Chapter 4
Duke Lysianthus (1)
Dalton muttered, glancing at the light in the office.
“I’m sure he’s not asleep yet.”
He didn’t think he’d want to see Aria at this time of night, but he couldn’t help but wonder.
The Duke was such a terrible mourner that he hadn’t remarried in the six years since his wife’s death.
There were rumors that Lysianthus would really lose its masters, but the Duke confined himself in the mansion and did nothing but work like a machine.
The rumor was that he used black magic to save his wife. The Duke’s house, full of laughter and liveliness, was gone.
In such a situation, a maid from the fallen nobility, whom the former duchess had favored as a friend appears…
How will the Duke react?
Instead of answering the question, Dalton lowered his head slightly and asked.
“What’s with the girl next to you? She doesn’t look like your daughter at all.”
“Be careful what you say. She’s Lady Lysianthus.”
“What?!”
Dalton jumped after hearing Aria’s words.
“What kind of crazy shit is that? Have you been on drugs or something again?”
“I’m not weak, you’re the one who’s crazy. Look Carefully!”
“Even if you told me to take a good look…”
Dalton sighed and bowed. Then he met Bonita’s bright red eyes.
“Uh?”
Lovely pink hair, white skin, round and gentle eyes, and cute nose bridge. Coral colored eyes.
It looked like a miniature version of the former madam. It had already been six years since madam passed away, but there was no way that he, who had been loyal to the Dukedom his entire life, would not recognize her.
“It-it’s really the same?”
“Isn’t it?”
“But aren’t you sure you didn’t give birth to her by yourself…? There’s not a single part of her that really resembles His Highness the Duke?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Aria snorted at Dalton’s dumb words.
“Anyway, tell Your Excellency right away. I, Aria Hilton, have returned with Your Excellency’s only daughter!”
*****
“My daughter?”
“Yes, that’s right. Duke.”
Duke Luke Lysianthus looked sad after hearing Dalton’s report.
“My only child is the one Elodie gave birth to stillborn seven years ago. Are you trying to tell me that a dead child has come back to life?”
“That’s not it, Your Excellency…!”
“Or do you tell me that I had a child with another woman other than Elodie?”
His blood-red irises flashed.
“I didn’t know you wanted to die, Dalton. If you wish so, I will see your loyalty and cut off your head.”
“No, it’s true! And I don’t want to die!”
Dalton protested, whining.
“I have seen the child, and she looks exactly like madam! They say it was stillborn, but have you not seen the body?”
The Duke’s eyes twitched at the words. Dalton, noticing his agitation, added in a grave tone.
“Why, isn’t it true that sometimes a child thought dead is actually alive; and besides, it was no one else who brought the child, but Aria, whom madam loved so much….”
“Aria? That Aria Hilton I know?”
“Yes. You’re right, it’s the same Aria Hilton.”
Tap, tap.
Luke’s fingers tapped the desk in a rhythmic beat.
Daughter, daughter.
After Elodie died, he’d neatly forgotten about children. He had no intention of ever seeing another woman besides Elodie, so children were an illusion he would never have.
However… Elodie’s favorite maid brought a girl who looked exactly like Elodie?
Dalton was loyal to Duke Lysianthus for generations.
He had seen Elodie since the beginning of his sweet love affair with Elodie, so if Dalton could say she ‘looked just like her’, it wouldn’t be just that she had the same hair or eye color.
‘But you never know.’
Lysianthus’ bloodline is special. That is why he was able to touch the black magic that was destroying his life.
He made a decision.
“Let me see her. Bring that woman to the drawing room.”
“Yes!”
Dalton answered vigorously and left the office.
Luke’s red eyes looked out the window.
It was a bright moonlit night.
Just like the day Elodie left.
*****
“His Excellency is on his way, please wait a moment. Miss Aria.”
“Yes.”
What on earth is going on?
Bonita hid her trembling hands under the hem of her skirt.
To think she’d be invited into the ducal household to meet with the Duke. She had expected to be thrown out at once, but me and my mother were brought into the gleaming drawing room of the mansion.
But that’s not the end, the Duke, who is famous for being scary, is coming here! Bonita wished this situation was just a dream.
“Ouch!”
“Bonita! Are you okay?”
“Yes…”
But it wasn’t a dream after all, judging by the pain in her skin, which was sore enough to bring tears to her eyes. Bonita’s eyes turned to Aria’s excited face.
She asked, ‘Did my mother really work for a noble family?’
Although Aria said she absolutely was not, Bonita had the idea that her mother may have been the ‘mistress’ of His Excellency the Duke of Lysianthus.
