“I’m planning to get married, Mother.”

He was the eldest son who seemed unlikely to meet any woman due to his gruff nature.

When Luke suddenly brought up marriage, Catherine almost fainted from shock.

She had heard rumors. Rumors that the Duke of Lisianthus, her eldest son, had fallen head over heels for some count’s daughter and turned into a marshmallow.

But she had never seen it with her own eyes. As Catherine was about to say something in disbelief, Luke spoke with fierce eyes.

“Don’t even think about opposing. Though I’m sure you wouldn’t, Mother.”

“Ah, and when she comes, please treat her well. I don’t care if you torment other noble ladies, but not her.”

Even then, the eldest son was quite insolent. It was ridiculous how he threatened to leave immediately if Elodie was made to suffer, glaring with cold eyes, so she let out a derisive snort.

“Hmph. As if we’d have much chance to meet anyway. If she’s heard the rumors in high society, she’ll surely avoid me at all costs.”

Catherine had long had a bad reputation in high society. It was only natural, given how she used to pull other young ladies’ hair so viciously in her youth.

In fact, even now in her old age, she was quite willing to do so. It’s just that people who knew Catherine’s temperament simply didn’t invite her to parties, or if they did meet, they knew to avoid her.

Catherine didn’t care at all. It was none of her business what others thought of her.

None of her business… or so she thought.

“At first I was really worried, but the lady is such a wonderful person.”

“I wonder how it would feel if Luke and I had a child?”

“Mother! The weather is so nice today, would you like to go for a walk together? Just the two of us, without Luke!”

Elodie was a lovely person.

Pink hair like a blooming flower. Bright and round features. An occasionally childlike, innocent smile.

Elodie, who had just become the Duchess of Lisianthus, gave more of an impression of a girl than a woman.

Elodie approached the grumbling Catherine like a small puppy, trotting along. Having been showered with love since childhood, Elodie was not deterred at all by Catherine’s rejection.

I thought she was a hothouse flower, but.

“You, aren’t you afraid of me? I could dislike you, you know.”

“Huh?”

When Catherine asked one day, Elodie replied with an expression of genuine incomprehension.

“There’s no one who dislikes me, you know?”

That confidence was truly astonishing.

But Elodie’s words were also true. Not only the count’s family, but everyone in the duke’s household liked Elodie without exception. It was impossible not to like her.

A person who always listens attentively to her subordinates and smiles kindly. Despite being the youngest daughter of the wealthiest family in the kingdom and the mistress of a ducal house, she never abuses her power and approaches even shy people with a smile.

Isn’t there a saying that you can’t spit on a smiling face?

Old proverbs aren’t always right, but when you see Elodie’s face, you naturally recall that saying.

Ah, so that’s what it meant.

Catherine gradually fell for Elodie. She came to cherish Elodie even more than her son Luke. It took less than half a year for that to happen.

It was a love that came late in life.

So the sense of loss when that love departed was beyond words. The miscarriage of the granddaughter she had been expecting and the death of the daughter-in-law she had cherished like her own child made Catherine flee from the duke’s residence.

And now, Elodie’s daughter has appeared.

…How is that possible?

Catherine remembered the moments right after Elodie gave birth. Though she didn’t witness the actual delivery, the baby was born without even a hint of life. It was dead.

Elodie never became pregnant again after that. She passed away less than a year after the stillbirth.

But considering her son’s nature, it’s inconceivable that he would have had a child with any woman other than Elodie. If it’s Luke’s own child, it must be Elodie’s daughter. In fact, just looking at her appearance, she was undoubtedly her daughter.

‘How on earth?’

Catherine gripped and released her skirt. Sensing the unusual atmosphere, the priest Dominic forced an awkward smile.

“Haha… Congratulations. Then, Your Grace, may we take our leave now?”

“You may. Ah, and I’d like you to announce in the name of the temple that Bonita is my child.”

“Of course, we’ll do so.”

“Good. Then you may go now.”

At Luke’s dismissal, the two priests hurriedly left the room. As they went out the door, they heaved sighs of relief. Leo grumbled, tousling his red hair.

“I thought we were going to die.”

Dominic nodded with an exhausted expression.

“Indeed. Well, next time we’ll have to draw lots more carefully.”

After the priests left, Catherine stood up, slightly staggering.

Her purple eyes turned towards the child sitting between Luke and Aria.

A small girl who resembled Elodie.

Bonita Lisianthus.

She really does resemble her. She really does.

“My lady?”

Seeing Catherine, Bonita asked with an awkward expression. Despite having just learned that she was the duke’s own daughter, she still seemed unable to fully grasp the reality.

