As Long As You Are Happy

y with sorrow but the Duke of Winfried had whispered softly. 

 

“They are lying.”

 

“… How did he know that?”

Delphia hesitated momentarily before answering her. 

“He smiled.”

“Huh?”

“His grace said he saw it.
When he had raised his head to cover his sobs, he saw him smile behind his hands.”

Huh, Irina inhaled sharply.

He smiled? He acted like he was crying but he was actually smiling? 

Was he really human? 

Delphia continued.

“Afterward… we conducted an extremely thorough search.
Fortunately, we managed to track down a servant who had been fired from their estate a long time ago and found you.”

Irina heard her say a couple more things after but she wasn’t listening. 

Because all she could hear was the fact that she had been abandoned. 

“How can someone be so evil?”

It felt like a fire was stoking within her. 

This being the first time she had encountered such emotions, Irina grabbed her chest and hung her head low.

“How could he… to his family, abandon a child….”

“You’re right.”

Delphia nodded.

“Just as I thought, I should have pretended to have gone mad and killed him back then.”

“… Huh?”

Irina raised her head.
But Delphia continued to mumble. 

“I tried looking it up myself afterward, you know? For those who had been fighting in the war for a long time, they are kind of lenient even if the said people accidentally commit murder.
You just need to claim that you had mistaken the victim for an enemy soldier.
Ah! If I had known I could I would have struck his neck and pretended that it was an accident.
Well, I would have been thrown in jail but…”

Delphia smiled.

“But his grace will bail me out.”

“…..”

“The next time I see him, I’d definitely pluck his head off and bring it to you as a gift.”

“No, thank you!”

They meant it. 

Both Irina and Delphia meant what they were each saying.

“If… If that happens, Miss Delphia will be punished.
I don’t want someone as good as you to be punished because of someone as evil as him.”

Irina clenched her fists. 

“Rather, I’ll hit you if you do.”

“Miss…”

Delphia sniffled as though she was moved.
She immediately nodded. 

“You’re right! I don’t need to be punished! His grace has already begun investigating the corruption around Viscount Ventlen.

“Now it would only be a matter of time before that bastard is punished”, Delphia continued while grinning. 

“The duke?”

“Yes! He has to return them to you, miss.”

“Return what?”

“All of Sir Azen and Dame Leira’s assets and estates as well as the title, ‘Count Leonid’.”

Title.
Irina could only blink when she heard something she had never associated with herself. 

“After we dispose of Viscount Ventlen, you will become Count Leonid.”

“What? How could I become a count?”

 No, if she thought about it again, it was only a given. 

Because she was a count’s daughter. 

However, the unfamiliarity arising from how the distance she had perceived between herself and aristocracy had narrowed in an instant made it hard to believe. 

“You are their daughter.
That alone is enough to prove your claim.”

But she didn’t even know how to write and she was ashamed to admit that she couldn’t even count properly.
But her lips stopped herself from confessing.

“His grace will help you with whatever you need”

Delphia smiled and clasped Irina’s hands tightly. 

“All you have to do is to regain what was originally yours and enjoy it.”

What was originally hers. 

Irina, who mouthed along with her words, nodded. 

Even if being a count seemed to be too distant to be true right now, she wanted to find a little, just a little of what was hers. 

Seeing Irina like that, Delphia smiled. 

“Great! Now, shall we go and eat some breakfast?”

“Yes.”

“I shall lead you to the dining hall.
Let’s eat together!”

With a hop in her step, Delphia started walking towards the door as she held Irina’s hand.
In spite of herself, Irina followed Delphia. 

“I’d like to introduce you to the rest of the knights but they must already be finishing their breakfast.”

“Already?”

Irina glanced at the window.
The sun just started rising.
This was usually the time diligent workers got up and started their day. 

But they already ate their breakfast?

“Of course! Seeing the time, I’m sure they’ve already digested all their food.
They consume bread like it’s water.”

Bread like water? Was that even possible? 

As Irina’s mouth was left agape at that unbelievable fact, Delphia smiled brightly.

“We can eat slowly.
I’ll tell you some things over our meal.
Like about the structure of our estate and where the training hall and food stores are…”

Seeing Delphia walk ahead of her whilst brainstorming what more she needed to tell Irina, Irina was suddenly reminded of something she had yet to tell her. 

“Excuse me, Miss Delphia.”

Delphia turned her head and stared at her as though waiting for Irina to speak. 

“I have something I would like to say.”

Irina parted her lips.
It was a name she had muttered over hundreds of times yesterday.
When she thought of introducing herself to someone else, for some reason, she could not say it easily. 

“Uhm…”

Irina was frustrated at how she kept hesitating.
Still, Delphia patiently waited for Irina to find herself comfortable. 

“It’s Irina.”

She could hear her name out loud. 

“My name.”

Irina blushed as she smiled.

“Irina Leonid, that’s my name.”

A smile slowly stretched across Delphia’s lips from cheek to cheek.
She smiled brightly. 

“What a really nice name! It’s super cute!”

Right? Irina thought so too. 

Mirroring Delphia, Irina also smiled brightly.