Chapter 5

After finishing the conversation, Johann called for the butler and instructed him to have the guests stay in the rooms on the second floor.  

Then, he sat down on the sofa in the parlor, lost in thought.  

He had always wondered what he had done that prevented him from returning to the ducal household for such a long time.  

Thanks to the woman who appeared wielding a great sword, that question was finally answered.  

‘To think I wasted four and a half years playing a ridiculous family game.’  

It was absurd and laughable.  

If he hadn’t lost his memory, or at least hadn’t been poisoned by the monster… his father would have….  

“Samuel, she says that child is my daughter, but I have no memory of it.”  

After a long silence, Johann spoke to his adjutant.  

“…Your Grace, what do you plan to do about the lady’s request?”  

“She claims to be my savior. Is there any valid reason to refuse her request? Besides, she’s asking me to raise my own daughter.”  

The ducal household, which Johann returned to after four and a half years, was filled with an oppressive gloom.  

The return of the missing heir of the Blumhart family alone was not enough to dispel it.  

The reason was that Johann’s father, the former Duke of Blumhart, did not have much time left to live.  

Before he could fully grieve the loss of his son, who had gone missing, the former Duke had to take on the heavy responsibility of subjugating the monsters in the Black Mountain Range of the northern region.  

To forget the sorrow of losing his son, the former Duke devoted himself to the subjugation efforts every winter when the monsters descended, almost obsessively.  

He did so to rid himself of the guilt for sending his newly adult son to the north alone.  

And in the winter, one year before Johann returned, the former Duke suffered a fatal wound from a monster in the north, one that could not be healed.  

Healers and magic practitioners from across the empire tried every potion and spell, but they could only prolong his life slightly; none could cure him.  

It was during this time that Johann von Blumhart returned to his family.  

“To think you’re alive… God has shown me His final mercy.”  

“…Father.”  

“…Johann, never blame yourself for your absence.”  

“……”  

“I was injured because of my arrogance and mistakes.”  

It was difficult for Johann to honor his father’s final words.  

He believed that his absence had caused his father to suffer an irreparable wound from the monsters.  

Thus, he resented the version of himself that existed in his lost memories.  

If he had been in his right mind, he would have returned no matter what. Why had he wandered in the north instead?  

Having his questions answered only made him blame himself more.  

“Tell the mage to prepare a magic stone for a paternity test by tomorrow.”  

“Yes, Your Grace.”  

The adjutant left the visibly displeased Duke behind and headed to the area where the ducal household’s mages resided.  

Behind the main mansion were two annexes: the western annex for the servants and the eastern annex for the mages.  

The adjutant went to a mage in the eastern annex to deliver the Duke’s orders.  

“A magic stone for a paternity test?”  

The mage looked puzzled by the Duke’s sudden request.  

“Yes.”  

“Why would he need something like that all of a sudden?”  

“Well… please keep this matter to yourself.”  

Since the issue had not been officially announced, the adjutant whispered cautiously.  

“Wait a minute. Could it be… has His Grace’s illegitimate child appeared?”  

“You figured it out before I even said anything.”  

“Nobles usually only request paternity test stones for one reason—an illegitimate child.”  

“The young lady will be formally registered.”  

The adjutant frowned slightly at the word ‘illegitimate.’  

‘That lovely young lady doesn’t deserve such a distasteful term.’  

Though he had only seen her briefly, he found the word too crude for someone who would soon become a noble lady.  

“…But won’t the Crown Princess remain silent about this?”  

The adjutant responded to the mage’s concern with a knowing smile.  

“Her existence itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”  

“As soon as he returned, His Majesty hastily arranged that cursed engagement as a reward. That child’s existence might be the card that breaks it.”  

“Could the Crown Princess tolerate the child of the man she’s engaged to?”  

The Duke of Blumhart, his master, was a cold and calculating man who even saw his newfound daughter as a political opportunity.  

It was pitiful for the young lady, but it was the reality.  

“…I’ll let you know once it’s ready before tomorrow’s lunch.”  

The mage, who had roughly grasped the Duke’s intentions from the adjutant’s smile, nodded.  

* * *

After the tense conversation with Johann, Lia followed the butler, who led her and Rafaella to the second floor.  

The butler guided them to the guest room on the second floor and brought them some light snacks.  

Rafaella ate the cookies the butler had brought while exploring every corner of the room.  

‘…I’m so exhausted.’  

Lia bit into a cookie and collapsed onto the sofa as if she were falling.  

She had tried to appear calm and unaffected in the parlor, but reuniting with her husband, who had lost his memory, had not been easy.  

Resentment and hatred, longing and anger—all these emotions swirled within her, and she had to hold herself together the entire time they were face-to-face.  

‘Otherwise, I might have screamed and hurled words of blame at him.’  

Why had he forgotten them? How could he leave so coldly and suddenly?  

