Chapter Thirty-Four and a Half: The Men who don’t let Anything go (~POV: William)

“…In the end, he got away.”

I tossed the newspaper on the desk and settled myself back in my chair.

Alphonse, who was leaning on his desk, turned around.

“He got away indeed. I wonder where did he flee to…?”

“I was informed that he fled to Fortis, but I don’t know if that’s true.”

Caddock frowned suspiciously. Following the movements of his lips, I figured that he was saying, “I can’t say.”

“He deliberately caused a commotion over there. He must’ve wanted us to know that he’d escaped from Cression.”

The headline on the front page of the newspaper read, ‘Black Scorpion Attempts to Assassinate Crown Prince and Princess in Audaz, Capital of the Fortis Empire.’ Apparently, a group of assassins had invaded the imperial palace and attacked the crown prince and princess. The leader of the group bore a resemblance to Aqrab.

The empire responded quickly and the assassin only lost an arm. Nevertheless, it was unclear whether it was true or not. The purpose was also not known. Despite that, Aqrab deliberately stirred a fuss there to let us know that he was already in another country.

Mario also had obtained information that Aqrab had definitely left the kingdom, and was probably hiding somewhere in the Fortis Empire.

In Fortis, a fierce factional battle was raging between the emperor and the nearly-assassinated crown prince. Aqrab was likely part of the emperor’s faction. There was a good chance that Fortis aided his escape, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they were also hiding him.

The Emperor of Fortis was a dictator who imposed harsh policies and treated his people as nothing more than playthings. He was the polar opposite of the royal family of Cression, who cherished their people and call them their own children.

“The Black Scorpion is a criminal organization that has expanded their holds over several countries. They won’t be easy to catch.”

“I should’ve just killed him then.”

“If I’d killed him, you’ll get angry. But it’s hard to go easy on him.”

“Of course I’ll be angry,” Alphonse said, laughing.

The most difficult thing wasn’t to kill someone, but to avoid killing them. Sure, it was possible if the opponent was a weakling. However, he was facing someone as formidable as Aqrab, so it was either kill or be killed.

“By the way, it’s been a month already, how’s my cousin?”

“In the last three days, he’s finally been able to get out of the bed and take a stroll around the mansion and the gardens. He’s still using a wheelchair, though. Liliana and Ceddie are still feeding him.”

“He’s got all the bases covered. As expected of my cousin.”

Alphonse laughed, leaving his desk and looking at me.

I looked up at him with confused eyes and opened my mouth.

“Do you know what that old bastard has been making Liliana call him lately?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t been able to see Lily or Ceddie at all. Right, Caddock?”

Caddock nodded his head vigorously.

“…That old bastard has been making Liliana call him ‘Father.’”

Alphonse and Caddock looked at each other and blinked.

“He brazenly proclaims that Liliana has the same hair color as Lady Eustasha. All of the sudden, she’s his daughter now. He said that he’ll live longer with her calling him ‘Father’!”

“As expected of my cousin!! He’s got everything!! Ahahahaha!!” Alphonse clasped his hands.

“My dear Liliana is kind, pure, cute, and a bit airheaded, so she sympathizes with him and call the duke as such! As for Ceddie, I don’t think he realizes it, but he’s been calling the duke ‘Grandfather’ instead of ‘Uncle! As for Liliana, she seems to be hiding the fact that she’s happy about the whole arrangement! I mean, I get it, her blood father is a scum! How am I supposed to stop her?! Liliana is too cute!”

“Ahahahaha! Ah, I can’t, I can’t take it anymore!”

Alphonse was banging his head on the desk, laughing his head off. Caddock covered his mouth with one hand and looked away. Still, his entire body shook, obviously from laughter.

Alphonse resembled his uncle and his older brother than his father. Meanwhile, the duke took after his father. As such, it was inevitable that the two were very similar, especially on the inside.

At first, seeing how the duke cried and clung to the stole, I thought he must be lonely. Also, since Liliana seemed happy, I accepted it, thinking it’d give the duke hope for life.

But while the old man was certainly lonely, I felt like he was also fooling with me half the time. I could really feel how he was toying with me, teasing me for being so anxious. And his mischievous expression was the same as Alphonse’s.

Elsa and Ariana showed no sign of stopping him, saying, “Milady seems happy, so it’s fine.” The same went for James and the others, saying, “Our lord seems happy, so it’s fine.”

“More importantly, are you prepared for a week from now on?”

Alphonse changed the subject while wiping away the tears from his eyes.

“I am. The most important thing was wrapped up today, so I had Frederick go and pick it up.”

“No wonder there’s no tea. Freddie’s tea is so good.”

“Al, it’s time to go back to work.”

Caddock pointed at the clock.

“Tch. The break is over already? See you in the evening meeting.”

“Okay.”

Alphonse waved and turned on his heels, so I raised my hand back and saw him off.

Now that I was alone in the room, I stretched. I felt like my back muscles were stiff from all the paperwork I’d been doing since this morning. I stretched my neck, holding my shoulders, and exhaled.

