“What good would it do to tell Barbarossa that the father of the woman he’s seeing now might not actually be you?”

Lady Maud let out a hollow laugh.

“Do you think that boy, who chased after women so much due to his inferiority complex about being an illegitimate child, would tell a woman claiming to be pregnant with his child to reveal the true father of her child?”

A man who pursued women due to lack of affection, but for that very reason, couldn’t bear to make his own child illegitimate.

“No. Once such a situation arose, Barbarossa was the type to force himself to take responsibility, if only for his own pride. And I didn’t like that.”

“…As you said, you’ve done more than enough, and while it’s sad that Barbarossa grew up craving maternal love, it doesn’t seem to be your fault.”

“I had to give him a new shock, rather than have him give up the path of knighthood to become the father of a child who ‘may or may not be his.’ I thought it would be better if it became a reason for him to cling to the path of knighthood.”

And so, Lady Maud showed Barbarossa a path.

She told him, ‘Your stepmother, with whom you had an uncomfortable relationship, actually hates you to death and wishes you wouldn’t become a knight. Therefore, you should rightfully become a knight, if only to thwart what your stepmother wants.’

This was the truth behind the question of ‘why Barbarossa, who was a promising knight trainee, left the knighthood of his own accord just before his induction.’

“I’d like to ask how you would have handled it if Lord Donau had caused the same problem… but Lord Donau wouldn’t cause such a problem. He’s not an illegitimate child, so he doesn’t carry hell in his heart.”

It was selfish motherhood. Or rather, as she had repeatedly said, it might have been a decision she could make because Lady Maud didn’t think of Barbarossa as her child.

Sponsorship relationship. It was an accurate expression.

But as a sponsor, Lady Maud had made the choice that would be most beneficial for Barbarossa’s future without emotion, and these actions ultimately did not flow as she had planned. As a result, Barbarossa went out of control.

When the woman he had decided to marry suddenly turned and said, “Sorry, this was actually all ordered by your stepmother. Did you really think my words of love were genuine?”, he felt disillusioned with the world and threw everything away. It was a ridiculous situation where someone willingly played the villain, but no one benefited.

“Then, is it because you were just a sponsor that you abandoned him when the possibility of Barbarossa becoming a knight disappeared completely?”

“…”

This is why I didn’t want to get involved with Barbarossa.

How complicated would the narrative be between a lady who suppressed her own feelings to raise an illegitimate child admirably, and the illegitimate child who grew up twisted under such a lady?

Is that a problem that can be solved by just listening to the story for a moment?

‘I don’t even have a psychological counseling license.’

“A grown man whining ‘It’s all my parents’ fault that I grew up like this,’ at that age it’s no longer the parents’ fault, but his own.”

“But that child…!”

“He’s the same age as Lord Lucian, what do you mean ‘child’?”

Lady Maud had asked me from the beginning.

Stepmother and illegitimate child. Illegitimate child and stepmother.

‘A relationship that can neither become closer nor more distant under the name of family.’

Each other’s flaws that come to mind every time they see each other’s faces.

“These problems are really like that. The actual Lord Percival probably doesn’t even care. The perpetrator stays quiet while the victims don’t know what to do.”

Honorable knight my foot. That title should be stripped and given to Lady Maud.

She’s the one who made the choice of self-denial after repeated self-discipline.

‘Call in the knights going around in circles and ask them. Those gentlemen can’t even match half of Lady Maud.’

“You pretend not to care, but you’re still secretly checking on how Barbarossa is living, aren’t you?”

I interpreted Lady Maud’s silence as affirmation.

“I bought all the debts Barbarossa made in the back alleys.”

“What?”

“I was originally thinking of tightening the noose a bit with the debt documents. Looks like I’m taking the long way around when there’s a simple method.”

Having heard everything I needed to hear, I stood up.

“I’ll have a talk with the prodigal son, so why don’t you stop worrying about your son now and spend time on other concerns?”

* * *

In his office, Darius, with an expressionless face, took out a small mirror from his chest.

This came from the treasure vault of the Grand Duke of Inkhart, and was one of a pair, with him and Anette each having one.

Unlike ordinary mirrors, this one did not reflect the person in front of it. What this mirror reflected was the screen of the connected other mirror.

The mirror that had been useful in dealing with Lady Egritte had not been able to demonstrate its ability since then.

