“Tia!”
Hestia pergi mencari keluarganya, yang sedang menunggunya.
Begitu dia memasuki ruangan, keluarga besarnya mengerumuninya.
“Aku sudah dengar beritanya! Kau akan menjadi wali, kan?”
“Kak, benarkah kamu akan tinggal di sana mulai sekarang?”
“Ayah berubah pikiran. Dia bilang dia tidak bisa meninggalkanmu sendirian di sana.”
“Kak, kamu mau keluar rumah?”
“Tia, ayahmu bertindak gegabah. Setelah mempertimbangkan kembali, kami rasa tidak tepat bagimu untuk menjadi wali. Kami akan berbicara dengan tuan muda lagi dan…!”
“Tunggu, tunggu! Satu per satu!”
Melihat keluarganya semua berbicara bersamaan tanpa memberinya kesempatan berbicara, Hestia berteriak.
Mendengar itu, semua orang terdiam.
Hestia mendesah dan berdeham.
“Ahem, kita ada di depan tuan muda. Tolong bersikap lebih tenang.”
Dia menunjuk ke arah orang di belakangnya.
Saat mata keluarganya secara alami beralih ke sosok yang tersembunyi di balik ujung gaunnya, Leonhard muncul.
Leonhard tampak bingung, tidak terbiasa dengan suasana yang begitu bising, sangat berbeda dengan rumah tangganya sendiri.
Semua orang, kecuali Eric, terdiam, khawatir dia mungkin mendengar apa yang mereka katakan.
“Kamu punya… banyak saudara?”
“Termasuk aku, ada empat orang. Ini pertama kalinya kau melihat mereka semua, kan?”
Leonhard, yang baru bertemu Derrick sebelumnya, tidak menyadari keluarga Frost begitu besar.
Saat Leonhard berdiri di sana dengan canggung, Hestia dengan lembut meletakkan tangannya di bahunya dan memperkenalkan keluarganya.
“Seperti yang kalian tahu, ini ayahku, Derrick Frost, dan ibuku, Anna Frost.”
Derrick tersenyum canggung, dan Anna mengangkat ujung gaunnya dan membungkuk ringan.
“Ini anak kedua tertua, Elvin, anak ketiga, Annie, dan anak bungsu kami, Eric. Mereka masing-masing berusia 13, 10, dan 8 tahun.”
“Hah?”
Leonhard menatapnya dengan mata terbelalak, dan Hestia tersenyum.
“Ya, Eric seumuran denganmu. Anak-anak, sambut tuan muda.”
“Senang bertemu denganmu. Aku Elvin Frost.”
“Aku yang ketiga, Annie Frost.”
“Saya Eric Frost! Saya ingin mengenal Anda lebih jauh!”
Mereka semua berambut coklat kemerahan, berkat sedikit darah Winston, dan mereka memiliki mata biru pucat atau coklat biasa, mengikuti jejak Anna dan Derrick.
Tak ada satu pun di antara mereka yang mirip dengan Hestia.
Leonhard sudah mendengar bahwa Hestia adalah putri tiri Derrick, jadi dia tidak terkejut.
‘Meskipun begitu, mereka memiliki atmosfer yang serupa.’
Meskipun mereka memiliki perbedaan individu, mereka semua memiliki aura khas keluarga Frost.
Merasa sangat nyaman, Leonhard mengendurkan bahunya.
“Nama saya Leonhard Winston. Saya ingin sekali bertemu dengan Anda.”
Anak-anak yang tadinya merasa gugup karena dia adalah putra seorang adipati, merasa lega oleh reaksi Leonhard yang ternyata sangat lembut.
Although Elvin and Annie, who were older, still maintained their formal manners…
“Isn’t the young master the same age as me?”
But the youngest, Eric, was different.
Excited to meet someone his own age, Eric’s eyes sparkled as Annie and Anna held him back.
“That’s true, but don’t treat him too casually. He’s still a young master.”
“You mustn’t be rude, son.”
“Hmph.”
Eric pouted in disappointment, and Leonhard, watching him, parted his lips.
“That…”
All eyes turned to Leonhard. He hesitated for a moment, looking around before speaking softly.
“I don’t mind. I want to be friends with him…”
At that, Eric’s face brightened, while the others exchanged wide-eyed glances.
‘Is this really okay?’
‘What if Eric causes any trouble?’
‘Fifty-fifty… but Eric is calmer than other kids his age.’
‘Should I keep an eye on him?’
After a brief exchange of glances, Hestia nodded. She cautiously asked Leonhard,
“Have you ever met anyone your age before?”
“There aren’t any kids my age around…”
Knowing Icarus’s protective nature, it wasn’t that he would have deliberately restricted Leonhard’s friends.
It was probably just that there hadn’t been any opportunities.
After all, you can’t just bring any child into a noble household and expect them to get along with them.
“It would be great if my youngest brother could become your friend. Would you like to play with him for a bit?”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. Kids, make sure you’re polite to the young master.”
“Yeah! Don’t worry!”
‘You’re the one I’m most worried about, kid.’
As Eric answered confidently, Hestia narrowed her eyes.
“Hehe, what do you like the most, young master? I’ve been really into playing battle games with knight figurines lately!”
“Knight figurines? What are those?”
“You don’t know about knight figurines? They’re the most popular toys right now! I’ll show you mine!”
With his natural charm, Eric approached Leonhard without hesitation.
