Chapter 23
“But you’ve spent all these years being the perfect Duchess.”
“Even if you only entered our family to protect us…”
“You devoted yourself completely.”
“When I decide to do something, I do it properly.”
“Though…”
“I suppose I did get a little too emotionally invested.”
…Looking back now…
I wasn’t even sure why I had become so invested.
I should have simply lived as the Duchess on the surface, just as Diana had intended.
Even now, seven years later…
I still couldn’t stop thinking about Ken.
I believed his running away had been caused by how excessively involved I’d become in the beginning.
“And…”
“I truly loved your family.”
“So I honestly believed we could all become a real family someday.”
Strangely enough…
Back then, I had genuinely meant it.
I had never once coveted Diana’s place.
But…
I had wanted to become close to the family she left behind.
To share our grief together.
To remember Diana together.
To live peacefully as one family.
That impatience had been my greatest mistake.
Sometimes…
I couldn’t help blaming my younger, naïve self.
“It’s not too late, Mother.”
Nick spoke earnestly.
“We can still become a family.”
“We can cherish each other from now on.”
“I’ll treat you the way I always should have.”
“I’ll make up for everything I couldn’t do before.”
“No.”
“I want to go back to being your aunt.”
“Nick Hwidrian.”
I stood up.
It didn’t seem like Nick was going to stop trying to persuade me.
“If you’ve come to visit your aunt…”
“You’re always welcome.”
“But if you’ve come here to take your mother back…”
“I’m sorry.”
“I can’t welcome you.”
“You should go home.”
“Your father must be worried.”
I deliberately spoke a little more coldly than I wanted.
Then I turned toward the counter.
Just then—
Nick slowly rose from his chair.
His voice stopped me.
“I’ll change your mind.”
“For the past seven years…”
“You’ve already become another mother in my heart.”
“A child can’t abandon their parent.”
“…”
“I’m not going back.”
“Even if you don’t welcome me…”
“I’ll find a way to convince you.”
“And then…”
“We’ll go back to the ducal estate together.”
“…”
“I’m going to get some fresh air.”
The moment he finished speaking…
He hurried outside as though fleeing.
“…”
I could only watch his retreating back and sigh.
Nick really didn’t go home.
After returning from his walk…
He tied one of the spare aprons around his waist and began helping at my café that very day.
At first…
His staying here made me uncomfortable.
I worried the Duke might come looking for him.
But even after several days…
The Duke never appeared.
If Nick had managed to find me…
Then surely the Duke could have done so just as easily.
Since he hadn’t come…
I began wondering if he truly intended to let me go peacefully.
Once we divorced…
We would simply become strangers.
There would be no reason for him to seek me out.
So…
I didn’t chase Nick away.
Besides…
It seemed he had become far more attached to me than I’d realized.
I was afraid rejecting him too harshly would only hurt him.
Occasionally…
I even let him help with work around the café.
Being a young man, he was especially useful whenever heavy things needed to be carried.
Even so…
I had absolutely no intention of returning.
Nick needed to understand that.
“Mother.”
One day…
As I was working, Nick called to me from behind.
I turned around.
His brown hair resembled Diana’s.
The dark brown apron suited him surprisingly well.
He looked at me hopefully.
“I tried making the tart the way you taught me.”
“Would you taste it?”
“…Of course.”
“Bring it here.”
Since he’d wanted to learn…
I’d taught him how to make our cheese tarts while preparing the ones we sold in the café.
Nick had carefully memorized every movement and every instruction.
Then…
He’d practiced on his own.
At my reply…
He proudly placed the freshly baked tarts before me.
I picked one that looked particularly well made.
The sweet, refreshing flavor of the cream cheese spread across my tongue.
“…You did a wonderful job.”
“If you let it cool a little longer…”
“It’ll be good enough to sell.”
Although it had only just come out of the oven…
It was remarkably well made for a first attempt.
Every bite showed how carefully he’d tried to follow everything I’d taught him.
