Chapter 16
Since it was dark outside, the lamps attached to the corridor walls at regular intervals were lit. The silhouette standing under the light was unmistakably Roden, the butler.
Diane thought that Roden’s figure, standing in the dimly lit corridor under the lamp, looked rather eerie.
Having been late for dinner because she’d taken a nap, and feeling intimidated by what had happened in the formal dining room, Diane couldn’t help but feel a chill just from seeing Roden.
“Miss Diane Lina, may I speak with you in your room for a moment?”
“Yes.”
When Diane entered her room, Roden followed her in, leaving the door wide open.
“Miss Diane Lina.”
“Yes.”
“It’s an important rule to keep to mealtime. There are many employees working in this mansion besides you, Miss. Breakfast is at 7:30, lunch at 12:00. Dinner is at 5:30.”
“Yes.”
Roden’s tone was polite and never aggressive, yet Diane could feel she was being reprimanded by the butler.
“And do you have anything to say about what happened in the formal dining room?”
His words sounded like an interrogation, and Diane realized that what happened in the formal dining room had upset Roden more than her being late for dinner.
“I can guess something happened between the Young Master and the Duke, but I honestly don’t know the details.”
Diane spoke as diplomatically as possible.
She couldn’t bring herself to repeat exactly what Leon had said.
It was one thing for her to be bewildered, but she didn’t know what the butler would think if he heard such words.
If he misunderstood and thought she actually wanted something like that, it would be a disaster.
Roden stared at Diane’s face for several seconds.
Diane calmly met his gaze.
She felt confident, as she had tried to explain the situation as truthfully as possible.
The Duke seemed to understand Leon’s sudden words, after all.
There must be circumstances between father and son that neither she nor President Wale knew about.
“I understand. I’m sorry to take up your time when you should be resting.”
Roden finally softened his stiff expression and left the room.
Watching the butler’s back, Diane thought perhaps the scariest person in this huge mansion wasn’t President Edward Wale, but that butler.
* * *
Adrian was watching his son’s mood in Leon’s room.
He had to talk about what happened in the formal dining room.
“Leon.”
“…….”
Leon was buried under his blanket and didn’t answer.
“Leon, the new teacher came to read you books. She didn’t come to be your mother.”
“…….”
“When I said those things back then, it was only to tell you that someday, when you’re grown, you might have a mother.”
Adrian recalled a conversation he’d had with Leon about two years ago, about a year after his wife died. Back then, he’d only said it to comfort his crying son, never imagining it would cause such a misunderstanding.
<Why don’t I have a mom?>
<Your mom went far away.>
<When will she come back?>
<Well… When you grow as tall as the trees lining the street, and can see your Mom coming from far away, she’ll come, Leon.>
<Trees lining the street?>
<The big road in front of our house. There are trees on both sides, right? When you’re as tall as those trees, you’ll be able to see your Mom coming from far away. You need to grow that much for your Mom to come.>
<But that’ll take too long…>
<No, she’ll come soon.>
He’d said that because he hadn’t been able to properly tell Leon that his mother had died.
He’d thought Leon would gradually learn and accept his mother’s death as he grew.
Looking back now, it was a careless thought.
After that conversation, Leon began climbing the trees lining the street.
No matter how much Roden told him not to, Leon would throw a tantrum and climb up every couple of days, spending almost an hour up in the tree, looking at the road.
Adrian had been a bit suspicious, but he’d denied the idea that Leon was really waiting for his mother.
He’d said Leon needed to grow as tall as the trees, not climb them.
But Leon, unable to wait to grow, had twisted his father’s words, believing that if he climbed to the height of the trees and waited, his mother would come down that road.
But why did he think the teacher who came today was his mother?
“Leon.”
Adrian called Leon’s name again.
Suddenly, Leon threw off his blanket, sat up, and began to speak tearfully.
“No! Dad, you’re wrong! Mom really came! I waited a hundred times and finally Mom came. Until now, not once has a grown woman like the teacher ever come down that road. Teacher came to me singing, just like Mom.”
From Leon’s words, Adrian finally found the answer to his question.
The only adult woman who’d walked down that road.
That was the reason.
Come to think of it, he’d never hired a female tutor before.
And, unexpectedly, the new teacher had walked down the tree-lined road.
