Chapter 13
What?
“W-What do you mean by that?”
I asked, and the man smiled like he was teasing me. He looked so dazzling that I lost my words for a moment.
“That, I can’t tell you. Think about it while keeping me in mind.”
“Think about what?!”
“About marrying me. You’ll need some time too, right?”
Think? Ugh, I don’t even know anymore. First, I should go back and send Eloise a top-priority letter and ask what the heck is going on.
Maybe—just maybe—it could be some cruel prank from someone pretending to be my sister.
I slowly stood up and gave a polite thank-you.
“Well… even though it must’ve been sudden, thank you for looking after the child my sister sent.”
“Surprises are like that. You wake up and there’s something left at your doorstep.”
He shrugged like it was nothing.
Looking back, I’d caused him all sorts of trouble.
A little boy had knocked on the Duke’s mansion three days ago. He could’ve officially complained to the Bartoli family, but he didn’t.
And even after seeing me several times in those three days—even on the day the child arrived—he said nothing.
Maybe because he knew I wasn’t in a position to raise a child.
Come to think of it, if he had brought the child claiming it was mine while I was still engaged to Arnold, my father might’ve pushed for the wedding even faster.
Ugh, that would’ve been the worst.
Honestly, Eloise sending the child to the Glentino family might’ve been the better choice… for me too.
Though, it would’ve been best if she hadn’t sent him at all.
“So, I should think about whether or not I’ll marry you… and contact you again? What about Arne… what should I do about him?”
I asked, unsure if I should take the child since he was said to be mine.
The man quickly nodded and answered kindly,
“Arne can stay with us for now. Just let me know when you’ve decided.”
“Alright. Thank you for your kindness.”
‘How am I ever going to repay all of this?’
Not just emotionally—I mean the actual cost.
I let out a small sigh.
Taking in a child like that would have cost quite a bit. If he billed our family for it…
Well, then I’ll have to ask Bambi how to win big at gambling. I bet she’d know.
When Owen and I stepped outside, Arne, who had been playing with toys in the garden, looked up.
As soon as he saw me, he smiled brightly, jumped down from a chair, and ran toward me.
“Mom!”
Sigh… I’ve given up.
I knelt and caught him in my arms.
“Did you have fun, Arne?”
“Martin the butler played with me a lot!”
Ah, must be the butler’s name.
I carefully asked,
“Arne, have you seen me before? Why do you think I’m your mom?”
It was strange that a child who’d never met me would call me ‘Mom’ and act so attached.
Arne’s eyes sparkled as he said,
“Aunt Elly told me! She said Mom’s hair is the color of strawberries and bananas mixed together, and her eyes are a clean sky-blue, and that she’s super pretty—you’d know right away when you saw her!”
Well, at least the kid has good taste in people—no wait!
‘Aunt Elly’—he must mean Eloise!
What nonsense has that troublemaker been feeding this kid?
Worried, I asked,
“Did Aunt Elly tell you to come here to the Glentino town house? With that letter?”
“Yes! I rode a boat and a carriage. Some men protected me. There were a lot of boxes on the boat, and I found one that fit me just right, so I went inside and fell asleep. The men woke me up when we arrived.”
He said it so innocently, but this wasn’t okay at all.
A boat? With lots of boxes? That sounds like a cargo ship, not a passenger one!
This definitely wasn’t a safe or normal trip.
Arne kept talking like nothing was wrong.
“After getting off the boat and before getting in the carriage, the men gave me a drink. After I drank it, I felt sleepy again. When I woke up, I was here. The men told me to go inside and give them the letter.”
What?! They gave him something to knock him out?! To a little kid?!
I grabbed Arne’s shoulders and quickly asked,
“Did you feel sick after drinking it? Nausea? Did you want to throw up?!”
“Nope! It tasted good.”
“…Okay. And those men—did you know them?”
“No, Aunt Elly said they’d help me. They left after they saw I arrived safely.”
Oh god. Eloise hired private mercenaries.
I replied in a drained voice,
“I see. You must’ve had a tough time getting here, Arne.”
“Not at all! It was really fun!”
Sigh… ignorance really is bliss.
Then, from what Arne told me, I realized something important.
If I turn my back on Arne, he has nowhere to go.
If things go well, he might end up living with either the Glentino or Bartoli families, constantly walking on eggshells.
If things go badly, he could be abandoned entirely.
Not knowing what I was thinking, Arne looked down shyly and said,
“I’m really happy I got to see you, Mom.
Actually, I wanted to call you ‘Mom’ yesterday too, but Aunt Elly said you might be surprised if I did it right away.
She said to call you ‘big sister’ the first time, then ‘Mom’ from the second time on.”
“…I see.”
Not being able to call your own mom ‘Mom’—that’s just too sad.
He leaned into me, and I ended up hugging him tightly.
‘What am I supposed to do with you…?’
When I glanced up, Owen was looking at me with eyes that seemed to ask, Can you really turn him away?
Yeah… honestly, I wasn’t sure I could.
I finally managed to leave Arne behind and slowly made my way back to the Bartoli estate.
Owen offered to take me in his carriage, but I firmly refused. I needed to bring Thunderroot back anyway.
Thunderroot looked better than ever—his coat was shiny, and someone had even tied a cute ribbon on his tail.
The Duke’s stable care was top-notch, and Thunderroot looked like he’d been living the dream.
When I said we were going home, Thunderroot even turned his head back toward the Duke’s house like he was sad to leave.
‘You’re not the only one who’s sad. I really don’t want to go back to that awful house either.’
There was a saddle on Thunderroot now—there hadn’t been one before.
I gently patted his mane a few times and climbed on.
From up here, the world looked different.
I’d said I wanted to go home alone to clear my head, but as Thunderroot slowly walked, Owen’s words replayed in my mind:
“Let’s get married.”
“Lady Bartoli deserves the greatest man in the world.”
“I’m a hundred times more handsome than the Crown Prince.”
“Ha…”
Yeah, that was sweet—so sweet it felt like a dream.
No one ever treated me like I mattered this much.
Before, I was the only one who ever valued myself.
So I had to constantly prove I was worth something, even without anyone else’s love.
And then, out of nowhere, a man I barely know shows up and shakes up my entire life.
Owen ta Glentino… what am I supposed to do with you?
It felt like I’d barely traveled at all before the Bartoli estate appeared.
Once I arrived, I brought Thunderroot to the stable. Charlie, the stable keeper, looked like he was seeing an angel.
“Young Lady! Where in the world did you find this horse?”
“I just… picked him up somewhere.”
I brushed him off with a vague answer.
As soon as I stepped into the house, the mood changed completely.
The cold, tense atmosphere told me everything.
Yep. The Marquis had another blow-up.
Bessie came running toward me, clearly anxious.
She clutched her apron tightly and looked at me with worried eyes.
“Young Lady… The Master is asking for you.”
Yeah, I figured.
“I’ll go now.”
I headed straight for the Marquis’s office.
