The Duke's Severe Gaze
“Both of you, raise your hands straight.”
“…….”
The Clementine Duke’s stern gaze swept over the two kneeling figures with hands raised.
Looking at his own daughter, eyes tightly shut and head lowered in shame, and Dante, who glared with rigid sincerity…
I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘From what I heard, it seems neither one of them had bad intentions. …’
When I saw the three children in the study dealing with urgent matters, I was shocked.
Idel’s nose, cheeks, chin, and even her hands were a mess with bruises. It looked like something terrible had happened. The other two children looked equally disheveled too.
Recalling how I had sent Idel to the pharmacy, I clicked my tongue lightly and spoke to them with a stern voice.
“Dante, Jiana. You both know what you did wrong, don’t you?”
The two children jolted slightly at my firm tone, but I didn’t back down. Jiana hesitated briefly, then pouted and answered my words.
“Yes, I’m sorry….”
“Dante, Jiana. Is it unfair that you’re being punished together?”
“No. I have my own responsibility too.”
Hearing the sincerity in Dante’s words, Vincent’s tightened lips relaxed slightly.
‘He really takes after the little duchess. Especially that overwhelming sense of responsibility and straightforwardness.’
Though I praised him inwardly, I smoothed my expression and answered calmly.
“That’s a good attitude. Rules are rules. Make sure to hold your hands out for the remaining time honestly. Understood?”
“Yes….”
“Yes, understood.”
Satisfied, the duke looked at Patrick standing awkwardly.
“Patrick, you too are coming with me.”
“Eh? Should I go and get a scolding?”
“A scolding?”
“Since I left my post, something happened, so I thought I’d be scolded for negligence….”
“Even if the family has close ties, we can’t give scoldings to knights from other houses out of the blue. You didn’t leave for long, and you should come explain the circumstances of the incident again.”
“O.”
Patrick scratched his cheek awkwardly and nodded, following Vincent.
“Your Highness, are you going to see Miss Idel?”
“Yes. I heard there’s a severe bruise. I need to check it. You’re coming too, right?”
“Eh, is it okay?”
The conversation between the two faded away completely as the door closed.
Only the ticking of the clock’s second hand filled the space. Jiana slyly glanced at the boy beside her.
Unlike me, who had acted the moment the door closed, Dante stood motionless, not shifting his gaze once as he silently endured the punishment.
‘Hmm….’
Jiana hesitated in the serious atmosphere, then decided and spoke to him.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“……Yes?”
“No, when I asked if you hit my brother, that’s what I meant.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Dante realize what Jiana meant. He hesitated briefly, then honestly confessed his feelings.
“I was so surprised I couldn’t speak. It’s the first time I’ve met someone so weak in my life….”
“You mean Idel?”
“Yes. I didn’t expect blood to fly from one strike. I thought she’d drop her sword in the first place….”
“Did you remember that moment?”
Dante’s voice trailed off. Jiana gazed at him silently, lost in thought.
Thinking back on Idel’s appearance, Dante’s words that she was weak didn’t seem entirely wrong.
“……Well, Idel is a bit weak. It was painful until recently.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Jiana, who was about to say something that would make Idel jump for joy, nodded strongly.
Seeing Jiana’s reaction, Dante mentally inputted the information ‘Idel is weak’ and held his hands up tighter.
It was self-reflection on his failure to see the opponent’s weakness.
Following Dante, Jiana tentatively raised her hands and apologized with a softened voice.
“Sorry….”
Jiana added an awkward explanation to Dante’s puzzled gaze.
“Um…… I suddenly rushed at you. It would have been better if you’d waited to speak.”
“I could understand why you acted like that. You didn’t know the situation.”
“And I thought you were rude. There was also what Idel said, so I thought you were bullying Idel alone….”
“That, um, is fine if the misunderstanding is cleared.”
Dante spoke honestly about his thoughts, then paused briefly before continuing.
“Thank you for apologizing anyway.”
“No, I’m grateful that you accepted it. Ah, and I accidentally let slip….”
“It’s fine. When we first met, I told you not to worry about the way I speak. Or was that just your personal opinion?”
“Eh? No, wait!”
Instead of waving her punished hand, Jiana shook her head vigorously to prove her innocence. Dante’s eyes widened at the intense action, and he blurted out without meaning to.
“Is it a Clementine family tradition to express things strongly?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Just…… I thought it was different, but the way you express things seems similar to Idel.”
What kind of nonsense was this? Jiana tilted her head after repeating Dante’s mysterious words many times.
“By the way, what exactly happened?”
“Um…….”
“I know you mistook me for Idel, but was it serious enough to clash swords…?”
Dante answered Jiana’s hesitant question carefully, revealing what happened between them.
If it were usual, he wouldn’t have mentioned matters with others, but today his mouth opened easily for some reason.
Jiana easily understood Idel’s reaction after hearing everything about Dante and Idel.
‘She must have fought with me because of it!’
It was during the time when they were too sensitive to even greet each other…
‘Yeah, Idel would be angry.’
Jiana’s face clouded with sudden melancholy as she continued her thoughts. Remembering Idel who would get angry at ‘Jiana’ no matter where she looked, she naturally thought about their relationship.
“……It would be wonderful if Idel could talk things out like this.”
Dante’s expression turned serious at Jiana’s heavily depressed voice.
“Did the fight with Patrick cause it?”
“Ah, that’s not the reason. Um, how should I put it….”
Jiana trailed off briefly, then rolled her eyes and turned her body toward Dante. Her blue eyes sparkled brightly.
“Hey, this is a story about my friend. My friend got a younger sister, right? She’s pretty and smart, and also, um, a bit cat-like!”
“Um, I see.”
“Yeah, so my friend wanted to get along well with the younger sister. But the younger sister is very shy and keeps avoiding my friend. Then one day, they went out together, and the younger sister learned that my friend has someone she’s known for a long time.”
Dante blinked at Jiana’s increasingly gloomy expression, then opened his mouth slightly.
Only then did he realize that the protagonist of the story wasn’t his friend but Jiana herself.
Even as Dante gained clarity, Jiana’s story continued.
“The younger sister seemed to like the friend a lot. She holds hands with my friend without hesitation, shows her smiling face. That bright smile… I’ve never seen it.”
At some point, Jiana, who had forgotten she was referring to herself as ‘friend,’ lowered her head.
“So I stopped getting angry. Idel was chasing a dangerous person and was shocked, but when she asked why I didn’t go, the kid said there was her, so why should I go with me.”
“…….”
“Of course, she’s better than me. She can do magic, she’s better at street smarts, so. But sometimes, you have to think about me too. I’m so earnest because I like Idel….”
Jiana suddenly spilled the thought she had been turning over in her mouth.
“……If I apologize, will you accept it?”
“I don’t know.”
“I was about to make a big fuss and say I wouldn’t yield this time….”
“Don’t you want to yield? That’s what yielding is.”
Dante’s pointed question made Jiana’s body freeze. Dante, misunderstanding her wide eyes, added hurriedly.
“I mean, the ‘friend’ said.”
Jiana nodded slightly at Dante’s considerate gesture.
“Ah, yes, right, friend.”
“Yes.”
With those words, the two lost the thread of conversation and turned to face front again.
An awkward but refreshingly different conversation from before. Jiana suddenly burst into laughter.
“……Is there something funny?”
“Ah, um, it’s nothing. Just….”
“Just?”
“Just, I had a good thought.”
Jiana’s eyes sparkled again after answering Dante.