Portraits were hung in rows on the walls, and in the middle of the hall were statues made of plaster and marble, treasures or weapons like swords and shields covered with glass cases, and things like iron armor that medieval knights might have used long ago. A tapestry embroidered with the family genealogy was also noticeable.

It was no different from an exhibition hall showing the hundreds of years of history of the Grand Ducal family.

[These are the Dennox people throughout history.]

The Grand Duke explained to Valentin, pointing to the portraits hanging on the wall.

The thick features, huge build, and black hair were indeed hereditary traits passed down through generations. Valentin nodded as he looked up at a painting of a young man, whose generation as Grand Duke was unclear, riding a horse.

[It’s wonderful. I didn’t know there was a place like this.]

[That boy thinks something terrible will happen if you walk even a little.]

[You know your son very well.]

Valentin now giggled openly. The Grand Duke raised the corners of his mouth in return, looking at the smile on Valentin’s gaunt face.

[This is the 7th Grand Duchess.]

He explained, pointing to a very large painting they faced as they moved. The middle-aged lady in the painting was sitting in a chair holding a long-haired brown cat with a very sullen expression, as if she greatly disliked having to model for the painting.

[She hated socializing with people so much that she never once hosted a gathering or event. There are records that only cats were important to her.]

[With that many, I can understand why!]

On the cushions and pillows under the chair, more than ten cats were lying down or licking their paws. Valentin exclaimed as he scanned the lovely cats with his eyes. He could tell how much love those small animals with their well-groomed fur, shining as if polished, had received from her.

[And all the Grand Duchesses you see here and there died young. Not just one or two. So this position was often vacant.]

In the places the Grand Duke pointed to, young omegas were smiling in their respective paintings.

[Even living like that, we’re still going strong.]

[Ah…]

Valentin now knew exactly what his taciturn father-in-law wanted to tell him.

[So be confident, Valentin Dennox.]

The Grand Duke released the arm he was escorting and faced Valentin. Then he straightened his shoulders and placed his large hand on Valentin’s head.

[The name Dennox is right in whatever it does. It is not judged for anything it does.]

[Howard…]

[Don’t judge yourself over something no one else can evaluate you for.]

Come to think of it, Reynard had said similar things to him.

Do whatever you like, it doesn’t matter how you act, he had said. But even when Valentin heard his husband’s words then, they didn’t resonate with him at all. It just felt like this person loves me. It felt like parents nodding along to whatever their precious son, raised in the folds of their skirts, does.

That’s why Valentin always smiled bitterly whenever Reynard said such things.

‘Even though it’s the same words…’

Valentin looked up at his father-in-law. That upright and firm appearance without any wavering, hesitation, or falsehood. He took in the Grand Duke’s figure that seemed to radiate strong power.

[Thank you, Howard…]

[You don’t need to thank me for the obvious.]

Just as the sun and moon rise in the sky every day, as seasons pass and leaves fall and new buds sprout again. That’s how the Grand Duke assured Valentin of his position and place.

[Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.]

Valentin nodded slowly, looking at the Grand Duke. And he straightened his shoulders proudly, just like his father-in-law. Seeing this, the Grand Duke patted Valentin’s head once more before starting to walk again.

Where they moved to next was a beautiful bust. It was the face of a young woman with straight and beautiful features. Seeing it, the Grand Duke said just one word.

[My wife.]

The marble statue gleamed in the sunlight coming through the high windows. The statue of the former Grand Duchess, whose surface seemed almost transparent as it slightly transmitted light. Valentin carefully examined that face, looking for Reynard’s features.

‘Ah, the eyebrow shape is exactly the same.’

There were those handsome eyebrows that always raised on one side, making Valentin nervous. A smile formed naturally.

[She’s really beautiful.]

[She was a typical Dales’ strong woman.]

The Grand Duke nodded, looking at her bust as if recalling some part of the past. Then he slowly continued speaking in his still gruff tone.

[Everyone has some difficult period in their life. A time like the winter of life, you could say.]

