Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Translator and Editor: Effe and Lili

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Chapter 69

As the officials, led by Rita, pushed for the confiscation of Baron Paisley’s property and the deprivation of his estate, I remembered the feather that I had completely forgotten about for a while.

Even if I missed the timing, my determination to tell Aedis about my past life hasn’t changed.

But when I went to collect the clumps of feathers, there was nothing on the terrace.

I thought they were blown away by the wind, but Sarah gave me a hint.

“Feathers? Oh, what the cats are playing with these days?”

“…Cats?”

With a bewildered expression on my face, I summoned Daisy, a maid for the cats.

Daisy came in with the cats in her arms and Maximus, the tuxedo cat, had the feathers in his mouth.

It was the perfect toy and treat.

I don’t know when he entered my room or how he even got onto the terrace.

Anyway, I took the feathers away from him.

“Meeong!”

“Good job. Take him away with you now.”

“Ah… yes! Thank you! I respect you! And I…I…I will be good at discerning things!”

Daisy’s eyes were moist. She bent her waist to a 90-degree angle and ran out frantically before I could even show a puzzled expression.

What…you’re going to make your cats get sick and forget about feathers?

I wrinkled my eyebrows slightly and waved the feathers in my hands.

The feathers glowed blue, as if filled with moonlight, and were covered with cat saliva.

A full moon did rise while I was distracted.

But it was unknown whether the feather was on the terrace or in the mouth of the cats during that time.

Um, it’s a waste to throw it away, so I’ll give it a try. But how did you use it? Can I just wear it on my body?

The Viscountess told me to let the full moon shine on it but didn’t tell me anything else.

I went over to Aedis because I couldn’t find the answer even if I continued thinking about it on my own.

The handsome man with a classic atmosphere that made any superb view insignificant was resting his chin with his face full of boredom.

But as soon as he saw me, he changed his expression and smiled warmly.

“Eve, you’re here?”

I asked Aedis while waving the feathers.

“Aedis, do you feel something?”

Come on, focus.

He grinned as I raised my eyebrows and waited for an answer.

“Cute.”

“Huh? Are the feathers cute?”

Suddenly Aedis avoided my gaze.

“No, not that. No, that’s right.”

What do you mean?

Aedis, who gave a positive and a negative answer at the same time, added one more word.

“It smells like a cat.”

Smells…

It was a word that completely blew away the possibility that a couple’s marriage would improve due to the amulet.

Is this a real talisman? Could it be that the cats took the effect?

The memory of me throwing it around on the terrace because I was too lazy to wait until the full moon had already disappeared from my mind.

I thought about why the amulet didn’t work, excluding my insincerity, and put it back in my arms.

I’ll give it to Maximus later.

“Actually, the cats were playing with it. I put it on the patio and they must have thought it was a toy.”

“I’m surprised it didn’t fly away.”

I rolled my eyes at Aedis.

“What were you doing? What are you thinking about?”

If the amulet doesn’t work, I’ll have to work harder.

I leaned my face close to his, and Aedis took a low breath.

“Just.”

“Just what?”

“…Just.”

“Well?”

“That’s right. I was just thinking about you.”

It was a very small voice, but it penetrated my ears because the distance was close.

I opened my eyes wide and Aedis turned his head.

His face was a little red, and he looked like a boy who’d just started his first love.

Looking back, Aedis often felt like a young boy.

He looked physically healthy and like someone in his early to mid-20s, even though I knew that he was actually over 500 years old.

“That was…I’m glad that the prediction came true.”

I said nothing and then rolled my eyes.

I’m glad that my prediction came true, I thought I’d hit an iron wall as usual.

Besides, Aedis didn’t take it as a joke and gave a serious answer, so my face seemed to heat up a bit.

To be honest, it was quite destructive.

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.

There was a slightly embarrassing and awkward silence.

Aedis got up first.

“I have a little business to attend to.”

“I am also going to have tea with the Lord. I’ll be back!”

I went out without hearing Aedis’s answer.

