CH 41

Persis was disappointed once again for not being able to have a conversation with May. It hadn’t been like this before, and it made him feel depressed.

He simply wanted to have a normal conversation. The reason he had rearranged his busy schedule to have a meal with his child was for that modest purpose.

He had carved out precious time on several occasions to create opportunities, but even today, they couldn’t exchange a single word…

Feeling depressed was not an unusual thing.

However, he didn’t realize that just by having a meal together, a conversation wouldn’t suddenly emerge.

Unless he made an effort to lead the conversation, nothing would change.

* * *

After the meal, I went to find Nazret. I couldn’t leave her alone if she didn’t come. I had to go.

When I entered the courtyard after getting off the carriage, I saw Heint and Stella standing outside for some reason. Heint seemed like he was about to go out.

As expected, Stella was seeing him off.

“Take care, Dad.”

“Yeah, take care.”

When Heint gently patted Stella’s head, she smiled beautifully.

When I was young, I used to envy that sight, but now I don’t care. I had seen them a lot, so I had become accustomed to it, and envying wouldn’t change my reality.

Heint walked towards me to leave the mansion. When he noticed me, he greeted me with a soft voice.

“May, you came to play? Have fun before you leave.”

“Yes, Lord Marquis.”

He is a guardian knight of the Second Order, led by Cassius. Like Persis, he possessed magical powers, so his appearance still looked like that of a man in his late twenties.

Lord Marquis must be busy hunting demons as well.

As he walked out, Stella’s voice reached my ears.

“Oh, you came faster than I expected. Did you really want to eat my cookies that badly?”

When I shifted my gaze towards the voice, I saw a woman so beautiful that I couldn’t help but be amazed. Stella was adorable and glamorous to the extreme, as if she could be the protagonist of a story.

She approached me, and she was shorter than me. Well, I’m tall, and Stella’s height was average.

“I thought my life was in danger if you didn’t come.”

Stella crossed her arms and showed a slightly sulky attitude.

“Of course. There’s no one who can refuse my cookies and survive.”

“I’m not expecting much. Thinking about the madeleines you made before…”

As if I had recalled something I shouldn’t have, I shook my head, and Stella surprisingly showed a relaxed reaction.

“You can expect something this time.”

Stella said confidently. Was there any reason to believe her?

We moved to Stella’s room and sat down on chairs, deciding to chat while eating cookies.

The cookies were checkered and bite-sized, filled the rattan picnic basket to the brim.

“Try one.”

At Stella’s urging, I picked up a checkered cookie.

The smell was enticing… but the taste was what mattered. I cautiously put the cookie in my mouth.

Crunchy, not soggy. The more I chewed, the cocoa aroma wafted through, and it was moderately sweet, making me feel like I could eat as much as I wanted.

“What is this? Why is it so delicious?”

“It’s delicious, right? I learned baking diligently for three months. I don’t know how many cookies I burnt during that time.”

As I kept stuffing my mouth with cookies, Stella looked at me with a pleased expression.

“I made it bite-sized because you always get it stuck in your mouth and eat it.”

“Oh, is that why?”

As she said, the checkered cookie was the perfect size for me to eat in one bite.

“Yeah, that’s my thoughtfulness~”

“You’ve grown a lot, Stella. You know how to be considerate.”

“What? If someone hears that, they’ll think I’m a selfish person who knows nothing about consideration.”

Even though she said that, she must have thought she had a selfish side because she coughed unnecessarily and changed the subject.

“Oh, right. Let me tell you what happened during the debut party.”

Stella, who is one year older than me, became an adult at the beginning of the year and recently finished her debut party. Come to think of it, she mentioned that something interesting happened back then.

She recounted the episode that occurred during the debut party.

“She looked at me with disdain and pretended to accidentally step on my foot, so I also pretended to accidentally step on her foot three times. She was so surprised when I said, ‘Oops, my bad!’ She had a look on her face like, ‘How can stepping on someone’s foot three times be an accident?’”

While listening to Stella’s story, I got lost in my thoughts for a moment.

Debut party.

It’s something that would never happen to me. Not only am I not particularly interested in social circles, but there’s a more fundamental reason…

I touched my short hair and glanced at myself in men’s clothing with a compression bandage.

I’m still cross-dressing.

I don’t want my fake appearance to be widely known. If that happens, I’ll have to be more focused on maintaining the fake appearance.

‘If I lived as Persis’ daughter, it wouldn’t matter…’

Even though I’m about to turn fifteen, I’m still living as a son, unable to confirm that I’m his biological child.

