After Declaring Divorce, My Husband Became Lewd - Side Story (Part 3)

The next day after Richt confided in Isabelle, he started returning home early. Richmond, upon seeing his father, would greet him but stayed close to Isabelle. Isabelle encouraged Richmond to go and say hello to his father.

“Richmond, you should go closer and greet your father.”

Isabelle, with a gentle voice, patted her son’s head, encouraging him. Richmond looked back and forth between Isabelle and Richt a few times before cautiously approaching his father.

“Daddy.”

Richt carefully picked up the child who had come to his feet. Once they were at eye level, Richmond stared blankly into his father’s face with innocent curiosity. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he remained silent.

Richmond fidgeted with his fingers and glanced at Isabelle. Knowing Richt’s concerns, Isabelle silently observed the two gentlemen.

Looking at his son, who looked so much like his childhood self, reminded Richt of the past. He remembered his younger self who resented his father and the painful memories of a childhood devoid of affection.

He was afraid that he had unintentionally become a father like the duke before him. As much as he wanted to deny the saying that ‘Those who have not received love cannot give love’, it is not entirely true.

Richt knew in his head that he needed a way of conversing with his son at the child’s level, but when he was alone with his son, he struggled to find the right words. After much contemplation, the words that emerged were always extraordinarily ordinary.

“What were you doing with Mom?”

“We were making a boat out of paper.”

“Can I see how cool and big the boat is?”

“It’s over there.”

The child pointed in the direction where Isabelle and Sylvia were. Richt held his son tightly in his arms and led the way to where various paper boats and scraps of paper were scattered.

Richmond had a curious mind and enjoyed touching and making things he was interested in.

“This is what I made.”

Richmond pointed to the largest paper boat there.

It had an elongated overall shape with the bow bent to give a different feel to the prow, and the triangular sail, colored in white, had the name ‘Richmond’s Ship’ scrawled across the outside.

For a five-year-old, it looked quite sophisticated.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. The green boat next to it was made by Mom, and the yellow one was made by Nanny Sylvia.”

“The boat you made is the coolest.”

When Richt praised the blue paper boat he folded, Richmond giggled with joy.

“The name of this ship is ‘Richmond’s Ship’, and it can hold 100 people, and it can carry a lot of stuff, and it can go all the way to the end of the world.”

100 was the biggest number the child could think of.

“How far can it go?”

“Um… past the Tart Sea, all the way to Gehar!”

How did Richmond know about Gehar, a country located south of the Empire after crossing the Tart Sea?

While Gehar was by no means the end of the Earth, to Richt, it was, and it seemed like his son was a genius.

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

Richmond said with a smug expression.

“Do you want to make one, Dad? I have tons of colored paper.”

“Should I?”

“Yes! Can you make it cooler than the ‘Richmond Ship’?”

“That might be difficult. In my eyes, the boat you made is the coolest in the world.”

Richmond’s face lit up with pride as he turned the paper boat around and around, and praised it specifically. The excited child pointed outside and spoke loudly.

“Then let’s go float the boats!”

“Where to?”

“To the fountain in the garden.”

“Sure.”

“Mom! Mom, come with us!”

When his father gave his permission, Richmond hurried off to find his mom. Richt felt a bit disappointed, but as Isabelle had said, the child seemed more straightforward and spontaneous in expressing emotions than he had initially thought.

Nevertheless, it was the first time Richmond had taken the initiative to suggest doing something together with Richt. It was a positive sign.

* * *

These days, Richt’s primary concern was his son. How could he become closer to him? How could he, after Isabelle, become the person Richmond loved the most? What should he do?

Having heard that Cecile, the tutor, and Richmond were having lessons together, Richt quietly went upstairs and stood outside his son’s room.

Rather than knocking, he decided not to disturb and just slightly opened the door to peek inside.

The lesson with Cecile was in full swing. Although he had heard about hiring a tutor from Isabelle, this was the first time Richt had seen her. Cecile had blonde hair and wore glasses, giving her a neat and tidy appearance.

According to Isabelle, she was well known in Vechilin as a tutor who specialized in teaching only the children of noble families. It seemed she was doing an excellent job teaching Richmond the necessary knowledge.

Richmond was usually reserved around people he wasn’t close to, but there was no sign of that with Cecile. Perhaps it was because of her gentle voice.

“You have done very well, Your Lordship, but who is this?”

“And, this is Felix Calitheon. If he were alive today, he would be my grandfather.”

One by one, the child rattled off the names of the dukes in the Calitheon family tree, explaining their relationship to him and their accomplishments.

“Yes, that’s right. Your Lordship, how are you so smart?”

