“Sinking!”

Desperate to live, Delrina began to thrash about, moving her limbs. However, Noah was calm.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean, swimming!”

“Your feet can touch the ground here.”

“Huh?”

At his words, Delrina froze. At the same time, she felt it. The touch of the ground beneath her feet.

“…Shall we go?”

Embarrassed, Delrina subtly gestured towards the land. But Noah was staring at the soaked Delrina.

“How did you get here?”

“I followed Lord Edwin.”

At Delrina’s words, Noah looked to the side. There was Edwin, who had arrived at some point, staring at them in the water. Suddenly, Delrina grabbed Noah’s arm and started to move.

“Let’s get out quickly. Fish keep swimming between my legs, and it feels weird.”

“You have a frog on your head right now.”

“Aaaah!”

Upon hearing that, Delrina screamed and furiously shook her head. Noah finally found something to laugh about.

“If frogs scare you, why did you come in?”

“How could I not come in when you fell?”

“……”

Having removed the frog from her head, Delrina was the first to emerge from the water, as if it were obvious. At that moment, Noah’s eyes widened.

“Both of you look ridiculous.”

As they climbed onto land, the knights hastily brought blankets to wrap around them. Edwin smirked as he looked at Noah.

“So, you’ve come to your senses now that you’ve had a cold dunk?”

“……”

“You looked unspeakable when you fell into the water.”

Behind Edwin, knights were escorting a handcuffed woman. Clutching her purse as if to protect her money, the woman was being led away.

“Is this the first time we’re dealing with this so directly?”

“……”

“I wanted to just let her live her life, but it’s hard to overlook an attempted murder of the heir to the Duke of Diamon.”

“Attempted murder?!”

At the words ‘attempted murder,’ the woman’s face paled, and she hurriedly knelt before Edwin.

“You misunderstand, my Lord! How could I kill my own son? I’m his own mother!”

“Is this not your first attempted murder? Leaving a child alone in a house where no one is, starving him.”

“That’s because I had no money…! I left the child alone for a short time to earn money, my Lord! I planned to come back as soon as I made some money!”

In the face of her denials, Edwin’s icy gaze fell on her.

“You’re trying to lie to the Diamon family now?”

“……”

“I know well how much debt you have. You even squander the money that Noah sends you every year.”

“That’s, that’s…”

“I thought I was the most terrible when it comes to money, but perhaps not. At least, I don’t starve my children.”

As Edwin spoke, a knight approached the woman and took away the purse she had been clutching. The woman’s eyes rolled back in her head.

“My, my money! Give back my money!”

Trying to shake off the knights restraining her, she twisted her body. Edwin gestured to the knights without blinking an eye.

“Take her away.”

“Yes.”

At Edwin’s command, the knights began to drag the woman away. It was only then that the woman realized the situation was going badly and cried out to Noah.

“Noah! Noah! Help your mom! Noah!”

Though the woman was desperately calling for Noah, he had already turned his back and did not look at the woman being led away. Delrina, who was beside Noah, rolled her eyes quietly.

“…Are you okay?”

“No.”

Understandable.

After coming to his father’s grave and being pushed into the water by his mother asking for money, there was no way he could say he was okay. Noah sat down and ran his fingers through his wet hair.

“Funny, isn’t it? Our family.”

“……”

“It’s really going well, our family is.”

At Noah’s muttering, Delrina, who had quietly sat beside him, responded.

“No, it’s not funny at all.”

“……”

“Your family drama isn’t any more amusing than my performance.”

At that, Noah chuckled as if finding it absurd, and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s probably true.”

“……”
Delrina quietly looked above Noah’s head. The characters that had been glowing red in the lake moments ago were no longer visible.

“I was foolish too. Despite meeting her every year, deep down, I hoped she would change. It’s all about money in the end.”

A gold coin lay in Noah’s hand. It had fallen out when the woman made a scene moments earlier.

“Have you heard how my father died?”

“Yeah, I heard from the Duke. He had been ill for years before he passed away.”

“That’s right. I was bedridden from a time I don’t even remember. It was even hard to have a conversation.”

“……”

“But on days when he was lucid, he would always smile at me. What was so good about it, in a crumbling home, in a place that wasn’t even happy.”

Recalling that time, Noah looked up at the hill where the tomb was located. Seeing this, Delrina spoke.

“……Well, yes. Only your father would know whether he was happy or not.”

“I wonder. Could he have been happy in such a place without money?”

“I told you, only your father would know. But, I think he didn’t regret having you.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think? Could someone who’s unwell smile like that in front of someone they disliked?”

For a moment, Delrina frowned as if pondering something.

“So, to borrow the words of the Diomon family……your father thought you were worth more than money. That’s why he smiled even in modest circumstances.”

Noah remained silent, but Delrina’s voice continued.

“But wouldn’t it be the same for the Duke?”

“……”

“You know the Duke’s disposition better than anyone. The fact that he brought you here without any conditions means, in the end, he’s similar to your father. He cares for you just as much.”

“Did our Lady Yeongae think that about me?”

“!”

Suddenly startled by the shadow cast from above, Delrina looked up to find Edwin standing there, smiling.

“Quite an interesting conversation you two are having. About me, no less.”

“Ah……. Well…….”

Passing the surprised Delrina, Edwin’s gaze shifted to Noah.

“To say I’m similar to that man…… it’s something that would make our family members faint.”

“……”

“Well, I don’t know. If I have to say, it’s an investment with uncertain returns.”

At Edwin’s words, Noah broke into a small smile.

“Are you sure? It’s quite a risky investment.”

“If you can’t even take that much risk, you can’t really call yourself a true Diomon.”

Investment, risk-taking. These were hardly emotional words, yet both men looked pleased. Watching them, Delrina shook her head. She could tell at least this much: these two were very much alike.

“Anyway, go get some sun. I’ll be on the hill.”

“Going to the tomb?”

“Yes. It’s about time to visit.”

With that, Edwin started walking up the hill with his knights, as Delrina and Noah quietly watched him.

“Were your father and the Duke close?”

“From what I heard, they conversed often. Though their personalities seemed to be different.”

“Yeah. But it seems like they understood each other… So go find something more valuable than money in life.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Then you might understand how your father felt.”

Saying this, Delrina picked up the gold coin that had been rolling on the ground.
“More precious than gold, or any valuable material, is when such a person comes into one’s life.”

“…….”

“Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t.”

Delrina’s hair fluttered in the gentle breeze. Noah, who had been quietly watching her, slowly smiled.

“Well, I don’t know about other things, but I already have someone valuable to me.”

“Already? Who is it?”

“You.”

“….Huh?”

Caught off guard by Noah’s words, Delrina dropped the gold coin she was holding. Noah picked up the fallen coin and chuckled.

“Where would it be easy to find someone worth as much as an empire?”

“Oh, in that sense… No, I was going to say that anyway, but are you really going to accept the value of an entire empire?”

“That’s why the exact amount should have been settled before making a contract.”

“Hey, you…!”

Stunned and at a loss for words, Delrina began to shrug her shoulders. Seeing this, Noah smiled, brighter than anyone else.