Chapter 25
Late that night…
Nick sat alone inside the gallery.
The lights were out, and the only thing filling the gallery was the cold night air.
In Lorencia, the streets at such a late hour were completely deserted.
The silence was so profound that it felt as though something could leap out of the darkness and devour him at any moment.
With his knees drawn up against his chest, Nick sat on the cold floor, staring at the wall.
His eyes were fixed on the paintings hanging there.
The paintings…
His mother had painted them.
Moonlight slanted in through the shop windows, illuminating the artwork as though it were a spotlight.
…They’re beautiful.
That was all Nick could think.
Just as the mysterious customer had said, the paintings filling the gallery possessed an almost mystical atmosphere.
Nick knew very little about art.
Even so…
He could tell that much.
The technical skill still seemed to have room for improvement.
But the emotions contained within each painting rivaled those of any famous artist.
Thinking back…
He realized that the very first time he’d entered the gallery, his gaze had unconsciously been drawn to these paintings.
“…”
Did I make a mistake?
Nick wondered.
He had only wanted to find his mother.
He had simply wanted to bring back the mother he loved.
Just as she had always wished…
He wanted to accept her as his mother, not merely his stepmother.
He had never imagined…
That she would be the one to let go of his hand first.
“Why should your stepmother spend the rest of her life taking care of a family she isn’t even related to?”
That mysterious customer had said those words.
But to Nick…
Things weren’t that simple.
Regardless of blood…
Kasia had already become his mother.
Seven years was not a short time.
To Nick…
It had been an especially long seven years.
Back then…
He had been a child.
Now…
He was an adult.
It was enough time for a little boy to grow into a man.
And throughout those years…
Kasia had been his mother.
To dismiss her as nothing more than a stranger because they shared no blood…
The years they had spent together were simply too many.
He couldn’t let her go so easily.
He wanted to treat her well now.
He wanted them to live together as a real family from this point onward.
He wanted to leave behind the bleak, lifeless atmosphere of the ducal estate…
And build a new relationship together.
…Was that wrong?
Was it really that selfish?
Had he been mistaken all along?
“Does your stepmother even see you as her son? You’re not the child she gave birth to.”
“Look. You don’t even know what your mother is good at, or what she loves. And yet… do you truly believe you’re qualified?”
Those words hurt.
They struck directly at the heart of the matter.
They forced him to question everything.
The stranger had left Nick with countless doubts.
He had thought he’d finally sorted out his feelings before coming here.
But now…
Those questions had resurfaced.
Even if they weren’t related by blood…
Couldn’t they still become a family?
Couldn’t they still become mother and son?
If they didn’t know each other well…
Couldn’t they begin now?
Or…
Was it already too late?
Had this relationship already become impossible to repair?
…Am I standing in the way of Mother’s future?
“It’s an extraordinary natural talent. It’s a waste for paintings of this quality to remain hidden away in a tiny countryside gallery.”
“…”
Nick looked up at the paintings.
They were so beautiful…
That they filled him with overwhelming sadness.
When I opened my eyes…
I realized I was lying in my bed.
Ever since Nick had stubbornly decided to stay in Lorencia…
I’d given him part of my house.
He was, after all, the young master of a ducal family.
I worried he might find sleeping on the sofa uncomfortable.
So I’d given him my bed while I slept on the sofa instead.
Last night had been no different.
Yet somehow…
When I woke up…
I was lying in the bed.
I stepped outside and immediately found Nick fast asleep on the sofa.
…What happened?
Tilting my head, I stared at him.
Had I unconsciously found the sofa uncomfortable?
Had I somehow woken up in the middle of the night, carried Nick onto the sofa, and crawled back into bed?
I seriously considered the possibility…
Before shaking my head.
No.
There was no way.
I didn’t have the strength—or even the build—to carry Nick.
Besides…
Sleeping on a sofa for a few nights wasn’t uncomfortable for me.
I’d long since become insensitive to things like that.
…Which meant…
Nick must have carried me.
“Nick.”
“Did you move me?”
Walking closer, I gently shook his shoulder.
He remained sound asleep.
“Nick.”
“It’s time for work.”
“Aren’t you getting up?”
If we were going to head to the gallery together…
He needed to wake up.
Yet there was still no response.
After shaking him a few more times…
I couldn’t help laughing softly.
He looked as though he were dead to the world.
…Had all those days of desperately trying to persuade me finally exhausted him?
Now that he’d relaxed…
He was sleeping without a care.
