Chapter 47
Caught off guard by the unexpected words, Grandmother could only move her lips without saying anything.
“Heh heh… It sounds as if you want to say that everything is my fault?”
“At first, I thought I was misunderstanding you. That I was misinterpreting Mother’s concern for me, that you were truly speaking with pure intentions. But now I finally understand.”
“What do you mean! What have I done wrong?”
“That you’ve been mentally dominating me this entire time. When I listen to what you say, I start to feel like there’s something wrong with me.”
“Do you think you’re a sane man?!”
As if she had decided to go all out, Grandmother burst out shouting.
Normally, she would have been extremely conscious of the eyes around her, but this time was different.
Unable to suppress her anger, Grandmother sprang to her feet. Unlike before, she didn’t collapse or stagger at all.
To anyone watching, she looked perfectly fine.
Dad must have sensed the same thing I did, because he let out a short scoff and looked at her.
“How little respect do you have for me to be laughing like that in this situation!”
“It’s just that for someone who claims to be ill, you stood up remarkably well. Just a moment ago, you looked like you were about to collapse.”
Only then did she seem to realize how different she looked from before, and her complexion turned pale once more.
“That was… well, anyway! It seems you want to pick a fight with everything I do now, don’t you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why are you acting like this?”
“I’m trying to come to my senses now. I can no longer tell whether this family belongs to you or to me.”
“Hah? Who does it belong to? The ducal house—”
“It has become entirely yours.”
Grandmother’s eyes wavered anxiously.
“What did you just—”
“Can you honestly deny it? Even elevating me to Duke was something you planned and carried out according to your own tastes, wasn’t it?”
“Leocal!”
“I won’t allow it anymore. Every time something happened, you blamed me, saying that bad things occurred because I was lacking and inadequate.”
“That’s because you are lacking!”
As if trying to suppress her anger, Grandmother took a deep breath and stared straight at Dad.
“Yes, Leocal. I may have acted forcefully at times. But listen—everything I did was for your sake. You know there’s no one who loves you more than your own mother.”
Dad snorted as if he had just heard something utterly absurd.
He fell silent for a moment, as though thinking about how to respond.
In the end, feeling like I would be sick if I kept watching this, I spoke up first.
“If you love him, then why do you act like that, Grandma?”
“What?”
“If you love someone, shouldn’t you dote on them? But Grandma always says only bad things to Dad…”
“This isn’t a place for a child to interfere!”
“I know you don’t like me and don’t dote on me, but Dad is different! So why do you treat him like that?”
“What could you possibly know!”
“Even if I don’t know anything else, I know how you should treat someone you love!”
I couldn’t stand it any longer. Watching someone erode another person’s self-worth under the guise of love was unbearable.
I had planned to confront Grandmother properly later—after Dad had completely sorted out his feelings.
But I couldn’t tolerate her behavior any longer.
This should have been enough already! How much more were you going to push him down? How much more were you going to strip away his pride?
No matter how you looked at it, that wasn’t love.
“What a mouthy little child. To think that the daughter I keep around would speak to me like that—now I see exactly how you’ve thought of me all this time, Leocal.”
“……”
“You must have been looking down on me and mocking me all along. That’s why the child dares to be so rude to her grandmother!”
At Grandmother’s roar, Dad quietly looked down at me. Then, as if he had steeled his resolve, he looked back at her.
“I’ve never looked down on you, nor have I ever spoken to my daughter about you.”
“Then why is she acting like this?”
“It’s proof that you treated me badly enough for even a child to feel it.”
“Leocal!”
“Now I finally understand.”
A firm resolve shone in Dad’s eyes. A person doesn’t change overnight, but Dad was clearly in the process of changing.
“Leocal!”
“Yes, Mother.”
“……”
“I will no longer allow either myself or my daughter to be treated with disrespect. You even tried to belittle me in front of the orphanage director. From now on, I will find the path this ducal house should take with my own strength.”
“You… it sounds like you’re saying I—”
“Yes, Mother. To be honest, it doesn’t seem right for you to occupy the main residence like this when your fully grown son is the Duke.”
Grandmother collapsed onto the sofa as if in despair.
She shook her head from side to side as though trying to regain her senses, but that did nothing to improve her condition.
“So you intend to make me an old woman shoved into the back rooms. I struggled and struggled to raise you all in place of your father, who passed away early… It was all for nothing.”
Grandmother wasn’t a particularly clever person. To become clever, one needs either the ambition to hold onto one’s position or a sense of deficiency over what one lacks—only then would one strive to secure their place.
But Grandmother lacked nothing. She became a Duchess upon marriage, and after Grandfather passed away, the family naturally became hers.
Even without effort, many people followed her. She could maintain her position simply by sitting still, without doing anything special.
“No. I know very well how hard you worked to raise me and my brothers. That’s precisely why I’m telling you to let go now.”
“Leocal.”
“To put it more bluntly, it’s time for you to step back. Because of you, my standing within the ducal house has diminished.”
“Hah. So now you’re saying—”
Every time Grandmother hesitated, Dad nodded firmly.
“Yes. You’ve been far too greedy. Even in this matter, as the eldest elder of the family, you may voice opposition—but since this is a decision made by me, the head of the house, you have no right to oppose it.”
After saying everything he needed to say, Dad pulled me tightly into his arms once more.
“Then I’ll be leaving now. If you wish to remain in this family, you’ll have to change. If you intend to maintain the same attitude as before, then you can simply leave.”
“Hah. You’re going to throw me out?”
“If you don’t like that, then please behave like a typical former noble lady and stay quiet. We’ll be going now.”
Regardless of how pale Grandmother’s face turned, Dad ignored it all and walked out.
The moment we stepped outside, we heard the servants shouting urgently, as though Grandmother had collapsed—but Dad didn’t even pay it any mind.
The entire walk back to the room, Dad didn’t say a word. As if deliberately holding back, he didn’t smile at me or open his mouth at all.
“Dad.”
I gently stroked Dad’s cheek, which looked full of wounds.
“Hm?”
“Are you okay? With Grandma…”
I felt a twinge of regret, knowing this might happen. Maybe I should have gone to the orphanage after Dad had regained himself a bit more.
But what was done was done.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you regret it?”
“I wouldn’t say no. There are definitely parts I regret.”
At that, I shook my head.
“Dad. Just trying already brings change.”
“Does it?”
“Yeah. You’ve changed so much. You said things you never would have said before.”
Dad let out a small laugh.
“Amanet, you talk as if you’ve been through something like this before.”
“I-I just mean that’s how it is!”
“Still, you’re right. If it were the old me, I never could have said those things.”
“See! Just trying to change was enough. You were amazing, Dad. I feel like I can finally lean on you as much as I want now!”
Dad lowered his head slightly, bumped his forehead lightly against mine, then rubbed it affectionately.
“Your support gives me great strength.”
“Yeah! So cheer up!”
“All right.”
“Now, not just me, but also that g—”
“That g?”
I was about to say “female lead,” but quickly shook my head.
“T-that girl who might be a younger sister, or an older sister, or maybe just a friend—you have to protect her too!”
“That’s right.”
“What will you name her?”
“She probably already has a name, but I don’t want to call her by it. It might bring back memories of the abuse she suffered there.”
“Then you’re giving her a new name?”
Dad nodded very slowly.
“That would be better. Hmm… Elisa. How about Elisa? And her nickname can be Ellie.”
Oh no, this isn’t right. The female lead’s name has changed.
I only wanted to change the novel just a little for my own happiness, but something far too important had been altered.
