Chapter 105

 

***

 

“Yes. I store minor secrets there.”

Though referred to as minor, they were still secrets of the ducal family, not suitable for children to know.

Thus, he had no choice but to reveal himself and interrupt their play.

“Minor secrets.”

Claude quietly mulled over his father’s words.

This implied that there was another place for storing more significant secrets.

“Then… what we are looking for isn’t there.”

Claude murmured, sounding disappointed, to which the duke nodded.

“That’s right. It’s not there.”

The duke then added in a cautious voice,

“Nowhere to be found.”

The children widened their eyes in surprise at his statement.

The duke wore a bitter expression.

It was Beatrice’s request to dispose of all records. As the duchess, she did not want the day’s records to be carelessly left behind.

Thus, the story of that day could not be found anywhere in this mansion.

“…So it’s not there.”

Ronny muttered in disappointment, and Jeremiah took off his sleeping cap, gripping it tightly in his hands.

“But isn’t there still something that remains?”

Claude didn’t give up and asked the duke.

“There must be records kept in a very traditional way.”

“Records in a traditional way?”

Melody asked, and he nodded.

“Yes. Writing hasn’t been around since the beginning of the world.”

“Ah.”

Understanding his answer, Melody looked intently at the duke.

Claude was referring to his ‘memories’ as records.

“Perhaps those records might be much more accurate than Higgins’s.”

No matter how much a butler records everything about the family, he couldn’t possibly hear every conversation between the master and his wife.

Claude’s point was precise, so the duke swallowed his trembling breath.

He had hidden the truth with lies to his children long ago. Until a few years ago, he believed that was the right thing to do.

However, the clever children had continuously strived to uncover the truth from their own positions.

The duke now regretted not being honest with them from the start.

“…Yes.”

Thus, he nodded.

Superficially glossing over the matter would be useless. Indeed, such avoidance would only serve to tear apart the family that had just begun to reunite.

Just like that June, five years ago.

“The records you wish to see are with me.”

 

***

 

The duke shared everything about Beatrice with the children.

“She wasn’t inherently endowed with the disposition for Physis. It was merely that she housed a vessel within her.”

“If my sense of memory is correct, it was a small vessel.”

Jeremiah added, glancing briefly at Melody. After all, she too had something similar within her.

However, he did not share this fact with the other family members.

“It was after becoming pregnant with Jeremiah that she realized something was amiss. A teacup shattered without being touched.”

Initially, it was thought to be a coincidence caused by a breeze.

But such coincidences repeated every few months.

“Vases would fall over just by passing by, or books would tumble down. Fortunately, no one was injured.”

As time went on and Jeremiah was born and grew, these strange occurrences became more frequent.

“It must have been because of me.”

Jeremiah said this with a calm expression.

The natural forces converged around him, affecting Beatrice’s body.

Yet, the duke shook his head.

“Nobody is to blame for those events.”

“But the principle stands. Even when it led to a major accident, mother was with me.”

That was Jeremiah’s first memory, unknown to the other children.

“Yes, in the end, a massive explosion occurred in Jeremiah’s room. The royal family was informed that an intruder targeting the duchess was present, allowing for the situation to be managed.”

But misfortune continued to follow him.

“After that day, Beatrice concluded she could no longer live here. I… opposed it till the end.”

It was the duke’s selfish desire not to part with her. However, in the end, he had no choice but to help her leave.

“Since then, Beatrice lived quietly in a place untouched by anyone else’s footsteps. She didn’t even inform me when Loretta was born.”

Years later, the first news he received was that she had died in a carriage accident.

“…Why did mother.”

Claude murmured softly, wondering if she had chosen such a reckless journey to the capital after all that had happened.

The duke glanced at Loretta.

The child, whose memories had returned, occasionally shared with the duke the conversations she had with Beatrice.

He wanted to ask if it was okay to share these stories with her brothers, but the child had already fallen asleep, leaning on Melody.

