Jerard clutched his stinging face and turned his head towards a painting he had left in the study.

It was a painting he had bought from a painter at the crown prince’s birthday banquet.

Jerard stood alone, slowly blinking his eyes as he looked at Eriel and himself in the painting.

In the painting depicting numerous people, Jerard’s gaze was fixed on Eriel, who stood on the same level as him.

He had once thought that perhaps one day, he and she would be captured together in a painting.

An image of Eriel and himself, smiling brightly.

“Eriel……”

The laughter of young Eriel, reminiscent of a refreshing summer, passed through Jerard’s memories.

Soft brown hair and green eyes holding the verdure.

When she would smile and call out, “Jerard−” he often thought he could live like this forever.

From the close position of a friend, hearing Eriel’s voice, and seeing a smile bloom on her face due to his playfulness.

The happiness he couldn’t obtain anywhere else blossomed from Eriel’s gestures, voice, and expressions.

Happiness that he couldn’t attain for himself, but could only obtain from Eriel.

Jerard made constant efforts not to shatter that precious and beautiful thing.

He sometimes felt a sense of superiority watching the men who left Eriel’s side with their confessions, but…… now, he wondered what was the point of all that.

That fleeting moment was so beautiful that it became a lifelong prison that suffocated him.

In the end, all that remained was watching her departing back.

On that day, when Duke Jenova took the place where Jerard had always escorted Eriel for the first time, he realized that everything had gone wrong.

“I can’t return to my childhood days, but I can’t erase them either. Right, Eriel?”

Jerard asked the Eriel in the painting while standing still.

Reaching out his hand, Jerard traced her face with his fingers.

Surely, Eriel had parted ways with him on the departure ceremony bench and intended to come back to him with that glove.

Otherwise, there was no way Eriel and that aristocrat would have collided in a place packed with the aristocratic faction.

She must have followed his footsteps.

Clearly, it was Jerard himself, not Duke Jenova, whom she followed.

“Papa.”

Helen’s voice rang out. Jerard, momentarily flustered, turned his body towards the door and looked at the child standing in the doorway.

Judging by the face of his daughter, who was standing there holding a teddy bear the size of herself, fortunately, it seemed she hadn’t heard his words.

Drowsiness was evident in Bibi’s eyes, and her tousled hair indicated that she had just woken up.

“Helen. What’s the matter? Did you have a nightmare?”

“Ah, no…… I just came to see you because you weren’t by my side.”

Jerard approached Helen and placed his hand on top of the child’s head. As Jerard’s hand gently stroked her head, Helen stopped rubbing her eyes.

A smile immediately rose on the face of the child who felt Jerard’s touch, and a blush settled on her small cheeks.

“Papa. You’ll come to the room soon, right?”

In the dark room, Jerard stood with his back to the flickering light so that his face wouldn’t be clearly visible as he looked down at the child.

“Of course. I’ll be there soon if Helen is asleep.”

“Okay. Papa, you have to come to the room soon. Oh, and don’t trip and fall while walking! Understand? It’s dark, so Papa, you have to look down carefully and come.”

“Got it. Go in and sleep now.”

After making the excuse to Helen that he tripped and fell to explain the injury on his face caused by Duke Jenova’s blow, Helen’s nagging increased.

Although she was a daughter who would hesitate and have difficulty speaking in front of others, she had improved to the point of making cute nagging remarks only in front of Jerard.

For the three years when Helen was struggling with grief after her mother’s death.

She was a daughter who had stayed by Jerard’s side without seeking a nanny or a private tutor, but now everything was fine.

His deceased wife had given Helen a grace period of exactly three years, as if she would be fine by then.

If it were Eriel, she would surely get along well with his daughter like this.

One could tell just by looking at Lucy. The child’s expression brimming with impeccable etiquette and confidence.

Unlike Helen, it was evident that she had grown up receiving only love without a single crease.

If she were to grow up under Eriel’s care, Helen would also bloom more beautifully like Lucy.

Jerard, holding his throbbing cheek, slowly turned his gaze to the pocket watch.

The mere fact that Eriel had followed him gave Jerard assurance. She had intended to ask him something.

Only Jerard could understand the great significance of what that implied.

It was clear that his sincerity, which had tried to rely on even a small rumor, had gotten through.

The memories from childhood had not been erased.

*

“Uncle, is this right?”

Lucy looked up at Blake and asked with wavering eyes.

Blake, who had dressed Lucy in a black cloak, tightly tied the ribbon attached to the child’s chin and nodded his head once with an expressionless face.

“Uncle, really……”

Lucy’s voice rang out softly. Clinging close to Blake, Lucy rounded her small hands and whispered.

“You’re so cool.”

The eyes that had been wavering until just now were nowhere to be seen, and they were sparkling brightly.

Blake straightened his bent back at the child’s words and chuckled.

