Chapter 43

‘Well, I can’t ask anything related to the curse.’

It was Rupert’s biggest and darkest secret.

I wondered if the day would come when I would hear directly from him about the curse.

‘I have to pretend I don’t know about the curse until he tells me.’

If he asks me how I know, I can’t answer. If I make up excuses hastily, the relationship we have built up will be shattered.

“Well, I can’t help it if you don’t want to tell me.”

“You’re giving up easily unexpectedly.”

I shrugged.

“I know when to step back. Besides, it’s not that important, is it?”

Rupert had a complicated expression at my reply.

“What’s wrong with your face?”

“……it’s comfortable that you don’t ask, but also uncomfortable that you’re not very interested in me.”

I am speechless.

“Be consistent. If you keep showing your fickle side like this, I’m starting to suspect that you might change your attitude again.”

“I will not.”

Well, I decided to only half believe this.

We haven’t revealed any secrets to each other.

He and I will need more time to establish a perfect trusting relationship.

“And I’ll try to be consistent……”

‘Why does it sound ominous to hear that he’ll try?’

I decided not to think deeply.

“Okay, before going home, you still have one thing to do.”

“What is it?”

What do you think?

“It has something to do with Leah.”

“I understand.”

“Convince her, Rupert.”

I grinned.

“Until she says she wants to go home, I will never leave.”

Because I had no intention of ignoring my daughter’s opinion in the first place.

“……”

Rupert looked like he was facing a challenge, and I decided to watch how he would solve this problem.

***

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Noel was right.

He couldn’t force Leah to go home, so of course, he had to persuade her.

The only problem is that Rupert has never persuaded a five-year-old.

‘It will not be difficult.’

The Ainel mansion is much larger, and there are many things to see. Besides, Leah grew up there for five years. She will definitely want to go back soon.

‘Moreover, she doesn’t seem to hate me very much.’

Then, wouldn’t there be no problem?

He didn’t know much about Leah. That’s why he thought this would work out very easily.

His daughter would love the Ainel mansion much more than this old mansion.

Of course, that was a huge mistake.

“Leah.”

When he opened the door, Leah was drawing.

His daughter looked surprised when she saw him.

“Wow, you are still here? It’s my first time seeing my father this long!”

“……”

Is it strange to see her father so often? Even so, it’s a relief that she doesn’t look as scared as before.

“Who won the game?”

“Noel won.”

Whatever the result was, she was no different from the winner. Rupert had no choice from the beginning.

Leah chuckled.

“I knew it! My mom is also good at playing hide and seek with me!”

Leah then tilted her head.

“But if Mom wins, I can’t play hide and seek with Dad, can I?”

“No, you can.”

“Hehe.”

Leah seemed to be in a good mood. Moreover, she seemed to be more comfortable with him than before.

Rupert, who gained confidence, said his true intentions.

“So, Leah, I’m thinking of going home now.”

Leah looked up at him with round eyes.

“Father will go home? When?”

“I’m not the only one going back, Leah. You and Noel too, the three of us are going back.”

He thought Leah would easily agree.

“……me and Mom too?”

“Yes, the three of us.”

However, her reaction was the opposite of what Rupert expected.

“Ugh, I’m not going!”

Leah turned her head away.

It was an obvious rejection.

“I hate it there.”

Leah was still afraid in Ainel mansion.

She didn’t have many good memories there.

Most of her days are filled with loneliness and cold stares from adults. She was afraid that only her shadow would be by her side again.

‘When father and mom return, they might be busy again!’

Then it will be difficult to spend time together.

‘I hate that.’

Thinking that far, Leah puffed up her cheeks.

“I like it here.”

But Rupert did not know Leah’s feelings.

He was bewildered by the situation he was experiencing for the first time in his life. Reflexively, his tone of voice became stiff.

“Leah, why?”

Leah misunderstood that he was angry.

‘……I don’t like the mansion.”

“Do you like the interior decoration here? I’ll let you decorate the mansion the same way you want.”

Leah shook her head.

“No.”

“Then food?”

“No.”

“Is it about the flower seeds you planted in the villa garden?”

“……no.”

At this point, Rupert was at a loss.

“Then what’s the matter?”

When he asked, Leah, who had a stubborn expression, was frightened.

“……hic.”

He thought things were getting better until a while ago, but it seemed Leah was still afraid of him.

“Wait, don’t cry.”

Suddenly, tears welled up in Leah’s eyes.

“No, I don’t want to go back.”

‘I thought she was so gentle, but she was surprisingly stubborn.’

But he didn’t know that Leah was traumatized in the mansion, so he thought she was just sulking.

“You mustn’t be stubborn.”

He was very careful and spoke in a tone that was a hundred times calmer than he usually spoke to his subordinates.

Still, it didn’t look like it from Leah’s point of view, and in the end, tears like glass beads fell.

“Hwaaah!”

He flinched.

“Wait—”

The child cried a little louder.

“Hwaaah hwaaah……”

Naturally, the situation after that was total chaos.

***

Leah stopped crying and fell asleep only after I soothed her.

I closed the child’s room door carefully and went to the drawing-room. Rupert was sitting with a confused look.

At first, I was a little surprised.

“Really, she’s a kid who doesn’t usually cry.”

“……”

Rupert didn’t respond. He’s usually the type to deny everything.

He seemed to be reflecting on himself.

In the meantime, Leah always suppressed her emotions unlike other children her age. As her mother, I worry that my daughter is too mature.

‘Now she’s afraid of the things she hates so much, and she can be stubborn.’

On the other hand, I’m relieved.

Well, apart from that, I confirmed that my husband’s ability to deal with his daughter was poor.

‘Can he do it properly in the future?’

As I thought about it, I had no choice but to ask a question.

“Rupert, I have a question for you.”

“What?”

“If you want to go back with us, of course, you’re going to be a good father to Leah, right? Unlike before.”

“Of course.”

“Then you can’t possibly speak formally like before, pretend you don’t know about her, not comfort her, or say bad things, right?”

He looked at me and said, “Sigh, Noel, I didn’t mean to make her cry.”

He continued, “And I don’t make the same mistake.”

It means that he will not act like before.

‘You’re not lying.’

You’ve really made up your mind.

“Then I’ll tell you why Leah doesn’t want to go back to the mansion.”

If Rupert chooses to be a good father, this is a matter to think about together.

“I guess there was a special reason.”

“Yeah, the reason Leah doesn’t want to go back to the mansion is because of the fear of the past remaining there.”

I talked about how my daughter felt when she cried in the past.

The loneliness she felt there, and the desperate efforts she made to get a little attention……

After completing all the explanations, I said, “It’s all our fault.”

He nodded at my words.

“That’s why you came here. You want to keep Leah away from the mansion.”

I crossed my arms and added, “That’s right, there was a reason I didn’t want to see you.”

“You still don’t want to see me, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“……”

In the end, he couldn’t deny anything. Compared to the past, his attitude had completely softened.

“Anyway, I want to relieve Leah’s trauma, show her that the Ainel mansion is no longer a scary place and that we can make it a place full of fun and happy things in the future.”

Rupert had a troubled expression.

‘He’s really thinking about Leah seriously.’

Contemplating, he said, “It’s too difficult.”