Chapter 49

Lia watched Johann and Rafaella walk back into the main mansion, both wearing flower crowns, and smiled softly.  

Johann, wearing a flower crown, looked as awkward as a lion with flowers in its mane, but the sight of the father and daughter wearing matching crowns was undeniably heartwarming.  

‘I didn’t expect him to be so happy just because Rafaella called him “Dad.”’  

He had truly changed.  

The worries she once had, about whether Johann would ever open his heart to Rafaella or vice versa before she left, had faded away.  

Regardless of the goddess’s mark, the change in their relationship brought her pure joy.  

“Mom! Hurry up!”  

Rafaella, who had been walking energetically with her father, shouted loudly when she noticed Lia lagging behind.  

Lia approached Rafaella and gently held the child’s soft hand.  

They were on their way to the kitchen to retrieve the pie Lia had made.  

More specifically, the pie she had made for Rafaella.  

‘I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time to play with Rafaella.’  

After much thought, she decided to make lime pie, one of Rafaella’s favorite foods since coming here.  

Rafaella, who loved anything tangy, especially enjoyed desserts with a refreshing flavor.  

‘I’m not fond of tangy things, so maybe she inherited her taste from her father.’  

The head chef of the mansion, like the gardener, had readily agreed when Lia asked if she could make lime pie in the kitchen.  

Not only that, but he had enthusiastically explained the recipe to her.  

With the chef’s help, she had made the lime pie the previous night.  

The chef had stored the pie in a high-quality magical cooling stone storage room, as lime pie tasted better when chilled.  

When Lia arrived at the kitchen, the chef personally brought out the tray containing the lime pie, along with plates and forks.  

“If you had called from your room, I would have delivered it to you.”  

“I wanted to give it to Rafaella myself.”  

“I see. Please enjoy it.”  

“Thank you.”  

Carrying the pie, Lia headed to Rafaella’s room with Johann and Rafaella.  

“Rafaella, enjoy your meal.”  

Lia placed a slice of lime pie on Rafaella’s plate.  

“Yes! I’ll eat well!”  

“I don’t know if it will suit your taste, but please try it.”  

She also placed a slice on Johann’s plate.  

“Mmm! Mom, the pie is so delicious!”  

Rafaella, her face beaming with happiness, stomped her feet and gave a thumbs-up.  

“Is it good? I’m glad you like it.”  

“It’s the best in the world!”  

Watching this, Johann picked up his fork and brought a piece of the lime pie to his mouth.  

Both Lia and Rafaella watched him intently as he took a bite.  

After putting the pie in his mouth, he remained silent for a moment.  

Lia and Rafaella both grew tense at his silence, each for their own reasons.  

“…It’s quite good.”  

Johann finally spoke after the brief silence.  

“Hehe, Mom, Dad says it’s good too!”  

Rafaella smiled brightly at Lia before continuing to eat her pie.  

Though his comment was brief, the truth was that Johann found Lia’s lime pie not just delicious but incredibly to his liking.  

He felt a little sorry for the chef, but it was far better than the lime pie the chef occasionally made.  

‘This is the first time I’ve eaten food made by this woman, so why does it feel familiar and nostalgic?’  

It wasn’t as if she could have made lime pie in that remote mountain village.  

“Mom, aren’t you going to eat?”  

Rafaella, with cream on her lips, asked.  

“I don’t really like tangy things. You can eat as much as you want, Rafaella.”  

“…You don’t like tangy things.”  

Johann muttered to himself after hearing Lia’s response.  

In the end, he ate two more slices of the lime pie Lia had made.  

Not wanting to lose, Rafaella also ate just as much.  

Lia watched them enjoy the pie with a contented smile.  

Before leaving the room, Johann did something unexpected—he apologized to Lia.  

“If it weren’t for you, Penelope’s health would have only worsened.”  

He had been receiving daily updates on Penelope’s condition through Samuel.  

Although he didn’t share a particularly strong bond with his younger sister due to their time spent apart since childhood, he was still concerned about her.  

“I want to apologize for what I said about not crossing the line back then.”  

“Back then?”  

“…When you first said you’d try to cure Penelope.”  

“…Ah.”  

“It’s late, but I’m truly sorry.”  

He looked her in the eye as he apologized.  

Lia, not expecting to receive an apology for what had happened back then, was quite taken aback.  

“…I’ll accept your apology.”  

“Thank you for accepting it.”  

