Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“…”

“…”

An awkward stillness subsided.

Anriche glanced at Alexei’s eyes. He put down the pen, which he was busily fiddling with, and fixed his gaze at her. Meanwhile, Anriche opened her eyes wide.

‘…Ah.’

It was because she discovered the dark shadows underneath the eyes as though it was drawn with a fine brush. Looking at it, she realized it had been a long time since she had met Alexei in the townhouse.

‘It seems like he’s very busy, seeing that he looks so exhausted.’

Anriche opened her mouth without knowing it.

“You look tired.”

Oops.

The moment those words were uttered, Anriche bit the tip of her though slightly. She meant to only think about it in her head, though the words just popped out of her mouth unknowingly.

Alexei looked a little surprised by what she said.

“Are you worried about me right now?”

“Yes? Yes, what… Should I not worry?”

Anriche shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t say anything she shouldn’t say, so why did he say that?

In short, Alexei and she are a legal couple. So, when a wife sees her husband’s fatigue, is it not natural to worry?

Meanwhile, Alexei, who heard Anriche’s nonchalant answer, was in considerable shock.

‘Is that person really Anriche?’

Anriche, whom Alexei knew, was a woman who would never say, ‘You look tired.’ She didn’t even care about other people’s moods or physical condition since she was someone who was only interested in herself…

“Yesterday, I heard that you left the office late because of a lot of work.”

She said in a strange way. Alexei was confused, and her words were blurred.

“Oh, yeah…”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

By then, Alexei, who had finally come to his senses, politely rejected her offer.

“It’s all right. Thank you for your concern.”

“Oh, yes. Then, please feel free to let me know if you ever need my help.”

And, silence.

‘No, is the duke not uncomfortable with this quietness? Is it only me that feels this way?!’ Anriche simmered her insides and spoke again to try and get rid of the awkward silence.

“Oh, I brought Liliana.”

“I already heard it from the butler.”

“…Ah, I see.”

Silence, again.

She doesn’t know how many silences this is. Anriche did not have the energy to overcome this awkwardness anymore. Gradually, she took a deep sigh and raised her body from the seat.

“Well, I’ll head out now.”

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes, you’re busy working. I shouldn’t get in the way.”

‘What…did she say just now?’ Alexei doubted his ears. Anriche is caring about him. Is the sun rising from the west today?

Grasping the doorknob, she glanced back.

“Oh, duke.”

“What?”

“It’s good to work hard, but it’s important to take a break as well.”

Anriche, who said so, pointed to the cookie and tea she had brought with her glances.

“Make sure to eat the cookies because you need some sugar when you are working.”

“Ah, okay. I see.”

“Well then.”

She bowed her head and gently closed the door.

Click. As soon as the figure of Anriche disappeared from his sight, he quickly rose up from his chair. Standing in front of the table, Alexei glances down at the cookies she had brought with her.

It was a chocolate cookie with various nuts.

‘Was I too cold?’

Blue eyes sank deeply. Looking at it now, it was true that she had been doing a great job as the mistress recently.

Had it not been for her, Liliana would have continued to live while getting abused at the Londini Orphanage. In addition, the words ‘I need more money’ or ‘I don’t care’ did not come out from her mouth either.

‘She seriously, with pure intention, brought me cookies.’

If so, then…

“…I should have said thank you.”

Through his lips, a mumble mixed with a brief sigh flowed. Alexei picked up a cookie.

The cookies that crumble in his mouth were very tasty.

***

Thinking back at the time a while ago, the very first time Anriche went to find Alexei.

Liliana and Elliot were having an awkward time.

‘If you’re uncomfortable, you could just go, so why are you still here?’ Liliana glanced at Elliot from the side. He was staring with fervent gaze at the cookies piled up in the basket.

Of course, Elliot was embarrassed to talk to Liliana, but her misunderstanding was deepening.

In the end, the eyes of the two children met. Elliot, surprised, stiffened his shoulder.

“Well, Young Master Valois.”

Liliana carefully called him. He replied shyly and groaned.

“Why are you saying my name?”

“This cookie, I made it…”

She carefully handed out the plate of cookies.

“Would you like to try it?”

“Who, who wants to eat these cookies.”

Yet Elliot quickly reached out his hand and picked up the largest piece.

‘Hey, didn’t you say you didn’t want to eat…?’ Liliana glanced at him while narrowing her eyes. Regardless, Elliot just continued to chew the cookie.

After a while, his eyes turned wide.

“…It’s delicious.”

“Well, don’t just keep standing there. Come here and take a seat.”

Liliana, pulling one of the chairs, beckoned at Elliot. The two children sat around a small table and ate cookies with milk together. Mixing with the sound of cookies being chewed, her lively voice echoed.

“Mother skillfully makes cookie dough herself…”

Liliana was constantly talking.

“Isn’t mother really great?”

“Great?”

“Yes! Mother is good at everything, and she made no mistakes, and…”

All the bells and whistles were an affectionate tribute to Anriche. Liliana covered her cheeks with her hands, adding her words in an ecstatic voice.

“Honestly, I thought she was an angel when I first saw her.”

“What? An angel?”

“Yes, I never thought that such a beautiful person would exist in the world.”

She enthusiastically nodded her head.

If Anriche had heard that, she would have laughed happily. How could the parent and the child have the exact same first impression of each other?

“I’ve never seen someone as wonderful as mother!”

And so, she concluded that way.

Elliot, listening to her compliments for Anriche with a disgusted expression, opened his mouth.

“…You know, someone would think my mother is your mother.”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry!”

She was surprised and looked around nervously. What should she do, she must have been talking about herself too much. Still, mother is not her mother, but the mother of the Young Master of Valois…

“…”

When she thought so, her appetite plummeted. Liliana put her half-eaten cookies on the plate.

However, just then.

“Why do you like mother so much?”

Elliot suddenly asked a question. His face, when asking so, was strangely mature.

In response to the unexpected question, she tilted her head.

“Yes?”

“You, you’ve been complimenting mother since a while ago.”

He looked down at the basket of cookies.

The dense cookies felt so unfamiliar. Anriche, whom he knew, wasn’t the one who would bake cookies and spend time with her child.

“Honestly… I’m not sure why you follow her around so much.”

Elliot, who lived here for a very long time was unfairly regarded by Anriche as an ‘annoying child.’ When he tried to approach her, she would push him away, and she hated when he called her ‘mom.’ For Anriche, Elliot wasn’t a ‘son’ but a means of keeping the position of ‘Valois’ mistress.’ So, he was very curious about Liliana, who follows his mother like a chick.

Meanwhile, Liliana answered the question without hesitation.

“Mother was the first person who was kind towards me.”

Not just anyone, but mother?

Elliot barely repressed his desire to ask. She continued quietly.

“It’s the first time that someone asked me what I wanted to do, the first time I wasn’t given an order… Mother was that person.”

For the first time.

For Liliana, Anriche meant that much towards her. She was the first person to treat Liliana as a ‘child that needs to be protected,’ rather than a ‘useless insect.’

One day, she suddenly wandered into her difficult daily life and changed Liliana’s life to the fullest…

‘A person who was like a miracle to me.’

After seeing Elliot’s ambiguous expression, she quickly added her words.

“Of course, people have many different opinions.”