Chapter 39
It would seem that it would be very affectionate for a father-and-son who met after four years, though Kyle and Leo were getting closer and closer to each other in a normal and natural way. As if they were family from the beginning.
He took time out of his busy schedule to play with Leo, and the child was very fond of his father, who took care of him.
Whenever he went to see Kyle, Leo would have an exasperated face and made a fuss about what he wasn’t good at. He then sometimes bragged about it to his dad, pretending to be more mature than his peers.
It hadn’t been a while since they’d met, but it was a little strange that Leo followed him this far. Rosalind wondered if it would be nice to have an adult man he had never seen before playing with him, or perhaps it was because he was his real dad.
But today, she received a letter from him saying, ‘I have prior engagements, so it will be difficult to spend time with Leo.’
“Can’t we go play today?”
“No. He said not today.”
“I also picked some fruits to give to my dad…”
A muffled voice was heard.
After Kyle first picked the berries, Leo would often go to the garden at home and picked berries from the trees. Yesterday, he was just collecting other things and wrapping them in leaves.
“I want to go to my father. I had to give him this.”
Leo strangely called him uncle in front of Kyle and Dad in front of Rosaline sometimes. It seemed like he just called whatever he liked.
“…What is a father like?”
Rosalind looked at Leo and muttered a little as if to herself. Anna, who was standing next to her, turned to her with a smile and responded.
“I don’t know. What is a parent to a child?”
“Anna. I don’t know what my father is like. Why don’t you know what a parent is even though you’ve become a parent?”
“Although we are also someone’s children, isn’t it similar to not knowing our children well?”
“Is it? Still, I’m glad that he seems like a good father to Leo.”
Rosalind replied with a small smile on her face. A gentle smile appeared on Anna’s face as she gazed at her.
“I’ve never been a parent, but seeing the Miss, I think I understand a little bit of a parents’ feelings.”
“Anna…”
The way they looked at each other was affectionate and tender. However, Leo’s grumbling suddenly broke through the warm atmosphere.
“What if the fruit spoils, Anna! This time, I promised to get it to him!”
Thanks to this, the warm atmosphere was broken in an instant, and only the voice of a child who was about to burst into tears resounded. Rosalind shook her head and touched her forehead. Watching the child’s whimper, she posed a question to Anna in a rather playful voice.
“I was like this when I was young?”
“Well, you were a little stubborn?”
Really…?
As if in disbelief, she widened her eyes wide. For a while, the two looked at each other and burst out laughing at the same time. Leo was the only one crying.
* * *
“Leo is only going to deliver the fruits you picked, understand?”
“Yes!”
The carriage was rattling towards Kyle’s castle.
Rosalind sent a letter to Kyle in a hurry first. The content was very simple, but she was going to stop by today and leave only the fruits that Leo picked. He said ‘I have a job,’ so she guessed that he was busy with the Royal Palace and vacated the castle.
Glancing out of the window, she saw the familiar landscape little by little before hearing the coachman’s voice saying that they had arrived.
Rosaline got off the carriage first and gave Leo a hug.
The little boy shrugged his shoulders with great excitement as soon as he arrived at the castle. She calmed her son over and over again and followed the guidance of the maid, Isis, and moved on to her steps.
“The Duke has been away…”
“it’s okay. We’re just here to give him this.”
Leo handed Isis something wrapped in leaves and string. Two brightly smiling eyes gleamed.
“How can Leo be so insistent to deliver this…”
Isis smiled brightly, saying that it was okay when hearing the voice full of difficulties.
“The Duke will be very pleased.”
“Thank you for your words,” Rosalind smiled.
Isis was the maid who took care of her when she stayed in this house. Her personality was kind and sweet, and she regarded her as close as a little sister.
One of the things she regretted when she left him was the people staying in this house, although she was often happy to see her face like this, and it was a bit bittersweet as she remembered the day she left.
Rosalind deliberately turned her back to clear her chaos of thoughts.
“Leo seems to like trees. I think the fruits are amazing.”
Isis, who was examining the fruits she had received, responded with a light voice.
