CH 18

Leaving behind Ethan Ambrosia, who stood still as if something had broken, Sarah stood next to Claude. Sarah bowed down, brought her lips to Claude's ear, and whispered secretly.

"Why don't Young Master Claude say goodbye?"

"Me? But…..."

Claude wiggled his fingers and glanced into his father's eyes.

"You already said good morning greetings earlier."

"I mean, Father doesn’t look good now."

"He talked to me just fine, what are you talking about?"

Sarah followed Claude and glanced at Duke Ethan Ambrosia's face. The Duke's beautiful face had hardened before she knew it. It was a face that could frighten a child.

'What's the matter all of a sudden?'

Sarah couldn't understand the reason, so she felt embarrassed. Even though it was difficult to move the mana because of the blood vomit yesterday, she barely managed to squeeze it out and even restored the magic circle engraved on the artifact. Although it seemed simple, it was never an easy task.

As evidence of that, she could still vividly feel the cold sweat dripping down her back. Even the slightest taste of blood that had flowed over remained in the mouth. She couldn't vomit blood in front of everyone, so she had a hard time swallowing the metallic thing back.

'I can't. I can't go through this hardship without a single income.'

If it went on like this, Claude could not do anything and sent the Duke away. Sarah wanted to give Claude the everyday life of an ordinary family. Greeting one good morning, seeing one off and saying goodbye, and welcoming one back. From these small daily routines, she was thinking of showing love to the child who was hungry for affection little by little.

Sarah bowed down and whispered in a low voice into Claude's ear.

"It's just a word. If you do well, I'll make Young Master Claude the winner of the bet we made earlier."

"......Really?"

"Of course. I'm not lying, am I?"

Claude's heart was shaken softly by Sarah's temptation. It was a proposal that made his nonexistent courage spring up. Claude hesitated for a moment, then clenched his fists as if determined and took a step forward.

"Father!"

".......Um?"

As Claude called out loud, Ethan looked at the child, blinking his eyes as if waking up from his deep thoughts.

"That. That’s…..."

Claude fidgeted, rolling his eyes. Ethan turned back for a moment at the attitude of the child, who seemed to have something to say, and looked at his coachman's face. The coachman, who was obligated to take him to the Imperial Palace in time, was stamping his feet.

Had it been delayed further, Ethan might have been tardy for the first time since receiving the title of Duke of Ambrosia. Ethan sighed quietly and looked at Claude again. Claude was well aware that his father didn't have much time, so the child closed his eyes and shouted.

"Have a safe trip!"

"......"

At that moment, the Duke's eyes widened. The blue jewel-like eyes that shone brightly fluttered finely. Ethan smiled for a moment, then answered with a voice full of laughter.

"I'll be back, Claude. Thank you for seeing me off."

Like that, Duke Ethan Ambrosia boarded the carriage. The coachman, who was impatient due to the delay, hurriedly drove the horse as soon as the butler closed the carriage door. A carriage carrying the Duke quickly ran across the garden toward the main gate.

"......"

Ethan stopped trying to check the documents like a habit in the carriage. Then he saw Claude and Sarah moving far away through the window of the carriage.

"How come you look so good, My Lord? I couldn't sleep well yesterday because I was dealing with the First Prince."

Jade, who was working frantically in the wagon, flipping through papers, grumbled a little when he saw the Duke's face. Ethan looked away from the window and looked at his aide.

"Does it look like that?"

"Of course it looks like that. Look in the mirror. If you enter the Imperial Palace in this state, you will be able to make all the ladies you see collapse as you pass by."

Jade shook his head, saying he was tired of dealing with invitations and proposals flying into the mansion. Jade was tired just by dealing with ladies and noblemen wandering around in time for the Duke of Ambrosia's entrance and exit. It was because they were unable to speak to the Duke of Ambrosia and rushed to Jade to dig up any information.

"You should know that the reason I can't date is because of you, My Lord. Okay?"

Jade murmured constantly, but Ethan didn’t pay him any mind. He raised his hand and gently stroked his lips with his finger because it was so awkward to see himself smiling, which was not made up.

"Come to think of it, did Countess Millen see you off? I think I heard her voice earlier…..."

"She did."

"Then I, I should also say hello…...!"

Jade quickly opened the window connected to the coachman. The coachman, who was sitting in the coachman's seat, was startled and tried to pull the reins quickly, asking what was going on. Ethan covered Jade's mouth with one hand and commanded with a firm voice.

"Go quickly."

"Ugh um!"

Jade whined with eyes full of complaints, but Ethan heard it in one ear and laughed aloud. One woman named Sarah Millen came in as the nanny of the Duke’s house, and she managed to change the atmosphere of the mansion and even him and Claude in an instant. However, he didn't hate the feeling of disharmony.

***

"Did you hear that? Did you hear that, Nanny?"

Claude jumped up and down with sparkling eyes. She could tell how happy the child was just by the sound of his breathing, which was bursting with excitement. Sarah smiled proudly and nodded.

"Of course I heard it. The Duke said thank you for seeing him off."

"That's right! Father thanked me. He said he'd be back!"

"Yes, yes, he certainly did."

Sarah smiled and stroked Claude's head. Claude smiled brightly as he received that friendly touch.

"He'll be back!"

"Of course, he'll be back."

"He'll be back safely, right?"

"Of course, of course."

Smiles also bloomed on the faces of the servants watching Claude, who was running around happily. It was because, for the first time in their eyes, Claude looked like a child of his age. Among them, butler Veron opened his mouth with a smiley face.

"Little Master, it's still morning, so the weather is very chilly. Let's go inside."

"Ah! Okay, I got it."

It wasn't until the butler said so that Claude realized that he could see a faint smoke of his breath coming out of his mouth. Before taking his steps back into the mansion, Claude looked at Sarah who was smiling behind him.

"......Let's go in together, Sarah."

Claude reached out his small hand and pulled Sarah's hem.

Oh my god, Heaven!

Sarah covered her mouth with one hand and was led inside by Claude’s hand.

'Claude just called my name! My name!'

Ronda looked delightfully at Sarah, who was so happy that she couldn’t utter a sound. Sarah's eyes, looking around, seemed to be saying 'Look at this. Everyone in the vicinity. Our Claude called my name! My name!'

She wanted to shout out like that, but she seemed to be holding it in with her mouth shut. While being dragged by Claude's hand, a maid hiding behind the pillar caught Sarah's eyes. The maid, who was biting her lips and clenching her fists so hard that her hands turned white, quickly hid behind the pillar when her eyes met Sarah.

'That child is......'

It was May Chenblun, who was Claude's exclusive maid who was scolded by Sarah. The other day, Sarah told the head maid that she wanted May to be separated from Claude. The head maid also happily accepted Sarah's request, saying that May was in trouble trying to control Claude.

From May's point of view, it was understandable to resent Sarah because her position in the Duke’s house collapsed overnight. She even used magic to increase the weight of the cane to tease her. So Sarah assumed that if May hated someone, she would be the object of that hatred. However.

'That child......why was she looking at Claude and not me?'

May's sharp gaze was directed at Claude, not Sarah.

__________

T/N:

I just had a mental breakdown as I finally found out that the author used the same word to describe the eye color of Ethan, Sarah, and Claude (facepalmed). The author used “푸른”, which can be translated into “blue”, “azure”, and “green” (facepalmed again). I had to look at both of the novel’s covers again and zoom in to determine the color shade. I felt like I was color-blind for a moment LOL. Anyway, in conclusion, Clade’s eyes are green, Sarah’s eyes are something between green and blue, so I’ll use azure. Finally, Ethan’s eyes are darker than Sarah’s, so I’ll use blue.