Bentley remained indifferent even as his father, who had come right up to his face, passionately argued while spitting.

“She’s a girl anyway, isn’t she? If His Excellency has any thoughts, he’ll naturally adopt me, a boy, as his heir.”

“Ha, you rascal. Do you think it’s that simple?”

Oliver ran his hand through his hair as if frustrated. Black hair similar to Luke’s color brushed through his fingers.

“How much elder brother loved Elodie. Unless it’s an illegitimate child, if it’s a legitimate child, he’ll pass on the title to that child, whether it’s a girl or a boy.”

“Then what can we do?”

Bentley crossed his legs with a sullen expression.

The boy, who resembled Oliver with black hair and black eyes, frowned deeply and expressed irritation.

“If uncle isn’t going to adopt me anyway, it’s all over already. What good will it do for me to look pretty?”

“That’s for your father to decide.”

Oliver said firmly.

“So you just do as I say. If you do that, you’ll become a duke, and your younger brother will become a viscount. Understand?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Answer only once.”

“Yes.”

“And of course you know, you must not breathe a word about what you discussed with your father elsewhere.”

“I got it.”

Bentley answered carelessly and turned his gaze out the window, as if bothered.

As if they were getting closer to the south, the trees had become quite lush at some point. Befitting a place with developed forests, woodcutters carrying saws could often be seen.

Bentley took out a sandwich from the picnic box he had packed in advance.

It was something the viscountess had clumsily made since early morning when her son said he was going on a trip.

When he took a bite of what was inside the whole wheat, the mix of quality ham and fresh vegetables tasted quite decent. Regardless of its messy appearance.

‘Ah, I want to go home.’

In fact, unlike his father Oliver, the eldest son Bentley wasn’t particularly interested in becoming a duke.

All the boy wanted was to reign like a king in a quiet rural estate and maintain his peaceful daily life as always.

‘Of course, it wouldn’t be bad if I could inherit the duke’s title…’

He wouldn’t refuse if it was given to him.

But in such cases, wouldn’t he have to be adopted under his uncle?

Then he would no longer be able to see his beloved mother, nor the servants and maids he had grown fond of in the mansion.

‘It would be better if Morgan went instead.’

Unlike Bentley, who found everything bothersome, his younger brother Morgan was an ambitious boy in many ways.

Yet father always favored Bentley more. Because he was the firstborn, and honestly, he was smarter and better-looking than his younger brother Morgan.

Bentley, who had been thinking about himself and his younger brother Morgan, suddenly opened his mouth as if something had occurred to him.

“By the way, father.”

“What is it?”

“Couldn’t Morgan have just come with you? He seemed really interested.”

“That again?”

Oliver frowned.

“He may be my son, but that boy isn’t fit to be a duke. Do you know how many diplomatic duties the Duke of Lisianthus has to take on?”

“…”

I don’t want that either.

Bentley swallowed the words that were about to come out of his throat.

As his father said, rumors were rampant throughout the country that the Duke of Lisianthus worked overtime almost every day due to excessive workload. The thought alone made his skin crawl.

No matter how much he liked studying, being buried in paperwork all day was another story.

Bentley gazed out the window and thought absentmindedly.

‘I miss mom…’

It’s really hard to get along with father.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Your uncle will be coming today.”

Bonita blinked at the duke’s words.

She didn’t properly understand the term ‘uncle’.

Noticing this, Aria explained from beside her.

“It’s father’s younger brother. In simple terms, it’s your young father.”

“I see.”

Bonita nodded and stared at Luke.

Black hair and red eyes.

A face that, although slightly better when smiling, still looked scary enough to make children cry and run away just by looking at him.

A huge build like a bear.

If this person’s brother…

“Is he big and scary-looking like you, Your Grace?”

Bonita asked, letting her imagination run wild.

“Am I… big and scary-looking?”

Luke was inwardly shocked by the child’s unfiltered words.

Bonita thought for a moment before answering.

“Come to think of it, I guess it’s okay.”

It was a clumsy lie, more fatal than being honest.

Luke felt grateful for his daughter who changed her words to avoid hurting him, but also felt dejected about his own appearance.

“Pfft, hehehe.”

Aria simply found it amusing.

She barely held back her laughter and added casually.

“Your Grace does look a bit scary.”

Luke glared at Aria.

Aria didn’t bat an eye and gently stroked Bonita’s head.

