29 - Not Your Son, But Your Father
Chapter 29
"I, I, I'm, my stomach, isn't, good."
To Rigen, Gilbert was his one and only precious older brother, and the strongest person in the world.
Rigen had never seen Edith wield her power, but he had seen Gilbert swing his sword countless times.
He vividly remembered how enormous the Magical Beasts Gilbert had hunted were.
He gulped.
Rigen had wanted to meet the Grand Duchess who would become his stepmother, but he wasn't prepared to face someone strong enough to harm Gilbert.
"I, I want to, go home, no, this is my home, but, so..."
Eventually, Rigen's mind broke down.
Maybia wore a puzzled expression as she sat next to Edith.
The Consommé soup Edith had ordered was placed in front of her, but Maybia focused on Rigen.
"You look pale, Prince. Are you ill?"
It was a tone that assured him that Rigen's trembling was definitely not because of her.
Rigen nodded weakly.
"I'm fine..."
"Don't push yourself because of me, and please tell me if you're tired. Okay? I want to get along with you, Prince. That's why I prepared this gift."
As Maybia proudly showed the gift box, Edith wore an expression that was somewhere between a smile and not.
"A gift."
"Here. You can open it now."
Maybia held out the box with a confident attitude.
Rigen desperately held back tears as he received the box.
'It's, it's scary, but still, it's a gift from the Grand Duchess herself...!'
After taking a deep breath, Rigen carefully opened the box.
A black, smoky vapor billowed out.
'...What is this?'
Edith called out to Rigen, who had frozen in place.
"What's wrong, Rigen?"
With stiff movements, Rigen fully opened the box so that Edith and Maybia, who were sitting across from him, could also look inside.
Edith stared at the jewel with a puzzled expression.
"A diamond?"
"It's not just any diamond. It's a 44.4-carat Black Diamond."
Maybia's voice seemed to come from a great distance.
To Rigen, the Black Diamond seemed like something he should never touch.
The moment he opened the box wide, the unidentified black smoke gradually subsided, but the ominous energy remained.
He felt like possessing it without knowing anything would curse his family for three generations.
"Do you like it?"
Edith asked cautiously as Rigen, overwhelmed, sweated profusely.
"...Eve, when was the last time you talked to the children?"
"What is it? Don't you dare disregard my taste? It's not only excellent as a jewel, but it's also something that will surely be useful to the Prince in the future, if not now."
Rigen barely raised his head.
As if she knew everything Rigen was about to say, Maybia smiled brightly and waved her hand.
"Oh, no need to thank me. Just know that I want to get this close to you, Prince. How is it, Prince? Can you feel my sincerity? I even wrote a handwritten letter because I was worried it would look like I was just trying to buy you off with money."
Rigen wanted to ask what he had done so wrong to Maybia.
No, even asking was too much.
If only he could beg for forgiveness...
Feeling his vision blur, Rigen closed the box.
"T, thank you... I'll treasure it."
Rigen made a decision. From now on, he would live quietly, avoiding Maybia's eyes as much as possible.
After the gift presentation, the mealtime flowed smoothly.
Maybia asked if she smelled onions somewhere, causing Rigen to drop his silverware, but the outwardly warm atmosphere continued nonetheless.
And then Rigen reached his limit. He was so scared of Maybia that he didn't even know where the food was going.
"Um... can I get up first? My, my stomach isn't, good."
When Rigen finally asked for understanding, Maybia raised her head sharply.
"I'll take you there."
"...Yes?"
"You've looked pale since earlier. You haven't eaten properly either. I can't possibly send you alone."
"I'm, I'm okay! I'm really okay! I can go alone! Please!"
Rigen passionately pleaded, but Maybia didn't listen.
"Sera, please bring some digestive medicine. And the Prince is sweating so much, so just in case, ask the nanny if he has any underlying conditions..."
Rigen gave Edith a desperate look, pleading for her to help him.
Now, the only person who could save Rigen was Edith.
Edith chuckled dryly and said to Rigen.
"She's doing that with truly pure intentions."
Where on earth do you see that?
As Rigen sniffled, Maybia, who had wiped her lips, stood up from her seat.