The weighty words struck Valentin’s heart again. It was a statement that seemed to encompass both the Grand Duke’s past and Valentin’s present.

Valentin understood what the Grand Duke was saying now.

The sense of loss from losing his partner wife…. Such great pain had existed even for him, who was like an unbreakable steel mountain, a heavy rock mountain.

[Unfavorable times exist for everyone.]

[……]

[And usually when people face such times, their hearts crumble.]

[… Did Your Highness also…?]

The Grand Duke slowly nodded at the careful question.

[Even breathing itself was painful.]

It was a quite emotional and honest confession. Valentin realized once again that today, the Grand Duke was making considerable effort for him, telling various stories. That he was showing pain he had never revealed to others before, all to comfort him…

[After she left, terrible days followed where I couldn’t endure without destroying myself. Living only with resentment, wondering why life is like this, why this happened to me.]

Valentin listened quietly without answering.

[I lived each day just mechanically. That day was probably the same. I was on my way home after finishing a mission. I met Reynard in the garden I was walking into without any thoughts. He must have been about 5 or 6 years old then. After his mother died, he still called me father even though I didn’t look after him. As soon as he saw me, he came running.]

[Ah…]

[I unconsciously picked up the child who came crashing into me with his whole body. Out of habit, like I always did when my wife was alive. And suddenly I faced him directly.]

The Grand Duke stroked his chin, reminiscing about the long-ago past.

[And there, right there, was my wife.]

Valentin tilted his head and looked up at the Grand Duke. The eyes that met his were dark brown. A brown similar to verdant foliage with a hint of khaki. Ah… Realization dawned on Valentin.

[That child’s eyes. The eyes like the fog on a wide dawn sea that his mother passed down to him. How much comfort that gave me.]

He felt he could understand the story after that without hearing it. How a man who discovered his wife’s soul in his son lived his life. How he protected this land more admirably than anyone else.

[In a few days, you’ll be leaving for Eldon.]

That’s right. Reynard’s transfer happened very quickly, and he had heard from him this morning that they would be leaving this place and going back to Eldon in a few days.

The Grand Duke placed his hand on Valentin’s shoulder and spoke in a very powerful voice.

[Go comfortably without worrying, Valentin.]

Their eyes met straight in the air.

[Leave behind all the burdens of your heart that were weighing you down. And go to your family and receive comfort with ease. I know well what kind of comfort family gives when life is hard.]

[Howard…]

Valentin’s eyes filled with tears as he heard those words.

[It doesn’t matter how long it takes, and you don’t have to come back at all. Go and wash away everything that’s troubling your heart.]

At his final words, Valentin’s pent-up tears burst forth.

It wasn’t just simple comfort. He was granted the freedom of life and will.

No, he made him realize what he already had. The Grand Duke had precisely taught him that this was something he should naturally have.

Valentin cried loudly like a child and hugged the Grand Duke who was patting him. And he shed tears for a long time. The large hand just stiffly patted his son’s partner.

[But then you’ll be alone again…]

Valentin said with difficulty in a mumbling voice still choked with tears.

[…There are hundreds of people residing in the Grand Ducal Palace.]

That’s not what I meant… Valentin clearly recognized the root of where his husband’s personality really came from and how. You’re saying irrelevant things just the same, really. Valentin sniffled and spoke with difficulty.

[…Don’t tell me not to come back.]

[……]

[Your Highness is my family too. …I’ll really come back when both my body and mind are healthy.]

[Alright…]

[I promise you, Howard.]

So Valentin returned to his room that day after smearing the Grand Duke’s splendid navy uniform with tears and snot.

What the Grand Duke said was accurate.

The comfort given by family. With that, he overcame the anxiety and burdens in his heart.

His father-in-law had already completely washed away the burdens in Valentin’s heart by giving that advice. The family itself was the comfort. It was perfect advice and comfort that made everything painful and dirty in his heart clean.

After that day, Valentin was no longer plagued by nightmares. Never again.