Episode 68
“Yeah, I think so too.”
As Dalia casually spoke, twisting the truth, I once again nodded in agreement, as if conceding.
“So, you’re Dalia.”
Lloydin, who had been silently watching us, spoke to Dalia.
“Yes, I’m Dalia Camos.”
“I heard you’re Ian’s friend. I hope you two will be close friends in the future.”
“Yes, I’ll be Ian’s friend for life. So, don’t worry.”
Huh? But that’s not right.
Saying they’ll be friends for life means they don’t want to be friends.
Not wanting to be friends means their feelings have already grown…
“Oh!”
Come to think of it, in the original work, Ian liked Dalia much earlier.
But it was later revealed that Ian felt quite hurt because Dalia treated him like a friend all along.
‘It’s really strange.’
Despite the complete reversal of the timeline, there was something that didn’t change.
It was fascinating, and I watched the two children with a sense of wonder.
Ian and Dalia looked at each other, chatting away.
Dalia seemed to lead the conversation, and Ian just responded, but whatever it was, both children couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces.
Ding dong.
The school bell rang throughout the campus.
“It looks like the enrollment ceremony is about to begin. Let’s go quickly! Ian, let’s go.”
“Yeah, let’s go. Goodbye, brother.”
Leading the way with Lloydin, Ian and Dalia held hands and ran ahead.
“It seems like Ian has made a really good friend, right?”
“It seems so.”
Glancing at Lloydin, there seemed to be an indescribable emotion in his eyes.
Quietly observing Lloydin, I spoke to him.
“Duke, I have something to tell you.”
It would be revealed once the enrollment ceremony began anyway, but as my husband, he deserved to know beforehand.
“I’m here today partly because of Ian, but also because I have some business here.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I decided to set up a fund. It’s for the scholarship program at the academy.”
“A scholarship program?”
Lloydin looked slightly surprised and stared at me.
“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. You’ve been so busy, I missed the chance to talk to you.”
Actually, I deliberately kept it a secret, but he was too busy to have a face-to-face conversation.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t bring this up to receive an apology. So please don’t worry about it.”
Knowing he tended to blame himself for anything that went wrong, I smiled reassuringly and replied.
“But… does my setting up the scholarship program inconvenience you in any way?”
Although it was done with my own assets, now that I was part of the Blighton family, there was a possibility that the scholarship program could cause some trouble.
“Not at all. Not at all.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“If you have something you want to do, feel free to do it. However…”
Lloydin paused for a moment, then seemed to consider something before staring at me intently and speaking again.
“In the future, please refrain from using my wife’s assets. If there’s something you want to do, I’ll support you in every way.”
“Yes?”
Knowing very well how much the Blighton family’s assets were worth, he seemed to be implying that he could fulfill all my wishes.
Of course, I wasn’t one to indulge in extravagance, and the basic necessities could easily be covered with the amount given to me.
But for something like the scholarship program, which required a large sum of money, that amount would never be enough.
“I’ve been using the pocket money you gave me for what I need. This is something I did out of personal ambition, so I can’t do that.”
“If you ever need more money, I’ll be more than happy to provide it. So please never use your wife’s assets.”
He spoke firmly, as if it were absolutely necessary.
“But…”
To be honest, the assets I inherited from my parents were greater than those of the Blighton family that I was now a part of.
The difference in wealth between his family and mine was incomparable from the start.
So from the beginning, I had no qualms about using my own money, and I thought it was only natural.
But it was difficult to readily agree to use less from someone who had more.
“I appreciate your offer, but I don’t think it will work.”
In the end, I refused his proposal.
I felt more comfortable using my own money, and I didn’t want to inconvenience him by using his.
“I know what my wife is worried about. But I want to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just a moment.”
Suddenly, Lloydin’s face came close to mine, and his voice echoed in my ear.
“The Blighton family’s assets are much greater than publicly known.”
As soon as I heard his words, my steps, which were moving forward, stopped involuntarily.
My pupils dilated, and my lips, which had been tightly closed, fell open without end.
The whispered words he spoke to me were something I had never even thought of.
He detailed to me exactly what assets he had, where they were, what he owned, and how much he had.
Even though his face moved away from mine again, I stood still for a while, too shocked by the enormous amount to continue speaking.
“So feel free to use them as you need. Now, all of them belong to my wife.”
Still stunned and unable to speak from the shock, he smiled kindly at me.
“Uh… So what you said is true?”
Lloydin nodded lightly in affirmation.
“How is that possible?”
Although I knew he had no reason to lie or boast to me, it was still hard to believe.
I needed to do the math precisely, but even a rough estimate of the larger items revealed that his assets far surpassed those of the Anates Ducal Family.
“Wow, my goodness. Then why until now…”
“There were too many watchful eyes.”
Ah…
Right.
With just that word, I understood why he had hidden his assets.
But how did he amass so much wealth?
The Empire recognized the Blighton family only as a ducal family in name, not as a real ducal family.
So I knew that the Blighton family did not receive the land or share that noble families usually received.
Reading the meaning of my gaze as if by magic, Lloydin smiled and said, “I understand that you have many questions. I will explain gradually. So, please don’t hesitate and let my wife use as much as she wants from now on.”
“But, yes. I’ll do that from now on. Thank you.”
I was about to say I couldn’t, but I changed my mind.
After all, revealing the assets I had hidden all this time seemed to indicate that he would never back down on this issue.
Though I still felt uncomfortable, I decided to step back for now, considering his priority.
“I’m more grateful.”
This affectionate man seemed more pleased, saying he was more grateful, and smiled satisfactorily.
“But how did you even think about setting up a scholarship program? My wife always surprises me with unexpected actions.”
As Lloydin praised me, I felt a little embarrassed.
I had only taken action to achieve personal goals, but he seemed to think that I had done it for lofty purposes such as social contribution, such as the scholarship program.
Of course, it was good to do something like that with a double purpose, but anyway, my goal was solely one thing.
To ensure that Ian never suffered any harassment at the academy again.
