“How? Are you reconciling us?”
The young Prince's clear voice was filled with elation, but also a hint of distrust. He seemed quite surprised that Noah, who had been busy snarling at each other, offered to help him reunite with his father.
Of course, I was startled. Perhaps he, too, had lost his parents as a child, so he could empathize, however weakly, with Prince's heart.
Noah nodded, his lips curling lazily. He rubbed his chin, as if a brilliant idea had occurred to him.
"I'll let you make peace, negotiate, whatever. I just want the Duke of Hessen to take you away as soon as possible. It's annoying."
I knew it.
That selfless man wouldn't readily help others. Daniel bit his small lips and squirmed. It was cute how he sucked on his lower lip, but it was clearly a gesture born of the sadness of being rejected, so it couldn't be considered simply cute.
“...Father is busy. There’s no way he can take me.”
Noah raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Little Hessen. You don't meet important people in your spare time; you make time to meet them. That's what my late mother told me."
“Brother, is your mother in heaven too?”
“No? According to funeral procedures, it’s at the cemetery...”
“My mother is in heaven, too! Perhaps the them of us is looking down on us together.”
I hastily interrupted Noah's heartbreaking remark. Daniel's ruby-red eyes darted to me and Noah, then rippled like waves.
“When you were young?”
“Yes. My parents also passed away when I was young.”
“I see. I’m sorry for being so childish and complaining that I’m the only one having a hard time.”
“You're still a kid, so I’ll be lenient and understand that much.”
Noah, who'd pinched my hand, shook it off as if nothing had happened and answered. Daniel, who had been rubbing his eyes with his sleeve, looked at us with a look of pity.
“My brother and Diana missed and grieved longer than I did.”
From a child's perspective, you could see it that way. Usually, things fade with time, and we pretend to forget them as time passes.
“Adults don’t cry. I didn’t cry when I was your age.”
Noah quietly put down his coffee cup, took out a handkerchief, and rubbed Daniel's face.
I pinched his tiny nose, making him feel even more excited. He looked at the handkerchief, a moment of discomfort on his face. He picked it up with his index finger and placed it carelessly on the table. Daniel asked, running his fingers over his reddened eyes.
"How can I not cry? I think my father hates it because I keep crying. But whenever I think about my mother, tears just keep coming."
"Just cry, it's normal. If he did, his father wouldn't have seen you since you were born. Crying is all babies do."
This man... Couldn't he please speak to the child at his level? But despite Noah's directness, Daniel's expression showed a deep understanding.
“I see. Then I’ll ask him when we meet.”
"Yes. I'll contact the Duke of Hessen in advance, so if he refuses to meet you, respond strongly and say you'll live with your new father."
“Then, will I become a new mother?”
Noah smiled with a strange sense of suspicion at my playful question.
"Yeah. It's better, since it eliminates the possibility of you and the Prince marrying. And since he's smart, anything will work out. We won't have to worry about our old age."
I just chuckled because it seemed like I was looking so far into the future.
“I only have one mother and one father. I realized that the day after I met Diana.”
Daniel looked at Noah with a puzzled expression. Noah remained silent for a moment, then turned his head to me and spoke in a hushed tone.
“Diana, it seems our plan to seize the Hessen ducal estate has been discovered.”
Daniel is looking at us with his mouth covered and his eyes wide open.
“...He's good at making jokes like that. Don’t mind it, Prince.”
I tried my best to make excuses.
The cold spell of spring has passed, and the season of faint scents of spring is approaching, but the gloomy weather, as expected from Medea, continues.
This is one of the residences of the Duke of Hessen, located on the outskirts of Medea's constituent country, the Estrian Forest. After the death of his wife, Duke Eden of Hessen fled the capital and secluded himself in this remote mansion.
As befitting a descendant of the noble Medea family, he had hair as black as ebony.
He was a handsome man who was courted by many women during his single days, and even now, he is flooded with requests to remarry, but he refuses them all because he cannot forget his dead wife.
The Duke's face was hard and cold, like that of a man who lived without any hope in the world.
Although he was drenched in a sense of loss, his under-eyes were darkened, and his overall appearance was worn out, women considered even that part of the charm of a wounded man.
