Chapter 68
“No matter what anyone says, wife. You’re the Duchess of Adelhard. Doesn’t your name prove it?”
“Ah….”
Evelia was no longer ‘Evelia Venion’ but ‘Evelia Adelhard’. Cassis was saying that.
‘But it’s still unfamiliar.’
When Evelia lowered her head, Cassis carefully held her hand and asked.
“Wife, are you okay?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I don’t think they only talked about Ruth.”
Only then did Evelia realize what he was talking about.
He was worried that I might have heard something about Evelia because I was an illegitimate child.
“It would be a lie if I said I didn’t hear it. But I’m used to it now.”
“How do you get used to that?”
Cassis asked in a slightly angry voice.
“Didn’t you say that when you were with Alex Marc? that it wasn’t okay, that it was okay to say it was hard…”
So, if you are having a hard time, talk to yourself. Evelia smiled faintly and held Cassis’ hand.
“That’s right. It’s not okay.”
Evelia was not the real ‘Evelia’ and was not an ‘illegitimate child’, so she was not affected much by people’s harsh words.
No, she didn’t think she was hurt. But how could she be nonchalant in the face of people’s hostility toward her?
Despite Cassis telling her that she could confide in him as his wife, Evelia hadn’t been able to lean on him as her husband.
But today, for some reason, I felt like I could rely on him a little bit.
Evelia carefully rested her head on Cassis’ shoulder.
“I was more worried about Ruth, so I pretended to be okay, but I was actually really surprised.”
“……”
“Thank you. For saying that.”
Cassis did not push her away, nor did he adjust his posture to make her more comfortable, but remained in an awkward position for a long time.
However, it was a secret to him that she laughed a little because it was so Cassis.
*****
The next day, Cassis received a report from Logan. It was about what happened yesterday at the Marquis Evans mansion.
“It is said that the person who said that to madam and the young master yesterday was Countess Johannes.”
Johannes, I had heard of her. She was the one who, whenever she saw Cassis at a party, she was the one who subtly offered to introduce me to her younger sister.
I kept my distance because I could see that she was blatantly trying to make connections, but I never thought it would turn out like this.
Cassis ordered, clutching the armrests of the chair tightly.
“Keep her out of sight of the capital for the time being. So as not to be noticed by Ruth and Evelia.”
There were many ways to do that. Logan bowed and went out.
Cassis, who was alone, remembered what happened last night.
-Thank you. For saying that.
When Evelia said those words and leaned her head on my shoulder, I thought I could stop breathing. The scent of roses emanating from her made me faint.
Almost…
After thinking that far, Cassis took a deep breath.
What could she have done?
Cassis tried to control his facial expressions even though no one was watching.
But it didn’t work out. The more I thought about Evelia, the more my heart pounded and my face grew hot, as if I had been practicing swordsmanship.
Why on earth does this happen when I only think about Evelia? I couldn’t figure it out.
He was already bad at emotions and did not know exactly what the new emotion that came to him was.
It may be a little later that he realizes this feeling.
*****
“Ah….”
Annie, who was serving refreshments to Evelia and Ruth, paused for a moment.
“Why?”
“Oh, I just realized that today is September 22nd.”
“I see.”
Unlike Evelia, Ruth showed interest.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Ah…”
Annie looked at Evelia.
“It’s Madam’s birthday soon.”
“My birthday?”
Evelia once again counted the days.
‘That’s really true.’
Evelia’s birthday was September 28th. There is less than a week left until my birthday.
But I wasn’t very impressed. It wasn’t really my birthday, it was Evelia’s birthday.
There was no way Evelia, who was originally not interested in birthdays themselves, would be interested in other people’s birthdays.
But Ruth had other thoughts. As soon as the child heard that fact, his eyes lit up.
“Wow, we should have a party!”
“No, that’s not necessary…”
Before Evelia could finish speaking, Ruth and Annie became sullen. Even so, Ruth doesn’t know why Annie is so depressed.
Evelia looked at the two people and asked carefully.
“Party… Shall we do it?”
“Yes!”
“Of course!”
Evelia became excited without even realizing it as she listened to the two people’s words.
‘I think a birthday party might be okay.’
I couldn’t even remember when I had a proper birthday party.
But I thought it would be okay if it was a party with people I liked.
*****
‘What should I give Mom as a gift for her birthday?’
After hearing about Evelia’s birthday, Ruth’s only thoughts were about Evelia.
How to have a party, what gifts to give, what kind of cake to prepare, etc.
As a result, he couldn’t concentrate properly on the swordsmanship class with Cassis.
Cassis, who noticed that the child was distracted, lowered the tip of his wooden sword and asked.
“What are you thinking like that? Please focus.”
In the end, Ruth decided to get help from people around him. The first person to get help was, of course, Cassis in front of him.
“Father!”
“……?”
“What are you planning to do for Mom’s birthday?”
“Birthday?”
When Cassis asked back as if he didn’t understand what he said, Ruth pounded his chest in frustration.
“It’s mom’s birthday soon! You didn’t know?”
I didn’t know. But since he couldn’t tell the truth, Cassis just kept quiet.
However, as he spent more time with Cassis, Ruth was now able to interpret Cassis’ silence.
“You didn’t know!”
“… I know.”
“Lie!”
He can now say things like this. If Evelia had seen it, she would have liked it, saying it was a huge step forward, but unfortunately, Evelia was currently in her room.
“Anyway, what are you going to do for mom?”
“Well…”
“I was planning to throw a party with Annie, but I don’t know what to do.”
But Cassis really had no ideas. He thought back to his birthday party.
In fact, he never thought of his birthday as special.
Julia said, ‘Your birthday is the day that allowed you to come to my side. It’s a good day,’ she said, but I didn’t really know what was different.
Rather, seeing that his mother’s body was rapidly weakening after Cassis was born, his father became more irritable every time Cassis’ birthday.
Aside from that, they gave me a grand party on my birthday. Cassis didn’t really enjoy it, but maybe Evelia would like it.
“A party would be nice.”
“Right? Let’s have a party!”
Ruth, who didn’t know that the party he thought of and Cassis’s was different, was just excited.
The child began chattering about what to do at the party, but Cassis was lost in thought again.
‘What else is there other than a party?’
He became even more serious than Ruth. Cassis thought about it for days and days.
However, the grand party he originally wanted to throw fell through.
This is because Evelia, who heard his thoughts, opposed it.
-Party? You mean that party where all the people come? I don’t like that. It’s not a day worth bragging about.
Cassis couldn’t understand. Why is it not a day worth bragging about? It’s not just any other day, it’s the day Evelia was born into this world.
Today is the day she can be by my side.
Cassis, who was thinking something that would have been surprising if anyone else heard it, sighed deeply and muttered quietly.
Tomorrow was Evelia’s birthday.
“What should I give as a gift?”
Logan asked back as if he had heard something he couldn’t hear.
“What did you just say?”
“I asked what I should give my wife as a birthday present.”
Logan was shocked.
‘I can’t believe my lord is worried about something like that.’
The Cassis he knew was not the person to worry about this. He was basically a person who was indifferent to others.
It was Cassis Adelhard who told Logan to take care of Ruth’s birthday present.
Moreover, Evelia’s relationship was ultimately a contractual one.
Why would you put so much thought into her gift?
