The Male Lead’s Father Refuses to Break Off Our Engagement

Chapter 26

 

“How dare you!”

The Duke jumped from his seat and approached Cassis. Then he raised his hand towards Cassis.

As a child, Cassis was terrified whenever his father raised his hand like this. He would say he was sorry and begged while clasping his hands together.

But now was different: He wasn’t a child anymore, and he had someone to protect.

Instead of being frightened, Cassis looked him straight in the eyes, and the Duke was taken aback. But for a moment, he raised his hand a little higher to slap Cassis on the cheek.

Cassis took the Duke’s hand. He strained his hand as if he were going to break his wrist.

The Duke’s face reddened in a different way this time.

“You dare to do that…!”

“Remember, Father.”

Cassis said, swallowing hard at his anger. It was a good thing he’d been taught from a young age to keep his emotions in check.

If it wasn’t for that, he might have strangled his father right in front of him.

“I will not stand it any longer. If you ever lift a hand to Ruth, I won’t let you go.”

Perhaps sensing that his son had changed, the Duke said nothing more.

So Ruth became Cassis’s son.

 

* * *

 

After that day, Ruth went to a beach villa with his nanny. Cassis went back to the academy.

It was two years before he saw Ruth again. One summer day in his twenties. Returning from news of his father’s death, he saw Ruth at the funeral home.

Looking back, Ruth has no resemblance to Julia. Rather, he looks exactly like Cassis.

Even if he didn’t insist that Ruth was his child, those who saw Ruth whispered that the child was Cassis’ illegitimate child.

Cassis was happy with that fact. He seems to have kept Julia’s honor.

And even then, Ruth’s biological father had not contacted the Adelhard family.

Thanks to this, Ruth was easily included in the list of nobles as Cassis’s son.

After the funeral, Cassis approached Ruth. Ruth, who didn’t know what the funeral was, and the unfamiliar atmosphere made him nervous.

“Ruth.”

And as soon as Cassis approached.

“Nanny…”

After seeing him for the first time in a while, Ruth cried and hid behind the nanny. In the child’s eyes, the expressionless Cassis looked frightened.

Cassis saw his past self in the frightened Ruth. The way he shuddered every time he heard his father’s harsh words.

So Cassis could no longer approach Ruth.

 

* * *

 

After Cassis succeeded to Duke Adelhard, Ruth and Cassis came to live together in the Adelhard Mansion in the capital.

Growing up, Ruth wasn’t afraid of Cassis. He rather admired him.

In the child’s eyes, Cassis was still scary, but at the same time, he looked like a wonderful knight from a fairy tale.

The child wanted to be friendly with Cassis. However, Cassis couldn’t reach the child. It was because he was afraid that Ruth would see him and be scared again.

Instead, he treated Ruth in his own way. He gave him everything he deserved as Adelhard’s heir. That was the way he loved him.

Thanks to that, Ruth grew up without any shortcomings. Except for the attention of Cassis, his father.

But Cassis knew everything would be okay. He had never been loved by his parents, so he didn’t know how to give love as a parent.

He didn’t know how to give love as a parent because he had never been loved by his own mother, so he thought it would be okay if Ruth didn’t have a mother.

I never thought that my attitude would be a problem. That was until Evelia took issue with it.

 

* * *

 

The last person to appear in the dream was Julia Adelhard. As always, she smiled brightly and hugged Ruth.

Cassis watched quietly as the two people stood happily in the wide field. The faint sound of laughter tickled his ears.

How much time had passed.

Julia’s face was suddenly replaced by Evelia’s face.

Her platinum blonde hair, which had been glistening in the sunlight, turned into deep pink hair, and her purple eyes turned blue like the sky.

Evelia hugged Ruth and smiled like Julia. Cassis suddenly thought that her smiling face suited her very well.

The moment he saw Evelia’s bright smile, which he had never seen before, he made up his mind in his dream.

I have to protect you.

Unlike Julia, who he’d let go without a fight.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Cassis came to Evelia early in the morning. He hadn’t slept well, or maybe it was something else, and his eyes were slightly red.

“I was wondering if you could spare a few minutes?”

“Just a moment, I’ll just change my clothes.”

Evelia, who was wearing her pajamas, hurriedly changed into her dressing gown and went out into the hallway again. Cassis walked ahead without a word.

Evelia followed him, observing his sideways.

‘Are you still angry?’

She wanted to read his mind, but he was such an expressionless man.

But for some reason, his energy seemed to have softened even more than yesterday.

The place where the two finally arrived was unexpectedly not in the drawing room, but in the portrait room they had been to yesterday.

Cassis skillfully pulled the book out of the bookshelf, pushed the bookshelf and went inside. Because they came out without organizing it, the inside of the bookshelf was the same as when they left yesterday.

Cassis picked up the white cloth that had fallen on the floor with a bitter look on his face. His gaze was fixed on Julia, who was smiling brightly.

Cassis was silent for a long time. However, Evelia didn’t urge him and waited in silence.

‘It will take some time.’

Wounds heal over time, but some wounds fester as time passes.

To Cassis, Julia was a wound that has rotted from festering. A wound that he didn’t realize was hurting, but he later discovered that the wound was rotten and hard to heal.

However, it is difficult to heal, but with effort and time, even that serious wound could be healed.

Evelia believed that Cassis’ wounds could one day be healed.

“I…”

Cassis finally broke the silence and opened his mouth.

“I still have no intention of telling Ruth about his birth mother. I would like to keep it for the rest of my life if I could.”

Instead of disagreeing with him, Evelia kept her mouth shut and listened in silence.

“But I think it’s okay to tell Ruth about his aunt.”

It was an unexpected word. Cassis, ignoring Evelia’s surprised gaze, walked out with the easel and portrait, placing the easel in front of Ruth’s portrait.

The sight of a lovingly smiling Ruth and an equally beaming Julia together was more comforting than he could have imagined.

“Tell Ruth that he can come see Julia’s portrait any time in the future.”

“The Duke himself should tell him.”

Evelia smiled slightly at him.

“Young master would prefer to have the Duke speak directly to him.”

Cassis nodded after a moment of silence.

“I see.”

 

* * *

 

Ruth, whom I met during snack time that afternoon, was smiling brightly.

“Lady Evelia!”

“Yes, young master.”

The child was very excited and took Evelia’s hand.

“My father gave me permission to go see the portrait of the angel!”

It was a story she already knew, but Evelia pretended to be surprised as if she had heard it for the first time.

“Really?”

“Yes! I thought he was angry, but I guess he wasn’t!”

“I told you that the Duke wasn’t mad at you.”

“Hehe, Lady Evelia was right. Lady Evelia is really smart!”

The child’s face turned red.

“Then can we go see it together now?”

“Of course.”

Evelia took Ruth’s hand and went to the portrait room.

As soon as Ruth saw Julia’s picture, he started chattering about the stories he had heard from Cassis and his nanny.

“Her name is Julia Adelhard! She’s my aunt! She’s my father’s older sister! My nanny said Aunt Julia was a good woman, like an angel!”

The child’s voice was full of excitement as he told me about Julia, whom he had never met.

“Yes, she seems like a nice person.”

Evelia prayed inwardly as she looked at the portrait of Julia, who was so lovely that it brought her to tears.

May the day come when Cassis, Ruth, and you will be free.