The Beloved New Daughter-In-Law of the Wolf Mansion Chapter 201 - Side story 14 (END)

“Louisa.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

“She responded!”

 

Arsene lifted Louisa high into his arms.

 

By now, Louisa had grown enough to start crawling around.

 

The maids cleaned Louisa’s room five times a day to make sure she wouldn’t pick up something strange or get hurt while crawling.

 

Her hair had grown quite a bit, and she’d put on some chubby baby fat, making her look truly like a baby now.

 

“Louisa, did you answer Mommy?”

 

Louisa beamed brightly.

 

“She seems really gentle, doesn’t she?”

 

“Mhm, she definitely doesn’t seem to take after me.”

 

“That’s true—you were a bit sensitive when you were little.”

 

“At least at that age, she was a bit gentler,”

 

Arsene protested.

 

I smiled softly as I looked at Louisa.

 

She slept well, laughed easily, and ate properly, making her a baby that didn’t require much attention.

 

The new nanny they had hired even said she had never seen a child this gentle before.

 

“Do you think I was as gentle as Louisa when I was little?” 

 

“Maybe—she might be gentle because she takes after you.”

 

I slipped my finger into Louisa’s tiny hand.

 

Louisa grasped my finger tightly with her little hand, as if she didn’t want to let go.

 

Even when I tickled the baby’s palm, she didn’t let go of my finger. Arsene gently pressed a kiss to Louisa’s forehead.

 

Watching that, I murmured quietly to myself,

 

“Now that I’ve had a child, I understand, Arsene… just how hopeless my father was.”

 

As a child, I had tried endlessly to earn love.

 

All of Raniero’s children had to do the same.

 

To receive my father’s love, to gain his approval.

 

He only doted on the children who pleased him, kept those with strong abilities close, and barely paid attention to the rest.

 

“How could he have been like that?”

 

My child, who takes after me, is such a beautiful, lovable being.

 

Even doing nothing, just lying there and breathing, or occasionally gripping my finger tightly, she’s still this cute and lovely.

 

“He wasn’t in his right mind,”

 

Arsene said as he placed Louisa into my arms.

 

His lips touched her forehead briefly and lifted away.

 

“I think so too.”

 

“Look at Louisa. You must have been this small and cute when you were little too.”

 

I slipped my hand under Louisa’s arms and lifted her up.

 

Now able to hold up her head, she looked at me and beamed even when lifted high.

 

“Louisa, my beloved daughter.”

 

I wonder when Louisa will come to understand the meaning of these words.

 

“Maybe she already does.”

 

After all, love isn’t something you learn or figure out—it’s something you realize from the moment you’re born.

 

So maybe Louisa instinctively knows the love between Arsene and me.

 

“I’ll have to tell her every day.”

 

I’ll tell her every day that I love her.

 

Not just something she knows instinctively, but until this tiny child can understand with her mind just how much I love her.

 

The symbol of Raniero—her green eyes—sparkled in the sunlight.

 

Louisa, who had been wiggling her arms and laughing, suddenly shoved her fist into her mouth.

 

“Kyaaah!”

 

Then she burst into giggles. Her tiny fist was now shiny and wet with baby saliva.

 

***

 

“Ah, where are you going, Louisa?”

 

Louisa started walking quickly.

 

Learning to walk quickly is a trait of the bird clan.

 

The bird clan could walk and run earlier than other clans.

 

Louisa, perhaps thanks to the strong presence of bird-clan blood, crawled and walked at an astonishingly fast pace.

 

The problem was…

 

“Oh dear…”

 

“Hng….” 

 

She loved walking so much that whenever we went out with her, we, as a couple, were completely overwhelmed.

 

“D, don’t worry, Young Madam! The maids and I will take care of the Young Lady!”

 

Betty said cheerfully,

 

“Mm-hmm?”

 

“Young Lady like me too, right? So, Young Madam, don’t worry—just rest a little with Lord Arsene.”

 

“Is that okay?” 

 

“Of course! That’s why I came out following you, Young Madam!”

 

Betty carefully lifted Louisa into her arms.

 

I wiped the sweat from my face as I watched Louisa, giggling in Betty’s arms.

 

“Louisa seems to be growing incredibly fast.”

 

“I’ve heard that children of the bird clan usually grow quickly, but…”

 

“Not all of them grow this fast.”

 

“So our baby is exceptionally quick, huh.”

 

After spending the whole day chasing after Louisa, a slightly exhausted Arsene flopped down.

 

He gazed down the hill.

 

The spot where Arsene and I sat was “that hill,” with a clear view of Jennifer’s orchard.