“Loretta said that a few days before the carriage journey, she heard that ‘she had a father and brothers.'”

“So she hadn’t spoken of us at all until then?”

“Yes, probably worried that a young child might carelessly mention it to someone else.”

“Still, to have shared such a story means…”

“It meant she was preparing to send Loretta here.”

Without saying it, Claude seemed to understand the reason.

Separated from Jeremiah, she might have found some stability, but then unsettling signs must have appeared again, like teacups shattering by themselves.

“Nevertheless, to start a carriage journey in such a condition. It was too reckless.”

Claude shook his head with a bitter expression.

“If she had sent a letter, either father or I would have gone. We would have brought Loretta back safely, and perhaps mother too…”

Might not have experienced such an accident.

Though it’s impossible to escape the fate of Fysis, at least she wouldn’t have had to die alone, cold, and in the rain.

“I thought the same.”

The duke also couldn’t understand why Beatrice, who had always been so cautious, chose to embark on such a dangerous journey.

It was Loretta who gave him the answer.

“Sparkling, she was very beautiful.”

The child described Beatrice in that way.

When she told stories of a big and wonderful house where her father and brothers lived, she seemed to shine more than anything else.

“Perhaps… Beatrice.”

He looked across the children sitting side by side on the sofa.

“…wanted to see this scene at least once.”

Thus, she embarked on her last journey.

“From the first sign when the teacup shattered to the explosion, it took a few months. She must have started the journey clinging to that hope.”

But once awakened, the power easily overwhelmed her body, leading to an unforeseen explosion elsewhere.

“I hope you all can… be proud of her.”

At the end of his story, the duke added this, bowing his head.

“I apologize for not sharing the truth with you, creating a rift between you and Beatrice.”

At his apology, the siblings looked at each other. They hadn’t always thought well of their mother.

It would be a lie to say they didn’t resent her for disappearing without a word.

But that didn’t mean their childhood was devoid of their mother’s love.

They remembered the warmth of her embrace, how she had held them time and again.

“Of course, we’re proud of her!”

Ronny was the first to respond.

“If you look at the records of the ducal family’s banquet from 8 years ago, you’ll understand. Mother prepared a perfect banquet. She silenced even the proudest nobles present.”

Claude chuckled, tapping Ronny’s arm in agreement, as if to say, ‘Your banquet was also remarkable.’

“Of course, I’m also proud of mother. Without her, my time wouldn’t have begun.”

Claude also added that he respects his father in the same vein.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah still had a bitter expression.

“I wish I hadn’t had this talent.”

Perhaps then, at least, they could have delayed the inevitable a bit longer.

“Your existence is a blessing, Jeremiah, including your abilities.”

“…”

“Beatrice surely thought the same.”

After all… Jeremiah knew that too, having met his mother through Loretta’s memories.

“Of course, I’m proud of her too.”

Jeremiah briefly ran his hand over his forehead. The scars engraved in his first memory were still vivid.

But the emotions contained within them were different now.

“I know she tried to protect me.”

“Yes.”

Lastly, the duke turned to Melody.

“Thank you for safely guarding the child Beatrice left behind. Melody.”

Melody nodded slightly in response to his gratitude.

“It was something I wanted to do.”

“Perhaps, Beatrice chose you…”

To bring such a scene back to the dry landscape of the ducal family.

As a gift-like presence.

But realizing that thought was too presumptuous, the duke couldn’t finish his sentence and shook his head.

Leaving his gratitude for Melody as something entirely her own was the right thing to do.

“Your Grace, as for me.”

When he didn’t continue, Melody spoke up, stroking Loretta’s golden hair.

“I’m very happy to be here with everyone.”

“You will continue to be with us in the future. There will always be a place for you in the ducal family, wherever it may be.”

“As a Higgins?”

“Yes, as a Higgins.”

Hearing the trust-filled answer made Melody smile brightly.