Please Save My Child - Chapter 5

“You’re meeting the young lady for the first time. Should we pick your prettiest dress?”

“I want to wear that one! The light green dress.”

“That one might be a little small. You’ve grown a lot lately because you’ve been eating so well, Boni.”

“But I still like that one.”

“But…”

“It’s the prettiest.”

That light green dress was the first piece of clothing Reina had bought for Bonita with her wages after joining the ducal household.

The salary from the duke’s estate was an enormous sum compared to what she had earned before. If she worked diligently for a few years, she could even afford a nice house.

They say peace of mind comes from financial stability. After receiving her first paycheck, Reina took her first vacation and went to the market with Bonita.

She had wanted to buy her child beautiful clothes and treat her to delicious food.

She bought two of the sweet honey bread she had only ever looked at from a distance and a sandwich stuffed with tender chicken that didn’t have a strong smell.

She also purchased a glass jar filled with colorful candies and placed it in Bonita’s arms.

Rather than looking delighted, the child seemed flustered.

Reina worried—was this not what Bonita wanted?

They wandered for a while before stopping at a clothing store.

Reina picked out three sets of everyday clothes for Bonita and then told her she could choose the most beautiful dress she could find as a special gift. She wanted to give her a memory that would last.

Bonita spent a long time browsing before finally picking one.

Her choice of a light green dress was completely unexpected.

She had stared at dresses adorned with big ribbons, sparkling gemstones, vibrant layers of fabric, and frilly designs. But in the end, she chose a relatively simple light green dress.

The only notable features were a single layer of lace at the hem and a yellow ribbon decoration.

Reina had hesitantly suggested other options, but Bonita insisted that this dress was the best and refused to consider anything else.

In the end, Reina couldn’t win against Bonita’s stubbornness.

Anticipating that the child would grow quickly, she bought a slightly loose-fitting version of the dress.

“…Hmm.”

After a long moment of thought, Reina asked, “Shall we try it on now?”

“Mm!”

Bonita retrieved the light green dress from the wardrobe.

She only wore it on special occasions, but thanks to Reina’s careful maintenance, it had not a single wrinkle.

Reina removed Bonita’s nightwear and helped her into the dress.

“It’s a little tight now…”

Bonita really had grown a lot over the past year.

“Hmm…”

Reina lightly held Bonita’s hand and moved her arm.

The sleeves were definitely shorter than before.

“Should we take this opportunity to buy some new clothes?”

“A-ah, no, it’s fine.”

“But Boni, you need new clothes anyway. Winter is coming again soon.”

“That’s why we don’t need to buy them now!”

Bonita shook her head vigorously.

“T-this is for spring and fall anyway… I wouldn’t wear it in winter.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Right? And what if I grow like a bear over the winter? If we buy clothes now, I won’t get to wear them much, so I’ll just wear this one.”

“…Is that so?”

“Mm!”

When Reina asked again with a doubtful expression, Bonita noticeably relaxed and nodded.

“Alright. Boni is smarter than Mom, so you must be right.”

“Hehe.”

Bonita carefully folded the dress and put on her nightwear again.

Then, she finally started nibbling on the cookies that had been sitting on the wooden desk before throwing herself onto the bed and hugging Reina tightly.

“Boni, since you ate cookies, you need to brush your teeth before bed.”

“Mmm… I’m just being lazy for a little while.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yeah. They say taking breaks makes life richer—it’s like oiling it up.”

“Where did you learn such difficult words?”

“Hehe.”

Reina knew Bonita was only making excuses because she was sleepy, but she smiled nonetheless.

Yes, Boni is a very clever child, after all.

In the end, Bonita fell asleep just like that.

Reina decided to let it slide for tonight and extinguished the lantern.

It wasn’t a particularly cold night.

***

The very day after Estelle said she wanted to meet Bonita, the meeting was arranged.

Reina marveled at how quickly the ducal household worked, but then again, since the only young lady of the estate had made the request, it was natural for preparations to be swift.

‘After all, I am just a maid of the Winternight Ducal House.’

Perhaps if she had been an esteemed royal or a distant-traveling mage, things might have been different.

But Reina was just a maid—nothing special.

If anything set her apart, it was that she was actually someone else who had inherited Reina’s memories and that she had been lucky enough to become a maid in the duke’s household despite having no connections.

“Ah, h-hello!”

Estelle was anxiously waiting for Reina and Bonita in the lavishly decorated room set up for the meeting.

The moment they entered, she jumped up from the sofa and greeted them.

“I’m Estelle. Estelle Winternight.”

“…Ah.”

Bonita hadn’t expected Estelle to approach her so openly. Flustered, she hesitated before lifting the hem of her dress and bowing.