Looking at that face, Catherine suddenly realized.

While Bonita greatly resembled Elodie and was undoubtedly her daughter.

The two were very different.

If it were Elodie, she wouldn’t have been watching Catherine’s reaction in this situation. She acted as if there was nothing in the world she feared, didn’t she?

The beloved youngest daughter of a wealthy count’s family. Moreover, she was even the niece of the queen who held sway over high society.

But what about Bonita?

She was raised by a woman named Aria Hilton, wasn’t she?

Catherine didn’t know much about how Bonita had grown up. However, she could guess that Bonita hadn’t been raised as a noble.

The doors of the Hilton barony had been firmly closed for a long time, and Aria Hilton, the only heir, had disappeared without a trace for a full 6 years.

Is it the difference in their upbringing?

Or is it simply their innate nature?

Catherine stared intently at Bonita. Just then, a concerned voice was heard from the side.

“Lady Lisianthus, are you alright? You look pale.”

Catherine, who had been looking at Bonita’s face, startled. As she turned her head, Aria was wearing a worried expression.

“I think it would be better if you went to your room to rest first. You can talk with Bonita later, right?”

Then she smiled softly.

“You…”

Catherine opened her mouth and then closed it. No more words came out.

She looked at Bonita one last time before leaving the reception room with staggering steps. It was a completely different attitude from earlier when she had rushed in eagerly.

Bonita’s eyebrows drooped.

“Um, does the lady really dislike that I’m His Grace’s daughter?”

“How could that be?”

Luke said hastily.

“Mother is just surprised. You are truly like a miracle…”

Luke swallowed hard as he looked at Bonita, who was holding Aria’s hand tightly.

Swallowing various circumstances, he simply said this.

“Welcome home, truly. Bonita.”

Upon receiving the request from the ducal family, the temple immediately sent out notices about the duke’s daughter to several noble families and the royal family.

The letter stated that the girl who had come to the duke’s family was undoubtedly the duke’s own daughter, and that the temple vouched for this fact. It also mentioned that an official letter from the duke’s family would arrive soon.

The noble families were abuzz with this unusual event.

Paternity tests are usually the prerogative of nobles. However, the usual reason for noble families to conduct paternity tests was to identify a husband’s infidelity or illegitimate children.

It was never common for a child of the official wife to be lost.

And of all places, that ducal family!

Nobles who knew Luke Lisianthus’s temperament generally believed that he would not have any more children, and that when he died, the title of duke would pass to his brother’s family, the Viscount Delphinium.

And then, out of nowhere, the duke’s only daughter appeared.

In the Kingdom of Aleph, inheritance usually followed primogeniture of legitimate children, but in cases where there were no sons, it was not uncommon for daughters to inherit the family title. If that duke’s daughter was certainly the duke’s own child, even if she were illegitimate, there would be no major issue with her inheriting the title.

It might become somewhat of a gossip topic, but who would dare say anything? After all, she was the duke’s only child.

And of course, that news also reached Elodie’s family, the Rothwell Count’s household. However, what they focused on was not the issue of an heiress appearing for the Lisianthus ducal family.

“What did you just say?”

Dylan Rothwell, the eldest son of the Rothwell Count’s family, asked again, unable to hide his discomfort. The second son, Renan, replied with a calm expression.

“The daughter of Duke Lisianthus has appeared.”

“Daughter? How can a daughter appear? What, did they adopt a child from a collateral line?”

Dylan snorted as he turned a page of his documents.

“I thought the Viscount Delphinium had two sons. A daughter, you say. Was he that reluctant to pass the title to his younger brother? What an incomprehensible pair of brothers, that lot.”

“You know that’s not it, brother.”

Renan delivered a pointed remark towards Dylan, who was trying hard to deny it.

“A letter came from the temple. It says that Duke Lisianthus and that daughter are undoubtedly father and child, and the temple vouches for it.”

The quill pen Dylan was holding stopped. He asked quietly.

“How old is that child? Five years old? Four? Or younger?”

“Brother.”

“Right. I suppose Duke Lisianthus had no choice. Even if he wouldn’t take another wife, as a great noble, it’s only natural to want to pass on the family name to his own blood—”

“She’s seven years old.”

Crack.

Dylan clenched his fist upon hearing Renan’s words. The fragile document in his hand was crumpled beyond repair. Dylan raised his head with a grim expression.

“Seven years old, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Seven years old. If she’s seven, then the relationship must have started 8 years ago. Or even earlier, since it’s unlikely to have succeeded on the first try.”

Dylan muttered, chewing the inside of his mouth.

“That bastard, how dare he betray our Elodie?”