/
“Well……”
Bothered by the strained relationship with Siegfried, she tried to reconnect with him somehow. But she couldn’t honestly apologize to him.
At a loss for words, the countess quickly changed the subject.
“Well, by the way, what brings you here? I’ve asked you to come several times, but you’ve never moved from the Duchy.”
The old duke’s expression darkened at that question. He seemed to be deeply troubled by something.
“……It’s nothing,” He answered. He simply shook his head.
“Well, I see,” the countess replied awkwardly.
It was a situation where pointing out the uncomfortable parts wouldn’t lead to a productive conversation.
It would be better to leave the situation rather than further engage in conversation with the former duke.
“I’ll take my leave then,” Ghiberti stated. And with that, the countess left.
The former duke fell into deep thought alone.
‘Siegfried.’
The only son left by his wife, whom he loved with all his heart. That’s why he didn’t want to send him to dangerous places.
But Siegfried, who had always been obedient, for the first time defied the former Duke’s words.
‘Not once have you respected what I wanted to do.’
It was the first time. Siegfried had never looked at the duke with such a disappointed gaze.
‘Never mind. I don’t need your permission.’
With those words, Siegfried took up his sword and threw himself into the war against the demons. He met excellent comrades and accumulated various achievements. Finally, he even subjugated the five Demon Lords.
‘……The hero of humanity.’
It was something to be proud of.
But when he thought of all the hardships Siegfried must have endured to earn that title, as a father, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat bitter.
Besides, he suddenly had adopted a young girl.
‘Her name was Tatiana, right?’
It was said that she was a child who had been persecuted in the Demon Realm. Well, considering his compassionate nature since he was young, it was possible.
Also.
‘You don’t have to worry about the child.’
Not only Siegfried but even Cesar and Kirios seemed to not see any danger in the child.
However,
‘……The situation is quite suspicious.’
In truth, the old duke had something to tell Siegfried.
At first, he considered informing him of the situation through a letter, but the problem was the issue of their relationship.
Since Siegfried left to subjugate the demons, the two had never contacted each other even once. It was too awkward to suddenly exchange letters now.
So, he pretended to accept the invitation from countess Ghiberti and personally went up to the estate.
‘If my speculation is true…’
After a moment of contemplation, the duke couldn’t help but voice his thoughts.
‘No, there’s still no concrete evidence to support it.’
However, the wrinkles etched on the former duke’s forehead showed no signs of fading away. On the contrary, they seemed to deepen even further.
* * *
And so, on the day of the appointment, I headed to Ghiberti’s townhouse with Siegfried.
“Welcome, Duke Orleans. Thank you for coming.”
We were greeted by Count and Countess Giberti and the two children, with the countess seemingly in the lead as the matriarch.
The countess, who greeted Siegfried gently, glanced at me disapprovingly.
“……And the princess, too.”
Apparently, Countess Ghiberti didn’t want to miss her chance to mend fences with Siegfried.
At least she was much more polite to me than before.
She even called me Princess, which was a long way off from how she used to treat me.
“Hello!” I greeted the grown-ups of the Ghiberti family brightly, pretending I don’t know them.
Then I looked at the two children.
On one side was Lisbeth, who had sent me the invitation, and next to her was the heir of count Ghiberti?
As our eyes met, they forced a smile.
‘I believe his name was Wolfren.’
They truly looked like siblings, with their rather identically grumpy looks.
And there, Siegfried was awkwardly exchanging greetings with a middle-aged gentleman.
“It’s been a while, Father.”
“……Yes.”
Ah, is that Lord Orleans?
He was a middle-aged gentleman in his late 50s, exuding a dignified aura.
Judging by his polished appearance, he must have made many ladies weep when he was young.
His sharp features and golden eyes reminded me of Siegfried.
Well, he’s his father, after all. I suppose that means Siegfried looks like the former duke?
“…….”
“…….”
Meanwhile, Siegfried and the duke remained silent beside each other. The atmosphere was so awkward that I felt suffocated just by observing it.
‘Eh, really.’
I extended my head forward from Siegfried’s side and greeted his father cheerfully.
“Hello, former Duke Orleans! I am Tatiana von Orleans!”
For a moment, the Count and Countess, as well as the former duke, stared at me with wide eyes. Perhaps it was because I introduced myself with the surname “Orleans”?
Well, now that I am officially an adopted daughter, there was no way the Duchy of Orleans was going to fall into the hands of the Ghiberti family.
“Is this……the child you adopted?”
Meanwhile, the former duke looked at me with a complex gaze.
At the same time, Siegfried placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Yes, she is my daughter.” Then, with a wary look, he shot a glance at the former Duke Orleans. “Even if Father says otherwise, Tatiana is still my daughter.”
“What?” The former duke responded.
“So,” Siegfried barreled on, “If you’re trying to convince me otherwise, stop.”
Wait, why are you suddenly getting angry?!
I was speechless.
Honestly, from the former Duke Orleans’s perspective, he can’t help but dislike me, right?
The head of the Empire’s most prestigious family suddenly adopted an orphan girl of unknown origins.
The former duke’s face contorted.
‘Oh no, is he getting angry?’
When I was nervously swallowing my dry saliva.
“No, who says that child isn’t your daughter?”
……Huh?
My eyes widened in surprise.
‘Wait, you’re acknowledging me as Siegfried’s daughter?’
The former duke continued to rant.
“If you adopted her, then of course she’s your daughter! Why do you treat me like such a narrow-minded person?”
“…….”
In that instant, a faint surprise flickered in Siegfried’s eyes.
“That’s enough, you ungrateful child!”
As the former Duke Orleans got angry and turned abruptly, our eyes suddenly met.
‘Heuk.’
Pretending not to know anything, I shrugged my shoulders and asked them.
“Are you two fighting right now?”
“…….”
“…….”
At that moment, the two men exchanged glances.
I alternated between the two of them with a wistful gaze.
“Are you two not on good terms?”
“It’s okay, Tatiana. Don’t worry about it.”
Siegfried looked down at me, suppressing his anger for the moment.
“No…… it’s nothing like that,” the former duke also spoke up in a restrained voice.
It seemed like they thought it wouldn’t be right to fight in front of a child.
I blinked my eyes.
‘You two look alike.’
Their way of protecting a child was quite similar. No matter what anyone says, it seems that the two of them are indeed father and son.
Perhaps sensing the tense atmosphere between the two, Countess Ghiberti hurriedly spoke up.
“Well, shall we go into the drawing room? Everyone is waiting.”
“Yes, of course.”
The oldest, the former duke, nodded.
Together, we stepped into the count’s townhouse.
* * *
The accompanying adults went to different rooms to have separate conversations.
I headed to the tearoom with the Young Lady of Ghiberti.
However, the less than five minutes it took to arrive at the tearoom were absolute torture for me.
‘Ugh, seriously.’
I suppressed the urge to sigh out loud.
‘My ears are going to bleed…….’
And no wonder – little Lady Ghiberti had been incessantly chattering away the whole time.
“I’ve just bought a new carriage, and how splendid it is…….”
“This painting is beautiful, isn’t it? It was painted by a very famous artist! Do you know Francisco?”
“Recently, I had a dress made for myself. I used the finest lace, so it was quite expensive.”
Endless bragging and showing off about things I couldn’t care less about continued.
“I only invite carefully selected ladies to my gatherings.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Of course. All the ladies are dying to be at my gatherings.”
“I see,” I replied without any enthusiasm.
“Well, Lady Tatiana, you have probably never attended such social gatherings before…..”
Lady Ghiberti scrutinized me from head to toe and smiled smugly.