Unable to shake a feeling of unease, Hestia kept her eyes on them.
“Sis, I’ll keep an eye on them, so don’t worry.”
“Having you there makes me feel much better.”
Annie, who was the second youngest but the most mature, followed the two boys.
Finally, Hestia had a moment to breathe, but it didn’t last long.
“Tia, did you really agree to be the guardian?”
Her family’s questions started up again. Hestia frowned at the unexpected query.
“Didn’t you tell me to become the guardian? Have you changed your mind already?”
“You really did… Yes, you did…”
Seeing Derrick slump as if his world had collapsed, Hestia was momentarily puzzled. But after listening to Anna and Elvin’s explanations, she understood what was going on.
Exasperated, Hestia put her hands on her hips.
“So you thought I was going to stay in Byron this whole time?”
“We figured you’d go back and forth between Byron and the duke’s estate…”
Since Derrick was the lord of Byron, he had to visit the estate periodically to manage his affairs. But that wasn’t the case for Hestia.
“The carriage has already left.”
“I was the one who told them that.”
At Elvin’s remark, everyone except Derrick shook their heads in dismay.
Leaving the disappointed Derrick behind, Anna cautiously approached Hestia.
“Have you spoken with the young master? What did you decide?”
“I’ll do my best as his guardian. We just signed the contract a little while ago.”
“A contract? Is that for the Imperial Court?”
“No, it’s just to prepare for any potential issues. I’ll handle the handover when I return home. I didn’t get the chance to properly finish my foundation work because I suddenly had to become a guardian.”
At Hestia’s sharp gaze, Derrick looked crestfallen.
“Sniff. Daughter, do you want to switch with me now?”
“The young master said he only wants me. Even if you wanted to switch, you can’t.”
He was the one who insisted on pushing her into the guardian role in the first place, so she couldn’t understand why he was regretting it now.
“Hestia.”
At that moment, Anna, with a worried expression, took Hestia’s hand.
“Mom’s worried that you’re taking on something too dangerous.”
Her words were full of meaning.
She might be worried about sending off her daughter, who had just come of age, or she might be concerned about Hestia managing the duke’s household on her own. Or perhaps she feared the pressure and opposition from other nobles.
‘Probably all of the above.’
The guardian position was a poisoned chalice. It came with a lot of power but also significant burdens.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m your daughter, after all.”
“Even so, if things ever get too hard, promise you’ll tell us. Remember, Frost is always behind you.”
“I haven’t even started yet. I’ll handle things just fine. The real problem is not being able to manage the foundation anymore. They’ll be in chaos without me.”
“It’ll be rough at first, but they’ll adjust with time. You’ll just have to divide up the responsibilities now.”
“Still… make sure to keep me updated on the foundation. You know I have a significant role in it, right?”
“My goodness. Do you really love working that much?”
“I built it with my own hands, of course, I’m curious. Let’s talk more about this when we get home.”
Since they weren’t parting ways just yet, Anna stifled her worries for now.
“Are you going home today?”
As Anna comforted Derrick, Elvin asked quietly, “You were planning on leaving tonight, but I think you’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning. Wouldn’t those two be really disappointed if you left now?”
Following Hestia’s gaze, Elvin turned his head.
By now, the two eight-year-old boys had become lost in their own world, laughing together.
Through years of helping raise her younger siblings, Hestia had learned just how difficult it could be to calm children who were at the height of their excitement.
Additionally, she had noticed the loneliness that Leonhardt occasionally displayed during their conversations. This made her want to take this chance to give him some much-needed companionship.
‘I need to give him the best memories possible,’ she thought.
That way, Leonhard wouldn’t fall into darkness and could grow up to be a well-adjusted young man.
“Honestly, I don’t understand why you volunteered to become the guardian.”
“Excuse me?” Hestia turned to him, unsure if Elvin was trying to start trouble like he usually did. But this time, his voice was unusually serious.
Sure enough, Elvin was looking at her with a concerned expression.
“You don’t even like Winston.”
Hestia’s eyes widened, and her mouth slowly opened in surprise before she let out a small, incredulous laugh.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“I’ve noticed that all the strange things you’ve done were related to Winston.”
Hestia was about to wave off his words when Elvin’s next statement stopped her in her tracks.
“Good or bad, you always overreact when it comes to Winston.”
“Elvin, you…”
“I remember when I was five and we heard about the birth of the young duke, you were upset for days. After that, whenever Dad got news from the Duke’s household, you always checked the details first. And if there was ever a suggestion to visit, you’d always find some excuse to avoid going.”
Hestia was speechless. Elvin was far too specific in his observations.
It was true—she had always overreacted when major events involving Winston occurred.
But she had never shared her feelings about Winston with anyone else.
“It was odd. I couldn’t figure out whether you liked Winston or if you were uncomfortable with them. But at some point, I realized… You weren’t just uncomfortable. You were scared of them.”
Elvin studied his sister closely.
The eldest of the Frost family, she had always been the reliable sister to her younger siblings.
Though they often argued, Elvin knew Hestia cared for all of them.
She was usually relaxed and smiling around her siblings.
But now, Hestia wore an unfamiliar expression—one that Elvin had only seen once before.
The first time was yesterday when she left the room alone after the funeral.
“You could’ve turned down being the guardian. Why did you accept?”
Hestia’s expression was now stiff, like someone who had been caught trying to hide their true feelings.
