“Here it is!”

“Wow, it’s so big!”

White walls and floors, a pink carpet, and pink…

'So much pink!?'

The bed is pink, the sofa is pink. Seriously, everything is pink.

So this is what a girl’s room is like…

“It’s cute, right?”

“It’s cute!”

Strangely enough, even though it’s completely pink, I still think it’s cute.

“Young Lady loves Lady Hikari so much that anything new is made in the same pink as Lady Hikari’s hair.”

“Hannah!”

“Is that true?”

I don’t hate it at all, but isn’t that love a bit heavy?

“It’s because… everyone else looks at me with scary eyes when they come close… but Hikari-chan is different.”

“Aria-chan…”

Being a duke really is scary!

Even among children, there are probably many who approach her because their parents told them to, so I was lucky to know nothing.

Let’s just pretend that brief moment when I had ulterior motives after learning she was a duke never happened.

“The piano is pink too!”

Forgetting all that, I run over to the pink piano in front of me.

“This is something I’ll use when I turn seven.”

“Ah, Hikari knows! Music education!”

“That’s right! I’ll play it for you!”

“Yeah! I’m looking forward to it!”

After making that small but exciting promise, we sit down with books that the maid had prepared at some point.

“My father bought this for me!”

“The way nobles should live?”

“Yes!”

Judging from the title, it seems like an educational book for noble children.

It feels like a good book, one that hopes to reduce the number of cruel nobles, even just a little.

However, the maid seems to be focused on something else.

“I was told Lady Hikari is four years old, but you really can read.”

“Yeah! I want to read books with Aria-chan!”

I’m completely serious, okay? There’s absolutely no ulterior motive. Hikari-chan is pure.

“…That’s very good.”

“Right?”

She looks like she’s deeply moved by something, but why?

Because two little children are playing together? Because Aria-chan made a friend?

Without paying it any mind, Aria-chan opens the book and starts reading with me.

“Long, long ago, there was a bad noble—”

She slowly reads the still unfamiliar Paunrondo script.

The bad noble extorted money from the people and lived a life of luxury while others suffered.

However, angered by this, one person joined forces with a farmer, a carpenter, and a tailor, and defeated the bad noble.

“I’ll never do bad things again, so please forgive me!”

The noble sincerely repented, returned the money to the people, and lived peacefully ever after.

“……”

'This feels like a noble version of Momotaro.'

A farmer, a carpenter, and a tailor—this lineup clearly represents food, shelter, and clothing.

“That was a weird story.”

“Yeah.”

I completely agree with Aria-chan’s blunt impression.

It’s a bit of a forced story. It only worked because it was Momotaro.

Just as I was thinking that—“Of course nobles should care about the people!”

“Hikari thinks so too!”

That was such a perfect answer it surprised me!

That’s exactly why I like Aria-chan so much.

“I want to read more!”

“Yeah! Hannah, which one do you think is good?”

“Let me see…”

The maid looks over the book covers.

After thinking for a moment, she hands us one.

“How about this one?”

“Romico and Juliotte…”

This screams parody.

'I don’t want to read this…'

I want to keep the Romeo and Juliet I know intact. I don’t want to overwrite it with something weird.

“It’s a story about love that transcends status, between a commoner and a noble.”

“I don’t really get it, but let’s read it?”

“Yeah…”

If Aria-chan wants to read it, I guess I have no choice.

Hoping the changes are minimal, we begin reading once again.