“Cedric initiating conversation by mentioning my tastes first…
Of course, he dislikes lilies—that was Rebecca’s old preference—but still…
‘Could this mean that his antipathy towards me might be easing just a little?’”
Feeling a slight lift in my mood, I stepped a bit closer to Cedric.
“That’s fine. My tastes have changed quite a bit over time.”
“Changed?”
At that moment, Cedric’s gaze shifted toward the blond Adrian.
In the distance, I could see the carriage carrying Bianca racing toward the House of Light.
“Oh, the carriage is coming!”
Without thinking, I clutched Cedric’s arm and cried out.
Instantly, the long-held gaze that had been fixed on Adrian slid down along my hand.
For a moment, it seemed as though his eyes were lingering on my face—but I had no time to be conscious of his look.
‘They’re really here! Our Bianca has arrived!’
My heart pounded, and my inner exultation made my insides roar.
Before long, the carriage came to a stop in front of the main gate.
At the very moment the coachman slowly opened the carriage door, something sprang forth with a small pop.
A pair of short legs clad in opaque white tights appeared, complemented by a pair of snug red Mary Jane shoes.
‘Those short, chubby legs surely belong to…’
Sure enough, a little young lady bounded down from the shallow step of the carriage, uttering a cute sound.
“Whee!”
It was none other than the irresistibly charming Lady Bianca, who had made me wait all day.
Just as I instinctively clutched my chest, Bianca’s mouth, upon finding Cedric, flew open in surprise.
“Eh? Your Grace!”
Waving her tiny, delicate hand high into the air, Bianca greeted him.
In her other hand, she held an adorable little rabbit plush, and a blue ribbon was tied to one side of her soft, black hair.
Her cheerfully smiling, rotund cheeks rose even more prettily, and simultaneously, her large blue eyes shone even brighter.
Stunned by that angelic smile, I couldn’t help but cover my mouth in awe.
‘Oh my… even her voice is so cute… simply too adorable!’
There wasn’t a single flaw in her cuteness.
While I was admiring Bianca’s appearance, the child began running toward Cedric.
But as the distance closed, Bianca’s expression gradually turned pale.
It all happened right after she noticed me standing by Cedric’s side.
“Y-Your Grace…?”
When Bianca hesitated to come any closer, Cedric heaved a quiet sigh and stepped forward toward her.
“You must be tired from your journey, Bianca.”
He gently patted the little head, offering a faint smile.
“I heard earlier that Your Grace would also come to meet you today?”
This kindly, tender side of Cedric was something I had never seen before.
Yet Bianca, as though more accustomed to his gentle manner, gripped his hand tightly.
“Though I knew, I never thought you’d actually come out…”
Even as Bianca answered Cedric, she kept stealing glances at me.
‘Just as I expected… she’s still frightened of me.’
I tried to ease the atmosphere by stepping forward with a smile on my face.
“Dear Lady Bianca, I hope your journey here was peaceful.”
At that, murmurs of surprise and exclamations could be heard from here and there.
“Dear…?”
“Dear us?”
Both Bianca and Cedric wore looks of astonishment.
“Me, me…?”
Bianca’s already large eyes grew even wider and her shoulders shuddered as if in surprise.
“Yes, Lady Bianca. Weren’t you hungry on the way?”
I asked in an even gentler tone, prompting another collective murmur from those around us.
At the limits of my patience, I shot a warning glance in every direction.
‘Really now… aren’t you all an audience? Behave yourselves!’
At last, the attendants averted their eyes and fell silent.
I turned back to Bianca with an even softer smile.
As I smiled, the maids’ pallid faces betrayed their unease—everyone knew Rebecca did not exactly have a benevolent aura.
‘But I must never inflict that kind of fear on Bianca!’
I forced a bright smile.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, tears began to well up in Bianca’s eyes.
“Your Grace… you’re… smiling…”
Her little hand, clutching the hem of her nanny’s dress, trembled uncontrollably.
“N-no… I’m really scared…”
Then, with a soft pop, two tiny horns—each about the size of a strawberry—sprouted atop Bianca’s head.
‘Huh? Those are the same as the ones that once grew on Mina…’
Meeting horns for the second time wasn’t all that shocking for me now.
In fact, I felt an odd warmth—a delight at the sight of such tiny horns on her head.
‘Such little horns… they’re just too adorable!’
But the attendants began murmuring with uneasy expressions.
Noticing their reaction, Bianca’s once rosy face turned ashen as she nervously touched her head.
And as soon as it was clear the horns had indeed sprouted, her delicate chin began quivering violently.
“My, my horns… they’ve appeared… right in front of Your Grace… Ah… Aaah!”
At that moment, I was forced to freeze like stone.
‘W-What, is she crying…? Have I dared to make our young lady cry?’
Frantically, I looked toward the nanny. With a face filled with terror, she hurriedly tried to shield Bianca behind her back.
“Your Grace, when you suddenly smiled, it frightened Lady Bianca… no, sorry! She was merely startled, so please, don’t misunderstand, Your Grace!”
All the attendants looked as if they feared something was about to happen.
Before long, they began to form a loose circle around me, chattering nervously—as if they were a native tribe on guard against an enraged wild lion.
“One must know that during childhood, some demons reveal their true form with sudden emotional changes!”
