# 70
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“Oh my God, aren’t you Duchess Elade?”
A middle-aged woman approached me with a friendly face, pretending to know me.
“Ah…Countess Peter.”
“I believe the Duchess also visited the academy to see her son?”
Countess Petitre, who smiled brightly and said that she had come to see her son, quickly rolled her eyes.
Her eyes lit up as soon as she reached Allen who was holding Diana's hand.
'This person is very consistent.'
*Consistent is described here as always acting the same way, having the same attitudes toward people or things, or achieving the same level of success at something.*
I burst into laughter as I looked at Countess Petitre, who was younger than I remembered, but had not changed at all.
I knew her well, as she was currently the matriarch of the Peter family, which owned a large business.
This was because she, who had three daughters, visited the Information Syndicate with more enthusiasm than any other woman in the capital.
After a few years, as the family's fortunes declined sharply and the entire family was on the verge of bankruptcy, she became more desperate to find a son-in-law for his daughter.
“We met this way, so why don't you come with us?”
The countess smiled and asked in a friendly manner.
“Ah...I plan to meet my eldest son here soon.”
“Oh, my son too, the princess met my children at the salon last time, so wouldn’t it be better if we took a look together?”
It was normal in the aristocratic world for both of them to want each other's children to become friends, but Countess Péterre's attitude was too blatant.
The Duchess was confused when she caught a glimpse of three girls with similar faces wearing hoods standing side by side behind her.
"My mom ."
I froze when I saw a boy standing next to Countess Peter.
Since it was such a place, and since I had met Countess Petitti, I thought we might meet each other, but I never thought we would meet each other so soon.
“Here you are, Kenneth! Come and say hello to Duchess Elade.”
“Hello, my name is Kenneth Peter, one year younger than Mr. Lucio, it is an honor to meet you.”
Upon hearing the Countess's words, the boy immediately straightened his posture and bowed humbly.
Perhaps because Lucio's name was mentioned, the Duchess's expression softened.
The boy smiled politely and spoke to Allen and Diana.
“They are Lucio’s younger brothers. I heard they are coming to the capital this time.”
Speaking as if he was a close friend of Lucio's, he knelt down and gave Diana a friendly look, perhaps wanting to show that he was a brother with three younger sisters.
When I saw this scene next to me, I clenched my fists.
Kenneth Peter.
He was the boy who accused me of being a thief and insulted me.
To be honest, from the outside, he seemed like an upright gentleman.
But as someone who knows his true nature, all of these actions gave me goosebumps.
Fortunately, it seemed that Allen didn't really like him and wanted Diana to accept his greeting and send him away quickly.
“Oh, I hate monsters!”
At this time, Diana suddenly screamed and hugged Allen.
He looked at Diana even though she couldn't really see him, the Duchess was embarrassed, and Countess Péterre's face darkened considerably.
In particular, although it was a fleeting moment, Kenneth's expression was overwhelming.
His face was wrinkled like a yaksha, similar to when he accused me of being a thief.
When I was about to get scared, he immediately said: “You are so shy, princess.”
He smiled bitterly.
However, as Diana's crying became louder and Allen's expression worsened, the awkward atmosphere continued.
Moreover, when the other noble ladies around her started pretending to know the Duchess and using the commotion as an excuse, Countess Petitre, who had been trying to monopolize the Duchess, stiffened a little.
“Then, let's talk to each other for a while, I think we'll have plenty of time.”
spoke the Duchess, unable to separate herf entirely from the ladies who were anxious to introduce them to their children.
It seems he decided to deal with them on his own.
He then spoke very firmly in front of those whose eyes were sparkling, unable to let go of their expectations.
“Allen, wait here for your brother, and when Lucio comes, go in first and watch him and he will follow you soon.”
When Allen nodded, the Duchess immediately turned around without giving the others a chance to introduce her children.
Disappointment spread not only on Countess Péterre but also on the faces of the other ladies, but like nobles, they all controlled their facial expressions at once.
Kenneth looked back and forth between us and the departing ladies, and saw Diana still crying. He must have thought today was a bad day, so he withdrew his attention from us. Then he quickly ran towards the ladies, saying that he would lead them to the most famous café on Academy Street.
Meanwhile, he looked at me coldly while standing next to Allen and Diana, he seemed to still have the same disposition of looking down on people who were not nobles.
