Chapter 40
“Did the young lady truly bring this back herself?”
It was already the third time the physician, Fradin, had asked the same question.
Aizen, too, had been surprised when he first received Adelle’s bouquet of Rashiteni flowers — but for a very different reason.
It’s the first bouquet I’ve ever received in my life.
He had always been the one giving flowers.
Whenever a woman he met wanted a romantic gesture, he would have a subordinate send them.
The only one he had ever personally handed flowers to was Beasirta.
Though he’d graduated from the prestigious Royal Fes Academy, he hadn’t even attended the entrance or graduation ceremonies — he had gone to war too young.
A life drenched in blood leaves little room for the leisure of bouquets and tenderness.
Daughters truly are different from sons.
He had never felt much affection toward Blake — and Blake likely felt the same.
Their relationship was no more than a matter of formal paperwork.
But Adelle was different.
She was earnest, sincere — like a child who had wished all her life simply to have a family.
Aizen felt… complicated.
“Is this truly the miracle of the prophesied child? I never imagined I’d live to see a Rashiteni flower — let alone this many,” Fradin marveled.
Most people would have reacted like him, of course.
“It’s hard to believe even when I see it with my own eyes.”
Aizen looked at his reflection — at his bare torso in the mirror.
Ordinarily, the sight of the countless scars — self-inflicted while enduring the curse of God — would have made him grimace.
But now—
Unbelievable.
His skin was shockingly clear.
He had told Adelle he couldn’t sleep unless he removed his shirt, but that was just an excuse.
The truth was, he found it uncomfortable having the child cling to him like a puppy.
And yet Adelle had accepted his reasoning so innocently, with perfect sincerity—
[“If you put this on, all your wounds will heal. Then you can take off your clothes and sleep comfortably. I’ll close my eyes, I promise I won’t peek! Then you can sleep with me without feeling uncomfortable.”]
“Kuh.”
He couldn’t help but laugh.
She really is adorable.
“So this is why people keep dogs.”
The maid who happened to see Aizen’s reflection in the mirror turned bright red.
His tall, sculpted frame — the defined muscles and sharp, commanding eyes — radiated strength and vitality.
At that moment, the maid nearly understood why the other maids whispered fantasies about him.
His looks could take one’s breath away. His features were too harmonious, too perfect — “handsome” simply didn’t do him justice.
No one must ever know what I’m thinking.
The maid thanked the heavens that no one in the world could read minds.
If anyone knew the impure thoughts running through her head, she’d be called indecent — and rightfully so.
But—
Still, the Duke is standing there, shirtless…
She silently justified herself to no one.
The countless women before Beasirta had never truly gotten over him, and now she understood why.
He possessed unmatched wealth, status, and power — all at just twenty-five years of age — and his reputation as a war hero made him nearly mythic.
Perhaps because of the Rashiteni powder covering his body, his scent was more intense today.
The maid lowered her head quickly.
“You could at least brag about your daughter, my lord. I wouldn’t mind hearing it,” Fradin said lightly.
Aizen wrapped his left wrist with his right hand, almost as if he were holding something fragile.
“My daughter’s cuteness is for me alone to know.”
“That almost sounds like possessiveness.”
“You wouldn’t understand anyway. My daughter’s adorable — she just is.”
Aizen spoke with deadly seriousness.
The maid watching him froze. (He really has become a father.)
Fradin, caught in the intensity of Aizen’s gaze, felt a chill down his spine.
“Y-yes! Of course, my lord! Everyone knows the young lady is adorable! History will remember you as the father of the prophesied child!”
“I don’t care for history. My daughter’s just too adorable — it’s dangerous, really.”
“Dangerous, my lord?”
“I may have to increase her guards. Someone might want to bite her for being too cute.”
Is he serious!?
Fradin’s expression said it all, but Aizen’s face was perfectly earnest.
Terrified of saying the wrong thing, Fradin froze in place.
Aizen threw a white towel over his shoulders and turned around.
The maid — unprepared for his gaze — blurted out instinctively:
“Y-yes, my lord! The young lady could easily win first place in the world’s cuteness rankings! She’s so radiant, one might go blind just looking at her — like staring at the sun!”
“See? Dangerous.”
What did I just say?!
It wasn’t flattery — it was survival instinct.
Fradin, however, looked at her with genuine admiration.
“Wow. That was flawless diplomacy.”
“I’m not happy about it!”
The maid’s face turned crimson as she stomped her foot.
