking to each other, and she told me to do the same.

‘Rahel was jealous of Peter, wasn’t she, and if so…’

Now was my chance to score points as best friends.

I said firmly as if Rahel needed to hear it.

“I’m not going to have a boyfriend or anything like that. It’s not interesting at all.”

“Why? Vivian is cute, and I’m sure there are lots of boys who like her.”

“Boys are always playing pranks on me and making fun of me, and I hate it.”

I said, sounding annoyed, and the big sisters bemoaned the fact that they were missing out on the teasing.

“But there can be nice boys who don’t play pranks, right?”

“That’s right. And if you don’t have a boyfriend, you won’t even get married later, right?”

“No, but I don’t want to. I’m not getting married. I’m going to live with my dad and the princess for the rest of my life.”

This will make Rahel happy, right?

I sneak a glance at Rahel’s face in the mirror, and her blue eyes are wavering.

‘Is she surprised by my answer?’

I asked Rahel with a proud smile.

“Isn’t that right, Princess?”

I was oblivious to Rahel’s complexion darkening.

* * *

It was a lazy afternoon as the sun began to turn golden.

As Karlz checked his calendar against his work papers, he noticed an eerily familiar date.

“…May already.”

The month that flows from the end of spring to the beginning of summer.

It was a favorite time of year for everything and everyone, but Karlz didn’t like May.

 

“Dad! I made this garland with you in mind, so please use it only once, yeah?”

 

May was the month his only daughter, Isela, passed away.

Even though it had been five years since her death, he hadn’t gotten used to her absence.

For the rest of his life, he would be haunted by every May, and every time he saw Lahedis whom she had left behind.

Karlz flipped through a few more pages of papers, trying to push the memories of his daughter away, and then he put them down and got up.

He found his usual spot by the window, where he always stood when he was lost in thought.

“Oh, I found Marina!”

The sound of high-pitched laughter could be heard from outside, despite his sinking mood.

It was Vivian who was laughing.

‘The villa has been noisy since she arrived.’

And Rahel, who usually kept to his room, began to come out of it.

Not only that, but Rahel was starting to interact with people other than Margaret and Sally.

It was an unexpected change.

‘It’s just like when Isela was alive.’

Karlz, who had inadvertently been reminded of Isela by Vivian’s appearance, realized his thoughts a beat too late.

She’s like Isela.

It was a foolish thought.

There was only one daughter he loved, Isela, and he could never replace her.

Even as he thought this, his gaze wandered over to Vivian and Rahel, who were playing hide-and-seek in the garden.

Then, as if sensing his gaze, Vivian looked over.

‘Did she see me?’

Karlz paused at her gaze, but Vivian quickly turned her attention back to the maids and Rahel.

Once again, the sound of shrill laughter echoed through the spring landscape.

For a time, the sound filled the spring landscape, until it seemed to have fallen silent.

There was an unexpected knock on the door.

“Your Grace, may I come in for a moment?”

It was the owner of the laughter from earlier.

‘What brings her here?’

Surely she didn’t come over just because they made eye contact.

Karlz was puzzled, but he let Vivian in any way.

“Enter.”

The child entered the room and began with her usual polite bow.

“Good afternoon, Your Grace. Thank you for your time.”

“What brings you here? Isn’t this the time for your class with Rahel?”

“Oh, the princess left for her successor’s class a little while ago.”

Vivian replied cheerfully and then revealed the purpose of her visit.

“It’s not much, but I have something to give the duke.”

“For me?”

“May I come closer?”

Karlz looked at Vivian curiously and nodded his head. Vivian came scurrying over as if she had been waiting.

What she held out was a small box.

It was ribboned and wrapped, sloppily, but with the telltale signs of someone who had tried hard to decorate it.

“I bought this when I was in town a few days ago, but I thought you might be busy, so I’m only giving it to you now.”

Karlz opened the box the child held out to him.

Inside the small box was a wooden, neatly designed bookmark.

Karlz looked back and forth between it and the child, then asked.

“It’s not my birthday, and I don’t know that I’ve done anything special for you lately, so what’s this all of a sudden?”

Vivian blushed.

There was a purpose, actually.

If she was going to repair Rahel’s relationship with the Duke, she needed to know why they were at odds.

And most importantly.

‘Some relationships, even family ones, are better left unrepaired.’

If that’s the case with Rahel and Karlz, I’m not going to repair their relationship.

But I was still nosy.

I needed to get close enough so that they would confide in me before I could make that judgment.

‘But if you ask him outright about his relationship with Rahel, he’s not going to tell me the truth.’

So, for now, I got a gift to get closer to Karlz.

Vivian played it cool, hiding her true feelings.

“No particular reason… I was at the general store buying gifts for the maids, and I saw something I wanted to give to the duke.”

“Hmm… So, you didn’t really think about it, but you forced yourself to buy it because you were afraid the old man would pout?”

Oh, come on. Just take it!

“It’s not like that, I really thought about it and picked something that I thought the duke would like…”

Vivian, who had been yelling in exasperation, gradually trailed off.

She realized she had been shouting at a duke of incomparable power.

‘Does he think I’m a brat?’

Vivian closed her eyes as she realized what she had said earlier.

A hearty laugh echoed through the silent office.

‘Huh…?’