“Welcome home, my lord.”
A crowd of people had come out in front of the estate to greet Duke Escra, who was returning home after a long time away.
Among them, a woman in her mid-thirties approached first and offered a familiar greeting. Her smiling face looked genuinely kind.
“You must have worked so hard seeing the coronation through to the end.”
Who is she?
Stepping down from the carriage, Camilla studied the woman standing next to Duke Escra.
She’d heard the duchess had died long ago, so then this woman was...?
“She is Lady Sebinne, the wet nurse.”
Sensing Camilla’s question, Count Alton quietly supplied the woman’s identity.
“A wet nurse?”
She was far too young to have been the duke’s own wet nurse, obviously.
“She looks after the second son, Young Master Dive.”
Camilla looked at her again with a fresh gaze. Was the position of a child’s wet nurse usually that close and familiar with the head of house?
Unlike the other servants, who had all gone stiff at Duke Escra’s appearance, she seemed completely at ease.
“Lady Sebinne has known Lord Kais since childhood, and she was inseparable friends with the late mistress.”
At those added words, Camilla simply nodded.
That child, then...
Her gaze soon shifted to one person.
A boy who looked around ten years old was staring holes into Duke Escra. His unusually pale skin stood out at a glance.
He kept opening and closing his mouth as he watched the duke, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to.
Red eyes.
Once she confirmed the color of his irises, Camilla could roughly guess who he was.
“Young Master Dive. The one I mentioned earlier...”
Still keeping an eye on her, Count Alton again briefly provided the boy’s name and status.
STEP STEP.
“Father.”
As Duke Escra drew closer, the boy bowed his head very politely, his expression a little stiff.
“You’ve been well, I trust.”
“Yes.”
The boy answered lightly, but the moment his eyes met the duke’s, he hurriedly dropped his gaze and looked away.
Just moments ago, he’d clearly seemed like he wanted to talk to him, but now that he was face-to-face with the man, he couldn’t even meet his eyes properly.
“Of course he has. Young master is always diligent.”
Lady Sebinne immediately slipped into the conversation.
“He reads a great many books, never misses his lessons—his teachers cannot praise him enough.”
When she rested her hand lightly on his shoulder, Dive flinched for an instant, then quickly nodded.
“Please, come inside, my lord. You must be very tired.”
At her words, Duke Escra started forward. But soon he stopped again, his gaze turning back.
In that instant, his eyes met Camilla’s.
“Rest.”
Leaving only that short word behind, he turned away at once.
...Wow.
As a greeting to a daughter who’d just arrived at his house for the first time, it was so brisk it practically sent a cold draft blowing through her, but she let it go. You had to have expectations to feel disappointed.
What struck her was the reaction around her. Everyone lined up at the estate’s front entrance was looking at her with somewhat surprised eyes.
“His Grace is not usually one for such greetings.”
So the man infamous for his rotten personality... and they were surprised over that level of greeting?
Camilla shook her head slightly at Count Alton’s explanation. Come to think of it, even the line he’d given his son had been something else.
Not “Have you been well,” but “You’ve been well, I trust,” huh.
Was he trying to start a conversation or kill one?
Clicking her tongue internally, Camilla glanced at the boy again. Dive, too, was staring at her with his eyes opened wide.
He also seemed startled that his father had [N O V E L I G H T] shown even a moment’s interest in someone, actually paying attention to them.
Look closely and he’s... kind of an adorable little thing—
WHIP.
Oh?
The moment their eyes met, the boy snapped his head away. Like father, like son, huh? So he had a bit of a temper too.
Okay. Deal.
I don’t like kids either, you know. No loss here. Rio is way, way cuter anyway.
Camilla decided she would spare the boy no further attention.
“I’ll show you to your room.”
Apparently under prior instructions, it wasn’t a servant but Count Alton himself who escorted her into the estate. The onlookers wore shocked expressions yet again.
Well, she’d seen him work magic before. Under Duke Escra’s command, he might act like a subordinate, but he was absolutely not someone who should be doing these odd jobs.
“We haven’t told the household staff anything about you yet, Lady Camilla. I thought it would only make you uncomfortable for now.”
“Yes.”
That was what Camilla had wanted as well. There was no need to publicly announce that she carried Duke Escra’s blood.
Red eyes might not be common, but they weren’t a trait unique to House Escra either.
Honestly, she was already starting to regret coming here at all. She’d felt she had to tie things off somehow before going home, which was why she’d made the trip...
But now it felt like she’d done something pointless. What had possessed her to chase all the way here to “wrap things up” with that rude, cold man?
“Let’s go, Lady Camilla.”
“Yes.”
Lifting her head, Camilla took a moment to look over the estate where she’d be staying for a while, then quietly followed after Count Alton.
