For My Husband's New Wife - Chapter 5

“I…… I have no friends.”

Anita has no friends her age.

Of course, she wasn’t alone until she moved into her house now.

It was Anita’s old hometown from the days of her grandfather’s father. Anita’s relatives, teachers, and friends were in the city.

The roots of the family were there, but her father was not pleased with the city.

“Vincent! Our family business started in this city. It’s still early. Don’t you know that it’s never too late to move to another city when the next generation takes over the business?”

“No, Uncle. Before it’s too late, I have to leave for a big city with a huge port like Chaballon.”

“Why are you so stubborn!”

“There is no need to stay here, as the silver mine has dried up. If I go to a place with a lot of people, I can get more information faster.”

“Vincent! Come back now! You can do whatever you want with the wealth that the elders of the family have accumulated through blood and sweat……”

“It wasn’t me who wasted the family fortune, but the elders including you, uncle! I don’t want to look stupid anymore. Don’t stop me.”

Despite everyone’s objections, her father eventually left his hometown and moved to the current city.

It was only two years ago.

“My father doesn’t have a title, so the other kids don’t want to get along with me.”

After arriving here in Chaballon, her father risked his life and death to establish a relationship with the nobles.

At first, she was Anita, who had no prejudice against her status as a noble, but now she is not.

The nobles thought of them as dirty and stupid cattle. For the first time in her life, she felt pure hostility. That hostility gave Anita quite a shock.

“That, so……”

Silence fell in the room. There was an atmosphere so quiet that she thought she shouldn’t have brought it up.

It was Claunia who broke the silence.

“I don’t live here, but in the Kingdom of Hespain. Once a year, I come to Chaballon, and I have no friends too. It was a terrible time.”

She clasped Anita’s hands with a bright smile.

“I was on the verge of stress, but now it will be fine. Anita! Let’s play with me from now on!”

“……with me?”

“Yes! I’m Anita’s first friend, right? Right? Right?”

A piece of the nanny’s cookie that she didn’t know when she took it disappeared into Claunia’s mouth.

“But this is very delicious. Where did you buy it? Can you tell me?”

Claunia spoke so quickly that Anita didn’t have time to answer.

“There were so many things I wanted to do together when I made friends in Chaballon! First of all, we ride the Ferris wheel next to the fountain square together, and then we go to the nice restaurant next to the Ferris wheel……”

Claunia’s mouth swallowed the third cookie.

Did I hear wrong? Friend? You want to be friends with me, who everyone avoids because I’m dirty?

It was from that day.

From that day on, Anita spent the last winter of each year at the mansion of Edenbair in Chaballon.

To a vast and beautiful paradise where Claunia and Lancelot await, where the red poinsettia blooms.

“Anita! Anita is here, Lancelot! Wow, how come you haven’t grown even after a year?”

Claunia’s greetings always started with a strong hug. For Anita, she was a little golden bird chattering lovely songs.

“Look at this map. While waiting for you in the morning, I played a country name game with Lancelot, and nine out of ten were wrong.”

“Really? Who?”

“Me!”

When I was with Claunia, I was always happy, excited, and full of energy. Any serious problem became a minor concern when Claunia was by my side.

“How about you, Lancelot? It must have been really difficult for you too……”

But Lancelot was a little different.

“Hey! Anita asked. Answer her.”

He didn’t look pleased with Anita. It was an attitude that anyone with eyes would think so.

“Ugh, he’s always like that. Forget it. Let’s play amongst ourselves!”

“But……”

“He can’t go out because his body is weak anyway. It rained yesterday, so let’s go play and find the hibernating earthworm.”

It was very difficult for Anita to get along with Lancelot.

He treated her as a stranger even if they were together in the same space, and all he did was reluctantly answer, showing signs of annoyance.

cough cough.

When I had a bad cold, I couldn’t even move comfortably unless it was during the time I slept deeply.

My father explained that if my body is weak, I have no choice but to be sensitive, and I was fully understood.

However, there was a particularly long period of pain.

Looks like it happened to Lancelot this winter.

Even though it wasn’t her who was sick, Anita, who felt uncomfortable in every corner, went to Lancelot with a stew she cooked herself, even though no one had ever ordered it. It was a stew made by paying attention to the kitchen maids.

“Hey, if you’re not feeling well, would you like to try some of this stew? It’s a stew that my father used to make. It has ginger in it……”

“I’m not going to eat it.”

As expected, it was a firm rejection.

At some point, she got used to that cold rejection. Anita casually placed the stew bowl on the table.

“It tastes better than I thought. There is not much to chew, so it will be easy to swallow.”

However, Lancelot did not turn his head once and kept his eyes fixed on the book.

“Just in case you’re hungry later…… I’ll leave it here.”

I think about 30 minutes have passed.

While enjoying the puzzle with Claunia in the next room, a maid’s voice was heard.

“Did you call, Young Master?”

“Put away that stew. It smells.”

At that moment, I was a little, a little surprised. My hand stiffened as I picked out the scattered puzzle.

But I quickly made up my mind.

‘When you’re really sick, you have no appetite, and your stomach is not good. I might have made him feel pressured for no reason.’

Let’s not take it too seriously. Good intentions don’t expect anything in return. Maybe, Lancelot hates ginger.

As always, only Claunia made a complaint on her behalf.

“Whoa. I told you so. He won’t eat it. He just hates loud noises, small noises, and even smells.”

Anita looked at her close friend and smiled awkwardly.

“He must be feeling worse today. He may not be used to such food.”

“Does he think he’s an amazing prince? Of course……although his status is second to that of a prince, he is not a prince though!”

Claunia gritted her teeth for a long time.

knock knock. Someone knocked on the door.

“Claunia.”

Anita stood up more hastily than Claunia, whose name was called. It was a visit by the Duke of Edenbair.

“Claunia, Anita. The grandmother has come. Come out and say hello.”

grandmother?

Claunia’s expression, as she slowly got up and patted her knees, showed no visibly happy or uncomfortable sign.

“The grandmother is my mother’s mother and my uncle’s mother. I always call her the grandmother.”

Claunia’s mother’s mother and Claunia’s uncle’s mother……

‘It means the Duke of Edenbair’s mother.’

If so, Anita, who is staying here, was also a person who should say hello.

The two headed to the parlor where the adults were waiting.

The grandmother had a very aristocratic impression on the good side, and on the bad side, quite demanding.

Even though we hadn’t even had a conversation, I suddenly remembered a bad memory when the children called me a mongrel.

‘No, it’s okay. It’s rude to think negatively about someone you meet for the first time. I just have to be careful.’

Claunia greeted the grandmother bravely,

“Hello, grandmother!”

A soft smile was drawn on the cold grandmother’s face.

“You’ve grown a lot, Claunia. You are no longer lacking in being a mature lady.”

After all, first impressions are just first impressions. Thanks to the grandmother’s friendly response, I gained a little courage that I had never had before.

“Thank you! This is my friend. Say hello, Anita.”

“Hello. I’m Anita Völlen……”

It was not intended. Nevertheless, Anita could not finish her greeting.

She didn’t even glance at her.

As if the grandmother had neither seen nor heard Anita, she naturally passed by her.

She was completely ignored.