Chapter 15
Paternity Test (3)
‘Mo-mother throat will be cut off?’
Bonita’s stiff eyes shook wildly. The ominous rumors she had heard about the Duke of Lysianthus flashed through her small head.
“I heard that the Duke of Lysianthus has gone completely crazy lately. They say that they hear screams every night from the mansion.”
“That’s creepy. Aren’t the rumors true? Why, they say that he locks up people he doesn’t like in the basement and uses them as rabbits for black magic.”
“Arthur, you. Is there black magic these days?”
“Then if it’s not black magic, it’s just torture? Haha.”
Stories that the drunkards in the neighborhood where she lived would chatter about.
“But why on earth does the Duke go crazy? I don’t know what he regrets when he was born as a noble who had everything.”
“How would I know? Maybe he’s bored because he has everything, so he plays with the rest of us who don’t have it all. Like children play with their toys.”
“That’s really horrible…. Huh, that’s why I hate nobles.”
And at the same time, Luke’s somewhat foolish face, fidgeting in front of Bonita, came to mind.
“You look like Elodie. Really….”
“I really like it. Do you mind if ‘Daddy’ opens your present now?”
“Bonita, please sit next to Daddy.”
“Ugh…”
Bonita let out a small moan.
Luke was the first adult man to treat her so affectionately.
So the rumors must be false, but she didn’t know why her heart was pounding so hard.
“But there’s no one here. Is the Duke’s garden usually this quiet?”
“Hah. Don’t you know that? The Duke hardly lets any servants stay in this garden.”
“Why is that?”
“Of course, this is when the Duchess was alive…. Ack!”
The brown-haired man who had been speaking in a low voice spotted Bonita and screamed in surprise.
“Hiccup.”
Bonita also hiccupped in surprise at the man’s voice.
“Kid? Why is a kid here?”
“… You idiot!”
The red-haired man next to him kicked him. He whispered nervously.
“There’s only one kid in the Duke resident! Are you an idiot?”
“Ugh…! That’s right!”
“What’s going on?”
While the two were bickering, Aria ran over and pushed Bonita behind her.
The brown-haired priest smiled awkwardly with his eyes full of caution.
“I’m Dominic, and the guy over here who looks angry is Leo. We’re the priests that His Majesty the Duke called.”
“The priests?”
Aria blinked.
Upon hearing the words, she looked again, and sure enough, the two men were dressed in plain white priests’ robes, lacking the distinctive Temple crest that had made them instantly recognizable.
“But why the priest…”
Aria, who had been mumbling to herself, soon realized the reason.
Bonita and Catherine. Priest.
‘You are going to do a paternity test.’
That was the only case that came to mind.
She did not feel any sense of betrayal.
Judging from Luke’s attitude, it seemed that he was not doing Bonita’s paternity test for himself, but rather an official procedure to announce to others that the child was his.
“I see. Then come this way.”
“Thank you. Oh, and if it is not too much trouble, may I ask the lady’s name?”
Dominic asked cautiously, since Aria looked like a noblewoman in her early to mid-twenties. The reason he had unified the title as Lady was also because he could not be sure if she was married.
“Yes, indeed.”
Aria hesitated awkwardly.
For the past three years, everyone who had treated ‘Elodie’ like a noble called her ‘Madam’.
She tried not to show it and coughed softly.
“Aria Hilton. Now, Bonita. Since the priests have business, let’s go back to the mansion.”
“Yes.”
Bonita grabbed Aria’s hand, three of her fingers to be exact. Aria bit the inside of her cheek.
‘She’s so cute!’
I really don’t know who she takes after to be so cute.
Meanwhile, Dominic and Leo were whispering, exchanging subtle glances.
“Hilton? Were there nobles with that name?”
“There are a few nobles. Well, dukes and maids sometimes have noble maids instead of commoners as maids, so she must be one of them.”
“Is that so? I think I’ve seen her somewhere…”
“Hey, you’re not trying to hit on me or something, are you?”
“Leo, what do you think I am?”
Dominic protested, his eyes narrowing at the back of Aria’s head.
‘I swear, I think I’ve seen her before… Am I mistaken?’
*****
There was a light knock on the door.
“Duke, the priests have arrived. Would you like to go down to the drawing room right now?”
