#2
As Elisa knocked beside her, the door slowly creaked open.
“Dad!”
As soon as the door opened, Noah rushed into the dining room.
“Ako…….”
It was all good until he bravely ran in, but after just a few steps, Noah’s feet got tangled and he fell flat on his face.
Oops. The physical reflexes of a three-year-old with a top-heavy body ratio were much duller than he had expected.
“Young master.”
He hadn’t even caught himself with his hands or landed on his knees.
Noah, who had face-planted directly into the carpet, was so overwhelmed with embarrassment that he couldn’t move a single finger.
“Noah!”
As people around called his name and someone lifted him by the armpits, Noah was already crying, tears and snot streaming down his face.
“Waaaaah…….”
Perhaps his mental age had regressed along with his body, as the instinctive tears that burst out wouldn’t stop easily.
His nose hurt, his forehead hurt, and his knees seemed to hurt too.
And so, three-year-old Noah’s first meeting with his mom and dad was accompanied by a nosebleed.
Hah, how embarrassing.
With a soft cloth stuffed in one nostril, Noah claimed Lucas’s lap and buried his face in his chest.
His entrance, followed by a fall that shocked everyone and a nosebleed, had turned the dining room into complete chaos. And why wouldn’t the tears stop flowing?
“Noah has been waiting eagerly for you, Duke.”
At the warm, soft voice, Noah could feel Lucas’s heart beating quickly.
“You’ve grown so much since I last saw you.”
Feeling the large hand awkwardly patting his head, Noah cautiously looked up at Lucas. Even from this low angle, he was incredibly handsome.
Of course. This is how the male lead I liked should be.
Among all the alphas and betas he’d met at balls in his past lives, none were more handsome than Lucas.
The male lead is the male lead, after all. How common could a face and body like this be?
Even though he’d known since before puberty in his previous life that he was attracted to men, honestly, even if he had met his ideal type, he probably wouldn’t have dared to speak to him.
Just looking at him, his presence and majesty overflowed; his disheveled black hair and pitch-black eyes, just as the author described, made one too intimidated to even dare look directly at him.
So this is how different Lucas in his 50s is from Lucas in his 30s.
His dignified, mature appearance was also attractive, but Noah definitely preferred Lucas’s current robust, untamed strength.
But what does it matter? He’s my dad.
I should just be grateful to have a handsome, capable, and cool dad, right?
Staring blankly at Lucas’s face, Noah burrowed deeper into his broad, solid chest. Though awkward, the pats on his back, as if trying to soothe him, made his whole body tingle, but it was okay.
After being held in his arms for a while, hunger crept in. It made sense, after all the crying and commotion.
Seeing Lucas hold a cookie—one that Noah would need both hands to grasp—between his thumb and index finger, Noah instinctively reached out both hands as the cookie drew closer.
“Ah—”
Wasn’t it meant for me?
Noah had opened his mouth to receive the cookie, but he watched helplessly as the cookie moved upward, making his outstretched hands seem pointless.
“……Can he eat this?”
Noah, who had been reaching for the cookie with both hands and holding his mouth open, slowly closed it when his eyes met Lucas’s.
If you don’t want to give it to me, just say so. Don’t stare so fiercely.
“Of course he can.”
Hearing Loren’s soft, warm voice, Noah slowly lowered his outstretched hands.
So what if he’s my favorite? He’s already taken. I guess it’s time to get down now. Coming on too strong from the start isn’t attractive anyway.
I had plenty of time—at least 15 more years until adulthood.
Let’s try to be a good, lovable, and proud son. And, well, it’d be even better if my abilities are recognized too.
“But babies drink milk.”
“He’s three years old now. He can eat anything you eat, as long as it’s not too strongly flavored.”
Lucas, who had briefly glanced at Noah, was now engrossed in conversation with Loren.
Yes. You two, enjoy your time together.
You must be meeting after a long time. I shouldn’t rudely intrude.
Elisa, let’s go.
And, by the way, can I have those five cookies?
To get out of Lucas’s lap, Noah placed his hand on his chest, which felt like a solid wall—somewhere between his chest and abdomen.
“What’s the problem now?”
Noah pushed hard against Lucas’s arms, which were wrapped around him, but they didn’t budge. Instead, at the words from above, Noah felt like he could neither cry nor laugh.
Waving the cookie right in front of my face is cheating.
Since Lucas didn’t seem to dislike him that much, Noah obediently reached out to take the cookie.
