Vincent looked at Idel, taken aback by her sudden negative comment.
In the eyes of the child before him, he could see a familiar stubbornness and a strange sense of desperation.
‘Desperation? Why Desperation?’
Vincent’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
It was because he couldn’t quite understand the emotion, no matter how hard he tried.
‘What could the child possibly be desperate about? Even though she’s saying she doesn’t like me.’
If the child were seeking recognition and love, it would make sense, but the child was behaving in exactly the opposite way.
It would make more sense to think that he had misread another emotion as desperation.
Vincent truly thought so.
“So it’s okay if you keep hating me. I don’t expect love from a father who suddenly appeared.”
Until he heard those words from Idel.
It felt like his heart dropped without him realizing it.
Even though he didn’t want to love the child and didn’t believe he could, he still felt that way.
With his mouth tightly shut, he didn’t respond to Idel’s words but instead examined her carefully.
The silence stretched on too long, making Idel think that Vincent Clementine doubted her true intentions.
Otherwise, why would he look at her so intently?
‘Maybe I was too hasty?’
He briefly considered emphasizing that it wasn’t a lie but quickly dismissed the thought.
Upon reflection, it seemed unnecessary. It was important to plant such things through words.
“If you think this is a lie too, then there’s nothing I can do.”
Looking at the smirking Idel, Vincent bit his lip in frustration.
‘Resignation.’
Around the time Rowena was carrying Gianna in her womb, he had studied parenting with his wife.
And among the sentences he read at that time, there was this one:
[Don’t think that a child knows nothing. In fact, sometimes children understand things even faster because they are children.]
Vincent now realized that those words were not wrong.
It seemed Idel was fully aware of her situation.
That’s why she said this: “I also dislike you, so just keep hating me.”
She didn’t expect any love from him in the first place.
‘It must be that she thinks she’ll hurt less if she lets go first.’
Despite her best efforts to defend herself, how could a child completely resign themselves? Even adults can’t do that.
The desperation he saw clearly stemmed from that.
Vincent, who had come to understand Idel’s state in his own way, gently closed his eyes.
Ignoring the throbbing headache, he asked Idel in a heavily subdued voice.
“…You said you wanted to see a friend.”
“Huh?”
“That time when you caused a commotion. Didn’t you say you were going to meet a friend who wanted to see you?”
Oh, that.
Idel widened her eyes for a moment.
At that moment, she remembered Sigmund’s words, but she hadn’t expected Duke Clementine to bring it up first.
“Who is that friend?”
When the Duke asked, Idel quickly tried to think.
Idel asked him back, her expression a mix of wariness and curiosity.
“…Why do you want to know?”
“If you want, I can arrange for you to meet them. Anytime.”
“Anytime?”
“Yes.”
Idel’s eyes narrowed slightly at Vincent’s positive response.
‘Has she already stopped suspecting me… or is he just trying to move on for now?’
That could be the case, given his cautious nature. Children often reveal their true feelings once they get what they want, so he might be using this as bait.
‘Either way, it’s not a bad situation.’
She got what she wanted, and it became difficult for Melisa to interfere with her plans.
Just as Idel was misreading Vincent’s intentions, Vincent also reached a conclusion based on incorrect assumptions.
‘I need to observe the child directly with my own eyes.’
Even now, having realized the situation the child was in and what Dr. Aiman had referred to as “mental instability,” Vincent still couldn’t bring himself to love Idel.
However, at least he thought that watching the child directly would leave him with no regrets.
Thus, Vincent Clementine set a condition for Idel.
“Just promise me one thing.”
“A promise?”
“Yes. From now on, you will attend lessons with Gianna. If anything untoward happens again in class, then I will restrict your outings as punishment. Do you understand?”
“…Lessons? With Gianna?”
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“……No, I’ll attend.”
Her response was somewhat hesitant, perhaps because she was hesitant about attending lessons with Gianna or because she didn’t like studying. Vincent, having said that, stood up without any lingering feelings.
“Good. Then we’ll proceed that way. I’ll inform Sylvia that you’re up, so if you need anything, call a maid.”
“Yes….”
“And I will lift your confinement for now. This isn’t because you’re sick, or because you caused a commotion and threw a tantrum. It’s just that you haven’t adjusted to life at the duke’s estate yet. Keep that in mind.”
Yes, adjustment.
For a brief moment, Vincent’s eyes met Idel’s.
Seeing her blue eyes, similar to his own, he turned his body and left the room again.
Vincent directly taught the swordsmanship lessons that Gianna attended at the Duke’s household.
So, as long as Idel was attending those lessons, it was clear he would have plenty of time to understand her.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
A few days after Idel and the Duke reached their own conclusion.
Diane, a maid in the Duke’s household, was seriously contemplating resigning lately.
The work itself was not difficult. For someone like her, who had rarely done anything unfamiliar in her life, the tasks in the Duke’s household were relatively easy.
Especially since Idel had started to call for her more often after the incident with the cut on her palm, there was even less work to do. In terms of workload, it was almost like she was just playing around now.
The problem was that ever since Idel collapsed a few days ago, there were too many people showing interest in her.
‘Ah, Diane. These are the clothes for Miss Idel. Please take care of them!’
‘It’s almost time to bring snacks to Miss Idel. I’ll handle this, so you go see her.’
‘Diane! Miss Gianna wrote a letter to Miss Idel. Please deliver it.’
Whenever it was something related to Idel, her colleagues always sought her out first.
‘I heard from Sylvia. You’re the maid who stays by Miss Idel’s side, right? Since you need to check Miss Idel’s condition, come to the apothecary’s room every morning.’
Even Dr. Aiman was like that, and even…
“Diane! There you are!”
“Hello, Miss Gianna.”
“Yeah, hi! Where are you headed?”
Everyone in the Duke’s household, including Miss Gianna, was searching for her.
Honestly, at this point, it felt no different than being Idel’s personal attendant.
Diane suppressed the feeling of nausea and managed to force a smile.
“Yes, I was going to the apothecary to get the medicine for Miss Idel today.”
“I see. Hmm, then I should go with Diane as well. I haven’t seen Dr. Aiman in a while…”
“Um, yes, that’s a good idea, Miss Gianna.”
Diane answered somewhat reluctantly and let out a quiet internal sigh.
It hasn’t been long since she last saw Dr. Aiman.
It was only recently that news spread about Miss Idel pushing Miss Gianna.
Upon hearing that his daughter had fallen, the Duke immediately called for Dr. Aiman and asked him to examine her from head to toe.
‘Well, what does the truth matter? If the young lady says she hasn’t seen Dr. Aiman in a while, then that’s what it is.’
Worried about getting involved and suffering the same troubles as before with Miss Idel, Diane pretended not to know anything and continued walking.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Just as she took exactly five steps, Diane turned her head toward Gianna, looking as if she were about to cry.
She could no longer endure that blatant gaze.
“Miss Gianna, if there’s something you want from me, can’t you just say it comfortably?”
With tears in her voice, Diane spoke, and Gianna responded with an awkward look and a bright smile.
“Oh, you saw right through me?”
“Yes, of course. How could I not notice when you keep staring at me like that? You’ve been looking for me at every opportunity these past few days.”
With a small sigh, Diane opened her mouth again.
“So, what’s the reason for your intense gaze?”
“Well, it’s not anything special… um, Diane, you see Idel up close every day, right? I was wondering… How has her mood been lately?”
