Chapter 102
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Chapter 102
Knock, knock.
"Mmm...."
I burrowed deeper into my plush blanket to escape the sound.
But even the thick quilting couldn't muffle Curtis Rohan's voice drifting through the crack in the door.
"Vivian, aren't you getting up?"
"Ten more minutes... or maybe just five...."
"You said you wanted to wake up early to watch the sunrise, and you specifically asked me to wake you."
"Oh!"
At the mention of the sunrise, my eyes flew open.
'The sunrise on New Year's Day!'
A few days ago, after Curtis Rohan took time off, Aunt had done the same.
Of course, since the Prime Minister was handling the Emperor's duties, she couldn't be away for long—just two nights and three days.
Our family arrived at the Villa near the Capital last night for our New Year's holiday.
We'd left right after Aunt left the palace, arriving in the darkness of night, so we'd eaten dinner and fallen straight asleep....
Now I was awake.
'Come to think of it, didn't it snow on the way here yesterday?'
I jumped up and rushed to the window, gasping involuntarily at the sight before me.
"Wow."
The Villa nestled in the Forest at dawn was a picturesque scene, with a serene Lake and coniferous trees densely packed beyond it in perfect harmony.
And above it all, a blanket of pristine white snow completed the winter landscape.
Snow had been common in my past life, but the Rural Village where I'd lived in this life was temperate, so it rarely snowed even in winter.
Even when it fell once or twice, it melted away quickly, so seeing snow accumulate like this was incredibly rare.
"Princess, your father definitely woke you up, didn't he? No complaining later."
Lost in these new feelings, I belatedly remembered Curtis Rohan standing outside the door and rushed to open it.
There stood Curtis Rohan, Rowswide's pride, still boasting that flower-like beauty of his.
"No, I'm up!"
"What's this, young lady in your nightclothes? You'll catch a cold. Go put on a proper outer robe."
As always, I pretended to be helpless against Curtis Rohan's endless nagging and grabbed whatever blanket was within reach to drape over myself.
When I climbed to the top floor of the Villa with Curtis Rohan, I saw an enormous window overlooking the Lake.
Aunt was waiting within that view.
"Your determination has surpassed Roper's, Vivian."
Despite the early hour, Aunt sat sipping tea with her usual impeccable composure.
"I surpassed Roper?"
"That man succumbed to sleep."
Now that I thought about it, Roper, who'd come on the trip with us, was nowhere to be seen.
My lips curved into a mischievous smile at this realization.
'I'll have to tease him when he wakes up.'
Ever since it was revealed that I was Curtis Rohan's daughter, Roper had become servile whenever he saw me.
It seemed to be karmic retribution for his past behavior.
And now that the tables had turned, I was thoroughly enjoying teasing Roper.
"Hehe. Once I rely on my abilities, there's no one who can beat me."
"For someone so confident, you seemed pretty out of it for quite a while there..."
Just as I was pretending not to hear Curtis Rohan's jab, I noticed the dawn slowly breaking through the window.
"Oh! The sun's rising!"
As I watched the first sunrise of the new year paint the blue snowy landscape in gold, I closed my eyes and clasped my hands together.
'Please let the people I love be happy this year too.'
My thoughts passed through Lahedis and the Duke, my Aunt, and countless other faces...
And even Curtis Rohan.
When I opened my eyes after making my wish, I saw those golden eyes gazing at me as always.
Those eyes that made me realize in every moment just how abundantly loved I was.
"What wish did you make this year?"
I smiled softly and gave the same answer I'd given Curtis Rohan every year.
"It's a secret."
* * *
After lunch.
When I mentioned wanting to try ice fishing, Curtis Rohan and Roper followed along.
"Ice fishing? Well, Curtis Rohan's an expert at that too. Half a day should be enough to catch plenty for our dinner, right?"
Curtis Rohan had been boasting about his ice fishing skills ever since we left the Villa.
But the way I looked at him was decidedly skeptical.
'...I've never seen Curtis Rohan do anything well besides fighting.'
Given that he'd stuck to the bakery his whole life with those baking skills, it was...
Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking that, because Roper challenged him.
"You're good at ice fishing? I've never seen it."
"We were apart for a whole 20 years, Roper. I've had plenty of time to hone my fishing skills."
