Chapter 163
* * *
Actually, she sotis resented Evan’s long hair. In the sense that it hid his neat face.
But she really liked how he would smile shyly whenever Loretta brushed aside his fallen hair.
‘He cut it off…’
“Yeah, I was surprised too. It seems Master Jeremiah is good at cutting hair too. Evan looked very neat, just like a noble young master.”
“I… see.”
Loretta answered a bit gloomily.
She was so upset that his fluffy hair had been cut off and she couldn’t even see how it looked.
“It must have been fun. I’m envious.”
“Yeah, but everyone seed sowhat empty without Loretta there.”
Since Loretta was the only one missing among the ducal siblings.
“Evan even said ‘The Young Miss isn’t here.'”
At the last thing lody added, Loretta’s face gradually started brightening.
“…Really?”
“Yeah, really. Though it was hard to hear since he spoke in such a small voice.”
“Heh heh.”
Loretta could easily imagine Evan saying that.
“You know, lody. I’ve made up my mind.”
Loretta firmly pressed her lips together and nodded.
“What did you decide?”
“Next ti sothing like this happens again, I will definitely go to the banquet by myself. And return to the mansion ahead of everyone. Like Cinderella!”
“You’re going to leave your shoe behind for the handso partner on your way out?”
“I won’t do such a sloppy thing as leaving evidence.”
Loretta’s shoes had the Baldwin ducal family’s crest engraved inside the heel.
So if she left her shoes behind, they would be delivered to the Duke at the banquet hall.
Loretta would be completely caught for secretly enjoying the banquet.
“Above all, there’s no need to leave my shoes behind anyway.”
Loretta raised her chin slightly and smiled confidently.
“Since there’s no way anyone wouldn’t recognize .”
“…That’s true.”
Loretta was the capital’s most popular child who even lted the stoic Emperor’s heart.
“Ugh, Father is really too much. He must be strict only with .”
“That’s not true, Loretta.”
lody answered in a tone filled with deep worry.
“The Duke is very strict with
too.”
Actually, lody had been summoned to the Duke’s study this morning.
It was probably because she had gone to Kristonson with Claude while he was away.
‘…I’m going to get scolded so badly.’
lody sighed.
At the sa ti, Loretta also let out a deep sigh, so the two ended up looking at each other and smiling radiantly.
* * *
After finishing a quick breakfast with Loretta, lody arrived in front of Duke Baldwin’s study.
Standing in front of that sturdy door, the night she had pierced Claude’s ears suddenly ca to mind, making her feel montarily dizzy.
So of the events that happened that night were not appropriate to take place in the Duke’s study while he was away on a business trip.
‘He couldn’t have found out about that too, right?’
If even that beca known to the Duke or her parents, lody would surely be too embarrassed to even lift her head.
lody pondered a bit more in front of it, then mustered her courage and knocked.
As if waiting, an answer ca right away.
“Co in, lody.”
It was a sowhat angry-sounding voice, so lody entered the study with her head deeply bowed.
“I… ca as you called, Your Grace.”
“Sit.”
When he offered her a seat, she carefully lifted her head to see Claude Baldwin, another sinner being scolded first, sitting across from the Duke.
Judging by the sowhat heavy atmosphere, it seed the Duke had definitely found out about their trip to Kristonson.
lody sat a little distance away from Claude and lowered her head again.
Even while only looking at her knees, she felt like she could sense the Duke’s strict gaze staring at her intently.
‘Oh, he must be really angry.’
What lody and Claude had done could potentially go against the Emperor’s mood. It was only natural for the Duke to be furious.
“lody.”
At the calmly spoken call, she slowly lifted her head.
“…Yes.”
“I thought you knew you were loved.”
But the first thing the Duke brought up was a bit different from what she had expected.
“Huh?”
“But it seems it wasn’t enough.”
“Ah, no. How could I not know? How much you and my parents…”
“How long will it take.”
The Duke waited for lody’s unfinished words, then quietly opened his mouth.
“For you to realize we worry about your future with the sa heart we worry about Loretta’s?”
“I… know.”
lody quickly answered.
“I’m always grateful. But Loretta’s situation is different. It’s right to worry about her more… I think.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, Loretta is…”
Since she has the sa constitution as her mother, she won’t be able to live a peaceful life without the male protagonist.
“lody Higgins.”
The Duke called her na again.
“…Yes.”
“Whether it’s a future you know or not, it’s the sa to worry about. Moreover, if it’s about my children, it’s not sothing to weigh the importance of.”
lody hung her head deeply again.
“I was wrong.”
“As long as you’re reflecting, that’s enough. And I express my gratitude for finding that child.”
“No. I was just lucky. Really.”
“Well, since you’re safe… Anyway, I’d like you to be a bit more careful from now on.”
When she didn’t answer, he asked again if she would do so. He must be worried about lody getting more deeply involved.
“…Yes, I will.”
“Good, I appreciate you saying that. You may go back now. I heard you have an appointnt, so you’ll need to prepare.”
“A-Already?”
lody lifted her head in surprise. She had expected to be scolded to tears for at least two hours.
“Isn’t it strange to deliberately hold back and scold a child who is reflecting?”
