“Lady Capanteni?”
An unexpected name came out of Monet’s mouth.
When he heard that she had personally thrown herself in to save Jeron after he fell into the pond, he had felt grateful. However, since he wasn’t someone who could be that kind to others, it had remained only a thought.
Even when she sent a letter, and when she came personally after waiting, he had only found it bothersome. Regrettably so.
“Yes. Recently, she has been visiting every day and playing with the young master.”
“Why did you not report it?”
“I did report it. It did not seem like you saw it.”
“…There was nothing else?”
“Yes. Recently, the young master only met Lady Capanteni and did nothing else.”
Then when he asked if he knew what he had been doing recently, did he mean whether he knew he had been meeting Lady Capanteni?
Why would that matter?
His first thought was whether something had happened, but it didn’t feel like that.
“…There was nothing unusual?”
“After falling into the pond, the young master was in despair and did nothing. But after meeting Lady Capanteni, he began eating meals and became a little brighter.”
“What…?”
“I reported that as well.”
Luzbel painfully realized once again what a useless father he had been.
Jeron’s face, when he asked why he cared now when he had never cared before, lingered in his mind.
He had every reason to say that.
Instead of just saying he was sorry, he should have paid closer attention to Jeron.
“Monet.”
“Yes. Please give your orders.”
“In your opinion, what kind of father am I to Jeron? How many points would I get?”
Then he remembered that two years ago, he had barely managed to hear the word “Dad” from him.
But when they met today, that title had completely disappeared, and he was called “Your Grace” again. It meant the distance between their hearts had grown that much.
“You are asking me that?”
Monet scoffed as if it were ridiculous.
“I do not know why you are suddenly thinking about that, but of course, zero points. What have you ever done as a father? You are probably worse than Lady Capanteni, who has been visiting every day recently to meet him.”
It was a harsh criticism, but it was also true.
“…Still, it is not hopeless.”
“What?”
Startled, Luzbel stared at Monet.
“No matter how close Lady Capanteni becomes, she can never be more than a friend. Unless the two grow close and marry someday. There is an age difference, so it will not be easy. But you and he are bound by blood. No matter how much he resents you, you are still family. The kind of existence that makes someone look back at least once.”
“…”
“Please try. Stop clinging to Lady Aisha, and turn your attention to Young Master Jeron as well.”
The answer was already clear.
He just needed to do better. To stop pouring energy into lingering regrets of the past, and focus on the present.
“What did you think when you saw Lady Aisha again?”
“…”
“Did you really regain the will to live again? Or was it resignation?”
“…”
“Whether you realize it or not, Lady Aisha looked happy now. And it did not seem like she had a place for you in her life at all.”
“…I know.”
“I told you before we came to the Capital. You need to come to your senses now.”
Without realizing it, Luzbel let out a deep sigh.
He knew. That they could never be connected again. That in Aisha’s eyes, someone like him didn’t exist at all.
As Monet said, seeing Aisha in person made him feel like he could breathe again, as much as he had missed her. It meant his mind had returned somewhat. That was why he now had the room to pay attention to Jeron.
“Jeron said he wants to stay here.”
“Are you going to let him stay just because he wants to? Then you will never recover. Well, if you plan to keep living like before, then leaving him behind might actually be better. For the young master’s sake.”
It seemed Monet had already known everything.
Which meant that to Jeron, he was someone even less than Monet.
“I… want to change. I will change.”
Luzbel spoke as if making a vow to himself, and Monet let out a faint chuckle.
“I see.”
Shrugging his shoulders as if he had reported everything, Monet was about to leave the office when he suddenly said, “Ah,” as if remembering something.
“It is probably also because of Lady Capanteni. The reason the young master wanted to stay.”
“Why her?”
“She played with him quite well. Thanks to her, the young master has brightened up a lot. Flora is very pleased.”
“…I see.”
“You should thank her at least once before leaving.”
She was the savior of Jeron’s life, yet he had been too indifferent. And to think she even played with him so well.
He didn’t know why she had gone that far, but that wasn’t something he needed to concern himself with. Nor did he want to look into it deeply.
Since once he left, they would never see each other again anyway.
***
Following Monet’s advice, he decided to visit House Capanteni personally to give his thanks before leaving.
After belatedly reading the report and learning that Lady Capanteni had become entangled in rumors of remarriage with him, he had even added a line saying he wouldn’t visit if it was unwelcome, but he received a reply saying it was fine.
