The Ghost Lady Of The Duke's Family - Chapter 34

“Uh……”

The child with pale yellow eyes, dangling in midair, opened their mouth slightly while staring blankly.

The one who lifted the child carefully opened their mouth.

“I came…… to greet you.”

“……Huh?”

As if not understanding, the child shrank their neck and blinked rapidly.

And it was the same for Aeli as well.

‘……Why is the Knight Commander here?’

While Aeli was frozen in confusion, unable to even think of approaching the door, the Knight Commander who had put the child back on the ground bowed his head.

“Greetings. I am Siren Montero, assigned from today to be in charge of the young master’s protection.”

“Uh…… what?”

“It was a direct order from the Duke himself.”

At the mention of Lutis, the child lifted their lowered head to look at the Knight Commander’s face.

Their neck seemed to hurt from looking up at the tall man, as the child was much too short.

The Knight Commander seemed to notice this as well, as he knelt on one knee and continued speaking.

“I apologize for saying this as soon as we meet, but there are quite a few servants walking around carrying cleaning tools and heavy objects.”

“……Mhm.”

“For safety reasons, it would be better to refrain from running around like this, as you could get seriously hurt if you accidentally bump into someone.”

“Okay……”

Faced with this sudden new person, the child rolled their eyes to avoid eye contact and nodded slowly. It was the same advice they had received from Mari just a few months ago.

Aeli, who had been wondering if the child was intimidated by their blank response, soon frowned and thought.

‘Then could it be that this morning’s meeting with Sir Montero was because of this?’

It seemed like a drastic personnel change to specifically appoint the Knight Commander, whose absence would inevitably cause problems, as a bodyguard, leaving aside other available personnel.

‘Instead of doing this, he should just show his face in person……”

Aeli was not pleased with Lutis, who had been running away for months and kept creating situations like this.

It wasn’t funny to have to keep watching the child get their hopes up at the thought of being cared for, only to be disappointed when they couldn’t even see his face once.

Not knowing whether to be appalled or angry at this parade of false hope, Aeli rubbed her chin and slowly moved her feet.

For some reason, the child, who rarely noticed Aeli even when she came close, asked the Knight Commander:

“But there are already uncles guarding outside my room……?”

“Ah, they will continue to guard as usual without any changes. As for me…… I will only be seeing you when you go outside the mansion, young master.”

“……Outside?”

“Yes. For instance, when you take walks in the garden or when you go out.”

At the Knight Commander’s answer, the child seemed lost in thought, pushing their lips inside their mouth and wiggling their fingers.

The Knight Commander muttered “Uncle……” with a hurt expression, but the child didn’t seem to pay any attention.

‘Well, most of the knights on guard duty are a bit younger than or around the same age as Sir Montero, so it’s understandable that he’d feel upset.’

If they were uncles, then naturally the Knight Commander would be an uncle too.

He was still unmarried and perhaps a bit past the typical marriage age, but until now he had seemed more suited to being called a young man rather than an uncle.

Of course, from the perspective of a child who had only lived for 5 years, he would indeed be an uncle, so it wasn’t really her place to judge.

Thinking this and nodding her head, Aeli heard the child speak again.

“Until now, no one followed me when I went out for, for walks in the garden?”

“That’s because the Duke—”

“……?”

“……Ah, well…… Due to the war, I wasn’t able to contact the family for a while. I only just got assigned after taking leave to visit the territory and dealing with urgent tasks that had piled up.”

“I see……”

As the child quietly nodded, Aeli let out a sigh.

Judging by the Knight Commander’s flustered expression, the latter part of his statement was likely a hastily made-up excuse.

If that was the case, then it meant that Lutis had been watching even during the walks, except for the moments spent in the bedroom…..

−…….

……Oh.

Aeli’s mouth fell open in shock.

‘I was careful just in case, but when there was no one around, I played with Adi and even had conversations?’

And that wasn’t all. As promised, she had taught the child how to make flower crowns with clover, holding their hands and making them together. Sometimes she had even hugged them or let them sit on her lap.

There were times when she gave quick kisses on the cheek, making the child giggle that it tickled and lie down on the ground.

Although she hadn’t acted as freely as she did in the room, staying within bounds that wouldn’t make the servants and guard knights suspicious.

When hugging or letting the child sit on her lap, she had made sure to check that they were surrounded by high bushes that blocked the view.

