Chapter 24

Nick’s eyes went wide.

Without realizing it, he stared at the customer with enlarged eyes.

“…Are you… really the Third Prince?”

“No.”

“…”

“I’ve simply heard that a lot.”

“If I actually looked that much like the Third Prince, it’d be one thing.”

Nick stared at him blankly.

The man seemed astonishingly confident about his appearance.

Nick thought that if this man truly were the Third Prince, he would need an unbelievable amount of shamelessness to deny it so boldly.

On the other hand, if he really wasn’t the Third Prince, then perhaps that confidence made perfect sense.

“I’ve been suspected in all sorts of places because I resemble him.”

“But I’m not.”

“I can say that with confidence now.”

“Someone once told me that the Third Prince in the portrait and I have completely different presences.”

“…Ah.”

“So.”

“What did you want?”

“Ah…”

After taking a deep breath, Nick finally asked the question he’d been holding back.

“Are you… close to my mother?”

“…Your mother?”

The man tilted his head.

That question had clearly caught him off guard.

“The owner of that gallery is your mother?”

“…Yes.”

“She introduced you as nothing more than an employee who helps around the place.”

“…”

For a brief moment, bitterness flashed across Nick’s face.

So…

His mother had introduced him as only an employee.

Still, he quickly composed himself.

“I’m both.”

“A helper… and her son.”

“More accurately…”

“She’s my father’s second wife.”

“So she’s my stepmother.”

“I see.”

“Then let me ask again.”

“Are you close to my mother?”

“…Well.”

“Huh?”

“I want to become close to your mother.”

“At least, I believe we’re close.”

“As for what your mother thinks…”

“I’m not entirely sure.”

“…In that case…”

“I have a favor to ask.”

Seeing him up close…

The aura surrounding the man was anything but ordinary.

Nick spoke cautiously.

“A favor?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

The man asked.

Nick looked at him before letting out a long sigh.

He slowly walked over to a roadside tree overlooking the swaying rice fields and sat down against its trunk.

The man followed and stood beside him.

Nick began speaking.

“…There’s something I want from my mother.”

“So I came all the way to Lorencia.”

He continued.

“My mother…”

“…was my birth mother’s closest friend.”

“But many years ago…”

“My real mother died suddenly in an accident.”

“To take care of us while we were still children…”

“My mother married my father.”

“And as soon as I became an adult…”

“She left the estate.”

“…”

“She says the agreement ended once I came of age…”

“That it was only natural for her to leave.”

“But…”

“I don’t want to let her go like this.”

“So I came here…”

“To persuade her to return home with me.”

To Nick’s surprise…

The stranger listened to every word with complete seriousness.

He eventually sat down beside Nick and asked,

“So…”

“What exactly are you asking me to do?”

“If you’re really close to my mother…”

“I thought perhaps you could persuade her.”

“…You’re asking me to convince your mother?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve reached my limit.”

“But since you’re close to her…”

“I thought you might naturally bring it up and persuade her.”

Nick looked up hopefully.

The man had begun to seem like his last chance.

In desperation, Nick grabbed the edge of his cloak.

“If you succeed…”

“I’ll make sure you’re rewarded generously.”

“What do you think?”

The man remained silent.

From beneath the shadow of his hood…

He simply stared at Nick with unreadable eyes.

After a long pause…

He finally spoke.

“Finished?”

“I suppose it’s my turn now.”

“Let’s go through this slowly.”

“Please.”

“First.”

“I refuse your request.”

“I have no intention of persuading your mother to do what you want.”

“…What?”

Nick’s mouth fell open.

The man’s voice remained calm and unwavering.

“You must still be young enough not to understand.”

“Persuasion isn’t something you ask another person to do for you.”

“The one who wants to persuade someone should be the one presenting their own reasons.”

“That’s what persuasion is.”

“…”

“Second.”

“I don’t understand the logic behind your request.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I don’t understand why your stepmother should spend the rest of her life taking care of a family she isn’t even related to.”

“…”

“You said she’d stay until all of you became adults.”

“That time has already passed.”

“So why shouldn’t she leave?”

“…”

“Before begging your mother to come home…”

“Ask yourself something first.”

“Your argument has no logic.”

“You’ve never answered the most important question.”

“Why should she return?”

“You’re simply being swept away by your emotions.”

“…How can you say there’s no logic?”

“She may not be my biological mother…”

“But she raised me until adulthood.”

“She’s still my mother.”

“What’s illogical about a son asking his mother to come home?”

“Does your stepmother see you as her son?”

“You’re not the child she gave birth to.”

“If she’d truly thought of you as her own child…”

“She probably wouldn’t have left in the first place.”

Nick tried to argue back.

But none of his reasoning made the slightest impression on the man.