The butler approached the Duke, who was sitting on the sofa in the study, which felt gloomy, and handed him a letter.
The Duke's expressionless face was shaken as he opened the letter, cutting the sealing wax with a paper knife. His red eyes scanned the short sentences written in neat handwriting, left and right, over and over again.
"If you have a child, take responsibility for it." - Noah Rotsilt
The Duke of Hessen tilted his head at the concise contents of the letter, written as if it had been written after a single night's accident.
“What does it mean to take responsibility for a child?”
When he asked the butler who handed him the letter a question, he put his hand to his mouth and coughed.
“I wonder if it means to come and meet the young master.”
“What does that have to do with Duke Rotsilt?”
“He is no longer the Duke of Frogen. He is now a Count by the honorary title of Medea.”
"He lost his title? What happened again? Did he gamble with it or something?"
The Duke of Hessen, having lost his wife, had no time to pay attention to outside news and was unaware of Noah's exile to Medea.
“It is treason.”
“As expected, he is a groundbreaking crazy guy.”
The Duke wasn't particularly surprised.
"I heard that the young master is closely following Count Rotsilt's lover and is currently staying with her at Tempshire Palace. That seems to be why he sent the letter."
“Daniel is following her? What kind of woman is she?”
"That is..."
The old butler put down his hand that had been on his lips, gathered it together slightly, and hesitated.
“It’s because she looks a lot like the late Duchess.”
“With Elizabeth?”
The Duke of Hessen's eyes widened. She was the only daughter of Elizabeth's maternal family, the Duke of Yorkshire, so they couldn't possibly be sisters.
Although she is somewhat similar in appearance and atmosphere to her relative, Queen Medea, he don't remember her being among her other relatives.
“If you go to Tempshire Palace this time, you might as well meet the young master...”
The Duke of Hessen's brow furrowed at the words the butler had so painstakingly uttered. Since losing his wife, he'd been drinking every day, unable to even take care of himself. Furthermore, whenever he saw his son, who resembled his wife, his heart ached, and he couldn't bring himself to meet him.
“I promised to take good care of Daniel. I just can’t bring myself to see my son.”
“He is only six years old. He is still at an age where he needs his parents’ care.”
After the butler had finished his speech and left, the Duke of Hessen raised his head, leaned back on the sofa, and looked at the ceiling.
As he remembered his wife smiling brightly while holding Daniel, his head started pounding again, and a stabbing headache came over him like a dark nightmare.
“Ellie, I...”
"I don't know how I'm going to live without you," the Duke of Hessen muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing in anguish.
It was the day the Duke of Hessen visited Tempshire Palace.
Outside the window, I could see a sweet, spring-like rain falling, wetting the trees and ground in the garden. Daniel came to our room, dressed in a sharp suit and with his hair pulled back, looking like a gentleman.
He seemed nervous before meeting the Duke of Hessen. I greeted him with puffy eyes, having overslept again.
"It's been a long time since I've seen my father. So I've been practicing not to cry."
It is not known what Noah wrote, but it is said that the Duke of Hessen replied that he would meet Daniel during his visit to Tempshire Palace.
After changing clothes and heading to the living room, I saw two men, Noah and Daniel, sitting amicably on the living room sofa. They were conversing with serious expressions, as if discussing something important.
“I can play the violin.”
"I can do it too. I can play the piano, too. It's essential for any cultured man."
“Please teach me piano too.”
"No."
“Why do you hate so many things, brother?”
Even though they bicker, they surprisingly seem to have good chemistry.
“Diana, you’re wearing a pink dress. It’s beautiful.”
Daniel, who had found me standing there blankly, eavesdropping on their conversation, approached me with a calm expression and hugged me tightly by the hem of my skirt.
Feeling a bit embarrassed for no reason, I patted the cute Prince on the back a couple of times. The woman who would one day take that delicate and handsome young master in was truly blessed.
“No. You look pretty no matter what you wear.”
A handsome man corrected Prince's words, brushing back his silver-white hair. "I'm also feeling a surge of luck." Is this how a butler feels when he sees a black kitten and a large white cat?
