Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

d protect me even if I turn the whole world into my enemy, but Regen didn’t swallow the food he had put into his mouth until his cheeks were full.
Then, he asked another question.

“I want to know how much Your Grace likes Father!”

“Cough, yes?”

I coughed in embarrassment, but Regen smiled brightly.

“I like him a lot! I like Your Grace a lot too!”

“Uh, well, I like the Lord too.”

“What about Father?”

You’re tenacious today.

“Yes, Aedis is a good person.”

But my attempts to go around it were unsuccessful.

“Is there a difference between being a good person and being someone you like?”

Regen, since when did you become so smart?

I smiled awkwardly and pretended to focus on eating.

Should I have eaten lunch alone today?

Regen looked at me from time to time in anguish, and tilted his head this way and that as if he had discovered a mystery.

“But today, Your Grace is like Father.”

Yes?

When Gilbert said it, it was bullshit, but when Regen said it, it was convincing.

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Did Aedis do anything to me?

Because Gilbert kept bothering me?

…A kiss from such a thoughtful person.

Kiss!

“Your Grace…? Are you sick?”

The fork in my hand trembled slightly.
I tried to erase the thought of Aedis from my mind and faked a smile.

“Lord, since there is no afternoon class today, would you like to do your homework right after dinner?”

“Oh, I’ll see you later! It’s raining and I have to go pick up the nanny.”

“Then, me too!”

Regen vehemently declined.

“Don’t you have tea time with Father at this hour? I’m fine, so please stay with him!”

Regen gave a hearty laugh, as if he was convinced that his concessions would bring me and Aedis an intimate time.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t bear to tell him that I had not seen Aedis today.

After eating and watching Regen leave with an umbrella, I stumbled down the hallway.

When I came to my senses after moving my feet blindly, I was in front of the stairs to Aedis’s bedroom.

Hmm, why am I here?

My subconscious was terrifying.
I glanced over the stairs and forced myself to step back.

It’s sad to even think about it again.
No, what’s so hard about kissing your wife! Until yesterday, we weren’t even using our own rooms!

Besides, didn’t you do it on the back of my hand at the imperial ball?

Should I have offered the back of my hand instead of my cheek?

I was dizzy with a question I would never know the answer to.

As I wandered the hallways and stairs without going anywhere, every maid I encountered
started to worry about me.

“Your Grace, are you feeling dizzy?”

“It’s okay.”

“Shall I call the doctor?”

“I’m fine.”

I beckoned to the maids watching me with worried eyes that they may go back to work.
Then, I stopped wandering and decided on my destination.

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It was a room where the butler, Tollyman Elliott, and the employees were watching closely.

I broke in without knocking and occupied the bedroom and lay down.

Then, Shaula, who was doing a simple stretch, muttered in an exasperated voice.

“…Your Grace, this is my room.”

“You also came into my room this morning.”

“Your Grace, are you crying?”

“I’m not crying!”

But I wanted to cry.

No matter what happened, the sadness did not go away and grew as time passed.

At that time, Regen was waiting for the nanny with an umbrella.

Even for Regen, it had been a long time since rain fell and made popping sounds.

Regen looked at the rain with curious eyes and reached out his hand.

Raindrops gathered on his palms.

[“You look very happy.”]

A voice revealed itself to Regen.
It wasn’t muffled by the sound of the rain.

Regen moved his head like a baby bird.
He had never heard such a uniquely conveyed voice before.

“Are you Paimon?”

Regen concentrated, thinking that it might be the spirit that had contracted with Maevia.

Similar to the last time where he followed Paimon’s voice, he moved his feet unknowingly.

The other party ignored Regen’s question and continued talking to himself.

[“No, should I say it’s you?”]

“Paimon, right…?”

Regen asked without confidence.

Although he didn’t listen to it this time, Regen realized that it was different.

If Regen’s voice sounded like it was slurred, then this voice was really that of an adult man.

It was light, sharp, and aggressive.

Still, Regen could not stop his moving feet.