“Alex?”

Siliar’s eyebrows twitched at the boy’s bright, ringing voice.

He looked like a man who had just seen a mirage.

Perhaps, for a moment, he had genuinely believed it to be one.

The moment he reached the front of the annex—

“Ah! Wait!”

“…!”

A bouncing ball rolled into view, followed by a child.

His gaze was stolen.

At some point, Siliar had become a man who could not help but look at children.

Whether he was walking down the street, riding on horseback, or simply passing by, if a child appeared to be around the same age his daughter would have been, he would always turn to look at them.

With a faint, foolish hope…

‘What if it’s her?’

But the result was always the same: Failure.

The only thing that improved each time was his vision, never his hope.

At first, he thought the child in front of him must be another mistake.

He could not believe that it was real.

He had never seen a child who resembled her so closely.

That hair!

Those eyes!

They were identical to the Licorice etched in his memory.

If his daughter had grown up, wouldn’t she look exactly like this?

And yet—

‘A boy?’

The next detail he saw crushed that fragile hope. The features matched, but the gender did not.

Short-cropped hair. Knee-length trousers. He was clutching a ball in his hand. Toy soldiers were scattered across the annex garden.

Every sign pointed to an unmistakable truth: a boy.

The way he stood up straight and greeted him the moment their eyes met confirmed it, too.

“Yes, I’m Alex!”

Even the name was masculine.

By the time this had registered, the furrow in Siliar’s brow had eased.

The confusion clouding his mind lifted.

As the child spoke, he remembered what the butler had said: his nephew had arrived.

“Alex… Pameli’s son, I presume.”

Now that he thought about it, he had once received word that Pameli had a son.

[Brother, you have a daughter and we have a son. Since they were born in the same year, won’t they become good friends someday?]

It was written in a letter.

His younger sibling had written those words to announce the birth. This meant that the child in front of him was undoubtedly a boy.

Siliar nodded at the child.

“It’s good to meet you. I’m Siliar Vandyk.”

“Huh? Vandyk? Are you my father’s older brother?”

“That’s right.”

Siliar’s fingers twitched at the sharp clarity of the boy’s eyes.

It felt strange.

To hear the word ‘father’ spoken like this —

—from a nephew who resembled Licorice.

Not as a name meant for him, but for someone else.

There was not a single wrong word in what the child had said. And yet, for reasons he could not explain, it did not sit well with him.

Not in a bitter way.

Rather—

‘I’m envious.’

Yes, that was it.

By all rights, he should have had a child of that age, too. He should have been the one to hear the word ‘father’.

He had wanted to hear it.

Had he not spent five years clinging to that hope?

But the problem was that he had achieved nothing.

“Welcome to the House of Vandyk, Alex. I hope you’ll be comfortable during your stay.”

Siliar spoke to the boy, hiding the pain in his heart. It was the best he could manage. These feelings were not something he could show anyone.

When he saw Alex smiling at him, he found himself smiling back without realizing it.

“Thank you!”

And yet, it felt strange.

The child’s bright smile felt oddly familiar.

The ash-brown hair and red eyes were unmistakably characteristic of the Vandyk family.

And yet—

‘The shape of his eyes.’

Or maybe his nose?

Or his mouth? The curve of his face?

There was nothing he could point to clearly, but he evoked someone: Martiana.

His wife, who had begged him to stop just moments earlier.

Why did her face come to mind when he looked at this child?

Perhaps there was something more.

“Alex!”

Just as Siliar bent down to meet the boy at his level, he heard a voice call out suddenly.

He turned around.

A woman came hurrying out of the annex, looking as though something urgent had happened.

She was dressed entirely in pink.

Ah!

Ramelata Pumilum!

He hadn’t seen her in a long time, but that unmistakable shade of pink was unforgettable.

She had even insisted on wearing a pink wedding dress on her wedding day.

“Your Grace.”

Ramelata swept her soft pink hair back as she greeted Siliar.

