WARDV 34

CHAPTER 34

Elisé’s eyes, which had been burning with resentment, suddenly wavered with uncertainty.

With trembling hands, she touched her stomach.

That was the biggest reason she was rushing to get married.

The child in her womb—who had never existed in the first place.

And the way Faydan’s attitude had started to change ever since Leticia left the ducal estate.

I have to become the duchess as soon as possible using the baby as an excuse… and then say the child was lost…

The further time passed, the harder it became to fake a pregnancy.

She was running out of time.

“Y-Yes, of course. Thanks for your concern.”

“Anyway, think carefully about attending the Founding Festival. I’m only saying this because I care about you.”

Feigning concern to the end, Faydan gently patted her shoulder and left the dining room.

But as soon as the door closed behind him, his face twisted into irritation as if the kindness had never existed.

“There’s no need to act that naïvely innocent, even in the head…”

Clicking his tongue, Faydan made his way back to the office. Upon seeing the mountain of paperwork on his desk, he muttered another curse.

No matter how much he racked his brain, stressed, and worked, the documents never seemed to decrease. He was getting sick of it.

And every time that happened, Leticia would pop into his mind again, fueling his frustration.

That wretched woman. I handed the position of duchess to nothing more than a baron’s daughter… and instead of being grateful, she runs away?

Grinding his teeth while thinking of Leticia—

Bang!

The door burst open without warning. Lockhard came rushing in, face pale as a ghost.

“Y-Your Grace! Something terrible has happened!”

“Don’t you know how to knock?”

“M-My apologies! But this is really serious—!”

Sigh. “What is it this time?”

“T-The man we assigned to tail the madam… he’s dead.”

“…What?”

“From what we can tell, Grand Duke Del Lua noticed the tail and killed him.”

The tail had attacked Idris first, so it was handled as a case of attempted assassination against a royal, making it self-defense.

Idris apparently wanted to keep it quiet, so it likely wouldn’t make the papers.

…The report continued, but Faydan barely registered it.

“That lunatic…”

He didn’t know if Idris had figured out who was behind the tailing, but the message was clear.

Do it again, and you die.

The chilling warning stirred primal fear in Faydan’s chest.

At that moment, Lockhard added more news.

“We couldn’t gather much else, but according to some townspeople, the madam helped out a man who runs a small clothing shop in the plaza.”

“…A man who runs a clothing shop?”

“Yes, a male clothing designer. It seems she stayed there quite a while, so perhaps she’s recruited him.”

Considering Leticia had put up a hiring notice for her atelier, it was a plausible deduction.

“So after all that talk of launching a fashion business, all she managed to recruit was some no-name designer?”

And a male designer at that—someone often disregarded and avoided by others.

Faydan’s lips twisted into a sneer, Idris’s warning momentarily forgotten.

Yes. That’s about the level you belong to, Leticia.

It had become difficult to continue tailing her now, but he no longer saw a need for it.

Let’s see how hard you struggle.

Faydan smiled, already savoring her eventual despair.

This was a game he had already won, no doubt about it.

“We’ve arrived, boss.”

A few days later, on a quiet afternoon.

I returned once again to Amon’s shop.

I wanted to check on the progress of the work I had entrusted to him.

The day we first met, I had given him a very simple order:

“Make something that suits us well and that you feel most confident in. Any design is fine.”

I hadn’t given him any specific requests, hoping he would bring out his full potential.

Though now that I think about it, that might’ve been the hardest kind of request.

Just do it well. Make it clean and perfect.

That’s the most difficult and ambiguous kind of ask.

So after giving him some time, I came to see if he was struggling like I expected—and to offer some direction if needed.

But—

“Waaaah!”

As soon as I stepped into the shop, the pitiful wailing of a child greeted me.

Looking further in, I spotted Aria lying face-down on the stairs to the second floor, crying her heart out. Amon stood next to her, completely flustered.

Wig and I quickly moved toward them, but before I could say anything—

“Aria, what’s wrong—”

“I hate you, Daddy!”

Aria bolted up the stairs.

At least she’s not hurt.

Seeing that she was physically okay gave me some relief.

I approached Amon, who was staring up at the stairs helplessly.

“What happened?”

Amon let out a deep sigh and replied.

“I’ve been using work as an excuse and haven’t played with Aria lately.”

On the nearby table, there were two sketchbooks—one blank, likely Amon’s, and one filled with childish drawings, clearly Aria’s.

From that alone, I could roughly piece together what had happened.

Aria must’ve been hanging around while Amon was trying to sketch a dress design.

She probably kept talking to him, wanting his attention, wanting to be near her dad.

Amon, already stressed from creative block, might’ve initially responded but eventually snapped without meaning to.

So Aria got upset.

“…It’s all my fault,” Amon admitted, voice heavy with guilt and fatigue.

Raising a child while working isn’t easy.

I’d never raised a child myself, neither in this life nor the last, but I could imagine how hard it must be for him.

Instead of scolding him, I chose to speak gently.

“It’s not possible to be kind and patient all the time. Parents are just people too—flawed and learning.”

“But still…”

“I’m not saying what you did was right. I just… understand it. As one human being to another.”

At my words, Amon’s expression crumpled like he might cry—then he smiled faintly.

“…That makes me feel a little better, thank you.”

He looked so worn out, having no one to share his burden with after losing his wife.

Then, an idea struck me—something I could do to help.

“Why don’t you let Aria stay with me for a few days?”

“Pardon?!”

“Balancing work and parenting isn’t easy, right?”

“B-But I can’t impose like that…”

“It’s fine. I’m the one who set this tight schedule in the first place.”

There was just about a month left until the Founding Festival.

To finish making clothes for both me and Idris, we had to get started soon.

And now that I’ve secured a designer, I don’t have any major responsibilities for the time being.

But still…

“Only if you’re okay with it, of course.”

It was his decision, after all.

As expected, Amon hesitated.

“I’m not sure it’s right to leave my child just for my own convenience… What if I’m being selfish?”

“I’ve never raised a child, but as someone who is a child to someone…”

“…”

“I think even if it’s hard now, it’ll be good for Aria in the future.”

“…You really think so?”

“When she grows up, she’ll be proud of you—for being someone who gave his all to his craft.”

“…”

“And it’s not like you’re sending her away forever. It’s just a few days, right?”

Of course, if he were the kind of parent who abandoned his family for work, this would be a different story.

But judging by how much Aria adored him, Amon wasn’t that kind of person.

Aria’s lucky to have a father like him.

A bitter smile crossed my face as I couldn’t help recalling my father—the complete opposite of Amon.