“Well……”

Derek, who looked like he was about to burst into tears, looked up at Damian. But Damian indicated he was done speaking, unmoved by the child’s tears.

“Go now. Oh, take this to Jessica.”

Damian paused for a moment, then picked up the notepad and fountain pen on the table.

After scribbling something quickly, he folded the note and handed it to Derek.

Tears falling, Derek took the note from Damian, bowed deeply, and left the study.

Lucy glanced at Derek as he passed by her, but Damian’s voice drew her attention.

“Lucy.”

Damian stretched out his arm towards Lucy.

As Derek left and the door closed with a thud, Lucy approached Damian, bypassing the sofa.

“Dad……”

The child’s voice, somewhat weakened, echoed through the study.

Damian easily lifted the child onto his lap.

Having placed Lucy on his lap once before on the garden bench, Damian now held her naturally and rested his palm gently on top of her head.

“Lucy.”

“Yes?”

“Even if you get the little brother you want, if you desire to be the duchess, tell me.”

Lucy carefully took Damian’s hand from her head and slowly looked up at him.

“I’ll help you compete fairly.”

Damian’s blue eyes fully captured Lucy’s face.

Lucy blinked slowly and met Damian’s gaze.

Being still young, she likely didn’t know how difficult it would be for a daughter to become a duke.

To pass down the family lineage, it had to be a male heir.

Legally, women couldn’t be the head of a family either.

However, if his daughter wanted to do so, Damian was willing to help her as much as possible.

To the fullest extent possible.

“But I don’t want to be a duke. I don’t want to work every day like Dad, you know?”

Lucy looked at Damian with a bright smile.

“And I’m going to live with Mom forever. I don’t like the idea of becoming a duke because then I won’t be able to play with Mom.”

Damian, who had placed his hand on Lucy’s head, brushed it off.

One eyebrow twitched slightly.

“Mom is going to live with Dad forever.”

“…Then, Dad should live with me forever too!”

Lucy, nestling into Damian’s arms for the first time, smiled.

She didn’t pout, saying Damian’s words were like stones.

The warmth of his daughter in his arms was very comforting.

Damian’s hand, which had hesitated in the air, slowly began to pat his daughter’s back. Just like how Eriel would pat Lucy when holding her.

“Alright. Forever.”

Damian murmured softly, patting the child’s back clumsily.

“Ow? Dad. ……It hurts.”

At the child’s complaint in his arms, Damian stopped patting and stood up, holding Lucy.

“Come to think of it, you’ve had about four days off without a tutor.”

Damian, carrying Lucy in one arm, walked towards the bookshelf that filled the study.

Lucy gulped and shifted her gaze to the bookshelf Damian was looking at.

“Dad. ……No, right?”

“You seem to have read about half of the Introduction to Political Science, it’s time to read another book now.”

“Ah…… Dad. Cough, cough. I’m coughing? Dad…… I think I’m sick. I think I have a fever too.”

Lucy pretended to cough urgently, hacking and wheezing.

Damian put his hand on Lucy’s forehead and then shook his head.

“Lucy, your forehead is cool.”

“Tch.”

*

“Count Scala!!”

Count Scala glanced once at Bruno’s flushed, angry face and replied in a monotone voice.

This caused Bruno, angered to the point of his hair standing on end, to jump to his feet.

As the count reached for the teacup, Bruno swatted his hand away violently.

As Bruno assumed a stance like he was about to grab the count’s collar, the count rang the bell placed on the table.

“Farewell, Bruno.”

“What?”

As soon as the bell rang, strong men burst through the door and grabbed Bruno by both arms.

As Bruno was helplessly dragged out, he glared at Count Scala and shouted at the top of his lungs.

However, the count didn’t even look at Bruno, instead reaching for the teacup he was about to drink from earlier.

After drinking the tea, he smiled lightly.

Soon, Bruno’s voice could no longer be heard.

He had probably been thrown out of the club completely.

Count Scala closed his eyes and put down the empty cup with a satisfied smile.

As a calm silence settled, a hooded man entered the room without knocking from the darkness.

The count, opening his eyes, put a finger to his lips.

It was a signal to be quiet.

Slowly rising from his seat, the count began to run his gloved fingers along the wall as he walked past. Then he stopped at one wall.

