The magic I had engraved to give Lutis as a gift was actually largely Noel’s work.

Aeli’s eyes widened upon learning this completely unexpected fact.

‘No wonder the performance was excessively good…!’

The young Aeli was not at the level to create the magic currently on the brooch.

It was so strange that she directly remembered it.

If she hadn’t lost objectivity about her skills, she must have worried at least several times that the brooch might be broken.

But to think it was all because Noel had secretly touched it up without her knowing.

Forgetting that Noel had interrupted her, Aeli blankly listened to the rest of what he was saying.

“You should take back the brooch. If it were up to me, I’d want to take back everything Aeli gave to the duke, but-”

“……”

“……”

Noel, who opened his mouth as if to say something, muttered softly while looking at Lutis.

“…I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. If you have any conscience left, that is.”

Saying that, Noel raised a hand to his forehead.

Aeli watched him nervously as he visibly tried to suppress his anger.

It wasn’t just because the atmosphere was bleak, but also because Noel’s eyes, after saying that, passed over Lutis and turned to her.

Aeli rolled her eyes and turned her gaze to Lutis.

Unlike her, who was startled to hear that Noel had added magic to the brooch, Lutis’s expression remained completely unchanged and calm.

In other words- it was as if he already knew that the brooch had passed through Noel’s hands.

‘…So that’s why he was so confident when heading to the temple.’

He may have known from the moment he gave the brooch and other accessories as gifts, since he wasn’t unobservant to begin with.

Just as Aeli’s eyes trembled, unable to hide her absurdity.

Slurp!

“……”

“……”

“Wh…what is it?”

“……”

A loud sound rang out in the reception room, which had fallen silent after Noel’s words.

Reflexively turning her head, the child who was drinking tea with both hands on the cup stiffened at the focused gaze on her and said,

“Noth…nothing, please continue. I won’t dis…disturb.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Oh dear. Aeli unknowingly raised her hand to slap her forehead, but refrained and lowered her gaze.

Perhaps because she came straight to the reception room without eating breakfast, or because the adults’ conversation was boring.

The three-tier tray that had been prepared with finger foods was empty here and there, as if she had tasted each type one by one.

‘Lutis, who doesn’t particularly like sweets, wouldn’t have prepared it to eat. And he wouldn’t have thought to offer it to Noel either….’

That tray must have been for Aeli and the child.

Realistically, in a situation like this, Aeli didn’t have the thick skin to eat that, so it was fine to say it was just the child’s portion.

It wasn’t ordinary desserts, but sandwiches that could fill the stomach, canapés topped with various fruits, scones, etc.

In the meantime, the table was messy, as if the black tea was too bitter, so she added sugar cubes and milk to make milk tea.

Aeli, who had observed the child timidly sipping from the teacup held in both hands, gave a faint smile.

Aeli quietly raised her index finger and tapped her own mouth, seeing the scone crumbs on the child’s mouth.

The child, seeing that, was brushing the scone crumbs off her mouth with a clumsy hand.

“…Anyway, from now on, the young master will be at Mason-”

“Enough.”

Lutis cleared his throat, turned his head, and cut off Noel’s words as he opened his mouth.

Seeing the frown on his forehead, a slightly irritated voice was heard.

“I cannot accept the request to take the child. Raising the only heir in another family, do you even know what that means?”

“When there is no guardian within the family, it is common for a related family to take care of the child until they inherit the title. As an experienced duke, I thought you would know that.”

Noel sarcastically asked as if it was something new, as if Lutis had already gone senile. Aeli bit her lip at that.

She thought they might calm down a bit now that the child had interrupted the flow once, but it seemed to be just her wishful thinking.

Not only was he being sarcastic like before, but he was outright telling Lutis that he was unfit to be a guardian.

The atmosphere was already depressing due to Noel’s sudden appearance and attack on Aeli and the child, but when he declared he would take the child and even picked a fight, it was visible that Lutis’s mood was also gradually becoming uncomfortable.

To be exact, he was originally uncomfortable, but it seemed he had reached his limit after enduring it.

‘I thought the atmosphere couldn’t get any worse than this.’

But it could get worse.

Aeli opened her mouth with the intention of saying anything in this serious atmosphere.

For example, when they were young, Noel once accidentally turned into a deer after messing with a magic circle in the lab, but that was actually because she had secretly entered and made a mistake before running away, so the magic circle was messed up from the beginning.

Or the reason why rumors spread widely in the capital for a while that Noel was a picky eater was because while talking about Lutis and garnish as a subject at the academy, Aeli’s eyes met another student’s, and she sold out Noel, resulting in that situation.

She thought if she brought up a story that only she and Noel would know, she could definitely divert attention.

“You’ve only been watching until now, as far as I know. How dare you say such a thing now.”

However, it was Lutis who spoke faster at that moment.

