CH 26

Ah.

I just shook my head when I figured out what he meant.

“That’s fine.”

Contrary to my heart, short and blunt words came out.

Actually, I wanted to be honest.

I knew that it was a side effect of black magic. It was pitiful to see him thinking of Elodie even when he lost his mind. That’s why he doesn’t need to apologize to me……

However, only high-ranking aristocrats knew that Duke Vanice used black magic, so it was a matter of course for the Duke to be suspicious of me if I brought up black magic.

“……”

He stared at me without saying anything. Unable to bear the silence, I opened my mouth first.

“I’m going to have dinner with Elodie right now. Would you like to eat together?”

“Is it all right to do so?”

The Duke looked as if he couldn’t believe my words.

“Of course. You’ve come all the way here, so have dinner before going.”

“……Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. What would you like to eat?”

“Everything is fine. Because whatever you make is delicious.”

“……Ahaha.”

Laughter burst out of my mouth for a moment. The Duke asked with a puzzled face.

“What is so funny? I sincerely……”

“Oh, Elodie said the same thing a moment ago.”

I continued talking while wiping the tears from my eyes.

“I have to say that father and daughter really look alike……”

“But everything you make is really delicious.”

Even the serious tone with 100 percent purity in sincerity resembled Elodie’s, so I laughed again.

“Sorry. Even your tone is really similar……”

“Is that so?”

The Duke smiled.

“Well, then, I guess this is it. Since you love Elodie that much, I’ll take good care of you too.”

* * *

Feeling much better, I sat Elodie and the Duke in the living room and headed to the kitchen.

Elodie looked a bit uneasy, but she didn’t seem as afraid of the Duke as she used to be.

The Duke was also very nervous but seemed ready to approach Elodie.

‘Well, nothing much will happen if I let them talk for about thirty minutes.’

I decided to leave the restoration of the relationship between father and daughter to the two of them for a while and began diligently preparing food ingredients.

Both Elodie and the Duke said anything was fine, but how could I actually serve just anything?

Still, it should be enough to treat guests.

At first, I couldn’t cook properly because I was listening to every sound coming from the living room, but I was able to concentrate on cooking with peace of mind at the sound of a timid conversation going on.

Around the time when I was diligently slicing carrots.

Thud. Cookung.

The sound of objects falling was heard.

I frowned.

I don’t know if it’s in the kitchen, but I don’t think there was anything that made such a loud noise in the living room.

I put down the knife and quietly headed over there.

‘It may not be a big deal, but I’ll have to check what’s going on…what?’

I blinked.

Expensive chairs that had been matched with the living room table were randomly scattered on the floor.

Even though the thick carpet was laid out, I could guess how hard it fell down to hear that sound even in the kitchen. But I couldn’t possibly be angry with the Duke, who seemed to be the main culprit.

They were all furniture bought by him anyway, but that wasn’t the only reason.

Elodie looked so happy.

She was excited to the point where her face was all rosy. The Duke’s cloak was draped over the table like a tent and she hid under it, with only her head sticking out.

The Duke’s voice was filled with tension. It was a low voice as if telling a secret story.

“So, I told the dragon. A hundred years too soon to take my life. Naturally, the dragon got angry and began to shake the ground.”

Kwak!

A chair collided with the table at the Duke’s splendid movement and collapsed. I thought it was a pretty hard bump this time and the table would be scratched.

Elodie gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

It looked like she was holding back a laugh that was about to burst out at any moment.

Seeing Elodie’s smile, the Duke seemed happy too.

Thud!

As the Duke described himself fighting the dragon, he lifted the table with a flash and put it down on the floor with a thud.

The living room, which the Duke had spent a lot of money to decorate with great effort, began to deteriorate.

However, neither Elodie, who bursts in admiration while concentrating on each of the Duke’s movements nor the Duke, who moved only with the sole intention of making Elodie happy, paid attention to such trivial facts.

It wasn’t that I didn’t feel the need to stop the Duke’s actions.

The problem was that when I saw Elodie, who was smiling with dark red eyes that looked exactly like the Duke’s, I didn’t want to disturb them at all.

‘……’

I should be happy, Elodie and the Duke getting closer is exactly what I wanted……but for some reason, a bitter feeling surged up with tears.

Perhaps Elodie will not need me anymore, much sooner than I thought.

I made a quick decision and quietly went back to the kitchen so that they wouldn’t catch sight of me.

‘Yes, this is correct.’

As I trimmed the onions, I briefly imagined my daily life after Elodie and the Duke moved into the Duke’s manor.

There would be no need to worry about Elodie every day, thinking about food, clothing, and shelter, or worrying about the Duke’s eccentricities.

But……

I listened for a while.

When I was concentrating on making food, I heard a sound I hadn’t heard before.

Elodie’s breathless laughter filled with excitement, the sound of furniture being thrown around and the Duke’s passionate retelling of a nonsensical saga……

These were noises that I could never hear again in this small, cozy house when Elodie and the Duke left for a world that had nothing to do with me.

‘……It’ll be really quiet.’

I thought so, blinking my eyes that were stinging from the spiciness of the onion.

If I live alone in this house as I used to…….

Just a little bit, I think I’ll be lonely.

* * *

“More, more, please!”

“I’m sorry.”

Theodor apologized as he looked down at the little girl who couldn’t even reach his waist.

“But Miss Bertin’s food will be ready soon. If we don’t want to make it hard for Miss Bertin, we should organize it accordingly, right?”

“……Yes.”

Elodie nodded her head with a wistful face.

Theodor sat down on the floor and resisted the urge to give the child a tight hug.

Because he had work to do now.

He quickly put the tables, chairs, and carpets back in place. He also didn’t forget to put back the small items he used as props to tell the story to Elodie.

Elodie also helped Theodor clean up with her small bracken-like hands.

Theodor, who had quickly finished rearranging all the furniture, checked for damage with a meticulous eye.

‘I’ll have to put in a new table.’

He looked down at the table, which had small scratches here and there and pondered.

‘This time, I’m going to show Miss Bertin the catalog and ask her to choose it herself.’

While I’m at it, ask her to choose more furniture she wants.

‘Then would the house be too small?’

Theodor’s thoughts spread like branches of a tree.

He might as well get a decent new house. No, Aria Bertin could be burdened under the strain of such major changes, so it might be better to just do an expansion of this house.

However, it seems that the owner of this house is a different person……

It seemed that she paid the so-called ‘monthly rent’, which was universal to the common people.

If so, one way is to buy the entire house and rebuild it.

‘What if she says that she doesn’t like that too?’

Aria’s voice filled with teasing came from behind Theodor, who was seriously agonizing.

“If you have free time, please help me carry the food. I’ve made too much.”

“I get it.”

His face flushed a little.

‘She’ll think I’m pathetic.’

To be caught lost in thoughts by no one else, but by a woman as sharp as Aria Bertin.