I was nervous the whole time.
The Duke wasn't one to take back his words so easily.
What on earth did he say?
'It's likely to be something meaningless, but.'
Still, the fact that there was something he said that I didn't hear was bothering me.
And it came from the Duke's mouth.
If I asked, wouldn't he tell me again?
He hates repeating himself, but he seems to have become quite lenient lately.
With vague expectations, I looked at him.
The Duke kept his mouth shut for a long time, quietly looking at me.
He didn't tell me to leave, didn't tell me not to ask pointless questions, didn't even tell me what he had said.
'What is it?'
His silence was strange.
Is it just my imagination? It seems like he's somehow... conflicted.
'Conflicted?'
But that was absurd.
What could the Duke of Rodbel, of all people, hesitate to say,
Especially to me!
'What on earth did he say to make him look like that?'
I asked again out of a strange unease, but seeing him like this made me determined to hear what he had said again.
Tell me. Tell me.
I stared at him, my eyes shining, but.
"...It's nothing."
"Ah..."
The answer was so disappointing.
"If you're done, you may leave."
I was about to ask more, but I soon closed my lips and nodded.
"Yes, good night."
There was no response.
I didn't wait and left the room.
"Haa..."
I leaned my back against the door for a moment and sighed.
'I'm exhausted...'
From anxiously trying to find the Duke, worried that I might have my newly acquired qualification taken away, to the unexpected events that followed one after another.
Although I didn't find out what the Duke had said...
'This should allow me to keep my qualification.'
Now I think I can relax and sleep.
As the tension eased, I was overcome with a rush of fatigue.
'Let's go back.'
I turned around without regret.
And I hurried back to the room where Marine was waiting.
─Thud.
There was not even the slightest breath left in the room after Lucia left.
Ego Rodbel stood there, watching the small movements beyond the door.
She seemed to be breathing shallowly, exhausted, but soon moved away.
Soon, she was completely gone.
Alone in the stillness, he murmured quietly.
"Pathetic."
It was pure reproach, devoid of any emotion.
And the target of that reproach was Ego Rodbel, himself.
The truth that he couldn't bring himself to reveal to the young illegitimate child.
The fragment of the words that Lucia wanted to know.
'Wasn't she often held in the arms of the Aen Lixus Commander?'
The Duke Ego Rodbel's eyes sank heavily as he recalled the time.
The Duke also didn't know why those words popped out at that moment.
He just couldn't understand.
The Duke had often witnessed Lucia being held in Aen's arms.
During the move, when he looked out the window while working, when he took a night walk.
Aen Lixus carried Lucia, who was exhausted from training, as if she were something very precious.
Lucia also readily snuggled into Aen's arms.
'The commander says that she is sometimes exhausted from the lessons and has difficulty moving, so he carries her.'
Ligrinn explained, worried that Lucia's appearance might be viewed negatively.
However, Ligrinn also overlooked a fact.
The Duke had no interest in whose arms Lucia was in.
The Duke indifferently watched Aen and Lucia's receding figures before turning his head.
But why?
'Annoying.'
The sight of the two of them looking too close was like a thorn in his eye.
No, in fact, it's not just that time.
Continuously, since some time, Lucia has been annoying him.
It's strangely nerve-wracking and his gaze keeps following her.
That was why.
Even though he knew that Miracle was hurt, he approached Lucia, and when he saw her looking troubled, his body moved before he could think and he spread his arms.
...Of course, he was rejected.
'Rejection...'
Thinking about it made something boil up inside him.
It felt like anger, or something else...
'She readily snuggles into other people's arms.'
'There is a strong bond between the young lady and Commander Aen Lixus.'
As Ligrinn said.
In the Duke's eyes, there was something special between Lucia and Aen.
What on earth was it?
Why him of all people?
The Duke's gaze turned cold as he thought of Aen Lixus.
Aen Lixus was the most powerful of all the past magic knights.
From a status no different from a commoner to the commander of the Rodbel Magic Knights, the path he had taken had been passed down among the knights like a legend.
Furthermore, despite having such power, he also possessed the incorruptibility of an immovable mind that was not swayed by temptation.
He was a man who did not hide his inner thoughts, and who possessed a righteous sense of duty and unwavering faith.
In Rodbel, where it was difficult to tell who was the enemy and who was the ally, there were few people as reliable as Aen Lixus.
Aen Lixus was an indispensable talent in the Rodbel that he would create in the future.
However...
'I don't like it.'
The person who had been more trustworthy than anyone else until recently had become displeasing at some point.
Ego Rodbel could not know when that point was, or exactly why.
"......"
No, he shouldn't know.
The moment he realized it, it felt like there would be no turning back...
"He's lost in thought."
It's just a stray thought that doesn't help him in any way.
After neatly clearing his mind, he was about to turn around when.
Knock knock.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Ego Rodbel's head snapped around.
He certainly didn't feel any presence, but.
'Has the Council of Elders already moved?'
But that's strange.
If it were an assassin, they would quietly infiltrate, not politely knock on the door.
"......"
Knock knock.
When there was no response, the uninvited guest knocked again.
It was a light and gentle knock.
The Duke stared at the door.
Bang-!
He abruptly threw the door open.
But there was no one in front of him.
His gaze, surveying the surroundings, slowly, slowly went down.
Soon, his eyes widened slightly.
He said in a surprised voice.
"...Miracle?"
"Hehe."
Miracle, wearing a white and lovely frilly nightgown, smiled brightly at the Duke while holding a pillow tightly.
On the contrary, the Duke wore a rare look of bewilderment.
He asked.
"What's going on at this hour?"
His voice sounded somewhat cold.
Miracle's smile disappeared from her face as she felt it.
Instead, she asked with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
"Daddy, are you angry that I came without permission?"
"......"
"Sniff, I'm sorry."
The Duke sighed and shook his head as he looked at Miracle, who was finally shedding tears.
"It's not that, I'm worried because you're wandering around at this late hour. Miracle, why aren't you sleeping and came all the way here alone?"
"Sniff, well..."
Miracle crossed the threshold and approached the Duke.
She held onto the Duke's clothes tightly with her small hands, and looked up at him with frightened eyes.
"I had a scary dream."
"A scary dream?"
"Yes, what kind of dream is it..."
Closer and closer.
Before he knew it, Miracle's two hands strongly bound the Duke.
"It was a dream where Daddy abandoned me."
"......"
"I was so scared, lonely, and cold, and Daddy left me alone in a place and left forever. It was so vivid, it didn't feel like a dream, so I just came."
"......"
"Are you very angry? I'm sorry."
Miracle sniffled.
After quietly looking at Miracle like that, the Duke swallowed a sigh.
And he lowered his stance and picked up Miracle.
"Miracle is still young. A dream is just a dream. The important thing is reality."
"Sniff... but it's scary. I don't even want to imagine Daddy not being there. Can I sleep with Daddy tonight...?"
The Duke hesitated for a moment at Miracle's earnest request.
Because he hadn't slept with Miracle since she turned 8 years old.
But...
"Please. I want to sleep with Daddy today. I'm scared to sleep alone..."
"......You should have your personal maid."
"I like Daddy more than Julia! I feel relieved when I sleep with Daddy. Otherwise, I don't think I'll be able to sleep at all."
Miracle whined and continued to cling to him.
It was behavior that was unlike the usual Miracle.
Even if she was innocent, she wasn't immature.
'Is it because of that incident...?'
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