Chapter 10
Well, of course, he must be curious and have a lot of questions. In fact, Rüdiger had been forced into silence since boarding the carriage.
Whenever he tried to speak to Luka, Luka would only half-listen, and whenever he tried to speak to me, Luka would suddenly interrupt and get in the way.
Watching Luka asleep, I could somehow understand Rüdiger’s murmured thought that Luka resembled his older brother—it carried a kind of helplessness.
“…But you really aren’t Luka’s birth mother?”
“I told you, I’m not.”
I jumped in surprise. Rüdiger’s eyes looked a little puzzled, as if he was still unsure whether I was Luka’s mother or aunt.
“Think about it honestly. I’m twenty-seven! Luka is ten. That would mean I got pregnant at sixteen. Your brother is really that shameless?”
“My brother certainly has that reputation… but age differences never mattered to him. He’s even been caught having an affair with a woman older than my mother.”
Right… expecting common sense or conscience from a socialite rogue and a Casanova was foolish of me.
Then how on earth should I convince Rüdiger of my innocence?
“Can’t we just go back to the village now and ask the villagers? They’ll all say I’m Luka’s aunt. The midwife who delivered him is still alive too.”
I was a little worried that bringing it up with the villagers might mention the abuse Judith inflicted on Luka in the past… but I couldn’t think of another solution.
Seeing me worry, Rüdiger calmly replied with his usual impassive expression:
“That’s fine. Even to me, it’s clear that Miss Maybaum isn’t Luka’s mother.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So don’t worry. I’ll make sure the family knows as well.”
Rüdiger’s kind confirmation made my face light up. But that didn’t mean I wanted him to think Luka was a liar…
Worried that Rüdiger might get the wrong impression of Luka, I cautiously added:
“Luka isn’t a liar, it’s just…”
“I know, I know. He just wanted to be with you, even if he called you ‘Mom.’ He didn’t want to be apart from you.”
“Thank you for understanding it that way.”
Only then could I truly relax.
Is this what a mother’s heart feels like? Worrying not just about your own reputation, but about your child’s too…
Does this clever little one know the emotional turmoil I’m going through, or not?
I let out a small sigh and gently pinched Luka’s cheek as he rested on my lap.
“Ugh…”
Even asleep, he looked like an angel, so I couldn’t stay annoyed. I withdrew my hand from the pinch and softly brushed his cheek with the back of my hand.
Watching my touch, Rüdiger muttered quietly:
“I think I understand why Luka likes you.”
“Eh?”
“It’s obvious that you’re raising him as if he were your own child.”
“Th-that’s not exactly…”
Rüdiger’s compliment made my conscience heavy.
Even putting aside the misdeeds Judith committed, what I had done was merely a month of good intentions.
I wasn’t nearly enough to hear talk of raising him as my own child, and I felt embarrassed.
Seeing me twist uncomfortably, Rüdiger seemed to interpret it as humility.
Then he suddenly said with resolve:
“I’ll also follow your example and treat Luka as if he were my own son. We’ll become Luka’s mother and father and raise him well. How about that?”
Is he teasing me…?
Seeing him speak nonsense with that handsome face, I could only stare blankly.
It’s fine to think of Luka as a son and play the role of his father… but tying it to me makes it… really…
‘It sounds like we’re a couple.’
Rüdiger’s words were easily misinterpreted.
‘But Rüdiger doesn’t want to marry.’
He wouldn’t be saying this because he had feelings for me. So his words were purely about Luka.
I didn’t misunderstand, but I wondered how others might take it. I sighed and added:
“Um, people might misunderstand.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know that Sir Winterwald doesn’t think that way, so it’s fine with me, but if you say that to another woman, she’ll think you’re proposing.”
Hearing my sincere advice, Rüdiger frowned, seemingly confused:
“If I weren’t talking to Miss Maybaum, when would I say something like this? Luka only sees Maybaum as his mother, right? So don’t worry.”
No… it’s not about another woman being treated as Luka’s mother. The problem is that your words could easily be mistaken for a marriage proposal.
You said something that could totally make me misunderstand that!
But Rüdiger didn’t seem to get the context at all.
To him, I was probably not seen as a woman or anything, just someone to help raise Luka—a comrade.
So he didn’t even consider that his words could be misinterpreted.
‘You should be grateful I’m not really Judith. If I were, I’d have already used the ‘mother and father’ excuse to trap him.’
Rüdiger was a handsome, wealthy nobleman. In short, Judith’s type.
Since the original story mentioned Judith flirting with Rüdiger, this was a fairly reliable guess.
Of course, if it were the original Judith, Rüdiger wouldn’t have even paid attention…
At that moment, the scenery outside the window began to change. The dense trees disappeared, revealing a wide plain.
Rüdiger glanced out the window.
“We’ll be arriving at Neuhalt soon.”
“Neuhalt?”
“Yes. We’ll transfer to the train here. Once we get off the train, we’ll arrive at Winterwald directly. Let’s do some shopping in Neuhalt before taking the train.”
Ah, right. The city with the train station was Neuhalt.
Even though I liked it, I had read the original story a while ago, so I had forgotten the place names.
The reason I remembered Neuhalt, though, was simple: this was where Rüdiger transformed Luka into a little gentleman of a wealthy family.
Previously, Luka wore old, worn-out clothes, but here he would become a stylish young gentleman, seeing the upper-class world for the first time.
Luka’s excitement, awe, and the parade of luxurious items made this one of my favorite episodes.
I still wasn’t keen on going to Winterwald; if I could go back, I would.
But it was nice to experience the small scenes I loved in the original story firsthand.
Luka must be thrilled—it’s a different feeling from reading about it in a novel. Real-life experience is always more vivid.
And since Luka was an angelic child, any outfit would suit him. Dark blue children’s formal suits, sleek brown riding outfits…
The outfits described in detail in the novel flashed through my mind.
It would look like a fashion photo shoot… I wonder if photography exists in this world? I wanted to capture it in a photo.
Thinking about dressing Luka up filled me with anticipation. Unable to hide my excitement, I said eagerly:
“I hope we arrive in Neuhalt soon. I’m excited.”
“What do you think of this one? The lines are good.”
“I don’t really like it. The back of the skirt should be fuller.”
The two men were discussing seriously. Judging by their expressions, it looked like a profound debate, but in reality…
Rüdiger, scanning the dresses at the boutique, clicked his tongue regretfully.
“Miss Maybaum had been looking forward to this, but it seems it falls a little short, probably because it’s not the capital.”
No. That’s not what I was hoping for.
I wanted to play dress-up with Luka, not become a doll myself!
Of course, buying clothes for myself wasn’t bad—it was nice.
The boutiques in this world had a different flavor than department stores, and it was fun to see dresses.
At first, I was excited. When else would I wear such expensive, beautiful clothes? Especially since Rüdiger was paying, I couldn’t miss the opportunity.
But did we really need to linger this long? Rüdiger and Luka had already picked out over twenty outfits.
Just standing and trying on the clothes was tiring. Sometimes I had to try on what they liked…!
These weren’t simple dresses you could just slip on; attendants had to help me, which made it exhausting.
By now, I felt like I’d seen enough of the store. Couldn’t we move on to Luka’s clothes?
I awkwardly smiled and whispered to the two men still deep in discussion:
“Shall we stop with my clothes and start looking at Luka’s…”
“This light purple one has a decent color.”
“A darker shade would suit the aunt better—it looks more elegant.”
Hey, could you listen to me for once?
And Luka, just before entering the boutique, had been wary of Rüdiger…
Why is he suddenly talking so casually?
Seeing the two of them huddled together, consulting each other, they really looked close.
