<Chapter 11>

“Your Grace, please calm down!”

Yurenia called out firmly, stopping Duke Chester in his tracks. His face contorted at the intrusion of the private tutor.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

How dare a mere servant obstruct a duke?

But Chester quickly fell silent. Yurenia had subtly gestured for him to look down.

Following her hand, Chester’s eyes dropped, and his face went pale and stiff.

“…Kail.”

“Hhk… huuuk…!”

Kailas was crying.

Silently.

The boy was sobbing quietly in the tutor’s arms.

Chester lowered his chin.

“……”

As the noise around him faded, Kailas cautiously lifted his head. The moment his eyes met his uncle’s, he flinched and immediately buried himself deeper in the tutor’s embrace.

Seeing his terrifying uncle, the child’s shoulders trembled pitifully as he burst into loud tears.

“Hiccup! Hrk! Waaaah…”

Even hiccupping as he cried.

“I-I’m sorry, huuuk! I-I was wrong…”

Kailas couldn’t even properly look at Chester as he wept and begged over and over. His chin quivered so hard that his words came out in a jumbled mess.

Watching that, Chester felt a surge of anger toward himself.

All because he couldn’t control his damn temper, he’d ended up making his young nephew cry.

“……”

“There, there. It’s all right, young master.”

Yurenia gently patted the boy’s back, soothing him in a soft, lullaby-like voice that slipped between his sobs.

“……”

Chester stood frozen in place, unmoving until Kailas’s tears had finally begun to subside. As he quietly watched his nephew, his eyes were drawn to the boy’s outfit.

‘Why is he wearing something like that?’

His brow furrowed deeply.

Kailas’s clothes were, to put it harshly, little better than rags.

And yet, Chester had made sure the nanny was given more than enough money for the child’s wardrobe.

‘…So that’s how it is.’

Chester clenched his fist. It didn’t take much to piece things together.

He had told the nanny not to hold back on spending money when it came to Kailas.

And yet the boy was dressed like this. That could only mean one thing: the nanny had been skimming off the top.

Kailas clung to the new tutor. Though he was usually wary of strangers, it seemed he had quickly come to trust her.

So much so that the nanny likely felt threatened.

‘Now I see why she tried so hard to get rid of the tutor.’

With the child finally having someone to rely on, the nanny must’ve wanted to erase that from the picture.

‘I’ll have her fired immediately.’

Chester narrowed his eyes.

Now that he thought about it, he had a pretty good idea where those things Kailas had said came from too. The nanny must’ve been feeding the child nonsense.

Blaming everything on Kailas.

Chester let out a quiet sigh as he reflected.

‘Pathetic.’

The truth had been right in front of him if he’d only taken a closer look.

But instead, he’d lost his cool hearing his nephew say ridiculous things and ended up scaring the boy.

‘At this rate, I can’t even face my sister-in-law.’

With a heavy heart, Chester looked at his nephew. The boy had mostly calmed down now, only sniffing occasionally. Chester opened his mouth, his face solemn.

“…I’m sorry.”

“…!”

Kailas looked up, startled at his uncle’s apology. His eyes, puffy and red, widened in surprise as he lifted his gaze.

Chester leaned down, bringing himself to the boy’s eye level.

“I got angry earlier because of something completely absurd. But I wasn’t angry at you.”

Tears welled up again in Kailas’s big pale green eyes. Sniffling, he asked:

“R-really?”

“I was angry at whoever said that to you. I don’t know who it was, but whatever they told you, Lillian’s illness has nothing to do with you.”

“Really…?”

“Yes.”

Chester answered with conviction. The conversation with his nephew, whom he hadn’t seen in so long, felt awkward and stiff.

He had never been good with kids. His aide, Enzo, could play with servants’ children with ease, but Chester found it uncomfortable.

Even with his own blood relative, it was no different.

He glanced at Yurenia to check if he was doing something wrong, and she gave him a soft smile while gently stroking the child’s back.

“See, Young Master Kail? Didn’t I tell you it wasn’t true?”

“…Yeah.”

Still in her arms, the boy mumbled shyly. Chester patiently waited for him to speak again.

“Uncle… you don’t hate me?”

“Hate you? Why would you think that? Who told you that ridic— ahem.”

Chester cleared his throat mid-sentence, quickly catching himself from using harsh words. As he fumbled for a more appropriate phrase, Kailas spoke again, barely audible.