The mirror was only reflecting Darius’s face like an ordinary, common mirror.

“Could she have forgotten?”

That she had given one of the mirrors to Darius.

As long as they had this mirror, they could see each other’s faces through it even when apart.

If Anette still remembered that. However, Anette had never looked into the mirror again since that day.

On the other hand, Darius had been fiddling with the mirror every day. Waiting for Anette to respond someday.

“Why?”

It was Anette who had first requested the marriage.

Saying, ‘Please marry me. I need you, Grand Duke.’ But then…

He thought that Anette always handling things by herself without giving him a chance to help was due to her proactive personality.

Or perhaps because it was still awkward to do something together.

Anette was not simply unfamiliar with relying on someone.

Whether it was the maid, Daniel, or the tax collector Nicola who had returned to the castle. Anette knew how to ask when she needed someone’s abilities.

But why, just.

Why was she keeping a subtle distance only from him?

While being his wife.

Darius rose from his seat and stepped out of the office. He felt that if he could see Anette right now, this stifling feeling might be alleviated a little.

* * *

It was on the way to the training ground after sending Lady Maud back.

‘Gasp, it’s Darius.’

Why am I running into the lord, whose main job should keep him in his office at this hour? With so many mouths to feed in this castle, he should be working day and night. How heavy is the weight of being the head of the household!

Looking around nervously.

Darius seemed to have noticed me too as he briefly scanned the surroundings, but fortunately, there was no chance of running into him again as I had already hidden myself without realizing it.

‘If we meet, won’t he bring up the portrait again?’

I can’t tell him now that I don’t want items that will be difficult to dispose of when we divorce, can I?

One, two, three… After counting to ten as if this were some big deal, I carefully headed back towards the training ground.

The diligent knight commander, Lord Lucian, was always at the training ground.

“We had a separate list we wrote down before, right?”

“A list?”

Come on, you should know what I mean.

“The list we wrote while moving the gold coins, remember?”

Why are you talking about the personnel evaluation list where others might hear?

“Please give me that. But the side of those who couldn’t move it, not those who did.”

“What?”

Lord Lucian looked at me as if to say, ‘Aren’t those who moved the Grand Duke of Inkhart’s magic gold coins the ones with the right character?’

Yeah, I didn’t know I’d use that list like this either.

* * *

“I suppose the knight would still want to continue serving at Inkhart Castle?”

At the top of the list of those who couldn’t resist the temptation of the mountain of gold coins was the name of Sir Ramin.

I caressed Sir Ramin’s name with regret.

‘As a knight, he has some force, and a certain level of education. He’d be perfect as the vice-captain of the new mercenary corps I’m going to create.’

The “unsuitable” list that Lord Lucian had handed over was transformed into a candidate list for recruiting talent for the mercenary corps I was trying to create.

‘Let’s make money together with people who are crazy about money.’

There’s no such thing as useless information in this world. It’s just that we haven’t found a way to use it yet.

I’ve gathered what I needed to gather, and I’ve got my hood well prepared so my identity won’t be recognized. I’ve confirmed the appointment with Sylphid, and now I just need to leave.

“…”

My hesitating footsteps headed towards the exhibition hall.

As if representing Inkhart, which once shone brilliantly but has now declined, the exhibits became more sparse as they approached the recent past.

“Why is this painting covered with cloth?”

“It’s the portrait of the first Grand Duke of Inkhart, but it’s been covered because the painting has deteriorated due to age. It’s been covered to be repaired later.”

Nodding at the maid’s words, I slowly circled the exhibition hall.

The previous Grand Duke of Inkhart, who was said to have died groaning due to poor health, didn’t look that weak in the portrait. Next to him stood my mother-in-law, whom I had never seen in person, looking young beside the previous Grand Duke of Inkhart.

Next to the portraits drawn in pairs so as not to be lonely, Darius’s portrait was hanging last.

“The current Grand Duke of Inkhart, Darius Inkhart.”

A face still too young to be the successor to carry on the great history was gazing ahead steadily.

“Oh my, did our Grand Duke not want to be alone?”

The painter had done such a good job that even though it was just a painting, Darius’s feelings at the time of the portrait could be felt vividly.

Will and solitude.

“Still, wait a little longer. They say happiness comes to those who wait.”

The owner of this adjacent space had already been decided.

Evangeline, would Darius be happy if you stood next to him?