Side Story 3

Aness had already arrived at the Duke’s office, pushing past the guards standing at the door and bursting inside. The maid felt a bit afraid seeing her Madam looking so fierce, but, as Ian in her arms commanded, she followed inside.

After all, he was the future Duke, so she couldn’t disobey.

“Caron!”

Aness, panting, rushed into the office and immediately called his name. Normally, she called him “Your Grace.” Only in bed did she call him Caron.

“Aness?”

Caron happened to be busy at his desk, handling overdue work. He was a bit irritated by the troublesome administrative tasks, pressing a hand to his forehead and frowning, but was surprised to see Aness suddenly barge in.

Her hair was disheveled from running and her flushed face was so lovely that Caron unconsciously parted his lips in awe.

“Hic, Caron! You really…!”

Overcome with emotion, Aness couldn’t hold back and burst into tears the moment she saw him. She ran straight to him and, without warning, threw her arms around his neck.

“Ugh!”

Caron, suddenly being choked, didn’t know what was going on, but instinctively kissed her cheek, drawn by Aness’s sweet scent as she rushed in.

“What’s wrong?”

Caron, hugging Aness’s body clinging to him, kissed her again and asked gently. It was just when he needed a break from the stressful paperwork.

For Caron, the greatest comfort was thinking of Aness. Just thinking of her brought him peace.

“Hic, Caron, I love you!”

Aness, not knowing how else to express her gratitude, squeezed his neck tighter and confessed her love again.

When she thought of her family, she always felt pain and sorrow. A father who spent his life chasing noble honor and success. A mother who only ever focused on her daughters’ purity. And her poor sisters, born into a lowly, impoverished noble house, full of inferiority from a young age.

She had always promised herself that if she succeeded, she would help and revive her family, but it was never easy. One incident after another led to the loss of even the baron’s title and the family’s ruin.

But now, her soon-to-be husband Caron had revived her family without even telling her. She had never planned to ask him for help. No matter how much she loved him, she couldn’t burden him with that.

“Caron, why… why didn’t you tell me? You were helping my family without me knowing…”

Aness, with tear-stained cheeks, rubbed her face against his.

“Thank you so much. I’ll live my whole life grateful to you. Hic, hic.”

Only then did Caron realize what had touched Aness so deeply, and he smiled.

“My wife’s matters are my own, are they not? Now, I will honor and cherish your parents as my own. Trust me. I promise to take responsibility for your family from now on.”

“Oh, Caron, then I will live only for you. I’ll love only you for the rest of my life!”

Aness took his face in her hands and showered him with kisses. Caron, too, held her tightly in his arms, looking at her with a happiness-filled expression.

Baby Ian, in Emmy’s arms, watched this scene blankly, then couldn’t stand it any longer and burst into loud tears.

At the sound, Aness turned around in surprise. At some point, her son had arrived and was now crying miserably in the maid’s arms.

“Oh my, our son must be moved too. Crying from emotion. Ian, you’re proud and grateful for your father, aren’t you?”

Aness, still holding Caron’s neck, didn’t even think to go to her son, just looked at Ian with satisfaction.

Even more shocked, Ian now realized the seriousness of the situation and glared at his father Caron.

Caron, still holding Aness tightly, flashed a meaningful smile at his young son. It almost looked like he was teasing him.

“Our Ian will surely grow up to be an outstanding person.”

He knew very well what was going on in baby Ian’s head, having experienced it himself. Ian was almost two, but already so clever.

***

At last, the day before the wedding arrived. Aness waited, unable to sit still. From early morning, she had done her hair and dressed beautifully, sitting at a garden table waiting for the carriage to arrive.

Ian, nestled in her arms, was dozing off. After losing to his father Caron a few days ago, Ian had begun his operation to win back his mother. He had pretended to be sick, but then really did get sick, so he was relieved to stay close to his mother all the time.

Afraid she might leave him and go to his father, Ian had clung to her since dawn and was now on the verge of falling asleep from exhaustion.

“Ian, they’re finally here!”

Hearing the carriage from afar, Aness’s eyes filled with tears as she stood up with Ian in her arms.

From the luxury carriage sent by the Duke himself, her family stepped out one by one. First, Baron Klein, then the Baroness, Imelda, Erika, and finally the maid Dana.

“Father!”

Aness, overcome, called out and ran into her father’s arms.

“Oh, my youngest, how admirable, you’ve grown so lovely.”

