MDRH 86

Chapter 86

Lucilea briefly gauged Elbadin’s expression.
‘He doesn’t seem too pleased, does he?’

She thought he’d dismiss her soon and instead talk with Elise—the girl who might very well be his “real daughter.”

But Elbadin rejected Baron Jaeger’s proposal without the slightest hesitation.

To Lucilea’s eyes, it looked as though Elbadin had no desire to entertain their presence.

Clearing her throat, Lucilea glanced between Baron Jaeger and Elbadin, then smoothed out her nervous expression with a serene smile.

“Forgive me, my lord baron. I was in the middle of discussing a concern I’ve been putting off for far too long.”

“……”

She met the baron’s cold gaze head-on and continued:

“His Grace is an extremely busy man. If I don’t make an appointment in advance, it’s nearly impossible to have a progressive, future-oriented conversation with him.”

In other words—don’t just barge in. Make an appointment.

“Perhaps you should return for today and set another time?”

She let out a harmless little laugh.

At her words, Elbadin’s gaze shifted to her. One brow arched slightly as he regarded Lucilea.

At that moment, Baron Jaeger smiled again, though this time with a faint trace of bitterness.

“I see. It seems in my eagerness I intruded upon your time together.”

His voice had softened, and surprisingly, he backed down without much resistance.

“I will offer my apologies for today’s rudeness another time. But before I go… Elise, that.”

“Ah, yes…”

At his signal, Elise carefully set down the box she was holding onto the table.

It was about the size of her palm, prettily decorated with watercolor-like designs.

Cookie bounded over and tilted his head at the object.

[A present! It must be a present!]

He sniffed it eagerly.

[Flowers? Grass? It smells like the garden!]

‘Flowers?’ Lucilea tilted her head.

Since Elbadin gave no reaction, Elise opened the lid herself to reveal the contents.

Inside lay a bookmark—pressed flower petals sealed between clear crystal plates.

“I made this while thinking of you, Your Grace. It seemed such a waste that perfectly good flowers get thrown away before they even wilt, so I thought of how they might be put to use…”

“……”

Elbadin looked at the bookmark for a moment, then nodded.

“You did well.”

“Thank you.”

Elise finally stepped back.

Baron Jaeger added:

“Lady Elise devoted the entire night to crafting it. I would be most grateful if Your Grace accepted it, remembering her sincerity.”

Elbadin merely gave a curt nod in reply.

“Then… we will take our leave.”

He lightly placed a hand on Elise’s shoulder and turned.

The two of them left the glass garden, leaving silence in their wake.

It was Elbadin who first broke it.

“Well then, now that the intruders are gone, shall we have one of those progressive, future-oriented conversations?”

“Eh? Wh-what?!”

Lucilea, who had been zoning out, nearly jumped out of her seat. Her startled look drew a chuckle from him.

“I didn’t realize I was so terribly busy. And yet you seem to barge into my study at all hours demanding this and that.”

“N-no, I didn’t mean it like that! I only said it to make the baron leave! And besides, when did I ever demand things? I formally requested support!”

Recovering from her fluster, Lucilea narrowed her eyes and retorted. Elbadin laughed again.

“True enough. They were requests for support.”

“Of course!”

Smiling at her indignant face, Elbadin turned toward the entrance of the garden.

“In any case, you did well. Today… I simply had no desire to face them.”

“……”

His expression looked oddly weary.

After a moment of staring toward the entrance, his eyes lowered to the bookmark left on the table.

And then—the temperature in his gaze shifted.

It was nothing more than a still glance, yet the look he gave the bookmark was chillingly cold.

A barren, joyless gaze.

Seeing his expression made Lucilea’s chest ache.

‘Why does he look like that?’

If she borrowed Grandpa Arkel’s words, Elise might be the “long-sought true child” he had spent his life searching for.

‘But his face right now… it’s far too cold for someone receiving a gift from a child who might be his own.’

Perhaps it was because the truth had yet to be proven.

‘As long as I’m here, she can’t possibly be the true daughter. But if the evidence and witnesses are forged thoroughly enough, then… it isn’t impossible.’

If it were concluded Elise was his real child, would his gaze warm?

