RUSP 05

CHAPTER 05…………………………………..

“Don’t be ridiculous! After three years, what reason would I have to call you back?”

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask the Duke yourself.”

“……”

“Or you can ask the butler—it doesn’t matter.”

Barak must have realized by now. The reason I could stand confidently in the ducal mansion was only because Duke Alexis had called me here.

“For your information, the one who brought me here was Brother Lian.”

He froze for a moment, his body halting as he tried to maintain composure.

Barak, whose gaze had been wandering, slowly turned his sunset-colored eyes toward me.

“Brother… brought you here?”

“Yes.”

In short, this was something only the Duke and Lian knew; Barak was completely in the dark.

Even Patrick, the head butler, knew—but Barak alone looked foolish.

Just as he strode forward with mud-stained shoes and reached out his hand…

“Master!”

Patrick moved to block him again, but the Duke House’s madman, eyes half-crazed, shoved him aside and grabbed me by the collar.

“Do you think it makes sense that Father would summon a worthless piece of trash like you back?”

“Exactly. Father said someone like me was needed, so he called me.”

My wrist had nearly been sliced off before—what was being grabbed by the collar in comparison?

“Master, let go of her.”

As the tense atmosphere continued, Kana stepped forward and pushed his wrist away.

“Watch your words.”

“Move.”

“The Duke commanded that you treat the lady as a noblewoman.”

“Lady? Who are you calling lady! The only lady of the Rise Ducal House is—!”

“April Hill Rise.”

Despite my calm tone, his voice was seething with rage.

And with Barak, he would surely become even angrier at my composed state.

Seeing him lose control made me want to clutch my stomach and laugh.

“Only Lady April is the sole lady of this ducal house.”

“How dare you speak her name!”

Barak moved roughly again, but Kana stepped in, shielding me and responding firmly.

“If you have complaints, speak to the Duke directly, Master.”

If you were to name the strictest and most inflexible person in this house, it would be Kana, the head maid.

Harshly put, she could be rigid and uncompromising—but in another sense, that meant she adhered strictly to principles, never kneeling to anyone stronger, embodying both strength and courage.

“Head maid, the person you should be serving isn’t that girl.”

“That doesn’t mean you, Second Master, take priority either.”

“……”

“The person we must follow most in this house while the mistress is away is the Duke.”

“Master, calm down. First, go see the Duke.”

Barak’s sunset-colored eyes blazed like the midday sun as he bit his lips at Patrick’s gentle suggestion, a voice too soft for the situation.

“And Father?”

“He’s in his study.”

“Even if Father told you to bring her, she doesn’t seem that important to you.”

It was a remark seemingly aimed at Duke Alexis, who showed no emotion despite the chaos in the ducal house.

I simply smiled lightly, having no intention to argue or refute.

Barak, displeased at my lack of reaction, spun around and brushed past me.

Only then did everyone in the hall exhale collectively.

I chuckled softly at the uniform sighs; people don’t change easily.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

The voice was tiny, but close enough that I could hear it clearly.

As the servants left one by one, only Kana remained by my side.

Her face was still stern, her eyes slightly narrowed, as when facing Barak.

Was she displeased because of me—or because of Barak?

“I told you, you wouldn’t like what you see.”

“I expected this much.”

“Ha……”

Kana pressed her eyes shut and lowered her head, looking deeply frustrated.

“Barak would be surprised to see me welcome him. Right?”

I said it lightly, with a small smile, hoping for confirmation.

Had Barak ignored me, that would have been stranger.

No doubt he would think, Has she a death wish?

“Everyone knows how much Master Barak values April.”

After all, he had caused April to be lost in the first place.

With a slam and no knock, the door burst open, and Duke Alexis furrowed his brow.

The noise that had been echoing from afar now reached his study.

Seeing his second son, so angry, Duke Alexis wondered just whose temper Barak had inherited.

Neither his late wife, who passed away years ago, nor he himself had been like Barak.

“Father, why is she here in this house?”

I recalled Irina Devin from a few minutes ago: her gaunt figure, long beige hair tinged with gray, eyes of a completely different bluish-gray from childhood.

She had grown far more mature and adult-like than before.

“I told you to come.”

“Father!”

Haah. Barak’s voice was piercing. Duke Alexis inhaled sharply.

“Why did you call her? After three years, there must be a reason!”

Still, in front of his father, Barak calmed himself slightly, though his voice rose involuntarily.

After three years of silence, suddenly calling Irina Devin—the one who had pushed April down the stairs and threatened her? The one he hoped was not his real daughter?

“There’s no need to get so worked up. She’ll only stay in the ducal house for a year anyway.”

“Only a year? Father, it’s not just a year!”

Barak stormed toward Duke Alexis, frustration clear on his face.

A year—considering the year ahead, that girl would have spent nine years in this house altogether.

Meanwhile, April, his actual daughter, had only been here five years.

She always thought she didn’t belong in this house and was anxious. If she knew that girl was here, she’d be deeply hurt.

“She has to stay in this house for a year.”

Barak inhaled sharply.

“Has that girl found some weakness in you?”

“Watch your words!”

Being a son didn’t excuse such rude behavior.

Barak, hesitating under his father’s sharp gaze, bit his lower lip.

“April… is still at the villa because of her leg.”

Barak’s face twisted in anguish, recalling the accident that left April unable to walk properly for over a month.

Though April had suffered the most, he had suffered second-most, watching over her.

Years she had been deprived of what she deserved. Only five years ago had she begun to find happiness. And now that girl was returning to this house—he couldn’t accept it.

“I know it’s because of her leg. I understand why you brought that girl here, but I’m also exploring every way to heal her leg…!”

“……”

“Please, just a little longer, Father.”

Barak’s plea toward Duke Alexis carried the weight of a son speaking to his parent, yet Duke Alexis’s bluish-gray eyes, void of warmth, made Barak’s heart sink.

He had seen that gaze before.

“April wants to return home. She wants to see you too, Father.”

“This decision has nothing to do with her physical condition.”

“Father…”

Three years ago, when Irina left this house, Alexis Hill Rise’s eyes had looked exactly like that.

Emotionless, detached, indifferent. Barak’s expression stiffened.

“What do you mean?”

“I just said. Regardless of her condition, Irina will stay here for a year.”

“……”

“As a stand-in for April, and as the noblewoman.”

“And April? Are you saying because of that girl she has to spend a year stuck at the villa?”

Each word cut like shards of glass.

“You intend to forsake your own daughter, April, because of a girl with no blood relation?”

Patrick, following Barak, thought briefly: perfect words to pierce the otherwise mild Duke Alexis’s heart.

“Barak Hill Rise.”

Duke Alexis said the full name slowly as he rose.

Barak inhaled sharply at the sight of silver-gray hair falling to the waist and piercing bluish-gray eyes.

Though retired as a knight, the Duke’s youthful battlefield spirit remained intact.

“Do not think that being my son excuses your rudeness.”

I wanted to ask how he could be so cold toward his own blood.

“Irina will remain here, and she will be treated properly, regardless of your feelings.”

Alexis Hill Rise swallowed dryly, taking a deep breath.

“As a noblewoman, and as my daughter.”

Barak, as if refusing to stay in the house any longer, bit his lower lip and cast a spell.

When he opened his eyes again, his presence was gone, leaving only traces of sunset light shimmering in the room.