Chapter 38
Chapter 38
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: I Don’t Need a Father
-----------------------------------------------------------------
At Diego's words, everyone but Diego himself wore a look of surprise.
“Father!”
Reiden called out to his father in bewilderment, but Diego simply beamed with a bright, cheerful expression.
“Diego.”
Elbadin said Diego's name in a low voice.
His tone was laced with an unidentifiable displeasure.
Judging by his expression and voice, it seemed Elbadin hadn't anticipated this either.
Nevertheless, Diego spoke without a care.
“Hmm? Lady Lucillea. You have the best, most prepared father right here, waiting for you. If you wish, Lady Lucillea—”
“Absolutely not.”
“Impossible.”
“...Huh?”
Serdian and Elbadin cut Diego off at the same time.
Elbadin, his brow furrowed more than usual, continued.
“That’s enough of your games.”
But Diego replied, looking wronged.
“Games? I’m being completely serious.”
This time, Serdian stepped in.
“She is a child chosen by the Elite Corps. The Marquisate of Sidrat has no right to discuss her adoption.”
At Serdian's words, Diego glanced over at him.
“I know that the children chosen by the Elite Corps are protected under the Grand Duke’s name. But… isn’t the child’s happiness what matters most?”
“…”
“Our Young Lord seems to think that Lady Lucillea staying at the grand ducal estate is what will make her happy…”
“Of course.”
“More so than living as the beloved daughter of a noble family?”
“…”
Serdian couldn't bring himself to answer Diego’s follow-up question.
Naturally, a life of training and competition at the grand ducal estate couldn't compare to being adopted into a noble family.
Besides, Diego would, as he said, make a wonderful father.
He was a man who knew how to embrace with affection, smile with gentleness, and comfort with warmth.
“Most importantly.”
Diego said with a wide smile.
“If she wants to develop her magic, wouldn’t my home be a better place than the grand ducal estate?”
To that, Elbadin replied calmly.
“The grand ducal estate has Noa.”
“Haha,” Diego chuckled softly.
“Elbadin, meeting for a brief lesson once a day is on a completely different level from me being by her side, teaching her all day long.”
Diego looked at Lucillea and asked.
“Your opinion is the most important, my dear. I’ve taken quite a liking to you. So, here’s a perfectly prepared father. What do you say, Lady Lucillea? Will you be my daughter?”
Father, daughter, father, daughter, father, daughter.
Lucillea stared at Diego, dumbfounded.
‘What is all this...’
Every time the words ‘father’ and ‘daughter’ were mentioned, she felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
She had thought those words would have nothing to do with her for the rest of her life.
The conversation between Serdian and Diego didn't even register.
She just wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
“...I.”
Lucillea slowly opened her mouth to speak.
All eyes turned to Lucillea.
Diego’s eyes, in particular, were sparkling with anticipation.
‘Don’t look at me with such hopeful eyes. My answer is already decided.’
Lucillea met Diego’s gaze and answered calmly.
“I don’t need a father.”
“...Huh?”
“…”
Whew. Serdian and Reiden let out a visible sigh of relief.
And yet, for some reason, the eyes of the two men, Elbadin and Diego, wavered violently.
***
After the whole adoption commotion was over, Diego left the grand ducal estate, looking desolate.
His gaze, dripping with reluctance, couldn't leave Lucillea's face until the very end.
Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Lucillea sighed in relief inwardly.
‘Wow, what a chaotic man.’
He seemed like a genuinely good person, though.
‘Yes, I could tell he deeply cherished his adopted daughter.’
Lucillea, who had been staring blankly at the road where the carriage had vanished, lowered her gaze.
‘Maybe it would have been better to become that man’s daughter and leave the grand ducal estate.’
If I had, I might have been able to avoid death even if a corrupted Serdian came looking for me at the estate, and the chances of my identity as the Grand Duke’s biological daughter being discovered would have been lower.
But...
‘For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say yes.’
No, I said for some reason, but I think I knew, vaguely.
I just didn’t want to leave this grand ducal estate.
This estate, with Serdian, who was just starting to open up to me, and Mei, who took care of me and liked me.
‘And I was just starting to get close to the maids, too.’
Just then, Reiden approached Lucillea and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry, Lucillea. My father… he seems to have taken a real liking to you.”
Reiden blushed, looking embarrassed.
‘You must have a hard time because of your father.’
An immature father and a son who grew up too fast, you could say.
It wasn’t hard to see that Reiden had his own struggles.
“It’s fine. It means he thought highly of me, so I should be grateful.”
Let’s go inside, too. Lucillea stretched her arm up, patting Reiden on the back before turning away.
Elbadin, who had turned around as soon as the carriage left, was already walking away alone in the distance.
‘A father...’
This situation, receiving an adoption offer in front of my biological father, felt so strange.
Strangely, I didn't want to call someone else father.
Strangely, that's how it was.
***
After seeing Diego off, Elbadin went straight up to his office.
The sweet scent of the walnut pie the children had brought still filled the room.
Looking at the clean plate, Lucillea’s voice from moments ago echoed in his mind.
-“I don’t need a father.”
-“I don’t need a father.”
-“I don’t need a father.”
The moment he heard those words, a throbbing pain shot through his heart.
Strangely, that's how it was.
Just like the day he had first proposed to Radia and been soundly rejected.
-“I have no intention of marrying someone as stoic as you, Your Highness. You should find a woman who can love your indifference. I don’t think I’m the one.”
-“I have no intention of marrying someone as stoic as you, Your Highness. You should find a woman who can love your indifference. I don’t think I’m the one.”
-“I have no intention of marrying someone as stoic as you, Your Highness. You should find a woman who can love your indifference. I don’t think I’m the one.”
The memory of Radia’s bright, smiling eyes flashed through his mind.
Perhaps it was because he suspected Lucillea might be his biological child.
Because of that, in that moment, he truly felt as if his own child had denied his very existence.
‘I don’t need a father...’
It must be because of her childhood memories.
Abandoned by her parents, only to be abused by the adoptive father she finally got.
The thought made him find that adoptive father from Mille Village all the more despicable.
Elbadin entered his office, took off his overcoat, and sat on the sofa. He leaned his head against the back of the sofa and gazed out the window.
His gaze on the sky was perfectly serene, but his hand, gripping the armrest of the sofa, was filled with an inexplicable strength.
Just then, Riat spoke.
“You seem to be in a foul mood. Is it perhaps because of the people who returned alive?”
Hah. Elbadin sighed and rubbed his brow.
“Keep a special eye on the maid, Lancy, who donated the body. If she says she wants to leave the territory, buy her a suitable house and land wherever she desires.”
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
“And report to me immediately if you hear from the Marquisate of Sidrat.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After replying, Riat studied Elbadin’s face with a worried expression before speaking cautiously.
“Your Highness, you look exhausted. Why don’t you get some rest? You haven’t been sleeping properly lately.”
“…”
After a moment of consideration, Elbadin nodded and rose from the sofa.
“I will escort you to your chambers.”
“No.”
As Riat, who had picked up Elbadin’s overcoat, tilted his head in confusion, Elbadin continued.
“I’m going to the glass garden. Do not follow me.”
Riat, who had been following behind, stopped and bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Highness.”