‘Could it be……’

……that he saw all that?

As Aeli tried to gauge the Swordmaster’s eyesight, a chill ran down her spine.

Since Lutis wouldn’t have been able to see her, it must have looked like the child was talking to thin air and floating.

It would be a problem if he thought it was magic and questioned it, and it would also be a problem if he dismissed it as a strange phenomenon and mistreated the child.

−Am I…… Could I be ruined?

Aeli muttered softly, pulling at her long hair and swallowing hard.

What’s already happened…… there’s no way to undo it, so all she could do was pray that Lutis hadn’t seen. From now on, she would have to be even more careful.

Now that the Knight Commander would be accompanying them on every walk as a guard, it was impossible to let her guard down anymore.

Perhaps overhearing Aeli’s dejected mumbling to herself, the child finally turned around slightly and made eye contact with her.

“……”

−…….

What should we do? For a moment, it seemed the child had the same thought, looking up at Aeli with questioning eyes.

Aeli forced a smile and spoke.

−For now…… it’s disappointing, but let’s try to be more careful from now on.

“……”

−Instead, how about we increase the bedtime stories from one book to two? What do you think, Adi?

“……”

One or two hours of carefree walking and playing in the garden versus one more storybook at night.

The child didn’t seem particularly pleased, probably feeling it wasn’t a fair exchange.

“Young master, did you leave something in the study?”

“……”

“……Young master?”

“No……”

The child was half-turned, facing Aeli who was standing behind them.

As the puzzled Knight Commander questioned the child, Aeli seized the opportunity to quickly speak up.

−It seems we’ve already passed lunchtime, shall we go eat now? Mari must be looking for us.

“……”

Only then did the child turn back to face forward and nod glumly.

“……?”

Unaware of this whole exchange, the Knight Commander could only tilt his head in confusion at the child who said no but nodded yes.

[This is the timeline separator]

Normally, it would have been the hottest time of day just after finishing lunch.

Perhaps due to the unexpected encounter with the Knight Commander causing a delay, by the time the child finished their meal, the sun’s intensity had already begun to wane.

While Mari was clearing the dishes, the child maintained a disgruntled silence, listening to the conversation.

“Young master, what time would you like the snack prepared for later?”

“……Will there be people here when I eat snacks too?”

“I suppose so? With many of the annex staff being pulled away, some of the main house staff have been moved to the annex, right?”

“……”

“I need to stay by your side constantly, but right now I’m the only one who properly knows the situation in the annex……”

Unavoidably, Mari would have to leave her post for a short while in the afternoon, so other maids would be standing in during that time.

Knowing this fact but still seeking confirmation from Mari, the child pondered for a while before looking out the window.

Though they had avoided the hottest part of the day, it was still muggy weather as they were at the tail end of summer.

“……I want to eat outside today.”

“Won’t it be too hot? Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Mm-hmm, just give me the snack and tell the other maids to go inside. And when I’m done eating, come back out and clean up then.”

About an hour should be enough, right? Muttering this, the child rested their chin on the back of the couch they were sitting on backwards and rolled their eyes.

Mari nodded and said:

“Then I’ll bring your drink with ice to keep it cool. Should I plan for about two hours from now?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Would you prefer a smoothie or juice? Peaches and watermelon are in season and would make delicious drinks. Oh, we have grapes too.”

“Then grape…… with honey please.”

After Mari agreed and finished clearing the dishes.

Aeli, who hadn’t said anything but somehow knew, only then realized upon seeing the Knight Commander waiting by the door as they were about to go for a walk.

‘So that’s why they insisted on eating snacks outside……”

It seems they wanted to get revenge on the Knight Commander, who was the reason they could no longer take walks freely.

Though they chose to suffer in the hot weather outside just to annoy the Knight Commander…… it seems they felt bad about making the innocent maids suffer along with them.

−Hmm…….

Unfortunately, for a knight whose daily routine involves swinging a sword all day in even hotter weather, this method wouldn’t have much impact.

However, Mari had already left long ago, and the Knight Commander was right there, so there was no way to convey this message.

……Choosing to keep it a secret, Aeli discreetly avoided the child’s gaze.

Shortly after beginning their garden walk.

Aeli cheered inwardly as she watched the frozen back of the child, holding flowers in one hand.

“……”

“……”

It was the moment when father and child faced each other for the first time in 4 long years.