Six months after the baby was born, we returned to the Grand Duchy. Now, no one was chasing us, and we had nothing to chase after, so it felt like we were truly back.
That's why I let out a short exclamation of "Wow!" when I first stepped onto the Grand Duke's mansion.
That joy was short-lived, as work piled up, and I barely managed to see my beloved son, Silian's face every day.
Whenever I had a chance, I would sneak up on Julian and try to kiss him, but the butler would show up with a big smile and pile up a mountain of papers on his desk, so there was nothing more to say.
“We decided to have a lot of children, but at this rate, it’s impossible to have a second child.”
I lamented like that every single day, but Anna and the butler became determined and set fire to his paperwork.
But after a month of such hardship, I finally began to feel like a normal human being again. At least I could eat when I had to, and occasionally take a nap with Silian.
That day, too, I was taking a lazy nap with Silian. The sound of the baby's laughter gently rippled through my ears like waves, and I slowly woke up.
“Hmm...”
“Sillian, Mom is finally awake.”
“Julian? Silian?”
I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Julian was sitting on the bed, holding Silian in his arms. Even with sleepy eyes, I looked at Silian and smiled.
“Are you done with your busy work?”
"Yes."
“That’s great. Can we have dinner together?”
I smiled brightly, feeling excited. Julian was busier than I was, so I often sat alone at the large table eating.
I hated that more than being busy, so I was incredibly happy to have a meal together like this. Seeing me like that, Julian said something affectionate.
“Let’s go out to eat.”
“Go out?”
“It’s a rare nice day today, so I told you to prepare a picnic. You said you wanted to.”
Come to think of it, the warm season had arrived. However, Grand Duke's territory was colder than any other territory, so no matter how warm it was, it wasn't warm enough for a picnic. I quickly opened the window. The air was still chilly. But definitely...
“It’s warm?”
It was noticeably warmer than other days. There couldn't have been a better day for a picnic at Duke's Ridge.
We were attended to by the servants and dressed warmly. Normally, we had to wear cloaks and gloves, but today, we felt we could do without them. After putting a cute hat on the baby, we grabbed the lunchbox the chef handed us and boarded the carriage.
We arrived at a low, round hill. At the top was a small pond, from which flowed a thin stream. If you listened closely, you could hear the sound of the water trickling. It was a precious sound, something you could only hear on a warm day like today.
We decided to sit a little way from the pond. The maids laid out a wide, fluffy mat for me, and I sat down on it, my legs stretched out.
Julian simply laughed at that, but Anna nagged at me, saying a noblewoman shouldn't do that. I pretended not to hear and motioned to the nanny to bring Silian closer.
Silian, perhaps feeling the fresh air after a long time, kept staring into the air and stretching out his tiny hands. I played with him, inserting my fingers into the center of his palms.
“You look like a baby, not Silian.”
Julian wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and whispered playfully. I stuck my tongue out, but I didn't stop playing with Silian.
Silian laughed heartily, and the nanny seemed delighted. As we were having fun, the arm around the waist suddenly pulled back. Startled, my eyes widened, and I grabbed his arm.
“That’s surprising. What’s wrong?”
“To monopolize our son.”
Hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh. I gestured to the nanny, and she handed Sillian over to Julian.
When Julian held Silian, the baby seemed incredibly small. The size difference between Julian's hand and the baby's wasn't that great. But Julian's face, as he gazed at the baby, was so affectionate that it didn't seem dangerous at all.
“Do you like babies that much?”
"Yes."
Julian answered without any resistance.
“Me?”
At my words, Julian slowly raised his head. I pouted, frustrated that no answer came immediately.
“I guess you lost interest after having a son?”
The moment I uttered a complaint, Julian grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me into a kiss. He tilted his head, biting my lower lip, and the kiss was perfect. The moment our lips parted, Julian looked at me closely and smiled.
At that moment, all my complaints disappeared cleanly, and all the tricks of bewitching people with beauty came to mind.
“Ugh!”
Silian grabbed a handful of my golden hair and shook it vigorously. I wondered what he was thinking when he saw Mom and Dad kissing. I blushed for no reason and looked down at Silian.
"Sillian, your dad's a player. He's always like that."
I whispered so, and Julian laughed quietly.
Just then, a servant came rushing over. He seemed to be about to discuss something serious. Julian rose from his seat and began to converse with the servant.
I heard from the sidelines, but it wasn't something I could help with. I carefully took Silian from him so as not to disturb him. Then I put on my shoes and stepped out onto the mat.
Trickle, trickle. The faint sound of water trickling from the pond was pleasant to listen to. I felt the cool breeze blowing as I looked down at Silian, who was still playing with my hair.