When I praised him…
Nick’s face lit up.
“Really?”
He smiled brightly.
I returned the smile.
“You’ll be able to make these by yourself after you go home.”
“…”
The joy gradually disappeared from his face.
He let out a quiet sigh.
“…Mother…”
“Have you really not changed your mind?”
“You still won’t come home?”
“I care about you, Nick.”
“But…”
“My answer won’t change.”
“Mother…”
“Just one more—”
He was about to continue persuading me—
Creak.
The front door opened.
The person who entered was an extremely familiar customer.
“…Arwin?”
It had been a while since I’d last seen him.
Arwin quietly walked into the café.
Nick stood behind the counter, watching his mother and the unfamiliar customer.
“It’s been a while, Arwin…”
His mother’s cheerful voice drifted across the café.
Nick couldn’t hide his surprise.
The moment she’d seen that customer…
She’d smiled more brightly than he’d ever seen before.
Because he wanted to make a good impression on her…
He had gladly volunteered to watch the counter.
Meanwhile…
His mother and the customer were now drinking coffee together and chatting.
Who is he?
Questions filled Nick’s large eyes.
Many unfamiliar customers visited the café.
But…
The way his mother treated this man felt different.
He seemed…
Special.
As Nick continued watching them…
A strange sense of familiarity crept over him.
More precisely…
He felt as though he’d seen that man’s face somewhere before.
The customer certainly stood out.
His dazzling silver hair…
His striking appearance…
His blue eyes…
None of those features were common anywhere in the Empire.
His elegant bearing suggested noble birth.
Yet…
This was Lorencia.
Young nobles rarely chose to live in such a rural place.
After staring at him for quite some time…
Something suddenly clicked.
“…Ah.”
He had seen those features somewhere before.
A portrait.
The portrait of the Third Prince.
The prince who had disappeared when Nick was still a child.
The Third Prince had appeared only briefly at his debut before vanishing without a trace.
Nick had never actually seen him in person.
Only the official portrait distributed after his disappearance.
But…
The resemblance was remarkable.
Could it be…
Could that man really be the Third Prince?
Nick desperately wanted to know who the mysterious customer really was.
But his mother was happily talking with him.
He couldn’t bring himself to interrupt.
Just then…
The door opened again.
Several familiar women entered the café.
They were regular customers.
“Welcome.”
Nick accepted their order at the counter.
At the same moment…
His mother stood up.
Walking over, she smiled warmly.
“Nick.”
“You’ve worked hard watching the counter.”
“I’ll make the coffee.”
“You should go sit down for a while.”
“…Alright.”
Kasia stepped into the kitchen behind the counter and immediately began preparing the drinks.
Nick left the counter and walked into the gallery hall, where paintings and tables filled the room.
That was when he noticed it.
The unfamiliar man was staring directly at him.
Sometime after the other customers had entered…
He had quietly pulled the hood of his cloak over his head again.
Even so…
Nick could clearly feel the intensity of his gaze.
After some time…
The man stood up and quietly left the gallery.
Nick thought for a moment.
Then…
He suddenly ran toward the entrance.
He chased after the mysterious customer.
“Excuse me!”
By the time he rushed outside…
The cloaked man was already walking away.
Nick called out loudly.
The man’s footsteps stopped.
He slowly turned around.
Even with the hood covering most of his face…
Nick could tell he was looking at him with an unusual expression.
“Ahem.”
Nick awkwardly cleared his throat.
He hurried over until he stood in front of the stranger.
There was something he wanted to ask.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Actually…”
“Before that…”
“There’s something else I’d like to ask.”
Nick almost asked about the man’s identity.
But swallowed the words.
Although the resemblance to the Third Prince had struck him immediately…
Asking outright felt inappropriate.
Besides…
Perhaps he was mistaken.
The odds of accidentally finding the missing Third Prince in this little gallery were unbelievably small.
As Nick hesitated…
The man chuckled softly.
“What?”
“Do I look like the Third Prince to you?”
“…!”