The man she met again at the ducal mansion after his disappearance felt like a stranger.  

His face was that of her husband, Hart, but his demeanor, tone, and attitude were that of Johann von Blumhart, an imposing grand noble.  

Unlike before, when he wore modest, unremarkable clothes, he now dressed in attire that was unmistakably luxurious. His black hair was neatly combed back, and he exuded the aura of a man of noble blood.  

The warm red eyes she had once known now felt cold and distant.  

‘He claims he doesn’t remember us, but how could his tone be so sharp and his demeanor so frigid?’  

Facing the man he had become was difficult for Lia in many ways.  

“…Mom.”  

Rafaella, having finished exploring the room, approached her.  

“Yes?”  

“Dad really doesn’t remember Raffy, does he?”  

Hearing her daughter’s disheartened tone made Lia’s heart ache.  

“And Dad’s a little scary.”  

“Was Dad scary?”  

“Yes, a little.”  

With a tearful expression, Rafaella leaned her face against her mother’s thigh.  

Lia sat up, placed her daughter on her lap, and hugged her.  

Earlier, Johann had only looked at Rafaella without saying a word.  

All he had given her was an indifferent gaze from his red eyes.  

“I wanted to hug Dad because I was so happy to see him, but I couldn’t.”  

“My Raffy, you must have been very upset.”  

If even she had struggled to maintain her composure against Johann’s intimidating presence, how much harder must it have been for young Rafaella?  

She hoped that, over time, Johann and Rafaella would grow closer and that today’s events would fade from her daughter’s memory.  

As evening fell, the butler personally brought their dinner.  

While serving the meal, he informed them that a paternity test using a magic stone would take place around lunchtime the next day.  

Since she had already undergone such a test in her previous timeline, Lia wasn’t worried.  

What mattered was the contract she would establish with her husband afterward.  

The next day, after lunch, the butler led them to the Duke’s parlor, just as he had the day before.  

Unlike the previous day, there was one additional person present.  

A middle-aged man in an elegant black robe.  

Judging by his attire, it was clear to anyone that he was a mage.  

Seeing a mage for the first time, Lia and Rafaella stared at him with curiosity.  

“Sit down if you’re here.”  

Johann gestured toward the sofa with his chin.  

His attitude clearly showed that he wanted to get this over with quickly.  

Once they sat, the mage introduced himself and, at Johann’s signal, immediately began explaining the paternity test magic stone.  

Having already gone through this process in her previous timeline, Lia focused instead on the contract she would negotiate with Johann afterward.  

‘…He’s a grand noble. Surely, he wouldn’t refuse just because I’m his savior.’  

After the paternity test was completed, Johann, contrary to her worries, agreed to raise Rafaella.  

She then began to clearly state her demands to him.  

Beside her, the adjutant diligently wrote down Lia’s requests.  

Johann skimmed through the notes Samuel had written.  

Although he found most of them displeasing, he decided to play along for appearances and set the paper down.  

“There’s nothing else to add, is there?”  

“No, there isn’t.”  

Feeling relieved after stating everything she wanted, Lia nodded.  

Following Johann’s command, Samuel transferred the contents onto the official contract papers.  

While this was happening, Lia sipped her now-cold tea to soothe her dry throat.  

Once Samuel finished copying the contract onto two sheets of paper, he placed one in front of Johann and the other in front of Lia.  

“Now, both of you just need to sign here.”  

Using quill pens dipped in ink, they each signed their respective copies.  

Samuel then added his signature below theirs as a witness.  

Finally, Samuel handed Johann’s signed copy to Lia and Lia’s signed copy to Johann.  

“The contract is now officially complete.”  

“…Thank you.” 

Lia carefully reread the contract she had received from the adjutant.  

The contract was filled with obligations Johann had to fulfill as Rafaella’s father.  

The only clause she had to follow was:  

[Rafaella von Blumhart’s biological mother must leave the Blumhart ducal residence immediately after Rafaella’s eighth birthday.]

Since she had every intention of following through, this wasn’t a problem.  

“While you stay here, I will treat you as my savior and as the child’s mother.”  

Johann neatly folded the contract in front of him with his long fingers.  

“…But don’t even think about crossing the line by using our daughter against me.”  

He delivered the warning coldly.  

“As long as you fulfill your role as her father, that will never happen, Your Grace.”  

“…I’ll do my best in that regard.”  

It felt surreal to Lia that this cold man had once been her husband and the father of her child.  

Had he always been this detached?  

“Wait in the guest room. The head maid will come to guide you and the child to your new room.”  

“Yes, then I’ll take my leave.”  

She gently folded the contract and rose to leave the parlor.  

“Oh, and never go up to the fourth floor.”  

“Pardon? Yes.”  

With that final instruction, Lia left the parlor.  

‘Now, Rafaella and I have officially entered the ducal residence….’  

Leaning against the wall near the parlor door, she let out a sigh of relief.