A moment later. Between slightly parted lips, an unexpected word flowed out.

“…Thank you.”

I stared at the Duke in slight surprise. Duke Baniche seemed like the type of person who had never thanked anyone in his life. But even such a person has weaknesses. Right now, Elodie was his weakness.

So, for Elodie’s sake, it seemed he could even thank an ordinary commoner like me. The three of us began walking towards the meeting place in an unbearably awkward atmosphere. I tried to make conversation with Elodie about various things, but Elodie, seemingly very conscious of the Duke, only gave short answers.

After walking for about twenty minutes, a forest of ginkgo trees dyed bright yellow came into view. As we got closer to the forest, we could hear children laughing and chattering. When we arrived, we found that all the other families had already arrived and set up their picnic blankets. The lady who organized this gathering welcomed us with a smile.

“Welcome, Miss Bertin.”

“I’m sorry. Are we very late?”

“Not at all. We just arrived ourselves.”

Another lady chimed in with a kind tone from the side.

“Same for us. Oh, there’s Elodie! Hello!”

I exchanged greetings with a few ladies I knew, then turned to the hesitant Elodie.

“Elodie, go play with your friends.”

“…Okay.”

Elodie nodded with a scared face but didn’t refuse. I glanced at Elodie with a worried expression. All the children gathered for today’s picnic were peers around five to seven years old, and except for Elodie, they all knew each other well.

‘It will be hard to become close from the start, I suppose.’

I didn’t expect Elodie, who had no experience interacting with peers, to make friends right away. I just hoped she would learn a little about how to get along with children her age. Not just being adored by adults. Fortunately, Paul, the most outgoing of the children, approached Elodie first.

“Hey, do you want to play ‘Guards and Thieves’?”

“What’s… what’s that?”

“It’s super easy! The guards go around catching thieves, and the thieves just have to run away. Got it?”

“U-um, yes.”

Elodie seemed a bit nervous but listened intently to Paul’s words.

“Everyone wants to be a thief, so we need someone to be a guard. But since it’s your first time, I’ll let you be a thief if you want.”

Elodie nodded.

“I’ll be a guard.”

Paul’s face lit up.

“Really? Promise?”

I smiled as I watched Elodie running around and shouting with her peers. Although Elodie was smaller than the other children, she was very nimble and kept catching the children playing thieves and putting them in ‘jail’.

‘It’s probably not good to keep watching.’

It’s best to pay as little attention as possible when children are playing among themselves. As soon as I confirmed that Elodie had blended in reasonably well with the children, I turned my head towards the ladies.

‘…’

I swallowed a sigh. As expected, everyone’s attention was focused on the Duke. Everyone was crowded around the Duke…

It was fortunate that he wore black clothes without any special decorations. If he had worn flashy clothes befitting a nobleman, he would have been bombarded with questions immediately.

Of course, even now, he couldn’t escape the sharp questions from the experienced ladies.

“By the way, who is this…?”

Mrs. Devaka, Paul’s mother, tilted her head as she looked at the Duke. At that exact moment, Mrs. Holson, Mrs. Devaka’s close friend, gasped.

I didn’t particularly like Mrs. Holson. She meddled in everything as if I, who was as old as could be, was a young girl she needed to take care of. Her rude way of speaking was a bonus.

“Ah, isn’t that him? The one they say comes to Miss Bertin’s cafe every day!”

In response to the question that didn’t even try to hide its intention, I smiled ambiguously.

“Well, he does come every day…”

Mrs. Holson’s eyes widened.

“I’d only heard rumors, but if I’d known he was this handsome, I would have visited earlier! Do you still drop by the cafe these days?”

Without waiting for Duke Baniche’s answer, Mrs. Holson continued.

“Wow, I’ve never seen such a handsome man in my life. Have you ever thought about acting? With looks like these, you’d get a free pass to all the capital’s theater troupes!”

While Mrs. Holson was unleashing her unrestrained chatter, Mrs. Devaka, who didn’t pay much attention to rumors, frowned and asked.

“But what’s your relationship with Miss Bertin?”

I froze for a moment in confusion. I could say we were nothing, but that would make the situation truly strange. That’s when Mrs. Holson dropped the bomb.

“Surely… you’re not the child’s father, are you?”

“That’s correct.”

Before I could stop him, the Duke’s answer echoed in the air.

“I am Elodie’s father.”

“…!”

Not only Mrs. Holson and Mrs. Devaka were shocked, but all the ladies around pricked up their ears. I put my hand to my forehead. Of course, it was true. Naturally, I had intended to introduce the Duke as Elodie’s long-lost father who had reunited with her. But to answer such a question in that way…!

“Oh my!”

Mrs. Holson placed both hands on her chest.

“I was wondering when Miss Bertin would find a match, and here she’s brought such a splendid man.”

“Congratulations, Miss Bertin. You two make such a lovely couple.”

Even Mrs. Devaka was adding fuel to the fire. I hurriedly waved my hands.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you both, but this gentleman and I are not in that kind of relationship. He is…”

I racked my brain quickly but couldn’t think of a way to explain it indirectly. The only option left was to be blunt.

“He is Elodie’s biological father.”

Oh, this sounds even stranger. Seeing the Duke’s mocking expression, it seemed he had also noticed my mistake. I quickly tried to clarify the increasingly confusing situation.

“You know that Elodie doesn’t have parents and I’m raising her, right?”

“Of course. It was quite famous, wasn’t it? That Miss Bertin was doing a good deed.”

The Duke’s eyebrow twitched at the words that treated Elodie as merely a ‘good deed’. I hastily continued.

“Actually, Elodie did have parents. They lost each other when she was very young and couldn’t find each other. By chance, this gentleman found Elodie… so we meet like this occasionally.”

Mrs. Holson frowned.

“Then, why doesn’t he… um, what’s your name, sir?”

“Theodore.”

The Duke answered simply. I breathed a sigh of relief.

If he had said ‘Duke Theodore Baniche’, it would have caused an uproar. Of course, my and Elodie’s quiet life would end immediately. Just thinking about the possibility of local reporters swarming in was enough to give me a headache. It was fortunate that Duke Baniche didn’t go that far. Mrs. Holson smiled with satisfaction and continued.

“Right, if this Mr. Theodore here is Elodie’s real father, why doesn’t he just take Elodie away?”

“Ma’am, that’s…”

“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange. There’s no reason for Miss Bertin to keep raising Elodie now.”

I was at a loss for words. How could I possibly explain? That this man mistook me for a kidnapper and tried to kill me, which Elodie witnessed, causing her to despise her father terribly? That I couldn’t send Elodie to such a person? I swallowed hard and, without even wetting my lips, spun a lie.

“You know how much Elodie likes me. And I like Elodie too. She insists on staying with me, and fortunately, Mr. Theodore is okay with that…”

“As long as Elodie is happy, I’m content just watching over her like this.”

Duke Baniche chimed in with a serious face. Mrs. Holson clapped her hands.

“Ah, so that’s how it is. That’s why you visit the cafe every day! I thought you might have fallen for our Miss Bertin here.”

Just as I was about to answer that it certainly wasn’t the case, Mrs. Holson launched her final attack.

“But since that’s not the case… Mr. Theodore, do you really have no feelings for this lovely young lady here?”

If Theodore Baniche was flustered, he didn’t show it at all.

“I think of her as the kind person who saved Elodie.”

“…Well, if that’s how it is, I suppose that’s that.”