n

n

n

n

nHe seems to have gotten used to the castle as he continued to stop by the castle all the way to the capital to sleep and eat.

nUntil then, Theor had never been to a castle or palace.

nAstelle looked at Theor and asked, “Did you like staying in the castle?”

n“Yes. It was nice to have a large garden. There was a lot of delicious food.”

nTheor, one by one, said what he liked.

n“And His Majesty was kind too.”

n“……”

n“Do you know, Aunt Astelle? All the castles we used to be in are said to belong to His Majesty.”

n“Yes.”

nAt those words, Astelle looked at Theor blankly.

nThe sun shone through the pale green tablecloth.

nLike the cover of a cloth lamp soaked in sunlight, the inside of the table was lit up with a light blue light.

nTheor’s blue eyes also had a reddish glow.

nTheor asked, “Grandpa said we had to leave tomorrow. Are we going back to the castle?”

n“No. Now we have to go home.”

nSeeing Theor’s eyes glowing red, I remembered Kaizen, who had asked me to stay here.

n

n‘I want you. Give me a chance to make up for the past.’

n

nIf I leave the capital, will we never meet again?

nOr will we meet again?

nFor the sake of Theor’s safety, I don’t want to see you again.

n‘When the truth of the assassination is revealed, even if we do not want to see each other, we may meet again.’

nThe only hope was that more than ten days had passed since the incident and the identities of the assassins had not yet been identified.

nIt was fortunate that all the assassins were killed on the spot.

nBecause of that, it has not been revealed yet who instigated the assassination.

n‘As my grandfather said, this is probably not the first time my father tried to kill Kaizen.’

nTheor saw Astelle’s expression darkened and spoke as if reassuring her,

n“Don’t worry, Mom. I like the castle, but I like my house more.”

n“Yeah.”

nHe was a lovely kid.

nNow Astelle valued Theor the most.

nI wish I could live comfortably in the eastern countryside like before.

nBut I felt anxious that I would never be able to go back to those peaceful days again.

nAstelle suppressed her anxiety and approached Theor, holding her cute son tightly in her arms.

n“Aren’t you hungry? Do you want me to bring some cake?”

n“Yes! I want to eat cake!”

n“Then wait here.”

nAstelle went out, leaving Theor under the table.

nShe went out into the hallway to get the cake, but a passing maid found Astelle and ran to her.

n“Lady, a guest has come to visit.”

n“Guest? Who?”

nCould it be that Count Ecklen, whom I met at the temple earlier, came? I refused him to visit……

nBut from the maid’s mouth, an unexpected name came out.

n“The Duke of Reston has visited.”

n“Who?”

nAstelle frowned unconsciously.

n“Duke Esteban von Reston has visited.”

nAstelle was so annoyed at her father’s full name that she had not heard in a long time.

nIt was obvious why her father had come.

nIt must be because of the belongings of the late Empress Dowager.

nIn that case, she expected that she would meet him at least once anyway.

nAstelle never wanted to see her father again for the rest of her life. But he came to meet her in person and she had to meet him.

n“Where is he now? Guide me.”

n

n***

n

nThe Duke of Reston sat in a chair in the study and waited for Astelle.

nAstelle came in and stopped when she saw a blonde middle-aged man sitting arrogantly.

n“It’s been a long time.”

nReunited with her father after six years, not much has changed.

nAlthough he looked a little older than before, he had neat features and refined elegance that spreads all over his body.

nIt was the same as six years ago, especially that arrogant gaze.

nAs if to prove that he was one of the most handsome men in the capital when he was young, he still had an attractive appearance even in his middle age.

nSuddenly, Astelle remembered Count Ecklen, whom she met at the temple.

nHe seems to be about the same age as her father.

nUnlike her father who has the dignity of a great aristocrat, the Count gave off an impression of simplicity and sincerity.

nThe Duke of Reston glanced Astelle up and down, then pulled the corner of his mouth into a smirk.

n“You look like a countrywoman. If you are that old, you should cover up the traces of time with makeup.”

n‘…..Count Ecklen is much better.’