"Let's go, Prince."
There was no right to refuse.
With a bloodless face, Rigen walked out of the banquet hall.
Even in his half-crazed state, he held the gift Maybia had given him close to his chest.
He was clearly careful, as if afraid of tripping while going up the stairs.
Maybia watched the sight with a satisfied expression.
"H, here is my bedroom."
Rigen, who had arrived at the bedroom door a step earlier, opened the door while looking at Maybia's expression.
"May I intrude?"
Maybia asked out of courtesy, and Rigen nodded, trembling.
Rigen's bedroom was one of the rooms with the most windows in Cyclamen Castle.
It was a place with good sunlight so that he could receive as much sunlight and moonlight as he wanted, which were as precious as emeralds in the North.
And the curtains that half-covered the windows had a cat pattern drawn on them.
Maybia, who had a slightly bitter expression for a moment, walked inside, passing Rigen, who was giving her time to admire the room.
A sweet scent of raspberries, marshmallows, and vanilla pudding faintly wafted from Maybia.
When Rigen casually thought that the Grand Duchess must like sweet and sour desserts, he heard a cat meowing as if it had smelled a completely different scent.
"Meow."
A pure white cat lying on the bed stretched its legs as if yawning and got up.
Rigen reacted quickly.
"Isabel, you shouldn't be here. You have to go to your room."
Maybia, who was suddenly touching her nose, frowned.
"The cats' names are very old-fashioned. The tuxedo cat is Maximus, and this one is Isabel. What's the name of the other one?"
"C, Carolina."
"Who named them?"
"Count Elliot..."
"I see."
Rigen hesitated.
"Can I take Isabel to her room?"
"Do the cats have separate rooms?"
Maybia's expression became more and more subtle, which scared Rigen.
"Yes. Maximus's room is the smallest, and Isabel's room is the biggest."
"Meow."
As if to confirm that was correct, Isabel meowed briefly.
Maybia reached out her hand towards Isabel.
Rigen's eyes widened.
"Ah! Grand Duchess, Isabel is―"
Isabel was known to be the most prickly of the cats staying at Cyclamen Castle.
It was only after Rigen had a few scratches on the back of his hand that he was finally able to become close to her.
However, contrary to Rigen's worries, Isabel did not raise her claws at Maybia.
She didn't even struggle.
"Uh..."
Rigen, who was trying to stop Maybia, blinked his eyes.
"To think that a territorial animal would appear here and there in the castle. Don't tell me the entire castle is your territory?"
Maybia muttered in a sulky voice as she picked up Isabel.
She looked clumsy, as if it was the first time she had held a cat.
Nevertheless, Isabel knew how to position herself.
She even purred contentedly.
Maybia turned to Rigen.
Isabel gave Rigen a look that said, 'Don't interfere with us.'
"The Prince needs to rest, so let's ask someone else to return the cat. Which maid should I entrust it to?"
Rigen was confused as to whether this was really his bedroom.
His answer was somewhat delayed as he struggled to come out of his shock.
"Um, well, Daisy takes care of the cats."
"Thank you for letting me know. I'll keep that in mind."
Maybia mercilessly sent away the cat who didn't want to leave her arms and received the medicine that the maid had brought. It was a digestive medicine for Rigen.
As soon as Rigen swallowed the medicine, Maybia asked.
"How do you feel now?"
'Um, it hasn't even been 10 seconds since I swallowed the medicine...'
The Grand Duchess seemed to be a little impatient.
Rigen smiled awkwardly.
"I'm... fine."
"I'll stay by your side a little longer."
"You really don't have to..."
Rigen hesitated.
Maybia was busy looking at whether Rigen was really okay with eyes that seemed to contain spring and stars.
"Prince, the truth is, I don't know children very well. I haven't had many opportunities to get close to them. I don't know if I'll be of any help, but I want to stay by your side at least until Mrs. Theresa arrives. Is that difficult?"
It was a quiet and calm voice. Rigen's face flushed.
Maybia was scary, and it was true that she was unfamiliar, awkward, and uncomfortable, but receiving such honest concern made his chest tickle strangely.
It was a different feeling from being worried about by his nanny or servants.