The Baron, with a look of deep emotion, hugged his youngest daughter tightly and stroked little Ian’s head, who was staring wide-eyed from Aness’s arms.

“So this is Ian. I only heard about him in prison, but I never thought he’d be such a cute child.”

Tears streamed down her father’s face as he saw his grandson Ian for the first time. During his time in prison, he had realized many things.

He came to understand that what really mattered wasn’t titles or honor, but the small happiness of family, and he had spent many days regretting the past.

“Aness. We are indebted to you. Who would have thought you’d marry such a wonderful husband. Thank you, truly.”

The Baron finally saw the precious son-in-law he had always dreamed of. Not just anyone, but the Empire’s finest groom.

But now, that didn’t matter. What mattered was whether Caron truly cared for Aness, whether they loved each other.

“Father, are you well? Oh, Mother. You can walk well now.”

Aness, after greeting her father, turned to her mother with tears in her eyes. Her mother had suffered so much because of her troublesome daughters, but now she looked healthier, no longer as frail as before.

“Young Miss, thanks to the Duke, we’ve been living well without worry, with plenty of food.”

Maid Dana, supporting the Baroness’s arm, also had tears in her eyes. The Baroness no longer looked sickly.

With a much brighter face, she looked at her youngest daughter with pride.

“Now that your father has a job at the Imperial Council, we won’t need the Duke’s help anymore. I don’t know how we’ll ever repay this kindness.”

“What?”

Aness’s eyes widened at the news. The Baron spoke shyly.

“My dear, I swear I didn’t ask first. The Duke recommended me for a secretary position at the Imperial Council. If I work hard and earn money, we won’t need the Duke’s help anymore.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful, Father.”

Aness looked back and forth at her father, now more energetic, and her mother, fully recovered, and then finally noticed her sisters behind them.

“Aness!”

Imelda was the first to call her name and open her arms. Aness joyfully embraced her affectionate eldest sister, already knowing all the news.

She knew that her older sister had spent years living as Baron Eckras’s secret mistress, always anxious, without her parents’ knowledge. Even after Baron Eckras’s legitimate wife died of illness not long ago, her sister still could not reveal her status. Out of fear of public scrutiny, and because Baron Eckras couldn’t muster the courage, she had lived in hiding—until Duke Caron personally stepped in to mediate their marriage.

Now, her sister Imelda looked more radiant and beautiful than ever, blooming with happiness.

“Aness, thank you. Now that I’ve become his lawful wife, I have nothing more to wish for.”

Her kind-hearted sister, who had suffered in silence for so long, could finally smile freely.

“No, sister. All of this is thanks to the Duke.”

Aness smiled with happiness and turned to her younger sister, Erika, last. Erika, having recovered well after childbirth, looked even prettier than before. She smiled at Aness with a more mature air and nodded.

Her problems, too, had been completely resolved. By imperial decree, Gilbert, the son of Marquis Bastide who had seduced and dishonored her, was ordered to take responsibility and marry her as his lawful wife. Because of this, Gilbert was dumped by his fiancée and was now about to marry Erika.

“Sister, will you be alright?”

Aness took her sister’s hand and asked first. One can only be happy marrying someone they love. Could she truly live happily with a man who had made her miserable and abandoned her?

“Yes, I’ll be fine. I have my beloved daughter Clara. And that Gilbert—he’s such a coward, he’ll never dare mistreat me. After all, the Empire’s most prestigious House of Perschtmann is my brother-in-law now, so he wouldn’t dare.”

Erika spoke lightly with a smile, but Aness’s heart ached. She herself already understood how happy life could be when joined with someone you love.

“Yes, sister, don’t worry. As long as the Duke is with us, no one will dare treat us badly. And I’ll do my best to live with gratitude for the Duke’s kindness.”

“Yes, Erika, let’s do our best to live well.”

After giving birth to her daughter, Erika had certainly grown more mature.

Before they knew it, Imelda approached and wrapped her arms around her two younger sisters’ shoulders, and the three sisters wished each other happiness.

“Yes, let’s help each other and live well from now on.”

Baron Klein and the Baroness watched their three daughters with pleased expressions.

And from one sunlit corner of the garden, Duke Caron watched the family with gentle eyes, though he did not reveal himself.

Baby Ian, nestled in his mother’s arms, had woken up at some point and was curiously watching all his mother’s family members. Suddenly, he lifted his head and spotted his father Caron watching them from afar.

The baby’s eyes narrowed at the corners.

The baby’s mind was busy plotting how to defeat his father Caron and monopolize his mother Aness.