“They came quite quickly.”
He immediately stood up. He seemed to be in a bit of a hurry compared to usual. Ed followed him and thought,
‘Well, you must be in a hurry.’
He had seen how strangely the Duke had acted since he first saw his daughter, so it was only natural for him to be like that now. It’s not like he didn’t get goosebumps though.
Anyway, since she was such a precious child, he must have been anxious to announce to the world that she was his daughter as soon as possible.
Even without that, rumors were spreading among the nobles, and everyone was talking about this and that.
Everyone was talking about something different.
From the common speculation that she must be a fraud to the ridiculous rumor that she was the Duchess’ illegitimate child, or that he had resurrected a stillborn baby as a zombie using black magic.
‘How can you revive a dead person? Everyone has a rich imagination, after all.’
Of course, Ed didn’t know exactly how Bonita, who had been stillborn and he had even held the funeral, could come back.
Still, rather than the story that the Duke resurrected a dead baby using black magic, wouldn’t it be more realistic to say that someone had switched the baby?
And if the Duke could only revive one person in the world, wouldn’t it be the former Duchess rather than the child?
So those speculations were really ridiculous. Even if you don’t know anything about the Duke, there’s a limit.
“I’ll open it for you.”
“No.”
In the meantime, the two reached the reception room. Luke opened the door with a stern expression, leaving Ed with a word of rejection.
And…
“… Bonita?”
He stopped when he saw Bonita, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, dangling her legs and nibbling on a snack.
His eyes scanned the inside of the living room. Aria was sitting next to Bonita, and two priests were sitting across from her.
Then he heard a small voice behind him.
“What are you doing standing there like a fool? If you’re not going in, get out of the way.”
“Mother? No, I’m going in.”
Luke looked at Catherine and went inside with an uneasy expression. Aria smiled brightly at the two.
“You came early, Duke. Madam.”
“Of course.”
Luke replied coldly, and his eyes turned to the two priests.
“So, how do you prove it?”
He’d dug like crazy into how to raise the dead, but he’d never looked up paternity testing.
Of course.
His only child had already died, and Elodie had no chance of getting pregnant again.
It would have been more correct to say that he had not done it on purpose. Since Elodie and him were each other’s only children, there was no need to do a paternity test.
Normally.
Luke’s eyes became sharp. The two priests gulped and tensed at the creepy light.
The red-haired priest, Leo, took out a round bead-like object from his bag.
The crystal bead was exactly the size of an adult’s head.
“The procedure is simple. Just put the blood of both people into this machine and check the reaction.”
It was something that required two or more high-ranking priests to operate, but it didn’t take long.
Leo guessed that Luke would react suspiciously, saying, “Is that really all there?” However, what the Duke said was completely different from what he had expected.
“Blood?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. The paternity test definitely requires blood from both people.”
At the mention of the paternity test, Bonita turned her head and looked at Luke. Luke frowned, unaware of the gaze.
“Do you really need blood?”
“Yes? That…”
Leo stuttered, looking flustered. Was something wrong?
‘Is it possible that his blood turned black due to the side effects of black magic, as rumored…?’
The image of the evil Duke appeared in his head.
“The examination is over. Now, all of you who have seen my secret must die.”
‘Oh, no!’
He held back a scream, almost jumping up. Tears threatened to well up.
‘If only I won the game. Damn it.’
… Actually, coming to the Duke’s house was decided by drawing lots. When the other high-ranking priests drew blanks, he was so upset that he almost died of annoyance.
“Uh, Your Excellency the Duke…?”
Dominic, who was next to him, cautiously spoke to Luke, who had suddenly become quiet. However, it seemed that he couldn’t hear Dominic.
The Duke crossed his arms with his thick arms and muttered softly.
“…….”
“Yes?”
“There’s nowhere to draw blood from this little kid, We need blood?”
Flash!
His beast-like eyes, shining brightly in the darkness, scanned them. He asked with a very annoyed expression.
“Is there any other way?”
“Uh, uh….”
Dominic answered timidly.
“No, but….”
“You’re incompetent.”
Dominic opened his mouth.
‘No, do I even have to be called incompetent?! In what part?!’
He felt very wronged.
What am I supposed to do when this is the only way…!