“Yes, indeed! It is because young ones cannot yet control their magical power properly!”
“As one grows, it will improve, Your Grace! So, please calm yourself down…!”
All their eyes fell at once on Mina, as if she were their sole savior.
Noticing their desperate hope, Mina, like a seasoned animal tamer, spread her arms wide and slowly approached me.
“Your Grace, let’s all just take a few deep breaths calmly, shall we?”
“…”
“Breathe in… and out. In… and out…!”
“What exactly are you doing right now?”
In a flash, Mina retreated ten paces as if fleeing at the speed of light.
She only stopped when she exhaled a long, relieved sigh that suggested she had just avoided stepping on a landmine.
After Mina finally withdrew, no one remained by my side.
A forlorn, bitter wind swept through, scattering my disheveled hair all around.
Inside the reception hall of the House of Light—Grand Duke’s Reception Room—
The atmosphere was unusually quiet for a family gathering after such a long time.
Seated beside the unhurried Cedric, who sipped tea with dignified calm, Bianca kept nervously glancing in my direction while fidgeting with the ears of her rabbit plush.
‘Poor thing—she’s always on alert…’
I worried that if I spoke to her, her tears might well up again.
Before I could even open my mouth, Bianca’s small shoulder called out hesitantly, “Y-your Grace…”
I replied in the gentlest tone I could muster, “Yes, Lady Bianca. What is it?”
Though I tried my best to sound kind, Bianca shuddered as usual.
“Ah, earlier… I’m so sorry…”
Bianca squeezed her eyes shut as if to keep from shedding tears, then slowly reopened them. Her large, watery eyes looked even more endearing with the sheen of tears.
“You smiled so kindly, Your Grace, and yet I foolishly ended up crying…”
“…”
“I’m truly sorry, Your Grace! I promise I won’t be such a silly crybaby again like before! So… please, try not to hate me…”
For an eight-year-old, her dejected manner was overwhelming.
‘This child… even when she first met the heroine Robelia, she was desperate not to be despised.’
In her short life, this little one had known nothing but hardship.
Bianca had lost her parents before reaching her first birthday.
Subsequently, she suffered harsh treatment from her stepmother Rebecca before fleeing to the capital—but even there, as a mixed-blood demon, Bianca was always treated as an outsider.
She was never truly welcome either where she was born or where she took refuge.
‘I am like an isolated island—adrift alone, unable to find a permanent place to belong…’
Recalling Bianca’s sorrowful words from the original story, I looked upon the child before me with deep sympathy.
‘Such a kind and beautiful child…’
Then, while watching Bianca fidget with her rabbit plush, I slowly shook my head.
“You’re mistaken, Lady Bianca.”
“Eh? H-have I done something wrong…?”
“What I mean is that you acted foolishly.”
At my words, Bianca blinked in confusion.
“Considering everything I’ve done until now, it’s only natural that I’d react that way. So, please don’t ever say such things again.”
For a moment, Bianca—who had been staring blankly at me in shock—quickly lowered her head when she realized we had been locking eyes for an extended period.
I gazed at her silently before speaking again.
“And to say that you were at fault is also mistaken. All the mistakes made were not yours…”
“…?”
“They were mine.”
Bianca’s blue eyes gradually widened in surprise.
Both she and Cedric, who stood by me, looked on in astonishment.
Meeting their expected reactions, I allowed a slight smile to tug at my lips, then rose from my seat and slowly bowed my head toward Bianca.
“Lady Bianca, I am truly sorry for everything.”
Instantly, the reception hall fell into stunned silence.
Of course, the misdeeds of the past—Rebecca’s actions—were not my own.
But this was a knot only I, possessed by Rebecca’s shadows, could untie.
Furthermore, if my sincere apology could ease even a bit of the pain trapped inside that little heart, it would be enough for me.
For what felt like an eternity, silence reigned.
Then, as if regaining her senses, Lady Bianca hurriedly reached out to stop me.
“Your Grace! Please, don’t do this! How can you lower your head before a child so pitiable…?”
“…Pitiable? Absolutely not.”
I lifted my head to look at Bianca and shook it gently.
“Lady Bianca, you are someone who, even as an adult and as a human being, has always tried to embrace someone as inadequate as I once was with your family’s heart.”
“…”
“The inadequacy was mine, never yours, my lady.”
“T-That’s…”
“Lady Bianca, you deserve to be loved—indeed, you should be loved.”
“…What?”
Slowly, in the depths of her round, blinking eyes, a torrent of emotion began to gather.
For a moment, Bianca, who had hastily lowered her head earlier, bit her lip.
She fought hard to control the torrent of tears welling up despite her earlier resolve.
My heart ached at the sight, but I gathered myself and continued speaking in a steady tone.
“I promise you this: I will never wrong you as I did before. Moreover, I shall henceforth reside in the Mansion of Darkness.”
“…”
“So, Lady Bianca.”
At my call, Bianca slowly lifted her head once more and looked at me.
Her wide, tear-filled eyes shone again with moisture.
Seeing that, and recalling the sorrowful inner voice of Bianca from the original tale, I uttered the words I had longed to say:
“Don’t be like an isolated island, drifting alone in loneliness—please, root yourself firmly in the embrace of your family and grow up happy.”
Then, a thick tear finally rolled off her rabbit plush onto the ground.
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