Chapter 31
Is there some kind of “child-loving gene” that runs in the Hilliard Ducal family?
Ever since he was granted permission to visit the baby, Teddian came to the annex every single day without fail.
Usually, he would stop by after finishing his solo training in the drill yard — which meant that his visits often took place in the middle of the night.
“She’s already asleep.”
Seeing the baby soundly asleep, Teddian slumped down with a sigh.
“I trained so hard today just to see you…”
He whined softly while gripping the edge of the baby’s crib — but even while complaining, he kept his voice low so as not to wake her.
‘Duke by day, youngest prince by night.’
The annex, which was supposed to remain empty, never truly was.
“She’s been practicing rolling over lately,” Eleanor explained gently to the gloomy Teddian.
“So she’s been a bit more active than usual — probably tired herself out. By this time of night, she always falls right asleep.”
“I see…”
“Should I try to adjust her schedule so she’s awake when you visit tomorrow?”
“No, don’t do that.”
Teddian sniffled.
“She needs to sleep well if she’s going to grow up strong. I can’t have her staying up just because I want to see her.”
“Hmm.”
“I’m not that kind of bad uncle.”
Was it possible for someone to love a child this much?
Teddian truly adored the baby.
Eleanor almost felt guilty that the child wasn’t actually his niece.
‘I didn’t deny it for convenience’s sake, but… once he finds out the truth, how disappointed will he be?’
A flicker of guilt crossed her face before she shook it off.
This was the domain of the “Dark Duke,” after all.
It was hard enough to protect her own life and the baby’s — worrying about someone else’s feelings was a luxury she couldn’t afford.
“Oh right, I brought what you asked for.”
Teddian turned from the crib and took a book out of his bag.
“This one, right? Imperial Geography Encyclopedia.”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
Eleanor accepted the familiar-looking book.
“When it’s just me and the baby, the room can get a little dull. Thank you for bringing it.”
“I don’t think I’d ever get bored spending all day with her,” he said, gazing at the sleeping baby with a wistful look.
“Is that book actually fun to read?”
“Yes. And useful, too.”
Because when the time came, she would have to escape with the baby.
She needed to be familiar with possible routes in advance.
Eleanor sat down at the table and began reading.
Teddian, who had been hovering near the crib, soon slipped quietly into the seat across from her.
When Eleanor raised an eyebrow, he mumbled,
“I have homework to do.”
“Oh, that’s right. Did you end up submitting the homework from before? The solution I wrote for you — it was correct, wasn’t it?”
“Uh-huh.”
He pulled his legs in slightly, as if embarrassed.
“It was right.”
“That’s a relief. The question was quite nasty — felt like it was designed just to make people fail.”
“…A question designed to make people fail?”
“Yes. It was unnecessarily twisted. When I was in school, only people with really bad personalities wrote problems like that.”
“Still, I have to try my best.”
Teddian muttered quietly.
“My brother arranged for that tutor just for me. He’s supposed to be a genius — they say he never lost first place in the Academy.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Yeah. He even filed a patent as soon as he enrolled. Apparently, we’re able to use refined mana stones thanks to him.”
Eleanor froze mid-turn of the page.
“Refined mana stones?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he… by any chance, file a patent to extend the effective duration of mana stones?”
“That’s right. You sure know a lot. Wait — did you go to the Academy too?”
It wasn’t just that she went there.
That patent — to extend the lifespan of mana stones — had been hers.
At the time, Eleanor had been lying low, having only recently transmigrated into the body of a villainess doomed to die.
Drawing attention to herself seemed suicidal, so she filed the patent under a pseudonym.
‘The name I used back then was…’
“Is your tutor’s name Wyatt, by any chance?”
“That’s it! How did you know? Guess the professor’s pretty famous, huh…”
Eleanor’s gaze turned cold.
Someone was impersonating her — and doing so inside the Duke’s own territory.
‘So they even stole my achievements.’
First place throughout the Academy years, patent filed upon admission —
Those were feats no one had managed in at least a hundred years.
Feats that only she had achieved.
‘Who’s pretending to be me?’
Not many knew that Eleanor Winston had used the alias Wyatt.
But her lab partners had seen her name on the patent documents, and her supervising professor had known as well.
So the information might have spread among the faculty.
“Do you still have one of the worksheets he marked?”
“I do.”
“Could I see it for a moment?”
“Sure, here.”
Eleanor took the marked worksheet from Teddian.
The handwriting was a bit messy — but oddly familiar.
“…”
She swallowed her irritation and exhaled slowly.
Someone had stolen her work, yes — but now wasn’t the time to stir up trouble.
More urgent was escaping from the ducal estate.
Getting the baby safely to Charlotte mattered more than exposing an impostor.
‘I can deal with the fraud later — once I know where they are.’
Her gaze drifted to Teddian, who was frowning over his homework.
‘Still, it’s infuriating.’
How dare they steal my achievements — and then give this clueless boy such awful, twisted assignments?
“Would you like some help?”
“Huh? B-but…”
“You’re busy with both studying and swordsmanship training, right? Ask me anything you don’t understand. I’ll explain everything.”
If nothing else, she’d make sure this innocent boy didn’t get tormented by that imposter.
Eleanor picked up her pen with uncharacteristic enthusiasm.
Lately, Teddian’s days had been full of joy.
As the youngest of the Duke’s children, he had grown up showered with affection from his family.
But now that he was nearing adolescence, he was tired of being the one who was coddled.
He wanted someone he could dote on instead.
A younger sibling to love and protect.
‘Kyaa~!’
And then, as if heaven had answered his wish — a miracle happened.
A baby niece, impossibly cute, had appeared in his life!
She was so tiny and precious that even the angels themselves couldn’t compare.
The first thing he wanted to see upon waking up each morning was her face.
So he went to visit her every single day.
Thankfully, Eleanor never turned him away.
In fact, over time, she even seemed glad to see him — perhaps because he always brought her the items she needed.
Lately, she had even begun tutoring him in his studies, and thanks to her, he’d managed to avoid getting scolded by Wyatt.
“Hehe.”
As Teddian packed his bag, he chuckled to himself.
He was getting ready to visit his niece again.
Originally, he was supposed to go out today with Cornelia, but the outing had been canceled unexpectedly — leaving him free.
“I’ll play with her extra long today.”
He carefully tucked something into his bag — a gift for his adorable niece: a stuffed rabbit.
“Will she like it?”
He flicked the ruby eyes of the toy rabbit.
Its red gleam reminded him of his niece’s crimson eyes, making the gift feel all the more meaningful.
“I hope she gets a name soon.”
The reason the baby had no name was all because of Mathias.
Since he refused to accept Eleanor as his wife, the child born out of wedlock could not be given an official name.
“Why won’t my brother marry Eleanor?”
