Don’t Remember Me

Kururu.

The cheerful laughter of the children entered the room through the open window.
At the same time, the Duke of Durklen put down his teacup and clicked his tongue.

“To think of laughing and chatting loudly like that in the graveyard where our ancestors are sleeping.
Even though she is the Princess, she must not behave immaturely…”

“Hmm.
Isn’t it because the Princess is still young?”

Another nobleman who was listening to the duke’s words glanced at Haven and carefully opened his mouth.
Then the duke glared at the young nobleman who responded with a fierce gaze.

“Young age is no excuse for immature behavior.
I wonder if it was from a stupid and ignorant commoner.
A princess who inherited the noble blood of Guinters… Oh, the other half of the blood could be the problem.”

The atmosphere in the room froze at Duke Durklen’s words.
No one understood the meaning of the Duke’s words.

The fact that the young daughter of the grand duke and the mother who gave birth to the child was a commoner whose identity was not even clear, was so widespread that there was no one who does not know about it in the social world.

“Eheem.”

Someone couldn’t adjust to the atmosphere and coughed.
Then he glanced at Haven.

Haven was drinking alone in an armchair near the bookshelf.
Maybe he was drunk and didn’t hear what the duke just said.
The nobleman who glanced at him tilted his head at Haven’s calm appearance.

At that moment, a chuckle was heard from his direction.
Haven then put down his glass and stood up.
Then he turned and walked to the table where everyone, including the Duke, was gathered.

“Ah, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”

Someone got up to support Haven, who was staggering drunk.
However, Haven shook his hand and shook him off, then came right up to the Duke’s seat.

Tak.

“… !”

The Duke of Durklen shook his body involuntarily at the action of Haven, who leaned toward him with both hands on the table.
However, his pride was hurt by his appearance, so he frowned and attempted a smile on his face.

“The Grand Duke must be drunk.
It’s still the middle of the day, so I’m concerned if you drank too much.”

“Concerned, la…….”

Haven caught the Duke at the end of his words and muttered as if he was talking to himself.
Blue eyes stared at the Duke beneath his disheveled hair.
The duke flinched again at his stare, which was so cold that he couldn’t find any drunkenness at all.

Seeing this, Haven’s corner of his mouth twisted upward.
Then, as if he had laughed at some point, he erased his laughter and opened his mouth.

“The Duke must be very busy.”

“Yes? Ah, yes, that is my job.…”

The duke narrowed his brows in response to the sudden change of topic.
But Haven, before he had finished his words, straightened up his bowed body and continued.

“My daughter is not enough, so now you’re worried about me too.”

“That… ”

The Duke hardened his expression at the sarcastic remark.
And he opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Haven turned and walked to the window.

It was an act of clear disregard for the duke.
Because of that, the duke’s face flushed red.
Also, the other nobles in the room were too busy looking at Haven and the Duke, not even breathing properly, and only glanced at each other.

Kururu.

The child’s laughter was heard again in the midst of it.
Haven approached the window as if he did not care what was going on behind his back.
And he leaned against the windowsill and looked out.

On the lawn, he saw Flitta frolicking energetically.
Even though her expression on her face wasn’t clearly visible because there was some distance, it was clearly drawn how brightly the child must be smiling.

She was a child he never saw before.
(TN: Pertaining because Flitta was smiling so wide).
No, let alone seeing her, he never imagined that he would be able to smile brightly like that.

Her, Flitta, who he have been seeing almost every day, always looked at him with frightened eyes, or hid behind her nanny, clutching the hem of her nanny’s skirt.

A faint smile crossed Haven’s lips as he looked at his child.
It was a smile he was not even aware of.
He followed Flitta’s run with his eyes, then suddenly shifted his gaze in the direction the child was running.

“…!”

Haven’s blue eyes lit up.
It was because of a woman standing where Flitta ran.

… Did she say her name was Rosé?

(TN: Yes, you’re future wife, again ehehe.)

He muttered to himself.
She was the woman he had hired as his child’s exclusive maid.
Prior to that, she was also the woman who saved his child.

But even so, it was far from normal for Haven to even remember her name.
Even the employees who had worked at the Grand Duke’s residence for a long time had not left a single name in his mind.
Among the employees, if Haven had to find anyone who remembered a name, it would be his butler.

