Creeeeak—
Likens pushed open the door to the old storehouse his father had once used.
‘Hm?’
Looking down at the desk, a puzzled expression crossed his face.
A thick layer of pale dust had certainly covered it before.
‘It’s clean.’
To assume a servant had stumbled across the storehouse and cleaned it… felt suspicious.
For one thing, the door was kept locked.
The only ones who could get their hands on the key were himself, his grandfather, the head butler who oversaw the mansion, and the head maid.
‘Why has this been cleaned?’
As Likens tilted his head in thought, he sensed a presence outside.
He whipped his head around to check who it was, and his eyes widened in surprise.
“…Grandfather?”
William stood in the doorway, looking slightly awkward.
“There you are, Likens.”
“Were you looking for me? You could have simply sent a servant, so why come yourself…?”
“I wanted to see your face when I said it… Oof….”
Unable to finish his sentence, William winced.
Both of his knees were aching from wandering all over the grounds searching for his grandson.
“First, please sit down.”
Likens supported his grandfather and helped him into a chair.
Sitting down gingerly, William rubbed his knees and let out a heavy sigh.
“Thank you, Likens. My body just refuses to listen to me these days….”
Likens looked at him with fresh eyes.
His grandfather, who had always seemed larger than life, looked exceptionally small today.
He stared down at the hands that had just supported the older man.
‘…His shoulders have grown far thinner than before.’
Though he had boasted a robust, muscular physique in his youth, in the face of time, he was now merely a frail old man.
Swallowing an inexplicable twinge of bitterness, Likens asked quietly,
“Did your conversation with Miss Rodi go well?”
“It did.”
“What did you speak about?”
William smiled softly.
“We had a very productive conversation. Contrary to high society’s rumors, she is a wise young lady.”
‘It seems he has no intention of telling me what they discussed.’
If it was a secret, there was nothing he could do.
“What made you come looking for me?”
William gazed silently at his grandson, who spoke with his usual bluntness, before turning his gaze away.
“This place hasn’t changed a bit.”
Likens looked at him, bewildered.
“Have you been here before?”
“Yes, even a few days ago. It was so filthy that I cleaned it up myself.”
“Ah….”
“Joen was very fond of this place ever since he was a boy… to the point where he would occasionally ditch his studies just to hole up here. That was why I hated it so much back then. I even considered tearing it down entirely.”
William surveyed the interior, his gaze steeped in nostalgia.
“I’m glad I didn’t, though. Now, without this place, there’s nowhere left that calls to mind traces of Joen.”
“…”
“The same goes for you, I imagine.”
William stared intently at his grandson.
“Likens, there is something I must ask you. Answer me honestly.”
“Go ahead.”
After a brief hesitation, William spoke as though he had made up his mind.
“…What do you truly think about inheriting House Magzeta?”
Likens answered mechanically.
“As I have told you before, I am still lacking in many—”
William shook his head.
“I do not want to hear rehearsed platitudes. I want to hear what lies deep in your heart.”
Looking into his grandfather’s intent gaze, Likens realized.
‘…Rodi must have told him.’
He felt ashamed, as though his deepest vulnerabilities had been laid bare, and a spark of annoyance flared toward her for divulging his secret so carelessly.
Suppressing a sigh, Likens spoke.
“It was merely a fleeting feeling, one that will pass soon enough. Do not trouble yourself over it.”
William watched his grandson retreat behind a wall of defense.
Before he knew it, the tiny child had grown far taller than him, becoming an adult who handled every matter with flawless competence.
‘Is that why I forgot?’
Forgot that this boy was only twenty-five years old.
“Likens, I inherited the title of duke right around your age.”
William recalled his own twenty-fifth year.
He had brimmed with confidence right until the moment he took over, but barely a week after receiving the title, every scrap of that confidence vanished.
His mind was consumed by fear and anxiety.
He foundered beneath mountains of paperwork pouring in from dozens of vassal families, approvals were delayed, and even when completed, mistakes were rampant.
Balancing external affairs on top of that left his head spinning.
