Side Story 8

“Mom, is it true that Uncle is coming?”

“Yes. He should be arriving soon.”

Ellia’s eyes widened with rare excitement.

“It’s customary for a vassal family to hold an inheritance ceremony and visit the ducal estate. Are you excited to see your uncle, Ellia?”

“…It’s not like that.”

Evelyn chuckled. As expected of Dyffrin’s spitting image, Ellia was becoming more and more reserved as she grew older.

However, Evelyn knew the truth. Ellia actually adored her uncle Isaac. He had a knack for talking at a child’s level, and Ellia was completely charmed by him.

Moreover, Isaac had matured remarkably during his time at the academy and had become quite dignified.

He had gone to the Aldres estate to receive heir education from the former Earl Aldres after studying at the academy. He successfully completed his education there and inherited the title as soon as he came of age.

Now, Isaac was Earl Aldres.

“Mom needs to start preparing to welcome our guest.”

Evelyn left Ellia with her tutor and went down to the dining room to prepare for the meal.

The maids were already busily preparing to welcome the guest. The competent maids were so efficient that Evelyn had little to do.

She merely went to the garden, cut a few flowers, and arranged them in a vase.

Just as the preparations for the meal were nearly complete, a carriage passed through the front gate. It bore the crest of the Aldres family.

It still felt unreal that Isaac was no longer part of the ducal household, but seeing the handsome young man step out of the carriage quickly dispelled her wistfulness. His features clearly resembled those of the Dunswell family.

Evelyn greeted Isaac with a bright smile.

“Young Master, no… I should call you Earl now, right?”

“Call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Isaac replied with a refreshing smile. His deep blonde hair and navy blue eyes gave off a different vibe from Dyffrin, although they were somewhat similar.

His facial lines were much softer than Dyffrin’s.

“Come inside. Dyffrin will be a bit late. He went to meet the knight commander.”

“I seem to have come at the right time. I’ll take advantage of my brother’s absence to gossip with you, Sister-in-law.”

Isaac’s playful demeanor was a far cry from his younger days when he had neither the manners nor the leisure.

Evelyn looked at the grown-up Isaac and said,

“You’ve grown so much since I last saw you. You’re almost as tall as Dyffrin.”

“My goal was to be taller than my brother, but I’ve come close.”

Evelyn smiled.

“With such a handsome face and a charming way of speaking, young ladies must be lining up to court you.”

“It’s a bit tiring to reject them every day.”

Evelyn couldn’t help but laugh at his playful tone. Then she gradually stopped laughing and asked,

“Is there no serious talk of marriage?”

“Well… not yet. I have to find someone who meets my standards, which are based on you, Sister-in-law.”

“Then you’ll have a hard time getting married.”

It was Dyffrin’s voice. Turning around, Evelyn saw Dyffrin standing there, holding Ellia.

Evelyn asked,

“Dyffrin, when did you get here?”

“Just now.”

Dyffrin said as he set Ellia down on the floor. Ellia bowed her head to Isaac.

“Hello, Uncle.”

Isaac patted Ellia’s head.

“Ellia, you’ve become quite the young lady since I last saw you.”

“So have you, Uncle. You really look like an adult now.”

“I am an adult now.”

Isaac replied with a smile.

Perhaps conscious of being called a young lady, Ellia didn’t speak further to Isaac and quietly took her seat.

However, Evelyn could see Ellia secretly wagging her tail in excitement.

Once Dyffrin and Ellia were seated, the meal began.

“The former Earl Kishore was complaining that you’re too picky about your marriage prospects.”

Kishore was the former Earl Aldres. He was also Isaac’s foster father.

“Do you have to bring that up as soon as we meet, Brother?”

Dyffrin ignored Isaac’s grumbling and didn’t respond. Isaac took a sip of water and said,

“Marriage is an important matter in life. I’m just being thoughtful about it.”

“That’s right. It’s something that requires careful consideration.”

Evelyn sided with Isaac.

“It’s easy for you to say, Brother, since you got married without much trouble.”

“Nothing comes easy. You have to make an effort.”

“Then why don’t you find a suitable match for me, Brother?”

