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Chapter 24: When You Gain More Precious People

And so, Janice and Raymond succeeded in their escape. Perfectly.

There were moments when they nearly got caught, but Janice's intimate knowledge of Fifth Street's geography proved invaluable.

Raymond mentally applauded his past self for deciding to follow Janice, who darted through alleys like a flying squirrel.

"Why are you here?"

"...I ended up here somehow?"

Janice briefly protested—hadn't they agreed to run in opposite directions?—but the situation was already underway, so they decided to move together.

"But why does it feel like everyone's staring at us?"

"Well... let's change your clothes. And mine too. Right now, anyone can tell we're nobles. If we walk around like this, we'll get caught right away."

Perhaps because Raymond's troublemaking had been confined to the Imperial family and noble houses, he seemed unaware of how much he stood out among commoners.

Being an accomplice once didn't mean forever, and cooperating once didn't guarantee future cooperation—but you never knew what might happen.

Pleased with their collaboration, Janice decided to do Raymond a small favor.

"You have money, right?"

"Money, I..."

"Give it here."

Taking Raymond's money, Janice bought clothes. Several sets, in fact!

She bought five outfits from three different shops and changed clothes four times, aiming to confuse the bodyguards' pursuit.

They didn't just change clothes—they changed their hairstyles too.

Janice tied her hair up, while Raymond let his down and changed his part.

"I can't see well with this fringe in my eyes."

"Just leave it. Otherwise, your face will be visible."

Raymond's face was so remarkably handsome that Janice had once mistaken him for an angel.

If Raymond walked around Fifth Street with his face exposed, one of two things would happen: either his identity would be discovered and the bodyguards would catch him, or he'd get snatched by human traffickers!

"I'm a boy. Boys don't get trafficked."

"You're a male child. Male children do get trafficked."

And Raymond's face was more dangerous than most girls'.

"Why?"

"...I don't know either."

"Why?"

"Ah! I don't know!"

After bickering about not asking difficult questions, Janice and Raymond soon arrived at the central plaza on Fifth Street, where the cavalry parade was to be held.

The central plaza was far more crowded and chaotic than the entrance to Fifth Street where they'd fled the carriage.

The parade hadn't started yet, but Raymond seemed thrilled by the street stalls, the colorful banners welcoming the parade, and the people barely concealing their excitement.

And this was the place Janice had promised to bring him.

"Alright! Let's split up now."

"Now?"

"Yeah. You go your way, I'll go mine. We'll meet later at the fruit shop. Even if we get caught, don't tell them where the other went."

Garren, the old lady, and the old Duke would probably guess where Janice had gone, but saying it outright and not saying it were different things.

Janice thoroughly instructed Raymond to let her family think she'd gone to watch the "cavalry parade." Then she left without hesitation.

Perhaps because he was in an unfamiliar place, unlike his earlier ambition, Raymond seemed reluctant to part ways—but that wasn't Janice's concern.

For Janice, even bringing Raymond to the central plaza was already unprecedented consideration and concession.

"Looking forward to next time."

After laying a foundation for the future, Janice turned without regret and ran toward the familiar "home."

It had only been that she hadn't visited recently—Garren and the old couple would take her to the Bakers' house and lab whenever she wanted.

But coming with them was different from coming alone.

Whenever Janice came to the house with Garren or the old couple, she felt an inexplicable guilt. Their presence reminded her that the Bakers weren't her biological parents.

She didn't dislike Garren or the old couple—on the contrary, she liked them. But even so, the Bakers were special to Janice.

Mom, and Dad!

To Janice, "parents" meant the Bakers.

No matter how well Garren or the old couple treated her, that feeling didn't change. From the earliest moment she could remember, it was the Bakers who raised and comforted her.

Janice wanted to sit alone at the Bakers' house for the first time in a while and think of her family.

Her brisk walk turned into a jog, and soon she was running, breathless to her throat. But she didn't feel tired.

Running toward home, Janice carried longing, joy, excitement, and happiness.

Every building, every tree, every blade of grass by the roadside was achingly familiar and dear. It was hard to believe only three months had passed.

Clutching the house key she'd worn around her neck ever since Garren transferred the title to her two years ago, Janice ran.

Green roof, red brick house, brown front door!

Janice dashed to the door, opened it, and stepped inside.

A familiar sight greeted her. Janice called out with longing:

"I'm home!"

---

First, she announced her return. Then she entered the Bakers' bedroom.

In the Bakers' bedroom hung a large portrait of them—specially commissioned by Garren two years ago, when Janice had been lost and grieving after learning of their murder.

Though the Bakers' cousin had lived there and destroyed everything, Garren had restored the furniture and interior exactly as they'd been, for Janice's sake.

There, in that place still imbued with the Bakers' presence, Janice chattered about everything that had happened.

What she'd learned, what clothes she'd bought, what gifts she'd received, how much she'd grown in height and weight, and what she'd fought with Raymond about.

She also told them how much she'd missed them.

It was a ritual, a ceremony, for days when she came home.

Whenever Janice "talked" to the Bakers, Garren and the old couple would quietly slip out of the house and sit by the front door, waiting for her to finish.

They didn't want to disturb Janice's "conversation" with the Bakers.

They respected Janice's feelings and never interrupted her talks with her adoptive parents.

But even so, when she came with them, Janice somehow couldn't bring herself to say "I love you" freely, even knowing Garren and the old couple weren't listening.

Once, so saddened by this, she told Fernando:

―You don't need to be sad, Janice. It's a good thing. It means you've gained more precious people in your life.

―How does that mean I've gained more precious people?

―Because you've come to care about Garren and your grandparents, and you care about their feelings... If it's too hard, you don't have to understand now. You'll understand later. Just don't think your adoptive parents would be sad that you couldn't say "I love you" freely. They'd actually be happy—because you've gained people who cherish you.

Even now, Janice couldn't understand what Fernando had meant that day.

That's why she'd dreamed of this day all along—a moment when she could talk to her parents without Garren and the old couple present.

Her eagerness to go to Fifth Street came partly from wanting to visit her adoptive parents' house, but that was the main reason.

Janice wanted to tell the Bakers she loved them freely, where Garren and the old couple couldn't hear.

But for some reason, her heart wasn't at ease.

Her love for the Bakers was still the same—yet even in this moment of saying "I love you" to them, Janice worried about the old couple, who would be upset and in tears by her disappearance.

And perhaps Garren was already planning to spank her.

"...Hmph."

She'd come secretly because she didn't want to think about Garren and the old couple—so why did she keep thinking about them even at the Bakers' house!

"...Mom and Dad, are you mad at me?"

Janice asked in a glum voice.

The Bakers had known only Janice, but Janice thought of another father—Garren—in front of them.

If you put it in romantic terms, this was like loving another man behind her husband's back—a terrible thing—but Janice couldn't seem to control her own heart.

"If I were you, I'd hate me a lot. I'm sorry."

Five seasons had passed since she'd come to the Ducal residence. Janice had grown two years older, turning from a seven-year-old into a nine-year-old.

But she still felt foolish and clueless despite her age, and Janice let out a small sigh.

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