Daniel squeezed my hand tightly, his expression slightly tense. His smooth, chubby cheeks puffed out slightly, and he asked again.
“It’s not like my father really hates me, right?”
“Of course. The Duke of Hessen must have felt that way, too.”
Daniel seemed slightly relieved by my answer. I bowed my head, he lifted his toes, and kissed my cheek. Noah looked over, his eyebrows furrowed with discontent.
“Then I’ll be off.”
The pretty child smiled.
Just after Daniel went to meet the Duke of Hessen, I suggested that Noah take a walk, as the weather was quite mild.
As we left the room together and walked along the white birch avenue that lined the garden pond outside, I saw Daniel walking alongside a tall, well-built man.
Noah pulled my hand slightly with a curt expression.
"It's the Duke of Hessen. I don't want to say hello, so let's pretend we didn't see him and go the other way."
That man is the Duke of Hessen. He, too, has red eyes like Daniel. While they share the same black hair and red eyes, their appearances are not particularly similar. Unlike Prince's handsome appearance, he is a classic handsome man with a bold, chiseled face.
Despite Noah's wish to pretend not to know him, Daniel was the first to wave his hand in his direction.
The Duke of Hessen's crimson eyes briefly glanced at me, then froze. His knuckles, clenched into fists, had turned white.
Perhaps it was because I resembled the dead Duchess. I smiled awkwardly and bowed to him. The Duke bowed to me as well, then looked back and forth between Noah and me.
“Father, father, it’s Diana.”
Daniel introduced me in an excited voice.
The Duke of Hessen smiled faintly at his son, but for some reason, a wall seemed to form between them. He looked at me with an apologetic expression.
"Miss Parsene, it's nice to meet you. I heard you took good care of Daniel. Sorry for the rudeness."
“No, Your Excellency. I actually enjoyed it because the Prince was so kind and gentle.”
“I know. It’s annoying, so take him home quickly.”
When Noah, who had been standing with his arms crossed, intervened, the Duke of Hessen answered with a blank expression.
“You are still the same.”
“Did you two know each other?”
"Yes."
Noah nodded at my question, and the Duke of Hessen smiled.
“We’ve known each other since we were children. Our fathers were close.”
“But we’re not close.”
"We were close, weren't we? You even broke my arm with a wooden sword. It still stings when it rains."
The Duke of Hessen glanced up, seemingly glaring at Noah. It seemed like they weren't even close. Daniel, standing next to the Duke, lowered his gaze, gazing at his feet. Noah spoke in a disinterested tone.
"Why were you reluctant to meet your son? Did you start to dislike him?"
Without even an introduction, he jumped straight into the main topic. The Duke of Hessen touched his forehead and sighed deeply.
“No. My wife died and I couldn’t even think straight, so I did that.”
"Little Hessen. Daddy doesn't like you. Is that resolved?"
Noah looked at Daniel, his expression relieved, as if his worries had been resolved. I made a suggestion to the utterly awkward-looking rich man.
“How about going to the square with Prince today, having a meal, and spending time together?”
“That’s what I was trying to do. Yes, Daniel?”
“Yes, I like it.”
Only then did Daniel's expression soften. The corners of his mouth lifted cutely, and his hunched shoulders straightened. The Duke of Hessen glanced at my hand, held by Noah, and offered his congratulations.
“I heard you’ve engaged. Congratulations in advance.”
“Yes, thank you. I will send out the invitations before the wedding.”
“I will go if possible.”
The Duke took Daniel's hand first with an affectionate expression on his face.
“I’m going to go now.”
The Duke bowed slightly, and I bowed back. Noah still had his arms crossed and his chin raised.
“Are you going to take him home now?”
“Next time. I have some work piling up right now.”
The Duke of Hessen answered nonchalantly. Daniel, who had been holding his arm tightly, smiled calmly at me.
The Duke's red eyes, seemingly impassive, briefly brushed past me before turning away. His eyes, filled with an indescribable sense of deep sorrow, held a look of profound sadness. Noah stared blankly at the backs of the Duke and the Prince. Something about his expression seemed deeply uncomfortable.
“I think I made a mistake.”
He muttered something to himself that I couldn't understand.