“Hoo, whoa.”

My heart was still beating fast.

I haven’t been away from Aedis for a long time since I came to the North, but somehow my heart became more and more aware of Aedis as time passed.

For the time being, I need to prepare my heart before I get close to his face.

I inhaled and exhaled loudly while going to find Regen.

Regen greeted me with his round rabbit eyes.

“Oh, Your Grace? You’re here early?”

“I wanted to see the Lord.”

“Me too! I missed Your Grace too!”

Regen’s smile pierced my conscience, where the abandonment of my duties was routine.

Anyway, our tea time started rather early.

Regen enjoyed the creme brulee with caramel and cold custard cream while I thought about Aedis.

The person who’s my husband has many secrets.

But he has so many.

What percent of Aedis do I really know?

“…What kind of person was Aedis before becoming the Grand Duke?”

It was a question that came out of nowhere to me.

Regen answered without thinking.

“Father must have been the hero who saved the world. Just like the warrior Evee!”

Do you still remember that fairy tale…

“It could be.”

Instead of breaking Regen’s illusion, I just smiled and sympathized.

In fact, I was confident that the opposite would not be surprising.

He must have a lot to hide. I have no intention of forcing it.

* * *

It was that night.

I fell asleep early because Paimon’s energy was still swirling in my body, but the three cats appeared in my dream.

Maximus, Carolina, and Isabel.

And in my hand was the feather I had taken from Maximus during the day.

“Meow.”

“Awongg.”

The cats kept on swarming me to ask for their feathers back.

I gave up ownership of the feather because I was going to give it to Maximus in real life anyway.

“Come on, I’ll give it to you, so stop bullying me.”

“Waong Waong!”

The cats swung their paws to catch the fluttering feathers.

I took a step back before the cats got tired of the feathers.

I wanted to get out of this space, so I looked around looking for an exit, but suddenly the scenery in my dream was distorted as if there was no way out.

All of a sudden, I was in a damp and dark place.

It was so dark that I couldn’t even guess where I was, so I hesitated to take a step.

What dream is this? Too vivid and too shaky.

I was much more anxious than when I was surrounded by cats. I wanted to get out of here right now.

Isn’t it normal to not feel pain in a dream? So then why does my chest feel so tight?

I walked and walked, feeling anxious for some unknown reason.

Fortunately, a light came on shortly after.

I sprinted towards the light and soon found a cage that was seemingly used for confining animals.

This is probably the time for a giant cat to come out.

I approached with a silly thought.

But what was inside the cage was something I didn’t expect at all. I was convinced that I was having a dog, no, a cat dream.

[T/N: Dog dream: A dream that doesn’t make sense at all.]

‘……Person?’

It was definitely a person.

A boy who seemed to be only one or two years older than Regen was locked in the cage.

His face was obscured by the muzzle he was wearing.

How dare you lock a child like this in a cage and put a muzzle on him.

It was a sight that made me nauseous even in my dreams.

I wanted to take him out somehow, so I grabbed the cage and shook it, but it didn’t move.

I glanced with a frown on my face, swearing.

There was no way to get him out and no way to get in. It was only the iron bars that were regularly arranged, and they were overflowing with malice.

There wasn’t even room to push a bowl of food in.

I don’t know what kind of crazy bastard does this kind of thing in other people’s dreams

Realizing that I couldn’t open the cage, I turned my attention to the boy.

The boy’s skin was pale as if he had not seen the sun for a long time, and his skinny body was just bare bones.

The bruises were visible through his tattered clothes.

However, rather than from being hit, it looked like the blood vessels had ruptured because of a needle being forcibly inserted.

The boy stood still, like a corpse numb to all pain.

His hair, silvery as if intertwined with moonlight, was clinging to the boy’s bloodless cheeks.

My heart was pounding, thumping.

‘It’s not Gilbert…not even Regen.’

I have to call you. Are you alive? I’ll find a way to save you.

My fingertips trembled and my eyes became hot.

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