For some reason…
The sight warmed my heart.
Nick had inherited the Duke of Hwidrian’s handsome features.
But his brown hair…
That came entirely from Diana.
As I gently stroked the soft brown hair that reminded me so much of her…
I smiled fondly.
Nick was a beautiful child.
Some people might call him stubborn and impossible.
Yet somehow…
I simply couldn’t dislike him.
“Sleep well, Nick.”
I quietly stood.
It looked like I’d be going to work alone today.
After arriving at the gallery…
I tied my apron neatly around my waist.
The morning felt strangely quiet without Nick.
Leaving the glass doors and windows wide open…
I swept the floors while listening to the cheerful songs of sparrows drifting in from outside.
I dusted the paintings.
Cleaned every frame.
Finished preparing the gallery for opening.
Then I brewed myself a cup of coffee and sat on the terrace where the view was best.
Bathed in the fully risen morning sunlight…
I took a slow sip.
“Ah.”
“That’s right.”
“I need to contact Mikael.”
When should I do it?
I’d promised to write as soon as everything settled down.
But because Nick had stayed at the gallery far longer than expected…
I’d never had the chance.
Perhaps…
Mikael was still waiting to hear from me.
Feeling guilty…
I decided I should at least send him a message explaining the situation.
If I apologized for the delayed letter and politely explained everything…
Mikael would surely understand.
Just thinking about him brought a smile to my face.
…Ah.
I want to see him soon.
I was smiling to myself—
When a shadow suddenly fell across me.
It was an enormous…
Almost ominous shadow.
For some reason…
I instinctively knew…
This was the shadow fate had cast over my life once again.
Slowly…
I looked up.
The smile faded from my face.
Standing before me…
Was none other than—
“You left without saying a word.”
“So this is where you’ve been.”
“…!”
The Duke of Hwidrian.
Ever since Nick had appeared…
I’d expected this might happen.
Eventually…
The Duke of Hwidrian might come looking for me.
But as time passed…
He never came.
Because of that…
I’d assumed he’d quietly signed the divorce papers.
Perhaps…
I’d grown careless.
Now…
The two of us sat across from each other inside the café.
Even now…
It still didn’t feel real that he was here.
This little café…
And the Duke…
They simply didn’t belong in the same world.
He was someone who suited magnificent mansions and grand surroundings.
A place like this…
Or someone like me…
Didn’t suit him.
More accurately…
I had never belonged in his world.
He appeared remarkably calm.
His unfamiliar gaze slowly swept across the gallery.
“So…”
“This is where you’ve been living all this time.”
“It may look modest…”
“But I lack for nothing here.”
“…”
“I thought…”
“This café resembles you.”
“The coffee is excellent as well.”
As a customer…
He politely took a sip from the cup I’d served him before setting it back down.
I spoke first.
“I’m sorry…”
“But we’re open for business.”
“I don’t have much time to chat.”
“So…”
“I’d appreciate it if we skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.”
“…”
“What brings you all the way here?”
I truly wanted to know.
Why were the people of House Hwidrian appearing before me again?
Nick…
The Duke…
Until the day I left…
Neither of them had seemed like people who would care much if I simply disappeared.
If there had been any memorable change at all…
It had only been two moments.
Nick smiling brightly at me during his coming-of-age banquet.
And the Duke telling me I’d worked hard…
After seeing me smile.
But…
Hadn’t those simply been polite formalities?
“…Your Grace.”
“Have you also come…”
“To persuade me to return to the ducal estate, just like Nick?”
“Nick…”
“Now that you mention him…”
“Where is he?”
“Has he finally sorted out his feelings?”
“…”
“So…”
“You already found my café.”
“You simply chose not to come.”
The realization struck me immediately.
The Duke looked at me quietly.
Then he answered.
“In my entire life…”
“There are only two things I’ve failed to find.”
“The Third Prince.”
“And the truth behind my wife’s death.”
“…”
“Nick doesn’t know about Diana’s diary.”
“I assume you told him about the contract.”
“I intended to tell him.”
“But after you left…”
“He was extremely emotional.”
“It wasn’t something I could discuss lightly.”
“…”
“I deliberately let Nick leave home.”
“So he could find you…”
“And have the time he needed to sort out his feelings.”
“Of course…”
“That was assuming you wouldn’t reject him.”
He paused.
“And…”
“You didn’t reject him.”
I looked at the Duke…
Then quietly let out a sigh.
