Chapter 13
Our little bright-eyed Hayden didn’t fall asleep easily yesterday either.
Not only did he wake up every two hours…
He cried every single time I tried to lay him back down.
I still want to poke those gums with a needle.
The pain from teething had transformed my little angel into an upgraded demon who vented all of his misery through endless tears and rage, leaving me mentally exhausted.
The moment morning arrived…
The same little demon suddenly became an angel again, giggling cheerfully.
“Mama! Nya! Mama! Nyanya! Bana!”
You want banana and food?
Is that really the first thing you think of whenever you see my face?
Take a look at the dark circles hanging down to my chin.
Hayden crawled energetically across the rug before making his way toward me.
Smiling brightly…
He stretched out both hands.
“Oh, alright.”
“You’re adorable.”
No matter how exhausted I was…
One look at that innocent smile was enough to melt my heart.
But…
It was the smile of a demon.
“Aaaah!”
Hayden suddenly grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled himself upright.
His tiny, determined fists clutched both sides of my hair while his wobbling body tugged along with it.
It felt like my soul was being yanked out with every pull.
“This isn’t fair…”
I carefully pried his little fingers loose.
Five strands of my hair remained trapped in his tiny hand.
No wonder that hurt.
Our eyes met.
“Mama! Mama!! Nyanya!”
…
“Alright.”
“Let’s go eat.”
Holding Hayden in my arms, I headed outside.
The moment Mrs. Urein saw me…
She flinched.
“Your Grace…”
“What happened to you…?”
“I didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“Hayden’s teething has been really bad.”
“I’m going to feed him his baby food and try to get him to nap…”
Mrs. Urein looked at me with genuine concern.
“At this rate…”
“I think you’ll collapse before Young Master Hayden does.”
“I’ll watch him for a while.”
“Why don’t you get some sleep?”
“I’ll have the kitchen prepare the baby food you instructed us to make yesterday.”
Those words…
Sounded like salvation itself.
“Really?”
“They’re making it with plenty of lean beef, right?”
“The easy-to-digest cut.”
“And seasoned with almost no salt?”
“Of course, Your Grace.”
If it’s Mrs. Urein… I can trust her.
The moment I handed Hayden over…
He immediately stretched his arms toward me, squirming in protest.
You stay right there.
Leaving Mrs. Urein looking at me sympathetically…
I staggered back to my room.
And fell gloriously in battle.
My body, worn out from childcare…
Was embraced by the softness of my bed.
Ah…
So this is heaven.
Please…
No one come looking for me.
Please.
*****
Watching Mrs. Urein holding Hayden…
Chloe frowned in confusion.
“Why is Mrs. Urein taking care of the baby?”
“Isn’t that the Duchess’s responsibility?”
“I heard she promised to care for Young Master Hayden.”
Mrs. Urein answered casually.
“That’s true.”
“But I heard Young Master Hayden was teething all night.”
“The Duchess didn’t get any sleep.”
“So I sent her off to rest for a while.”
In truth…
Mrs. Urein simply admired Roana for managing to care for Hayden all night long without relying on any of the maids.
Because of that…
She failed to notice the dissatisfaction hidden in Chloe’s voice.
“…She postponed her duty?”
Chloe murmured quietly.
Tilting her head…
Her smile stiffened ever so slightly.
She shouldn’t do that.
If she’s the daughter of House Hezest…
And now the Duchess of House Beredan…
She absolutely shouldn’t.
Do you know what House Beredan represents?
Do you know what kind of man my Cheres is?
Someone from the filthy Hezest family…
At the very least…
Should be perfect.
She must never become a burden to Cheres.
She had to be someone worthy of House Beredan in every way.
Chloe gently bit her lip.
This is insulting Cheres.
She recalled the way Roana had cornered Diane inside the conservatory the other day.
Cheres was a man carrying countless wounds.
He’d lost his parents while still young.
Then…
He’d suddenly become responsible for raising his nephew.
That burden alone would have been overwhelming.
Yet on top of that…
He had become the head of an enormous ducal house.
That was why Chloe had always hoped Cheres would marry someone truly wonderful.
