Chapter 81
Was I missing something from the original story?
Being human, I can’t remember every detail.
Especially in the original, Lloyd and Riona’s relationship was incomprehensibly businesslike, even for an adoptive father and daughter.
It was completely different from how the current Lloyd cherishes his adopted daughter Ayla.
‘Thinking about it again, it’s strangely irritating. Why didn’t he embrace Riona? He adopted her, after all. Why discriminate against only Riona?’
Perhaps my look of reproach was too obvious, as Lloyd cautiously called out to me.
“Dear?”
I’m not sure why he’s giving me that look, but his innocent face, blinking as if to apologize more if it’s not enough, somehow pricked my conscience.
This man isn’t completely oblivious.
Rather, thanks to Priscilla, he’s probably an expert at reading the room.
He must have sensed the wall I’ve put up since learning he’s the Grand Duke.
Unable to face him directly, I belatedly turned my head away.
“W-well, now that the deal can’t be undone, it’s my turn to give you the item.”
“Ah, right.”
Lloyd answered, relaxing his shoulders that had been tense, perhaps from nervousness.
In fact, the cat’s-eye was always in a place Lloyd could find if he just set his mind to it.
It’s just that the place is considered too sacred to search.
“I’ve heard about the Millennium Tree Forest. The trees there are called that because they live for a thousand years, right?”
The Millennium Tree Forest, located deep within the Eckhart Grand Duchy, is treated almost like a cultural heritage site.
That’s why no one dares to touch that forest carelessly.
Lloyd seemed puzzled by the sudden mention of the forest in this conversation, where the location of the mine should have come up.
But that was only for a moment, and soon his blue eyes filled with shock.
“Don’t tell me it’s inside that forest…”
“Yes, that’s right. The cat’s-eye mine is in there.”
Did he think my answer was nonsensical?
Lloyd’s gentle eyes turned sharp.
“How can you be so sure? Surely Your Highness has never set foot in the Eckhart Grand Duchy.”
“As the Grand Duke, you must have explored all the mines around here, right? Yet you haven’t found the vein. Where was the first cat’s-eye discovered?”
“It was found… near the Millennium Tree Forest.”
See, there’s no other answer, right?
But perhaps due to the perception that a forest that has existed for a thousand years shouldn’t be carelessly developed, Lloyd still seemed hesitant.
Regardless of feeling sorry towards me, he clearly doesn’t believe it.
His eyes said it all.
“I know I seem suspicious. I understand if you can’t believe me. But if you don’t, it’s the Grand Duke’s loss.”
Having gone through an unwanted marriage, not getting the cat’s-eye would be too much of a losing deal.
“Didn’t you want to break free from Lady Priscilla? At least for now, aren’t I more trustworthy than her? Or do you want to keep being held back by Lady Priscilla?”
Even the usually calm Lloyd couldn’t help but bristle at my provocation, his eyes turning fierce for a moment.
“The Millennium Tree Forest is vast. Please tell me the exact location.”
‘So he can make that kind of face too.’
I had wondered if he might be a different person from the Grand Duke in the original story, but it seems he is indeed the same person.
I swallowed a bitter smile and nodded.
* * *
On the way back to the annex, I called the children out in advance.
I needed to let them know that I was going to marry Lloyd.
“Mom!”
“Madam.”
But somehow, the expressions of the children who came running at my call were unusual.
Their eyes were sparkling big and beautiful, as if they knew what I was going to say and were looking forward to it.
Lloyd spoke quietly so that only I could hear.
“Those two children, they overheard our entire conversation and already know about the marriage.”
I unconsciously slapped my forehead.
‘Come to think of it, Aslan knew about the Grand Duke’s identity too.’
Ayla must have known as well.
Considering Ayla’s suspicious behavior since coming to the Grand Duchy, that is.
I first squished Aslan’s cheeks with both hands.
“Aslan, you. You knew all along that Lord Mente was the Grand Duke, didn’t you?”
With her cheeks stretched, making her pronunciation slightly off, Aslan gasped.
“Huk, did Uncle Ide tell you?”
“I, I knew too!”
As if unable to let Aslan take the blame alone, Ayla fidgeted and chimed in.
It was obvious that Lloyd had silenced Ayla.
Knowing that, I couldn’t bring myself to scold Ayla.
‘I wasn’t planning to scold Aslan either, to begin with.’
I released Aslan’s cheeks and let out a small sigh.
Then, holding both children’s shoulders, I said,
“That’s right. As you heard, I’ve agreed to marry the Grand Duke. So from now on, we’re going to be a family.”