“Ahem.”
“…”
It had been a long time since he stood side by side with Jeron. It was Jeron, not Luzbel, who had received a formal invitation from Lady Capanteni.
Jeron’s cheeks were slightly flushed, as if he was excited to have received his first formal invitation from someone.
He was also neatly dressed in the formal suit Flora had carefully purchased the day before.
“You look handsome.”
He hesitated for a long time over whether to say it, but Monet jabbed his side with his fist, forcing the words out of his mouth.
Jeron seemed slightly surprised, but he boarded the carriage with an expression that didn’t seem displeased.
“Well, your dad has been thinking a lot.”
“…”
“I take back what I said about being sorry.”
“…What?”
Jeron looked at him with disbelief and let out a hollow laugh.
“No, no… I mean, I am sorry, but I don’t intend to settle it with just an apology!”
“…Ah.”
“These past two years… ahem, I only now realized… no, I knew, I had thought about it, that I did many things a dad should never do, so…”
“Pfft.”
As Luzbel stumbled over his words, Jeron, who had been listening quietly, let out a small laugh.
“Huh? You… you laughed…?”
Of course, he immediately returned to a blank expression as if nothing had happened. Still, Luzbel felt somewhat pleased and began rambling on.
He wasn’t someone who talked much, but he was the one who wanted to repair their relationship, and he was the one who needed to make the effort, so he was doing his best.
Even though he seemed to be saying anything that came to mind and didn’t even know what he himself was saying.
In the meantime, the carriage continued moving and eventually arrived at the Capanteni ducal estate.
“Welcome.”
A gray-haired butler greeted the two with a polite bow.
“Everyone is waiting inside.”
They followed the butler’s guidance to the reception room.
As soon as they entered, they saw quite a number of people. Among them, the only young woman was likely Lady Edith Capanteni, whom he had seen briefly before.
Since he had only seen her for a moment, her impression remained faint in his memory.
“Welcome.”
The Duke greeted them briefly, and Luzbel also bowed in return.
“It is a pleasure. I see everyone is here.”
Everyone in the family had gathered, including Ellos, famous as the young Duke, and even Theo, the second son who was rarely seen.
***
Edith felt like she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and hide.
When she received the letter saying he wanted to come personally to thank her, her first thought had been, ‘Has Luzbel gone mad?’ But it wasn’t a reason to refuse.
The remarriage rumors would naturally quiet down once Luzbel returned to the Valencia territory anyway.
So she told him to come, also so she could say a final goodbye to Jeron, but she never expected her family to be staring so fiercely with blazing eyes.
“…Um…”
“Hm? Edith, what is it?”
“Your eyes are going to shoot fire.”
“Your dad doesn’t have such an ability.”
She meant for them to stop glaring so much, but the Duke simply laughed it off with a foolish remark. It seemed he had no intention of listening to her.
“Jeron, hello.”
Since she understood why they were acting like that, she decided to let them do as they pleased among themselves.
Edith gave up. She knew from the beginning that Luzbel wasn’t someone who would yield just because House Capanteni pressured him, so she chose to think more comfortably instead.
“Hello…”
More than anything, Jeron, who had dressed up and come, looked very cute.
“You dressed nicely today.”
“…I’m just dressed like usual.”
“Hmm? Like usual? Then what have I been seeing all this time?”
“Because I was at home! When I go outside, I dress like this!”
Since Edith had visited the estate every day, she knew very well what Jeron usually wore. Right now, anyone could see he had put effort into dressing up.
When she teased him playfully, Jeron shouted loudly, flustered.
“I see. I didn’t know.”
She stopped teasing and gave him a thumbs-up as if to say he looked great, and Jeron cleared his throat, his cheeks turning red.
“Thank you for coming today.”
“…It’s nothing.”
At that moment, Ellos approached.
“It seems you’ve grown quite close with the little Valencia?”
Theo had personally followed and met Jeron before, but this was likely Ellos’s first time seeing him. Watching the two who got along well, he spoke with curiosity.
“Yes. This is my older brother, Ellos.”
As Edith introduced him with a bright smile, Jeron blinked blankly, then gave a slight nod.
He had a sulky expression, as if he didn’t like him.
“This is Jeron.”
“Yes, hello. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
In contrast, Ellos greeted him quite warmly.
