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Chapter 18: Your Mother Was Happy to Have You

The couple exchanged a comedic conversation.

"He's been acting really strange for a while now."

Soon, Janice's testimony followed.

"Where has that brat been normal for even a day? Lark, your father has been strange since he was little."

The old lady shook her head, saying she didn't know how a baby could have such a picky personality.

Before long, the topic of conversation had drifted to gossip about Garren's personality. Janice suddenly recalled the question she'd had earlier.

"But, Grandma, what did Mother see in Mister?"

"...His face?"

After some thought, the old lady answered.

"For all his faults, he's a Duke, he has wealth, and he's trained in martial arts..."

"But he's mean."

"That's right. His personality isn't good. When it comes to a husband, nothing else matters—the most important thing is a man who listens to you and has an easygoing nature."

The old lady was giving early education.

"Find a man like me, Lark. If our cuckoo told me to die, I'd die."

The old Duke tried some self-promotion.

"Oh, you!"

"That's how much I need you, my cuckoo. I can't live without you."

The couple had once again retreated into their own world.

Janice muttered quietly to herself that her grandparents were wonderful people, but somehow looking at them made her feel like she'd break out in hives.

But that aside, the old couple loved each other in their own way, and Janice refocused on the portrait.

Her birth mother in the portrait was still cool even looking at her again. Janice suddenly grew curious.

What story did you have, that you became a cross-dressing woman, entered an all-boys' school, and became an unwed mother!

Imagining the feelings her birth mother must have had when she entered that school as a cross-dresser—ambition and such—Janice couldn't even begin to imagine what she must have felt going through pregnancy and childbirth alone, and eventually facing death.

...She must have hated me, right?

Janice was wearing a gloomy expression, wondering why in both her past and present lives she always seemed to ruin someone's life—when Garren spoke.

"Kid, stop thinking useless thoughts again!"

When had he even come beside her? Garren flicked Janice's head with his finger and scolded her.

"Oh, no, I wasn't thinking useless thoughts!"

"Yes, you were."

"I wasn't!"

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say."

Garren rubbed Janice's head vigorously with his large hand. Janice's body swayed back and forth with his movements.

Janice, who had been shaking like a reed, glared at him fiercely. But then Garren said, as if letting it slip:

"She would have been happy."

"...?"

"Happy to have you. ...If she hadn't been, she'd have gotten rid of you earlier. Why would she have given birth? Oh, do you know what 'getting rid of' means? If a mother doesn't want a baby, she can kill it before it's born..."

He didn't mean any harm. Garren was trying to comfort Janice. He also wanted to tell her that Chloe, her mother, had wanted her and given birth to her. But...

"You bastard! Is that something to say in front of a child? Shut that mouth!"

He hadn't considered that it was too stimulating a concept to tell a seven-year-old.

"Ack! Father, that hurts! Ack!"

The old Duke clamped his hand over Garren's mouth. Janice, who had been lost in her own thoughts and hadn't realized what conversation had gone on beside her, was startled by the sudden scream and looked at the commotion.

She had been mulling over what Garren had said to her—that her mother must have been happy to have her—so she had no idea why Garren was getting hit again.

And in the midst of it all, the old lady was nervously glancing at Janice.

At this point, it was easy to guess. While she was lost in thought, Garren must have said something outrageous again.

...But what could he have said in that situation that was bad? What on earth did he say?

Janice tilted her head in confusion. But only for a moment—she decided not to be curious about words that she didn't need to hear.

She knew Garren's mouth was too loose, and more than anything, what he'd just said to her made Janice very grateful.

―She would have been happy.

―...?

―Happy to have you.

Even though she hadn't said anything, Garren had given Janice the words she most wanted to hear in the world.

Whatever Garren had said just now, Janice felt she could forgive him for that one sentence alone.

---

After that day, the old couple began to think about Janice's proper upbringing.

The best solution would be to get rid of Garren, but since he was nominally her father, they couldn't do that entirely. And Janice was still too young for a private tutor.

"Then what about finding her a good friend? Janice would be less bored too. And if she's surrounded by children her age, her gloominess might ease a little!"

After much deliberation, the old couple decided to find Janice a good playmate. But when it came time to call a suitable child, they couldn't find one.

None of the people the old Duke and old lady knew had children Janice's age.

Their acquaintances' children were far too old compared to Janice, and when they tried to find grandchildren, they either hadn't been born yet, or the one they barely found was all the way out in the provinces.

"Ah! Cuckoo, I heard that the cousin of your adjutant's in-law has an eight-year-old daughter."

"If you mean the daughter of Count Franklin, don't even think about it. She's not a match for our granddaughter."

She was a kind and good child, but putting Janice on the same level as a girl so sensitive that she'd cry at a leaf trembling in the wind was difficult.

Finding a playmate who could match Janice—well-fed, sturdy, brave, spirited, and clever—wasn't easy.

"...She needs to have strong mental fortitude and be good at arguing. Let's add that too."

Garren, nicknamed "Cursed Mouth" in his childhood, used to make even adults cry, let alone children his age.

When Janice argued with Garren, anyone could see she was his daughter.

The old couple didn't want a repeat of the past nightmare. So they agonized and agonized.

But finding a kind, easygoing playmate like Fernando—who used to stick by Garren's side no matter what he said—was not easy.

After much deliberation, the old couple summoned Fernando. They asked if he knew any child Janice's age who could be with her, regardless of family or wealth. Fernando answered:

"There is one, but..."

"There is? Who? What kind of child? Can you bring them?"

The old couple said they'd spare no support for that child if they would be Janice's playmate—not just for growth and education, but even for their family if needed.

Fernando scratched his cheek and said:

"There is one, but she's a bit too clever..."

"Better than stupid. How wonderful that she's smart."

"...She's a lot clever."

"Our granddaughter is clever too—they'd make good friends."

"She has a sharp tongue..."

"Sharper than Garren's? And you're introducing her, so how wonderful could she be!"

Thinking of his niece, who was practically a miniature copy of Garren, Fernando rolled his eyes.

She probably wasn't sharper than Garren—but she wasn't mild either...

Still, his niece definitely needed a playmate too.

―Oh, I'm so frustrated!

―Why?

―Why do you think? It's your niece. Who does she take after, that she makes other children cry like that? I swear, what's wrong with her!

He recalled his sister's lament—that every playmate she brought over ended up crying and running away, and now no children even came near.

With a personality like that, how can she make friends? I'm heavily pregnant and already exhausted—your niece is going to be the death of me. Do you know any child around her age who could be her playmate? He could even hear his sister's voice crying out.

Surely Janice could be good friends with his niece. There was no way Janice, who didn't back down even to Garren, would lose to her!

"...I'll bring her tomorrow. Well, other support isn't necessary... She'd be happy to have a playmate. Probably."

So, my sister.

If someone would just be his niece's playmate, his sister would immediately pack her bags and toss his niece at him like a bowling ball.

Though she was a little devil only within the family, she could pretend to be a good child in front of strangers or people she liked... so it might be fine for now?

Hiding a few truths, Fernando recommended his niece as Janice's playmate. The old couple was overjoyed at the news that there was a suitable child.

And so Janice's playmate was decided—without the consent of the parties involved.

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