The world may have called Grand Duke's Lands a barren wasteland, but I thought differently. A land this vast and beautiful was rare anywhere in the world.
Living on this land and protecting it for a lifetime was a privilege not granted to anyone else, but to the Grand Duke of Duchzan. I smiled and kissed Silian on the forehead.
Rustle.
I heard a small noise, like a rustle in the grass, but dismissed it as a squirrel passing by. But the more I thought about it, the louder the noise seemed to be for a squirrel.
I looked back, feeling ominous. Something dark was lurking beneath the grass. The mess made it difficult to make out clearly, but judging by the long arms and legs, it seemed human.
“Hey.”
I spoke cautiously to him. He jumped in surprise. Seeing that, I realized something. He had been trying to hide from me, and now he was being caught.
As I took a few steps back, he revealed himself. His face was dark from not having washed for so long, but his eyes were filled with hatred, and he was missing a wrist. My eyes widened.
“Kaiser!”
The moment I shouted loudly, the maids looked in my direction, and I heard them scream. Kaiser was holding a sword in one hand. I reached out to him, hoping to use magic to stop him.
It was the moment when I was about to cast the magic to destroy Kaiser.
“Whoa!”
That's why I let out a short exclamation of "Wow!" when I first stepped onto the Grand Duke's mansion.
That joy was short-lived, as work piled up, and I barely managed to see my beloved son, Silian's face every day.
Whenever I had a chance, I would sneak up on Julian and try to kiss him, but the butler would show up with a big smile and pile up a mountain of papers on his desk, so there was nothing more to say.
“We decided to have a lot of children, but at this rate, it’s impossible to have a second child.”
I lamented like that every single day, but Anna and the butler became determined and set fire to his paperwork.
But after a month of such hardship, I finally began to feel like a normal human being again. At least I could eat when I had to, and occasionally take a nap with Silian.
That day, too, I was taking a lazy nap with Silian. The sound of the baby's laughter gently rippled through my ears like waves, and I slowly woke up.
“Hmm...”
“Sillian, Mom is finally awake.”
“Julian? Silian?”
I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Julian was sitting on the bed, holding Silian in his arms. Even with sleepy eyes, I looked at Silian and smiled.
“Are you done with your busy work?”
"Yes."
“That’s great. Can we have dinner together?”
I smiled brightly, feeling excited. Julian was busier than I was, so I often sat alone at the large table eating.
I hated that more than being busy, so I was incredibly happy to have a meal together like this. Seeing me like that, Julian said something affectionate.
“Let’s go out to eat.”
“Go out?”
“It’s a rare nice day today, so I told you to prepare a picnic. You said you wanted to.”
Come to think of it, the warm season had arrived. However, Grand Duke's territory was colder than any other territory, so no matter how warm it was, it wasn't warm enough for a picnic. I quickly opened the window. The air was still chilly. But definitely...
“It’s warm?”
It was noticeably warmer than other days. There couldn't have been a better day for a picnic at Duke's Ridge.
We were attended to by the servants and dressed warmly. Normally, we had to wear cloaks and gloves, but today, we felt we could do without them. After putting a cute hat on the baby, we grabbed the lunchbox the chef handed us and boarded the carriage.
We arrived at a low, round hill. At the top was a small pond, from which flowed a thin stream. If you listened closely, you could hear the sound of the water trickling. It was a precious sound, something you could only hear on a warm day like today.
We decided to sit a little way from the pond. The maids laid out a wide, fluffy mat for me, and I sat down on it, my legs stretched out.
Julian simply laughed at that, but Anna nagged at me, saying a noblewoman shouldn't do that. I pretended not to hear and motioned to the nanny to bring Silian closer.
Silian, perhaps feeling the fresh air after a long time, kept staring into the air and stretching out his tiny hands. I played with him, inserting my fingers into the center of his palms.
“You look like a baby, not Silian.”
Julian wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and whispered playfully. I stuck my tongue out, but I didn't stop playing with Silian.
Silian laughed heartily, and the nanny seemed delighted. As we were having fun, the arm around the waist suddenly pulled back. Startled, my eyes widened, and I grabbed his arm.
“That’s surprising. What’s wrong?”
“To monopolize our son.”
Hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh. I gestured to the nanny, and she handed Sillian over to Julian.
When Julian held Silian, the baby seemed incredibly small. The size difference between Julian's hand and the baby's wasn't that great. But Julian's face, as he gazed at the baby, was so affectionate that it didn't seem dangerous at all.
“Do you like babies that much?”
"Yes."
Julian answered without any resistance.
“Me?”
At my words, Julian slowly raised his head. I pouted, frustrated that no answer came immediately.
“I guess you lost interest after having a son?”
