Side Story 1

As the two men ran toward her at the same time, the one Aness hugged first was her son Ian. Caron, shocked, staggered backward, his face hardening.

Ian, victorious, stuck his tiny tongue out at his rival while being held in his mother’s arms. Just as his father Caron suspected, Ian was a baby born with the genius traits of his family.

Though his body was that of a baby, his mind was developing at a remarkable rate.

“Mama!”

Pretending to be innocent, Ian rubbed his forehead in his mother Aness’s arms, and Caron was deeply shocked. It seemed this child even surpassed his own childhood self.

“Well done, Ian. Thanks to you, I received the Emperor’s formal permission for marriage. Our Ian, you’re amazing!”

Aness, believing her child was no different from any other baby, simply found him adorable.

“Aness…”

Caron, who arrived late, looked at the woman he loved with a smile. He too wanted a dramatic reunion. But the genius baby Ian had no intention of letting that happen.

“Waaah! Mama, my tummy hurts! It hurts!”

Ian cried out in pain from his mother’s arms. Caron, with his sharp hawk’s eyes, immediately saw through his son’s act. But Aness, startled, didn’t know what to do.

“Oh no, how much does it hurt? Is it because you spent too much time at the palace when you’re still so young? What should I do? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sent you alone…”

Tears welled up in Aness’s eyes as she anxiously checked her baby’s forehead.

However, Caron, who saw through Ian’s fake tears, calmly called to his wife.

“Phew, Aness. Don’t panic.”

“What? Don’t panic? Our baby is sick.”

Aness, comforting the crying Ian, now had tears in her eyes as well.

“That’s just an act. I know it. I used to do it myself as a child…”

It was a trick Caron had used often. From the age of one, he had used various tactics to monopolize his mother’s attention away from his father, so he could hardly be fooled.

“Oh, Caron!”

Aness glared at him, her face flushed.

“How could you say it’s an act when our child is so pale from pain? How can you be so cold and indifferent? You can treat me that way, but not our baby.”

As she looked at him with eyes full of resentment, Caron realized things were going wrong and immediately shut his mouth.

“No matter how little affection you have for your child, isn’t this too much? He’s a poor baby born without a father. You should love him more, not less. Hmph!”

Deeply upset, Aness stormed out of the room with Ian in her arms. Caron, flustered, reached out to stop her but met Ian’s eyes as the boy clung to his mother.

Ian smiled innocently. The child waved his tiny hand, said bye-bye, and stuck out his tongue again to tease his father.

Caron, shocked once more, staggered backward, glaring at his baby.

“Good grief, I suddenly feel sorry for my late father.”

Recalling his own childhood, Caron couldn’t help but feel regret. Volteman, who had been watching from behind, let out a low sigh and approached.

“Your Grace. You reap what you sow. Fortunately, he’s no ordinary clever child—he’ll surely surpass you and become a great noble of your lineage.”

He meant that Caron should think positively. But Caron’s expression only grew darker. In truth, he had realized the moment he reunited with Aness.

He hadn’t known how much he loved the woman he’d spent just one night with. He hadn’t realized how powerful physical affection could be. Since then, he hadn’t been able to look at any other woman. That’s why he longed for Aness even more now that they had reunited.

“Aness, children grow up and leave, but the relationship between husband and wife is different. For me, there’s only you, and for you, there should be only me.”

Caron murmured in a sorrowful voice.

***

That day, Aness was playing in the sunlit garden with baby Ian, digging in the dirt and tending the flowerbeds. For Aness, these were the happiest days.

The House of Perschtmann was full of abundance and beauty. There was no longer any need to worry about meals, and the mansion’s garden was so vast that Ian could run around every day and grow up healthy.

Every meal was a feast, and the chefs visited daily to ask Aness and Ian what they wanted to eat. Skilled tailors regularly came to take their measurements, and the closets were filled with beautiful dresses and adorable, perfectly fitted outfits for the baby.

To keep Aness and Ian from getting bored, carriages stood ready every day to take them wherever they wished.

It was a life so abundant that nothing in the world seemed lacking. Even today, as Aness enjoyed playing in the garden with Ian, she suddenly realized there was one thing missing.

She immediately sought out Volteman. When she asked the maids, they took her straight to him.

“What’s going on?”

Aness asked Volteman what she was curious about. Since he was Caron’s direct subordinate, he would know.

“What do you mean?”

Volteman feigned ignorance, as if he didn’t understand.

“Is something wrong with His Grace? Is that why he hasn’t shown himself for so long? Did something happen?”

Aness asked worriedly, and Volteman cleared his throat, pondering how to answer.

In truth, the Duke of Perschtmann was quite sulky these days. It was hard to believe, but it was true. He spared no effort to ensure Aness and Ian lacked nothing, but otherwise, he deliberately tried to keep his distance.

He had watched them enjoying their time together from afar a few times, then walked away with a gloomy expression.

When Aness was with baby Ian, she looked happier than ever. He wondered if it was a happiness he himself could never give, and that thought made him lose confidence.

He had been feeling down lately. Although a grand wedding was approaching, he wasn’t even sure if it was what Aness truly wanted.

Perhaps Aness only valued the benefits she could give her son Ian, rather than the marriage itself, and that left him feeling even more discouraged.

“Right now, well…”

Volteman hesitated at Aness’s direct question, then finally gave a completely unrelated answer.

“He’s very ill.”

Suddenly feeling sorry for the Duke, he blurted out a lie without thinking.

“What? His Grace…is very ill?”

Aness was so shocked she collapsed on the spot. She had felt upset and resentful that he hadn’t contacted her or shown himself. No matter how upset he was, with the wedding so close, how could he not show his face? But now she heard he was sick!

“Is he very sick? Where is he hurting? Is he…seriously ill?”

Aness asked urgently, tears threatening to fall at any moment.

Seeing her intense reaction, Volteman swallowed hard and continued to pile on the lies.

Lord, forgive me.

“He told me not to tell you, for fear you’d worry, but since you’re asking, I can’t not answer. His condition is very bad. He looks fine on the outside, but inside…”

He’s very sulky. He’s extremely jealous of the young master.

“Oh my! This is serious!”

Even more agitated, Aness grabbed her dress and rushed off to the Duke’s chambers. Foolishly, he must have hidden his illness to keep her from worrying. What kind of illness could it be!

Meanwhile, baby Ian, seeing that his mother didn’t come back after playing, wandered around looking for Aness with dirt all over his pants.

The child followed after his mother, who had run off somewhere looking pale.

“Mama! Mama!”

But Aness, half out of her mind from hearing Caron was sick, pried Ian off her skirt and handed him to a nearby maid.

“Please look after Ian. I need to go to His Grace!”

When his mother coldly put him aside, Ian’s little face filled with shock.