“Your Grace, you may strike me down if you wish, but I have something I must tell you.”

Count Jacob knelt on one knee with a resolute attitude. The Duke’s face showed complete exasperation, but he didn’t openly stop him. After a moment, a thunderbolt of a statement flowed from Count Jacob’s mouth.

“Your Grace, please return to the ducal residence!”

The Duke’s face froze coldly. Count Jacob continued speaking, heedless of the worsening atmosphere.

“All the vassals of the ducal family are looking only to you, Your Grace. If you value the Baniche Duchy even a little, please…!”

I tilted my head in confusion. It was difficult to understand the Count’s rambling words.

‘What on earth is he talking about?’

Looking around, I saw that others also had puzzled expressions.

“…Count Jacob.”

A cold voice flowed from the Duke’s mouth.

“Asking me to return, do you have any conscience at all?”

Oh. Finally understanding the situation, I inwardly sighed. Duke Baniche wasn’t simply not residing at the ducal residence. For some reason, it seemed he had cut off all contact with the ducal residence. Naturally, my letters or visits wouldn’t have been delivered.

‘Can the Duke do that?’

I frowned. No matter how mad Duke Baniche was said to be, he was still the head of a family. Unless he had given up his title, the Count was right to say he should return and fulfill his duties.

“Didn’t you all say that my daughter was already dead and that I shouldn’t waste any more time and should return?”

“…Y-Your Grace.”

The Count stammered.

“I have no words, even if I had ten mouths. But at this rate, the Baniche Duchy will be ruined. The lives of thousands depend on you, so please return.”

“I used to think that way too.”

Duke Baniche replied slowly.

“Until those who called themselves my vassals unanimously told me to forget about Elodie, saying I could always have more children.”

I was shocked and immediately looked for Elodie. I wished I could cover her ears. Fortunately, Elodie seemed too young to properly understand the meaning. The same was true for Elodie’s young friends.

But the adults were different. With that one statement, Duke Baniche had made everyone understand why he had abandoned his duties as a Duke and not returned to the ducal residence. I was no exception.

‘……’

I swallowed dryly. Elodie was already my family. If I had lost Elodie and was desperately searching for her, and someone said such things to me…

‘It’s a wonder that Count is still alive.’

If this were the Duke Baniche described in the novel, the heads of his vassals would have been immediately separated from their bodies upon hearing such words. Then this Count Jacob or whatever wouldn’t have ruined Elodie’s birthday party. The Duke wasn’t one to easily close a topic once he had opened it.

“Wasn’t it you all who deliberately worsened my madness?”

Count Jacob groaned as if caught off guard.

“…Your Grace, regarding that matter, I am truly devastated and sorry. However…”

“You said you had no words even with ten mouths, yet you seem to have plenty.”

As the Duke openly sneered, Count Jacob closed his mouth as if suddenly tongue-tied and just blinked his eyes. I put my hand to my forehead. I needed time to think about what I had just heard.

‘Madness, he says.’

The Duke was aware that he wasn’t in his right mind. And it seemed the ducal vassals had significantly contributed to the cause.

‘…I don’t remember seeing this in the novel!’

I clutched my head. If I had known this would happen, I would have memorized the novel word for word. But who would have paid attention to the hidden settings of a villain?

It wasn’t information that was treated as important in the novel. The Duke’s icy voice pulled me from my thoughts.

“I’m trying not to make an ugly scene in front of my daughter, so get lost. Otherwise…”

“Y-You found your daughter!?”

Count Jacob asked in great bewilderment. Without waiting for the Duke’s answer, he looked around and quickly found Elodie.

“Young Lady!”

Count Jacob stood up and ran towards Elodie. It seemed as if he had forgotten about the Duke. The sound of the Duke clicking his tongue could be heard. Count Jacob bowed.

“Young Lady, our Young Lady… To think you’ve grown so much, I can now die without regrets.”

Speaking without taking a breath, he seemed overwhelmed with emotion. Elodie, however, was flustered and could only roll her eyes.

“Do you remember me? I’m Uncle Tom! You used to call me Tommy. Ah, to think you resemble Your Grace so much…”

“That’s enough.”

There’s a limit to patience. For the first time since this Count entered the café, I opened my mouth.

“Can’t you see that Elodie is frightened?”

I gestured towards Elodie. She immediately ran to me and hugged my waist. I picked her up. Thanks to feeding her well all this time, she had gained weight, but her body was still weak and thin as she clung to me.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

I patted Elodie’s trembling back. Count Jacob looked at us both as if the sky had fallen.

“Y-Young Lady…”

“Count.”

It was Duke Baniche. He walked towards Count Jacob with a grim face. My body stiffened involuntarily. If a knife fight were to break out at Elodie’s birthday party…

‘Surely not.’

Even for a Duke, he should have that much self-control. Fortunately, the Duke stopped right in front of Count Jacob.

“Not only did you barge in without any prior notice, but you even threaten my daughter.”

Duke Baniche growled.

“B-But, Your Grace!”

By this point, although annoying, I had to admit that Count Jacob was quite brave. An ordinary person would have long since fled, crushed by the Duke’s murderous intent.

I glanced at Duke Baniche. His dark red eyes, clouded with fury, gleamed with a dark luster like storm clouds before a tempest. Count Jacob quickly continued.

“You don’t need to stay long. We have prepared all the necessary documents at the ducal residence, so you just need to make decisions on a few urgent matters.”

The Duke’s eyes narrowed.

“No need to stay long, you say… Exactly how long are you talking about?”

“A-About a month would do!”

“……”

“T-Two weeks…”

“……”

“One week! Your Grace, one week will do. That will be enough to overcome the current crisis of the ducal family. So, please…”

I felt like I already knew the Duke’s answer before he even opened his mouth.

“I refuse.”

Yes, exactly this kind of answer. The Duke openly sneered.

“What does it matter to me if the Baniche Duchy is ruined? Didn’t you all oppose making Elodie the heir from the beginning? If I can’t pass it on anyway, it doesn’t matter if it disappears.”

I shook my head. I realized that this man before me had truly gone mad. What, he doesn’t care if the ducal family is ruined?

What nonsense is that?

Even if his goal is to live well with just Elodie, wouldn’t he need the title of Duke and the family’s wealth?

Even I, for Elodie’s sake, allowed him to approach because he’s a madman who can provide both material and emotional support. If the situation had been slightly different, I would have used every possible means to prevent his approach.

I understand he’s angry because his vassals usually spout nonsense, but does that mean he should throw away the treasure in his hands? I muttered towards Elodie, who was still clinging to me.

“A grown adult should work. Don’t you think so, Elodie?”

“Huh?”

Elodie asked back with round eyes.

“Ah, our Elodie is still too young to understand. When a grown-up is healthy but doesn’t work, we call them a good-for-nothing. I don’t like such people.”

“Good-for-nothing?”

“Yes, but Elodie doesn’t need to worry. If you have something you want to do, you can do that, and if not, you can run the café with me.”

“…!”

Elodie’s eyes sparkled.

“I, I want to run the café with Aria!”