In Luke’s head, who unconsciously fantasized about it, this kind of talk came up.

“The eldest daughter, who is a biological child, resembles her grandmother the most.”

And at the same time, an illusionary Bonita resembling Catherine passed through Luke’s mind.

“Humph. You don’t even know your own imagination?”

“No!”

It was a nightmare… a nightmare.

No… of course, once you see it, it might be cute to see it behaving like that.

After all, Luke thought that the current Bonita was the best.

He hugged Bonita tightly.

“Fortunately, Bonita is an adopted child.”

“?”

Startled by the sudden embrace, Bonita looked puzzled.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Around the time the sun was setting over Sosan (서산), a carriage adorned with colorful flower emblems slid into the Rishianthus Duke’s estate.

It was none other than Delphinium Manor and his eldest son, Bentley.
The gatekeeper, Dalton, bowed his head slightly as he looked at the emblem on the carriage.

“Hello, Lord Delphinium. And Master Bentley.”

“Haha, it’s been a while, Dalton.”

Unlike his brother, the mild-mannered younger brother descended from the carriage, dressed in a splendid hat and suit.

He extended his hand.

At that moment, a boy with still messy black hair popped out of the carriage.

The boy grumbled.

“I could have come down alone.”

“He wanted Father to pick him up. Don’t tease him.”

“I understand.”

Dalton smiled as he looked at Oliver and Bentley.

Having worked as a gatekeeper at the duke’s residence for a long time, he had been watching over Luke and Oliver since they were children. And now, both of them had their own children.

“You’ve grown a lot since I last saw you, Master Bentley.”

“Who was it again?”

“It’s Dalton.”

He said, placing his hand on his chest.

“I saw the young master when he was very young. Since about three years old, he hasn’t come to the duke’s residence.”

In fact, most noble children were not good at long-distance carriage travel.

It was an era with a high infant mortality rate. Even if they passed the age of three, they still had weak immunity.

If they went to another area and caught a disease there, they would often die without even knowing what it was.

So, unless it was within the capital, it was an unwritten rule not to send children under the age of five to distant areas.

It was very unusual for Bentley, who was three years old at the time, to come to the duke’s residence.

‘At that time… Everyone thought that Your Grace would adopt Master Bentley as the successor.’

After the death of the duchess, the duke vowed never to marry again.

The duke’s sincere affection was well known, so it was not a big deal.

So people naturally speculated that he would adopt one of his nephews, especially the clever and smart Bentley, as his successor.

When the news spread that Oliver visited the duke’s residence with his son Bentley, the gossip practically became a well-known fact.

Dalton smiled slyly as he looked at Oliver and Bentley.

He had been working as a gatekeeper at the duke’s residence for a long time, and he knew a bit more about the situation than the socialites who only knew how to socialize.

Whether the duke at that time really intended to adopt his big nephew as an heir was unknown. Unlike socialites, Dalton, who worked at the duke’s residence for a long time and was a trusted knight to Luke, knew the situation a little more in detail.

At that time, the duke was researching nonexistent black magic, the resurrection of the dead, to revive his deceased former duchess.

It seemed to have ultimately failed.

‘Well, it’s a relief that he seems to have given up now.’

Although it was described as ‘at that time,’ the duke’s research had continued until recently.

He must have been devoted to dark magic until Bonita appeared.

So, Dalton was quite pleased with the current state of the duke.
Throughout the day, Luke’s terrifying expression, sharp as if he could kill someone at any moment, was excessively unpleasant to behold.

“Please come in. Duke, Lord Delphinium, is also waiting for you.”

Having finished his greetings, Dalton bowed his head and spoke politely.

“Alright then.”

Oliver flashed a gentlemanly smile.

“Now, Bentley, let’s go inside.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Answer me once.”

“Yes.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The distance from the gate of the duke’s residence to the mansion’s main gate was quite long.

Therefore, it was fine to take a carriage, but Oliver chose to walk, wanting to enjoy the gardens of his ancestral home.

Thanks to that, Bentley could vividly observe the gardens of the duke’s residence.

‘Quite different from our house.’

Of course, Lord Delphinium’s gardens were well-maintained and not unpleasant to look at, but compared to the duke’s, they were infinitely humble. Bentley’s gaze focused on the fountain in the middle of the garden.

It seemed like a lot of fun to jump into it. Bentley swallowed his saliva.