"Well, you've always been full of hot air, so I can't trust it until I see it with my own eyes..."
"Was Curtis Rohan like that before too?"
"Don't even get me started. He was always full of enthusiasm, but I've never seen him do anything well besides fighting."
Roper, now comfortable with teasing me, shook his head as he assessed Curtis Rohan.
'Hmm, that matches my evaluation exactly.'
I nodded in deep agreement with Roper's assessment when a snowball suddenly flew through the air and struck Roper's chest.
"I challenge you to a duel for insulting me."
It was a snowball thrown by Curtis Rohan.
Roper, caught off guard, blinked and stared at Curtis Rohan with a bewildered expression.
"What is this, so childish... I'm not doing it. Let's just go fishing―"
Thwack!
Another snowball flew at Roper's back as he turned to leave, ignoring Curtis Rohan's challenge.
"Are you scared you'll lose to me, Roper?"
"Ha, who's scared?! Fine, let's do it!"
Oh, for heaven's sake.
Here I was, watching two men in their late thirties bicker like children.
I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment at their juvenile antics, and I was quietly trying to slip away when—
"Vivian, where are you going?"
Curtis Rohan caught on with uncanny precision and grabbed my ankle.
"I don't want to get caught up in you two acting so childishly—"
But before I could finish, a snowball came flying and struck my shoulder.
"Our little princess is a coward. I didn't raise you that way."
...That's actually kind of infuriating?!
"Who's a coward?"
I rolled up my sleeves and threw myself into the snowball fight.
'With two of us, we should at least beat one of them!'
I teamed up with Roper to balance the odds, but the result was....
"Wow, Roper, you're really terrible at snowball fights. I can't believe you're on my team!"
"I've been studying so much my athletic reflexes have atrophied! You inherited such superior blood—why are you so bad at this?"
"I must take after Mother!"
Only Roper and I ended up covered in snow.
Curtis Rohan watched us blame each other with a triumphant expression, then picked up the fishing rod and bucket he'd set down.
"Now that I've reclaimed my honor, let me prove my real skill."
"That honor will be tarnished soon enough. I'm better at fishing than you."
"Don't you know beginners always have luck on their side? I'll definitely come in first!"
After the first round ended, our competitive spirits ignited, and we bickered about who was better as we headed toward the lake.
And the result was....
* * *
"...So, the three of you caught only this in half a day?"
That evening, when we returned home, my Aunt examined our bucket with a bewildered expression.
Inside the bucket was a single fish—far too small to eat.
"When you left, you were going on as if you'd drain every fish from the entire lake...."
"I didn't say that. Dain did."
"Did I? I don't remember."
The two men, acting well below their age, were still bickering about whose fault it was.
My Aunt, watching them with exasperation, pointed to the fish in the bucket with a glance and asked.
"So who caught this one?"
"I did."
I raised my hand proudly.
Whether it was truly beginner's luck or not, I'd managed to catch just one fish before we packed up the rod.
"You're better than those two with their mouths hanging open, Vivian. Though you're not planning to split this one fish among four people, are you?"
"I'm going to release it tomorrow. I just brought it to show you."
"Good choice."
My Aunt smiled and gently stroked my cheek. I grinned at her tender touch.
"Then I'll need to change tonight's menu from fish."
"The evening menu has already been decided, so there's no need to worry."
The Butler responded immediately upon hearing my Aunt's words.
As if he had foreseen that Curtis Rohan and Roper would fail at fishing.
'Indeed, an experienced butler is something else.'
Thanks to the Butler's perfect prediction (?), we finished dinner without incident.
It was then, as I patted my full belly and pondered what to do next for fun.
"Vivian. Want to go with Dad and release this little guy?"
A bucket hung from Curtis Rohan's hand as he asked.
* * *
On the path toward the lake.
Vivian walked while swinging Dain's captured hand back and forth, looking happier than ever.
Noticing this, Dain let out a soft chuckle and asked.
"Are you really enjoying the trip that much?"
"Yeah. I hope we can come every season from now on... no, every winter, every spring, every summer, every autumn—once each season."
In that moment, the smile vanished from Dain's lips as he gazed at his daughter, brimming with such anticipation.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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