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At the sudden remarks of my father, my mother and I looked at each other for a moment.
“Me? You mean me?”
“Right. I want to go out with you today. Of course, Bebe will go with you.”
“Ah.”
“Didn’t you say it’s okay to use you?”
Only then did my mother smile and nod.
“That’s right. I don’t want to be here for no reason just because I’m Bebe’s mother. Good. Where are you planning to go?”
I was embarrassed, but my mom wasn’t. My confident mother, just like old times, raised her head and made eye contact with him.
“You’ll find out later, so make sure to eat and get ready.”
“Sounds good.”
However, contrary to the expectation that he would leave immediately after he had said all he had to say, the Grand Duke did not even think of leaving. He just stood still and looked at us.
I had to eat, but his gaze was so burdensome.
My mother slowly lifted the tableware as if she was used to eating while someone was looking at her, but I wasn’t comfortable with it.
In the end, after being patient, I stood tall on one side of the room and looked at my father, who was looking at us.
“Didn’t you say everything you wanted to say?”
“Of course.”
“But aren’t you going?”
“Hmm
 I want to see your face right now.”
The Grand Duke took turns looking at my mother and I, smiling slightly.
‘I understand that you’re looking at me, but you’re looking at my mom
 Oh no!
‘I understand that you see me, but seeing your mother
 Stand, no way! Did your heart suddenly turn dark?!’
Unlike the first time, the Grand Duke, who looked quite friendly, looked at my mother with a strange expression.
It was clear that he had a heart.
“Dad.”
“Yes.”
“
Mom and Dad can’t go. You guys don’t really love each other. You’re just pretending to love each other.”
“Yes?”
“Of course. Never.”
I shook my head back and forth to express my opposition. Several times a day, I used to constantly think, ‘The Grand Duke is fine as a father. I think he’ll be fine as my mother’s husband’, but today my heart is like, ‘No way!’.
When the Grand Duke did not show up, U thought he would be okay as my mother’s husband, but when I thought about it, it’s not like that up close.
What should I say? ‘I miss you when I don’t see you, but I don’t want to see you when I see you’?
Anyway, not today.
“You don’t like the relationship between Mom and Dad?”
“Yeah! What a waste!”
“Who’s the waste?”
Now he was sitting right next to us, staring at me.
“Huh?”
“Who do you think is a waste?”
“Ah! Of course it’s a waste of my mother.”
My dad’s face hardened at my confident words.
“
Don’t you feel sorry for Daddy? I’m quite popular.”
“That’s why it’s not okay. You’re popular because of how you behave; a father of three or four children!”
“B-Behave? Bebe, I should be proud of you for using such difficult words casually, but this is breaking Daddy’s heart.”
“Why? I thought my dad would say it was a waste of course.”
I shook my head from side to side at the sight of the Grand Duke who said nothing of the brazen words.
“It’s up to you to misunderstand.”
“But
”
At that moment, my mother, who was resting her chin on her palm as her arm rested on the table, intervened between us as if it was funny.
“Who do you think is more valuable to you? I think I’m more of a waste.”
My mother, who had been silent the whole time, smiled as she tilted her head slightly toward my father.
“Oh
 Hmm
 Who’s more of a waste between us? It’s just
”
“just?”
“It’s nothing.”
The tip of my dad’s ears turned a little red at Mom’s bold words as she scratched her head.
Seeing my dad like that, I kept saying what I wanted to say.
“That’s right! After all, he’s a man! He needs to be courteous!”
“C-Courteous?”
At my words, the Grand Duke repeatedly opened and closed his lips like a duck.
“Yeah! It was in the book. Anyway, if you are courteous
 uh, and if you treat my mom well, I’ll think about whether or not you’ve passed as my mom’s husband or if you failed.”
He raised his fingers and moved them left and right.
My dad looked desperate, his face looking like the world had collapsed.
“How firm.”
“Yeah! And it’s not that attractive either. I can’t believe you’re sitting next to me while I’m eating. I can’t do things like this. I can’t.”
At that moment, Dad made an ‘ah’ sound, and slowly got up from his seat.
“Okay. I should get going since you’re talking like that.”
As if he had become a turtle, Dad moved slowly.
My mother and I had no choice but to turn our gaze to the Grand Duke. Perhaps he didn’t want to go out even in the midst of this, so he turned his head from time to time to look at us.
However, Mom and I didn’t deliberately call him until he left the room, and in the end, Dad went out after a long time.