“Well, I’ll finish one more task. I’ll have dinner with the two of them today.”

Having decided such, I reached for my fountain pen.

***

(POV: Elsa)

“Autumn has arrived, Father.”

“Yes, it has.”

Today, our cute lady was enjoying a peaceful tea with the duke on the terrace overlooking the garden.

Lord Cedric was somewhere in the garden with Ariana, searching for Jamal. He said, “I’m going to find the perfect flower for my sister!”

From time to time, I could hear their excited voices, so I could tell they were having fun.

Today, the duke was enjoying afternoon tea with the young lady, basking in the sun.

At first, I was worried something might happen. I was determined that if the duke died, I’d bring him back from the afterlife and make him kneel before the young lady. But recently, he’d been able to get out of bed and walk around the mansion and the garden in his wheelchair.

Thus, before we knew it, the young lady had come to adore him and call him ‘Father,’ whereas Lord Cedric called him ‘Grandpa’ and doted on him like a grandson. It was nothing short of amazing. He was related to Alphonse, after all. He was fast at work.

Initially, we thought the duke was forcing the young lady to call him that. But the young lady, who seemed to have little connection with her real father, seemed to see the kind duke as the ideal father. She seemed so happy and touched, I had no complaints. All that mattered was that the young lady was happy.

What about our lord, you ask? Well, he seemed concerned, but he couldn’t say anything because he loved his wife dearly.

Still, the lord would always glance anxiously at Frederick whenever the duke spoke with the young lady. However, I was aware that the duke resembled Alphonse at heart.

Just when would the lord realize that the duke and Frederick were toying with him?

“How is Cedric? Does he still cry at night?”

“No, it’s not every night anymore… Even when he first came to the marquis’ house, he’d wake up in the middle of the night and cry, but it feels like it’s gotten worse than before.”

The young lady lowered her eyebrows in pain.

A month had passed since the incident. Not only were his dear sister and brother-in-law got kidnapped, they also returned home in a sorry state. It must’ve been too much of a shock to his young mind.

For a while after the incident, he refused to leave the young lady and the lord. Lord Cedric had conveyed to Ariana and I that he might be able to sleep alone soon, but we were anxious about leaving him. After all, he might just be bluffing.

“It took me a month before I can walk around like this too. But in my case, it was poison and cuts, and those can be fixed with Dr. Morgan’s treatment and medicine. The same can’t be said for emotional wounds. Still, the fact that he’s no longer crying every night proves that he’s healing.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. As long as Liliana and William are smiling, Cedric can be at ease. No matter how anxious he is or how much he cries, just having you hold him will make him happy.”

The duke stretched out his right hand and gently stroked the young lady’s hair, as if to soothe her.

A pair of silvery eyes looked up at the duke. The young lady gazed at the duke, clearly expressing her anxiety. Seeing this, the duke smiled gently as if to say ‘it can’t be helped, you’re still a child.’

“Look at that child’s smile. That’s the prove that the love between you and William is at work.”

“Sister!”

I turned around at the voice and I saw Lord Cedric, who’d made a bouquet of cosmos flowers. He ran toward us with a joyful look on his face.

He went up the stairs and handed the small bouquet to the young lady.

The young lady happily accepted the small bouquet, which consisted of dark pink, pale pink, and white cosmos flowers.

“I chose them and Jamal cut them for me.”

“Did Ceddie pick them for me?”

Lord Cedric nodded enthusiastically.

“Actually, I wanted blue flowers, which are my sister’s favorite. But Jamal told me that there are no blue flowers right now. So, I chose pink flowers, which are my sister’s second favorite.”

“Hehe, you put a lot of thought into it. I’m so happy.”

True to her words, the young lady smiled happily, and Cedric beamed.

“So Ceddie, Lily likes the color blue?”

“Yes! Because it’s the color of my brother-in-law’s eyes!”

“C-Ceddie!”

Lord Cedric’s honest answer made the young lady blush and panic.

The duke looked at her with a knowing look on his face and laughed in amusement.

“I like purple the best too. It’s the color of my lovely wife’s eyes.”

“Mine is purple too!”

The duke’s smile deepened at his reply. He beckoned Lord Cedric to come over, and the boy inserted himself between the young lady and the duke.

“What’s your favorite color, Ceddie?”

“I like blue too! I want to become a strong, cool knight like brother-in-law someday! Then, I’ll protect my sister together with him!”

“Oh my, Ceddie. You want to protect me?”

The young lady was surprised, but smiled happily as she asked.

“Yes, I love you the most, so I want to protect you!”

The young lady narrowed her eyes in a dazzling manner as Lord Cedric laughed innocently. Then, she opened her arms. Lord Cedric happily leaped into her arms. Seeing the young lady pampering Lord Cedric as if she were his mother brought a smile to the duke’s face, and so did to everyone else’s.

A lot had happened, but as autumn deepened, the marquis household was enjoying a very peaceful and calm time.

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