The Winteren Castle, without its master Lennox, was peaceful as always today.
The only thing that could even be considered an "incident" was that the head chef had eagerly insisted on personally preparing Duren's meals from now on.
"It's not really my duty anyway, and since I'll be leaving someday, this is the right thing to do."
Estelle gladly gave her permission.
[This is the meal for Madam and the young master! Let's create the greatest masterpiece of our lives!]
Thanks to that, today Estelle was carrying a meal prepared with the full devotion of the kitchen staff as she went to see Duren.
But when she arrived in front of Duren's room, she suddenly stopped at the sound of something unfamiliar.
Tap-tap-tap-tap—
It was the sound of Duren's footsteps.
He had rushed out the moment he heard Estelle's steps approaching.
Just imagining Duren waiting beyond the door brought a smile to her lips.
"Duren!"
The moment the door opened, Duren threw himself into Estelle's arms.
It was fortunate she had brought a trolley—if she had been holding the food in her hands, she would have dropped everything from the force of his enthusiastic welcome.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Mm!"
"What kind of dream did you have last night?"
"Dream?"
Tilting his head and thinking for a moment, Duren suddenly raised both arms high.
"Didn't have one!"
Estelle felt relieved.
He hadn't dreamed a happy dream, but at least it meant he hadn't dreamed a sad one either.
At the very least, Duren hadn't cried during the night.
"You remember Uncle Baker, right? Today's meal was made by him. Let's eat before it gets cold."
"Mhm!"
Duren ate so eagerly that his cheeks puffed out like little buns.
'It must be really delicious.'
As she spent more and more time with Duren lately, Estelle had come to realize something.
When he got excited, Duren would sprout puppy-like ears or a tail.
Seeing Duren's tail wagging so fast it looked as if someone were fanning the air, Estelle couldn't help but chuckle.
The tail that had been whipping up a storm vanished once the meal was over. With a faint sense of regret, Estelle gently wiped the corners of Duren's mouth.
Because his mouth was so small, Duren always ended up with food smeared around his lips when he ate—but even that sight was nothing short of adorable.
"Duren. How about we really go out and play today?"
They couldn't stay cooped up in the room forever.
At her cautious suggestion of going outside, Duren's face lit up instantly.
"A walk?"
"Mm, a walk."
The moment he heard that word—walk—Duren sprouted a tail again.
"Walk good! I wanna go, I wanna go!"
'…He's wagging it so hard you can barely even see it.'
Duren was about to dash straight outside, but Estelle managed to catch him just in time. She held him close and calmed him down until his tail disappeared, and only then could they finally set out.
"D–Duren! Let's go just a little slower!"
Whoosh—!
As soon as the door opened, Duren bolted out. But when he heard Estelle's voice, he paused briefly and glanced back at her.
"Got you… Duren!"
Yet the moment Estelle barely managed to close the distance, he shot off again as if he'd been waiting for her to catch up.
"Duren! Not that way—this way!"
Thankfully, even while running full speed, Duren listened well to Estelle's words, and together they safely made it to the garden.
Winteren Castle was vast and impeccably kept.
Just wandering around the garden alone seemed enough to make an hour fly by.
"Kya!"
"The young master looked at me!"
The servants exclaimed quietly when they caught sight of Duren dashing energetically across the grounds.
Now cherished dearly by everyone in the household, Duren had completely changed from his first impression.
Back then, he had seemed like a beast, his only striking feature the gleam of his red eyes. But now, his soft, round cheeks and sparkling eyes were irresistibly endearing.
And since he always wore a bright smile, the adults who encountered him couldn't help but smile back.
"But… why do they call me 'young master'?"
Tilt.
Duren trotted over to a maid, Riley, and asked.
Grandmother often called him "my baby," so he already knew that "baby" was one of his names.
"But then… why do they add 'nim'?"
"Because Young Master Duren is above us in status. That's why we call you Aginim."
So my rank is higher!
Duren understood right away.
"It seems you were curious why everyone calls you 'Young Master.'"
Riley explained to Estelle, who had just caught up to them.
"Someday, Duren will have a friend who calls him 'Dudu.'"
"Dudu?"
"It means you'll have someone close enough to give you a nickname."
Duren was clever.
Once again, he grasped it immediately and nodded.
"Mm, right!"
And as soon as his question was answered, he started running off excitedly again.
"Du–Duren!"
"My lady, perhaps we should assist you?" one of the servants asked, concerned.
"No, it's fine. We're only walking around the garden—there's no need."
Declining out of consideration for them, Estelle dashed off after Duren once more.
Their stroll went smoothly, accompanied by half the servants cooing at how adorable Duren was, and the other half fretting over Estelle's well-being.
Ahem, ahem.
Duren suddenly stopped and sniffed at the scent of grass.
Huff, huff.
Thanks to that pause, Estelle was finally able to catch her breath.