The young Prince's clear voice was filled with elation, but also a hint of distrust. He seemed quite surprised that Noah, who had been busy snarling at each other, offered to help him reunite with his father.
Of course, I was startled. Perhaps he, too, had lost his parents as a child, so he could empathize, however weakly, with Prince's heart.
Noah nodded, his lips curling lazily. He rubbed his chin, as if a brilliant idea had occurred to him.
"I'll let you make peace, negotiate, whatever. I just want the Duke of Hessen to take you away as soon as possible. It's annoying."
I knew it.
That selfless man wouldn't readily help others. Daniel bit his small lips and squirmed. It was cute how he sucked on his lower lip, but it was clearly a gesture born of the sadness of being rejected, so it couldn't be considered simply cute.
“...Father is busy. There’s no way he can take me.”
Noah raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Little Hessen. You don't meet important people in your spare time; you make time to meet them. That's what my late mother told me."
“Brother, is your mother in heaven too?”
“No? According to funeral procedures, it’s at the cemetery...”
“My mother is in heaven, too! Perhaps the them of us is looking down on us together.”
I hastily interrupted Noah's heartbreaking remark. Daniel's ruby-red eyes darted to me and Noah, then rippled like waves.
“When you were young?”
“Yes. My parents also passed away when I was young.”
“I see. I’m sorry for being so childish and complaining that I’m the only one having a hard time.”
“You're still a kid, so I’ll be lenient and understand that much.”
Noah, who'd pinched my hand, shook it off as if nothing had happened and answered. Daniel, who had been rubbing his eyes with his sleeve, looked at us with a look of pity.
“My brother and Diana missed and grieved longer than I did.”
From a child's perspective, you could see it that way. Usually, things fade with time, and we pretend to forget them as time passes.
“Adults don’t cry. I didn’t cry when I was your age.”
Noah quietly put down his coffee cup, took out a handkerchief, and rubbed Daniel's face.
I pinched his tiny nose, making him feel even more excited. He looked at the handkerchief, a moment of discomfort on his face. He picked it up with his index finger and placed it carelessly on the table. Daniel asked, running his fingers over his reddened eyes.
"How can I not cry? I think my father hates it because I keep crying. But whenever I think about my mother, tears just keep coming."
"Just cry, it's normal. If he did, his father wouldn't have seen you since you were born. Crying is all babies do."
This man... Couldn't he please speak to the child at his level? But despite Noah's directness, Daniel's expression showed a deep understanding.
“I see. Then I’ll ask him when we meet.”
"Yes. I'll contact the Duke of Hessen in advance, so if he refuses to meet you, respond strongly and say you'll live with your new father."
“Then, will I become a new mother?”
Noah smiled with a strange sense of suspicion at my playful question.
"Yeah. It's better, since it eliminates the possibility of you and the Prince marrying. And since he's smart, anything will work out. We won't have to worry about our old age."
I just chuckled because it seemed like I was looking so far into the future.
“I only have one mother and one father. I realized that the day after I met Diana.”
Daniel looked at Noah with a puzzled expression. Noah remained silent for a moment, then turned his head to me and spoke in a hushed tone.
“Diana, it seems our plan to seize the Hessen ducal estate has been discovered.”
Daniel is looking at us with his mouth covered and his eyes wide open.
“...He's good at making jokes like that. Don’t mind it, Prince.”
I tried my best to make excuses.
***
The cold spell of spring has passed, and the season of faint scents of spring is approaching, but the gloomy weather, as expected from Medea, continues.
This is one of the residences of the Duke of Hessen, located on the outskirts of Medea's constituent country, the Estrian Forest. After the death of his wife, Duke Eden of Hessen fled the capital and secluded himself in this remote mansion.
As befitting a descendant of the noble Medea family, he had hair as black as ebony.
He was a handsome man who was courted by many women during his single days, and even now, he is flooded with requests to remarry, but he refuses them all because he cannot forget his dead wife.
The Duke's face was hard and cold, like that of a man who lived without any hope in the world.
Although he was drenched in a sense of loss, his under-eyes were darkened, and his overall appearance was worn out, women considered even that part of the charm of a wounded man.