He scanned her briefly before nodding slightly.

“It’s been a long time. Forgive the discourtesy of only now properly welcoming my guests.”

“Not at all. We arrived without notice. If anything, we should be the ones asking for forgiveness. May we trouble you for permission to stay for a short while? We will leave as soon as my son has received treatment for his illness.”

“Illness?”

Siliar’s brow furrowed at her gentle, lilting explanation. His gaze naturally shifted to Alex, who was holding her hand.

“Is he unwell?”

“He has been frail since childhood. His lungs have deteriorated further this time, which is why we have come in search of a renowned physician. If possible, please do not stay too close to him.”

“Is it contagious?”

“Yes.”

A lie.

Despite not intending it to do so, the word surfaced in Siliar’s mind as Ramelata answered him calmly.

A lie.

He hadn’t set out to judge her consciously.

He simply knew.

In that moment, Ramelata was lying.

Of course, not everything she said was false. It was more that truth and deception were carefully intertwined.

He had seen criminals standing before investigators speak in exactly that way countless times before.

Siliar had dealt with more than enough of them.

The only question was which parts were true.

Was the child really ill?

Was it contagious?

Or was it something else entirely?

‘That isn’t what matters right now.’

Siliar took a quiet breath and shook his head.

After all, Ramelata wasn’t obliged to tell him everything. People didn’t just live by speaking the truth. Besides, he didn’t need to pry further.

Meeting Drisena was the priority right now.

“I see. If you require any assistance, do not hesitate to ask. He is my nephew—I will offer support in every way possible.”

“Thank you.”

“And if you would excuse me for a moment. I have something to discuss with Mother.”

“Ah, of course.”

At Siliar’s words, Ramelata bowed politely and gently drew Alex away.

Siliar’s gaze lingered on the boy’s retreating figure far longer than necessary.

***

“Mother.”

Siliar stepped into the annex and called for Drisena.

The building was not large; it had two storeys and was modest in size. It comprised one drawing room and two bedrooms. It did not take long to find her.

“Oh, Siliar. You came all the way here? I would have gone to you.”

She was already in the drawing room on the first floor, standing near the door as if she had seen him arrive.

There was something oddly affected — almost overly compliant — about her demeanor today, and Siliar found himself narrowing his eyes.

It was a reaction he often saw whenever she returned from being out. Like someone who had done something they shouldn’t have, she glanced at him, gauging his mood.

“You went into town.”

It wasn’t really a question.

Siliar let out a low breath.

In truth, he knew what his mother did outside the estate.

Even if he hadn’t wanted to know, he had found out anyway. As Chief of Security, he received reports and heard rumors, whether he sought them or not.

He hadn’t welcomed that knowledge.

Still, she was a grown woman. He had no right to interfere in her private affairs.

Especially since she had been managing the household in his and Martiana’s absence.

If that was how she chose to relieve her stress, he tolerated it —

— so long as she didn’t go too far.

“Yes. They’ve started a new game, you see. So I went.”

Drisena knew that he knew.

She was well aware that news of her activities outside the estate had reached her son.

There had been a time when she had spent a considerable sum from the ducal treasury, for which she had been reprimanded. She was so shocked that her hands trembled for days.

Since then, she had never been able to spend money on herself without feeling anxious.

‘If not for the money Ramelata provides, I would only be watching from the sidelines.’

Pitifully.

This was precisely why Drisena could not let go of Ramelata’s hand.

After all, who would dare criticize a mother-in-law for spending the allowance given to her by her daughter-in-law?

“More importantly, what is it? If you summoned me so urgently, it must be serious.”

“It concerns Martiana.”

Siliar spoke as he watched Drisena calmly prepare the tea. They weren’t the kind of mother and son who had long conversations. He had no intention of beating around the bush.

“I’ve told you repeatedly that I would not divorce her.”

Like this.

“Then why did you give Martiana divorce papers without my consent?”

Siliar’s eyes flashed sharply as he asked the question.