Ch 4

The male lead watched from beginning to the end for his mother’s madness. It ended up as his trauma.

….But, it was still in the future.

‘If the Duchess is still in good condition····.”

I don’t know the details. I’m just a reader who read the male lead’s past through books.

But I guess, as my parents said, if the Duchess, who had often fought, was so angry that she came to the Capital, it would have been quite a big deal.

‘Did she know she was pregnant? Or about the Duke’s declaration of war?’

Neither of them was good, so I just bit my lips hard.

“I hope it wasn’t a big deal—” My mother, who didn’t know about the real situation, rubbed the letter anxiously and blurted the end of her words.

I also sympathized with my mother’s feelings and hoped it wasn’t the worst. For example, like The Duke who has already brought his mistress home.

‘So what’s the male lead doing now?’

I suddenly thought about that.

If you grew up seeing fights and conflict around your age, it may be natural to grow into a cold, tough, and unsympathetic “iron” in the original book.

‘Well, I’d better be prepared.’

Well, I’m just saying that I won’t have a crush on the male lead. It’s not like I’m going to fight him.

I imagined what the male lead’s childhood would have been like and thought about a black cat who was beaten. And soon came the day I could confirm my imagination.

[Dear Claire Averine]

And the invitation of the Duchess Bouser came.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

[……I’ll wait for you to come to tea time.]

The Duchess of Bouser wanted to meet my mother as soon as she came down to the Capital.

My mother was happy and worried at the same time when she received such an invitation. She seemed worried that her friend, whom she had known for years, would cry over some bad news.

Knowing roughly what might have happened to the Duchess, I only hoped that my mother would not fall down after hearing the news.

‘So we’re finally meeting.’

In fact, the invitation only had my mother’s name written on it, but neither I nor my father’s name was in there.

However, it was a relationship that I would say hello to the Duchess, who came down to the Capital after a few years especially since she’s my mother’s friend. The Duchess brought her son with her, so she’s probably thinking of saying hello to me too.

Soon, a historic first meeting with the male lead will take place.

“We’re here.”

The carriage, which had been rattling for some time finally stopped.

I got off the carriage under the escort of the knight. Then I opened my mouth to the scene before my eyes.

“Wow.”

Should I say it is a suitable mansion for the famous swordsman “Bouser”?

I heard from my mother that Duchess Bouser’s mansion in the Capital City is not that big because it feels like a separate house. The old-fashioned and clean appearance of the house looked just like an old castle.

Right in front of the mansion was an old butler waiting for us. He looked at my mother with a familiar and polite gesture.

“I’ve been waiting, Duchess Averine “

We were guided to the lower side of the mansion.

The flower garden in full bloom with seasonal flowers had a transparent circular dome.

Inside the dome was like a small greenhouse with a party table. As I looked around in wonder, the doors of the greenhouse opened just in time.

Soon, a blurry figure appeared.

“Claire!”

Claire Averine, my mother’s name.

There are only a few people who can call the Duchess’s name friendly. Like the relatives of the  Duchess and a person with such a position.

“Charel.”

It was Charelina Bouser, The Duchess of Bouser.

My mother ran straight to the Duchess.

The two, who had known one another for a long time, came to each other before even asking how they were doing. To be exact, the Duchess seems to have embraced my mother.

I opened my eyes wide at the sight of the Duchess Bouser from a step back.

‘You’re a beauty, aren’t you?’

The beauty of the male lead, who is truly the most beautiful man of all time, got the beauty from his mother. But there was something else that surprised me more.

‘You’re too thin.’

The Duchess, who braided her brilliant platinum blonde hair over to one side, was at first sight a sample of “sickly beauty.”

However, she is too thin to simply regard her as a “sickly beauty.”

Even the thin arms and legs that were revealed between the dresses. At first glance, it was amazing to see her standing, but she looked as if she would fall down right away.

My mother must have felt the same thing as me, so she glanced over the Duchess’s face and muttered upsettingly.

“Why are you so skinny? Are you sick?”

“…I’m fine, Claire.”

“Not a single one is okay. Look at this face.”

The Duchess smiled vaguely at my mother, who poured out her worries before she even asked her regards.

She was happy to meet the face of a friend after a long time, but it was too difficult to say anything.

I knew that the Duchess was groaning. It’s probably hard to bring up a heavy story in front of a friend’s child.

Even though my mother who repeatedly said ‘we must behave politely’ doesn’t even think of introducing me now, and since I am a quick-witted child I decided to change the mood instead of my mother.

I went up to my mother’s side, grabbed my dress collar with both hands, and bent my knee slightly.

‘It’s my first time to see you, Duchess Bouser. I’m Dahlia Averine, the daughter of the Duchess Averine.”

Naturally, the eyes of my mother and Duchess Bouser turned to me. The Duchess looked at me and said gracefully, closing her eyes.

“I’ve heard a lot from your mother, Dahlia. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Duchess. As my mother said, she’s a great person, so I don’t know what to do.”

“Hoo-hoo, you look like your mother a lot.”

The Duchess Bouser burst out laughing like a girl. I was pleased with the smile. Because she looked so sick, it feels like I want to please the Duchess with a smile.

When she opened her heart with a clear smile, the Duchess Bouser looked back.

“You should say hello, too.”

‘You too?’

Is there someone else here? I titled my head and looked at the Duchess.

When I looked a little closer, it seemed that there’s a small figure that was visible behind the Duchess.

That figure shook as if he was struggling with the Duchess, and then showed his face.

At that moment my mouth was wide open. There was a figure behind the Duchess. I rubbed my eyes because I couldn’t believe what I saw.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***