She stood there, gasping for air, wiping away beads of sweat.
'Why does this feel like forced exercise…?'
Her heart was pounding, her legs trembling, and her head spinning—yes, this definitely counted as a workout.
As she tried to steady her breathing, a nearby gardener approached and greeted her warmly.
"Goodness, my lady. Aren't you cold?"
"I've gotten used to the northern Mizzen weather, so I'm fine."
"My lady jests. This isn't the kind of weather one can adapt to in just a few weeks."
She hadn't even noticed the chill, her body overheated from chasing after Duren.
Glance.
Keeping an eye on Duren—who could dash off again at any moment—Estelle chatted lightly with the gardener.
Thankfully, instead of running off, Duren came closer to her.
He stood quietly for a while, listening to their conversation.
Then he suddenly shouted—
"My lady!"
Everyone nearby turned in surprise to stare at Duren.
"My lady?"
When Estelle asked back, Duren looked up at her with sparkling eyes and shouted:
"My lady-ah! Let's go!"
My lady-ah, let's go.
That one innocent cry, paired with Duren's guileless face, left not only Estelle but even the gardener frozen in place.
"What do you mean by that, Duren?"
"I wanna go over there too!"
It seemed Duren's head was filled with nothing but the thought of running around.
'Does he think my name is "My lady"…?'
At Winteren Castle, no one called Estelle by her given name. Everyone addressed her as my lady. Naturally, Duren must have assumed he should call her that too.
'And that "ah" at the end… it must be because of the nickname talk earlier.'
It seemed more and more that Duren thought of Estelle as both family and friend.
When Estelle stayed quiet and simply smiled, Duren tilted his head in confusion.
"Duren. You mustn't call me my lady."
"You're not my lady?"
But… everyone else calls you my lady. Isn't it strange if I don't?
That was exactly what his wide-eyed look seemed to say.
So Estelle went down on one knee, lowering herself to meet Duren at eye level.
Until now, Estelle had told Duren that she was his family, but she had never explained the truth—that she was his stepmother.
She had been afraid he might be shocked again.
'Having your family grow and having a new mother are two different things…'
But she couldn't hide it forever. In the end, she confessed.
"I'm your new mother."
"New mother?"
"Mm. From now on, I'll be Duren's mom."
What if he remembers his real family and becomes sad?
"So you shouldn't call me my lady—you should call me Mom."
"..."
"You're the only one here who gets to call me Mom. Do you understand?"
Fearing what kind of reaction he might have, Estelle squeezed her eyes shut tightly without realizing it.
And when she slowly opened them—
"Mm!"
Duren was smiling brightly.
"Mom! Let's go over there together!"
With a face as radiant and carefree as sunlight itself, Duren tugged at Estelle's arm.
"W–wait, Duren!"
Caught off guard, Estelle stood up and awkwardly bent forward to stop Duren, who was about to dash off again.
"Mm?"
"This time, let's hold hands."
It was getting too hard to keep up with him.
If they held hands, Duren wouldn't be able to just sprint recklessly ahead, and that might make things easier.
Duren stared at the hand she offered, and after only a brief hesitation, he placed his little hand in hers.
Tok—
Estelle clasped that tiny hand firmly.
The breeze brushing her cheek was still chilly, but the warmth of their joined hands made her feel no cold at all.
'…So exhausting.'
After playing with Duren to her heart's content, Estelle felt like she could collapse right then and there.
It was as if she had aged ten years in a single day.
All she had done was spend one day keeping him company, yet her stamina simply couldn't keep up.
'I really should have exercised more regularly.'
"Mom!"
Rubbing her arm—soft and without much muscle—Estelle glanced back at Duren, freshly bathed and fluffy.
Dodododo—
"I wanna go out again!"
…For Estelle, it was like a bolt from the blue.
"Let's stop for today and go tomorrow."
"Tomorrow, I wanna go again!"
"Yes. We'll play again tomorrow."
Fortunately, Duren didn't throw a tantrum. Estelle let out a sigh of relief inside and patted his head.
"If you sleep early, tomorrow will come faster. So hurry to bed. Good night, Duren."
It was time for Estelle to return to her annex.
As soon as Duren lay down to sleep, she quietly left the room and headed back—but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her.
Dodododo—
"Duren?"
The culprit was indeed Duren.
"We said playtime was over. You need to go back to your room."
"But you're Mom."
When Estelle gently pushed him back, he looked at her with wounded eyes.
"I wanna stay with Mom."
Even after such a fun day of playing, the child—who had never once whined to keep playing more—now pressed his lips together stubbornly.
'He must not understand why we have to live apart.'
Explaining that his father, Lennox, didn't welcome her staying in the main castle wouldn't make sense to Duren.
Facing Duren's unyielding gaze, Estelle was at a loss for what to do.
And then—
"Don't abandon Dudu."