Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better?

Enrique's nanny was removed from the Seymour mansion as if she had been cut out of it.

Without anyone knowing.

From the outside, it would seem as if she had quit her job due to unforeseen circumstances.

In the past, I would have thought that it was a cold measure for the honor of the family; but since I saw Duke Seymour's infuriated face, it was interpreted a little differently.

‘It must be his parents' wish that Enrique would not be hurt by this.'

The annual birthday party was omitted, and Enrique was told to spend his birthday alone with Duke Seymour.

I don't know exactly what the father and son talked about.

‘Seems like he cried.'

The day after his birthday, when only his immediate family gathered to eat, except for Rosad, Enrique's eyes were swollen like crucian carp.

I assumed that the conversation went well because even though his face looked miserable, Enrique vigorously emptied all the plates containing meat, and after eating, his father patted his head softly.

‘I'm glad.'

"Sister!"

After dinner, Enrique hurriedly followed me back to the separate building.

I walked while matching the child's short and quick steps and lightly arranged his disheveled silver hair on his forehead.

"Enrique, I guess you came after me because you're angry I didn't give you a gift."

"It's not like that!"

As I spoke mischievously, Enrique floundered his arms energetically.

His reaction was so cute that I thought I would take a liking to teasing him.

‘I feel like my personality keeps getting worse.'

I swallowed a laugh and stroked Enrique's head gently.

"What do you mean it's not like that. You seemed to be disappointed that only my gift was missing from the gift table."

"… I wasn't."

However, Enrique's lips were pointed out like a chick, as if a little disappointed.

"Do you think I wouldn't have prepared a gift for my disciple? You know that the best things usually come at the end, right?"

As I admitted, curiosity came to his big eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

I grabbed Enrique's hand, which was wriggling as if he were hesitant about something, and walked into the library to give him a large gift box.

"Here, a gift."

Enrique couldn't hide his embarrassment as he pulled out a toy wizard with a wand.

Because it was a gift he was already fed up with.

Enrique received three of those top-quality toys today, which had a lightning orb on the tip of the wand and emitted a thundering sound when tapped.

‘He's the youngest in a family of wizards, so everyone gave him a toy wizard.'

Everyone, including me, had a terrible sense of picking presents.

"Thank you."

After thanking me politely, Enrique looked at the toy with serious eyes and found the notebook inside the box illuminated by the wizard's wand.

"What is this?"

The child picked up the light purple notebook.

"Mother's diary."

Technically, it's more of a scribbling than a diary.

In addition to the meaningful phrases from poems and novels, there were also natural things, such as flowers and birds, and even crossword puzzles.

I was originally thinking of bargaining with Duke Seymour once more with this, but I decided to yield to Enrique.

‘As expected, I can't be cruel to a child. Besides, Enrique is too cute.'

How can I not give it to him when he is a lovable person just by existing?

"…"

Perhaps thinking it was something unexpected, Enrique's eyes widened in surprise.

"I was strolling through the rose garden the other day and stumbled upon it."

This notebook was used by the Duchess during the time she was pregnant with Enrique, and there were a lot of things related to the child.

I hoped that Enrique would read the Duchess' words of affection for the late child who came to her as a gift.

[Baby, Mommy doesn't know how lovely you are.]

Enrique flipped the page with shaky hands.

[You give me happiness just by your presence.]

[What about calling the baby Enrique if it's a boy and Erina if it's a girl? I'd rather ask Juliette, as my busy husband would say everything is fine and be insincere.]

Enrique read and reread the sentence where his name appeared as if he were engraving it in his eyes.

"Did Mother really write this?"

Enrique could barely speak, as if he were choking on his emotions.

"If you have any doubts, ask Father to show you Mother's letter. The handwriting will be the same if you compare them."

"Is it alright to give me something so precious?"

Enrique's voice trembled a little.

"It's a diary where Mother wrote how much she loves you and how lovely you are, so of course it is."

Transparent tears filled his red eyes.

His white cheeks were soon soaked with tears.