The butler approached the Duke, who was sitting on the sofa in the study, which felt gloomy, and handed him a letter.
The Duke's expressionless face was shaken as he opened the letter, cutting the sealing wax with a paper knife. His red eyes scanned the short sentences written in neat handwriting, left and right, over and over again.
"If you have a child, take responsibility for it." - Noah Rotsilt
The Duke of Hessen tilted his head at the concise contents of the letter, written as if it had been written after a single night's accident.
“What does it mean to take responsibility for a child?”
When he asked the butler who handed him the letter a question, he put his hand to his mouth and coughed.
“I wonder if it means to come and meet the young master.”
“What does that have to do with Duke Rotsilt?”
“He is no longer the Duke of Frogen. He is now a Count by the honorary title of Medea.”
"He lost his title? What happened again? Did he gamble with it or something?"
The Duke of Hessen, having lost his wife, had no time to pay attention to outside news and was unaware of Noah's exile to Medea.
“It is treason.”
“As expected, he is a groundbreaking crazy guy.”
The Duke wasn't particularly surprised.
"I heard that the young master is closely following Count Rotsilt's lover and is currently staying with her at Tempshire Palace. That seems to be why he sent the letter."
“Daniel is following her? What kind of woman is she?”
"That is..."
The old butler put down his hand that had been on his lips, gathered it together slightly, and hesitated.
“It’s because she looks a lot like the late Duchess.”
“With Elizabeth?”
The Duke of Hessen's eyes widened. She was the only daughter of Elizabeth's maternal family, the Duke of Yorkshire, so they couldn't possibly be sisters.
Although she is somewhat similar in appearance and atmosphere to her relative, Queen Medea, he don't remember her being among her other relatives.
“If you go to Tempshire Palace this time, you might as well meet the young master...”
The Duke of Hessen's brow furrowed at the words the butler had so painstakingly uttered. Since losing his wife, he'd been drinking every day, unable to even take care of himself. Furthermore, whenever he saw his son, who resembled his wife, his heart ached, and he couldn't bring himself to meet him.
“I promised to take good care of Daniel. I just can’t bring myself to see my son.”
“He is only six years old. He is still at an age where he needs his parents’ care.”
After the butler had finished his speech and left, the Duke of Hessen raised his head, leaned back on the sofa, and looked at the ceiling.
As he remembered his wife smiling brightly while holding Daniel, his head started pounding again, and a stabbing headache came over him like a dark nightmare.
“Ellie, I...”
"I don't know how I'm going to live without you," the Duke of Hessen muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing in anguish.
***
It was the day the Duke of Hessen visited Tempshire Palace.
Outside the window, I could see a sweet, spring-like rain falling, wetting the trees and ground in the garden. Daniel came to our room, dressed in a sharp suit and with his hair pulled back, looking like a gentleman.
He seemed nervous before meeting the Duke of Hessen. I greeted him with puffy eyes, having overslept again.
"It's been a long time since I've seen my father. So I've been practicing not to cry."
It is not known what Noah wrote, but it is said that the Duke of Hessen replied that he would meet Daniel during his visit to Tempshire Palace.
After changing clothes and heading to the living room, I saw two men, Noah and Daniel, sitting amicably on the living room sofa. They were conversing with serious expressions, as if discussing something important.
“I can play the violin.”
"I can do it too. I can play the piano, too. It's essential for any cultured man."
“Please teach me piano too.”
"No."
“Why do you hate so many things, brother?”
Even though they bicker, they surprisingly seem to have good chemistry.
“Diana, you’re wearing a pink dress. It’s beautiful.”
Daniel, who had found me standing there blankly, eavesdropping on their conversation, approached me with a calm expression and hugged me tightly by the hem of my skirt.
Feeling a bit embarrassed for no reason, I patted the cute Prince on the back a couple of times. The woman who would one day take that delicate and handsome young master in was truly blessed.
“No. You look pretty no matter what you wear.”
A handsome man corrected Prince's words, brushing back his silver-white hair. "I'm also feeling a surge of luck." Is this how a butler feels when he sees a black kitten and a large white cat?