That’s right. I still haven’t manifested the power of the family.

The family power bestowed by Persis upon the Flotina bloodline. It manifests unexpectedly before becoming an adult, but so far, it has manifested in everyone around the age of five.

Except for one person. Me, alone.

By now, I guess it means that I’m not Persis’ true child.

Even though I have only three months left until I become an adult, the family power has not manifested, which means that I am not Persis’ true daughter by default.

It’s not like in movies or dramas, where the family power dramatically manifests just before becoming an adult.

Stella seemed to have noticed that I wasn’t fully focused on her words and changed the topic.

“Oh, by the way, I’m going shopping. Do you want to come?”

“Shopping?”

“Yeah, I haven’t bought any clothes lately, so I have nothing to wear. You can go shopping too.”

“Shopping…”

I couldn’t readily answer because the money used for shopping ultimately comes from Persis’ assets.

He considers money very important. It’s not that he’s stingy, but rather, he spends as much as he earns.

However, knowing that he values money, I don’t want to show him a wasteful side by indulging in unnecessary spending.

All the necessary items for living are already prepared by the maid, Ellen.

So if I were to go shopping, it would be considered indulgence and excessive spending on items other than necessities.

“Well…”

I was about to refuse to go shopping, but Stella pushed her own intention onto me.

“Even if you don’t have anything to buy, let’s go together. If we find something pretty, I’ll buy it for you.”

Buying something pretty… but it’s useless since I’m still cross-dressing and can’t wear…

“Let’s go now!”

“Huh?”

Stella stood up from her seat, approached me, who was caught up in negative thoughts, and immediately grabbed my hand, pulling me up. Her strength was the same as ever, strong.

“Let’s go!”

“Wait, just a moment…!”

Wait, is my opinion not important?

Before I could ask, Stella looked at me with a fierce expression. It seemed like she could easily claim the title of the world’s number one at making a lovely face look fierce.

“If you say you’re not going—”

Stella gestured by running her hand across her throat.

“I won’t let you off the hook.”

She stared at me without even blinking, as if she wouldn’t let it go. Naturally, my head nodded in response.

“I get it, so don’t give me those big eyes…”

As if my already big eyes could get any bigger. It’s scary…

“That’s how it should be.”

Stella, satisfied, smiled mischievously and took my hand, leading me outside.

* * *

Stella and I arrived in a bustling shopping district nearby. It was a place with so many clothing stores that it could be called the “Fashion Street.”

Stella tightly held my hand and pointed to a dress shop.

“Where should we start? Should we go there first?”

I wondered why she bothered asking when she was going to drag me there anyway. Nevertheless, I obediently followed her.

The white dress displayed beyond the dress shop’s window that she pointed at was beautiful.

Clank–

“Welcome.”

As soon as we entered after opening the door, the staff greeted us warmly. Stella didn’t spare a glance at the staff and immediately started exploring the dresses.

Her eyes, as she picked out dresses, sparkled as brightly as a six-year-old’s eyes when they see candy.

While browsing the dresses, Stella stopped in front of a lilac mermaid-style dress. She shook my arm as if to say, “Look at this!”

“Oh, my, this is so pretty!”

The dress had a soft color and a beautiful curved line that would make anyone exclaim in admiration.

“The color of this dress is insane—”

Stella was about to blurt out how much she loved it, but she quickly realized that she was supposed to be a noble young lady and coughed to correct herself.

“Hehe, the color of the dress makes my heart flutter, hehe.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at Stella’s behavior.

“Stop laughing and tell me how it looks from your perspective.”

When Stella poked my waist, I stopped laughing and carefully observed the dress.

“The ribbon hanging on the shoulder has a unique design, making it rare.”

“Yeah, if you don’t buy it, you’ll regret it, right? You have to buy it, no matter what?”

“You’re going to buy it regardless of what I say.”

“Yeah, of course.”

Why are you asking if you’re going to buy it anyway? Well, I can’t stop you.

Stella called the staff over and elegantly gestured to purchase the dress.

“I’ll take everything from here to there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

While the staff busily began to wrap the dress, Stella walked up to me, swaying her body, and crossed her arms.

“I’m glad I brought you along. Shopping is more fun together, right?”

“….”

“May?”

“….”

Stella focused her attention on my unresponsive self and then directed my gaze elsewhere.

There, a white dress was displayed. It was the same dress I saw in the showcase earlier.