“You… never came to see me.”

“That’s because—”

“You left me here… and you never came. Not even once…”

Kailas trailed off again, clearly hurt. He rubbed his eyes roughly with his tiny fists.

Chester was struck speechless, frozen in place. The air was growing awkward again, so Yurenia quickly stepped in.

“But the Duke really cares about you, young master. He even asked me personally to look after you.”

She pulled out a handkerchief and gently held it up to the boy’s nose.

“Come on now, blow.”

Kailas shut his eyes tight and blew into the handkerchief, and she carefully wiped his little nose clean. Then, she winked at Chester.

“Isn’t that right, Your Grace?”

“Of course.”

Chester quickly answered.

“I don’t hate you. You’re my precious nephew.”

“Then… will you come visit me more often now?”

Chester looked to Yurenia in a panic, and she gave him a subtle signal. He nodded emphatically.

“I’ll make as much time as I can.”

“And eat meals with me too?”

“Th—that’s…”

“He will.”

Yurenia cut in before Chester could stammer out an excuse.

As the head of the house, Chester often had outside obligations such as meals that doubled as meetings, dinner invitations, and more.

But right now, adult responsibilities weren’t the priority.

Explanations could come later. Kailas wasn’t the kind of child to throw tantrums without reason.

What he needed now was the assurance that his uncle loved him.

Yurenia mouthed silently to Chester:

“Say you’ll eat with him.”

Reading her lips, Chester quickly rearranged his expression and smiled at his nephew.

“Sure. I happen to be free this evening, so let’s have dinner together. And I’ll keep making time for you from now on. Does that sound good?”

“Yeah!”

Kailas beamed and nodded vigorously at his uncle’s answer.

Only then did Chester finally relax. He hadn’t even realized, but his clenched fist was soaked with sweat.

To think a conversation with a child who didn’t even reach his waist had him this tense. It wasn’t like the Duke of Valerio, who could speak boldly even before the Emperor himself.

“Then I’ll see you at dinner later, Kail.”

He raised his hand awkwardly, hesitated in midair, then clumsily placed it on the boy’s head.

“Hehe.”

Kailas leaned into the touch and rubbed his head against his uncle’s palm. Then, with a sigh of relief, he slowly closed his eyes.

Before long, his breathing grew steady and even. The tension had finally left him, and he had fallen asleep.

Chester watched his nephew in silence.

The boy, gripping the tutor’s collar with one hand, let out soft breaths in his sleep.

Seeing him in clothes far too big and poorly fitted, Chester felt a sting in his chest.

He had thought he was providing everything Kailas needed.

But that had been a complete illusion.

“…Miss Yurenia.”

As Chester watched over Kailas, his gaze settled on the tutor who still gently held the sleeping child.

When he spoke her name quietly, she turned her head and met his eyes.

“Yes?”

“There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

Yurenia nodded in response.

She carefully gathered Kailas in her arms. As Chester moved to help, she whispered softly,

“Please carry him to the bed.”

Chester replied with a nod and took the boy from her. His face hardened.

The child… was far too light.

Even more than he looked.

* * *

“I’m going to fire the nanny.”

Chester stood beside Kailas’s bed as he spoke.

The two of them had chosen to talk in the child’s room instead of stepping out.

It was Yurenia’s suggestion.

She couldn’t leave the child alone after he’d cried himself to sleep in distress.

Thankfully, Kailas was in a deep slumber, so they could talk as long as they kept their voices down.

“Which is why I’d like you to take full charge of Kail from now on. It’s common to separate children from their nanny around age eight, so it’s not too early. I’ll double your salary as well. What do you say?”

“…Pardon?”

Yurenia blinked wide-eyed at his proposal.

She’d expected the nanny to be fired.

But entrusting Kailas to her entirely?

“I thought Your Grace would be angry with me.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because… I dared to stop you earlier. It was improper behavior for a mere servant. I apologize.”

As she bowed her head, Chester shrugged indifferently.

“I’d prefer you keep doing that. If it’s for Kailas, I want you to step in anytime.”

“…What? But…”

“It’s fine. You have my permission.”

The Duke himself was giving her the right to oppose him.

An extraordinary privilege.

Startled by the unexpected words, Yurenia’s lips parted slightly before she looked down, thoughtful.

“In that case, may I ask just one favor?”

Chester raised an eyebrow in curiosity, looking at her with interest.
 

<To be continued>

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