Feeling a bit dazed, she and Rafaella saw him off.  

His changed attitude toward not only Rafaella but also herself left her feeling somewhat uneasy.  

* * *

That night, as usual, Johann went to the training grounds to work out alone before finally falling asleep at dawn.  

And for the first time in a while, he dreamed.  

The dream was a fragment of memories that had been locked away somewhere in his mind.  

“Dada, Dada.”  

A very small baby Rafaella was nestled in his arms.  

“Lia, did you just hear that?”  

Johann called out to Lia in a voice filled with awe.  

“Huh? Wasn’t it just babbling?”  

Lia tilted her head in doubt.  

“No, our Rafaella pronounced it clearly.”  

He was slightly annoyed at her dismissing it as babbling.  

Babbling? She had clearly said “Dada!”  

“Dada!”  

At that moment, Rafaella opened her mouth again.  

“You heard it this time, right? She called me ‘Dada.’”  

He lovingly gazed at Rafaella, who was clutching his sleeve.  

Lia then touched the corner of his eye.  

Unbeknownst to him, tears had formed there.  

“Goodness, you’re such a crybaby sometimes.”  

The young couple burst into happy laughter, looking at each other.  

Their baby also smiled brightly, joining in their laughter.  

On a warm day, the afternoon sunlight shone down on the family of three.  

“……”  

Johann woke up and wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes.  

The dream had been incredibly vivid.  

As always, Lia’s figure in the dream was blurry, but the tiny Rafaella in his arms and her voice felt vividly real even after waking up.  

But to think he had shed tears while dreaming.  

‘…Was I really such a crybaby?’  

These days, he found himself getting emotional over anything related to his daughter.  

‘What if someone finds out?’  

After eating a simple breakfast and warming up with the knights, he went to his office to review documents.  

Yet, the scenes from the dream lingered in his mind throughout the morning.  

Even though he had exercised more intensely than usual, the memories refused to fade.  

Along with the overwhelming emotions he had felt at that moment.  

Later in the afternoon, he was supposed to spend time with Rafaella.  

What if he ended up crying in front of her?  

‘That would be truly embarrassing.’  

He shook his head lightly to dispel the troubling thought.  

Knock, knock, knock.  

“Your Grace, it’s Samuel.”  

“Come in.”  

Samuel entered the office, walking faster than usual.  

“What’s the matter?”  

“…Your Grace.”  

“Speak.”  

“There’s news from the Imperial Palace.”  

At the mention of the Imperial Palace, Johann lifted his gaze from the documents to look at Samuel.  

“From the Imperial Palace?”  

“Yes. Princess Patrizia and Prince Florian are returning from their tour soon.”  

One of Johann’s eyebrows arched sharply.  

Princess Patrizia had left for a tour of the southern countries a year after their engagement, claiming it was her last chance to travel before marriage.  

Her irritation at Johann’s repeated delays in their wedding had also played a part in her decision to leave.  

“You’re postponing the wedding because your sister is sick?”  

Patrizia had asked Johann in an exasperated tone.  

“Yes.”  

Johann had replied in a businesslike manner.  

“…Then I suppose I’ll have to go on a tour until your sister recovers.”  

The princess had coldly dismissed Johann from her parlor without even offering him tea and immediately began preparing for her trip.  

When he left her parlor, Johann’s expression had been oddly relieved for someone who had just been dismissed by his fiancée.  

He had heard that Prince Florian, the princess’s younger brother, had accompanied her on the tour.  

Now, after a long period of traveling, they were returning.  

“It seems the Empress heard rumors about Penelope’s improving health and ordered them to return.”  

“Your Grace, when the princess returns, she will likely visit the ducal estate immediately. Will that be alright?”  

“…D*mn it.”  

A deep furrow appeared between Johann’s brows.  

He had initially planned to use the sudden appearance of his daughter as a card to break off the engagement with the princess.  

‘That was the plan at first, but d*mn it.’  

Considering the personalities of the Empress and the princess, he should have been more cautious.  

If the returning princess were to encounter Lia and Rafaella…  

‘I don’t even want to imagine what kind of havoc she might wreak.’  

Johann felt like cursing his foolish self from last winter.  

Rafaella and Lia were no longer just pawns in his game of chess.  

He now wanted to be a good father to Rafaella.  

Recently, he also found himself paying more attention to Lia.  

If the princess were to hurt them, he wouldn’t hesitate to sever ties with the Imperial Family, even if it meant becoming their enemy.