Fradin chuckled softly.
He had served as Aizen’s personal physician for over a decade now.
To see him genuinely find something cute…
He smiled faintly. You really do live long enough to see everything.
* * *
“There was… an incident today in the training grounds, Lady Sarina.”
Tera spoke quietly, having called Sarina aside before changing shifts.
“The young lady wanted to see the Duke and went to the training yard on her own, after studying the layout. Unfortunately, she arrived just as the Duke was… disposing of a spy.”
“Don’t tell me—”
“Yes. She witnessed her father kill a man — not cleanly, either. It was a brutal dissection, more gruesome than anything on the battlefield.”
“She didn’t show it at all,” Sarina murmured, stunned.
All she’d heard was that Adelle had gone for a walk with the Duke.
Tera lowered her gaze.
“She’s a composed child — that much is true. Sometimes I truly believe she is the prophesied one. I’ve heard she even stayed calm during the assassination attempt at the outdoor class.”
Sarina’s eyes widened.
That was true — but Adelle hadn’t witnessed the killing directly that time.
Sarina herself had once seen the Duke take a life in front of her when she was young.
The sheer aura of him — that killing intent — it was overwhelming.
For days afterward, she had felt it on her skin, even though it hadn’t been directed at her.
“She’s younger than my own sister, yet so composed…”
Tera’s voice mixed awe and pride.
But no matter how composed she seemed, Sarina knew better.
Adelle was still an eight-year-old girl — one who feared thunder and cried for her father at night.
“I understand perfectly, Lady Tera.”
Tera had asked Sarina — Adelle’s most trusted maid — to keep a close eye on her for the next few days.
Sarina bowed deeply.
“Thank you.”
Though she often spoke casually with the male knights, she always addressed Tera with deep respect.
As a fellow woman, she admired her.
It was no small feat for a woman to rise so high in a military hierarchy built on strength.
And the fact that Tera founded the “Order of the Lion” made her even more inspiring.
“I’m counting on you, Sarina.”
Tera smiled warmly — like a parent sending off a beloved child to school.
Both women shared the same affection for Adelle. For a moment, they silently acknowledged it in each other’s eyes.
* * *
“Perfect score. Truly remarkable, Adelle.”
I beamed at the praise.
Not only was I happy to see Miss Ehin healthy again — it was my first report card ever.
Today, I’ve decided, is a good day.
I hugged my test paper against my chest, proud of myself — though I tried to hide it.
“It was just a dictation test. The other kids know more letters than I do.”
“Even so, a perfect score is a perfect score. I heard you kept reading on your own while I was ill — is that true?”
I glanced nervously toward Sarina.
When our eyes met, she smiled. Tera, standing behind her, did too.
Their smiles made me happy — and grateful.
“You’ve done wonderfully. The Duke will be pleased.”
“Hehe.”
I laughed brightly.
Ehin took a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to me.
I popped it in my mouth right away. Crunch.
“This is your prize, young lady. I felt awful being sick while you worried about me — so this makes up for it. Having a student like you must be my good fortune.”
“What’s good-for-chun?”
“It means being blessed with good people around you.”
“Then I good-for-chun too! ‘Cause I meet teach’r!”
Ehin burst into genuine laughter — a sound I’d never heard from him before.
“But, um… teacher, did you see my brother at the Academy?”
“Yes, I did, my lady.”
I pulled the lollipop out of my mouth and spoke carefully.
“I haven’t seen him for a week. I miss my brother.”
“Oh, dear.”
He seemed to understand what I was really asking.
To keep me from worrying about the fact that my brother was confined in the tower, he’d avoided mentioning him.
Still, I felt lonely.
Seeing my expression, Ehin said gently:
“If you’re curious about your brother, you can ask me anything. You did so well today — you deserve an answer.”
I hesitated, then nodded.
I was curious about what my brother was like around other people.
“What kind of person is he… at the Academy?”
Ehin paused before answering.
“At the Academy, the young master… doesn’t talk much, but his presence is unmistakable. You almost never hear his voice — except during roll call.”
“Roll call?”
“It’s when the professors check attendance — to see if everyone’s there.”
I nodded earnestly.
“And every time, the professors end up saying, ‘Where’s that handsome one?’ They all notice when he’s gone. The students even joke that he’s too handsome to skip class.”
I giggled, the lollipop twirling between my fingers — somehow proud, somehow shy — my heart swelling at the thought of my brother.