“Diana, now that he is gone, you can raise your face.”
Diana raised her head at Allen's words and looked around.
Allen laughed as if he was going to die because Diana was so beautiful.
“Good job, from now on, if a stranger talks to you, hide to your brother, understood?”
“Oh, I was afraid.”
Diana gasped and shuddered.
She looked at Diana in surprise, wondering if she had a summer cold or something.
“Buy me this!”
However, Diana quickly raised her hand with a bright face and pointed to the iced juice sold by a street vendor near the clock tower.
Allen tried to move in this direction at any moment, so I hurriedly stopped him.
“Young Master, please stay here. I may have trouble with Young Master, so I will come quickly.”
“So do you want this? This is the money...”
“Hehe, I'll buy it for you, so wait a minute.”
When I showed off my fat pockets, Allen and Diana said at the same time: “Awesome!” He opened his mouth wide.
'They seem nice.'
I stifled my laughter and headed towards the clock tower with Jack.
Some of the attendants who came with us followed the Duchess, and the children were guarded by the rest, led by Tice, for he had asked Jack to follow me.
“Jack, you too, I’ll get you one.”
"Me too ?"
“Yaaay!”
I thought Jack would say he didn't come to play this time, so Diana and Allen ordered blue, as well as red, green, and yellow.
It was fun to pick and eat, and since it was a hot day, I didn't think there would be any leftovers.
And I was about to calculate it.
Suddenly Jack handed me his pocket money bag.
When I looked at him as if to ask why he was giving me this, Jack scratched his head and said.
“I don’t need your money, I will pay you.”
As a friend, these words really made me sigh.
I shook my head and pushed the pocket to Jack.
“Jack, you don't need money when you don't know what the future holds. It's been a long time since people had good pockets to feel comfortable.”
Of course, Jack will live a good life from now on, but there is still the problem of not appreciating money and donating it to others.
Looking at it now, I wonder what I would do if I took it unscrupulously and used it all up.
When I clicked my tongue and said, “Tsk, tsk,” Jack looked at me in shock.
However, I generously understood that it would be difficult for young Jack to accept advice based on his years of experience, so I paid out of my own pocket.
Since there is a lot of food to be desired, it is time to wait slowly and look around.
Just below the clock tower, a beautiful fountain caught my eye.
It was an eerie feeling seeing the sparkling water reflecting the bright sunlight.
As a ar, it was always a place I could only visit at dawn.
“Jack, do you see the fountain over there?”
"fountain?"
"Yes. Can you see the angel statue over there? There's a saying that if you make a wish and put a coin there, your wish will come true."
Maybe because Allen was talking about different things before his visit to the academy, Jack didn't ask where she heard that.
Instead, he stared at the fountain again with a skeptical expression.
Even though he was two years older than me, he lived in an orphanage without knowing anything about the world, and I thought he was really smart.
In the past, I had no doubts and ran every morning to make a wish come true.
“Please, I don’t want to be hungry today. I wish someone would ask me if I’m okay when I’m sick. I want to sleep in a warm place.” …No, no, everything is fine, so please listen to just one thing, I….〉
I closed my eyes and wished very seriously.
However, his wish did not come true, and he felt depressed because he thought it was because he did not flip a coin.
〈Now, the coin.〉
Then one day, Lucio showed up.
Someone suddenly appeared and Lucio offered me a coin while my heart almost dropped.
〈Throw it and make a wish〉
〈This, this, this, this is a large amount of money. ...!〉
The coin he gave me was a gold coin.
Not a copper coin or a silver coin, but a gold coin.
However, feeling pressured by Lucio, who was looking at me as if asking me to take it, I tossed a coin with my hands trembling and made a wish.
Even thinking about it now, it was a crazy act.
‘With this money, I could eat a full meal, and for the first time in a while, I could sleep comfortably without the kids staring at me.’
At that time, I was surprised by the gold coin I saw for the first time, and my heart sank from throwing the gold coin into the fountain, so I didn't even think about it.
Why on earth did someone living in the academy dormitory show up there that early in the morning?
“Do you want to try it too?”
At that time, Jack asked me as if he was breaking his feelings.
I shook my head and said sarcastically.
“These are all myths.”
I even gave him a gold coin to make a wish for, but my wish never came true.
The desire is to meet family, be it parents, siblings or even distant relatives.