TADQ 9

Chapter: 9

“Greetings. I am Kalos of House Pianus. I have come to escort Lady Roselyn Roembek and her daughters.”

The black eagle of House Pianus, emblazoned on the pristine white carriage, gleamed in the sunlight.
Standing before it was a boy with a youthful face.

“The head of the Roembek family?”

“Yes.”

So that’s it. I’ve truly reclaimed Roembek now.

Roselyn felt her chest tighten as a surge of exhilaration rose within her.

“Hello! I’m Irene!”

Seeing a boy around Ludiana’s age come to meet them, Irene replied cheerfully to his greeting.
Ludiana, however, stood frozen, unable to say a word.

Kalos came in person?!

She had assumed he would be at the Pianus estate by now—but she never expected him to come himself.

Kalos, who had risen to become the heir of House Pianus through his own strength alone, even absorbing the title of the family that had once abandoned him.

In her previous life, Ludiana had only seen him once—ironically, on the day she received her death sentence.
She remembered the warmth in his gentle eyes as he looked at her then.

That memory became the greatest driving force in this second chance at life.

The one who gave me the courage to carve out my own life.

His blue-gray eyes, framed by a boyish face, shifted in hue depending on the angle of the sunlight, and his gold-flecked hair shimmered brilliantly, accentuating them.

Despite his sharp features, it was his soft, kind smile that drew the eye.

When Ludiana continued to stare blankly, Irene poked her in the side and whispered,

“Unni, isn’t Sir Kalos handsome?”

At Irene’s giggle, Ludiana snapped back to her senses and answered while hiding her embarrassment.

“Hello. I am Ludiana Roembek.”

Kalos smiled warmly at her—his demeanor far more gentlemanly than one would expect for his age.

“The Duke sends his apologies for being unable to come in person.”

“It’s okay! Right, Mom? Wow—look at the carriage!”

Irene bounced excitedly, unable to stop marveling at it.

“Shall we depart, then?”

With a playful smile, Kalos gently extended his hand to Irene.

At that moment, Rupert approached after handing the luggage to the coachman. His trembling eyes were moist.

“My lady, young ladies… they say one grows more sentimental with age. I suppose it’s true.”

He discreetly raised his gloved hand to wipe his eyes.

“May the blessings of the Sun and Moon Gods always be with you.”

“Thank you, Rupert. May the Sun and Moon Gods watch over you as well.”

The three women expressed their gratitude and boarded the carriage with Kalos.

“They’ve already left?”

Upon hearing that Roselyn and her daughters had packed up and left early in the morning, confusion crossed Jonas’s face.

He had expected them to leave eventually—but finding lodging within a single day?

“Yes. They departed in a carriage from House Pianus.”

“Pianus?”

At the family name, Jonas frowned deeply.

“You’re saying they left in a Pianus carriage?”

“Yes.”

“…So that’s why she was so confident.”

Jonas clenched the pen in his hand, grinding his teeth.

He no longer needed Roselyn, and her daughters were worth less than business rights anyway. If they left, he had no intention of stopping them.
He had planned to install Lea as his lawful wife eventually.

But Pianus—Jonas recalled the letter that had arrived from Allen Pianus a few days earlier.

“Where is the letter from Pianus now?”

“Lady Roselyn took it with her.”

“What?!”

Fury flared in Jonas’s eyes—not jealousy, but possessiveness.

The rage of having something he took reclaimed from him.

“Damn it!”

Crack.

The fragile pen snapped under the force of his grip, splattering ink across his palm.

Staring at the broken nib, Jonas tossed it to the floor and spoke quietly to Rupert.

“Hah… bring something to wipe this up.”

“Yes.”

Yes. Roselyn was no different from that broken pen.

Something that had been used, exhausted of its value, and thrown away.

Pianus had merely picked up what Jonas had discarded.

Imagining Duke Allen Pianus happily taking in something he had thrown away soothed Jonas’s mood.

“It seems Lady Roembek is quite tired.”

