Chapter 7

Of course, Elodie has yet to show off her sculptural beauty, as she is still young.

However, the identical red eyes, towering nose, and sculptural forehead that resemble each other showed that Elodie and the Duke were at least relatives.

‘…….’

I swallowed my dry saliva.

I found Elodie’s biological father, whom I had hoped for so much. He also loves Elodie terribly. However, contrary to the idea that I would be happy and relieved, I could only wriggle in all kinds of worries.

‘This guy is crazy.’

At best, it was thought that the present Duke lived in grief over the loss of his daughter. But obviously, the eerie dull eyes that came to the face of the Duke when he tried to kill me were a kind that could only be seen in the crazy.

Should we meekly hand over Elodie to this kind of person?

While I was biting my lips and chewing my thoughts, Elodie shouted fiercely.

“I’m not your daughter!”

“……!”

The Duke’s face turned deadly pale.

Seeing his elegant and long fingers trembling faintly toward Elodie, I felt refreshed despite the serious situation.

“I’m my mom’s daughter. The bad guy who tried to kill my mom is not Elodie’s dad!”

Well, this might be a bit harsh.

I patted Elodie on the back and tried to calm the child’s agitation.

“It’s okay, Elodie. Thanks to your rescue, I’m safe like this, right.”

“…But…”

Her lips popped out.

“But, I don’t want to live with him….”

The child’s voice began to mix with a crying tone.

I closed my eyes and opened them.

Until a while ago, I couldn’t help but be conscious of the existence of the man who tried to kill me, thinking that I was hiding his child. However, I couldn’t let go of the child who was clinging to me like I was her whole world.

“……Your Grace.”

I called the Duke of Vanice as politely as possible, but it caught my eyes that he noticeably flinched.

“If you want to meet Elodie, feel free to meet her. But if you want to take Elodie with you…….”

I hesitated for a moment.

Can I do this? I may be digging my own grave. However, how can I stay still even after seeing the tears in Elodie’s eyes?

I sighed, coughed, and continued.

“I cannot send Elodie to your Excellency unless she wants to go herself. Above all, her will is the most important thing.”

It was a polite tone, but it was a strong rejection that no matter how the Duke forced his hands, she could not let Elodie go.

Elodie tightly hugged me without saying anything, and I closed my eyes feeling the warmth of the child.

I said everything.

All of it.

I was confident that I would not regret it even if the Duke was outraged and tried to kill me again because of what I had just said.

Because this little child in my arms gave me mysterious amounts of courage.

“…Okay.”

What?

I couldn’t hide my surprise. Even if he didn’t try to kill me again I thought he would at least protest, but he was obedient.

Is it true that he is the same person as the one who was crazy minutes ago?

When I opened my eyes, he was gently looking at Elodie. It was difficult to gauge the complex emotions on his face.

Pain, affection, and…….

Is it regret?

“I don’t want to force Elodie either. Her happiness is my happiness.”

The Duke once again reached out to Elodie.

Rather than trying to do something with her, it was a movement that seemed to want to confirm Elodie’s existence through a little contact.

Of course, she turned her head in a flash and openly showed dislike. Fortunately, the Duke rose from his seat without attempting further contact.

Instead of the madness that had spread throughout his eyes, only bitterness emerged on the face of the Duke of Vanice.

“Take care of Elodie.”

That was his last word.

I sat in front of the broken front door and blankly thought.

‘This easy?’

But Elodie didn’t give me time to think.

“Ung, sniff, uh, hic, ung….”

As soon as the Duke disappeared, she burst into tears.

“Shh.”

I patted Elodie and comforted her.

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay now.”

However, it was almost impossible to soothe Elodie, who even had hiccups.

“Because of me, because of me, that man almost killed Ariah because of me!”

……Ah.

That was the problem.

I shook my head.

“It’s not because of Elodie. And everything went well, right? Except for this door.”

“…….”

Elodie glanced up at me. She had a face that thought I was lying to soothe her.

“Oh, my. Elodie…”

I patted her head.

“You don’t trust me that much?”

“…..I trust in you.”

Elodie’s little lips twitched, moving as if she wanted to say something.

I thought I knew what kind of words that little mouth wanted to convey to me, but I didn’t say anything.

If I did, I thought I would end up crossing an irreversible river.

* * *

The next morning, I hurriedly blocked the door with a plank and went to work with Elodie to the cafe. I didn’t have any intention of claiming compensation for the door. It was because I wanted to avoid being involved with the Duke as much as possible.

Fortunately, a very ordinary day began as if what had happened the previous day was a bad dream.

As usual, the old lady, who came as the first guest, chatted with Elodie for about an hour and drank coffee. Since then, a leisurely morning went by.

The problem occurred just after lunchtime.

As soon as I took care of Elodie’s lunch and swallowed a bite of bread in a hurry, I heard the door open.

“Welcome!”

As soon as I was heading to the cashier, I could see the face of a customer stepping into the cafe.

“……!”

My heart seemed to plunge to the ground. It was no one else but Duke Theodor Vanice, who was proudly entering the store.

‘I’m going crazy, really…’

My head was pounding.

He is the man who attacked me just a few hours ago and made Elodie cry sadly. I wanted to kick him out right away, but I couldn’t.

There were already three tables occupied by customers in the store.

Arguing with the duke will certainly attract attention, and unwelcomed rumors will quickly spread through this small town.

“Come on in.”

I greeted, pretending to be calm as much as possible and the Duke walked in as if he had been waiting.

His eyes were openly drawn to Elodie, who was drawing on her sketchbook. She was firmly focusing on drawing without raising her head.

I coughed in vain.

“I’ll take your orders, please go ahead.”

“…..The recommended menu.”

The Duke answered without looking away from Elodie.

I was offended at his behavior of not even looking at the menu for a moment, and I was about to say that there was no such menu, but then I changed my mind.

Whatever I bring out, will it be enough for the Duke? It was beneficial to just prepare the most expensive item on the menu and make money.

“Okay. Please sit comfortably and wait for a moment.”

I answered as brightly as possible and glanced at the Duke.

I was thinking of sending the child home if he sat too close to Elodie without her noticing it. Fortunately, the Duke did not seem to be that shameless, looking as he was sitting as far away as possible from his child.

Elodie was sitting right in front of the checkout counter, so the Duke sat by the window.

‘At least, he has a conscience.’

Relieved that there was no need to mingle with the Duke any longer, I began to prepare the “recommended menu.”

It’s…

A special shaved ice with a height of 30cm.

What kind of person eats shaved ice in late autumn? It’s none of my business. The Duke ordered a recommended menu, and I only made the recommended menu.

Anyway, the Duke was so focused while looking at Elodie, he won’t even know what kind of food was going into his nose or mouth.

I put down a huge treat in front of the duke.

“You’ve been waiting for a long time. Here’s the menu you ordered.”

“……?”

He reluctantly took his eyes away from Elodie and dropped his attention to the shaved ice, the expression that came to his face for a moment was quite worth seeing.

“What’s….this?”