CH 15

“Lady Evelia, look at this!”

As soon as we came to the garden, Ruth was very excited. Because Evelia had agreed to go for a walk with him!

Even when he went to see Evelia, Ruth never expected her to agree.

He told his nanny three times, ‘It’s okay if she doesn’t want to go on a walk with me.’

But Evelia not only took a walk with him, but she was strangely kind today.

A subtle smile continued to be drawn on her face, and she also told him to be careful not to fall.

Is Lady Evelia finally becoming his new mother? A small hope sprouted in Ruth’s heart.

The child couldn’t hide his excitement and walked around the garden holding Evelia’s hand.

It has already been about 20 minutes since he told Evelia about the flowers and the meaning of flower he knows.

Evelia, who had been silently listening to him, suddenly looked somewhere and exclaimed.

“Oh, there’s a shamrock here too.”

She knelt down and sat down in a corner of the garden. What? Intrigued, Ruth also squatted beside her.

“What is it?”

Evelia pointed at the grass with her white fingers. There were white, round flowers protruding from it.

“It’s grass that rabbits eat.”

“Really? Rabbits eat that?”

Evelia laughed out loud, as if his reaction was funny. It made him look like a child.

It was the first time he had ever seen her smile like that, so Ruth opened his mouth in wonder.

“It’s a joke. I don’t even know if rabbits eat this. But it’s true that this flower’s name is Shamrock.”

Evelia, who explained softly, ran through the green grass this time.

“Shamrocks usually have three leaves. But sometimes there are Shamrocks with four leaves, and if you find one, they say it will make your wish come true, because it’s a lucky flower.”

“Really? Does it really grant wishes?”

“Well, I don’t know because I’ve never see it. I’ve tried to find it a few times, but I couldn’t find it.”

Evelia’s expression was not good when she said that. What would she wish for if she found a four-leaf?

Ruth pursed his lips and asked.

“What wish did you wish for?”

Evelia’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected him to ask that.

“My wish is…”

She closed her mouth and smiled. But it looked like she was crying, so Ruth couldn’t ask any more.

Instead, he looked at the shamrock pointed by Evelia.

‘Wish…’

Can that grass really grant wishes? if so…!

Ruth squatted down on the grass and started looking for a four-leaf clover. But even with the light of his eyes, he couldn’t see any clover with four leaves.

Three here and three there. Still, he didn’t give up.

He searched for about ten minutes while wiping the sweat that formed on his forehead.

Evelia, who was putting a parasol over Ruth’s head, grabbed the child’s hand and pulled it.

“It’s almost time for dinner, so let’s go inside, wash your hands and get ready to eat.”

“But…”

As Ruth looked at the shamrock with a face full of regret, Evelia comforted the child.

It might not be there.”

“I want to find it, though.”

“Well, it’s hot now, so why don’t we come back when it’s cooler?”

“… Yes.”

Evelia grabbed Ruth’s hand and dragged him in. Even as he entered the mansion, Ruth’s eyes were on the shamrock.

* * *

Dinner time was breathtakingly tense.

Unlike at the Venion, where everyone except Evelia was chatting away, there was no conversation between Ruth and Cassis.

At first, Evelia, who thought it was because of herself, understood it when she saw the employees who seemed to take this silence for granted.

‘Well, they weren’t on good terms.’

Since childhood, Cassis has been taught by his father, the late Duke Adelhard, not to trust people easily and not to show his emotions.

Because of that education, he always put up a wall against people. It was the same for Ruth, his nephew and adoptive son.

It wasn’t that he didn’t love Ruth; he loved him as much as he loved Julia and cherished the life she left behind more than his own.

However, he didn’t know how to express that affection. All he did for Ruth was material support.

It’s not that Cassis was insensitive, it’s just that it was his way of showing his affection. He really thought that giving Ruth generous support was enough.

‘He couldn’t help it. Because that was the only thing he learned from the previous Duke.’

Some of the readers who read ‘Aria of Light’ cursed at the indifferent Cassis, but at least Evelia understood him. That’s because the environment he grew up in was harsh.

‘The problem is that Ruth thought Cassis didn’t love him.’

Unlike Cassis, Ruth was inherently sensitive, much like Julia.

Ruth, who had no way of knowing Cassis’s upbringing and his feelings, always thought that the cold-hearted Cassis didn’t love him.

He studied hard to be praised by Cassis, and practiced swordsmanship to become a great knight like him.

Unfortunately, Cassis never praised Ruth for such efforts.

Naturally, Ruth grew up to be a depressed child, and eventually resented Cassis.

Ruth’s growth as a man without blood and tears was partly due to Evelia, the evil stepmother in the original story, but also partly to Cassis.

‘Even without me, Cassis would have to change a bit for Ruth to grow up as bright as he is now.’

He wouldn’t have to change much, just give him a pat on the head and tell him he did a good job, his eyes sparkling with praise.

With that alone, Ruth would be able to feel Cassis’ affection.

But it was a bit of nonsense. As long as she chose not to intervene in the original story, there was no need for Evelia to intervene between the two.

Unless she was going to continue to mediate between two people who had already begun to drift apart, her clumsy intervention would only poison the pot.

Evelia sighed and ate her meal.

It would be awkward to be between Cassis and Ruth, who had been glaring at her since earlier, and Cassis, who was eating in silence.

I’m not really hungry anyway, so I was thinking about finishing my meal, when Cassis suddenly asked.

“Doesn’t it suit your taste?”

Evelia reacted late because she didn’t think that Cassis would talk to her.

“… Yes?”

“I asked if the meal was not to your liking.”

“Oh, food.”

Evelia put down her fork and knife and answered stiffly.

“It was delicious. I just don’t have much of an appetite.”

Well, if it’s not to your liking, I’ll tell them to prepare something else.”

“No, it’s really fine, I’m just not hungry.”

Cassis, who looked at Evelia’s face as if confirming the truth of her words, stopped asking about the meal. Instead he asked for something else.

“Have you been treated?”

His gaze returned to her bandaged wrist this time.

“Yes. It was okay without treatment, but thank you for caring.”

“I just did what I had to do. Please let me know if you need anything in the future.”

“Yes.”

Evelia stabbed the dessert cake with a fork to avoid Cassis staring at her bandaged wrist.

Ruth, who was watching the two of them while rolling his eyes, took a deep breath and spoke to Cassis.

“Fa-Father.”

“……”

Instead of answering, Cassis stared at the child. Evelia quickly noticed that since she was hearing it, it was Cassis’s own expression to tell him to speak.

But Ruth didn’t seem to know that. The child shrugged his shoulders slightly and mumbled.

“No, nothing.”

Shamefully, Cassis didn’t ask what was going on.

Feeling sorry for Ruth, Evelia patted the child lightly on the back, forgetting that she had promised not to get in between the father and son.

“He heard you, he just wanted you to tell him.”

Ruth tilted his head to one side as if he didn’t understand.

“Yes?”

“The Duke is waiting for your words.”

“But…”

“Isn’t it, Duke?”

Cassis raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he hadn’t expected Evelia to speak to him, but then he nodded softly.

“Yes.”

“Young master, did you hear that?”

Ruth clenched his fists under the table in disbelief.

“Does this mean that Lady Evelia will continue to live in the mansion?”