Kalos smiled as he looked at Irene, who was nodding off while leaning against Roselyn.
Though only thirteen, his mannerisms were already remarkably mature.

Ludiana fought off drowsiness as she gazed out the window.

The Pianus capital estate lay in the opposite direction from Nurenbern, meaning the carriage passed straight through the capital.

Thanks to that, she was able to take in sights she had never seen as a child.

“A woman should remain like a flower in a manor.”

After Roselyn’s death, Lea had educated Ludiana in high society, molding her into someone passive and unable to assert herself.

As Ludiana’s appearance grew more like Roselyn’s, Lea’s coercion and threats only worsened.

She had been told again and again that all she needed to do was remain quietly like a flower in a vase.

Recalling those memories, a bitter smile touched Ludiana’s lips.

Flowers in vases eventually wither and die.

A dark glint appeared in her eyes.

“We’ve arrived!”

With a soft whinny, the carriage came to a graceful stop. Kalos leapt down and escorted the three women out.

“Please, take my hand.”

“Oh my, how thoughtful.”

Roselyn’s lips curved upward slightly. Ludiana also accepted Kalos’s escort and stepped down.

It’s just an escort… so why am I this nervous?

She let out a small sigh where Kalos couldn’t hear.

Outside the carriage, a long red carpet stretched out, servants lined up neatly on both sides.

Momentarily stunned, Ludiana widened her eyes and looked at Roselyn.

Roselyn looked just as surprised, taking an unconscious step back.

“Wow! Unni! It looks like everyone’s been waiting for us!!”

Only Irene rejoiced innocently.

“Yes. The head of the house is also waiting. Let us proceed to the reception hall.”

Tall for his age, Kalos escorted them smoothly.

That morning at the Pianus estate.

Allen had been awake since dawn, unable to hide his restlessness as he paced the room.
Kalos watched him with an incredulous expression.

Then came a knock at the study door.

Knock, knock.

“Lord, a letter has arrived from Nurenbern.”

“Give it to me.”

As Allen read it, his face brightened—then abruptly hardened. Kalos tilted his head and asked,

“What does it say?”

“She’s asking me to send attendants to escort her.”

“Huh? You were planning to go yourself?”

Kalos scoffed, his reaction far more cynical than suited his age. It was his first time seeing Allen like this.

“…You go.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I can’t send servants to Roselyn. Go at once—I need to prepare.”

“Prepare…?”

Allen pushed the baffled Kalos out of the study.

“…I’ll need to dress properly.”

Allen gave orders to the butler left in the room, and soon servants flooded in.

Seeing the lord—normally indifferent to his appearance—suddenly concerned with adornment, their eyes lit up.

Allen even agonized over whether a blue brooch or a violet one would be better.

“Are you really that happy?”

Kalos peeked into the study and laughed under his breath.

The only duke in the East.
A living embodiment of noblesse oblige, spending his wealth for his people.
Kind to all women, yet never allowing anyone close.

That was Allen Pianus as Kalos knew him.

Having been taken in from an orphanage and raised under Allen’s patronage, even Kalos found this side of him unfamiliar.

“Hm, ahem! You should prepare as well. Roselyn’s eldest daughter is your age—take good care of her.”

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

In the end, Kalos left the study with a sulky expression.

Women are all the same anyway.

He couldn’t understand Allen’s reaction.

Kalos was the illegitimate child of a western noble, abandoned by his father after his mother died.

After drifting through orphanages and eventually reaching the East, he was discovered through a Pianus-sponsored welfare program when his talent for swordsmanship was noticed.

That was how Allen had taken him in.

By status alone, Kalos was no different from a commoner.

Yet the people of the East deeply respected House Pianus—and so they valued Kalos as well.

Even nobles sought his favor, believing that Pianus, still unmarried, might one day adopt him.

“Sir Kalos, your outing clothes are prepared.”

A servant who had been waiting outside spoke respectfully.

“Thank you.”

Though he stood in a position that could easily make him arrogant, Kalos remained kind and courteous to everyone.

He could not tarnish the name of the man who had saved him—Allen Pianus.