He was an indifferent owner, and it was a world where he was taken for granted.
For the nobility, the existence of an employee is just a tool that exists for convenience.

However, while Haven naturally recalled Rosé’s name, he did not find it strange.
Just taking it for granted, he took it that way.

‘Is it because of that woman that Flitta is smiling so brightly?‘

Haven smiled as he saw his daughter smiling brightly once more in the arms of the maid.
Somehow, it seemed like he made a good choice.
It was an impulsive decision because the woman who saved his child was in trouble.

“Grand Duke! What I said earlier…”

It was then.
The fact that the duke, whose face was red and blue, raised his voice as if he couldn’t hold back his anger any longer, and at the same time, Haven leaned against the windowsill and stood upright.

He looked out of his window and then turned around.
This time, the duke passed right in front of him without giving him a chance to speak.

“Grand Duke!”

The Duke’s face contorted at the thought of being ignored again.
Haven left the room, ignoring the commotion behind him.
It wasn’t until he left the room that the other nobles crowded around the duke in a tumult.

“Duke, are you okay?”

“His Highness, this, is too much…”

Between Duke Haven and the Duke of Durklen, the nobles, who had only noticed, were noisy as they sided with the Duke.
No one thought to know why Haven was in such a hurry looking out the window.

* * *

“Butterfly, butterfly! Yellow butterfly, Rosé!”

Flitta came running to Rosé, waving her arms up and down her as if imitating the flapping of a butterfly’s wings.
But before she could get in front of her, she was caught on a boulder hidden in the grass, and her child’s body fell in front of her.

“Fl, princess!”

Rosé smiled and watched the child play, then became contemplative and hurriedly approached the child.
Rosé, who had approached Flitta with her arms outstretched, hurriedly reached out to her.
As soon as her child touched the ground and lifted her head.

“… Uunng.”

The child’s round, light green eyes quickly became intimidated and looked at Rosé.
It was because she was afraid of being scolded for falling down, an act unbecoming of a princess.
Just like her nanny always did.

“Are you okay? Are you not hurt… Oh dear.
You’re hurt.
What to do about this?”

When Rosé looked at the wound on Flitta’s knee, she gave the impression that she was in more pain.
Seeing that, Flitta stopped paying attention to Rose and blinked at her.

“Are you in a lot of pain? Wait here.
I’ll bring clean water and medicine, no, it’s not like this, I’ll put you in my back, Princess.”

Rosé couldn’t even dare to touch the drops of blood on Flitta’s lap.

“… Oh?”

However, Flitta put on a puzzled expression, as if she hadn’t heard Rose’s words, or didn’t understand what she was saying.
Rosé looked back at the child and opened her mouth again.

“We better go inside and treat your wounds properly.
What if it leaves you scars?”

“… Hhmmm.”

Flitta’s round eyes blinked slowly a couple of times.
It was the same.
One day, when she fell and was injured, her nanny also scolded her by saying something similar to what Rosé said now.

“What if His Highness the Grand Duke looked at those scars! Come on.
I’ll call a therapist.”

“Do not worry.
Show your wounds to the therapist and he will treat you well.”

Rosé’s friendly voice overlapped with the voice of the nanny who was annoyed at her.
Flitta stared blankly at Rosé, who reassures her by smiling and reassuring me.

‘… They’re similar, but what’s the difference?’

The child tilted his head.
There was obviously something different, but as a young Flitta, there was no way to tell what it was.
But unlike the scary nanny, Rosé was kind and she liked it.

Besides, she is giving me a piggyback ride!

Flitta had never been carried by anyone before.
At first, she couldn’t even imagine that someone would carry her on her back.
She didn’t even have a chance to wonder what that would feel like.
But that opportunity arose.

The child hurriedly approached in case Rosé would change her mind.
Then, she wrapped her arms around Rosé’s neck and quickly climbed onto her back.

“You must hold onto tight to me, Princess.”

“Yes!”

Flitta gave more strength to her arm which were around Rosé’s neck.
Then, it seemed that Rosé laughed a little, and then she spread her legs and stood up.

‘Wooow…’

Flitta’s round eyes became even more round.
The child’s head was tilted.
And her light green eyes filled with the blue sky.

It felt like the sky got closer.
Flitta involuntarily twitched her hand.
If Rosé hadn’t told her that she had to hold onto her, she would surely have reached out and grabbed the sky with her small hands.