Chapter 32
Sponsored by Amy Creamer
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Evelia, who was listening to the conversation between the two children, looked at Samuel and he nodded.
“Yes. It’s partly because Aria is weak, but it’s also because there’s no one in the Denoa family who wants to interact with her, so she hasn’t been able to make any friends.”
“Oh, I see.”
“It’s a bit surprising that Prince Adelhard doesn’t have any friends his own age either.”
“That…”
Evelia kept her mouth shut. Even without an explanation anyway, Samuel would know the reason right away.
‘There are not many people who want to make friends with illegitimate children.’
The aristocrats are brutally cold. Even among them, word was circulating that if Cassis got married, the structure of the succession would change.
Why would they want to make friends with Ruth? The answer is no.
Of course, there’s people who believed in the possibility that Ruth would become the next Duke Adelhard and approached him.
However, their intentions were not pure, and Cassis stopped them.
For that reason, Ruth also had no friends his own age.
‘Of course it’s okay if it’s Aria.’
The male lead naturally needs the female lead.
Besides, Samuel also sincerely helped Ruth in the original story.
The timing was earlier than the original, but there was nothing wrong with these three people building friendships from now on.
Evelia whispered to Ruth with a small smile.
“Young master, how about offering Aria some refreshments? It’s just about time for afternoon tea.”
“Ah…!”
Ruth mumbled.
“Hey, Aria.”
“Huh?”
“Would you like to eat cookies with me?”
Unlike the nervous Ruth, Aria smiled brightly.
“Okay!”
* * *
Ruth was very excited to have his first friend. The child put snacks on Aria’s plate with a more flushed face than when he invited Evelia to his tea time.
“Try some of this too.”
“Mm, it’s delicious.”
Unlike Ruth, Aria had been calm from before.
‘Is she not having fun?’
One-sided love is hard. Ruth is already very fond of Aria, but it was difficult if Aria didn’t feel the same.
‘How can I make Aria like Ruth too?’
Since it’s the female lead in the original story, I thought Aria would like Ruth as soon as she saw him…
Samuel solved Evelia’s troubles very easily.
He whispered to Evelia while watching the two children share a snack.
“It seems that Aria also likes young master quite a bit.”
“Really?”
“Yes, she’s very excited.”
Evelia narrowed her eyes and looked at Aria. However, no matter how she looked, Aria didn’t look very happy.
“Can I bring Aria with me from now on?”
Evelia responded jokingly to Samuel’s words.
“You don’t have to come, just send Miss Aria.”
“You’re too much.”
Samuel put his hand on his left chest as if he was hurt. Seeing this, Evelia laughed out loud.
It was strange. She had just met Samuel, but she found it comfortable and interesting to talk to him.
Perhaps this is the first time she’s laughed out loud like this since possessing ‘Evelia Venion’.
We were enjoying some refreshments, kids being kids, adults being adults enjoying refreshments while having light conversations.
There was a knock on the door and Cassis came inside.
“I heard you have a guest.”
Samuel was the first to get up and greet him.
“It’s been a while, Duke Adelhard.”
“What are you doing here, Sir Denoa?”
“I invited him. there’s something I need him to help me personally.”
“Personally?”
Cassis glanced briefly at Samuel, then back at Evelia.
“What kind of help did you get?”
“Ah, that…”
Perhaps Cassis knew Samuel’s identity. Even if Sierro was a secret organization operating in the shadows, he was dealing with Duke Adelhard.
Even so, I couldn’t be honest.
The contents of the request to Samuel were truly personal.
So Evelia tried to cover up the story, but Samuel answered first.
“I helped the young lady while she was taking a break because she was not feeling well. It’s not a big deal, but the lady said thank you and invited me.”
“… Is that so?”
Cassis’s gaze briefly touched and fell on Evelia’s now bruised wrist. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.
For some reason Cassis seemed displeased, so Evelia hurriedly said,
“I’m sorry for inviting guests without your permission. Next time, I’ll tell you in advance…”
“No. As I said, you are now a member of the Adelhard family. Whatever you do here is your freedom.”
Is it because of his mood? I felt like Cassis subtly emphasized ‘Adelhard’.
“Ah, Aria. You should also say hello to the Duke.”
As Samuel beckoned, Aria sprinted to him, lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, and bowed her back.
“Thank you for the invitation. I’m Aria Denoa.”
Even though she looks like a tomboy, she must be a child from an aristocratic family, and Aria’s body movements when greeting Cassis were quite elegant.
Cassis returned the greeting with a slight nod of his head.
“We’ve been here too long, so we’ll be heading back, Aria, let’s go.”
Samuel clapped his hands once and took Aria’s hand. Aria waved with her other hand at Ruth.
“I will come to play again. Bye.”
Ruth waved back, his face full of regret.
“Yeah, good bye.”
Samuel left the drawing room after saying that it was okay to not see him off. Cassis’ gaze fell on Samuel, who was moving away.
‘You don’t mind me introducing Aria to Ruth, do you?’
Cassis thoroughly vetted and judged the people he allowed into Ruth’s life.
She knew that Aria, and Samuel were Ruth’s benefactors in the original story, and had no qualms about it, but from Cassis’ point of view, it was unpleasant.
“Ruth likes Aria quite a bit. Can she come over often?”
To be honest, I thought Cassis would refuse. But he calmly nodded his head.
“Sir Denoa is trustworthy. His younger sister, Lady Denoa, is also trustworthy. I will tell the butler to treat Lady Denoa as a guest whenever she comes to play.”
Ruth’s eyes lit up at Cassis’ words.
“Really?”
“But you can’t skip your class.”
“Yes!”
Cassis looked at Ruth, who was smiling brightly, and then left the drawing room. Evelia looked at his back with a somewhat uneasy face.
‘It’s strange, but why does he still look displeased?’
But she soon decided that it couldn’t be. Because Cassis always had a face like that.
* * *
Cassis entered his office with a somewhat displeased face.
It wasn’t very noticeable, but Logan, who had been watching Cassis for a long time, recognized the slightest twitch in his jaw.
Logan was very nervous. It was very rare for Cassis to make a face like that. In short, it was an ominous sign.
‘Are you aware that Countess Venion caused a commotion earlier?’
As I heard, Countess Venion had come in during the day and caused a scene.
It was a completely different look from the people who came to see Cassis and went back quietly.
From that action, it was clearly revealed how Evelia was treated at the Venion Mansion.
Logan still didn’t know why Cassis cared so much about Evelia. Not long ago, he was a boss who showed off his displeasure.
However, since Cassis was concerned that Evelia had been abused at the Venion Mansion, it was only natural that he would be displeased with the commotion.
“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
However, Cassis made a face that he didn’t know why Logan apologized.
“What are you talking about?”
“Isn’t it because of Countess Venion coming here?”
Cassis’ eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Why is Countess Venion here?”
“Didn’t you know that?”
Logan was taken aback. He obviously thought it was because of it, but it wasn’t.
Then, why was Cassis upset?
While Logan pondered for a moment, Cassis urged him.
“What happened?”
“That, Countess Venion came to visit without any notice and caused a commotion.”
“… Is Lady Venion okay?”
“Fortunately, they said they handled her well and sent her back.”
“Make sure this never happens again.”
Cassis’ energy became more ferocious. Logan instinctively tightened his grip.
poor logan.