Chapter 75
It had been a week since Luciard arrived at the duke’s estate.
During that week, Luciard subtly asked the servants about Hestia and observed her working late every night.
As a result, he realized on the first day that he had made quite an error in judgment and felt regretful.
“How embarrassing. I can’t believe I accused her of having ulterior motives.”
Though his outburst was triggered when she refused to hand over the guardian position, but still he regretted not being more composed, especially since he was two years older than Hestia.
But Luciard wasn’t the only one reflecting.
Just as he was observing her, Hestia was also learning about what kind of person Luciard was. Although she was busy, she often relied on Hilde’s reports about him, she could still see for herself during meals, or when he played with Leonhard, or even when he came to visit her as she worked late every night, and she realized that Luciard didn’t seem to have harbored any bad intentions.
“It really does seem like he’s only here because he’s genuinely worried about the young master.”
Now that she knew Luciard had no hidden motives, Hestia thought to herself:
“I don’t really need to stay here anymore, do I?”
After all, the plan was always to hand over the guardianship once Luciard returned.
As they each reassessed the situation and their opinions of each other, they both came to the same conclusion.
“I should have a serious talk with him.”
“I should have a serious talk with her.”
Luciard, who had been playing with Leonhard, excused himself to talk with Hestia, and at the same time, Hestia left her office, heading toward Luciard, having made up her mind.
The two of them ran into each other in the main hall on the first floor.
As soon as they saw each other, they both started to speak at the same time.
“Hestia…”
“Luciard…”
They stopped awkwardly when they realized they were speaking over each other.
“You go first.”
“No, you go ahead…”
A brief, awkward silence followed, and both of them smiled sheepishly.
“Alright, I’ll start,” Hestia said, breaking the ice.
“Can we talk about the guardianship? Seriously, this time, without arguing.”
Luciard, whose eyes had widened a little, smirked.
“What a coincidence. I was about to bring that up too.”
Hestia looked momentarily surprised before laughing.
“Shall we head to the parlor, then? We can talk there for a bit…”
“Hestia! Hestia!”
As Hestia turned to head back to the stairs, a voice urgently called out to her.
Gallian was running toward them, looking flustered.
“What’s going on?” Hestia asked.
“Baron Frost is on his way here right now!”
“…What?”
Hestia, who had been standing in a daze, soon looked alarmed and hurried down the stairs.
“Why is Father coming here all of a sudden without any notice? How did you even find out?”
“The gatehouse guards just relayed the message. They expect him to arrive within five minutes.”
“That soon?”
Hestia, now flustered, started pacing nervously.
“Do you know if anyone else is with him?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know that much.”
“Ugh, this feels ominous.”
As she anxiously ran her hand through her hair, Luciard asked, “Isn’t it just family? Why are you so freaked out? Are you not on good terms with them or something?”
“No, that’s not it. I get along really well with my family.”
“Then what’s the problem? You’re acting like some unwelcome guest is coming.”
“Well…” Hestia hesitated for a moment before sighing.
“…They’re just really naggy.”
Luciard and Gallian blinked in surprise at the unexpected answer.
“I love them, but sometimes they can be exhausting. And if they’d given me a heads-up, I would’ve prepared something. But they just show up out of the blue, so of course I’m frazzled.”
Luciard had to admit he also found it strange that they were visiting without notice.
“Ahh! They’re here!”
Hestia let out a small cry as she saw the carriage bearing the Frost family crest approaching in the distance.
Sighing, she went out to greet them, with Gallian and Luciard following behind her.
The carriage stopped at the mansion’s front gate, and the door soon opened.
“Sis!”
“Eric?!”
The first to jump out was the mischievous youngest son of the Frost family, Eric.
Hestia was caught off guard but managed to smile as Eric wrapped himself around her waist.
“Eric! Didn’t I tell you to stop jumping around like that!”
Eric flinched at the scolding voice coming from behind him.
“Sis, sis! Annie’s been picking on me! Tell her off!”
He quickly hid behind Hestia, tattling. Annie hopped out of the carriage, panting.
“Who was the one not listening in the first place?! And you’d cry if you fell!”
“I wouldn’t cry! I’m brave, like a knight! Knights don’t cry!”
“Ugh, you’re both so noisy. Stop fighting already.”
“Yeah, seriously, you two. You’ve been arguing the entire ride here. Do you really want to keep it up?”
Following Annie, Elvin, and Anna stepped out of the carriage.
They tried to break up Annie and Eric’s fight but quickly approached Hestia with bright smiles.
“Hestia! Sweetie! How have you been?”
“…You look thinner than the last time we saw you.”
Anna gave Hestia a big hug, while Elvin looked her up and down with a concerned expression.
All of this happened in less than a minute after they stepped out of the carriage.