“It’s obvious, but there are many foolish humans who don’t even know that obvious thing well.”

Blake picked up Lucy and grinned widely.

“In that sense, my niece has pretty good insight.”

“Whose niece is it? Of course, Uncle.”

At those words, Lucy also lifted one corner of her mouth.

Somehow, it was a smile that reminded him of someone, but Blake decided not to bring that up.

Looking into the green eyes, Blake connected the chain attached to the child’s waist with the chain attached to his own wrist.

“But what if Mommy comes to check on me for a moment at night?”

At Lucy’s innocent question, Blake’s eyebrows momentarily furrowed.

“Don’t worry about that part. Your father-in-law is there.”

“Is it something discussed with Daddy? Did Daddy allow it?”

Startled by those words, Lucy abruptly lifted her face from Blake’s arms.

Lucy’s eyes, widened as if surprised, turned towards Blake.

Blake tucked Lucy’s golden hair, which had peeked out from between the hood, back inside and swallowed his unpleasant words.

“No.”

“Then…… why?”

The child’s words lengthened, but Blake no longer wanted to answer.

Blake lightly stepped onto the balcony and gazed at the bright moonlight.

“Not a single cloud, it’s clear. Not a good day for exploration.”

“Wow. Uncle. My heart is pounding like crazy.”

Lucy, who had tightly wrapped her arms around Blake’s neck, wiggled her fingers.

Lucy, who didn’t ask further about the reason why Eriel might not come into her room, snuggled into Blake’s arms.

“You must not scream. No matter what moment comes.”

Blake held Lucy tightly and reminded the child, feeling the small warmth.

“Of course.”

Lucy closed her eyes tightly.

Blake, who had been standing on the balcony railing, checked on Lucy once more and then stretched his leg out towards the air.

With one hand supporting Lucy, Blake entrusted his body to the air and landed familiarly on the tree below.

Sliding down from the tree, Blake quickly concealed himself amidst the pitch-black darkness, avoiding the moonlight, and moved swiftly.

Despite it being nighttime, knights were sternly patrolling inside the ducal residence.

Blake moved as if he knew all their blind spots, flowing like water and crossing the vast ducal residence garden.

Upon reaching the wall of the ducal residence, Blake leaped over it with a single running start.

Even while carrying a child, such things didn’t seem to hinder him at all.

As Blake started running after escaping to the outside road, his subordinates began to follow him one by one.

The subordinates, with unwavering breath, followed half a step behind him and added their reports.

“The aristocrat who bumped into the Duchess’s shoulder was lightly visited by Duke Jenova. I heard that while leaving the club, he dislocated the aristocrat’s shoulder blade. He even personally reassembled it for him.”

“And after that?”

“Politically, he’s in a state where he can’t make a comeback.”

Blake nodded at the subordinate’s words and was about to listen to the next report. Lucy poked her head out a little from his arms.

“By any chance, was that aristocrat wearing gloves?”

At Lucy’s question, the subordinate flinched.

Blake chuckled as he watched Lucy, who hadn’t even blinked an eye amidst the quite brutal report, asking an even more intense question.

“No. He wasn’t wearing them. However, the aristocrat who made a comment upon seeing the glove dropped by the Duchess was wearing gloves.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Lucy went back into Blake’s arms.

Blake smiled, feeling Lucy, who had stopped fidgeting again and quietly nestled in his arms.

The reporting subordinate seemed slightly flustered, but quickly continued the report.

“It seems there was a story related to gloves at the banquet held by Viscount Shannon before the departure ceremony. That aristocrat who made the comment apparently talked about it there, but the information may not be accurate.”

“The possibility of him being a spy planted by Viscount Scala?”

“We consider it highly likely. He always wears cotton gloves. However, there are a few aristocrats in the Emperor’s faction who wear cotton gloves with a similar design. Naturally, they are also on friendly terms with Viscount Scala.”

“I see.”

The subordinate, who had been reporting like that, paused for a moment.

The subordinate’s gaze pointed to Lucy.

It seemed to be information that would be uncomfortable if Lucy heard it. Blake pondered for a moment and shook his head.

He had a feeling he knew what the report was about, but he didn’t think the child needed to hear that far.

“Ah, what about the side of your brother-in-law?”

“Surprisingly, there are no significant movements. Apart from retaliating against the aristocrat who bumped into the Duchess’s shoulder, his attitude is closer to observing.”

Blake burst into laughter without realizing it at the subordinate’s words.

The mere fact that he personally went to retaliate against the aristocrat who bumped into her shoulder already meant that his anger was unbearable.

His recent behavior must be a tremendous calmness given by anger that seemed to explode from the top of his head.

He would surely clean up Viscount Shannon’s side without leaving a single one behind.

Since it seemed like he would handle it well, Blake thought he could just do what he had been doing originally.