Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Chapter 28

After receiving the maid-in-waiting’s assistance, the housekeeper’s pledge of loyalty, and the promise to guide her to the castle’s secret place at any time, more questions arose in my mind.

‘Why did Regen run away in the novel?’

‘And how did he wake up the beast?’

The butler, nanny, and employees selected by Aedis were kind to Regen just as they were to me now.

There was no child abuse, nor was he blinded by success even in the novel.

Indeed, it seemed that everything was fine—except for the cats.

Regen hid in a cupboard with a cat as the door handle.

My eyes lit up upon spotting him, and the corners of my mouth peeled back into a wide smile.

It was a natural smile, made to elicit happiness from other people, but Regen’s complexion turned ghastly.

“I-I-I-I’m… I don’t-I don’t like it.”

The spoon trembled in Regen’s hand.

“I-I-I want to go home. No, this is my home. S-so…”

‘Excuse me? I think I smile like an angel.’

****

A few moments prior…

In the morning, Regen Kallakis was very excited.

“I can’t believe that my father and brother are coming back together. Who is the visionary? They must be a good person! I hope they like me.”

Regen, who had all the preparations done before noon, glanced around anxiously.

Although he had buttoned his shirt nicely to the neck, he impatiently rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“When will they arrive?”

“They’ll arrive before sunset,” the butler replied with a friendly smile.

Five seconds passed.

“Are they still far?”

“Be at ease, my Lord.”

Another five seconds passed again.

“Are they close yet?”

“……Lord, please calm down.”

The patience disappeared from the butler’s eyes.

He eagerly wished the carriage to arrive quickly.

*****

“It’s nice to meet you, my Lord. Please take good care of me, too,” the Grand Duchess chirped in response to Regen’s greetings. Regen’s face flushed madly.

‘How could there be such a beautiful person?’

The Grand Duchess’s hair was the color of spring flowers. Pink strands cascaded down the side of her face like petals falling onto the surface of a lake, and her pupils glistened.

She looked like a fairy tale princess who lived in a castle made of spring sunlight and sugar cookies.

Maevia Kallakis gave Regen a sweet smile that reached her eyes. It was a gentle, warm smile that eased the tension in the air.

Regen’s heart stirred, and he felt relieved inside.

‘Oh, but I can’t completely let down my guard yet. I should see it until the end.”

Regen shook the stupid look off of his face. Gilbert came in and snapped Regen out of his daze.

“Regen.”

Regen had no choice but to be surprised when Gilbert called him by name.

In general, Gilbert treated his younger brother like a ghost, and when referring to others, he used nicknames like ‘it’, ‘that’, and ‘little one’.

“Bro-brother?”

That was why Regen was delighted and dazed.

“Did you just call me?”

However, Regen’s joy did not last long.

“The Grand Duchess is the enemy of our family. Never trust her.”

Gilbert’s eyes, filled with anger and disgust, drilled holes into Maevia.

***

The uproar that ensued ended with Prokeon dragging Gilbert away.

Regen followed Gilbert, now wary of Maevia.

Prokeon gazed at Gilbert as though he were a criminal, but Regen was oblivious to his distaste.

Regen just thought that Gilbert must have been misunderstood.

“Brother, what are you talking about? Please answer me. Is Her Highness an enemy?” Regen gasped as he attempted to catch up to Gilbert. Gilbert stopped in his tracks on the stairs and looked back at Regen.

“Are you doubting my words?”

“But…”

Regen crumbled at the cold answer. Prokeon, who had been silent at this time, opened his mouth. He looked like he wanted to hit Gilbert on the back of his head.

“Oh, listen, listen. Really. Don’t blow your useless wind to our second Lord. My Lord, it’s all nonsense. Her Highness Vi is nice… or not. She’s not kind…she’s not even sweet. Uh.”

“Sir Prokeon?”

Regen was on the verge of crying.

Prokeon hastily shook his head, unable to complement Maevia’s personality.

“Hey, but have you seen how beautiful the Her Highness Vi is? If you ask the nobles of the capital, Her Highness Vi is the most beautiful woman. And if you count the dirty money Her Highness Vi earned, she is very rich…”

“Dirty money?”

“Ah.”

“……”

“It’s a rumor. Rumor! It doesn’t mean that she isn’t skilled, right? Hahaha! Haha…”

(T/N: He’s just adding more fire!! XD)

Prokeon stiffly laughed before hurrying off with Gilbert.

Regen stood still in shock. Moments later, the housekeeper found him and guided him to the dining room.

The chef hurried to bring out an appetizer for Regen, who hadn’t eaten while waiting for his family to return.

Soup, boiled with plenty of apples, onions, and butter, was Regen’s favorite appetizer.

Regen gloomily swallowed the soup.

Before long, Aedis arrived at the dinner table, and all the employees waited with bated breath.

Silence settled into the room.

Regen, consumed by his sadness, was late to realized Aedis’ presence.

“Father?” Regen’s eyes widened.

The Grand Duke Kallakis only came down to the dining room once a year.

Even on Regen’s birthday, he never came down, even after Regen screamed and made excuses.

Usually, the housekeeper brought meals directly to the Grand Duke’s room.

However, there were many days when the Grand Duke barely ate or didn’t eat at all.

The Grand Duke was always lazy, free, and bored.

The employees thought it was fortunate that the Grand Duke, who was neither old nor human, was always stuck in his room.

“Monster.”

“Devil.”

“He must have been cursed for making such a big mistake in the past.”

The employees were different from the knights who worshiped the Grand Duke Kallakis. They were very afraid of him.

Gilbert often used violence on the employees, but there was an overwhelming number of employees who would rather be beaten by Gilbert than attend to the Grand Duke.

They even covered Gilbert’s blunder out of fear that Aedis might kick Gilbert out.

The employees waited for Aedis’s instructions with anxiety.

On the other hand, Regen was happy and trying to endure his desire to run.

“Father, it’s really you, right? You’re here to eat, aren’t you?”

Aedis nodded at Regen, looked at the appetizer, and raised his eyebrow.

“One consomme. No onions.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.

The chef didn’t even dare to look at Aedis’ toes and scurried back into the kitchen.

Regen blankly blinked.

“Father, do you hate onions?”

Regen was confused because he knew there was no food that his stepfather particularly hated.

Aedis, as Regen knew, just wasn’t interested in the food itself.

“No.”

‘Then, why?’ Regen tilted his head.

Aedis asked with a smirk, “Has there been anything special in the meantime?”

“Of course. Oh, the nanny caught a cold for a while, and she got better right away. I brought the medicine myself, and the nanny was very happy…”

Excited, Regen didn’t even catch a breath and continued to chatter.

Although Aedis must have received a report, Regen enjoyed talking to him.

In Regen’s eyes, Aedis was a caring and loving person.

Regen was so excited he could hardly sit still in his chair.

(T/N: Cuuuuteeeeee >.