“That’s… true, but.”
She alternated between looking at the Duke and Claude, then hesitantly stood up from her seat.
“Then, um. I will take my leave first.”
After lody left the study with a bow.
The Duke silently stared at his eldest son sitting without a word.
The Duke was insensitive to others’ emotions, but he wasn’t pathetic enough to not notice his long-raised child’s true feelings.
During the short ti lody had been in the study, the Duke knew Claude’s eyes had no choice but to follow her footsteps.
And the Duke easily guessed from what kind of heart such actions of the young man stemd.
“…I apologize.”
At the words the Duke spoke after a long while, Claude looked at him with surprised eyes.
“I was the one who taught you to utilize everything you have.”
Claude was a bit special compared to the other children.
The Duke beca a parent for the first ti because of Claude, and naturally ended up teaching wrong things often due to being unaccustod to it.
It seed that was the case this ti too, so the Duke felt a small sense of guilt.
“No.”
Soon, Claude shook his head.
“I’m not a child either. I should have been able to think for myself what I could utilize and to what extent.”
His voice was already mixed with deep regret.
“…When coveting Miss lody, I shouldn’t have used the Higgins na… No, I shouldn’t have. At least from the mont I clearly realized my feelings.”
“Yes.”
The Duke nodded.
“It’s easy to keep soone by your side through orders.”
“Yes, and Miss lody has a trendous sense of duty towards the Higgins na.”
He smiled bitterly.
“I shouldn’t have taken advantage of that pure heart.”
“Actually, I was going to punish you… but it seems you’re already receiving enough.”
“I wonder.”
“So.”
The Duke sat up straight and leaned forward.
“Has there been any contact from him so far?”
“Not yet. However, I investigated where his child and wet nurse are staying, so we can utilize that in case of ergency.”
“…So it was true.”
The Duke muttered in a new realization. But noticing Claude’s gaze, he added an explanation.
“Of course, I didn’t an I didn’t believe lody. It’s just…”
“I know. In what sense you said that.”
As lody had said, Prince Samuel’s son was found. So the cruel fate approaching Loretta was also truly drawing near.
“What will you do?”
“We must join hands.”
The Duke answered without hesitation.
“He and I are comrades with children in peril, so we can be of help to each other. Although the political issues may…”
But regarding this part, he seed a bit troubled as he pressed his forehead with his fingertips.
“Arise quite seriously, hiding a young child safely away from prying eyes is not that difficult either.”
“Yes, it’s sothing Mother did too.”
“I never imagined we would utilize the mansion she secretly prepared like this.”
The Duchess had quietly raised Loretta in a cozy and quiet mansion, avoiding the eyes of the world.
The Duke planned to utilize that mansion for this matter.
As a place to hide Prince Samuel’s son and his wet nurse.
“But that mansion is quite a distance from Kristonson. Would Prince Samuel want to be separated from his son?”
To persuade him, they would need to convey the fact that ‘in the future, the Emperor finds out about his son’s existence.’
The problem was how to tell Prince Samuel about this future event that hadn’t happened yet in a way he would believe.
“If we inform him about the birth mother’s execution, he will probably know he has to do that even if he dislikes it.”
“He will be very curious about our intentions.”
“Probably so.”
“To what extent do you plan to share the truth?”
“Well…”
The Duke pondered for a mont, then slowly shook his head.
“That can only be decided after eting him.”
“Let’s hope he will be a good collaborator.”
“If you wish for that, I should show the attitude of a good collaborator first. So for now, all we can do is wait for him to make up his mind and contact us.”
“That’s like you, Father,” Claude said with a slight smile.
“So, Claude Baldwin.”
“Yes?”
“If there are any important words you need to convey to ‘soone,’ it would be better to say them now. Whether it’s an apology or an explanation.”
At the Duke’s words, Claude’s shoulders drooped deeply.
“…Yes.”
“Because we don’t know what might happen in this mansion after we receive contact from that side.”
* * *
As the Duke had said, lody who left the study first had an appointnt.
That appointnt was a bit special, so lody was sowhat nervous.
In fact, until now, appointnts for her had only been related to the ducal family mbers.
But today was different.
Yesterday at the imperial banquet, lody had the opportunity to exchange greetings with a few noble peers.
They were all kind and seed to want to talk more with lody.
They looked so regretful when she was leaving that they urgently asked to et again today.
lody couldn’t refuse their request and ended up nodding.
‘But… it’s strange.’
Staring blankly at the gloomy sky that looked like it might rain at any mont, lody rode the carriage to the Hatfield mansion.
‘It felt like they all had trendous interest in
for so reason.’
At first, she thought they were interested because of lody’s special circumstances. Going from a slave trader’s daughter to a noble young lady.
But no matter how much she thought about it, that didn’t seem to be it.
If it was that kind of interest, their gazes should have contained so sort of contempt as was usually the case, but lody didn’t really see such an indication.
Rather, how should she put it…
‘…Admiration?’
Thinking about those sparkling eyes, it kind of seed like that…
But there was no reason for nobles born with noble blood to look at her that way, so she put aside that assumption for now.
‘What was it, that gaze?’
Reviews
All reviews (0)