Chapter – 36
“…All the jewels and belongings left by the late Duchess were kept exactly as they were when first received. She was so meticulous that there was nothing to organize separately.”
“Of course.”
At the butler’s cautious remark, Duke Teze carefully folded the letter as he had at first.
There was something about it… everything about her was just like that.
The elegant handwriting, the content that, though conventional, left no room for criticism, and even the way her name was attached—all of it reflected her completely.
He couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but there was also that feeling of irritation she left in anyone who saw her.
“I… liked you.”
Madness.
Suddenly, the vision of Evangeline’s red eyes seemed to flicker across the white letterhead. He hastily put the letter back in its envelope and pressed his pen down as if trying to erase the memory of her eyes, letting dark ink spread across the page. The duke frowned once more.
“What else did she leave behind?”
“…What do you mean?”
“The thing you’re holding. That one, too, seems to be from her.”
He pointed at the envelope in the butler’s hand. Even if someone didn’t know her, using such a distinctively colored envelope could only be her doing.
“Give it here.”
The duke’s fingers beckoned. It was almost laughable to see the butler hesitate, now that he had handed over every letter before. Was there still more to vex him?
His eyes glinted with renewed arrogance. Judging by its thickness, it seemed this one contained far more than the previous letter—plenty left unsaid, and there was no reason not to read it. Even a single-page letter could twist one’s emotions; this one promised to be far more intense.
“What’s the matter? Hurry up and give it.”
“It’s not that… this isn’t addressed to Your Grace.”
“….”
“It’s a letter left for Rex in the annex.”
The butler sheepishly took out what seemed like more than ten sheets of paper from the envelope. Across the fluttering pages, Evangeline’s elegant handwriting revealed a single line:
To my eternal baby and companion, Rex, whom I always love and miss,
Mom
“….”
He had hoped someone would read it aloud, but judging by Duke Teze’s expression, that seemed impossible. As the butler quickly left, the duke slowly traced his dry face with one hand.
“Hah.”
This woman, truly…
His twisted mouth finally contorted. He had read the royal invitation first, fortunately; if the order had been reversed, no sentence in the world could have survived without being torn to shreds.
◇ ◆ ◇
“My goodness, what a beautiful young lady.”
In a small teahouse overlooking Mare’s harbor, the owner, handing over the menu, found himself marveling at Evangeline’s beauty. Though the port city was crowded with travelers, such beauty was rare to behold. Even through the brim of her hat, her pinkish eyes were mesmerizing—almost mystical.
“Our Carl brought her here, as I thought. Well, I hope he didn’t cause any trouble.”
“Better if you just leave. Before you lose a regular customer.”
While Evangeline’s face reddened in embarrassment, Caless crossed his legs arrogantly. With a dismissive wave that shooed the owner away, he leaned forward toward her.
“Let’s continue the story. So, what about my grandmother?”
“Ah… yes.”
Unaccustomed to this kind of social setting, she struggled to lift her cup. The tea wasn’t particularly refined, but at least it was better than yesterday. Perhaps humans truly are creatures of adaptation.
“Actually, I had something I wanted to ask the nanny.”
“What is it?”
“Just… a little something.”
“Now that we’re here, why hesitate? If we went home like this, our young lady would still fuss and nothing would be resolved. Better to ask now. If I know, I’ll help.”
“It’s about my biological mother.”
“….”
The usually confident man was momentarily lost for words. Evangeline gave a faint, bitter smile and quietly looked at him.
“I wondered if the nanny might know her. Maybe someone from my mother’s side even contacted her.”
“Sorry, I don’t know about that. Grandmother was so busy praising our young lady that she wouldn’t have cared about such matters.”
“…I see.”
“May I ask why you’re curious about your mother now?”
It was a sudden question, yet it didn’t feel rude. Rather, he seemed a bit cautious, unusually so for a man like him. Evangeline smiled faintly, and for a moment, the voice of someone as audacious and brazen as Caless echoed in her ear:
“Then what about our child?”
When Decarno had first said that, the feeling still lingered. That man could be so insistent—beyond surprising, even ridiculous.
But that night, lying in bed, she replayed the words over and over. If she really had a child, she likely wouldn’t have left the ducal household so easily.
Living without a mother and not needing one were two very different things. She wanted, as much as possible, to provide her child with a perfect home. Since having a child herself was impossible, it remained a mere fantasy. Yet one question lingered:
Why had her own mother had to leave her as a child?
Even imagining having a child, she had considered trying again with a man who lacked any lingering attachment—but it remained just a thought.
“…It’s not that I want to blame or lean on my mother. It’s just that with my father gone suddenly and left alone in the world, I felt as if my very existence might disappear… perhaps I wanted to confirm that my bloodline still exists.”
“….”
Feeling embarrassed after saying it, she quickly shook her head to cover it.
“Honestly, I don’t think there’s any grand story behind it. But—”
“Excuse me.”
“…Yes?”
“Honestly, among everyone I’ve met, you look the most like a fairy-tale protagonist.”
“Ah… yes.”
She laughed softly, surprised by her own reaction, and then laughed again at Caless’s muttered remark: “Honestly, I haven’t read fairy tales myself.”
