In fact, I had hoped that at least a New Year’s greeting card would arrive on New Year’s Day, but there was nothing in the mailbox. Had he fallen into such severe madness that he couldn’t even write a letter?

The eerie image of Duke Baniche from that day was vivid in my mind. Clearly out of his mind to the point of being unable to think rationally, yet solely focused on Elodie. For that, he even cast aside his high pride and knelt before me. And lastly, the way he asked for a handshake…

I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them. No matter how much I kept thinking about Duke Baniche, nothing would be resolved. My knowledge of black magic was negligible. I only knew as much as was described in novels about villains using such abilities. Therefore, the Duke’s problem had to be solved by the Duke himself.

How much time had passed? Finally, the long day ended, and I set out on the way home with Elodie.

“What should I make for you today?”

If I had to point out the biggest difference between living alone and eating whatever I made, and living with Elodie now, it would definitely be meal preparation. I couldn’t just let Elodie get by on leftover food like I used to. While I couldn’t prepare three perfectly balanced meals a day like a professional, I at least wanted to make menus that Elodie wouldn’t get tired of. Yet, there were times when I simply couldn’t think of what to make for dinner, and today was one of those days.

“Anything is fine!”

Elodie answered in a bright voice. I shook my head.

“Anything is the hardest, Elodie……”

“It’s okay. Whatever Aria makes is really, really delicious.”

Instead of answering, I patted Elodie’s head. The pure sincerity in Elodie’s words wasn’t entirely pleasing, but I couldn’t show that. Soon after, we arrived at the alley where our house was located.

‘……!’

My eyes widened involuntarily. I saw a dark figure leaning against the wall. The man, wearing a large hat pulled low and his coat collar turned up, showed only his nose and chin. Of course, it was a very handsome nose and chin that seemed to exude presence even from tens of meters away.

“Your Grace, what brings you here?”

I bit my tongue, realizing my mistake. My true thoughts had slipped out before a proper greeting.

“Uh……”

Duke Baniche made a sound as if surprised.

“I thought I had covered my face quite well.”

“Your nose and chin are visible, so of course I know it’s you, Your Grace.”

“Just from that much?”

“……”

I hesitated for a moment. Should I say this with my mouth? But thinking that Duke Baniche might get into trouble if he considered this a proper disguise, I felt I should tell him.

“You have an exceptionally handsome nose and chin. So if you’re thinking of disguising yourself, you should cover your entire face with a mask. Don’t just cover half so ambiguously.”

Hearing this, Duke Baniche took off his hat. I instinctively examined his face and felt relieved. His dark red eyes were calm, and his complexion had greatly improved from that of a dying person. His lips formed a small arc.

“So being too handsome is also a problem.”

……What?

I doubted my ears for a moment. But thinking about it again, Duke Baniche’s intended meaning was clear. It was self-praise to the point of embarrassment.

“Wow… Really……”

I was about to say how obnoxious that was, but I barely managed to catch myself.

“You have high self-esteem.”

“Self-esteem?”

Duke Baniche was now openly smirking.

“I’m just stating facts.”

It wasn’t wrong, so I didn’t have the energy to refute it. I decided to just change the subject. More precisely, I got to the point.

“So, what brings you here?”

Duke Baniche’s face became a bit stiff.

“……I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

I blinked. I was quite perplexed because Duke Baniche hadn’t done anything that warranted an apology to me.

‘Did he do something I don’t know about?’

Duke Baniche opened his mouth with a hesitant tone.

“That day…… for scaring you.”

Ah. Finally understanding what he meant, I shook my head.

“It’s fine.”

Contrary to my feelings, a short and brusque response came out. In truth, I wanted to be honest. To say that I knew it was a side effect of black magic. That I felt sorry for him, thinking of Elodie even when he had lost his reason. That he didn’t need to apologize to me… But the fact that Duke Baniche used black magic was known only to high-ranking nobles. If I mentioned black magic, Duke Baniche would naturally find me suspicious.

“……”

Duke Baniche stared at me intently without saying a word. Unable to bear the silence, I spoke first.

“I’m about to have dinner with Elodie. Would you like to join us?”

“Would that be alright?”

Duke Baniche looked as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying.

“Of course. Since you’ve come all this way, at least have dinner before you go.”

“……Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. What would you like to eat?”

“Anything is fine. Whatever you make is delicious.”

“……Pfft.”

Laughter burst out of my mouth involuntarily. Duke Baniche asked with a puzzled face.

“What’s so funny? I was being sincere……”

“Ah, Elodie said exactly the same thing just a moment ago.”

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes as I continued.

“I don’t know if I should say that father and daughter are really alike……”

“But truly, everything you make is delicious.”

Even the serious voice filled with 100 percent sincerity was exactly like Elodie’s, making me chuckle again.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that even your voice is so similar……”

“Is that so.”

Duke Baniche smiled.

“Then that’s a good thing. Since you like Elodie, you’ll probably view me favorably as well.”

***

In a much better mood, I seated Elodie and Duke Baniche in the living room and headed to the kitchen. Elodie looked a bit uneasy, but she didn’t seem to fear the Duke as she used to. The Duke was also tense, but he seemed ready to approach Elodie.

‘Well, nothing bad will happen if I leave them to talk for about thirty minutes.’

I decided to leave the father-daughter relationship recovery to them for a while and started preparing the food ingredients diligently. Although both Elodie and Duke Baniche said anything was fine, I couldn’t actually serve just anything. It should at least be a meal worthy of entertaining a guest.

At first, I couldn’t cook properly because I was listening to every sound from the living room, but soon I was able to focus on cooking, reassured by the sound of their conversation continuing, albeit hesitantly.

I was busy chopping carrots when I heard it. Thud. Thud thud. The sound of objects falling in succession. I frowned. While such noisy objects might be expected in a kitchen, I didn’t think there were any such things in the living room. I put down the knife and quietly headed towards the living room.

‘It’s probably nothing, but I should check what’s going on… Huh?’

I blinked. The expensive chairs that had been matched with the living room table were strewn haphazardly on the floor. Even with the thick carpet, for the sound to reach the kitchen, I could roughly guess how hard they must have been knocked over.

But I couldn’t bring myself to be angry at Duke Baniche, who seemed to be the culprit. It wasn’t just because all the furniture was bought by the Duke anyway. Elodie looked so happy.

Elodie, her face flushed pink with excitement, had draped the Duke’s cloak over the table like a tent and was hiding underneath it, with only her head peeking out.

The Duke’s voice, filled with tension, could be heard. It was lowered as if telling a secret story.

“So, I told the dragon. It was a hundred years too early to take my life. Naturally, the dragon got angry and started causing tremors in the ground.”

Crash!

With Duke Baniche’s dramatic movement, one chair collided with the table and toppled over. It hit quite hard, and I thought it might have left a scratch on the table this time.

Elodie made a stifled sound, covering her mouth with both hands. It looked like she was trying to hold back the laughter that was about to burst out. Seeing Elodie’s smiling face, Duke Baniche also seemed to be in a good mood.