“My name is Bonita. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Estelle looked surprised by Bonita’s unexpectedly polite demeanor.

“Oh, um… Y-you don’t have to be so formal.”

It seemed that Estelle simply wanted to meet someone her own age.

After all, everyone in this mansion was an adult who treated her with strict formality.

People needed time to process their emotions, and kindness was an emotion too.

Only Reina noticed that Estelle felt uneasy about the unexplainable kindness from adults.

The people working in this mansion had never known the terror of starvation.

They had never felt the relentless anxiety of checking every night to see if the door would hold through the winter.

They had never experienced the desperate struggle of gathering firewood just to boil water because clean drinking water was unavailable.

Reina gently patted Bonita’s shoulder.

Understanding her mother’s intent, Bonita quickly dropped the clumsy imitation of noble etiquette and instead smiled brightly at Estelle.

“But please allow me to use honorifics, Miss. You are an esteemed young lady of this household.”

“…Mm! Th-that’s fine, then…”

Seeing Bonita’s now childlike smile, Estelle also brightened.

She took Bonita’s hand and led her to the spot where she had been sitting moments ago.

“Do you like these?”

“Wow…”

On the table were colorful macarons, cherries preserved in sugar with fresh cream, bite-sized pancakes dusted with cheese powder and drizzled with maple syrup, tarts piled with mandarins, various shaped cookies, pudding, and a selection of drinks.

Clearly, the people in the mansion had put great effort into preparing this, knowing how much Estelle had been looking forward to meeting Bonita.

These days, their financial situation had improved, so Reina had been able to buy Bonita occasional treats.

However, Bonita didn’t eat sweets often.

She never particularly sought them out and preferred full meals instead.

At least, that was what Reina had believed—until she saw Bonita’s eyes sparkle at the colorful desserts.

For a brief moment, Reina’s heart fluttered.

“This is my favorite.”

Eager to befriend Bonita, Estelle picked up a beautifully crafted pudding and handed it to her.

The glossy surface of the pudding shimmered under the light, and when scooped with a spoon, its soft texture was immediately evident.

Bonita accepted the pudding and took a bite.

The silky texture melted in her mouth, spreading a subtle vanilla flavor.

Bonita’s cheeks flushed as she alternated glances between the pudding and Estelle.

“There’s more, so let’s eat together.”

“T-that…”

Bonita hesitated, then glanced at Reina.

“That…”

“Hmm?”

“I can’t eat too many sweets. Please have more instead, Miss.”

“…Really?”

Estelle looked disappointed.

“Then how about a cookie? The chef said these aren’t too sweet.”

“That… sounds good!”

Bonita picked up a plain whole wheat cookie and smiled in relief.

“……”

Why did the sight feel so painful to Reina?

Perhaps the chef had prepared too much—no matter how much they ate, the desserts never seemed to diminish.

At Estelle’s insistence, Reina also took a seat, quietly observing the two girls.

Estelle seemed to have taken a great liking to Bonita.

Beaming, she glanced back and forth between Bonita and Reina.

The two looked strikingly similar, almost as if they had been stamped from the same mold.

The slightly downturned eyes, the delicate features—everything was so alike.

As if playing a spot-the-difference game, Estelle studied them carefully before asking, “Did Bonita get her eye color from her father?”

“…Huh?”

Estelle’s question was purely out of curiosity.

But at that moment, Reina’s face stiffened in surprise.

“I was told I look exactly like my mother—my hair, my eyes, even my face. If I had inherited even a little of His Grace’s features, I might have looked more like his family…”

“……”

Estelle trailed off and absentmindedly fiddled with her white hair.

Bonita watched her for a moment before mumbling hesitantly, “…Yes…”

Stretching out words like that was considered improper, but Reina didn’t scold her.

She simply stood behind Estelle, working to steady her expression.

“Then it must be easy to tell who your parents are.”

Unaware of the situation, Estelle sounded envious.

It was clear that some vassals doubted whether she was truly the duke’s daughter, simply because she bore no resemblance to him.

Bonita hesitated before speaking again, “M-my… My father… passed away in an accident around the time I was born. That’s what M—Mother told me.”

“……!”

The moment Bonita said those words, Estelle gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.

She quickly turned to Reina, checking her reaction.

“I-I’m sorry… I… I didn’t know…”

“No, Miss, you have nothing to apologize for. Besides, that was a very long time ago.”

Once, Bonita had asked Reina about her biological father.

Reina had feared that telling her the truth would hurt her.

So, she had lied.

She had told Bonita that her father had been waiting for her to be born but had passed away before he could meet her.