CH 17

I couldn’t find an answer to the Duke’s words, my mouth only twitched.

Saying that I was afraid of little things like centipedes sounded like a scolding, but it also sounded a little kinder than his usual tone.

In the meantime, Elodie who ate the lunch box with gusto started playing with the other children again.

The Duke and I only looked at Elodie, engulfed in a strange silence.

‘What just happened?’

I glanced at the Duke.

Obviously, it was not a silly reason like ‘just because’ or ‘missing you’.

‘There must be a reason….’

But I didn’t even have time to think about it properly.

“Ahh!”

While looking away for a while, Elodie burst into tears.

My blood froze and I jumped up from my seat.

Several children surrounded Elodie with worried faces, I rushed towards them.

“Aria!”

Elodie cried out as soon as she saw me.

“Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh…”

Another child explained on behalf of Elodie, who couldn’t speak properly because she was crying.

“She fell while running and I think she hit her knee on a stone.”

I squatted on the floor, examining Elodie’s wounds.

Fortunately, she was not seriously injured because she was wearing thick clothes.

It was a light scratch and not much blood was seen.

I didn’t even think she could cry this much. When I first brought Elodie home, she couldn’t say a word, even if the child was cold, sick, or hungry she just put up with it.

It was the same no matter how many times I told her that she had to tell me if there was something uncomfortable.

How frightened and anxious she must have been. It took quite some time for the wall, which must have been built up by countless past wounds, to finally break.

It was good that Elodie, like an ordinary child, was frightened to be hurt and burst into tears.

“Elodie.”

I calmly called for her.

“Now, I’ll take care of this for you. Then it will hurt less. Can’t you stand still without moving?”

Elodie looked at me with tearful eyes and nodded her head, the sound of crying also stopped.

She certainly seemed to have found stability.

I took out a small pocket that I always carry with me. Inside there was disinfectant, an ointment that works well for scratches, and a band-aid.

This was the first time I used this on her, because she didn’t usually get into trouble.

I disinfected her wounds, then applied the ointment and put the band-aid. Oddly enough, Elodie didn’t cry when I applied the stinging disinfectant.

“Good job, Elodie.”

As soon as I praised her, Elodie’s face brightened.

“Can I play again?”

“Of course.”

I nodded and returned to the mat where I was sitting with Duke Vanice.

Perhaps she felt much better after receiving treatment, Elodie’s cheerful voice could be heard even from where we were seated.

“Look, even if I fell down big, it didn’t rip at all.”

“It’s a nice coat.”

Elodie had a big smile on her face.

“Right? It’s pretty, right? Aria bought it for me. Aria knows everything.”

I couldn’t hear the exact answer of the other child, but it seems that it was something positive.

Because Elodie got excited and started bragging about me.

Thump.

I felt something heavy coming back and forth from my chest. It’s common for small children to brag about their guardians, but this is….

Around the time when heavy emotions began to swirl from the deepest part of my heart. Duke Vanice, who had not said a word in the meantime, leaned towards me.

Shortly thereafter, shocking words flowed from his mouth, making me forget my troubles about Elodie for a moment.

“……I’m sorry.”

What did I hear?

My eyelids were trembling and my ears were blankly ringing.

I just stupidly stared at the Duke.

In fact, I had nothing else to say even if I hadn’t lost my mind.

The person who tried to kill me says sorry, but I can’t just let it go and say it’s all right.

“I’m sorry, I badly misunderstood you back then.”

How kind of you to shoot once again to confirm just in case I didn’t hear it.

The Duke slowly continued his speech.

“If I had killed you then…Elodie wouldn’t have been able to spend such a time.”

“I’m glad you seem to know that very well.”

I barely uttered a reply.

There were countless things I wanted to say while taking advantage of the guilt of the Duke.

If he had killed me, how was he planning to raise the child? Did he plan to feed that protein bar to her as well? Was he confident to raise Elodie properly?

But what came out of my mouth was an ordinary question that had nothing to do with Elodie.

“You must have seen the letter…Why did you try to kill me?”

“A letter?”

Duke asked with a puzzled expression.

He was dazed, It didn’t seem like a lie.

“Did you send something like that? To where?”

“The Duchy of Vanice.”

I started to get a little angry.

No, quite a lot.

“I even went directly to the Duke’s manor but I was driven away on the doorstep. Still, I asked the gatekeeper several times to tell about us, but you are saying you don’t even know about that….”

“Miss Bertin.”

The Duke called me in a gloomy voice.

“About the letter or the doorkeeper…I don’t know about these. In the first place, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Duke’s manor, and they don’t even bother looking for me.”

“What?”

I blinked my eyes.

Theodore Vanice was one of only two Dukes in the Empire.

It means that there are only direct members of the imperial family who are higher than that.

But he doesn’t even go to the Duchy.

“But the lights at night…”

“Of course, there is someone who stays there and manages it. Is it explained now?”

I frowned.

Of course, that alone cannot explain it.

“Yes, let’s say so. Then, how did you find our house? Didn’t you say that you haven’t even seen the letter?”

“……That.”

The Duke, who was about to answer something, shut his mouth.

‘……?’

I tilted my head.

Is that such a difficult question?

The Duke of Vanice moved his lips as if he had something to say, and then uttered a single word.

“I can’t tell you.”

Ah yes.

I had to try hard not to frown.

It’s okay to have a secret, besides I’m not particularly curious as to how this person found Elodie. But if you’re not going to tell me anyway, don’t start talking. I worked hard to get nothing in the end.

I grunted and drank hot tea from the thermos bottle.

Vowing to never expect a sane answer from the Duke, ever again.

* * *

‘I’m glad I came.’

Theodor Vanice thought so, as he watched Elodie giggling and mingling with her friends.

Aria was offended and he was kicked out of her mat, but he was still glad he could lean on a tree and continue to watch Elodie.

In fact, I agonized time and time again when I found out that the cafe was closed.

Wouldn’t Elodie hate it if I went to find her, wouldn’t it be better to tail them from a distance, she might think that a stray got in the way of their outing….

But there was only one reason Theodor appeared.

Elodie’s safety.

Furthermore, the safety of Aria Bertin, who is taking good care of Elodie.

Of course, the miscreant from the other day was easily dealt with, but there was no guarantee that another piece of garbage would not get tangled.

‘……?’

Theodor’s eyes widened.

Elodie stopped playing tag for a while, and when he naturally thought she would go straight to Aria’s side, she was actually trudging towards him.

His breathing began to quicken and his heart began to pound. A cold sweat formed on his neck, perhaps because of tension.

When Elodie finally stood right before him, Theodor called his daughter’s name in a trembling voice.

“…Elodie.”

“…”

The child bit her lips but didn’t say a word.

Fortunately, the silence did not last long. She raised her head with a determined face to do something.

“You know, Uncle…Are you my real dad?”

Theodor held his breath.

How can you doubt that?

Elodie was obviously his own daughter, who he raised since she was a newborn baby.

“……Yes.”

Theodore barely answered with a locked throat.

“Then.” (Elodie)

Elodie said bluntly.

“Where is my real mother?” (Elodie)