Chapter 39
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
Chapter 39
* * *
'At last, we've met.'
I wetted my dry lips with my tongue as I watched the Duke and Edwin standing face to face.
Though it differed from my original plan, the two of them had ultimately succeeded in meeting.
In the original story, the Duke would have been certain the moment he saw Edwin that the child was his son.
Though the progression had diverged somewhat from the original, if causality existed, the Duke would accept without difficulty that Edwin was his son.
"What is your name?"
"Edwin."
"Edwin, is it.... Did your mother give you that name herself?"
"Yes."
As Edwin nodded, the Duke's gaze grew even more tender.
"Do you know who your father is?"
"No. I don't know what my father looks like. My mother raised me alone."
"How old are you? When is your birthday?"
"That is...."
Overwhelmed by the relentless barrage of questions, Edwin took a hesitant step backward.
"I mean you no harm. There is simply something I must know.... Please, answer me."
It was a cautious demeanor he never showed to Lucian.
"I'm six years old, the same as Lucian. My birthday is in December."
"December, then.... Ah."
The Duke of Bellomen let out a brief exclamation. It sounded like both a hollow laugh and a sigh.
'The Duke parted with Iris in the summer.'
Having calculated the timing, the Duke would have been certain.
That Edwin was his son.
"Edwin.... My son."
As expected.
The Duke knelt before Edwin and drew the child into his embrace.
"Pardon?"
Edwin's eyes widened at the Duke's sudden declaration.
Edwin was not the only one in shock.
"What on earth is happening?"
"A son, you say?"
"Could the Duke have an illegitimate child?"
The servants observing the situation began to murmur amongst themselves.
"A, a son...."
Even the seasoned butler seemed at a loss for words, suggesting everyone was quite shaken.
Claude too seemed unable to close his mouth.
But what mattered to me was not their reactions.
"Lucian."
I approached Lucian and placed my hand gently on the child's small shoulder.
Lucian, who had been blinking silently, slowly turned his head to look at me.
"Aunt."
"Yes?"
"Why did Father call Edwin his son?"
"...."
"Father's son is me."
His face as he looked up at me was filled with confusion. He didn't understand the situation, but his expression showed he sensed something was amiss.
"And he even knelt before Edwin. You said knees aren't something you bend for just anyone."
Edwin and the Duke of Bellomen. Separate from the relief I felt at their meeting, my mouth had turned bitter.
Just as Lucian said, the Duke was not a man who knelt easily.
Even when holding Lucian, he had never knelt. In fact, he had barely ever held Lucian at all.
Yet that same Duke knelt before Edwin first, then embraced him. He even soothed Edwin with tender words he had never once offered Lucian.
Both children shared the Duke's blood.
Yet Edwin received such affection simply because he was born of the woman the Duke loved.
"...There must be circumstances we don't know about."
I gently stroked the crown of Lucian's head.
Despite achieving what I had hoped for, I felt no joy.
Why was I so powerless?
Why was I so weak that I couldn't protect Lucian?
I wished I could be Lucian's mother instead.
My heart ached in every way.
* * *
For the past few days, the Duke's Mansion had been in turmoil preparing to welcome Edwin.
While the Duke of Bellomen personally visited the Orphanage to complete the formal adoption procedures, the servants prepared a room for the new young master.
During this time, a high-ranking mage from the Magic Tower visited the Duke's Mansion to conduct a paternity test.
The results matched without question.
The sudden appearance of an illegitimate child left the retainers in shock, and the Duke shed tears of joy. Regardless of the retainers' surprise, he seemed overjoyed to have found the child of the woman he had loved so dearly.
However, the shock the retainers experienced was nothing compared to what Edwin himself endured.
The fact that he suddenly had a father was surprising enough, but Edwin couldn't calm his racing heart at the realization that his father and Lucian's father were the same person.
Already flustered by the confusion, Edwin became even more bewildered as his living situation changed.
Despite having wept with longing to live in the Duke's Mansion, Edwin struggled to adapt to the room now assigned to him.
Though I desperately wanted to comfort the shocked Edwin, I resolved not to seek him out immediately.
For Lucian too was caught in confusion.
Among all people, Lucian was the most important child to me.
He must already believe his father had been taken from him, and if I were to visit Edwin first now, Lucian would surely fall into deep sorrow.
For that reason, I stayed by Lucian's side constantly, ensuring he didn't feel anxious amid the servants' fuss.
Yet I couldn't hide the sun with my palm.
After a brief period of not understanding the situation unfolding before him, Lucian began to grasp and accept the changed atmosphere of the household.
The fact that Edwin was his sibling.
"Aunt."
"Yes?"
"So Edwin is Father's other son? That makes us brothers?"
"...Yes."
"But Edwin and I have different mothers. How can we be brothers?"
Half-brothers. It was a concept far too complex for a six-year-old child to grasp.
"Apparently, that's how it works."
Mistresses, illegitimate children, half-siblings—I had no desire to explain such complicated and sordid matters to a child.
In the end, I chose to offer an inadequate answer.
"Come here, Lucian. Let me hold you."
The boy toddled over and nestled into my arms.
"Aunt, I feel strange."
"Strange how?"
"Edwin wanted to live in our house, didn't he? He said he wished he had a family."
"Yes."
"I'm happy that Edwin got what he wanted."
In the original story, Lucian had burned with rage, believing that this rolling stone had stolen what was rightfully his. He felt neither sympathy nor compassion for Edwin.
Perhaps it was fortunate that he was now capable of feeling such emotions?
"But when I think about my father becoming Edwin's father too...my heart feels strange."
I patted Lucian's back encouragingly, inviting him to continue.
"I used to wish often that our father would become someone else's father instead. He was so frightening."
"...."
"But when Father is with Edwin, he doesn't seem frightening at all. The father he becomes for Edwin is incredibly kind."
"Lucian...."
"So when I see Father with Edwin, it hurts here. Like I've been pricked by a needle."
Lucian released his grip around my neck and touched his chest instead.
"But not with me...."
As he murmured this, Lucian's face bore the marks of deep hurt—though he himself remained unaware of it.
"Lucian, do you envy Edwin?"
"Yes."
Lucian nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"Then do you hate Edwin?"
"No."
This time, he shook his head firmly.
"Then...do you hate me?"
I watched him carefully before speaking with measured caution.
"You don't hate your aunt, do you?"
"Why?"
"Well...because Aunt brought Edwin here, and now you feel left out."
Lucian's heart mattered as much as his future. Though I had acted to prevent his corruption, my own selfishness had inflicted a deep wound upon this child, and I could only feel remorse.
So if Lucian hated me, I was prepared to apologize sincerely until his anger subsided.
"I don't hate you, Aunt."
But Lucian shook his head.
"I told you already. I said I hated you, but I've never actually hated you, not even once."
"...."
"Even when you scold me or disappoint me, I don't hate you. Because now I understand how much you love me."
"Lucian...."
"Am I wrong about this?"
"...No."
Shaking my head, I pulled Lucian into my arms. I couldn't let him see my tears otherwise.
"My little chickpea, when did you grow up so much?"
The child who once constantly doubted my love now understands my heart without a single word.
"I'm not a chickpea! I'm way bigger than Amelia and Edwin!"
"Of course, of course."
I buried my face against Lucian's shoulder as he squirmed in my embrace.
His growth always left me overwhelmed and remorseful.
'Lucian has done more than his fair share.'
So now, everything that remained was my responsibility.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org