“…Huh.”

Noel, who seemed genuinely taken aback by Lutis’s words, rather than getting angry as expected, sat down with a much calmer demeanor.

Then, his eyes, which stared at Lutis sitting across from him, were as cold as could be.

As if he was just playing around until a moment ago, the surroundings became quiet in an instant- but Aeli, who couldn’t bring herself to smile, trembled her eyes slightly.

‘He, he seems really angry? What should I do?’

That was because she noticed the clearly visible veins on Noel’s neck and the back of his hand.

Noel, who had been sitting quietly, turned his head to look at the child.

“……”

“……”

“……?”

Flick!

“……?!”

What is this! As soon as Noel flicked his finger, the child, who was sipping the half-filled milk tea with a puzzled look, widened her eyes and exclaimed.

Judging by the look of shock gradually passing over the face of the child, who was clapping her hands against her ears, it seemed he had taken measures so that the child could not hear the conversation ahead.

The child seemed to be thinking of using magic herself to undo the magic Noel had cast, and tried moving her hands this way and that.

However, no matter how outstanding the child’s skills were, they were not comparable to Noel, who held the position of head of the Mason family, so the magic was not undone.

“……”

“……”

I, I don’t know. Aeli stubbornly pretended not to see the child who was looking at her pitifully.

Even if Noel, whom she met again after a long time, had become quite unfamiliar, it remained unchanged that he was not a thoughtless person.

Whatever the content was, it would be something the child shouldn’t hear, so there was no reason to intervene.

Thinking that, she was about to avert her gaze.

Noel opened his mouth.

“Do you know who secretly had the maids take care of the child behind the scenes when I couldn’t bring her to Mason while you locked up my niece like that and went to war, neglecting the child?”

“……”

“She’s your child, but at the same time, she’s Aeli’s child. That child is my sister’s child. As her brother and uncle, I’m saying I’ll take care of my sister’s child, so what are you going to do about it?”

“……”

“-With what face are you saying such things now, while taking away Aeli’s place and giving it to some woman who came out of nowhere, when you don’t even have the qualifications to be a parent?”

How dare you. Noel, who spat out the words as if chewing them, had eyes that seemed slightly red, as if blood vessels had burst.

Yet his face was still close to expressionless, leaving Aeli at a loss for words as she looked at Noel.

The emotion faintly reflected in his expressionless face was beyond description.

At the thought that flashed through her mind for a moment, Aeli sighed.

‘Then, the fact that Mari had been periodically absent for a month…could it be….’

Now that she heard it, she could see it.

The armful of candy that Mari brought back each time, which was only produced in Mason’s territory and would have been a burdensome price on a maid’s salary.

The high-priced party magic tool that stood out strangely on the child’s birthday, even though they were in such a state that they couldn’t even properly dress the child while staying in the annex.

…It was all because Noel had been taking care of the child through Mari.

Aeli, who unconsciously turned her head, stared at the child who was now even making a tearful face.

It was clear to see that Noel would be even more disliked by the child after this incident.

Nevertheless, the reason he took measures so that the child could not hear-

“……”

It must be Noel’s own consideration.

Whether it was to protect the child who might be hurt if she knew this fact, or the last bit of goodwill towards Lutis, she didn’t know.

Aeli blinked rapidly, then tilted her head.

It was an appreciative and touching thing, but as Lutis said, if Noel was such a skilled person, he could have undone the magic on the mansion and taken the child to Mason.

‘…Was there a need to secretly take care of her?’

That question was answered sooner than expected.

Noel continued.

“Even while you were on the battlefield, I repeatedly blocked the trials requesting to take the young master.”

“…What?”

“Because you even filed a restraining order, I was afraid it might be discovered, so even though I knew the situation, I couldn’t provide proper support and had to listen to such reports-”

“No, wait a minute.”

“Do you know how much it tore me up inside? How can you have the face to open your mouth after doing such things?”

Noel, who kept cutting off Lutis’s words as he opened his mouth with a rarely startled face, said,

“I don’t care who you give that precious position of the mistress of Rattliffe to. But.”

“……”

“…Don’t take away my sister’s place as a mother, who left without being able to call her child’s name even once. If you’re human, you should at least have the courtesy to keep that much.”

“……”

“-Don’t humiliate Aeli any further.”

It seems you weren’t in your right mind, so I’ll let it slide for now, but I’m really disappointed, he said.

Noel, who had already half-risen and grabbed Lutis’s collar, spoke with a still expressionless face.

Even though it was clearly a stiff face, she wondered if she was strange for thinking it looked like he was crying.

Aeli, watching such Noel, thought without blinking an eye.

‘…Trial? Restraining order?’

What does all that mean?

Aeli clenched her fists tightly, feeling dizzy.

It felt like her insides were twisting.