TMOHI 25

Chapter : 25

No matter how puzzled his aide looked, Harton carefully opened the envelope.

With an excited heart, he unfolded the letter inside and saw Eani’s neat handwriting.

“Harton, how was your day today? Here, things have gotten quite lively with the new head chef. The chef has been experimenting a lot using Ladyb, so my taste buds have been having fun lately~. I hope to show you the chef’s skills someday. Ah! The new head chef and all the cooks she brought are women. No need to worry!”

He grinned.
It was a relief to see that Eani was doing well.
Harton barely managed to hold back his longing as he read the letter.

Then he noticed something attached to the back of the letter.
What’s this?

He peeled it off to examine it and instantly stiffened.
…This can’t be real.

Even after squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again, what he saw hadn’t changed.
Harton murmured unconsciously.
“This… can’t actually exist…?”

This…
A photo of the Duke and Duchess of Seind and Eani, sitting side by side on a sofa, smiling affectionately—it couldn’t be real!

Shocked, Harton checked the note written beneath the photo.

“Your parents had a good time on this island~. They took good care of me!”

No way!
It was none other than his parents.
Selfish and arrogant people who had only ever used their son as a tool!
And since they had always been desperate to harm Eani, there was no way they would genuinely care for her.

Harton stared at Eani, sitting in the middle of the sofa with the Duke and Duchess’s arms around her, and frowned.
Was she threatened?

It was possible.
His gentle, fragile Eani might not have been able to resist the overbearing couple.
Naturally, Harton imagined Eani, scared by the Duke and Duchess’s intimidation, looking up with doe-like eyes and on the verge of tears.

“Help me, Harton! Please notice my distress signal!”

The thought alone made it impossible for him to stay still.

Bang!

Harton kicked the office door open and strode inside.
“Your Grace! Has something serious happened?!”

The chief aide, who had been waiting, nearly ran after Harton, but his long strides made it impossible to keep up.

Having left the panting aide behind, Harton stormed straight into the office of his father, Duke Seind, Regis.
“What rude behavior is this!”

Regis, sitting at his desk, shouted sharply.
His eyes, still showing the pallor of illness, were surrounded by dark circles, likely from sleepless nights.
“Impertinent! How embarrassing!”

The Duchess, Fabettia, who happened to be in the office, glared fiercely at Harton.
She too seemed to have a throbbing headache, pressing her fingers to her forehead while sitting on the guest sofa.

Harton didn’t even register their condition.
Usually, it was mother who tormented Eani the most.

He strode toward Fabettia and roughly placed the photo from earlier onto the sofa table.
“What is this?”

Fabettia, seated on the sofa, frowned and inspected the photo. Then—
“Eeek!”

A shrill, unearthly scream escaped her as her body trembled uncontrollably.
“My… my neck! My neck!”

She clutched her nape and collapsed.
Immediately, the medical staff waiting outside rushed in.
“Madam!”
“Her hysteria has flared! Quickly, take her away!”

The medical team carried Fabettia out.
What…?

Harton raised an eyebrow, watching quietly.

Then Regis shouted,
“Where did you get that cursed photo! Remove it at once!”

Harton’s gaze settled even more calmly.
“It seems Father understands just how disgraceful this is.”

He approached Regis with measured steps.
“Why did you take this photo? Were you trying to leave evidence that you threatened Eani?”

“What? Threaten?”

Regis was incredulous at his son’s misunderstanding.
“Eani Nacel? Threaten her? She threatened me?!”

“…Don’t be ridiculous. That kind woman wouldn’t threaten you. Anyone can see that you forced a smile from Eani and took the photo yourself.”

You can fool others’ eyes, but not your own.

Harton restrained his habitual anger with reason as he whispered.

Regis let out a roar in frustration.
“Graaah!”

“?”

He beat his chest repeatedly, as if the fury inside him was unbearable.
Why is he acting like that too?

As Harton frowned, Regis hurled the documents he had been reviewing at him.
“Look! See! Look at this and tell me if I threatened Eani Nacel!”

Harton glanced down at the documents that fell at his feet. His eyes widened in surprise.
10 billion gold…? Why was such a huge sum suddenly liquidated?

“Why else? Eani Nacel! It’s for that insolent one!”
That shout made Harton even more confused.
“You mean… you gave 10 billion gold to Eani? For what reason?”

“Reason?!”

Because she dared to threaten him, the one who had gone mad over money!
Because if he didn’t give her the money, she would destroy their family, smiling maliciously!

But…!

Harton couldn’t ask him that.

Regis, frustrated, seemed about to explode.

Ignoring his father’s state, Harton asked again,
“I asked why. What’s the purpose of this money?”

If even a little harm came to Eani because of this—

Murmuring quietly, Harton made Regis finally shout:
“Allowance! It’s an allowance! Happy now?!”

“…Hah. Incredible.”

Before Harton could comment, Regis, apparently struck by his own words, cried out again and collapsed forward.

The medical team rushed in and carried Regis out this time.
“The Duke’s hysteria has flared as well!”

“What on earth…? What could have happened to the luckiest two people in the world?!”

The Duke exited in a pitiful state.
Harton’s gaze sharpened as he watched.

Allowance? And 10 billion gold at that?
I’ve never even given Eani that much in cash.

Even in this situation, jealousy and competitiveness began to rise within him.

Blaming his simple instincts, Harton suddenly remembered an important fact.
Wait. If both of them have collapsed… what about work?

Thus, the day he would return to Tadivna Island was being pushed further and further away.

The house under construction was finally complete.
After the construction workers left, I came to inspect the finished home.

“A house without any patterns… The furniture design seems a bit crude.”
“I like how clean it is. If we decorate it too fancily, it’ll just go out of style.”
“Yes, sister! It’s amazing to see the interior I imagined come to life! Oh, the bathroom! As expected, a magically enhanced bathroom is the best!”

Of course, the three sisters—Elin, Belin, and Selin—also expressed their excitement.

“The kitchen is surprisingly spacious for a home. The flow is more efficient than in previous houses.”
“I like the kitchen, but… will guests actually come to our restaurant to eat?”
“Ah, don’t worry. If they come here, of course they’ll eat food prepared by someone else.”
“Then there’s no reason to have a kitchen in the guest rooms, right? It might be better to remove it cleanly, like at the Quend Hotel.”

Even Meno and the restaurant staff were present.
The youngest of the restaurant team spoke boldly, prompting others to quickly cover her mouth.
Then, they looked at me awkwardly and smiled.
“Hahaha, she says things without fear.”
“Eani must have a reason for everything.”

I chuckled at their words.
Indeed, resorts were almost nonexistent in this world.
Even the few that existed only had small kitchens so travelers from other countries or distant provinces could cook as they liked.

Most other accommodations were like hotels, separating guest rooms from the owner-operated restaurant.

That was exactly why I had decided to build a resort.

I looked silently at Meno, who was inspecting the house.
Since she requested to speak more freely now that she worked under me, I opened my mouth lightly.
“Meno, you’ve worked at the Quend Hotel for a long time. You know its flaws.”

“…”

“What do you think was the biggest problem with the Quend Hotel?”

Meno swept her hand over the large table as she considered the question.
After a moment, she spoke with determination:
“The Quend Hotel is strictly designed for ‘adults.’ There’s nothing for children!”