Chapter 27
The next day, Evan’s heir training began.
Originally, it had been planned to start sometime in the fall, but Duke Icard ordered that it begin immediately. Because the lessons started so suddenly, Evan had to spend the entire day in meetings with his private tutors.
Ugh… is this really the time for heir training?
The duke’s conclusion had been: “The young master who is to inherit the dukedom being pushed around by his inferiors—this is exactly why he needs heir training right away.”
While everything felt stifling and frustrating, a huge number of gifts were suddenly delivered to my room.
“What is all this?”
When I asked in a daze, Lisa answered carefully.
“They’re from the duke.”
“Huh?”
“Well… since Lady Laria suggested going to watch the training, and that’s how all of this came to light, maybe he sent them for that reason?”
So it wasn’t something Duke Icard had said outright—it was Lisa’s guess. Still, it sounded fairly plausible.
“He had everything delivered from the jewelry shop where Lady Laria spent the longest time.”
I let out a sigh, half dumbfounded. Sending this many gifts without considering the recipient’s opinion or feelings at all…
“Let’s go thank him right away.”
I truly was grateful.
After picking out the piece of jewelry I liked most and pinning it in my hair, I said so, but Lisa made an awkward expression.
“Now might be difficult.”
“Huh? Why?”
“He’s personally interrogating someone in the dungeon…”
“…Ah.”
“How about meeting him later?”
I’d planned to thank him and subtly nudge him so I could say the right things to Evan, but—
“When do you think it’ll be possible?”
At this rate, time would slip by awkwardly, and it would become even harder to address the real issue.
“Well… maybe in a few days?”
Lisa’s hunch was wrong.
I met Duke Icard that very night.
“My goodness, they say he’s being tortured without even a sip of water.”
Serena exclaimed dramatically.
“They’re begging to be killed, but he won’t even do that.”
“Um, Serena.”
I tilted my head and asked,
“How do you know all that?”
Even though she’d been given a room, Serena was still essentially the attending physician who came and went. I couldn’t help wondering how she knew more about everything going on than I did, even though I lived in the ducal residence.
“Oh.”
Serena smiled brightly, as if it were nothing.
“I’m kind of close with one of the servants who works in the dungeon…”
I didn’t even know where the dungeon was, so it was impressive in its own way.
“You’re close enough for them to tell you things like that?”
“Well… um… we’re close with a bit of affection involved…”
Serena laughed awkwardly and brushed it off. Somehow, it didn’t seem like the other side thought of it as just a bit of affection.
“Anyway…”
The full story Serena relayed was truly bitter. Knight Commander Rudva had been in unrequited love with Lady Matilda for a long time, and that was why he’d done such a thing.
“It’s not Young Master Evan’s fault at all. That bastard is just a rotten, cowardly piece of trash. Of all things, to go after a child…”
“…Does Evan know all of that?”
“Yes. There’s no one in the ducal residence who doesn’t know, so of course the young master must know too.”
Serena added worriedly,
“But it seems the young master has some aftereffects.”
“Aftereffects?”
“Yes. Sir Mars, who became the new knight commander, wears a blue uniform for convenience, like Rudva did. When the young master saw him, he immediately had trouble breathing.”
“What?”
“After that, at Evan’s request, we ran a few tests… and whenever he encounters people wearing blue uniforms, he breaks out in a cold sweat and shows signs of hyperventilation.”
“Oh my…”
Startled, I clutched the hem of my skirt tightly. After being beaten like that, it was only natural he’d develop trauma.
“So the duke ordered that no one is to wear blue uniforms in front of Evan. Not that anyone else wore that bizarre color anyway—only Rudva did.”
Evan hadn’t told me any of this. I could guess why. He probably didn’t want to show weakness.
“But how did you hear that kind of rumor? Even I, his wife, didn’t know…”
“Well, um… I’m kind of close—with a bit of affection involved—with one of the knights…”
There was a reason Serena felt like an assistant guildmaster of an information guild.