“…He seems to resemble Madam.”
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‘…Madam?’
Rosaline flinched for a moment at the name she had not heard in a long time. Then, Isis realized the meaning of her words and showed a puzzled face.
“How did you know? That I liked trees.”
It was because she had never told her about the tree. There were more flowers than trees in the castle’s gardens, though Rosalind didn’t dare say she preferred trees. Because she knew how hard the gardeners here took care of the flowers, she didn’t want to discourage them for nothing.
But, how did she know that she likes trees…?
“Now that I think about it, I think there are a lot more trees than before.”
‘…There are a lot of trees in this castle.’
She remembered what Leo had said when she first came to the castle.
Looking around, Rosalind noticed that most of the gardens were full of trees. There were large, green trees, and quite a few small seedlings as tall as her or reaching her waist. When the colorful flowers and green trees harmonized, she felt even more fresh and rich.
“Of course, because the master diligently planted it while the Madam was away.”
“Why…?”
“Because Madam likes it.”
As if it was natural, Isis smiled softly.
“After Madam left, he spent the first time drinking alcohol… At some point, he started planting trees at a time. He would say, ‘She likes the leaves of a summer day. Do you know?’”
Isis lowered her voice, mimicking Kyle. Even though it was a pretty playful voice, it was hard to find the smile on Rosaline’s face.
“…He told you about me?”
“Yes, yes!”
Isis waved her hand as though to say it was nothing.
As she said, Kyle spent several months drinking after Rosalind left. He resented not being there for her. He was angry with himself, and when he couldn’t even do that, he grabbed Isis and kept asking her whereabouts.
Then one day, whenever he missed Rosalind, he started planting trees. He didn’t know if it was a reflection of Rosalind or whether he was planting in preparation for when she returned… or both.
“…I thought he didn’t even care about me.”
“No. He worked really hard. All the while, I was on his side. I think the Master is being too harsh on himself. It was to the extent that I felt that I was a little out of place.”
Rosalind never imagined him while she wasn’t there. She thought nothing would change because, in her head, he always had a clean and near-perfect image with no blemish. Hence, she couldn’t believe he had been so disorganized after she left.
Looking at what he had been saying to her and Leo these days, she didn’t think it was too unbelievable.
…By the way, how did he know that she liked trees?
“Sit down for a moment, I’ll bring the tea. I will deliver this as soon as the Master returns.”
“No, the tea is fine. I just came to give him this.”
“Still, you’ve come all the way, so please have a cup of tea and go. A very delicious snack arrived a while ago, and Young Master Leo is sure to like it.”
“Wow!”
As soon as Isis’ words fell, Leo jumped with joy.
Seeing that, Rosaline smiled brightly. So, after she said thank you, Isis disappeared. Sitting at a table in the garden, she glanced around. The leaves gently sway in the wind, and the flowers drop their leaves for a long time… as if all these sceneries would be engraved into her eyes.
Drinking because of her, planting trees… Why did he do that?
Unlike her, who had a complicated heart, Leo, who was sitting across from her, was just smiling with an ignorant face.
Soon after, another maid served tea, water and light refreshments.
“Delicious.”
“Thank you. Should Leo say thank you, too?”
“Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
The maid waved her hand and smiled shyly when Leo lowered his head. As soon as he saw the sweets on the plate, the child quickly grabbed them and started eating them. An enormous cookie that couldn’t even fit in the child’s tiny mouth shattered with a crunchy sound.
Watching her son eat with crumbs on his lips, Rosaline reached out with her handkerchief. When she couldn’t reach the other side, she got up from her chair and walked towards Leo.
“If you eat it like that…”
However, she couldn’t finish with her words because a woman’s voice pierced behind her back.
“…Rosalind, why are you here?”
Rosalind paused for a moment at the unfamiliar yet familiar voice. A somewhat familiar voice…
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The moment she opened her eyes, she could hear the voice of the woman again.
“Why are you here!”
Rosaline’s body turned slowly. Her eyes swelled wide, discovering the owner of the voice.
“Olivia…?”
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