CHAPTER 05
My plan to perfectly teach Aslan table manners…
To get straight to the point—it failed.
Instead, if I cut the food for him, he could at least pick it up with a fork.
“Sure, he still makes a mess around his mouth, holds the fork weirdly, and keeps dropping things because he has no strength in his hands, but still…”
Thanks to him, my clothes were a disaster, but progress is progress. Better to awkwardly try using a fork than to shove his face into the plate like before.
“Baking bread, grooming, and trying to climb up high places—those habits can be fixed gradually.”
It seemed impossible to turn him back into a cat, so I had to teach him how to live as a person.
However, I had no intention of sending him to the academy.
“If I send him there and end up dying like in the original story, it’s game over.”
There’s no way I’d let something I raised so lovingly end up dead.
I suddenly recalled the name of the man who adopted Leona in the original story.
“I must make sure Aslan never even crosses paths with Lloyd Eckhart.”
He was the one who adopted Leona and incited her revenge. That was Lloyd Eckhart.
In the past, the emperor had tried to arrange a marriage between me and Duke Eckhart.
In the original story, the marriage never happened because Minerva was exiled before it could be arranged.
But after her death, the duke adopted Leona without hesitation, so I had thought he might secretly be her biological father.
“I caused such a fuss just to avoid that marriage.”
I had insisted—how could I marry someone who wouldn’t even show his face?
Lloyd Eckhart was infamous for hiding his appearance.
Even when meeting privately with the emperor, he wore a white mask, so rumors spread that his face was hideous.
“I thought marrying him would definitely lead to Leona’s birth.”
But now that Aslan exists even without that marriage, all that effort felt pointless.
I turned my gaze toward Aslan, who was perched on the windowsill looking outside.
I had thought life would finally be easy from here on out, but suddenly I had something I had to protect, and the weight of it pressed on my shoulders.
Still, Aslan’s small back as he looked out over the garden was so precious.
And the fact that he became human just to protect me… was so touching that I couldn’t feel any resentment.
“If I want to protect Aslan, I absolutely must survive. I’ll live—no, fight—to stay alive.”
That way, Aslan could live a full, happy life—unlike the Leona in the original story.
Meanwhile, in Green Village, within the Menté Barony…
Just like the nearby Fran Village, Green Village was a quiet countryside town, and the largest house there was the lord’s manor—The Blue Roof Mansion.
The lord who had arrived eight years ago was the pride of the region.
And to match such a lord, his daughter was diligently studying again today.
“Now then, young lady, let’s practice your walking today.”
“Yes, teacher.”
With silver hair gently swaying, the girl placed a book on her head and gracefully walked forward.
The tutor looked on with satisfaction and gave further instructions.
“Keep your back straight and tuck your chin in. Imagine someone pulling the top of your head upward.”
“Yes.”
The girl, who looked about five years old, walked without a single wobble, not once dropping the book.
The tutor smiled proudly and clapped her hands.
“Excellent, very well done.”
Even though it must have been tiring, the girl replied with a quiet smile.
“Thank you, teacher.”
“That will be all for today. Good work, young lady.”
With a smile, the girl lifted the hem of her dress to politely see the tutor out.
Afterward, a maid came in.
The maid offered the girl some tea and asked kindly:
“You’ve worked hard, miss. You must be tired, right?”
“No. They let me live in such a lovely house—I should work hard.”
She said it wasn’t even hard work and sipped her tea as she sat at the table.
Her manner was every bit that of a noble young lady.
It had only been a year since she began her training, and yet she had changed so much.
The maid felt both sympathy for the burden the child bore and pride in her maturity.
Feeling a bit generous, the maid whispered as if sharing a secret:
“By the way, miss, a message just came—Master will be arriving at the mansion any moment now!”
“Really?”
The girl quickly put down her tea and rushed to the mirror.
She straightened her clothes, then ran to the mansion’s front gate.
How long had it been since she last saw him?
Sure enough, just as the maid said, a white carriage clattered toward the gate.
Her heart pounded, but she took a deep breath and fixed her posture again.
“I got too excited and ran. I hope he didn’t see.”
Worried he’d be disappointed, the girl walked gracefully, as she had just been taught.
The carriage passed through the gate.
As the driver opened the door, the first thing she saw was a pair of long, well-shaped legs.
Then, mint-colored hair peeked out from beneath the man’s hood.
When the man fully stepped down, the girl lifted her dress lightly and greeted him:
“Welcome home, Father.”
The man was wearing a white mask along with his hood, completely hiding his face, and looked the girl over.
Though it had only been a month, she seemed slightly taller.
He gently stroked her head and gave a faint smile.
“I’m back, Ayla.”
“Did you have a good trip to the palace?”
Ayla asked shyly.
Without a word, the man smiled and removed his mask.
A stunningly beautiful face was revealed—like a masterpiece crafted by a god, angelic yet full of sorrow.
Ayla realized she had touched on a sensitive topic and quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry, Father.”
“It’s fine. The palace is always uncomfortable. Let’s go in.”
He smiled as if to say not to worry.
To Ayla, her adoptive father was someone hard to understand and distant.
Despite being just a baron of a small territory, he moved freely in and out of the palace.
And he seemed to have far more money than anyone else.
She even suspected that “Id Menté” might not be his real name.
But, as always, she didn’t dare ask anything and simply followed him into the mansion.
Meanwhile, in the Study
Id headed straight for his study.
Though his staff had surely managed the house well during the month he was away, he needed to check.
His eyes scanned documents and ledgers busily.
The old butler watching him spoke with concern.
“Was everything well at the palace, sir?”
“As usual. His Majesty seems very concerned about the princess.”
Id Menté had been tasked by the emperor with keeping an eye on the princess.
He couldn’t understand why—Minerva was always holed up in her home.
Even if she had fallen from grace after being the perfect heir, the emperor now had a grandson.
The price he paid for a fake identity and territory had been steep indeed.
Id frowned, feeling a headache coming on.
Then—
“By the way, Master…”
The butler cautiously spoke up.
Id responded irritably.
“What is it?”
The butler hesitated, then asked with a resolute look:
“When will you tell Miss Ayla the truth?”
“The truth?”
“That she is the heir to the Duchy.”
The flow of Id’s gaze suddenly stopped.
His eyes—or rather, Lloyd Eckhart’s eyes—narrowed coldly.
The butler flinched under the sharp stare, but Lloyd sighed and returned his gaze to the documents.
“…If my mother finds out I have an heir, we both know exactly what kind of education she’ll force on her.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Lloyd’s mother—the former Duchess Eckhart—was cold enough that ice might drip from her veins instead of blood.
The only thing Lloyd agreed with her on was that the family needed an heir.
Her methods, however, were all wrong.
He was living proof.
That’s why he made a deal with the emperor—to keep Ayla hidden from his mother.
“One like me is already more than enough.”
Why else would he abandon a perfectly fine ducal estate and town house in the capital to live in this secluded countryside?
All of it was to raise an heir away from the shadow of the former duchess.
The butler fell silent, humbled by Lloyd’s bitterness.
Lloyd finally put down the papers.
He had rested long enough.
To remain in the emperor’s good graces, he had to carry out his commands.
“I’ll be heading out now. Tell Ayla I’ll be back by dinner.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lloyd stood and got ready to leave.
But this time, unlike when he went to the palace, he didn’t wear the white mask.
After all, no one here knew he was Lloyd Eckhart.
