“You talked about me?”
Whenever she returned after spending time playing with Jeron, Ellos would always ask about her day, so she had no choice but to talk about Jeron.
“Yes. A lot.”
“…W-what did you say about me…?”
His expression, looking like he was dying of curiosity about what she had said about him, was adorable.
Edith held back her laughter and said,
“That I gained a cute and good friend.”
“…Really?”
His expression wasn’t bad.
While Edith and Jeron were having such a warm and friendly conversation, Luzbel and Duke Capanteni were, quite literally, tense.
Duke Capanteni cast aside his doting father persona and faced Duke Valencia with a cold expression.
Though they were both Dukes and not in a subordinate relationship, Duke Capanteni was much older, so Luzbel approached with a slightly lowered posture.
“I thought you had grass growing in your mouth.”
“I apologize for not thinking of it sooner. That is why I came to see you like this.”
The meaning was: My Edith personally jumped into the water and saved your son, yet you kept your mouth shut, and now you show up like this?
But even hearing such words to his face, Luzbel didn’t so much as blink. To be honest, if it hadn’t been for Jeron, he would never have come here.
“Thanks to that, my child caught a cold and was bedridden for several days.”
“I did not know. I should thank Lady Capanteni once again.”
“Ahem. More importantly, what is it you came here intending?”
The Duke looked at Luzbel with a wary gaze. The Duchess and Theo were the same.
Only then did Luzbel understand why the whole family had gathered, and suppressing a hollow laugh inside, he spoke.
“I came, quite literally, to express my thanks.”
“And I am asking why you are suddenly doing that.”
It seemed he cherished his daughter greatly.
That was the extent of Luzbel’s impression. In truth, he knew nothing about Lady Capanteni.
Before coming to the ducal estate personally, Monet had told him a few things, but until hearing that, he didn’t even know she had lived as a vegetative patient her entire life and had only recently awakened.
For someone who had lost more than ten years of her life, it was somewhat remarkable how bright she was. That, at least, could be called an impression.
“I heard she visited our estate for several days, took care of Jeron, and played with him. Even though she did not have to, she said she was worried about the child who fell into the pond. I only recently received the report that she had been looking after Jeron for several days, and so I came like this.”
“…Hm.”
He deliberately avoided saying things like she was kind or had a good heart, because it seemed such praise would only add fuel to the fire.
It seemed to have been an excellent choice, as Duke Capanteni only nodded with an expressionless face.
“It is modest, but I also prepared a gift.”
“A gift?”
At his gesture, Monet presented a small box. He had wondered whether a gift was necessary, but Monet had insisted strongly, so he had no choice but to purchase one.
When the Duke accepted the gift and opened the lid, a jewel of appropriate size sparkled inside. Since it was a Ducal House, they likely already had most things, so he had instructed Monet to prepare something safe and appropriate.
But what was that?
Upon confirming the jewel inside the opened box, Luzbel was greatly flustered.
“…It is a very beautifully cut pink diamond.”
The Duke’s expression also hardened the moment he saw the gift. The Duchess and Theo, who were watching, also grew visibly tense.
“Did you perhaps choose it yourself?”
He was about to answer no, since he hadn’t, but before he could, Monet answered.
“Of course, His Grace chose it personally with great care!”
It was absurd, but he kept his face expressionless to the end. However, when he saw Monet, who had lowered his head, smiling mischievously, he became certain he had been set up somehow.
“So that is the case… Hm, I cannot simply send you back after receiving a gift.”
“…Pardon?”
“Stay for a meal.”
“That will not be necessary…”
As expected. The Duke’s eyes were blazing.
Luzbel was simply flustered by the situation and thought he should return, but Jeron, who had come up beside him at some point, poked his side and said,
“I want to stay and eat.”
“…”
“Can’t I?”
“…You can.”
He had only just begun trying to restore their relationship. In that situation, how could he refuse when his son said he wanted to stay longer?
It was truly a dilemma.
***
Monet pretended otherwise, but he quite liked Edith.
Just as Aisha had found her partner again, he wanted Luzbel to live well too, as if to show it off. To the point that even if Aisha regretted it later, it would be meaningless.
However, the problem was that Luzbel was far too rigid as a person.
If Edith had shown even the slightest sign of harboring feelings for Luzbel, Monet would have thought, ‘Ha, as expected’, while still doing his best to support her.