He tapped the wall with his hand, and a light sound echoed from the wall.

The hooded figure’s shoulders twitched, and he immediately assumed a defensive posture.

The light sound meant there was a false wall installed.

There must be a space the count didn’t know about behind it.

“No, it seems he’s gone.”

Count Scala waved his hand and smiled.

“The owner of this club likes mazes. He’s not on our side. He likes money, and he likes tricks. He may seem simple at first glance, but who knows what schemes he might be hiding. It’s probably better to talk outside for now.”

The hooded figure nodded silently and moved outside.

After confirming the hooded figure had left, Count Scala looked again at the wall that clearly had a false section and smirked.

“I hope the Duchess will listen to my story and believe me…… I wonder what she’ll think.”

The count’s eyes glinted coldly.

*

Eriel left the club to the sound of Bruno’s shouts and the ringing bell.

As Eriel completely exited the place, the two knights who had accompanied her were standing in front of the door.

“Did anyone suspicious pass by?”

“No, there was no one.”

“Is that so? Then… let’s return to the duke’s mansion for now.”

Eriel walked towards the carriage. To think that the person who said he was hiding behind Bruno was Count Scala.

He was a surprising figure. The content was even more unbelievable.

After boarding the carriage, Eriel closed her eyes tightly and fell into contemplation for a moment.

Although she had overheard it, she couldn’t fully believe the count’s words.

He could have said that on purpose since he was dealing with Bruno.

Above all, to say that his actions were not meant to make an enemy of Damian……

Was it just to tease Damian and completely crush Bruno’s pride because he didn’t like him?

Moreover, although the count spoke as if he was on Damian’s side, saying it was to eliminate enemies around Damian, that wasn’t for Damian’s sake.

Wasn’t it the count’s intention to shape the Duke of Genova as he wished?

He was a dangerous person.

Moreover, the part about bribing the imperial investigator seemed to be true.

It was impossible to guess how deeply the power of the long-established count’s family had penetrated unseen places.

Damian knew that Eriel had gone to the club today, so she felt she should definitely consult with him about this story.

Count Scala was clearly a dangerous figure in many ways.

Although he was essentially on the emperor’s side, he would be the person to be most wary of above all.

She needed to explain in detail to Damian what she had heard today…

Eriel opened her eyes and slightly furrowed her brow.

“Hah……”

As soon as she thought of Damian, she remembered the morning’s events.

The flower.

A single rose that Damian had picked up as if it were nothing.

If it were really nothing, Damian wouldn’t have hidden it behind his back like that.

Even if a passing servant had given it to him, someone like Damian would have entrusted its disposal on the spot.

His posture as he waited for Eriel to come down, and the way he hid his hand behind his back. That wasn’t the only thing different from usual.

Lucy’s awkward voice and the servant’s furtive glances at Eriel.

It was clear that Lucy had a hand in this.

Damian wasn’t the type of person to prepare a single flower on his own…

Even thinking back to Lucy and Damian’s appearance in the garden, it was clear they had become quite close recently.

Moreover, they had lived together in the mansion for four days, so they had plenty of time to become more intimate.

Lucy seemed to have wanted to resolve that big incident herself, and not only did her father not stop her, but he even helped and sent Sir Charles.

Yes, their relationship must be improving.

She wasn’t sure if it was good or not that the father-daughter relationship was improving because of that incident.

Thinking calmly, Damian must have had no choice due to His Majesty’s orders.

Especially given the current political situation.

“Hah……”

The wind blowing through the carriage window swept sharply across Eriel’s face.

Tucking her billowing hair behind her ear, Eriel lifted her head to the bright sky.

The golden sunlight pouring down reminded her of Damian and Lucy’s hair.

She knew that a single flower was a gesture of reconciliation, but…

“Even so, the kidnapper of his daughter……”

Eriel frowned, remembering Bruno who had so easily said he would take Damian’s life at the side of the club.

It wasn’t just about Lucy’s safety. As her husband’s safety was also at stake, Eriel had no intention of letting it slide.

She had to talk to Damian about this matter as soon as she returned to the mansion.

Damian would surely speak as if his own life didn’t matter and try to resolve this issue politically, again!