Unable to contain her curiosity, Lucilea asked cautiously:

“…Does the gift not please you?”

Elbadin lifted his gaze to hers.

“It is true that I do not value it.”

“……”

“Why? Do I look like a heartless father?”

“Eh? N-no! That’s not what I meant…”

Yet, in truth, his words weren’t wrong. Today he did look cold.

Perhaps it was because she kept seeing herself reflected in Elise.

As if her own gifts were being rejected.

At that moment, Elbadin, stroking the back of Cookie’s head, spoke:

“Now, a potion you brewed for me—that is truly precious.”

“…What?”

“Because it was made entirely for me, was it not?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“Thanks to you, I no longer suffer from lack of sleep. For me, that potion of yours is more valuable than any other gift.”

“……”

Lucilea’s eyes widened little by little.

‘I never thought he valued the potion I made that much…’

Cookie, seizing the moment, burst out excitedly:

[See this vibe?! It clearly means he feels closer to you as a daughter than that fake lady! Just tell him already! “I’m your daughter!” Why can’t you say it?!]

Spill it all!

Cookie dramatically pointed a wingtip at Elbadin.

But then he froze, wings folding sheepishly as reality sank in.

[Right… we don’t have any proof…]

The only thing resembling proof was a scrap of dress identical to what the impostors had presented.

Lucilea quietly swung her legs beneath the table and replied inwardly:

‘Proof aside…’

She glanced at Elbadin, who was playing with Cookie at his fingertips, then shifted her eyes toward the east annex beyond the garden’s glass walls.

‘I’m afraid Serdian will hate me.’

[Huh? What’s that got to do with this?]

Lucilea answered his question.

‘Didn’t you notice how cold he was to Elise?’

[Ah…]

Yes—Serdian had become extremely sensitive since Elise appeared, likely because he suspected she was Elbadin’s blood.

‘He even made her cry in the garden.’

Lucilea lacked the courage.

If it were revealed that she was the real daughter—

And Serdian looked at her with genuine resentment, condemned her with harsh words…

‘I couldn’t bear it.’

Though she had approached him with ulterior motives at first—

‘And though I know he only thinks of me as a younger sister because of our age gap…’

She still cherished the rare moments of gentleness from that cold boy.

One day in the far future, no one knew how their relationship would end.

But for now, she didn’t want to ruin it.

Lucilea let out a deep sigh.

‘I can’t just ignore this forever.’

The villainess Lucilea from the original story had finally shown up. All her efforts to avoid a doomed ending were about to crumble.

‘But I can’t step forward and declare myself the real daughter either.’

If she stayed silent, the whole ducal house might be endangered. She hated that too.

‘Ugh! I have no idea what to do anymore!’

What am I supposed to dooo?!

Lucilea screamed soundlessly in her heart.

Elbadin, oblivious to her turmoil, simply enjoyed the rare peace as he sipped his tea with elegant composure.

That night.

Lucilea went up to her room and poured out onto the table the seeds and magic stones she had prepared earlier.

She studied the seeds closely, picking them up and setting them down one by one.

Evening wind rattled against the windowpane.

“These are ‘Solla’ herb seeds. When ground into powder, they release a forest-like fragrance that soothes headaches.”

Headaches! Cookie wriggled on her head in amazement.

[Oooh! That’s perfect!]

“And these are ‘Lunaris.’ When ground together with a magic stone and hardened with mana, they become as solid as moonstone.”

Tough enough to resist most weapons.

“They’re also said to amplify mana… I wonder how they’d react to aura. Maybe it would amplify that too?”

Cookie leapt from her head onto the worktable in excitement.

[Oooooh! Even better!]

“And this one…”

As Lucilea sorted seeds and magic stones into piles, the bedroom door creaked open.

Mei came in, carrying snacks.

She set them down on one side of the table, then tilted her head at the sight before her.

“What’s all this, Lady Lucilea?”

“Hm? Ah, um… this is, well… uh…”

Lucilea scratched her cheek, fumbling for words.

Mei grinned mischievously.

“Just ‘well’?”

Lucilea stiffly nodded.

“T-to give as a gift…”

“Oh my. To whom?”

“…There is… someone.”