Chapter 10

As expected, the Duke seemed to be rather receptive to critics than turn into a foul mood. Rather, he nodded his head and showed proactivity in memorizing everything I said.

But the words that he brought out in the next minutes were also spectacular.

“……She had no clothes.”

I frowned.

Of course, Elodie didn’t have a lot of clothes, children of this age are bound to grow up day by day, because of that I was going to buy the clothes she needed from time to time, but I didn’t feel good because I felt like I had been attacked.

But it was also a problem money would fix. The Duke will be able to buy Elodie much better clothes than I can afford.

“You have good observation skills.” (Ariah)

I replied with a smile.

“Especially because she only had one coat, so I was going to buy another soon. Your Excellency is always welcome to fill her closet.”  (Ariah)

“All right.”

The Duke nodded his head.

“Is that what all you need?”

“I think so.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

I didn’t want to rip him off too much.

So, what else should I ask the Duke for?

Well…….

I’ve been through something too, so shouldn’t I get some kind of settlement? It was never easy to do a cafe job with a black bruised wrist.

“Let me go straight to the dressing store. It would be better to call someone in the first place, but I think it will be too late by the time they arrive.”

“Now?”

I blinked my eyes.

It was half-past eight in the evening. It was too late to go directly to the dressing store. We may arrive before the door closes, but we will be kicked out before we even measure the clothes.

Of course, that would be different if you gave them money.

“Don’t you run a cafe that only takes one day off a month? There wouldn’t be much time to relax.”

“That’s true.”

I agreed with the Duke.

Fortunately, Elodie didn’t look as tired as me.

‘Once we measure her size, the dressing room will do the rest.’

In the meantime, I will be able to close my eyes for a while.

After some time. We set foot in the largest and most famous dressing room in town. Elodie’s eyes widened, but the Duke was obviously not impressed at all. Rather, it could be said that he had an expression of whether it was possible to match his daughter’s clothes in a place like this.

I softly shook my head and called out a list of clothes that Elodie needed. The dressing room staff began to measure Elodie, chattering with brightened faces.

It was a time when I was about to doze off for a while sitting on the soft sofa.

“Here, I want you to measure Miss Bertin as well.”

“What?” (Ariah)

I looked up at the Duke, doubting my ears for a moment.

“Why?” (Ariah)

“That’s…….” (Duke)

The Duke paused for a moment.

“Looking at it, it seems that Miss Bertin also doesn’t have many winter clothes, but if you catch a cold while wearing thin clothes, it will be difficult to take care of Elodie.”

It was a word that openly treated me as a nanny who was raising Elodie.

So, did I make you feel bad?

You’re welcome.

The Duke was a crazy man, but he had a real heart that cherished Elodie with the utmost sincerity, and the more people like him, the better.

Because Elodie grew up as a child who didn’t get the affection and attention she deserved.

‘As long as he doesn’t do any more crazy things……he roughly passed.’

* * *

<Cafe Aria>

As I stepped into a modest cafe that could be found in any village, the bittersweet aroma of coffee pierced my nose.

Theodor Vanice visited his daughter, Elodie, every day before the cafe was closed. As always, Theodor’s face brightened as he saw his daughter sitting right at the counter.

Elodie was diligently passing colorful beads into a thread, and she didn’t even turn her head at the sound of the door opening.

“Would you like to order?”

Ariah Bertin’s familiar voice was heard.

“The recommended menu, please.”

And the voice of his own gave out a familiar answer.

Theodore sat down at the window seat, which had become almost his own reserved seat. Strangely enough, no matter how crowded this cafe was, the place he always sat was empty.

But It didn’t matter. It was nice enough to be able to just look at Elodie from afar.

“The special shaved ice you ordered has arrived.”

A huge shaved ice was placed in front of him as usual.

Theodore reflexively ate a spoonful, again, it didn’t taste like he was eating freshwater.

‘……As expected, it’s true.’

Until now, the side effects of the black magic used to find Elodie could not be easily healed. Theodore accepted the fact that he might have lost his sense of taste forever.

I had no regrets.

Because of that, he was able to find Elodie. If he hadn’t been able to endure it for a few years and given up halfway through, he would never have met that shiny child again.

‘Still, I’m glad it’s not the worst.’

Theodor has never slept properly for a single day in the past three years and eight months trying to find Elodie. All sorts of terrible thoughts were running through his mind.

He knew that Elodie was still alive.

If she had died, he would have found the body right away due to the nature of black magic that was sensitive to the dead.

But Theodore Vanice knew that there were more terrible things in the world than death. The thought that Elodie might be suffering from such things made him go crazy.

‘……It’s okay even if I found her late because she’s fine.’

Theodore’s gaze shifted away from Elodie for a moment and returned to the young cafe owner.

The young lady with shiny blonde hair and lively yellow-green eyes was definitely a rare beauty. No, the simple word that she was beautiful was not enough to describe Ariah Bertin.

Theodore thought about her for a moment.

She has a bold attitude to ask for what she wants without hesitation. Every time she smiles, a bright look blooms on her face.

He doesn’t know from where such energy spurs from such a slender body, it was amazing how passionate she worked.

But none of these trivial facts mattered to Theodore. All that mattered to him was the fact that Elodie wanted to live with Ariah.

And Theodore had to make sure Elodie’s decision was correct.

‘She was not a kidnapper.’

It was quickly discovered that Ariah Bertin had just started to live with Elodie. The traces of Elodie left in her house were less than a few months old. But not being a kidnapper and being a decent person to raise Elodie were two completely different things.

Of course, the current Ariah had to be nice to Elodie.

But what was important was the reason.

Maybe it was not because of sympathy or a good heart, but because she might have paid attention to the power she would get from raising the Duke’s only daughter.

‘…….’

Just thinking about such filthy intentions put power into Theodore’s grasp.

Yes, the important thing was whether Ariah was suitable as Elodie’s guardian. The other elements were nothing more than distractions that prevented him from making a proper judgment.

(Note: On the Raw he legit said her good points were ghosts or goblins! I changed it to ‘distractions’ for easier reading, but I’m leaving a note because I thought it was a good point to make about this stone head.)

“Welcome. What would you like to order?”

Just in time, Ariah smiled brightly at the guest who came in and introduced a new menu. As if she had not properly groomed her hair today, the disheveled blonde hair was swaying as she moved about.

‘…….’

Theodore frowned.

It was because he was aware that he had been staring at Ariah Bertin, for too long. He coughed and deliberately turned his gaze to Elodie.

It’s time to find out about Ariah was plenty.

Now was a bloody precious time to keep looking at his child without Elodie’s hostile reaction.

I couldn’t use it in vain when I observed Ariah Bertin. Because the only aspect of her he was interested in was only in relation to Elodie’s care.

Theodore looked intently at Elodie, who got up with the now-finished bead necklace and bracelet that she herself was now wearing.

“I’ll give this to Ariah.”

Elodie’s clear voice was heard.

“It’s so pretty, Elodie.”

Ariah’s large, round eyes folded into a half-moon, and a soft smile formed on her lips. She reached out her long, slender arms and hugged Elodie in half.

“You like it?”

“Of course.”

Ariah let out a squeaky laugh.

“Elodie made this for me, how could I hate it?”

Theodore’s brow narrowed.

It was because he realized that he was concentrating on Ariah again and not on Elodie.

‘……That’s weird.’

Apparently, the black magic took away not only his sense of taste but also his concentration.