Chapter 13
Chester spoke coldly to the shocked Malenda.
“You’ve been lining your pockets quite well. When I told you to take full responsibility for Kailas, did you think it meant you could steal all the money meant for the child?”
“T-That’s a misunderstanding! I—”
“Enough.”
As Chester snapped his fingers, Enzo, who had been standing by, handed Malenda a large document envelope.
“You’re fired, Malenda Margo. There will be no letter of recommendation. Instead, take this.”
Malenda took the envelope without thinking, her eyes widening.
The brown envelope bore the Imperial Court’s seal and the words Indictment.
She began to tremble as a merciless gaze fell on her. Then Chester’s icy voice echoed through the room.
“Clear up your ‘misunderstanding’ in court—by yourself. All your assets will be confiscated. And even after you serve your sentence, it would be wise never to set foot in the capital again.”
After speaking, Chester glanced at his aide and gave an order.
“What are you waiting for? Take her away.”
“Your Grace! Your Grace!”
Malenda screamed desperately as Enzo dragged her away, but her voice only echoed emptily through the mansion.
“…I owe the teacher a debt.”
Ignoring Malenda’s fading cries, Chester muttered to himself.
As soon as he thought of the bold yet bright new tutor, warmth returned to his previously cold face.
But when he thought of his nephew, his expression hardened again.
All this time, because he felt sorry toward Maeveah and Lillian, he had turned away from Kailas.
He thought that giving a large sum of money to a nanny was enough to fulfill his duty.
But it wasn’t.
‘Does Uncle… hate me?’
The moment he remembered his frightened nephew asking that question, his mouth went dry. Even the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he almost raised his voice without thinking.
If the new tutor hadn’t been there at that moment, he might have made an unforgivable mistake.
If she hadn’t calmly soothed Kailas and shown him how to speak to the child.
‘Please don’t forget your dinner promise with Young Master Kailas today. Please.’
The new tutor was different from all the others who had come to Valerio before.
Even when Chester tried to persuade her, she never tried to stuff her own pockets. Even when she was splashed with milk and clearly uncomfortable, she never showed irritation toward the child.
‘Maybe I should watch her a little longer.’
Lost in thought, one of Chester’s eyebrows slowly rose.
Still, no matter what, he couldn’t trust someone he had just met today. After all, even the nanny who had taken care of Kailas for years had betrayed him.
Because of that incident, he had to be even more cautious.
‘First, I should inform my sister-in-law that the nanny has been dismissed.’
Chester sat at his desk, pushing the image of the new tutor out of his mind.
As he took out his letter paper, his gaze had noticeably softened.
“Teacher, I… how do I look?”
Holding Kailas’s hand as they headed toward the dining room, Eurenia stopped walking.
They were on their way to have dinner with his uncle.
Kailas had already asked the same question ten times.
Eurenia smiled warmly at the excited child, bent her knees, met his eyes, and answered.
“You look wonderful.”
“Really?”
Relief spread across Kailas’s face, and he broke into a bright smile. His cheeks, flushed with nervousness, turned a soft peach color.
“Then… how wonderful?”
He licked his lips as he asked. Eurenia adjusted the bow tie around his neck and replied,
“Like a prince from a fairy tale. No—actually, even more wonderful than that.”
“Like the prince in the fairy tale you read to me yesterday?”
“Yes.”
Eurenia looked at him with a proud smile.
‘Kailas really was born handsome.’
She had thought he was cute when she first met him last week, but now that he was properly dressed, his beauty truly shone.
With his small face and perfectly balanced features, he looked like a doll.
‘All that’s left is to get him new clothes.’
With a bit of regret, Eurenia tugged lightly at his short sleeves.
Since she hadn’t been able to buy new clothes yet, Kailas was still wearing what he had brought when he first arrived at the mansion.
Children grow quickly.
Even though it hadn’t been long since he came here, his sleeves had already become too short.
‘The tailor shop being fully booked can’t be helped.’
Hiding her disappointment, Eurenia neatly fixed his hair. Kailas stood still, obediently letting her touch him.
Unlike when she first met him, he now looked every bit like a noble child.
After Eurenia’s first meeting with Kailas, many things changed in the Valerio Dukedom.
The Duke kept every promise he made to Eurenia.
First, he dismissed the nanny, Malenda. Eurenia didn’t know what happened to her afterward. Enzo and the other servants avoided talking about it.
But it seemed clear that the Duke had dealt with her cleanly.
To be honest, Eurenia wasn’t very interested in what happened to the nanny.
What mattered was how Kailas was treated.
The Duke moved the child’s room to the second floor of the east wing, right next to his own bedroom.
All the furniture inside was replaced with custom-made children’s furniture crafted by the finest furniture masters in the Empire.
At last, Kailas could live in a room that truly suited a child.
The Duke also reassigned Eurenia’s room to be right next to Kailas’s.
Though hired as a tutor, Eurenia would now take care of Kailas closely, replacing the nanny.
A generous pay raise came with it.
The Duke’s consideration for Kailas seemed endless. Surprisingly, he ate with his nephew every single day.
‘I thought he’d only have dinner together on the day Kailas asked.’
That was the most unexpected part.
In most noble families, parents rarely eat with their children. Managing the territory and the household keeps them far too busy.
Finding time to eat together regularly is nearly impossible.
Yet since that day, the Duke hadn’t missed a single meal with the child.
“Shall we go now, Your Highness? Your uncle must be waiting for you.”
“Yes!”
“What were you doing that you’re only coming now?”
Just as the two of them were about to walk down the hallway again, hand in hand, the Duke appeared, dressed casually in a comfortable shirt.
“Uncle!”
Kailas shouted happily when he recognized him. The fear and avoidance he once showed were nowhere to be seen.
“I was just on my way to you!”
“That’s a relief. I thought I’d been stood up.”
“Huh?”
At the Duke’s joke, Kailas widened his eyes. Not understanding, he tugged on Eurenia’s hand and asked,
“Teacher, what does ‘stood up’ mean?”
“It means he was worried you might not come even though he waited.”
“Oh!”
With his curiosity satisfied, Kailas smiled brightly. Then he ran up to his uncle, grabbed his waist, and said confidently,
“Don’t worry. I won’t stand you up.”
“…What?”
The Duke’s eyes widened at the child’s innocent reply. He looked down at the top of his nephew’s head, then burst into laughter.
“Hahaha. Alright. Thank you.”
Eurenia watched the affectionate uncle and nephew with a gentle, satisfied smile.
A separate palace within the Imperial Palace.
Among the many private residences for nobles serving the Imperial family, one mansion stood out with overwhelming grandeur.
In a pastel-toned bedroom decorated beautifully, a very small girl lay with her eyes closed.
“Lillian…”
Lady Maeveah gazed quietly at her daughter, her face full of sorrow.
She couldn’t remember the last time she heard her child laugh.
Perhaps… she might never hear it again.
‘I’m very sorry, Marchioness Dalton. It may be time to prepare yourself…’
Remembering the physician’s despairing words, Maeveah tightly closed her eyes.