"Keep it a secret from Father. He may take it away if you get caught. I'm not as powerful as him."

Even when I threw a joke, Enrique had no intention to stop crying.

I wiped his wet cheeks with my hands many times, and gently hugged the child shaking his shoulders.

"I'm sorry."

His suppressed crying made my heart burn.

I couldn't even guess how hard it must have been for him, feeling anxious all on his own.

"I'm really sorry. For being late."

Enrique shook his head furiously in my arms.

"Enrique, at times like this you should ask why I was so late, call your sister a slow-witted idiot and be angry."

"You're not an idiot!"

Enrique yelled as he looked up at me with tearful eyes.

"Alright. From now on, you have to be sincere with your feelings like this. Do you understand?"

These words were also given to me in the past, as I was always cowering away because I didn't have the courage to get hated.

"I'm on your side, no matter what."

As if my words were a switch, Enrique grabbed my clothes and started weeping louder.

"If someone bothers you, tell me everything. Next time, I'm going to make them really bald, not just give them a bald spot."

I stroked Enrique's head lightly, speaking coldly like a villain.

***

The rain, which had been falling restlessly for a few days, stopped unexpectedly, and the clear days began.

After that, as the temperature clearly went down and the wind blew, it felt quite chilly.

The flower beds, which had been ruined by the sudden heavy rain, were being diligently restored by the gardeners; and I, who was absent-mindedly looking at them through the window, immediately threw my eyes towards the blue sky.

‘I think the sky here is bluer than it was in my previous life.'

Probably because the air is clearer. There's no fine dust either.

Is this what they call the season where the skies are high and blue and the horses get fat?

(T/N: An expression that comes from a Chinese idiom, describing the feel-good atmosphere of autumn – beautiful high blue sky and well-fed horses.)

I felt that autumn was just around the corner due to the deepening sky.

In the empire, the blue color of the emperor was the color of supremacy, so there were many national events in the autumn when the sky was blue, and there were also many other private gatherings.

‘Come to think of it, it's the day when the fall season menu is getting launched.'

Shall I see the reactions?

I wore a robe thicker than usual and got on a carriage to go to Armand.

***

"Prince, is that serious?"

Miguel, who was passing through the east gate square with Isidor, asked as he saw the poster promoting the autumn menu in front of Armand.

[The season in which apples are tastier,

Autumn.

Fall in love with the sweetness of the top 1% apples from the Floris province, where 40 years of special cultivation know-how has been accumulated!]

"There's nothing false about it."

Isidor shrugged lightly.

There must be some orchard farmers who have worked for about 40 years, and their farming know-how is everywhere.

You could say it was a top product because only round and chunky apples, and not bruised ones, were used.

‘One percent is a bit exaggerated, but there's no way to check it.'

"I see that the province of Floris is famous for its apples. I didn't know that."

"There are many good-quality apples produced in that area. It's a basin with a big daily temperature range."

Because the Visconti family's land was in the south, where there was a lot of fertile land, he had a good grasp of the various local products.

‘Wine is the only item in which revealing its origin emphasizes its quality, so I didn't expect her to promote a simple fruit drink like that.'

Princess Deborah's skills always exceeded his expectations.

She was seeing through the psychology of those who were obsessed with scarcity, and Isidor liked her sharp insight.

"They are great apples, but unfortunately, they're sold only for a short time."

Miguel stared at the picture of the Apple Vin Chaud, one of the seasonal menus, and muttered with a fascinated expression.

"Let's eat something. We still have 30 minutes."

"But, two men going to a dessert shop…"

In fact, being of the same sex was an excuse. Miguel was uncomfortable sitting in front of his bad-tempered boss and having tea time.

He was so hard on him for laughing during work.

‘Is not laughing the only way to show loyalty?'

"If you're uncomfortable, go alone. As long as you get me a dessert, too."

"Prince, where are you going all of a sudden?"

Suddenly, his master began to run somewhere with an urgent look.

‘What was that?'