* * *

Today’s game was a tactile game. It was a game of painting freely on the long white cloth that Sarah had spread out with paint that had a jelly-like texture. Of course, it was not the brush that applied the paint, but the whole body, including the hands and feet. Sarah laughed out loud as she watched Claude roll over the fabric, already excited and with paint all over his body. Then she recommended it to Ethan, who was also looking at it with satisfaction.

“Duke, hurry up and do it, too.”

“……I’m okay.”

“You promised to play together!”

Claude, who came running as he watched Sarah pulling Ethan’s arm, also responded.

“That’s right!”

Claude put his handprints on Ethan’s clothes so that he couldn’t resist any longer. Seeing the yellow handprints on his clothes, Ethan froze on the spot. Seeing him like that, Sarah also grinned and put paint on her hands.

“Ta-da!”

Sarah’s fingers, dipped in red paint, grazed the side of Ethan’s lips.

“……!”

Veron, who had been watching Ethan who had suddenly painted his face, widened his eyes in surprise.

‘Can, can she do that to Master?’

It was at the moment when Veron hurriedly took out a handkerchief for him to wipe his face and was about to deliver it.

“So it’ll come out like this.”

Ethan, who smiled softly, took a bucket of paint and sprayed it on Sarah and Claude.

“Kyah!”

“Woahh!”

Sarah and Claude screamed and ran away.

“Haha!”

Ethan laughed loudly as if he was delighted to see their urgent retreating back. Then he backed away when he saw Claude approaching with a bucket of paint the size of his body from the distance.

“I should run away.”

Ethan ran into the garden without looking back. Claude, who missed the target, changed his target and rushed towards Sarah.

“Ash, Young Master Claude! This is too much!”

The sound of laughter containing Sarah’s screams that followed immediately echoed brightly under the warm sunlight. Ethan knew that Claude had given up on him, and she cautiously took a seat at the table overlooking the two of them.

“Master, are you okay?”

Veron came and handed Ethan a handkerchief along with a mirror. Ethan accepted them and answered.

“Of course I’m okay. It’s fun now.”

“Is that so?”

At Ethan’s soft reply, Veron wiped his chest as if he was relieved. Ethan looked at his face in the mirror that Veron had handed him. He stared blankly for a moment at the thin red solid line on his lips.

“……”

It was like blood running down his lips, and he put his head down on the table.

“Master?!”

Veron went up to him in surprise, but Ethan said nothing and motioned for him to go away. Veron, who immediately recognized the meaning, looked at Ethan with a worried gaze while stepping back.

‘As Sir Harper said. I heard he’s been doing that often these days.’

Veron remembered what Jade had said. It was said that sometimes His Lord thought about something blankly and then banged his head on the table. He didn’t believe it, but seeing it before his eyes made him even more worried.

“……Haa.”

Ethan sighed deeply, not caring what Veron thought from behind. Sarah might not remember, but the red marks on his lips reminded him of her. It was the memory of Sarah, who couldn’t breathe because of her blood, and he was kissing her and breathing into her mouth.

“I’m going crazy.”

Ethan mumbled bitterly, raised his head, and looked at Sarah, who was smiling brightly from afar. His eyes twitched softly, and whenever he heard the sound of her sweet, clear laugh, he overlapped with his memories of that time, and his heart beat irregularly. Every time Sarah intermittently looked where he was and met his eyes, he could feel his stiff lips softening as if it wasn’t his.

“……”

He was aware of his changes better than anyone else. No doubt, this was love.

“Duke, look at this!”

“……?”

Sarah, who made eye contact with him, sprinted over and held out something. It was a picture of a child’s palm expressing leaves on a branch drawn on a piece of white cloth.

“Our dear Young Master Claude, is he a genius?”

“Would it be okay if he was my son?”

“I know. How in the world is he so talented in art?”

Sarah was excited and chatted about Claude’s talent and the artistry of this painting. Seeing her like that, pat, Ethan tapped her and said.

“I’m better at it.”

“Pardon?”

“It means I can draw better.”

“That’s right. Young Master Claude is still a child, and the Duke is an adult.”

As if he had said something so obvious, Sarah tilted her head and then turned around and ran back to Claude. Looking at her innocent back, Ethan thought. So, obviously, this was an unrequited love.

* * *

Despite Ethan’s efforts to avoid him, he ended up drenched in paint. It was because Claude, who had paint all over his body, hugged him. Now that he knew how to jump into his father’s arms without hesitation, Claude was relentless.

“Ahahaha!”

Claude laughed loudly and stamped his feet in Ethan’s arms. It was so good for him to be a mess, for his father who pretended to be a mess, and for Sarah, who was a mess more severely than he was.

“Did you have fun today, Young Master Claude?”

“Yes!”

At Sarah’s question, Claude nodded strongly. Just by seeing his red cheeks and hearing his excited breathing, she could see how excited the child was.

“Since you had a lot of fun, it’s time to go study with me.”

“Uh ooh.”

Claude liked spending time with Sarah, but he didn’t like studying time very much. Sarah was a very sweet nanny, but she was also a very strict teacher.

“Master, we have a guest here.”

Just in time, Veron approached Ethan and said. Now his playtime was over.

“Then I should let you go.”

“Yes……”

Claude pursed his lips, but quietly came down from Ethan’s arms. Gently stroking the child’s hair, Sarah snapped her fingers. Then her azure mana enveloped Claude, and his clothes that had been soaked with paints became very clean.

“Wow!”

It happened many times when he was with Sarah, but Claude burst into admiration as if curiously every time. It was the same for the servants of Ambrosia. With a single gesture of Sarah, the paints that had splashed all over the garden disappeared, and the grass, flowers, and small branches that were crushed by Claude’s rolling came back as before. Whenever this happened, Claude would realize that his nanny was a magician.

“Sarah, I’ll be in your care, too.”

Like Claude, Ethan, who was drenched in paint, also asked her. But Sarah looked at him playfully and shook her head.

“You’re very cool right now.”

“To greet guests like this…….”

Ethan raised his arms and said, but Sarah smiled and shrugged as if she had no intention of making him clean.

“If it seems that way in Sarah’s eyes, then so be it.”

Ethan eventually gave up and lowered his arms. It was probably impossible, but Sarah smiled again and snapped her fingers because he looked somewhat sullen.

“……!”

Then, like Claude, Ethan also became a neat figure with no traces of paint left. Ethan, who had really given up and was about to prepare on his own, blinked for a moment and then smiled briefly.

“Thank you, Sarah.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ethan said, stroking Claude’s hair with such a clean state.

“I’ll be back, so you have to listen to others carefully.”

“Yes! See you later!”

Claude turned and watched Ethan’s back as he and Veron exit the garden until the end. After looking at him like that, when he couldn’t see his back, he ran in front of Sarah and boasted with his eyes shining.

“Father patted my hair! He even said he would come back!”