In the end, he cut back on sleep just to comb through documents, constantly rebuking himself for not being as capable as his father.
“Do you know what happened? Exactly one month after inheriting the ducal title, I ran straight to my retired father, weeping like a babe.”
Hearing this for the first time, Likens’s eyes went round.
William continued.
“I cried into my parents’ embrace like a spoiled child, whining that I couldn’t bear it, that I lacked the ability, and that they should take the title back.”
“…I can hardly believe that.”
In Likens’s eyes, his grandfather was the flawless master of House Magzeta.
At the same time, he was the embodiment of the ideal lord Likens aspired to become.
‘That is precisely why I was afraid.’
Because he knew he could never match his grandfather.
“Does it sound like a lie? It is the absolute truth. Yet even when I wept inconsolably, my parents did not scold me. They simply stroked my hair just as they had when I was small, and said this.”
William’s face softened with longing as he spoke.
“‘It’s all right, Will. Everyone makes mistakes at first. You’ve already endured a whole month, haven’t you? You have worked so very hard all this time.’”
He slowly recited his parents’ words.
“‘No human being can ever be truly perfect. There is no need to push yourself to the brink. It is enough to take steady steps forward, little by little. Before you know it, you will look back and see how much you have grown.’”
“…”
“The moment I heard those words from my father, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over me. I wiped away my tears and found the courage to sit behind the desk in the study once more.”
William gazed quietly into his grandson’s eyes.
“I am sorry, Likens.”
Likens replied in a slightly hoarse voice,
“…What reason do you have to apologize?”
“I believed I had to raise you well, carrying the burden left behind by Joen and Nia. And I wished so desperately to spare you the misery I endured at twenty-five. That was why I did nothing but push you to become better and better.”
William added with a bitter smile,
“And in doing so, I overlooked what was truly important, just as I did with Joen. To my shame, I was repeating the exact same mistake.”
“…”
“Forgive me for waiting so long to tell you this.”
William looked at his grandson with profound warmth.
“Likens, I am truly grateful to you for growing into such a fine young man beneath someone as flawed as me.”
Likens bit down hard on his lower lip.
“Do not be so anxious. Whatever you come to like, whomever you come to love, and whatever mistakes you may make along the way….”
A gentle smile graced William’s lips.
“You are already a magnificent heir to House Magzeta.”
He rose slowly from his seat.
“No matter what anyone says, every ounce of effort you have poured into becoming Magzeta’s heir is a brilliant jewel that will never lose its luster.”
William gently stroked Likens’s head.
Just as one would praise a little child.
“So do not be afraid. Keep moving forward.”
Then, for the first time in years, he tenderly pulled his grandson into a tight embrace.
“Because no matter what happens, I will always love you.”
…Held in the arms of a grandfather who felt far more frail than he remembered, Likens felt, if only for a fleeting moment, like bursting into tears.
✦ ✦ ✦
The following day.
Ding-dong—
At the chime of the doorbell, Rodi looked up from her book.
‘A guest?’
…Somehow, she had a feeling she knew who it was.
‘He’s definitely here to demand an explanation.’
Rodi dragged her reluctant feet toward the front door.
Cracking the door open with great caution, she peeked her head out.
Standing before her was the very person she had expected.
“…Good afternoon.”
Gray eyes, impassive as ever, looked down at her.
Rodi managed an awkward smile.
“…Lord Magzeta, what brings you here?”
Likens replied bluntly,
“I have something to say.”
Keeping his hand on the doorframe, he asked,
“May I come in?”
To be honest, Rodi felt rather intimidated.
‘Because I blabbed the very thing Likens was trying so hard to hide to William.’
She was well aware she had overstepped her bounds.
She looked up at him, putting on the most pitiful, abandoned-puppy face she could muster.
“…Are you going to yell at me?”
Likens let out an involuntary chuckle.
Seeing the woman who hadn't flinched before a serial killer acting like this toward him was downright endearing.
“I didn’t come here to get angry.”
Only then looking somewhat relieved, Rodi loosened her grip on the doorknob.
“Please, come inside.”
