Chapter 118
“Umm…”
Hestia trembled slightly, breaking into a cold sweat as she fluttered her eyelashes and opened her eyes.
Seeing the familiar scenery and room, she let out a deep sigh and placed a hand on her forehead.
“What kind of dream was that…?”
She had a terrible dream—one that seemed to show Leonhard’s unfortunate life before her return.
It was so vivid that she even saw exactly how he had his accident, leaving her dumbfounded.
“Was that real? Or just a dream?”
She only knew the general outline of what had happened to Leonhard but had never learned the exact details.
“Ugh, his accident happened a long time ago. Why am I dreaming about it now? What a terrible way to start the morning.”
Shaking her head, Hestia got out of bed.
“Brr, it’s cold. The weather is getting chilly. I should change the curtains and bedding.”
Even though the south was warm, the empire had four distinct seasons, making autumn mornings quite cold.
After stretching lightly, she followed her usual morning routine.
As she washed her face and got ready for work, golden autumn leaves started falling gently outside her window.
October 3rd, Year 549 of the Empire.
It had been two and a half years since Hestia became Leonhard’s guardian.
“Good morning, Lady Hestia.”
“Good morning, everyone.”
She greeted the servants as she made her way to the dining hall.
“Tia! Good morning!”
“You’re a little late today. Did you oversleep?”
As she stepped inside, she saw two familiar faces.
“Good morning to both of you too.”
Of course, they were Leonhard and Luciard.
“Tia! I told the chef I was cold yesterday, so he made mushroom soup. Come and try it!”
Just as she was about to walk toward Leonhard, Hestia suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Leonhard, now ten years old, had grown quite a bit since they first met, looking more like a proper young boy.
Her goal had been to raise him with love so that he wouldn’t turn into a villain. Thanks to her efforts and the affection of those around him, he now looked like a child who had grown up being cherished.
Was that why?
For a moment, his current face overlapped with the desperate, sorrowful Leonhard from her dream.
The Leonhard in her dream had been nothing like this—he had been gloomy and filled with despair…
Smack!
“Stop overthinking.”
She lightly slapped her own cheek, causing Leonhard to jump in surprise.
“Whoa! What’s wrong? Are you okay, Tia?”
“I’m fine, Leon. A mosquito was bothering my cheek.”
“A mosquito? In October…?”
Leonhard tilted his head in confusion, while Luciard, chewing on a piece of bread, spoke up.
“She was probably thinking weird thoughts again. She does that a lot.”
“…That sounds a little rude.”
“What’s rude about it? Hurry up and sit down. We still have unfinished work from yesterday.”
Annoyed by Luciard’s smug attitude, Hestia playfully made a fist behind his back.
Leonhard giggled at the sight.
‘This guy hasn’t changed at all in the past two years.’
Having spent the past two and a half years in this place, Hestia had naturally spent just as much time with Luciard.
She worked with him daily, teaching him everything he needed to know to take over as the head of the household.
Since they spent nearly every waking moment together, it wasn’t surprising that people made certain assumptions.
“You two get along so well. You should just get married already.”
“Wha—?!”
Hestia flinched at Leonhard’s comment, while Luciard continued eating his breakfast without reacting.
Maybe it was because they were always together, or maybe because their fake engagement had lasted two years—whatever the reason, Leonhard constantly asked when they were getting married.
At first, she made excuses to change the subject, but now…
“Just sit down. We’ll be late for work.”
She ignored him altogether.
Seeing Luciard completely unfazed by the conversation, Leonhard pouted.
“Ugh, Uncle, when are you going to get married?”
“Marriage isn’t something you can just decide on a whim, Leon. And don’t you have a busy day today? I heard you have extra classes.”
“You’re changing the subject again! Uncle, you’re so stingy.”
“And you need to stop making people uncomfortable. Remember what I told you? It’s not nice to put people on the spot.”
At Luciard’s firm gaze, Leonhard flinched and quickly focused on his breakfast.
‘…Why do I feel like he’s getting better at handling kids?’
Now that Leonhard was older, Luciard no longer spoiled him like before.
He was still known as the biggest doting uncle in the household, but he was stricter when necessary.
After finishing breakfast, everyone went their separate ways for the day.
“Alright, I’m off to class! See you later!”
“Study hard, Leon.”
After seeing Leonhard off, Hestia and Luciard headed to the office.
As usual, the office was piled high with documents. The only change was that Luciard now had his own desk.
“Luciard, don’t you think ignoring Leon’s questions about marriage is a bit much?”
“What about it?”
“I mean, he’s just a kid. If you completely ignore him, he might feel hurt.”
Luciard, who had been flipping through documents, paused and turned to look at her.