Anyway, that night, Evan said he’d been delayed by meetings with his tutors and, as soon as he returned to the room, went back out for sword training. That gave me the perfect chance to secretly eat some Oclasia fruit.
It was deep in the night, the moon shining brightly. I slipped out quietly and headed to the garden. After quickly picking the Oclasia fruit and stuffing my mouth full, I turned back toward my room—and then I saw Duke Icard’s back in the distance.
Huh? That way is…
It was toward the rose garden, the one the duke supposedly never went to.
Why is he alone, at this hour?
I hesitated. Should I suppress my curiosity and go back to my room to sleep peacefully? Or should I secretly see what was going on?
What if I follow him and get caught?
I’d heard the duke was skilled in swordsmanship—there was no way he wouldn’t notice my faint presence.
But still…
After a brief moment of thought, I chose a third option.
“Father!”
Duke Icard, who had been heading toward the rose garden, slowly turned around.
“Laria?”
“Where are you going? At this hour?”
“And what are you doing out at this hour?”
“I woke up and noticed Evan wasn’t there.”
I moved closer to his side and smiled brightly.
“I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I came out to look for Evan—and I ran into you, Father! It’s nice to see you!”
“What’s with the fuss…”
“Aren’t you happy to see me, Father?”
I chattered on with a wide grin, squeezing out every bit of nonexistent spirit I had.
“You look especially handsome at night! If Evan takes after you, that’d be amazing.”
Once I started flattering him, there was no half-assing it. I’d even sold my endorphins for this, and I wasn’t lying—just stating an objective fact. At my shameless words, the tension in Duke Icard’s face gradually eased.
“I received the gifts you sent very well. Thank you so much.”
“Hmph.”
“But you should have sent something to Evan too.”
“Evan already has plenty of money he can use. It’s different from your situation.”
“Well, still…”
“If you seem to need it, I’ll just raise your budget limit.”
The conversation was oddly missing the point. Money wasn’t the issue here.
“I heard rumors that he panics when he’s in front of people wearing blue uniforms… I’m worried the trauma is too severe.”
“That’s why I ordered that no one wear blue uniforms in front of Evan,” Duke Icard said calmly.
“The only knight order in the capital that wears blue belongs to Count Alia’s house, so I sent them a letter telling them to change their uniforms.”
That didn’t feel like proper trauma treatment—more like using authority to bury the problem… Sensing my discomfort, Duke Icard added,
“Of course, we paid the costs.”
That still wasn’t the problem…
It didn’t seem like we were going to see eye to eye. I gave up on persuading him further and changed the subject.
“Father, then this place is…?”
“It’s where Matilda liked to come.”
Duke Icard let out a low sigh.
“She’s been on my mind more than usual today.”
I stared at him for a moment, then said,
“Evan… carries too much guilt.”
“At least he’s growing up well enough,” Duke Icard replied indifferently.
“He did well at the academy, his swordsmanship is excellent, and I hear he’s doing well in his heir training too.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’s growing up well. He’s living with emotional wounds.”
I shot back immediately.
He clings to me because he’s emotionally unstable.
With the unspoken message of please treat your son better, I continued,
“Evan thinks the entire ducal household was ruined because of him. But that’s not his fault. This isn’t a problem heir training can fix—we can’t just leave things like this…”
“I know.”
If you know, then you shouldn’t be doing this!
“I know that I wronged Evan—and that I’m still doing wrong by him.”
He murmured in a devastated voice.
“…If I could go back, I’d want to be a truly good father to Evan from the very beginning.”
There was genuine sincerity in his voice, so I hurried to interject.
“Then right now—”
Duke Icard cut me off and continued,
“This isn’t something a few comforting words can fix. We’ve already come too far.”
That was true.
“But still, when you think it’s too late—well, it is late, but…”
“In the end, all those problems will be resolved.”
“What?”
“If I do better, I can reverse everything.”
It sounded like he was speaking not to me, but to himself.
“Evan and I will both be happy in the end. Through a different, more fundamental solution.”
