Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Chapter 23

He must be worried about the atrocities he committed at dinner.

I sat at the foot of the bed while slightly crumpling my nose.

“Today, you did a lot of commendable things, so I’ll let you go. But this shouldn’t happen again. Unfortunately, sweet potatoes and onions are not allowed to touch my tongue. They’re not good food.”

Aedis seemed like he had a lot of things to say, but he decided against saying anything.

***

The day of departure was just one day away. Gilbert was dead quiet, and I still had work to do.

I wrote a letter to invite Monica Elaine to the Grand Duke’s Estate formally. I requested her to come today since the time was right, and Monica stormed in less than an hour after I sent the letter.

It was almost like she knew I’d call her today.

She must have been preparing to go out, even before receiving my letter.

I didn’t say anything that would hurt her too much.

“I’m sorry, Monica. I can’t attend the birthday party.”

“…..”

Immediately, Monica’s complexion turned cold.

I held out a pink star diamond necklace and earrings without waiting for Monica to open her mouth. This was something Monica always wanted to have.

“I wanted to give you a gift in person as an apology. Will you accept it?”

“…..”

Monica’s lips trembled. It wasn’t hard to tell she was unhappy with the way things we were unfolding.

“Don’t you like it? How about this one?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

This time, I showed her a small but meaningful statue filled with gold.

“I’ve already told you the only thing that I want. I don’t need anything else,” Monica said ferociously. Her face made it seem like she wanted to throw the golden statue away but was holding it in.

Monica didn’t even look at the gifts I gave her. She clenched her fists and expressed her anger.

Oh, that’s how it is.

“I know what you meant. There’s one last gift that I haven’t taken out yet, but I don’t think the result will change even if I show it to you.”

“Huh,” Monica snorted.

I raised my hand. “Sarah, take it all away.”

Sarah approached. Monica’s eyes went wide open as if she wasn’t expect anything like this.

“Come on, hold on. Are you going to throw it all away?”

“They were prepared for you, but since you don’t like them, they’re useless.”

Monica fixated her gaze on the set of jewelry and the gold statue that Sarah was about to throw away at any time now. Her expression was complex as if she were bearing all the troubles of the world alone.

“What is your last gift?” Monica asked with a deep sigh.

“My favorite doll.”

“What… What?”

Eventually, Monica’s expression became out of her control as she vigorously rubbed her ears. She thought she heard me wrong, but no, there was nothing wrong with her ears.

I opened the package hidden under the table and showed Monica the contents. It was a teddy bear with a cute black nose.

I grabbed the bear’s paw and gently shook it, making the doll greet Monica. It looked like it was saying hello.

Unexpectedly, a smile formed on her lips as I played with the doll.

“It’s pretty old, right? When I was young, I never let it go from my arms. He’s a very precious friend to me. So I tried to bring it to the North. But it might be too poor of a gift to give to you…”

“Please.”

“…”

“Give it to me right now. If you give it to me, I’ll forgive you for not attending the birthday party.”

Monica’s was determined, and her face lacked a joking smile. She was serious.

Whether I was looking to run away or not, Monica felt threatened. She got up from her seat, eyes sparkling, and reached out her hand.

Hey, what is this?

She refused the jewelry and expensive ornaments she liked so much and wanted someone else’s doll.

This doll was something I genuinely had since I was young. And, of course, it was rather odd to give it as a birthday present.

“Hurry up!”

I handed over the doll, but the shock still lingered.

“Monica, didn’t you hate me?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t hate you. I don’t dislike you, either,” Monica said, hugging my favorite doll tightly.

No, your words and actions are entirely contradictory.

In Esmeralda’s Crescent Moon, Monica Elaine was a villain. Gilbert once said she would have killed Maevia. Everything about Maevia got on her nerves, so she can’t stand it.

Before having an affair with Gilbert, Monica hated Maevia. But now, Monica seemed much different than how she was supposed to act.

I had never seen Monica smile that much.

Was it because I was a different Maevia than the one in the novel?

Of course, it wasn’t like everyone had been affected by my behavior. Right now, parents still took care of their children as they had done before.

