The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 147
“Well, but……”
“Hurry up and go. Daniel must be waiting.”
Pretending not to notice Nella’s flustered state, she returned to the drawing room. As soon as Daniel, who had been sipping tea on the sofa, saw the dolled-up Johanna, he excitedly exclaimed how pretty she looked.
Even though he was turning fifteen soon, he still felt very young to her, so Johanna reached out and ruffled Daniel’s hair affectionately.
Daniel immediately noticed he was being treated like a child and pouted, but he didn’t push Johanna’s hand away.
“Happy birthday, sis!”
Surprisingly, Daniel had booked a rather nice restaurant and even arranged for a violinist to play while a cake with candles was brought out.
Was my brother always this capable? Johanna blinked in bewilderment, then blew out the candles on the cake at Daniel’s urging. It took two breaths, as she couldn’t blow them all out in one go.
“Did you make a wish?”
“Uh… I wished for my little brother to stay healthy.”
“That’s a lie. You forgot to make a wish, didn’t you!”
At Daniel’s scolding, both the violinist and the waiter let out small chuckles. Johanna also burst into a hearty laugh, looking at her brother with love.
“Next time, I’ll make a wish.”
“I think I’ve heard that at least ten times.”
“Not that kind of number…… and you’re fourteen.”
Johanna shook her head in disbelief as she picked up her utensils. For the first time in a while, she felt her appetite return.
The restaurant’s food and the cake were all delicious. Johanna, who had eaten a bit too much for once, even swallowed the digestive aid that Nella had given her just in case. Daniel, observing her closely, asked,
“Is your digestion not good?”
“Yeah… Sometimes. But it’s not serious.”
“…”
Daniel looked at Johanna with a worried expression for a moment, then took something out of the bag he had brought. It was a small gift box.
“This is your birthday present.”
“…The restaurant and everything… Where did you get the money?”
“I saved up the allowance you sent me.”
“I told you to use it when you need it…”
“Well, I did need to use it.”
Seeing her brother’s nonchalant response, Johanna let out a defeated laugh and accepted the gift Daniel handed her. Whatever was inside, it had a surprising weight to it.
“It’s really nothing special… I just thought you might like it. You like that kind of thing. Open it when you get home.”
Perhaps feeling a bit shy, Daniel scratched his reddened cheek. In truth, Johanna was already grateful that Daniel remembered her birthday. She hadn’t even expected a gift…
‘My little brother… When did he grow up like this?’
Her heart swelled with emotion. If they hadn’t been in a restaurant, she would have hugged him tightly. Instead, she gazed at him with deep affection.
“Sis… There’s actually something I want to tell you.”
As they walked through the bustling streets after leaving the restaurant, Daniel hesitantly spoke up. There was a look of deep contemplation on his face. Johanna smiled softly, encouraging him to continue.
“I… I’ve found a sponsor.”
“What…?”
At the completely unexpected news, Johanna’s eyes grew as wide as full moons. Daniel gave a sheepish smile and continued speaking.
“Don’t worry. He’s not a strange person, and you know him too. It’s the Viscount of Bantwood.”
“Wh… What did you say? Viscount Bantwood?”
Now, it was beyond surprise—she was utterly shocked. She couldn’t understand how things had turned out this way, and she was bewildered to no end.
“Why… Why would you make such a decision without even telling me?”
“I’m turning fifteen soon, sis. I can’t keep relying on you like a little kid forever.”
“…”
It wasn’t exactly wrong; after all, she had started working at sixteen. But to Johanna, who had always thought of Daniel as someone she needed to protect, this situation was utterly confusing.
“There were… a lot of things that happened. I was the one who asked Lord Bantwood if he could be my sponsor first…”
“What about the student Lord Bantwood was originally sponsoring?”
“Well…”
The story Daniel told about the sponsorship went like this:
Kabil Berman, who had been the ward of Lord Bantwood, had caused a serious incident this time. In the process of handling the fallout, there had been a clash between the two.
“I don’t know all the details, but the Young Lord looked really exhausted. And Kabil seemed completely out of his mind…”
“…”
Whatever conclusion they came to, Kabil ended up being expelled and sent back to his hometown, and Daniel had grown closer to the disheartened Young Lord while comforting him.
“He turned out to be a really kind person. When I jokingly asked him, ‘So, you’re not planning on taking on another ward now?’ he said he had no such intentions at the moment. So, I just casually threw out, ‘How about me?’ you know?”
Coincidentally, the school principal, eager to keep the funding flowing, enthusiastically recommended Daniel as a ward due to his excellent grades, and Viscount Bantwood eventually agreed.