The moment I uttered a complaint, Julian grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me into a kiss. He tilted his head, biting my lower lip, and the kiss was perfect. The moment our lips parted, Julian looked at me closely and smiled.
At that moment, all my complaints disappeared cleanly, and all the tricks of bewitching people with beauty came to mind.
“Ugh!”
Silian grabbed a handful of my golden hair and shook it vigorously. I wondered what he was thinking when he saw Mom and Dad kissing. I blushed for no reason and looked down at Silian.
"Sillian, your dad's a player. He's always like that."
I whispered so, and Julian laughed quietly.
Just then, a servant came rushing over. He seemed to be about to discuss something serious. Julian rose from his seat and began to converse with the servant.
I heard from the sidelines, but it wasn't something I could help with. I carefully took Silian from him so as not to disturb him. Then I put on my shoes and stepped out onto the mat.
Trickle, trickle. The faint sound of water trickling from the pond was pleasant to listen to. I felt the cool breeze blowing as I looked down at Silian, who was still playing with my hair.
The world may have called Grand Duke's Lands a barren wasteland, but I thought differently. A land this vast and beautiful was rare anywhere in the world.
Living on this land and protecting it for a lifetime was a privilege not granted to anyone else, but to the Grand Duke of Duchzan. I smiled and kissed Silian on the forehead.
Rustle.
I heard a small noise, like a rustle in the grass, but dismissed it as a squirrel passing by. But the more I thought about it, the louder the noise seemed to be for a squirrel.
I looked back, feeling ominous. Something dark was lurking beneath the grass. The mess made it difficult to make out clearly, but judging by the long arms and legs, it seemed human.
“Hey.”
I spoke cautiously to him. He jumped in surprise. Seeing that, I realized something. He had been trying to hide from me, and now he was being caught.
As I took a few steps back, he revealed himself. His face was dark from not having washed for so long, but his eyes were filled with hatred, and he was missing a wrist. My eyes widened.
“Kaiser!”
The moment I shouted loudly, the maids looked in my direction, and I heard them scream. Kaiser was holding a sword in one hand. I reached out to him, hoping to use magic to stop him.
It was the moment when I was about to cast the magic to destroy Kaiser.
“Whoa!”
Silian, who was in his arms, twisted as if uncomfortable. At that moment, Kaiser's body began to glow green. Confused, Kaiser dropped his sword. It fell silently and uselessly onto the grass.
“La, Layla! Do, help me!”
But why would I help him? I hugged Silian tighter, a confused expression on my face, and stepped back. This magic wasn't mine. Silian... my son was casting it!
I reached out again, trying not to be noticed, as if I were casting this spell. And soon, Kaiser became smaller, smaller, smaller. And then, after the green light completely disappeared...
Croak!
A small frog remained in that spot. Kaiser, or rather, the frog, was hopping around chaotically.
But soon, as if he'd forgotten what he was supposed to do, he jumped into the pond. "Plop!" After a small sound, the frog simply swam across the pond, harming no one.
Kak-kak.
Silian burst out laughing at the sight. A cold sweat ran down my spine, but I couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly.
My son is a wizard!
“Madam! Madam!”
Anna and the other maids rushed over, but Julian was faster than they were. He ran as fast as lightning, pulling me and Silian into his arms.
“Layla, Sillian!”
I lay helpless in his arms. Julian patted my back, perhaps assuming it was the sudden attack.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Julian, this is a big problem...”
Julian's face turned pale at my words.
“What happened? Did that kid harm you?”
Kaiser couldn't even lay a finger on me and ended up turning into a frog. Julian must have seen it all, but he was just worried about me.
Looking at it, the immense anxiety that had been swelling inside me seemed to subside a little. If it was him, if it was with him, I felt like I could somehow figure things out. I bit my lip and whispered to Julian.
“My son is a wizard. A genius wizard at that.”
Julian's arms tightened as he held me. He, too, seemed startled. I looked at him with longing eyes, as if wondering what to do.
Confusion flashed through Julian's red eyes, but he calmed down surprisingly quickly. He took a deep breath and spoke as if it were nothing.
“One more reason to change the world.”
Hearing those words, I too felt a sense of calm. Is that so? I was the one who changed the past, and my husband was the Grand Duke of Duchzan.
Moreover, times were constantly changing. There was no need to be afraid just because my son was a wizard.
I looked down at the child smiling happily in my arms, then at Julian, who was examining me and the child.
I see. I no longer feared the future that was coming. After handing Silian over to Julian, I hugged Julian and the baby in one embrace. Then, my heart felt enriched, as if the whole world were in my arms.
<The Monster Duke Has Been Fooled. I'm on a Time Limit> Completed
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