Chapter 17
Skipping meals? That was unthinkable to her.
“Shall we eat first?” Godell asked playfully. Her bright, youthful smile made Echo smile along and nod.
“Yes…!”
As they stood to leave together, Echo suddenly remembered something and asked,
“By the way, Lady Godell, what were you talking about with the Duke? I heard something about conditions…”
“Oh, that. We just discussed what we each wanted before getting married.”
Godell answered casually. But really, she only had one condition—to take care of Echo. She didn’t ask for anything more.
Eden may be the heir to a great family, but she wasn’t.
‘Wait a second.’
Yes, Eden was the heir of a powerful family. Many people were surely after him. And now, a random woman suddenly shows up with him? That would surely stir gossip.
‘In that case…’
Godell began organizing her thoughts more carefully.
***
In the capital townhouse, night had fallen.
Because of his employer’s ongoing legal trouble, lawyer Redder had been working late every night. He looked up sharply.
“What did you just say?”
He didn’t mishear. And if he had questions, he should’ve asked them days ago.
He asked out of disbelief.
But Eden, calm as ever, repeated himself.
“Give them everything they want.”
“What…!”
Redder almost shouted but stopped himself.
Though he had a brilliant mind—graduating at the top of the academy—he came from a common background. And no matter how smart, there were limits to understanding nobles.
So he had long gotten used to not questioning his noble employer’s decisions.
But this was too much. Pressing his temples, Redder said,
“So… You want us to fully respect the bride’s wishes. Got it.”
Normally, a bride would enjoy planning a wedding with plenty of time. But the will’s deadline was less than two weeks away.
Even for the powerful Berternon family, stealing a bride’s dream wedding meant offering compensation.
Legal advice and financial help? Sure, that made sense. Even the bad rumors about the bride’s family? Understandable.
“But naming a successor too?”
And not just any child—but a 15-year-old girl!
Even a street beggar would call that absurd.
“Is that really true? Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand something?”
“I thought your eyesight was bad, but I didn’t know your hearing was too.”
Eden raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t joking.
Redder sighed and adjusted his glasses.
“You can’t name an heir like that.”
“I don’t recall the will saying the heir had to be of my blood.”
Eden tilted his head.
He was right. Nowhere did the will say the heir must be Eden’s child.
It had been so obvious that the former Duke hadn’t even written it down.
But now Eden was twisting that omission to his benefit.
Redder gave up. It wasn’t worth arguing with someone who wouldn’t listen.
“I wonder if the Dowager Duchess will accept this.”
“We’ll find out.”
“She’s not the one who has to deal with the fallout—we are…”
Redder mumbled. Eden only smiled.
“So, what did the investigation find?”
“Just as you suspected. Gilbert Hildegard never married. But after returning from subjugating monsters, he claimed Echo Hildegard as his daughter.”
“Anything about the mother?”
“No. Neither Gilbert nor Echo ever mentioned her.”
Eden’s eyes grew sharp.
Families come in all forms. Even the heroes weren’t perfect. Eden knew that better than anyone with his own messy family.
But Gilbert had regularly sent part of his pension to Louis Hildegard—even knowing it was used badly. He clearly cared about his family.
So why not mention his wife even once? Something didn’t add up.
Then Redder added,
“There’s a rumor that Echo might not be his real daughter.”
“Then why did the rumors stop?”
“Because of Miss Godell. She caused such a scene—yelling at him in public, demanding when, where, and with whom he had another child—that people assumed he must have had an affair.”
“Some even thought Godell and Gilbert had something between them, but then he brought another child home, and focus shifted to that child’s mother. People began wondering who she was, especially since Echo looks nothing like Gilbert. Some even said the real mother must be incredibly beautiful.”
Eden nodded. It was human nature to believe the juiciest version of a story.
‘But even so, it doesn’t make sense.’
Godell truly believed Echo was Gilbert’s daughter. To her, Echo was probably the symbol of her broken heart.
Still, Godell protected Echo with sincerity. Not only did she allow the adoption, but she also demanded Eden care for the girl.
‘Why?’
Echo was 15—not a child needing close care. Plus, she had even received a marriage proposal. A single woman entering another noble house with a teenage girl? That was a huge burden. Yet Godell still chose to stay with Echo.
There was no reason to go that far.
Unless… there was a reason.
Eden narrowed his eyes.
His mind raced through all the clues. Godell’s sudden change in attitude. The strange word the Sage had said. It all pointed in one direction.
He muttered,
“…The Sage’s Choice?”
“Pardon? Whose choice?”
Redder asked, but Eden didn’t reply. He just frowned deeply.
It was all a guess. They didn’t know if Godell was the Sage, or if she had been chosen. She was such a small, quiet woman. It sounded like nonsense.
‘But it’s worth checking.’
If it turned out to be true, his uncle would be furious. Eden stood.
“We’ll include her side’s requests later. For now, write ours.”
“Yes, I know. Divorce within three years, correct?”
Redder grumbled. Eden had said it so many times it echoed in his ears.
“About that…”
Eden replied casually,
“Let’s remove the divorce clause.”
“…Excuse me?”
Redder looked stunned.
This whole marriage was supposed to be a contract with a planned divorce. And now Eden wanted to skip it?
Reading his thoughts, Eden explained,
“If divorce is expected, she might aim for alimony or territory. She could try to get as much from me as possible before the split.”
“That’s true, but…”
It still didn’t explain everything.
Eden was the type to destroy even the tiniest problem at the root. So this kind of leniency was strange.
Redder began to worry: Was Eden feeling unwell? Either he hit his head, or…
“Did you start liking your bride-to-be?”
“Still have the energy to joke, I see.”
Eden muttered coldly.
Yep, that tone and scowl were definitely his employer.
‘Then why cancel the divorce?’
Redder couldn’t stop wondering.
“You’re surprisingly passionate about your work.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t expect my lawyer to be so into it.”
Eden smiled at him.
‘Oh no.’
That was the devil’s smile. Redder’s doubts vanished, replaced by dread.
“Here, handle these too.”
Eden dumped a pile of work onto Redder’s desk. His face turned pale.
“Good luck.”
With a cheerful smile, Eden left the office.
At that moment, Miller arrived at the mansion.
He approached Eden, slightly out of breath, his tidy hair a bit messy.
“Lady Godell asked me to give you this.”
It was a small folded envelope. It seemed she had finally written down her conditions.
Eden murmured,
“That was fast.”
Well, it was probably simple stuff. What she wanted from this marriage and what she needed guaranteed.
Still, Eden liked to confirm things himself. He accepted the envelope.
But…
“…?”
It was extremely light. If he hadn’t felt the texture with his fingertips, he’d have thought it was empty.
“Is this everything?”
“Yes, sir. I double-checked.”
Miller answered confidently.