Now more mature and refined than two years ago, his gaze made Hestia gulp unconsciously.
“Leon isn’t just talking for fun.”
“…What do you mean?”
“He genuinely wants us to get married.”
His serious eyes locked onto hers, making her instinctively step back.
“Leon is ten now. He’s not as innocent as before—he knows what he’s saying.”
Hestia still treated Leonhard like the small child she had first met, but Luciard didn’t.
Although Leonhard was still young, Luciard believed in setting boundaries.
“If we humor him now, he’ll keep asking until he gets the answer he wants. See? He’s been bringing up marriage every day for a month.”
Now that he mentioned it, Leonhard really had been obsessed with the topic lately.
“If ignoring him makes you uncomfortable… we could always actually get married.”
Luciard smirked as he twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers.
Hestia’s face turned red.
“W-what nonsense! Who just casually gets married?!”
“Why not? We’re already engaged.”
His slightly curved lips and calm eyes carried a teasing warmth.
Lately, Luciard had been exuding a quiet, mature charm that made him seem almost unreachable.
Sensing danger, Hestia quickly pushed him away.
“Stop joking around! That’s not funny at all.”
“…Tch.”
“And what do you mean, marriage? You know the handover is almost complete, right?”
Luciard turned his head away, clearly displeased.
“You’ve learned everything you need to in the past two years. You can handle the estate without my help now.”
At first, he had struggled, but step by step, he had learned everything. Now, he was more than capable.
“You remember, don’t you? The moment the transition is complete, I step down as your guardian—our engagement ends there too.”
Though Luciard looked unhappy, Hestia stood firm.
‘I’ve done my best.’
The reason she had accepted the guardian role in the first place—
It was to repay the kindness of the late Icarus and to prevent Leonhard’s misfortune.
At the beginning of her guardianship, she had captured all the spies in the ducal estate, ensuring there were no more traitors within Winston.
She had completely driven out Count Humphrey, preventing him from interfering with Winston in any way.
She had also passed down all her skills to Luciard so that he could confidently lead the ducal family.
Most importantly, today was October 3rd, Year 549.
Leonhard’s accident originally happened in May of the same year.
That meant five whole months had passed since then.
Hestia had been especially cautious about Leonhard’s safety this year, determined not to let another tragedy like Icarus or Flora happen again.
But now, wasn’t it finally safe to let her guard down a little?
First, the incident had been orchestrated by Count Humphrey in an attempt to kill Leonhard.
But now, Count Humphrey couldn’t even set foot in Chest, let alone approach Leonhard.
It had been two years since he was exiled, and in all that time, he and Leonhard had never crossed paths.
Second, there were now plenty of people in the ducal estate who would protect and care for Leonhard, even without her around.
Most notably, Luciard. After spending the past two years with him, Hestia was certain—no one adored Leonhard more than Luciard did.
“I’ve done everything I could. I think I’ve fulfilled my duty.”
With that, there was no longer any reason for Hestia to stay in Winston.
Luciard, who had been standing with his arms crossed and looking visibly displeased, let out a deep sigh.
“You’re not wrong. Thanks to you, the Winston duchy is stable, and Leon has grown up without any problems. But not all the issues have been resolved yet.”
“What?”
“There are still external forces targeting Leon. What if they try to approach him as a way to get to Winston?”
Hestia fell silent for a moment before placing a hand on her hip and sighing.
“Luciard, don’t you remember? Every single one of those pests that tried to approach us over the past year has failed.”
Two years ago, during the Milky Way Festival, Winston was indeed surrounded by people scheming to take advantage of them—just as Luciard had said.
More specifically, people had tried to manipulate Winston through her and Luciard.
But after faking an engagement to deceive them, and proving to everyone that neither she nor Luciard were easy targets, things had changed.
A year ago, all those people who had tried to interfere or manipulate them had disappeared.
“And even if someone were still lurking around, you can handle them just fine on your own. At this point, no one would be foolish enough to openly go after Winston.”
“There is one.”
“…Who?”
“You already know.”
“Wait… Don’t tell me…”
“Gabriel Florence. That bastard sent you another letter, didn’t he?”
Just hearing that name gave her a headache.
Even though Luciard was the one who brought it up, he looked disgusted just saying it.
“…The Archduke isn’t targeting Winston, he’s… um…”
She hesitated to say it out loud.
Gabriel didn’t just send her private letters—he also acted overly friendly toward her at events, creating awkward situations time and time again.
At first, she couldn’t understand why the Grand Duke of Florence would take an interest in her.
But now, she had to admit it.
Gabriel Florence was interested in her.
And not just in a political way—but in a romantic one.
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
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