Duke Giovanni Madelleine’s office. The midday sun penetrated the round glass window.

The sunlight creeping up on the desk made Sir Huxley jump, quickly drawing the curtains.

Fortunately, the Duke said nothing. The sound of the nib scratching filled the office.

It was a day like any other.

But for several years now, Sir George Huxley, who had been serving Duke Madelleine, instinctively knew that the Duke’s current state signaled the calm before a storm.

And in such a situation, Sir Huxley knew exactly what he had to do as an aide.

He silently left the office, and the moment the door closed lightly, Giovanni Madelleine let out a heavy breath.

His sharply defined, crystal blue eyes glared at the documents. The letters were blurred, not visible properly, but only Duke Vicander’s face, seen at the last aristocrat conference, became clear.

“That’s enough. Didn’t I speak kindly, Duke?”

After the aristocrat meeting ended, it was when Giovanni had clenched his teeth to find Olivia.

Instead of Olivia, whose whereabouts were unknown, a voice, chilling to the spine, was directed at Giovanni.

Turning reflexively, the Duke was standing there, as if it was only natural.

“Is it a threat if a father wants to see his daughter?”

“……Are you saying that a father’s desire to see his daughter is a threat, Your Grace?”

Even as he spoke, it felt uncomfortable, as if his mouth was full of sand. At the same time, the Duke burst into laughter. His eyes, laughing as if amused, were cold.

Then the Duke shrugged his shoulders and spoke softly, so that only Giovanni could hear.

“My, what kind of father leaves his daughter crouched alone.”

It must have been possible because she wasn’t his daughter. Giovanni, stung by his own words, closed his mouth. The Duke raised one corner of his mouth, as if he had hoped for that reaction.

“……Value your fortune, and heed my warning. I hope you heed today’s warning at least.”

The voice still lingered in his mind, days later. Giovanni, glaring at the familiar desk in his office, suddenly took a deep breath, furrowing his brow.

The Duke doesn’t know.

He doesn’t know, so he can say such things.

Twentyone years ago, her mother, who was a dancer that money could buy, was with me, drunk. That night, when I had been in exclusive company with the aristocrat Duke Elkin, more inebriated than usual, I didn’t know that night would become the greatest regret of my life.

My head throbbed, and my breathing quickened. Lately, my neck has been tightening, and the frequency of headaches has increased. It had been quite some time since I’d seen a doctor, I thought at that moment.

“The tea has cooled, so I’ve brought new.”

With a delicate scent, Sir Huxley presented a new tea pot and cup. The transparent, brewed brown tea calmed my frayed nerves.

“……Thank you.”

Giovanni picked up the tea cup. It was hot, just to his liking.

The Duke’s expression relaxed little by little as he drank the tea. Sir Huxley sighed quietly, seeing this.

The tea, which occasionally cooled the Duke’s temper, was running out.

If he had known this would happen, he would have asked the first princess earlier.

“This tea is good for the cardiovascular system, and sometimes your father asks for it. Oh, the temperature of the tea cup should be hot when you touch it to your wrist. Then you think it’s just warm enough to hold.”

Suddenly, he remembered the first princess, who had taught him how to brew tea when he was first appointed as an aide, even though she had no intention of brewing tea herself.

With her hopeful green eyes, the first princess used to look at this office.

Now he could no longer see her like that.

(This is a time separator.)

Late that evening in the Madelleine Duke’s reception room.

Conrad swallowed a sigh.

It was an urgent matter, just as the butler had said. The notes and amounts in the ledger didn’t match at a glance.

He didn’t miss the look that had frozen for a moment on Esselara, who was in front of him.
“I’m sorry, big brother. I should have checked a few more times.”

Conrad lowered his head at the face of his dejected younger sister, then smiled as if it was nothing.

“……It would have been hard to notice right away since it’s the quarterly payment ledger.”

“Your words are correct, Young Count, Miss Esella. At your age, it’s not easy to understand what went wrong, but you did well.”

The butler spoke as if to support Esella’s spirit, but her gloomy expression did not disappear, so he added another word.

“Actually, you must have been tired, Miss Esella, taking on what even Jade Lord should do.”

But…….

Conrad swallowed the thought that suddenly came to his mind, and once again comforted Esella.

“It’s okay because it’s your first time doing this. You’ve worked hard. I’ll take care of this, so keep studying hard as you are now.”

Finally, at his gentle voice, Esella nodded her head and left the reception room.