At the word ‘family’, Ayla’s eyes, which were already as clear as the sky, sparkled like soap bubbles floating around.
Come to think of it, back when I didn’t know Lloyd was Ide, I had considered adopting Ayla if something happened to him.
I only thought about it, but now I’ve become the mother of both the female lead and the villainess.
“Aslan, from now on, you should call the Grand Duke ‘Dad’ instead of ‘Uncle’, okay? You too, Ayla. Call me ‘Mom’ instead of ‘Madam’.”
“Okay!”
“Y-yes?”
Unlike Aslan, who answered straightforwardly, Ayla seemed quite flustered.
Come to think of it, Ayla wasn’t very familiar with these terms of address, was she?
I asked Lloyd,
“Oh, by the way, isn’t it weird if I’m ‘Mom’ but only the Grand Duke is called ‘Father’?”
“You’re right about that.”
“Then Ayla. From now on, call the Grand Duke ‘Dad’ too.”
“D-Dad?”
Ayla looked much more flustered than I had expected.
Is ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ too childish a term?
Ayla is a child, but she wants to be seen as mature.
Worried that she might be uncomfortable, I quickly added,
“Oh, if Ayla doesn’t like it…”
“No, I’ll try my best…!”
But Ayla shook her head vigorously and clenched her fists, as if afraid of having something taken away after receiving it.
Thankfully, her flushed face didn’t look like she disliked it.
I also briefly explained our family setup to the children.
“I was confined while having Aslan with the Grand Duke, and the Grand Duke didn’t know about it and adopted Ayla. Even so, Ayla, you’re my daughter now too, so if anyone looks down on you for not being my biological daughter, you should tell me right away, okay?”
“Yes, Madam… I mean, Mom.”
“Good.”
Her face turns red every time she calls me ‘Mom’, but it’s okay since it’s still the first day.
Somehow, it reminded me of when I took care of Ayla at the Fran mansion, which made me feel happy.
Now that the situation was roughly sorted out, it was time to talk about the cat’s-eye in earnest.
If you’re wondering how to find an undeveloped mine in such a vast area, it’s actually easier than you might think.
The Millennium Tree Forest is densely packed with trees, except for areas near bodies of water like lakes.
But there’s just one place where trees don’t grow.
That was the entrance to the mine.
Hearing my words, Lloyd fortunately seemed to have an idea of where it might be.
“There is one place where trees don’t grow. But are you sure there’s really a mine underneath?”
“That’s right.”
Lloyd still looked like he couldn’t quite trust me.
However, at the mention of jewels, the children’s eyes sparkled and they started chirping excitedly.
“Jewels? Are Mom and Uncle going to look for jewels?”
“What kind of jewels are they? I’m curious, Madam.”
It was fortunate the children were here.
Their innocence began to break the chilly atmosphere.
But I had just warned them about their terms of address, and seeing they were still the same, I cleared my throat, “Ahem,” and the children quickly corrected themselves.
“Are Mom and Dad going to look for jewels?”
“I-I’m curious too… Mom.”
“That’s right. Good.”
Although I wasn’t thrilled about marrying Lloyd, I was glad that at least the children seemed to like it.
As a reward, I took off my earrings and showed them to the children in detail.
“Here, this. Remember what the Grand Duke gave to Mom before?”
“I remember.”
Aslan fiddled with the jewel and suddenly asked me,
“Is it good to have a lot of these jewels?”
“Hmm, I think so? It will protect the Grand Duke, and incidentally, it’ll be good for our family too.”
The more jewels, the better.
At that, Aslan clutched the jewel tightly, muttered something quietly, and then exchanged a look with Ayla.
They nodded their heads simultaneously and began to give Lloyd pitiful looks.
“Unc- Dad. Can’t we try it like Mom said? She said it’d be good for you too if there are lots of these jewels.”
“Fath- D-Dad… I’m curious about that jewel mine too…”
It seems even the children could clearly see that Lloyd didn’t quite believe what I was saying.
And the effect of the children’s pleading eyes was tremendous.
Lloyd had always been weak to the children’s eye attacks.
Finally, Lloyd bowed his head deeply, as if declaring a complete KO.
“…Call Pablo here right away.”
“Yay!”
The children cheered, and I offered them a high-five as if to say “well done.”
Slap!
Our palms met with a cheerful sound.
It was a moment that reminded me of the saying that the sun is stronger than a typhoon.
And so, the development of the cat’s-eye mine began.