‘But why now?’
She thought hard and her head felt like it was going to explode. Aria panicked as Bonita made a crying face.
“Bonita! Where does it hurt?”
“Mother…”
Bonita, who was inadvertently acting like a child, took a deep breath. But instead of urging Bonita, Aria gently stroked the child’s head with her fingers.
“Please take away my daughter’s pain, fuu.”
“… Mother?”
“How is it? Does it hurt a little less?”
The corners of Bonita’s mouth rose in a mischievous smile. It was then that Aria was relieved to see her daughter’s face regaining her smile.
“Your Excellency, is here!”
“Uh.”
A nervous knight’s salute was heard outside. Bonita, frozen to the spot, rolled over like a bug and burrowed into Aria’s arms.
As Aria held the squirming child tightly against her, the door to the parlor opened.
The gazes of the men and women intersect. There was a brief moment of tension.
The first to break the silence was Duke Lysianthus.
“… It was really Aria Hilton.”
“It’s been a while since I saw you, Your Excellency the Duke.”
Unlike Luke with his stern face, Aria had a gentle smile on her face. Luke’s blood-red eyes scanned her entire body.
A sweet honey blonde that looks like melted pure gold. Dazzling blue eyes that shine so brightly as to be transparent and a body that curved femininely.
This was the same Aria Hilton who’d dragged a bunch of foolish knights and servants around.
She is a peerless beauty that all men can’t help but admire.
Luke’s gaze as he examined her was cold. His dry red eyes turned to the small child in Aria’s arms.
Her cherry-colored hair fell from the back of her round head. It resembles cotton candy that melts and dries like an illusion when you take a bite. He had only seen such a sweet pink color once in his life.
It was Elodie’s color.
“Show me the child?”
Bonita flinched at the low bass voice.
“Uh, mother.”
“Shh. It’s okay.”
Aria skillfully comforted Bonita and held the child. Pink irises, a little darker than her hair, turned to Luke.
The moment he saw her face, Luke shivered.
He couldn’t help it.
It was his and Elodie’s daughter.
Even though she looked nothing like him, he knew instinctively.
He immediately understood why Dalton was making such a fuss. His knees buckled slightly.
Aria, realizing the Duke’s feelings, placed Bonita down on the floor.
One step, another step.
Luke staggered, staggered, stumbled toward Bonita with a look of disbelief on his face, his hands shaking.
Shaking.
A huge man, almost 2 meters tall, knelt down in front of a small child who was a little more than half his size.
His jutting throat trembled violently. The regret and longing that squeezed his heart weighed him down.
Bonita also noticed the man’s agitation. The child was still stiff, but instead of running away, she made eye contact with the man who bent his knees.
Luke’s large hand turned towards the child, and then touched the floor awkwardly. He didn’t dare to touch her, afraid that if he did, the child in front of him would disappear like a mirage.
He stammered in a trembling tone.
“Name, will you tell me what your name is?”
“It’s Bonita…”
“I see, so your name is Bonita.”
He was suppressing his emotions.
Seven years since losing his child.
It’s been 6 years since Elodie left.
Years of old loneliness and sorrow stirred within him. Luke’s eyes were shaking.
His body shuddered.
“Can I hug you?”
Bonita’s eyes widened at the affectionate request.
Bonita was a wary child. But at this moment, the child realized that the man in front of her would never harm her.
Bonita nodded.
When she gave the permission, Luke raised his arms. Luke extended his hand very slowly to avoid startling the child, and was soon able to hold the child in his arms.
‘Warm….’
A child’s body temperature is higher than an adult.
So it shouldn’t be surprising that this child was warm, but that little bit of warmth made his heart race. His heart pounded with excitement.
“You look alike Elodie, really…”
Is he happy to have found a trace of the dead Elodie?
Of course, that may be one of the reasons for the joy he feels now, but it wasn’t just that.
Even if Bonita said that she only resembled himself and not Elodie, his current emotion would not have faded.
He let out a deep breath.
Was the stillborn story false, how did that former maid named Aria take his daughter with Elodie, and if so, why did she come to visit him only now?
There were many unanswered questions.
But he was too tired to let that fact eat away at this moment. He wanted to fully enjoy the joy of having his daughter back, at least for now.
And he wanted Bonita to do the same.
“Welcome back, Bonita.”
A very cracked voice came out. Bonita, who had been listening quietly, asked cautiously.
“I, the Duke… Really believe so…?”
“Yes.”
He calmly nodded his head.
“You are definitely my daughter.”