Daniel squeezed my hand tightly, his expression slightly tense. His smooth, chubby cheeks puffed out slightly, and he asked again.
“It’s not like my father really hates me, right?”
“Of course. The Duke of Hessen must have felt that way, too.”
Daniel seemed slightly relieved by my answer. I bowed my head, he lifted his toes, and kissed my cheek. Noah looked over, his eyebrows furrowed with discontent.
“Then I’ll be off.”
The pretty child smiled.
Just after Daniel went to meet the Duke of Hessen, I suggested that Noah take a walk, as the weather was quite mild.
As we left the room together and walked along the white birch avenue that lined the garden pond outside, I saw Daniel walking alongside a tall, well-built man.
Noah pulled my hand slightly with a curt expression.
"It's the Duke of Hessen. I don't want to say hello, so let's pretend we didn't see him and go the other way."
That man is the Duke of Hessen. He, too, has red eyes like Daniel. While they share the same black hair and red eyes, their appearances are not particularly similar. Unlike Prince's handsome appearance, he is a classic handsome man with a bold, chiseled face.
Despite Noah's wish to pretend not to know him, Daniel was the first to wave his hand in his direction.
The Duke of Hessen's crimson eyes briefly glanced at me, then froze. His knuckles, clenched into fists, had turned white.
Perhaps it was because I resembled the dead Duchess. I smiled awkwardly and bowed to him. The Duke bowed to me as well, then looked back and forth between Noah and me.
“Father, father, it’s Diana.”
Daniel introduced me in an excited voice.
The Duke of Hessen smiled faintly at his son, but for some reason, a wall seemed to form between them. He looked at me with an apologetic expression.
"Miss Parsene, it's nice to meet you. I heard you took good care of Daniel. Sorry for the rudeness."
“No, Your Excellency. I actually enjoyed it because the Prince was so kind and gentle.”
“I know. It’s annoying, so take him home quickly.”
When Noah, who had been standing with his arms crossed, intervened, the Duke of Hessen answered with a blank expression.
“You are still the same.”
“Did you two know each other?”
"Yes."
Noah nodded at my question, and the Duke of Hessen smiled.
“We’ve known each other since we were children. Our fathers were close.”
“But we’re not close.”
"We were close, weren't we? You even broke my arm with a wooden sword. It still stings when it rains."
The Duke of Hessen glanced up, seemingly glaring at Noah. It seemed like they weren't even close. Daniel, standing next to the Duke, lowered his gaze, gazing at his feet. Noah spoke in a disinterested tone.
"Why were you reluctant to meet your son? Did you start to dislike him?"
Without even an introduction, he jumped straight into the main topic. The Duke of Hessen touched his forehead and sighed deeply.
“No. My wife died and I couldn’t even think straight, so I did that.”
"Little Hessen. Daddy doesn't like you. Is that resolved?"
Noah looked at Daniel, his expression relieved, as if his worries had been resolved. I made a suggestion to the utterly awkward-looking rich man.
“How about going to the square with Prince today, having a meal, and spending time together?”
“That’s what I was trying to do. Yes, Daniel?”
“Yes, I like it.”
Only then did Daniel's expression soften. The corners of his mouth lifted cutely, and his hunched shoulders straightened. The Duke of Hessen glanced at my hand, held by Noah, and offered his congratulations.
“I heard you’ve engaged. Congratulations in advance.”
“Yes, thank you. I will send out the invitations before the wedding.”
“I will go if possible.”
The Duke took Daniel's hand first with an affectionate expression on his face.
“I’m going to go now.”
The Duke bowed slightly, and I bowed back. Noah still had his arms crossed and his chin raised.
“Are you going to take him home now?”
“Next time. I have some work piling up right now.”
The Duke of Hessen answered nonchalantly. Daniel, who had been holding his arm tightly, smiled calmly at me.
The Duke's red eyes, seemingly impassive, briefly brushed past me before turning away. His eyes, filled with an indescribable sense of deep sorrow, held a look of profound sadness. Noah stared blankly at the backs of the Duke and the Prince. Something about his expression seemed deeply uncomfortable.
“I think I made a mistake.”
He muttered something to himself that I couldn't understand.
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