 

It was the place where “Annie” used to sit at the end of the day after finishing her work in the orchard over the past five years.

 

It was also the place where Arsene and I shared apple pie—and where he had proposed to me.

 

Ever since Louisa was born, Arsene had wanted to bring her to this spot.

 

“But as for Louisa herself…”

 

I watched Louisa, along with Betty, admiring the butterflies halfway up the hill.

 

Then I looked back at Arsene.

 

“It seems our daughter isn’t as interested in the hill as we are. Still, do you like it here?”

 

Arsene nodded.

 

“Mhm.” 

 

“I thought you’d suggest we go see the World Tree.”

 

“Of course we’ll go there too, but only after Louisa is a little older.”

 

Arsene smiled softly as he watched Louisa grab a yellow butterfly.

 

“Do kids that age usually catch butterflies?”

 

“Looks like she just happened to catch a blind one by chance.”

 

“Huh? She’s trying to put it in her mouth!”

 

“Mhm? N, no!”

 

I watched Louisa, who had her mouth wide open, holding the butterfly in her hand.

 

Fortunately, Betty noticed her just in time and stopped Louisa from eating it.

 

“Phew, that was close. Betty stopped her.”

 

“Was she hungry? Why would she try to eat a butterfly?”

 

“Who knows… an eagle’s instinct?”

 

“When I first met you, I never would have guessed you were an eagle.”

 

Arsene laughed.

 

“You were so small—tiny, fluffy, with yellow downy feathers. I never would have guessed you were an eagle chick.”

 

“Most young bird clan children look the same. They molt as they grow, and their appearance changes!”

 

“I wonder how cute Louisa will be when she undergoes her first beastman transformation.”

 

“She’ll be cute, sure, but it might be even harder to keep up with her than now…”

 

When living in Raniero, each child had a dedicated maid. 

 

Not just me—every child in Raniero had one or two maids who stayed with them 24 hours a day.  

 

That was because a young bird-clan child in beastman form is so small that they’re difficult to keep track of.

 

‘Louisa will need a dedicated maid too.’

 

She’ll need someone to watch her around the clock. I had to prepare in advance, before the child grew any bigger.

 

“Now that the baby’s here, there’s so much to do…”

 

I stretched and gazed down at the orchard on the green hill, where the apples were just starting to ripen.

 

They weren’t fully ripe yet, but soon they would be.

 

Then Jennifer would start picking them again, and this time I’d probably come to help with Arsene.

 

“Let’s have a party when Louisa undergoes her first beastman transformation.”

 

“I was already thinking about what kind of cake to order.”

 

“Nine years left, Arsene.”

 

“Louisa grows so fast that she might even undergo her transformation early, like you did.”

 

Arsene’s voice was surprisingly serious.

 

“Haha, maybe so.”

 

“You’ve only had one little bird girl until now, Linsy.”

 

I noticed Betty stopping Louisa, who had just caught another butterfly.

 

“Now there’s another ‘little bird girl.’”

 

I cupped Arsene’s cheek, planted a gentle kiss, and pulled away.

 

“That’s right—a new ‘little bird girl.’”

 

“Do you think Louisa will have brown hair when she grows up?”

 

“Most likely.”

 

Louisa wouldn’t have to worry about red hair causing her any trouble. Our daughter would just be a bird beastman.

 

But what if…

 

‘What if Louisa ended up with red hair?’ 

 

Then I’ll hold you tight so you won’t be afraid or scared when you start molting.

 

So you won’t secretly pluck out your red feathers in front of the mirror or cry alone.

 

A pleasant breeze blew, gently rustling Louisa’s hair.

 

The wind, carrying the laughter of Louisa and Betty, climbed the hill and wrapped around Arsene and me.

 

Arsene quietly took my hand.

 

I intertwined my fingers with his, making sure not to let go of the hand I held.

 

I could feel the warmth of Arsene flowing through me.

 

Amid the rush of the wind, his voice rang out clearly and distinctly.

 

“Linsy, I love you.”

 

His voice was more beautiful to hear than anything else in the world.

 

From afar, I could faintly hear Louisa giggling.

 

I looked at Arsene and spoke each word sincerely, one by one.

 

“Me too, Arsene.”

 

If my past self were to ask my present self whether I was happy, I could answer without hesitation.

 

‘Mhm, I’m happy!’

 

I couldn’t possibly be any happier than this.

 

And I wanted to tell my past self,

 

If you just hold on a little longer,

 

If you endure and persevere just a bit more, someday your own happiness will come to you.

 

Happiness will come to me,

 

In the form I’ve always longed for.

 

To the sound of Louisa’s and Betty’s laughter, the apples ripened red in the orchard.

 

The end.