nIt was sad that she felt better with the person she had seen for the first time than her biological father.

nAstelle asked bluntly, “What do you come here for?”

n“Because you live in the countryside, have you forgotten your manners?”

n“I try to keep courtesy only to those who deserve it.”

nThe Duke was stunned for a moment and just stared at Astelle.

n“You are arrogant.”

nAstelle looked at her father sternly.

nAs a child, Astelle meekly obeyed her father’s will.

nAfter all, it was the parents’ authority to decide the marriage of their children in a noble family.

nIn particular, it was customary for young children of great noble families such as Astelle to decide their marriage partners according to their parents’ wishes from the time they were born.

nStill, Astelle thought she was lucky.

nShe herself truly loved her fiance, Kaizen.

nShe felt grateful to her father for setting her up with Kaizen.

n‘Now that I think about it, it was so stupid.’

nThe duke sneered coldly at his daughter who stood silently.

n“Did you sign the will as the emperor ordered? Do you have no pride? If it were me, I would rather commit suicide.”

n“Unlike my father, my life is too precious to commit suicide because I only signed it once.”

nAstelle smiled a little bitterly and said, ” I have to leave tomorrow, so I don’t have time for useless conversations. I wish you could just tell me your business quickly and then go back. ”

n“What business?”

n“I heard that you have the belongings of the late Empress Dowager. You must have thought of asking me for something with those as an excuse.”

nHad it not been for that purpose, her father would not have kept it. He must have sold it all.

nAstelle knew her father well.

nHer father was a person who spared anything for the future that could be someone else’s weakness.

nThe late Empress Dowager’s belongings must have been kept because he thought it would be Astelle’s weakness.

nHowever, Astelle had no desire to do whatever he wanted as a condition for her father to hand over the belongings.

n“I’m not going to give you anything you want. Return the belongings of the late Empress Dowager and go back to the mansion.”

nThe duke’s light green eyes flashed. Anger filled those eyes that looked just like Astelle.

n“How dare you say such a thing to your father!”

n“As you may not know, anyone who has someone else’s belongings and does not return them is accused of thieves.”

nAstelle replied calmly.

n“You don’t want to be humiliated by being accused by your daughter after you lost your position as prime minister and was overthrown, right? I don’t think there is any noble family for taking my father’s side right now.”

nAt that moment, the duke’s well-groomed face was distorted with anger.

nLosing power must have been his greatest weakness.

nThe enraged duke glared at Astelle who insulted him.

nA hateful voice leaked from his mouth, “How dare you! Just an empress who was expelled after one night……!”

nAs Astelle was about to respond to her father’s insults, someone opened the door and came in.

nHe was Astelle’s maternal grandfather, the Marquis of Carlenberg.

n“Grandpa.”

nThe duke smiled mischievously and said, “Gee, long time no see.”

nThen the marquis looked at the duke with contempt and replied, “Did you not learn manners at that age?”

n“I don’t understand. A person who has had someone else’s daughter for six years and hasn’t contacted her father is speaking of manners.”

nThe duke responded without losing. After hearing those words, the marquis asked, as if he was stunned.

n“Why do I have to tell you that I have Astelle with me? You cut off the relationship and drove her out of the mansion.”

nHearing the marquis’ sarcasm, the Duke of Reston flashed his eyes and approached him.

n“Now that I think about it, you need Astelle more than me, her father. Even though I lost my position as prime minister, it can not be compared to a man who had few days left to live and even lost his land and grandson.”

nThe duke mocked the marquis with a hateful smile.

n“Oh, even your grandson Sigmund left an illegitimate child of low blood. If you want to raise that child, of course, you must take Astelle with you,” the duke continued.

nIt was too harsh to say.

nThe marquis took a step closer to the duke without saying a word.

nAlthough he grew old, the dignity of commanding the army remained in the old marquis.

nThe Duke of Reston stepped back with a frown on his face.

nAfter he got closer to him, the marquis said with a grudge in his eyes, “If you weren’t the father of my only granddaughter, I would have killed you when my daughter died. As you said, I don’t have much time to live, so I have no regrets if I kill you now.”

n