Seeing the sudden chaos, Gallian and Luciard were left speechless.
“Well…”
“That’s… a lively family.”
‘More like hectic,’ Luciard thought, remembering that Hestia had told him she had three younger siblings.
Back then, they were just kids, but now they’d grown so much.
“Wait a second. It’s great to see all of you, but why didn’t you give me a heads-up? You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Oh, dear! We should be asking you that! Why haven’t you been responding to our letters?!”
Anna gave Hestia a playful smack on the back, making her flinch.
“Letters…?”
“Yes! You sent that strange letter to Lord Melvin’s. You had us all worried sick!”
“Oh, right.”
About two weeks ago, Hestia had indeed sent a letter to Melvin, along with another, secret one, requesting his help in capturing Baker after kicking him out of the Chest.
“Baker is…”
“He’s been arrested and is currently in jail. Your father and master decided his fate, though he made a huge fuss, begging for mercy.”
Elvin answered in her place.
“I see… I guess your letter did say everything was taken care of.”
“So you got the letter? What, did you forget how to write back? We were worried sick, and you didn’t even bother replying!”
Once again, Anna playfully smacked Hestia, causing her to yelp and hide behind Elvin.
“Agh, sorry, sorry! I was so busy with work that I kept putting it off! I meant to write back, really…”
“See, Mom? Sis wasn’t really thinking about it. If there was a real problem, she would’ve reached out.”
“But the rumors about Count Humphrey targeting our sweet Hestia were true! How could we just sit back?!”
Listening to the back-and-forth between Elvin and Anna, Hestia quickly realized what had happened.
“So they came because they were worried about me.”
They must have found out about Count Humphrey and the traitors plotting to take over the duchy when Baker was arrested.
She had received a letter from her family around the time Humphrey was imprisoned.
She had thought it was no big deal since the situation had been resolved well and from her perspective, it wasn’t worth worrying about.
“I should have thought more about how my family feels.”
“Next time, even a short reply is fine! Got it?”
“…Yes, I’m sorry. Are you really mad?”
Seeing Hestia’s apologetic expression, her mom, Anna, softened her stern face.
“We’re just worried about you. We suddenly sent you away from home, and we couldn’t help but wonder—are you eating well? Are things tough for you? Are you going through anything scary? All these thoughts kept popping up. Are you eating properly? You’ve lost weight since I last saw you.”
“You think so too, Mom? I swear she’s gotten thinner.”
“Your hands look skinnier, sis.”
“Your clothes seem a bit loose too.”
Watching her family fussing over her, Hestia couldn’t help but laugh.
“Haha, I haven’t lost any weight, I swear. I’m eating three meals a day, and living just fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Well, that’s good to hear but…”
“But where’s Dad? I thought he’d be here too.”
“Oh, your dad’s in another carriage.”
“Another carriage? Why didn’t you all just ride together?”
“Well, there’s one more person with us. We split up since they needed to stop somewhere on the way. But by now, they should be…”
Right before Elvin finished his sentence, another carriage bearing the Frost family crest appeared.
The door opened, and Derrick stepped out with his arms wide open, walking toward Hestia.
“My darling! How have you been?!”
When Hrstia was swept into Derrick’s embrace, she struggled to pull her head away.
“Dad!”
“Ha ha, my lord, I know you’re happy, but aren’t you scaring Tia?”
At the familiar voice, Hestia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“No way…!”
As Derrick stepped back, another figure emerged from the carriage.
“Master!”
It was none other than Melvin—Hestia’s mentor, the Frost siblings’ former tutor, and the mastermind who helped set the trap that captured Baker.
In shock, Hestia quickly rushed to assist him, guiding him by the arm, and Melvin chuckled warmly.
“You look well.”
“Master, what brings you here…!”
“I was too worried to just sit by. I figured I might be of some help, so I asked the baron to let me accompany them.”
Ah, so that’s why there were two carriages. There were too many people to fit into just one.
“I had faith you’d handle things well… But seeing you standing here now, it seems you’ve cleaned out the pests quite thoroughly.”
Recognizing that Melvin was referring to Humphrey and his companions, Hestia grinned slyly.
“Of course. Following your teachings, I didn’t leave a single one behind.”
“Splendid, splendid. Hmm…?”
As Melvin laughed, he suddenly noticed something, tilting his head in curiosity. Before he could say more, someone else spoke up first.
“Wait… Could it be… Sir Luciard?!”
Derrick had spotted Luciard standing at the entrance.
Completely distracted by her family’s arrival, Hestia realized she had forgotten to mention Luciard’s presence to them.
Looking a bit awkward, Luciard smiled sheepishly.
“It’s been a while, Baron. Have you been well?”
Derrick’s face shifted from shock and confusion to absolute delight, as a smile slowly spread across his face.
