/
“Hahh.”
The more I thought about it, the more complicated it got. However

Even if it wasn’t her brother, I just wanted her to know who she owed her life to.
But technically, he was also the one who basically shoved her into the water in the first place.
“
..let’s give that up.”
That man was just reaping what he sowed.
Yes, that was all.
Thinking about it that way eased my heart the most for me currently.
[She sighs again. Madam, at this rate you’re going to contract illnesses you don’t even have. No wait, since you already have a cold, have you already contracted an illness? Shouldn’t you be eating medicine?]
“This is nothing.”
As I said so, I sniffled and wiped my nose. If this cold was all I got after falling into the wintry lake, I’d put up a pretty good defense. Besides, now I had a family I could hug altogether—in my past life, all I had was the single pill for my cold I’d bought from the pharmacy. Even if I coughed, I’d had no alarmed nannies taking steps back from me, nor babies to blow on my forehead when I had a fever.
“The medicine I have now is much better.”
[What medicine. You haven’t even set your eyes on any.]
“
..”
I even watched Selene grumbling with a smile on my face, my chin propped up by my hands. I was increasingly having more days when I was laughing at situations I shouldn’t be laughing at, which didn’t feel all that bad.
[Speaking of which.]
“
..”
[Madam, what’s the plan?]
If only she hadn’t said that, this would’ve felt even better.
[It’s like that. If I think about it now, running away seems out of question, and Lady Lania doesn’t seem like she’ll let you go any time soon, and even His Majesty the Emperor ended up coming. What are you going to do now? Don’t tell me you don’t have any plans at all?]
“Of course not. I have something in mind.”
[
..again?]
You asked, so I said yes. What are you being all anxious for.
“This time, it’s for real. For security reasons, I can’t tell you immediately, but you only need to watch from afar.”
[Wow. Really? You really have a plan like that?]
“
.of course.”
As if I would.
I can’t believe she still doesn’t know better.
The result of working my hardest to prepare a nightly escape ended in the side road being blocked and the fish jerky being taken.
Plus, after trying to avoid the Emperor at all costs, in the end I’d only become more indebted to him.
And so I had learned after this series of experiences, one certain truth.
‘Having no plans is the best plan.’
With my luck, whatever plan I made, it would never work exactly as I wanted it to. The more I struggled, the deeper I’d only fall into the pit.
If there was one time, a single time I’d succumbed to fate and was blessed, that would be this princess here waddling on top of my lap.
Which meant that no matter how much I pushed her away, my daughter would always end up in my arms.
“I am completely serious. This is going to have an accuracy rate of 100%.”
I could guarantee this with my entire life that was more movie-like than movies. Don’t fret and try too hard; if I leave my body to the flow of the world, I will somehow live to the next day and open my eyes once more.
So instead of making plans that won’t even work and having my hopes dashed, I decided to make nurturing Haniel well, which was a considerably smaller chunk, my new goal.
‘This year’s goal is
. Haniel’s perfect attendance award!’
Easy to say, but to someone like me whose quest was to stay alive every day, it was a lofty dream. But if I said this was my plan to Selene, it was plain as day how she would respond, which was why I kept my composure the best I could, as if I had ‘something’.
“You’ll see, but I won’t be doing things so strenuously like I did last time.”
[So Madam always has a plan!]
“

”