Someone kind-hearted.
Someone who could embrace all of his scars.
Someone graceful…
Someone like herself.
But…
Roana seemed nothing like the woman Chloe had imagined.
Diane had certainly been in the wrong.
But…
Had Roana really needed to be that ruthless?
She could have spoken gently.
Diane would have understood.
And Countess Yotley had looked genuinely wronged.
Yet Roana hadn’t listened to a single word she had to say.
Roana was fierce.
Selfish.
Cruel.
Just what you’d expect from a Hezest.
With that…
Chloe completely finalized her opinion of Roana.
She rubbed at the corners of her eyes with a sorrowful expression.
Why is fate always so cruel to Cheres?
I suppose I’ll have to comfort him.
Someone has to look after his family.
As his one and only friend.
*****
“What are you doing, Cheres?”
“Ah… Chloe.”
Bogus glanced briefly toward Chloe before quietly gathering up the confidential documents.
She had entered without even knocking.
Cheres sighed.
“You shouldn’t open the door without permission.”
“We’re not children anymore, Chloe.”
“Oh!”
“My mistake.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
“I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“I guess it’s because it’s been so long since I came back to the ducal estate.”
“I’m sorry, Sir Bogus.”
“It’s alright.”
Even while apologizing…
Chloe continued walking into the office.
No one had actually invited her inside.
Yet…
Her behavior was completely natural.
After all…
She had spent much of her childhood visiting the Duke’s office alongside Cheres.
Even though the master of the office had changed…
Nothing inside had changed at all.
That fact secretly thrilled Chloe.
Cheres kept insisting they were adults now…
That they should keep an appropriate distance.
But whenever she saw familiar things that hadn’t changed…
She couldn’t help feeling that nothing between them had changed either.
To her…
Cheres was still the same boy he’d always been.
And she was still little Ellie.
“Have you been doing well?”
Sitting casually on the sofa…
Chloe spoke in a voice that almost sounded like singing.
Eventually…
Cheres closed the documents he was reading and looked at her.
“I’ve been fine.”
“As you can see.”
“I was so bored while staying with my mother’s family.”
“Honestly…”
“My grandmother kept nagging me nonstop.”
“She keeps telling me I need to get married.”
“Cheres…”
“Can you imagine me marrying just any man?”
“That’s your decision to make.”
Cheres answered bluntly.
House Maleite had maintained close ties with House Beredan for many years.
Chloe and Cheres were about the same age.
And House Maleite was the vassal family responsible for managing the ducal house’s merchant guild.
From time to time…
The adults had jokingly discussed the possibility of marriage between them.
But…
No one had ever taken those conversations seriously.
To Cheres…
Chloe was simply a childhood friend.
Nothing more.
That was also why he continued to tolerate her now.
Out of respect for the long friendship between their families.
He assumed…
One day Chloe would eventually mature.
He had absolute faith that she’d never betray House Beredan.
Even so…
She had an undeniable talent for exhausting people.
“What, Cheres?”
“So you’re saying I can marry just anyone?”
“That’s so mean.”
“You’ve become so cold toward me.”
Cheres looked at her with icy eyes.
Ever since childhood…
Chloe had always wanted to be the center of everyone’s attention.
Apparently…
She still hadn’t outgrown that bad habit.
Not that it was any of Cheres’s concern.
“Oh, right.”
“Cheres.”
“I think the Duchess is a little strange.”
Pouting…
Chloe absentmindedly wrapped a strand of hair around her finger.
The Duchess?
Roana?
Both Cheres and Bogus looked up at her.
Pleased that she’d caught even Bogus’s attention…
Chloe continued.
Until that moment…
Both men had assumed…
She’s still a well-educated noble lady.
And after spending additional time studying under her grandmother…
Perhaps she’ll finally have something sensible to say.
“I mean…”
“Didn’t she cause quite a disturbance at the ladies’ gathering recently?”
“It was so uncultured.”
“Poor Countess Yotley can’t even show her face in high society anymore.”
“She looked so unfairly treated.”
“I felt terribly sorry for her.”
Their expectations…
Were completely shattered.
