Chapter 17 …
When she looked up, it was, as expected, her grandmother’s son.
‘…Scary.’
Angelica quickly averted her gaze, worried their eyes might meet.
The man in front of her was truly frightening.
Even Timina and the Baroness couldn’t compare.
It felt as if an invisible aura was emanating from him.
‘Grandma’s magic is supposed to be good, but I don’t think that applies to him.’
This wasn’t just fear she felt because she was a child.
It was clear that anyone who saw him would feel fear.
‘Just… don’t make eye contact.’
Angelica swallowed nervously and focused on stroking her master’s fur.
The carriage began to move. With the slight sway, the small child’s body slumped weakly.
“Ah.”
Just as she was about to tip over, she felt a firm hand pull her back.
“Are you alright?”
It was her grandmother.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
Angelica looked up at her grandmother and smiled brightly.
‘Grandma really is the best.’
Olivier wrapped Angelica’s shoulders, letting her lean into his embrace.
From him came a warm and gentle scent.
In that moment, the fear that had gripped Angelica began to subside.
Perhaps that was why her stomach growled.
“Looks like someone’s hungry.”
“Huh? Y-Yes…”
Embarrassment flushed Angelica’s cheeks red.
‘I haven’t eaten a single meal, and my stomach is growling so loudly!’
She felt so embarrassed she wished she could hide in a mouse hole.
It even felt like the man sitting across from her was glaring sharply.
“Take something out from your pocket and eat. You skipped lunch today, didn’t you?”
“R-Really…?”
If she had been alone with her grandmother, she would have eaten immediately, but the man’s intense gaze made her hesitate.
“Go ahead.”
Even with her grandmother’s permission, Angelica couldn’t bring herself to move her hand.
Then, as her stomach growled again, her hand reluctantly reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a few appleberries from the enormous pocket.
‘I can’t eat them all myself…’
“Grandma, here. Have some.”
“Thank you.”
Angelica handed one to Olivier and, with a quick glance, checked the man across from her.
He was staring out the window with an indifferent expression.
‘Has he been looking at me this whole time, or am I imagining it?’
She might have been overly conscious of him, imagining his gaze.
Thinking that way eased her mind slightly.
Then another thought crossed her mind:
‘If I’m going to live at Grandma’s house, this man will become family too… I guess I need to get along with him a little. I can’t just be close to Grandma and be disliked by everyone else…’
Angelica summoned her courage. She extended an appleberry toward the man.
Though her short arm couldn’t quite reach him, she said:
“Um, would you like to… eat this?”
She stared at him desperately, stammering from nerves, so tense she didn’t even notice.
Then the man’s gaze shifted from the window to Angelica.
His cold eyes made her shoulders flinch.
Yet she didn’t lose courage and spoke again:
“This is an appleberry… it’s delicious! It’s sweeter and tastier than ordinary appleberries.”
The man didn’t move a muscle.
He glanced at her once and slowly spoke.
“Heartless, Aiden.”
Olivier clicked his tongue, addressing the man sitting across from him, Adrian.
Adrian’s expression remained emotionless as he replied:
“Wouldn’t it be stranger to act kindly to a child I just met?”
“It’s being heartless in that sense, you unlovable child.”
Olivier relaxed his furrowed brow at Angelica while keeping it tight toward Adrian.
He gently stroked Angelica’s hair as she rested on his lap.
The day had been exhausting—working on the farm and packing up.
Plus, she had been nervous with his son right in front of her.
So fatigue was inevitable.
‘I tried to help her relax as much as I could…’
Olivier gave his son a sharp look.
Earlier, Adrian had heartlessly refused the appleberry Angelica offered.
“Enough.”
The short, cold command made the child flinch.
Unable to bear it, Olivier took the appleberry himself.
After that, whether from a full stomach or exhaustion, Angelica began to doze off.
Olivier laid her on his lap, gently patting her to sleep.
Even the dog, Sabu, curled up beside her, and the carriage fell into silence.
Once the child was fully asleep, Olivier spoke to Adrian.
After a brief exchange, silence returned.
Olivier, who had been looking out the window, now turned his gaze toward Adrian.
“Aiden.”
Adrian met his mother’s eyes with a blank expression.
“As I said before we got in the carriage, I will make this child my granddaughter. She will grow up under my protection.”
It was almost a declaration, yet Aiden showed no reaction.
He continued to look at his mother impassively.
“Why do you say nothing?”
“If it is something you wish, Mother, I have no objection.”
Aiden’s tone was calm, indifferent.
Yet Olivier knew that before getting in the carriage, his son had been slightly unsettled.
Aiden was naturally taciturn, rarely showing emotion.
That hadn’t changed.
Olivier could read his expression only because he was his father.
‘My mother, who hadn’t contacted me for days, suddenly shows up with a stranger child and wants to make her my granddaughter… of course he’d be unsettled.’
Still, Aiden’s calmness was typical of him.
He likely tried to deduce the reason instead of asking directly, as he always had.
“I’ll take a nap then.”
Olivier spoke briefly and closed his eyes.
Like Angelica, he had woken up early and was very tired.
No wonder, he too fell into a deep sleep.
Aiden, awake alone, glared coldly with his golden eyes.
He watched the scruffy child sleeping soundly and thought.
Nobles in the Scelpion Empire often adopted children.
In families with children, to have someone to accompany or assist the heir.
In childless families, they adopted a smart child to raise as heir.
But currently, the Grand Duke’s family didn’t need a child.
They didn’t need someone to accompany or assist the heir.
If they had, they would have adopted into a ducal family, not the Grand Duke’s.
Yet his mother said she would make this child her granddaughter and protect her.
Another thing: nobles only adopted children whose identities were verified through imperial orphanages or academies.
Adopting an ordinary village child like this was unprecedented.
‘Then… this child must be special in some way.’
Aiden’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Angelica.
Nothing about her appearance seemed unusual.
He stared at the child sleeping peacefully, listening to her soft breathing, then averted his eyes.
His mother always had purpose behind her actions.
She wouldn’t bring this child just because she was cute.
Knowing that, Aiden decided to observe her for a while.
‘Wow.’
A small exclamation escaped Angelica’s lips.
Hearing that they had finally arrived at her grandmother’s house, she held her hand and stepped down from the carriage.
What awaited them was a mansion as grand as a palace.
‘It’s so beautiful!’
Her first impression: a pristine white mansion surrounded by lush greenery.
Angelica gazed at the exterior in awe.
Then,
“You’ve returned safely, Grand Duke.”
A dignified elderly butler, neatly dressed with a white beard, approached and bowed respectfully to her grandmother.
‘…Grand Duke?’
The word stuck in Angelica’s ears.
‘Grand Duke… could it really be…!’
