Chapter 2

She went to the Duke Fernande household as soon as day broke.

Fortunately, he was staying in the capital, so there was no need for her to travel all the way down to the Fernande estate.

However…….

「His Grace has politely declined the meeting. Please return, Guild Leader.」

「If you wish to see His Grace, please make an appointment and visit then.」

「My apologies, but…….」

The Duke stubbornly refused to meet her.

But who was she?

‘The head of the Everdeen Merchant Guild, the one that makes flowers bloom even in barren land.’

When she kept knocking with burning determination, Duke Fernande finally granted her a visit after her relentless requests.

[I would like to show Young Master Cesar a toy he would surely love. Even a short moment of your time would be appreciated.]

His only weakness was his child, and she had targeted the child.

“Please come this way, Guild Leader Everdeen.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“You may wait here.”

Click.

The door closed behind her.

Inside the drawing room, there was an unexpectedly warm atmosphere. She stepped farther in and carefully examined the ornaments and furniture.

‘A person’s taste always reveals itself in the smallest details.’

Sitting on the soft sofa, she took out the reply Duke Fernande had sent.

[I hope we can finish this conversation within five minutes.]

‘After all that pleading, all she got was a mere five minutes…….’

The elegant and neat handwriting perfectly reflected the personality of the writer.

After carefully putting the letter away, she organized once more what she was going to say before the meeting and waited, only staring at the refreshments the servant had brought.

But…….

‘Just when is he coming?’

He had granted her only a strictly limited five minutes, yet he himself seemed to care nothing for whether she was a guest or not.

“Hah?”

After checking the clock over and over, she got up from her seat altogether and wandered around the drawing room. The hem of the dress she had worn so she would not be looked down on as a commoner ignorant of etiquette swayed with every step.

As she bit at her nails, something sparkling beneath the display cabinet reflected the sunlight.

‘What is that?’

It looked like something had fallen.

She slowly bent her knees and reached her hand under the cabinet, then swept her arm around with her cheek nearly pressed to the carpet. Something hard brushed against her fingertips, and the sensation was extremely familiar. Thinking, ‘No way’, she moved closer to the cabinet and stretched her arm farther inside.

‘Just a little more…….’

As she moved, the hem of her dress slid up over her calves.

“……Got it!”

That was when it happened.

“It does not seem to be a posture fit for a lady to show.”

A low, subdued voice fell over her head.

Having finally gotten the object in hand, her face instantly turned grim.

“I would first like an explanation as to why you are lying in such a position.”

“…….”

As if nothing at all had happened, she calmly rose to her feet. Dusting off the hem of her dress and lifting her head, she saw a man narrowing his brows in clear displeasure.

Hair blacker than the night sky, pronounced brow bones, a smooth bridge of the nose, deep-set eyes, and inscrutable red eyes. The tall, muscular man loosened the tie constricting his neck and looked down at her at an angle.

‘Good. The first impression is already ruined.’

Since it had come to this, she decided to be even more shameless.

She smiled brightly, held the hem of her dress, and gave a slight bow.

“It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Duke Fernande. I am…….”

“That hair of yours… is it dyed?”

The Duke narrowed his eyes and cut her off mid-sentence, then asked in a faintly mocking tone. He seemed to think she had copied the same hair color as his younger sister in order to win his favor.

‘As if that would only backfire. There’s no way I would do something like that.’

To begin with, the only thing she had in common with Fiora Fernande was her bluish hair. She had heard that their looks and personalities were completely different.

As she brought forward the foot she had stepped back with in order to greet him properly, she stumbled.

“……Elodia. As for the color of my hair, I believe I inherited it from my parents.”

When she raised her head, the Duke was still looking at her with a furrowed brow.

Creak.

At that moment, the door behind the Duke opened a crack. A metallic groan rang out from the slowly opening door, the kind of sound one would rather not hear.

She glanced toward the gap. Her attention was drawn to the tiny little head peeking out through the narrow opening.

