Special Side Story 4

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Dahlia, Joshua, and Eloise sat facing each other in the parlor.

“Hayden, could you prepare some snacks?”

“Understood.”

“It’s been a while, Hayden!”

Dahlia cheerfully waved her hand to greet Hayden.

The head maid of the Rochester duchy, Hayden, lit up with a warm smile at the familiar greeting.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Princess.”

With a polite bow, Hayden gave Dahlia a gentle smile.

“That’s right. Since the princess is here today, let’s bring out the chocolate chip cookies.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Dahlia’s face brightened with excitement.

As for Joshua…

“Good grief.”

Eloise held back the urge to click her tongue.

Joshua couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Dahlia.

His cheeks were now flushed pink, as if the mere fact that she was sitting next to him was enough to make him melt with joy.

Noticing his gaze, Dahlia squinted her eyes at him and turned to face him directly.

“What’s with the look? Got something to say?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Hmm.”

Dahlia scanned him up and down before crossing her arms and asking,

“So, how long are you planning to stay here?”

“Pardon?”

“I need to have a private talk with Aunt Rose.”

Joshua’s face instantly fell, as if the world had come crashing down around him.

“…You’re saying you’re going to leave me out of it?”

He looked at her with tearful eyes, so pitiful that it could melt even the hardest of hearts.

But Dahlia didn’t bat an eye.

“Yep.”

“Princess!”

“It’s a very important matter.”

Dahlia waved her hand dismissively, clearly annoyed.

“So, little kids shouldn’t interrupt. Go away.”

Meanwhile, Eloise, who had been silently observing the exchange, was trying her best to stifle her laughter.

The whole situation was simply hilarious, starting with Dahlia’s comment about “little kids shouldn’t interrupt.”

The irony was not lost on Eloise—Dahlia was actually a few months younger than Joshua.

Still, even putting that aside…

“I never thought I’d see Joshua this flustered.”

Eloise was one of the few people who knew just how cold and dismissive Joshua could be with his peers.

And now, seeing her cunning nephew utterly out of his depth like this was endlessly amusing.

Meanwhile, Joshua’s face was a portrait of injustice.

“Why does Princess Dahlia only like Aunt Rose?!”

“Uh, what?”

“I want to spend time with Princess Dahlia too!”

Joshua’s deep green eyes shimmered with moisture, like a rain-soaked forest.

The genuinely sorrowful expression on his face left Dahlia utterly bewildered.

What’s gotten into him now?

“No, it’s just that…”

A slightly deflated Dahlia began to soothe Joshua.

“It’s not like I only like Aunt Rose. It’s just, you know, the situation…”

But Eloise couldn’t help but notice it.

The true face of Joshua, who only appeared innocent and harmless.

From behind Dahlia, Joshua’s eyes gleamed sharply as he glared at Eloise…

“Alright, fine. I’m sorry, okay?”

“Isn’t that apology a little too half-hearted?!”

“Then what do you expect me to do?!”

Frustrated, Dahlia raised her voice.

Joshua, on the other hand, replied with feigned indifference.

“What’s the secret conversation you have to have alone with Aunt Rose?”

“Uh, um?”

“I want to hear that secret too.”

“……”

Dahlia let out a small groan under her breath and furrowed her brow, shooting a sideways glance at Joshua.

“You’ll keep the secret, right?”

“Of course!”

Joshua nodded earnestly, his expression the picture of innocence.

After staring at him suspiciously for a while, Dahlia finally let out a deep sigh.

“Well, you’ve never broken a promise with me before, so…”

Seeing Dahlia this serious piqued Eloise’s curiosity too.

“So, what’s the big secret?”

At that moment, Dahlia clasped her hands tightly over her chest.

Then, with a deliberate blink of her pretty eyes, she looked up at Eloise.

“Aunt Roseee.”

Gasp.

Eloise momentarily held her breath.

That sugary, affectionate tone.

Those endearing, sparkling eyes!

“Like mother, like daughter—she’s just like our Charlotte when she was young!”

Unable to resist the urge to embrace Dahlia right then and there, Eloise’s hands twitched unconsciously.

“Well, Dahlia has something she really wants to dooo,” Dahlia said, referring to herself in the third person as she smiled bashfully.

Watching her, Eloise was suddenly swept up in nostalgia.

She vividly remembered five-year-old Charlize, as clear as if it had happened yesterday.

When Eloise would occasionally lose track of time, buried in work, Charlize would quietly come find her.

“Sister Rose.”

“Charlize wants some cookies.”

“Can’t you have tea with Charlize… just this once?”

She’d been so cute, Eloise had wanted to just eat her up!

“Haa, Dahlia.”

Eloise sighed deeply, her cheeks resting in her hands.

“It’s such a relief you take after Charlize and not His Majesty the Emperor…”

“Mm, that’s true.”

Dahlia completely forgot about acting cute and nodded in agreement.

“Otherwise, whenever I see His Majesty, I’d just stand there stupidly, completely out of it, wouldn’t I?”

“……”

Um, Dahlia.

Isn’t that a bit too harsh an evaluation for a ten-year-old to make about her father?

“Anyway.”

Clearing her throat a couple of times, Eloise redirected the conversation.

“So, what brings our little Dahlia all the way here today?”

Ah, time to act cute again.

Quickly coming to her senses, Dahlia started fluttering her big eyes.

“Wellll…”

Dahlia drew out her words, her tone syrupy sweet.

“I want to throw His Majesty a surprise birthday partyyy.”

…Wait a minute, Dahlia.

Weren’t you just complaining earlier about how His Majesty becomes overly doting when it comes to Charlize?

And now, you’ve come all the way to the Rochester ducal estate to say…

“Like father, like daughter.”

Imagining Dahlia’s reaction if she realized this herself, Eloise let out a small chuckle.

“I already spoke to Grandmother and secured a venueee,” Dahlia continued.

“And?”

“Well, I also need to decorate the place and prepare the food…”

Flutter, flutter, flutter.

Dahlia blinked rapidly, her big eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Could Aunt Rose maybe, just maybe, help out a little bitty bit?”

Meanwhile, someone was gazing at Dahlia in absolute admiration.

It was none other than Joshua.

“That boy, Joshua, he’s completely hopeless.”

Eloise shook her head internally as she noticed Joshua’s flushed cheeks, now as red as apples.

But still.

“I was already planning to celebrate Charlize’s birthday anyway.”

Eloise couldn’t help it; she was part of the imperial family’s ‘Charlize fan club.’

Or more accurately, she was practically the founder of the “Charlize Admiration Society”…

“So, what do you need me to help with?”