“I’m a bit curious how it would have been if Bonita had taken after Your Grace.”

“…”

A daughter who resembled him in both face and personality.

As Luke unconsciously imagined, these words came to mind.

“They say the eldest daughter takes after her grandmother the most.”

And simultaneously, an imaginary Bonita resembling Catherine passed through his mind.

“Hmph. Your Excellency doesn’t even know that?”

“No way!”

A nightmare… it was a nightmare.

No… of course, if he actually saw it, it might be cute even if she acted like that a little bit.

Still, Luke liked the current Bonita the most.

He hugged Bonita tightly.

“I’m glad Bonita takes after her mother.”

“?”

Bonita looked puzzled as she was suddenly embraced.

[This is the timeline separator]

As the sun was about to set in the west, a carriage bearing a splendid flower emblem slid into the inner part of the Lisianthus ducal residence.

It was the Viscount Delphinium and his eldest son, Bentley.

Dalton, the gatekeeper, bowed his head as he saw the emblem on the carriage.

“Greetings, Viscount Delphinium. And Young Master Bentley.”

“Haha, it’s been a while, Dalton.”

Unlike his brother, the younger brother with a gentle impression jumped down from the carriage, wearing a stylish hat and suit.

He extended his hand.

Then, a boy with not yet fully ripened black hair popped out from inside the carriage.

The boy grumbled.

“I can get down on my own.”

“Father just wants to help you. Don’t grumble.”

“Alright.”

Dalton smiled gently as he watched Oliver and Bentley.

He was a gatekeeper who had worked at the ducal residence for a very long time, watching over Luke and Oliver since they were young children. And now, the two had their own children.

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

“Huh? Who were you again?”

“I’m Dalton.”

He said, placing his hand on his chest.

“I saw you when you were very young. You haven’t been to the ducal residence since you were three years old.”

In fact, most noble children don’t travel by carriage often.

It was already an era with a high infant mortality rate. While passing the age of three was considered overcoming a major hurdle, their immunity was still weak.

If they went to another region and happened to catch a local disease, they would often die without knowing why.

So, unless it was within the capital area, it was an unspoken rule not to send children under five years old to distant regions.

It was quite exceptional for the three-year-old Bentley to have come to the ducal family at that time.

‘Back then… everyone thought His Excellency would adopt Young Master Bentley as his heir.’

Right after the duchess died, the duke firmly stated that he would never marry again.

The duke’s deep devotion was famous, so it wasn’t anything unusual.

So people naturally gossiped that he would choose one of his two nephews, especially the intelligent and smart Bentley, as his successor.

When news spread that Oliver had visited the ducal residence with only his son Bentley, that gossip circulated as if it were almost a fact.

Dalton smiled bitterly as he recalled that time.

‘Well… it’s all ancient history now.’

No one knows if the duke at that time really intended to adopt his eldest nephew. Unlike the social circles, Dalton, who had worked at the ducal residence for a long time and was a trusted knight of Luke, knew the situation at that time a little more in detail than others.

At that time, the duke was researching black magic of resurrection that didn’t even exist. It was to revive the late duchess.

It seemed to have failed in the end.

‘Still, it’s good that he seems to have given up now.’

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

He must have been completely immersed in black magic until Bonita appeared.

That’s why Dalton really liked the current ducal family.

It was too painful to see Luke’s appearance, sharpened as if he might kill someone at any moment, wearing a terrifying expression all day long.

“Let’s go in. His Grace the Duke will be waiting for you as well.”

Dalton bowed respectfully and said politely, finishing his reminiscence.

“Indeed.”

Oliver smiled like the epitome of a gentleman.

“Come, Bentley. Let’s go in.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Answer only once.”

“Yes.”

[This is the timeline separator]

The distance from the main gate of the ducal residence to the entrance of the mansion was quite far.

Therefore, it would have been fine to ride in the carriage, but Oliver chose to walk, saying he wanted to enjoy the garden of his birthplace after a long time.

Thanks to this, Bentley was also able to vividly observe the garden of the ducal family.

‘It’s completely different from our house.’

Of course, the garden of the Delphinium viscounty was quite well-maintained and neat, so it wasn’t bad to look at.

However, compared to the ducal family’s, it was infinitely shabby. Bentley’s gaze turned to the fountain in the center of the garden.

It seemed like it would be a lot of fun to jump in and play there. Bentley swallowed hard.