Unable to answer…

Nick could only stare at him with eyes filled with frustration.

The man wasn’t finished.

“And finally…”

“Third.”

“Personally…”

“I don’t want that woman to become your mother again.”

“…Why?”

Nick asked.

The man let out a faint chuckle.

“Because…”

“To me…”

“She’s a painter with greater talent than anyone else in the world.”

“…A painter?”

Nick frowned.

The answer had come completely out of nowhere.

The man continued.

“How much do you actually know about your mother?”

“Do you even know she’s gifted at painting?”

“…My mother is talented at painting?”

Nick’s eyes widened.

He had never heard such a thing.

Never even imagined it.

The man slowly turned toward the gallery.

Then he pointed through the glass doors.

“Those paintings hanging on the walls…”

“Your mother painted every single one.”

“You didn’t know?”

Nick immediately looked through the glass.

The paintings that had always decorated the gallery walls…

As though they’d simply always belonged there.

…Mother painted all of those?

The thought had never once crossed his mind.

“So…”

“My mother painted them all.”

“I had no idea.”

“She never painted in front of me.”

“It’s an extraordinary natural talent.”

“It’s a waste for paintings of this quality to remain hidden away in a small countryside gallery.”

The stranger gazed warmly at the paintings beyond the glass.

Then he looked back at Nick.

“See?”

“You don’t even know what your mother excels at…”

“Or what she loves.”

“And yet…”

“Do you truly believe you’re qualified?”

Nick bit his lip.

Every word struck painfully close to the truth.

“…Then I’ll start now.”

“I can still learn.”

“I’ll do it.”

“No matter what…”

“I’m going to persuade my mother.”

His face flushed red as he shouted those words.

Then he turned and walked back toward the gallery.

“Good grief.”

“I tell him the truth and he still gets angry.”

Watching Nick’s retreating figure…

The stranger beneath the cloak—

Arwin—

clicked his tongue.

Then suddenly…

He realized something.

“…Ah.”

“I’m screwed.”

“I didn’t mean to…”

“…but I’ve learned far too much about you.”

All the way home…

Arwin kept muttering,

“I’m screwed… I’m really screwed.”

Ever since meeting Count Allison…

He’d needed time to think.

That was why he hadn’t visited the gallery.

He wanted a little time away from her…

To sort through his own thoughts.

Just as Count Allison had pointed out…

He needed to ask himself whether he was approaching her out of nothing more than idle curiosity.

Well…

There was another reason too.

For some reason…

He simply hadn’t wanted to see Count Allison laughing happily together with her.

In the end…

It all came down to one small flutter of excitement.

The moment she’d greeted him so warmly…

His heart had reacted on its own.

“Arwin! It’s been so long.”

“Why haven’t you visited the café?”

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

When she’d welcomed him so happily after such a long absence…

He’d been so pleased that he’d allowed his curiosity to get the better of him.

“I’ve been busy.”

“It seems you’ve hired a new employee.”

“He’s just helping out with odd jobs.”

“Come have some coffee with me.”

He’d naturally become curious about the new employee.

Truthfully…

The young man had also looked strangely familiar.

At the very least…

He certainly didn’t carry himself like an ordinary commoner.

Nobles recognized one another.

People raised in noble society possessed a different kind of presence.

The boy had apparently judged Arwin the same way.

That simple curiosity…

Had led Arwin to listen carefully to the boy’s story.

And because of that…

He’d learned far too much.

About her background.

About her past.

The young man, who had only recently come of age…

Had unknowingly revealed countless clues about her identity.

She had once been the second wife of a noble household.

And she’d only recently left the estate.

Truthfully…

Adolf wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about aristocratic affairs.

He had never enjoyed playing the games of noble society when he was younger.

Even so…

There was one scandal every noble had heard countless times.

Seven years earlier.

The very year he himself had come of age.

The tragedy of House Hwidrian…

And the story of its new Duchess.

Everyone knew it.

The young Duchess of House Hwidrian—

Diana Hwidrian—

had died suddenly in an accident.

And afterward…

Her close friend had married the Duke…

As though taking Diana’s place.

Could all these circumstances really be nothing more than coincidence?

“So that employee is a son of House Hwidrian…”

“And that woman…”

“…Could she actually be the Duchess who left the ducal household?”

“…No.”

“Surely not.”

Arwin shook his head.

It was certainly a plausible conclusion.

But no one could know whether it was actually true.

For all he knew…

She might not even be a noble.

After all…

A family bringing in a stepmother wasn’t particularly uncommon throughout the Empire.

“…”

More than anything…

Arwin didn’t want to know any more.

Especially not through someone else’s mouth.

If he was ever going to hear about her past…

He wanted to hear it directly from her.

Someday.

Thinking that…

Arwin forced himself to push those thoughts from his mind.