Even the crown prince didn’t shave his head and fan the noble lady for two hours. But, it seemed as though Monica was beyond my expectations.

In the novel, Monica hated the existence of Maevia Morgana herself, so I didn’t put much effort into Monica.

If there was an apparent reason for someone’s dislike, I could fix it. But I couldn’t do much if someone just didn’t like me.

Trying to improve my relationships had become apart of my unconscious daily routine. I always tried to take the upper hand in the arguments that came my way.

Still, Monica certainly wouldn’t bother me as badly as she did in the novel, so I thought it would be okay if she wasn’t next to Gilbert.

But the result is rather…

“Monica, what do you like so much about me?”

Monica, still excited, squeezed the teddy bear’s cheeks, which was stuffed with fresh cotton. “First of all, Maevia, no matter how angry you are, you hardly ever raise your voice. I wish I could ignore it, but you never yelled at me. You welcomed me even if I was crappy.”

Monica looked a bit embarrassed for a moment and then hurriedly blurted, “In fact, that’s why I thought Maevia wanted to be friends with me. But you treated Charles, who you had only met once, similarly to me, whom you met ten times already. Remember the Harvest Festival party? You couldn’t find a partner, but you paired up with him.”

Suddenly Monica cried. “It turned out I was being treated similarly to Charles, which meant that even though I’ve been bothering you so far, Maevia wasn’t interested in me at all. I wasn’t a friend, nor an enemy, nor anything.”

“If you’re dissatisfied with my behavior, will you hate me?”

When asked seriously, Monica quickly hid the doll behind her back.

“No, no, that’s not it! I got your favorite doll, but I hate it! I’m going to change it. Oh, but don’t get me wrong. You were so indifferent to me, so I wanted to draw some attention. It wasn’t because I liked you.”

“…..”

I nearly sighed, but I managed to withhold it.

Good job, Maevia. Murder is bad.

As I swallowed my sigh, Monica muttered in a less powerful voice, “And Maevia, honestly, you don’t even like me. Sometimes it feels like you’re looking at me like I’m nothing more than a stone on your feet.”

Hey, be glad I don’t despise you.

“I have a conscience, and I look back on my past actions. Do you remember what I said when we first met? I said that picking cherry water on your greedy red hair will turn it to my hair color.”

Monica had flaming red hair. On the other hand, my hair was pigmented like pink leaves.

We clashed from our first meeting, although it wasn’t mentioned in the novel. Monica said that she was offended because my hair looked like I was copying her. She used all kinds of verbal abuse until we got separated. Charles couldn’t stand it, so he tried to intervene.

Morgana, Elaine, and Morgoz are the swords of the empire aimed at the imperial family. Since the three families were closely related and often called together, the successors, Monica, and Charles also naturally met.

What started as a light afternoon tea party became a regular meeting.

Monica’s poison also became more diverse day by day. Monica changed the target to Charles if I responded insensitively. I remember that Charles began to be more careful after she suffered from hair loss due to stress.

Fortunately, from time to time, Charles was in the south more rather than in the capital.

There was more time to practice the sword.

So the meeting was disbanded, but Monica suddenly came to the Marquis of Morgana.

There were many times she criticized me as blindly as before, and there were times when her eyes seemed to be blowing fire, although she was simply sipping tea.

That was all to draw attention. It was absurd that I had no idea.

“Did you remember…?”

Monica looked at me with a burning face.

This is serious. There is no way to fix it.

I stood up, so she would stop talking.

“What’s the point of arguing about the past now? That’s enough, the next time we meet, I’d like you to call me ‘Grand Duchess’. The marriage has already been established on paper.”

I don’t know why, but this time, Monica was shocked.

“But what about the wedding? What about the vows? You haven’t announced the marriage in front of the nobles yet.”

“I skipped it.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Monica.”

As I got up, I approached Monica.

She gently overlapped my hands with hers.

“Think of that doll as me and cherish it until we meet again. Can I trust you?”

Monica didn’t shake my hand even though she flinched. Soon a small answer came back. “Well… Of course.”

Are you shy now?

“…Good.”

When I leave the capital, I have to bury my bones in the north.