CH 19

“……!”

Duke Vanice’s eyes widened.

Elodie twisted around as if uncomfortably but did not protest.

This too was expected.

It’s bittersweet, but Elodie will never refuse me.

“Really…Would it be okay?”

The Duke looked like he was pretending to be calm, but he couldn’t even hide his trembling voice.

“But not alone.”

I said firmly.

I could never yield this condition. The Duke of Vanice was a dangerous man, and I would never leave Elodie alone with him.

“And you can only come to the cafe three times a week. It helps with sales, but Elodie feels burdened.”

“If it’s too much of a burden, I’ll go only once a week.”

The Duke of Vanice answered immediately.

“And I only order one dish, but I’m glad it helped you with your sales.”

I was stunned for a moment and stared at the Duke.

The man seemed to have never noticed the commotion his presence caused at the cafe.

He has been treated like a superstar in this little town and he didn’t guess?

Well, since he was only looking at Elodie, I think it’s possible…

“Then, I’ll bring you the paper.”

“Paper?”

The Duke of Vanice raised one eyebrow.

“Everything we’ve talked about so far should be written down in a contract.”

I looked straight into the Duke’s red eyes and smiled sweetly.

“If you do not comply with the terms of the contract, the penalty is…Let’s go with the Duke’s house. It’s a place you don’t go into anyway, you can you give me that much, right?”

* * *

The day when the first three-way meeting was scheduled to happen dawned.

Elodie was very nervous in the morning, but she did not refuse to meet the Duke.

Since the day wasn’t a cafe holiday, I proposed to the Duke to go have dinner together after the cafe was closed. The Duke seemed to like the idea, so he informed us that he would make a reservation at a restaurant.

‘As expected, it’s an expensive place.’

I was lost in thought as I took the hand of Elodie, who had a sullen face, and went to the address the Duke gave me.

It’s only a matter of having dinner together. Haven’t we already had a meal together at a picnic?

After a while.

We set foot in a high-end restaurant that we normally wouldn’t even dare to enter.

The employee guided us to the place where the Duke was, even though I didn’t even say my name, as if he had been given our description in advance.

‘……?’

I stared at the Duke in amazement.

It was because he held a huge bouquet of flowers in his arms. It was a bouquet almost the size of Elodie, full of flowers that looked very expensive.

The problem was that Elodie was unlikely to like such a large bouquet. It would be better if it were a teddy bear.

That was then.

The Duke of Vanice suddenly presented the bouquet to me and my eyes narrowed by themselves.

This…why are you giving this to me?

It wasn’t too difficult to conclude.

‘You’re trying to look good on me.’

Anyway, he was already too late to win Elodie’s heart. Therefore, it seemed that he decided to target me, who had a hard defense compared to Elodie.

But I couldn’t say it was a good fit either. Because the gift I hate the most is flowers.

If it’s artificial flowers, it’ll last longer, but real flowers, it’ll become trash, in any case, it was not much trouble to just take it.

I picked up a bouquet of flowers in a daze and put it on the side.

“Uh…thank you.”

A thank you came out of my mouth by reflex.

Well, if you get a present, you have to say thank you no matter what.

“Do you like it?”

The Duke’s tone was strangely impatient.

I asked back, blinking my eyes slowly.

“Do I like it?”

“I don’t know. Mind reading is not my specialty.”

“I like it.”

I smiled brightly.

“…Really? I think you were a little surprised at first.”

“Well.”

I quickly rolled my brain.

“If you say I was surprised, I can’t say no. At first, I thought it was a gift for Elodie.”

“…Ah.”

The Duke let out a short moan.

“I have something to say about that later. Now I want to know if the bouquet was a good present for Miss Bertin.”

“Oh, it’s all right.”

I replied cheerfully.

“Your Excellency thought of me and carefully selected it, how could I not like it?”

Actually, I didn’t really like fresh flowers. In particular, I didn’t like the types of flowers that are large and cumbersome. However, unlike my first impression, the more I looked at the bouquet, the more I liked it.

The reason was simple.

Because it was expensive!

It must have been an expensive and rare variety. Every single one of them had an exotic appearance that I was seeing for the first time.

‘It would be perfect to hold an event where I hand out one flower to each guest who comes in tomorrow.’

If the Duke had given me a bunch of wildflowers that he had plucked from the street, I would have asked him to throw them away immediately.

But there’s no need to give up on expensive flowers, right?

Soon the food started coming out.

As expected of a high-end restaurant, each one was neat and rich in taste.

…well, Elodie seemed to enjoy my food more, but it was delicious to my taste.

“Elodie, why don’t you try some salmon too? Don’t you like salmon? Then how about grilled lobster?”

Seeing the Duke who was so anxious to do anything for Elodie made me feel good.

Fortunately, Elodie didn’t seem to be as reluctant as she used to be. Rather, she even asked questions about the Duke with shining curious eyes.

“How old are you?”

“Do you have a lot of money? How much? More than Aria?”

“Are you good at anything? Can you sing well?”

It was more like a question a child would ask a person they are meeting for the first time rather than a question to ask their parents, but I just looked at the two of them happily.

Well, it’s normal to be curious about wealth.

Later, it will all be her property after all!

Moreover, the Duke seemed to be happy that Elodie showed interest in him. It made me realize that the Duke is twenty-seven years old, has more money than me, and that he can’t sing well.

However, Elodie’s chatter was short-lived, and by the time the dessert was served, she seemed tired, so the child fell asleep leaning against me.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her innocently sleeping without knowing the world.

“…Sleeping is the same.”

The Duke suddenly muttered a word.

He was looking at the child with eyes that saw Elodie as if she was an invaluable treasure and it was so tender that it touched my heart.

‘Yes, these two are going to be a pretty good pair of father and daughter.’

A slightly bitter thought followed.

When their relationship normalizes, I become unnecessary to Elodie. It didn’t matter though, because, to me, Elodie’s happiness is more important.

“I have to ask you something.”(Duke)

“Yes?”(Aria)

“Do you know exactly how old Elodie is? I mean, do you know when her birthday is?”

“Uh…”

I blinked my eyes.

Of course, there’s no way I knew her birthday.

I never asked. Because a child, who doesn’t even know her own name, would never know her age or her birthday. I was just vaguely thinking that it would be good for Elodie to celebrate her birthday on the same date we first met.

“It’s the 5th of next month.”

The Duke threw out a reply.

My eyes were wide open.

Because December 5 is less than two weeks away.

“At that time, she will be six years old. If possible, I want to congratulate her. But, even if I’m left out…”

The Duke spoke calmly, but could not hide his sadness.

“Please come.” (Aria)

Words popped out before I thought.

“Anyway, you are Elodie’s only family. I’m having a little party at the cafe, so come on over.”

“…!”

The Duke’s face hardened for a moment, and a hopeful look began to emerge.

“Don’t prepare too big a gift. Everyone will be discouraged. Just, whatever Elodie needs is enough. Do you understand?

“…Really, can I go?”

The Duke’s hesitant voice sounded more desperate than ever.

I nodded vigorously.

It seemed that more powerful words were needed to reassure this poor man.

“It’s the day Elodie was born. If you don’t come, who can come to celebrate?”