She was a woman whose character, family, and even appearance were all excellent.
But no matter how much he probed, it was true that Edith had no interest in Luzbel. Instead, for some reason, she came every day to see Jeron and play with him before leaving.
Even because of Jeron, she might have been curious at least once, but she never asked about Luzbel at all.
Of course, that made her even more appealing.
She seemed like she would become a good mother to his Young Master Jeron.
For now, it was nothing more than his own delusion, but if they continued to be connected, wouldn’t what he hoped for eventually come true?
As an aide, he would do everything he could. If fate aligned, things could develop favorably.
“Monet…”
Of course, his Lord didn’t seem to think the same, and as they were being led to the dining hall, he called Monet’s name in a low, threatening voice.
“Yes?”
But Monet, who had long served under Luzbel, remained calm.
“Don’t pull useless tricks.”
Luzbel, with his sharp mind, seemed to have already seen through his intentions and warned him, but Monet only shrugged.
“It is just a meal. What did I do?”
Most likely, the problem was the jewel he had said Luzbel personally chose.
The transparent pink diamond, reminiscent of Edith’s pink hair, was certainly beautiful, but jewel gifts matching someone’s colors were usually exchanged between lovers.
That was why Duke Capanteni had reacted so sharply, and why Luzbel had been flustered.
“…You.”
Luzbel, who had been unexpectedly set up, glared at him, but couldn’t continue. They had already arrived in front of the dining hall.
“This lowly aide will step back now. Please enjoy your meal.”
Monet smiled brightly as he pushed his Lord deep into House Capanteni’s mansion.
***
Edith had simply followed along because they were going to eat together, but seeing her parents glaring so fiercely, she felt quite flustered.
“What is wrong?”
They were pressuring Luzbel as if conducting an interrogation, and she couldn’t focus at all.
When she asked Theo, he only said she didn’t need to worry and whispered with Ellos instead.
Ellos, who seemed to have heard some explanation, began attacking Luzbel as well, no longer wearing his usual gentle smile.
“Did His Grace do something wrong?”
Even Jeron could sense that the atmosphere was very unpleasant.
“Should I tell them to stop?”
She asked, worried Jeron might feel uncomfortable, but he shook his head, saying it wasn’t necessary.
“It’s fine. He’s not someone who would be pushed around anywhere.”
It was a smart answer befitting whose son he was.
Indeed, even surrounded by the Capanteni family within their own mansion, Luzbel didn’t appear intimidated at all.
“You seem to know your dad well.”
“…It’s not that I don’t know him. But it’s not like I know him well either.”
Gently stroking Jeron’s head, Edith smiled faintly and stepped back a little farther, quietly watching their confrontation.
“Are you close with our Edith?”
“No.”
“…Then what is the meaning of this?”
“It has no meaning at all. I did not choose it in the first place.”
“Then your subordinate lied?”
“Yes.”
The moment he answered, the Duke scoffed.
“Hmph. It seems that fellow has an eye for things. But there is no chance.”
It seemed Monet had done something while she had been playing with Jeron earlier in the reception room.
That must have been why the Duke’s mood had suddenly worsened.
“I have no such intentions, so please do not worry.”
“What? What is wrong with our Edith?”
“It is not that the young lady is lacking. It is simply that I know my own circumstances well.”
Though she didn’t fully understand, it looked as if they were testing someone who might become their future son-in-law.
“That is a relief, at least!”
Edith scoffed inwardly.
The Duke was wary of Luzbel, and had no intention of giving him his daughter in marriage. Edith thought, ‘so it was nothing after all’.
After all, there was no way Luzbel could forget Aisha.
In the original story, he was someone who committed suicide right after Aisha died, following her in death. Even if he was now her ex-husband, there was no way his feelings would change so easily.
“…Your Grace.”
“Hm~? What is it, my daughter?”
“Please stop saying useless things and eat. Your steak is getting cold.”
“Yes, yes.”
The Duke, who was utterly devoted to his daughter, smiled foolishly, thinking she was worried about him, and only then began cutting into the steak that had been left untouched.
“…You too, Madam.”
“Yes.”
“And Brothers too.”
“…”
Theo and Ellos still did not seem completely appeased, but once Edith stepped in to settle things, the table quickly grew quiet, and only the sound of steak being cut could be heard.
