chapter 41
Duke Clotilde kept replaying the words he had said on the day he got extremely angry at his daughter.
“What on earth were you thinking when you did that? I’ll have to take back your position in the trade guild. I trusted you too much.”
Ever since the incident with Melanie over the loan, it had been difficult for him to even look at his daughter.
He had never been this angry at her in his life.
Since they had always had a close father-daughter relationship, the sudden tension made it all the more awkward, and he avoided facing her altogether.
After the Count of Ranilda’s meeting ended, he had thought of talking to her, but it wasn’t easy.
‘I need to discuss her business partner, Damian Matapju.’
Her former fiancé, Polius, was the one who had pushed Melanie to take out the loan. He was a man whose role was only to stay by her side and ease her suffering with a “fairy’s blessing,” not someone to be trusted lightly.
He had kept Polius close to Melanie out of necessity, but he hadn’t realized he could be such a terrible man.
And now, her new business partner wasn’t just anyone—he was Polius Beldert’s half-brother.
Of course, he had heard that Polius and Damian didn’t get along.
But since it involved his daughter, he couldn’t just think optimistically.
What if Melanie got hurt again?
‘What if Damian Matapju is just using our Melanie too?’
How they met, how the business started together…
There were countless questions he wanted to ask, but because of the recent serious conflict with his daughter, approaching her was difficult.
Yet Duke Clotilde ended up having a deep conversation with his daughter in a way he never expected—albeit a rather extreme one.
“Melanie!”
He had thought he might meet her if the timing at the gate worked out… just wanted to see Damian Matapju’s face.
But instead, he was confronted with a sight he never wanted to see again.
“You really disappoint me.”
Seeing Melanie collapse, Duke Clotilde remembered the harsh words he had thrown at her.
‘I shouldn’t have yelled. I should have listened to what Melanie wanted to say… and supported her.’
Perhaps there weren’t many days left when he could see his daughter’s face.
In the midst of her confusion, she heard her father’s voice.
“Melanie collapsed while coughing up blood? That’s never happened before!”
“It’s my fault. I apologize.”
“Weren’t you beside her? Why didn’t you stop her…”
Her father’s voice rose, while Damian Matapju simply apologized without trying to argue or make excuses.
‘Father… it’s not Damian’s fault I collapsed from overexertion. He actually made me rest instead of pushing me.’
And yet, Damian was acting strangely.
‘When did you become the kind of person who apologizes for something that isn’t your fault? When did you get so gentle…? Where’s the man who used to talk back to Mrs. Mila?’
She wanted to intervene, to tell them both it wasn’t worth raising their voices since it was all her fault.
It was true she had overexerted herself, but she wanted to say it was fine now, that it wasn’t serious…
‘My body feels so heavy…’
Her body wouldn’t obey, and her mind was dragged along with it. When she finally opened her eyes, she instinctively felt that quite a bit of time had passed.
“Melanie!”
“Father…”
As soon as she opened her eyes, she faced her father’s worried expression.
She tried to smile to ease his worry, but her body was too heavy to cooperate.
“When you collapsed… I…”
Her father wasn’t usually at a loss for words, yet now he seemed like someone who didn’t know what to say.
He froze like an actor who forgot his lines.
A doctor cautiously stepped forward.
“She only collapsed from overexertion. Her usual condition hasn’t worsened significantly… but she should still be careful.”
“She says the painkillers help, but it seems she’s taking too many of them…”
Ah, her head hurt. Her father’s raised voice seemed to echo in her mind.
When she frowned, he immediately stopped speaking after seeing her face.
“I’m sorry. But since it’s not serious, rest well.”
“Yes…”
She instinctively responded, letting herself act spoiled under her father’s hand stroking her head.
She thought she should have apologized properly for causing worry—it was childish to act like this.
Yet she was still exhausted, so she decided to just rest for now.
There would be time to talk about it later.
When her father came to check on her after confirming her condition had somewhat stabilized, he said:
“Melanie, we need to talk.”
She had expected it. It would be strange to ignore everything after collapsing like that.
“I’ve read carefully the business plan you drafted under the Black Moon.”
“You read it? How…?”
She had thought he only cared about her using the trade guild as collateral and not about the business itself.
“I’m sorry. Maybe I’ve always treated you as a child, and in a way, dismissed your efforts.”
“Father.”
“If it’s something our daughter is doing, I should have taken it seriously. To accept everything unconditionally… that’s not much different from not caring what you do, right?”
That wasn’t true. Though he blamed himself, she knew just how much her father loved her.
Even though she did nothing as a noblewoman, he gave her unconditional love.
“Father, that’s not true. I know the person who loves me most in this world is you.”
“Thank you for seeing this old fool in a good light. But… even so, I must say something harsh, even if belatedly.”
He took her hand in his warm, large hands and spoke:
“I heard from the butler that you found magic stones in a mine you thought was dry. You reorganized the usury business and stabilized the loans because of it.”
“Yes…”
“And you’re using those stones to cooperate with Matapju in your business. That’s truly remarkable.”
His praise continued:
“Even if anyone discovers a magic stone mine, not everyone would think of the magic stone business. I’m sorry I spoke so harshly before.”
He continued about how much other nobles appreciated the home theater she installed in the ducal estate.
“Everyone’s looking at you differently now. Even I feel proud.”
Her father was genuinely interested in her business and acknowledged her efforts.
Yet somehow, despite all the praise, a corner of her heart remained uneasy.
“So,” he said, “Now that your business seems to be on track, how about hiring more staff and reducing your working hours?”
For a moment, it felt like falling endlessly from a cliff.
She instinctively replied:
“No.”
“Melanie, this isn’t a matter of stubbornness.”
Through the butler, her father explained how much she had been working in the business, how much painkillers she had taken, and so on.
His suggestion to reduce her involvement wasn’t sudden.
“I’m not saying you should stop the business entirely. But you’ve been overexerting yourself given your health.”
“Yes, this time I did push myself a bit too far.”
She had collapsed, coughing up blood, right in front of her father.
Yet she had plans to expand the magic stone business to other regions and to create new media like films and dramas.
She looked him in the eye and said:
“I’m sorry for causing you worry, but I can’t accept reducing my working hours.”
Her father didn’t stay silent:
“But if you collapse again, coughing up blood like this!”
“Of course I’ll be careful. I’ve learned it’s more of a loss to lie down for days after collapsing…”
“This isn’t about time; it’s about your health. Don’t you understand my intentions?”