“I’m smart? My mom often says that too.”

“Yes. You’re more clever than any young duke I’ve taught.”

The complimented child shrugged and turned a page in his book. Smiling, Richt watched his son, who was fully engrossed in the lesson, holding the book with his small hands.

Cecile belatedly noticed the Duke Calitheon in the background and greeted him. Richt returned the greeting lightly.

“How much longer until it’s finished?”

“Not long. I was planning to finish here today.”

Cecile spoke softly to Richmond as she organized the surroundings.

“That’s all for today, Your Lordship, and I’ll see you next week.”

“Goodbye, Teacher.”

After Cecile left, Richt approached his son. Richmond, who had been fidgeting, closed his book and rolled his eyes awkwardly.

“Were you looking at the family tree?”

“Yes.”

“Was it interesting?”

Richmond nodded. Richt pulled up a chair and sat down beside him to talk to the boy at length.

“What did you talk about with Teacher Cecile?”

“She said that I’m going to be the heir to the family one day, and if I’m going to be a good duke like my father, I’m going to have to rule House Callitheon well, and to do that, I need to know the history of the family.”

Richt glanced at the list of books that Cecile had neatly arranged on one side of the desk a while ago. They covered topics like the Calitheon family lineage, the founding of the empire, and the culture of the empire.

Though they were books with concise explanations and engaging illustrations, tailored to Richmond’s age group, Richt wondered if a five-year-old needed to learn all of this right away.

“And when I’m older,  she said I’ll be in charge of important things in the empire so I’ll have to study about the major events of the empire and the imperial lineage. But she said she’ll tell me about that next time.”

Having experienced an unhappy childhood, pressured into an education unsuited to his age, Richt didn’t want to subject Richmond to similar experiences.

Richt lowered his head to meet his son’s eyes.

“Richmond, you can learn that at the academy when you’re older.”

“The academy?”

The boy blinked at the unfamiliar word. Cecile hadn’t mentioned that part yet.

“Yes. You’ll go there in a few years.”

All children of noble families were sent to the Academy when they came of age, so of course Richmond had to go when the time came.

The child, with features reminiscent of his father’s, expressed curiosity with a hmmm sound, raising his eyes.

“What do you do there?”

“It’s where you learn the knowledge you need to live.”

“Can Mom go too?”

“No. You have to go alone.”

“Did Dad go alone when you were little?”

“Yes.”

“Then, it must have been boring.”

Richt looked at his son, who was tilting his head thoughtfully, and chuckled.

“There are other kids your age, and it’ll be a lot more fun than staying home like you’re doing now. So, if you don’t like the lessons with Teacher Cecile, you can tell me. I’ll talk to Mom and make her stop.”

“I don’t dislike it. It’s just not the most fun and best thing.”

The child shook her little head, then spoke.

“It’s about the third best thing.”

Richt was curious about Richmond’s thoughts.

“What are the first two things you like more?”

“The first is playing with Mom. She reads me stories and lets me play with toys as much as I want. It’s the best thing in the world.”

Thinking of Isabelle, Richmond giggled and then continued, listing the things he enjoyed.

“The second is playing with Lucas. He’s a good runner, he’s a good hunter, he listens to me, and he lives close to my house.”

Richard was pleased to hear that Richmond enjoyed spending time with his mother and his friend Lucas.

He remembered what Isabelle had mentioned, that a child’s thinking changes from moment to moment. When Sylvia asked him who he loved most, it was Isabelle, Sylvia, Mia, and Mrs. Mason. ow, it was Isabelle and then Lucas.

Richt wanted to ask which number he was, but he listened to the child’s words without probing.

“But sometimes, he can be annoying. I can’t swim, but he always brags about knowing how to swim. Lucas says his father taught him.”

Richmond looked up at Richt. He seemed envious of the memories Lucas had with his father.

“Shall we go to the ocean? I can teach you to swim.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yes.”

Then, Richt suddenly remembered the promise he had made to Isabelle. He’d promised to take her on a trip someday, but he hadn’t gotten around to it yet. It wasn’t that Richt had forgotten about it, but rather, because Isabelle had been more focused on social activities for a while, and her desire for travel wasn’t as apparent as before.

“How about Baysarne Island? The sea there is the color of grape juice.”

“That doesn’t make sense. How can the sea be the color of grape juice?”

As expected, Richmond’s eyes widened with curiosity. Although he didn’t entirely believe Richt’s words, he wanted to know if there really was a wine-colored ocean like in fairy tales.

“Shall we go and see for ourselves if it’s true or not?”

 “Wow, I can’t wait to go, when are we going?”

Richmond jumped up from his seat and bounced.