A small child who could roam freely about the Duke Fernande household. It was Cesar Fernande, his son.

With a bright smile, she waved both hands at the child. She was genuinely glad to see him, and besides, that child was an important card in this negotiation.

‘The Duke’s only child, said to have been conceived during the war before he had even married.’

The maid of the ducal residence, who had been the subject of endless rumors as the child’s mother, had died in an accident on the very same day and at the very same time as his younger sister.

‘And after losing his mother, the child had lost his voice.’

But then…….

“Mama?”

For a brief instant, the Duke’s gaze and hers met in midair.

He uncrossed his arms and slowly lowered his gaze to the child.

“Mama?”

The child threw the door open with a sweep.

Patter patter patter.

Then, ignoring the Duke completely, he ran straight to her.

Caught off guard, she wrapped both arms around the child as he buried his face in her embrace. His white, chubby cheek was squashed against the skirt of her dress.

Blink, blink.

Looking back and forth between the Duke and the child in confusion, she slowly patted the child on the back.

Then the child spoke in a tearful voice.

“I missed you.”

“Uh…….”

“…….”

A brief silence followed.

The child’s hand tightened around her clothes as if he had no intention of ever letting go.

The Duke still looked flustered, only moving his lips soundlessly.

She had no choice but to kneel to the floor and hold the child tightly.

“…I missed you too, Cesar.”

* * *

“I suppose I should express my gratitude. Thanks to you, Cesar has begun speaking again.”

To be honest, she wasn’t sure it was thanks to her. She was being treated like an honored guest because of Cesar, but…….

‘That recording artifact I had found under the display cabinet earlier had helped too.’

Savoring the richer fragrance of the tea, she gave a small nod.

“Do you also think Cesar mistook me for his mother, Duke?”

“It seems that way.”

He gave a short nod.

“Why?”

“Your hair color is similar to that of my younger sister, Fiora. The child’s mother followed Fiora constantly, so perhaps the child may have taken after his birth mother in that regard.”

Sierd answered a beat too late.

Blue hair was an extremely rare color. Her bluish silver hair was enough to call Fiora’s blue hair to mind. On top of that, she and Fiora even had the same eye color, so confusion was understandable.

But did he truly think that was why the child was attached to her?

Though nothing had ever been officially confirmed, rumors said that Cesar’s birth mother had been Fiora’s personal maid. There were even whispers that she had been Sierd’s first love.

Whether the rumor was true or not, the important thing was that she had no connection to that woman, and Cesar had no connection to Fiora.

‘For whatever reason, Cesar had taken after his grandmother’s watery-colored hair instead of Sierd’s black hair.’

In any case, what Sierd said did not quite add up.

‘Is Cesar really his child?’

There was something vaguely suspicious about it, but she nodded for the time being.

“……I see.”

“Though it is late, allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Sierd Fernande.”

Sierd also seemed to have been making excuses on the spot, and hastily changed the subject. He extended his hand to her, asking for a handshake. She took his hand without hesitation.

“I’m Elodia.”

When she smiled brightly, Sierd’s red eyes wavered once more.

After finishing the simple handshake, she played with her bluish silver hair.

“It certainly isn’t a common color.”

Perhaps it reminded him of his late younger sister, because the Duke’s expression darkened even more.

It was said that his younger sister, Fiora, had been famous as a beauty with hair the color of a lovely lake. She had no connection to Fiora whatsoever, but perhaps because of their hair color, she had occasionally heard about her.

She studied his reaction, then for no real reason pulled Cesar’s blanket up to his neck. Cesar was breathing softly in his sleep with his head resting on her lap.

‘He made such a fuss, and now he’s fast asleep.’

There was a trace of complicated emotion in Sierd’s expression as he looked at the child. He seemed troubled by the fact that the child would not leave her side even for a moment.

Perhaps even more troubled than she was.

She decided to make use of that and opened her mouth.

“The truth is, the reason I came to see you today, Duke, is…….”