Who Do You Like More, Mom or Dad?

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“P-please take good care of Diana.”

 

“You don’t have to worry.”

 

Hermann spoke politely, reaching out his hand to Diana.

 

“Then, let’s go now.”

 

After nodding her head, Diana greeted Mrs.
Martin one last time.

 

“Mrs.
Martin, I’ll go now.
Thank you for escorting me all the way here.”

 

“Y-yeah.
Be careful, and stay healthy.”

 

Mrs.
Martin gave Diana a tight hug.

 

“Is this all of your luggage?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Nice way of thinking, it’s better to throw away all unneeded baggage.”

 

Hermann picked up Diana’s luggage bag.

 

“Ah? I can also hold it….”

 

Hermann simply ignored Diana and put her bag inside the carriage.
He then grabbed Diana’s waist and lifted her up.

 

“…!”

 

Before she could even scream in surprise, she was already in the carriage.

 

‘W-what just happened?’

 

Hermann followed, casually stroking Diana’s head as he got in.
Settling in, he nonchalantly sat on the seat across her.
Diana was left puzzled and touched the part where Hermann had stroked her.

 

The carriage took off slowly.
Rushing to the window, Diana waved back at Mrs.
Martin.

 

Diana waved to Mrs.
Martin until she wasn’t visible anymore before sitting down.
Hermann, who was staring at her, blankly asked.

 

“What’s that?”

 

Hermann pointed with the tip of his chin.
It was the bouquet of wildflowers that Diana was holding.

 

“Ah.”

 

Diana hurriedly looked at the bouquet.
She accidentally squeezed it when she climbed up, but thankfully the flower was fine because she held the stem part.
She let out a sigh of relief.

 

“It’s because I’ll be going to see mom.”

 

To get flowers one had to go out of the city.
Even more so, flowers were very expensive, so she could only manage such luxury once a year, on her mother’s death anniversary.

 

Hermann looked caught off guard.
He turned his head and looked out of the window as if to hide his face.
After a long time, he opened his mouth again.

 

“…Philippa didn’t like flowers.”

 

“Philippa….
Ah right, you said it was mother’s name.”

 

Hermann belatedly recalled telling Diana her mother’s real name yesterday.
It was still awkward for Diana to hear the name.

 

“Boys always sent her flowers as gifts, so she said that she was tired dealing with it.”

 

“Really? I didn’t know.”

 

It was the first time she heard that story.

 

So, she didn’t like flowers…

 

Diana once again fiddled with the pendant that was on her chest, a habit she had picked up.
Hermann looked at her appearance and said, 

 

“About that pendant, don’t tell anyone about it and don’t show it as well.
”

 

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

 

“Are there a lot of people who know that the pendant is your mother’s relic?”

 

Diana agonized over it with her fingers then shook her head.
Mrs.
Martin, Miss Atticia and a friend at the academy.
Those were the only ones.
Hermann nodded at the number of fingers Diana folded.

 

“It’s a relief that there are only three people.
The fact that it’s a relic isn’t the important thing.
What’s important is the fact that there’s a spirit in it.”

 

“A spirit?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You said last time that it was cast by a magic spell.”

 

“Of course, the spirit was placed using magic.”

 

The spirit was put in by Thesevitz, who is most likely your biological father.

 

Hermann swallowed the following words.

 

It wasn’t confirmed yet so he shouldn’t come to conclusions so quickly.
Although he was almost 100 percent sure due to the timing and her symptoms.

 

Even so, it was really fortunate that there was that pendant.
Without the traces of the spirit, even if it was Hermann who was searching, he would not have found Philippa, no, Diana.

 

The problem was that the spirit who had long been asleep in the pendant suddenly started to move.

 

Hermann examined the pendant when Diana fell asleep, but Spirits wasn’t his major.

 

“T-then is this something very precious?”

 

Frightened, Diana turned pale.
Herman was appalled, trying to calm her down, he said moderately,

 

“Surely it’s not common, but it’s not very precious.”

 

It was worth a castle, but it’s not precious because your father is the Grand Duke of Nohibaden.

 

Hermann once again swallowed the following words.
Fortunately, Diana seemed somewhat relieved by Hermann’s words.

 

“At this rate, in the future how will Philippa’s daughter….”

 

Hermann looked at Diana worriedly.

 

The horseman knocked on the carriage door, indicating that they had arrived.
Hermann’s expression, which had relaxed, turned stiff again.
In a firm voice, Hermann said.

 

“Looks like we’ve arrived.
Let’s get off.”

 

They arrived at the Aachen Public Cemetery.
A place where people without connections were buried.
It was a quiet place with very few visitors, even now, they were the only people there.

 

A mixture of weak wooden tombstones and still shaped stone tombstones gave the scenery a lonely feeling.

 

Diana walked familiarly between them, Hermann following right after her.
After walking for a long time, they arrived.
Diana laid down a bouquet of flowers in front of the best-managed tombstone.

 

 

[April]

 

 

It was a rough tombstone with only one small name that was engraved on it.

 

“Wait, for a moment….”

 

Hermann buried his face between his long fingers.
As he breathed in, Hermann said without raising his face from his hand.

 

“Diana.
For a moment, haa….
Can you leave me alone for a while?”

 

Hermann pretended to be calm, but at the end of his words he trembled.
Diana alternated between looking at her mother’s grave and Hermann.
She knew that Hermann didn’t want to show her his grief.

 

“I’ll be in the carriage.”

 

Diana headed for the carriage looking back every now and then anxiously.