Chapter 24
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Chapter 24
I had been postponing his invitation to share tea whenever time allowed, using my lingering illness as an excuse.
'It's burdensome, but I can't avoid it forever.'
Now that the Orphanage Director and staff had been dismissed, I was the adult who knew Amelia best. As her guardian, he would naturally want to ask me how she had been faring.
'He might want to express his gratitude more.'
Though I had already heard his thanks plenty of times. Perhaps it still didn't feel sufficient to him.
Besides, he would be leaving soon. It seemed better to have a thorough conversation before his departure so neither of us would harbor regrets.
"Then shall I go meet with them?"
I rose from my room to find Amelia and Claude.
I encountered Gillian walking from the opposite direction about halfway down the corridor.
....
Since he was hardly someone I welcomed, my expression soured slightly.
It was uncommon for Gillian, who primarily used the second floor of the mansion, to venture up to the third floor where my room was located.
'What brings him here?'
Between us lay an awkwardness.
Still, I couldn't be so rude as to ignore him entirely, so I gave a slight nod. I intended to offer only that much of a greeting before passing by.
"Are you feeling well?"
It was Gillian's voice that stopped me.
"Me... you mean?"
I pointed to my chest with my index finger as I asked.
Gillian was actually speaking to me first?
"Is there someone else here besides the young lady?"
"Well, that's true, but... this is the first time you've initiated a conversation with me."
"Ah."
Gillian rubbed the back of his neck, seeming embarrassed belatedly.
"I heard you were bedridden for four days straight."
"Yes. It seems I overexerted myself without realizing it."
"That's why you should move around more regularly."
....
Was he picking a fight? Coming all the way up to the third floor for this?
As I watched him provoke my irritation without changing his expression, veins began to bulge on my forehead.
"Are you acquainted with him?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked if you have a connection with Marquis Agris."
Gillian posed a question whose intent I couldn't discern.
"I wouldn't call it a connection, exactly...."
How should I answer in this situation?
I couldn't say we were acquainted since there was no real intersection between us, yet I couldn't simply explain the matter concerning Amelia either.
"We just... happened to meet."
"Happened to meet?"
"Yes. But why are you curious about that?"
Seeing him about to pepper me with more questions, I decided to strike first.
"Well..."
Gillian trailed off as though he'd heard something difficult, then opened his mouth again.
"It's because your behavior seemed unfamiliar to me, young lady."
"My behavior?"
"Yes. It's not easy to work so hard for someone else's sake that you neglect your own body."
He wasn't wrong. It took more than ordinary courage to throw myself into saving someone with whom I shared no blood relation.
Moreover, I had even picked up a shovel myself—something an ordinary noblewoman would never dare imagine doing.
"I wondered if perhaps you harbored feelings for the Marquis. If you cared for him, such actions would certainly be possible."
"Care for him? That's absurd!"
I bounced to my feet like a fish flopping on dry land.
"You know Amelia was at the Orphanage I sponsor, don't you?"
"Yes."
"The Marquis came to the Duke's Territory after reading the letter I sent. The avalanche happened on that road. When I realized he might have suffered because of me, my body simply moved of its own accord."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Truly."
I fixed Gillian with eyes that held not a trace of deception. He gazed back at me, then nodded as if he understood.
"I didn't know the circumstances were such."
"Well, now you do. That's fortunate."
Yes. Once Amelia returns to the Marquis's household, this will all come to light anyway.
'I can barely afford to look good in front of Amelia—how could I become my uncle's lover?'
Every child I'd seen so far was terribly jealous. Lucian was no exception. When I first visited the Orphanage, he'd made a fuss about me abandoning him.
Even the kind Edwin had shown jealousy once Lucian began to care for Amelia.
'He's merely an uncle I've just met. If he were to gain a lover, Amelia might well be heartbroken, thinking she's lost her only family.'
Besides, I was a dependent of the Duke's household—a mere hanger-on, a noblewoman in name only. For Amelia, my becoming my uncle's lover would surely be distasteful.
'...And truthfully, I'm not even Claude's real lover.'
The image of me fretting over something that wasn't even real was utterly ridiculous.
'No, wait. This is Amelia we're talking about. Amelia, who holds Lucian's future in her hands!'
So I absolutely must not do anything to displease her.
With that resolve burning bright, I met Gillian's steady gaze upon me.
"Haven't you left yet?"
"I forgot the most important thing to say."
"The most important thing?"
I'd thought he came to interrogate me about Claude and myself. Did he have more to tell me?
Before I could tilt my head in confusion, Gillian spoke.
"The Duke will be returning soon."
* * *
The moment I finished my conversation with Gillian, I hurried toward Lucian's room.
"Lucian!"
"Aunt, you can't go running around like this! You'll collapse again!"
"That's not important right now. Just get dressed quickly."
I opened the door leading directly to the dressing room.
"Why? Where are we going?"
"The Orphanage."
"The Orphanage?"
Lucian rose slowly from his seat, his face clouded with confusion.
"Why there?"
"Edwin and his friends are there. We should go visit them."
Originally, the Duke of Bellomen had no reason to visit his territory for some time. But everything changed when Claude Agris came to the Duke's Mansion.
A distinguished guest was staying at the Duke's residence, so it was only proper to make an appearance. Claude Agris's standing within the Empire was that considerable.
I was startled by the news that the Duke, who had remained in the Capital for months, was finally returning—but I quickly devised an excellent plan to naturally bring Edwin and the Duke together.
It was to bring Edwin to the mansion under the guise of being Lucian's friend. If I brought only Edwin, it might raise suspicion, so I would include a few other children as well.
Their common status was a minor concern, but it would aid Lucian's social development, and if I mentioned they were children close to Amelia, the Duke wouldn't be able to refuse.
And as the Duke went about the mansion as usual, he would finally encounter him—Edwin, who bore such a striking resemblance to him and possessed the crimson eyes of his former lover.
After that, things would proceed smoothly. In the original story, the Duke recognized Edwin as his son at first glance.
So my only task was to position Edwin before the Duke at precisely the right moment.
Besides, I was worried about Edwin being alone since I was taking Amelia away.
"So hurry up and get dressed. If you don't want me to dress you, I'll call the Nanny."
"Mmm..."
I was desperate for time, but Lucian, oblivious to my urgency, shook his head and collapsed back onto the sofa.
"What are you doing? Get up now."
"Do we really have to go?"
"My goodness, look at you."
I placed my hands on my hips.
"You used to insist on going every single day."
"That was because Amelia was there."
Lucian pointed with his index finger to where he lay.
"But now Amelia is here, isn't she?"
"You..."
Dumbfounded, I stared at Lucian with an incredulous expression.
"So you've been following me to the Orphanage all this time just because of Amelia?"
Now that Amelia was home, he didn't want to go out?
"It's not exactly like that... Of course I was worried about you too!"
Lucian spoke while gauging my reaction, but it was already too late.
They say love blinds you, and here's this little one already smitten!
"Lucian, so everything you said about wanting to play with your friends was a lie? You said you wanted to share chocolate cookies with Edwin and play peek-a-boo with Cherry."
"That's not it..."
Lucian scratched his cheek awkwardly.
If this were before, he would have said, "Of course it was a lie! Aunt's so silly!" But seeing him flustered like this, it seemed not everything he'd said was false.
It's a relief that he's developed some concept of friendship and trust, but...
"Still, I prefer being alone with Amelia to playing with my friends."
"...Sigh."
This was problematic.
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