Isaac’s cheeky remark finally made Dyffrin give up.

“Fine, it’s your business. But you might need to lower your standards a bit.”

“There aren’t many people like Sister-in-law, after all.”

When Dyffrin glared, Isaac shrugged.

He used to be unable to even make eye contact with Dyffrin, but it seemed Isaac had grown up quite a bit.

“By the way, do you two have any plans for a second child? The vassals are curious about it.”

Ellia, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, suddenly lifted her head.

They had often talked about it. Ellia had said she wished she had siblings like other people.

However, Evelyn had a hard time conceiving Ellia. Pregnancy wasn’t something that happened just because one wanted it.

Dyffrin answered on their behalf.

“There’s no need to rush.”

“I’m not trying to pressure you. I just want to inform the vassals accurately, so they stop fretting.”

The vassals were anxious because there was no male heir in the family.

Generally, it was rare for a woman to inherit the family head position. Especially for a grand noble like a duke.

Of course, there was no rule that Ellia couldn’t be an exception, but it wouldn’t be an easy path.

So it was better to let Ellia choose in the future. Having a son to reduce the burden wouldn’t be a bad idea.

In fact, Evelyn also wanted to have another child.

‘But it’s not as easy as it sounds…’

“For now, tell the vassals that Ellia will be the heir.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened at Dyffrin’s words.

“Dyffrin…”

“It’s better this way. We can think about other options later if they arise.”

Dyffrin was appointing Ellia as the interim heir to prevent any pressure on Evelyn regarding succession.

“Understood. I’ll inform them accordingly.”

Isaac stayed at the ducal estate for two days before leaving. He said he would visit Dunswell at the almhouse before heading back.

After Isaac left, Evelyn felt a bit unsettled.

Taking care of Ellia alone while Dyffrin was out, Evelyn sighed.

“What’s wrong, Mom?”

Ellia asked, tugging at Evelyn’s sleeve. Evelyn looked into Ellia’s clear eyes.

“Ellia, would you like to have a sibling?”

“…”

Ellia seemed to be deep in thought.

“Are you sad because I said I wanted a sibling before? If that’s the case, I don’t need one.”

When had Ellia become so mature?

Evelyn was both surprised and touched by her angelic daughter and hugged her.

“Of course not.”

“Then…?”

“Sometimes adults worry about silly things.”

Ellia pushed away from Evelyn and said seriously,

“If it’s because of a sibling, I hope you don’t worry. I don’t need a sibling. I have Mom and Dad.”

Evelyn tried to suppress her laughter.

‘Yes, it’s a foolish worry.’

If she had such a mature daughter at just five years old, she might be able to entrust this grand ducal household to her.

Feeling more at ease, Evelyn’s peace was, as always, short-lived.

* * *

Dyffrin and Evelyn were returning from watching an opera in the capital after a long time.

They had come to the capital for the first time in a while to attend a grand party celebrating the founding day hosted by the royal family. Ellia was being taken care of by Dunswell at the ducal estate.

Since Dyffrin and Ellia had become close, Ellia no longer found Dunswell scary, and they had become quite good friends.

Thanks to that, Evelyn and Dyffrin had come to the opera house for a rare date. It was the same place where they had bickered before. The long-haired elf-like man was still the star singer of this opera house.

Dyffrin seemed displeased by this fact and frowned throughout the performance.

Fortunately, this time, the male singer didn’t make the mistake of personally coming to greet them after the curtain call.

“Wasn’t the singing so melodious?”

“It was tolerable.”

“Thank you for coming despite that.”

Evelyn said with a smile, but then she suddenly felt a wave of nausea and frowned. Dyffrin noticed her hesitation and turned his head.

“Are you alright?”

“I think I ate too much dinner. My stomach feels a bit off.”

“I’ll call a doctor as soon as we get home.”

“It’s just a bit of indigestion. No need to call a doctor.”

That’s all Evelyn thought it was. In fact, the nausea subsided after a while.

But soon, Evelyn sensed something strange. She hadn’t had her monthly period.

Naturally, only one thought came to mind.

‘…Could I be pregnant?’

Evelyn swallowed hard.