But as if Lucas wanted to feed him directly, the cookie came close to his lips, and Noah quickly opened his mouth.
And at that moment, Noah met Lucas’s dark eyes.
He was sure he should have heard a crisp, soft crunch and felt the sweet taste spread in his mouth, but nothing entered. Noah blinked.
“……”
“Does Noah like meat?”
At Lucas’s words, Noah quietly released what he had been biting down on. Ah, he was supposed to eat the cookie, but the moment he saw those long, sturdy, calloused fingers, he had unknowingly bitten them.
Noah let go of the finger he had been awkwardly biting and, avoiding Lucas’s gaze, quickly bit into the cookie instead.
This is all your fault. How could I see properly when I’m in my favorite’s arms…….
Living as a child was harder than he thought.
Noah lay on the daybed by the window, listening to the fairy tale Loren was reading to him.
No matter the country or era, fairy tales were always filled with dreams, fantasies, and lessons of good overcoming evil. And here, perhaps due to the setting, magic, dragons, and political intrigue were always woven into the background.
“Dragon?”
If he tried to speak long sentences, his childish, lisping pronunciation would be embarrassing even to his own ears, so Noah tried to communicate only in short words. At least he could pronounce short words clearly.
He’d heard that summer was approaching, so they had to leave the capital, Feyren, and return to Austen.
Loren was like a mother straight out of a fairy tale. She always wore a gentle smile and spoke to him in a soft voice. She enjoyed reading him fairy tales and taking walks with him in the garden.
Since it was raining today, the fairy tale reading lasted longer. But a child was still a child, and Noah, unable to focus for long, quickly changed the subject.
“Are you curious about dragons?”
Enjoying the sensation of Loren stroking his head, Noah nodded. Rather than the predictable fairy tales, stories like that seemed more interesting.
“Ung.”
“Shall I tell you about Derek, the silver dragon who rules the Austen region?”
Noah, who had been lying quietly, quickly sat up and burrowed into Loren’s embrace. Being held in her arms, filled with the fragrant scent of flowers, was always a joy.
Nouveau riche. Ji-hoon’s upbringing could be summed up by those words. His parents, who had received an enormous land compensation due to redevelopment, quite literally raised him with money. He had the best of everything and got whatever he wanted.
He did everything he wanted, but he had no memories of spending time with his parents. His mother, always adorned in flashy jewelry and busy going out with similar ladies, and his father, who handed him cash and cards for golf or whatever and never came home—that was the parents he knew.
As if compensating for his unfortunate past, Loren was always there to hold and comfort him. As he cautiously burrowed into her arms, Loren playfully hugged him tightly enough to take his breath away, then let go. But she never forgot to kiss his forehead.
Patting his back, Loren told him the legendary story of Derek, the silver dragon.
“Derek. Bad.”
“Good. Bad. Dragons aren’t beings you can judge like that.”
“No. Bad. House cold.”
Austen was a dreadfully cold region—so cold that his petty first husband had run away complaining. Surrounded by mountain ranges, it produced various minerals, which was the only reason it managed to sustain itself. Without that, no one could live there. All food ingredients had to be imported from other regions, and due to the cold, it was hard to find people on the streets.
Austen was dominated by a bleak, closed-off atmosphere. To block the cold wind and chill, everyone kept their doors locked, and shops only opened briefly during the relatively warm daytime.
When heavy snow fell, they could be isolated for days or even weeks.
According to legend, Austen became that way because of Derek. Derek, a silver dragon who loved the cold, had created a lair in the once-temperate Austen region, bringing the cold with him. The young dragon Derek, who needed to sleep deeply for long periods to grow, would often cause blizzards to keep noisy, disruptive people away.
Still, out of consideration for those who might nest here, he created brief springs and autumns.
It wasn’t exactly giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
“But we have a big fireplace at home, and you can always play in the snow, right?”
……That’s nonsense. He wanted to say, “That bastard did this just because he was bothered while sleeping, telling everyone to get lost!” But nestled in his warm mother’s embrace, Noah rested his head on her shoulder.
He listened to her voice, singing a lullaby as if to put him to sleep, while feeling the affectionate pats on his back.
In the drowsy afternoon, nestled in Loren’s arms, Noah couldn’t fight off the encroaching sleep and closed his eyes. He wanted to hear more of Loren’s lullaby and feel her warm touch, but he couldn’t overcome the sleep that slowly enveloped him.
