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Chapter 34
“Yesterday I suggested going to the study together, but he said he wasn’t in the mood for anything sweet today?”
“…….”
Noah, having gone up to Elbadin’s study, sipped his tea and spoke.
“You hardly gain any weight. Even with Meia taking care of your meals, it’s still like that, huh?”
Elbadin frowned slightly and responded curtly.
“Why do you have to drink tea in my study of all places?”
Noah crossed his legs and leaned back against the sofa.
“I thought you might be curious about that little one.”
Elbadin’s brow furrowed at that.
“……Me?”
Noah nodded and continued.
“I heard everything. When that little one lost consciousness from the gate’s side effects, you personally carried them back, right?”
“Should I have just thrown them in the back of the carriage?”
“That’s not what I meant. Usually, you’d leave that to the captain of the elite squad.”
“Edmond sent them back to investigate Mille Village,” Elbadin added. “So there was no other choice.”
“Oh.”
I didn’t know that. Noah scratched his cheek and spoke again.
“You even called that little one to eat multiple times, didn’t you? While with other little ones, you barely ever shared a meal.”
Elbadin let out a dry chuckle.
“They couldn’t even last through one meal without crying or losing focus.”
“Ah…….”
True, that makes sense.
“But that little one didn’t cry, and even talked back properly?”
“Yes.”
“So you invited them several more times to eat together?”
“…….”
“And yet you claim to have no interest?”
With a sigh, Elbadin set down the documents he had been holding.
“What is it that you want to say?”
“Even that day when the library caught fire, wasn’t it the same? As soon as I sensed the magic there, I left it behind and ran straight to that little one’s bedroom, didn’t I?”
“…….”
“Have you ever cared about any other child that much, Duke Decart?”
Noah’s gaze on Elbadin was unusually sharp.
“You’re not….”
“…….”
“You think that little one… might be your child?”
Elbadin remained silent, expressionless as usual.
Noah twisted his eyes in frustration.
“Is that really it…?”
“…….”
Elbadin lowered his gaze to the desk and said calmly:
“I’m merely considering the possibility. A child of a similar age, a magic that hides their appearance… that alone is enough to be worth investigating.”
“That’s not wrong, but……”
Noah looked at Elbadin with concern.
‘And yet, he always ends up hurt…’
Eight years.
In those eight years, how many suspicious children like Lucillea must there have been?
Children who lost their memories, children with black hair or red eyes like Elbadin, children with blue eyes like Grand Duchess Radia, children allergic to the same foods as Radia.
Even the smallest commonality or doubt became both hope and despair for Elbadin.
‘His expression hides it, but he’s probably hurt in every way possible…’
Sighing, Noah set down his teacup and rose from the sofa.
“Fine, do as you wish.”
Noah considered finding Elbadin’s child to be beyond his control.
‘Having never married or had children, I could hardly understand.’
Still, worry was unavoidable.
“Make sure you eat properly.”
“…….”
As Noah left the study, his heart felt heavy.
“Ouch……”
Lucillea quickly lifted her wand to check it.
“Phew, thank goodness. It’s not broken.”
She had worried it might break when it bounced off the floor after being flicked with some force.
‘As expected of my teacher.’
He wouldn’t have made it so easily breakable!
But then…
Lucillea finally looked up and saw who she had collided with: the head steward, Anton.
“Oh my, are you alright?”
Anton, who had been standing blankly until Lucillea looked up, extended his hand after their eyes met.
“You suddenly appeared and I couldn’t avoid you. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
Lucillea took Anton’s hand and stood up.
Thanks to her soft dress, she landed on her backside but it didn’t hurt much.
This time, only her palm had a small scrape.
She tapped it lightly and smiled at Anton.
“Hehe, I should have been more careful. I’m sorry.”
Anton smiled gently.
“No, I should have been more careful.”
His apology and smile were endlessly kind.
Anton carefully checked her condition, then asked again.
“It seems your palm is hurt. Shall I—”
Lucillea waved him off.
“No! It’s just a scratch, not an injury! Really, I’m fine!”
Hehe, Lucillea laughed innocently.
‘Strange.’
She thought to herself, puzzled.
‘Did I see it wrong?’
Right after the collision, Anton’s eyes had seemed somewhat cold…
‘It was only for a brief instant, maybe I imagined it.’
Now, Anton was simply a kind adult looking at her with concern.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave! Goodbye!”
Feeling uneasy, Lucillea hurried away, but Anton’s voice followed softly.
“Did you enjoy your lesson with Noah?”
Flinching, Lucillea reluctantly turned.
Anton, still smiling warmly, pointed at the wand in her hand.
“Seeing that wand, it seems Noah cares a great deal for you, Lucillea.”
“You know about this wand?”
How did he recognize it?
‘It looks like a rotting branch to anyone else.’
Indeed, the steward of a ducal house!
Lucillea admired silently.
Anton smiled and explained.
“The material is so rare that it’s unmistakable. Isn’t this Moonlight Wood, which only grows in the heart of the Forgotten Forest?”
‘Moonlight Wood?’
Lucillea tilted her head, hearing the name for the first time.
Anton continued, like a kind teacher.
“It absorbs moonlight as it grows, making it the best material for amplifying magic. Noah searched for it for years, and then personally made a wand from it… Truly remarkable.”
Wow… this rotting branch is actually such a precious wood?
Lucillea admired the wand sincerely.
‘Teacher! I’ll repay you for life!’
Maybe she had no parents so that she could meet a teacher like him!
Hehe, Lucillea chuckled and shook her shoulders.
Anton, watching her closely, spoke again.
“Seeing both the Grand Duke and Noah care for you, I have high hopes for the future of the ducal family.”
Lucillea laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.
She couldn’t understand Elbadin’s affection for her, but Noah’s care made her smile for no reason.
“Eh, teacher just treats all students well—”
“However.”
Anton’s voice carried a slight shadow of worry.
“A gem that shines too brightly… may also put itself in danger.”
Huh? Lucillea’s laughter stopped briefly.
Anton continued, looking at her with genuine concern.
“This estate gathers children who each consider themselves the best. Their pride and competitiveness can sometimes strike a gem and leave a scratch.”
He sighed.
“I only hope that your pure talent and the attention you receive don’t become a target of misunderstanding. Please, be careful, very careful.”
“…….”
Lucillea blinked, wide-eyed.
‘This… isn’t just simple concern, is it?’