Not a woman who’d already been in the house, but a stranger walking down the tree-lined road—perhaps that was exactly how Leon had imagined his mother would return.
If she’d come by carriage, maybe Leon wouldn’t have thought that way…
He wondered why she’d walked such a long road without a carriage.
‘Even the maids always returned by carriage. Where had she walked from? And she’d sung, too…’
Leon didn’t remember his mother well.
But he did remember that his mother always sang to him before he fell asleep.
She’d often said she would sing for him.
He didn’t remember his mother’s singing voice, but that fact was imprinted in his mind.
And the teacher had walked, singing.
All these coincidences had given Leon certainty in his imagination.
“Dad, you don’t know. You never waited for Mom from up in a tree. She’s my mom, so I know.”
Leon muttered to himself.
Adrian was torn.
Should he dodge the current difficulty with another lie, or finally tell the truth?
He soon made up his mind.
He’d comforted four-year-old Leon with sweet, easy lies, but maybe that had only made things harder now.
Even if it hurt Leon, he needed to tell him the truth.
“Leon, for you to have a mom, I have to marry a woman who can become your mother. I won’t be going to marry that teacher.”
“Dad, you marrying a woman means she becomes my mom?”
“Yes.”
“Then marry the teacher. The teacher came to be my mom. You just have to marry her.”
Leon didn’t seem to fully understand Adrian’s words.
Or maybe he didn’t want to understand.
Leon was precocious for his age—almost clever enough to be called mature for a six-year-old.
But still… To say the teacher came to be his mom.
How desperately must he have waited for his mother, up in those trees for two years?
How big must the emptiness left by his mother have been?
How much must he have wanted a mom?
Adrian had believed Leon was growing up bright and strong, even without a mother.
But now, realizing just how much Leon missed his mother, Adrian regretted his own careless indifference.
Adrian himself had lost his mother as a child.
But he’d received his mother’s love until he was thirteen.
His mother, the Duchess then, had died in the winter when Adrian was thirteen.
But Leon had lost his mother ten years earlier, at just three years old. Adrian couldn’t help but reflect on his own neglect.
“Leon. I’m sorry. You’ve been waiting for your mom so much.”
Adrian tried to hug Leon.
But Leon pushed him away.
“Marry the teacher! The teacher is going to be my mom.”
Leon’s attitude was stubborn.
Why did the teacher have to appear on the tree-lined road, just like in Leon’s fantasy?
Adrian almost resented the teacher for walking and singing down that road.
He was also annoyed with Edward, who had hired a female tutor for Leon without consulting him.
But Adrian was not an irrational man.
The teacher hadn’t deliberately tried to fulfill Leon’s fantasy, and she’d seemed very flustered by Leon’s words.
It was all just the result of his own carelessness and indifference.
Did Leon really need a mother? Should he seriously consider remarriage now?
Busy with his duties as Head of Family and work for the Kingdom, Adrian had never really thought about remarrying. He hadn’t completely forgotten his late wife, either.
But if his son wanted a mother this much, maybe he really needed to consider it seriously.
Even if not for himself, for his son.
“Leon, it won’t be the teacher, but if you want a mom, I’ll try to find someone who can be a good mother to you.”
Adrian could only say that, with some sincerity.
But even after Adrian spoke, Leon pulled his blanket over himself and lay down again.
It was a silent protest that he didn’t like his father’s answer.
Adrian looked down at his son, who had built a solid wall around himself, and quietly left the room.
He couldn’t comfort Leon completely right now.
As he walked down the corridor after leaving the room, Adrian felt even more strongly that he needed to seriously look for a remarriage partner.
Leon’s room was in the East Wing on the third floor, while Adrian’s was in the West Wing on the same floor.
As Adrian passed the stairs to the West Wing, he suddenly stopped and looked up at the stairs leading to the fourth floor.
The employees’ rooms were on the fourth floor.
The new tutor would be there, too.
What was her name again?
Strangely, he’d never cared about the new teacher’s name until now, but suddenly he was curious.
“Ha! What am I doing?”
But he soon smiled self-deprecatingly and walked off to his own room.
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Aqua_the_idiot
Nah nahhhh I don’t want a triangle with bros dude noooooo please no i want brothers to have a good relationship man i hate love triangles especially the ones with siblings