******
[Are you okay?]
Zeno, who had watched everything that had happened so far from right beside her, asked anxiously.
“What’s there not to be okay about?”
[Right. I mean, this isn’t anything big. So what if the father you met for the first time turns out to be an amnesiac who doesn’t even know he left a daughter behind somewhere.]
“...Can you just shut up?”
Now that Dorman had gone quiet, too busy watching her mood lately, this guy—no, this ghost—was the one scratching at her nerves nonstop.
[More importantly, did you see her earlier?]
“See who?”
[The woman ghost. She looked pretty heartbroken, you know?]
Oh, her. She had, indeed.
“She’s probably this house’s young master’s mother or something.”
[His mother? She looked really young, though.]
“Then I guess His Grace is a conscience-less thief.”
[Hey, he’s still your father, you know.]
Among the people who had come out to greet them earlier, there had been a ghost mixed in. The young woman who looked to be in her early twenties had not taken her eyes off Dive for a single moment.
“I don’t know what she’s so heartsick about.”
[Want me to go ask?]
“Zeno.”
[Yeah?]
“Are you bored?”
[...Kind of.]
“If you’re bored, go check out the training grounds or something.”
It’s not even work that brings in money—what, was he planning to offer house calls now? With a light wave of her hand, Camilla turned to look out the window.
The weather was perfectly clear again today, not a cloud in the sky, but the view outside was desolate.
A garden overgrown only with trees that grew well even in cold seasons—calling it a garden felt almost embarrassing.
Well, it made sense, considering what the weather had been like until now.
Other noble houses probably aren’t much different, are they?
Greenhouses must have been the only real solution, but now that the weather had improved, wouldn’t they all start taking a serious interest in decorating their gardens?
“Hooh.”
Maybe a garden project could actually make decent mo—
“What am I doing?”
In a situation like this and I’m thinking about making money? Ravi had teased her about getting obsessed with money before, and now she didn’t really have anything to say to deny it.
“Young lady.”
After a while, Dorman, who had been sneaking glances at her, came over.
“It’s six o’clock. They said dinner will be ready then, so you can just come down to the dining room.”
Earlier, he’d seemed to be chatting with the other staff; apparently he’d already gotten a read on the household’s daily patterns.
As infuriating as it was when he stabbed her in the back sometimes, it was still a bit endearing that he worked hard at his attendant duties because he cared about her.
Camilla rose from her seat without a word.
“Are you still mad?”
Trailing after her, Dorman asked cautiously.
“I’m not mad at you.”
“Sure you’re not. You’ve been prickly with me this whole time.”
“I’m always prickly with you.”
“...”
“I’m just taking it out on you.”
“Taking it out?”
“Yeah. You’re the easiest target.”
“...Wow.”
What? He should’ve behaved better from the start, then. Let him think back on everything he’d done to her up to now.
Leaving Dorman behind to stare daggers of wounded injustice into her back, Camilla strode quickly into the dining room.
“Welcome.”
Several maids came forward to greet her.
“You’re here.”
Lady Sebinne appeared as well.
And at the table, Dive flicked a glance at her and then jerked his head away the moment their eyes met.
“Please, sit here.”
At the waiting maid’s guidance, Camilla took the seat opposite the boy. Immediately, dishes began to be laid out on the table.
“Where’s Father?”
Seeing the food brought out even though Duke Escra hadn’t arrived, Dive hastily asked.
“His Grace is busy with work and said he’ll be taking a simple meal in his office.”
At the maid’s reply, disappointment flickered over the boy’s face. But when his eyes met Camilla’s again, he quickly wiped the expression away.
For such a little brat...
Did he get scolded if he showed his feelings?
Watching him try so hard to hide his expressions, Camilla gave a faint shake of her head. So the man was strict about his child’s upbringing, at least?
“Then please, enjoy your meal.”
The food wasn’t bad. She was almost proud of herself for being able to eat so well under these circumstances.
Right. It wasn’t like skipping meals would make her feel any better.
As she tore off a piece of bread along the grain and brought it to her mouth, her gaze drifted to the boy without thinking.
Sitting with perfect posture, he was so focused on his food he didn’t even notice her watching him.
But there was something odd about his face. It was a very small reaction, but to her eyes—sharp at reading expressions—it was clear as day.
After watching him more closely for a bit, Camilla soon figured out why.
He hates carrots.
Every time he ate a carrot, his brows pinched together just a little.
I really hated carrots when I was little too.
She wasn’t exactly fond of them even now.
In this day and age, who forced themselves to choke down things they didn’t want to eat just to “get their nutrients”? There were substitute foods everywhere.
Of course, in this era, eating well no matter what you were given was the right thing to do, but...
Isn’t that a bit much?
