As Vane conveyed this with a polite tone, Franz swallowed his dry saliva. It was the first day he would meet the child who was awake and conscious, as the carriage procession had arrived late at night.

Seeing the two elderly men tensing up unexpectedly, Valter burst into a forced laughter.

“I thought you disliked the child since you scolded Edith at your first meeting.”

“Cough.”

Both Franz and Vane knew the reason for the subtle thorn in Valter’s words. It was when he first saw Edith, who, misunderstanding, used Leia’s name to carry out fraudulent activities, even resorting to magic.

Now, as Valter recalled that moment before meeting his great-grandson, it wasn’t strange for him to have a wary expression.

“Apologize repeatedly for that incident, to both yourself and Edith.”

“You should. If your son resembles you, he’ll be terribly concerned about Edith’s affairs.”

Just as Valter smiled, subtly threatening that if Franz didn’t want to sever ties with his great-grandson, he should treat Edith well.

“Thank you for waiting.”

Edith, who had left the room to check on the news of the child waking up, returned. Instead of drinking the warm tea her mother prepared for her, she left her seat to come back.

Franz couldn’t take his eyes off the small blanket she was holding. After helping Edith sit comfortably on the sofa, he cautiously looked at the child.

When he saw the abundant black hair and the subtly revealed golden eyes, something warm surged in his chest.

“…Resembles both of you and Leia. It’s amazing.”

Even though the child had only been born a little over ten days ago, in its face, Franz saw the faces of Valter, Edith, and Leia.

Franz suddenly remembered the first time he held Leia, his first child, in his arms. When he held the tiny baby, meeting her eyes for the first time, Franz vowed to raise her as the happiest woman in the empire.

At the same time, the moment when his resolution came to naught, and his daughter lost her life somewhere outside the mansion, flashed in his mind, almost shattering his liver.

“His name is Adrian. Adrian Lexion. It suits him well.”

Franz concealed his changing expression well, but his voice couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

Edith carefully handed the child to Franz.

“First, support his head… Huh?”

However, Franz adeptly held the baby. It was flawless, without any flaws, making worries seem irrelevant.

“Holding a great-grandchild is Adrian’s first time, but since he has already taken care of his children and grandchildren, there’s no need to worry.”
When Franz spoke with pride, Vane added unnecessarily.

“Do the young twins of Lady Liriet still remember the picnic when they were young, riding in the carriage with the Duke?”

“Vane, you’re quite something. What’s so remarkable about boasting a bit about a carriage?”

Even Franz, who said so, subtly enjoyed the attention his baby care skills were receiving. Moreover, seeing that even Adrian seemed to find Franz’s arms more comfortable than being in his mother’s, Edith felt puzzled.

‘How on earth did rumors of Lexion abusing his bloodline spread…’

Could it be that stories of feeding and taking care of the child being “expanded” were misunderstood as abuse? Although Edith knew that the abuse stories were baseless rumors, seeing Franz holding Adrian made it even more absurd.

With skillful hands, Franz put Adrian to sleep and suddenly spoke as if he remembered something.

“You’ve been through a lot giving birth in another land, Edith. Now that we have a child, it’s best to raise the status formally in the family as soon as possible.”

As he finished speaking, Vane, as if he had been waiting, handed Edith a document bound in a jacket.

From the cover, adorned with white lace and pearls, it wasn’t difficult to guess what the content might be.

“This is a booklet created with the earnest effort of Lady and the governess. It might be helpful to refer to.”

Vane didn’t mention that he and Franz had finalized the booklet.

The crucial point was that by using this booklet, the duke and duchess could quickly and extravagantly raise their child’s status.

As Edith flipped through the document one page at a time, the designs of beautiful white wedding dresses captivated her gaze.

Since her mother passed away, she had been occupied with the affairs of daily life, and luxurious weddings were not of interest to her. However, looking at them now, her heart swayed again.

“It would be good to raise the status as soon as possible, so let’s choose diligently.”

Watching Edith, whose eyes sparkled charmingly, Valter let out a faint laughter.

“How gentle the young master is… He sleeps deeply.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Edith thanked the governess and kissed Adrian on the mouth.

Although the baby had no concept of day and night yet, it was still a bit early for Edith, an adult, to go to bed.

Considering going to the bedroom like this, she soon changed her mind.

‘I should talk to Valter a bit before going to bed.’

Seeing the shattered carriage due to the rocks manipulated by the Turku wizards, Edith realized one thing.

As long as the sorcerers of Turku continued to attack the members of the Lexion ducal family, who were mentioned as the next emperor trying to seize the empire, Empress Hwangbi would not stop trying to take control of the empire.
If it’s not oneself, the most carefree thing in the family would probably be a newborn baby, so she wanted to have a deep conversation with Valter about that matter.

‘If there’s time, it might be okay to look at the wedding document folder together.’

She moved calmly with her steps. However, when she reached his office, the voice coming from beyond the door was not the one she expected.

“No one could have known that the Marquis’s condition would deteriorate so suddenly… What should we do about this matter?”

“We shouldn’t hide it anymore. Before long, his memory might collapse, so it might be necessary to tell the madam as well.”