~Chapter 8~
After Leah left, Johann went to his office and handed some official papers to his assistant.
Samuel then headed to the temple with those papers because the temple had to approve the process of registering someone into the noble family list.
Johann leaned on his desk and stared blankly at the contract he had signed with Leah.
Her signature was written neatly at the bottom.
It said “Leah” in tidy handwriting.
‘So her name’s Leah, huh.’
He raised his eyes and scanned the contract terms.
It was filled with detailed lists of things a parent should do for their child.
There were so many that he started to feel annoyed just reading them.
‘She really expects me to do all this? I don’t have time for this stuff.’
As the head of the prestigious Blumhardt ducal house—one of the empire’s top five families—and the Minister of Defense, Johann was swamped with responsibilities every day.
Especially during winter, when monsters came down from the Black Mountains, things got even busier.
‘And now I suddenly have to be a dad to some random kid?’
Even his late father, the former duke, never did half of what was listed here and still raised his children just fine.
In noble families, nannies and tutors usually raised the kids.
It was normal for nobles to be only minimally involved in raising their children.
Anyone who doted too much on their kids was considered weird.
‘If anyone really did all this, people would just laugh and say he wasn’t acting like a noble.’
Besides, she’s going to be gone in a year and a half.
He could just pretend to go along with it for now.
If he claimed he was too busy, she’d give up eventually.
Even doing what most nobles did would be considered “good enough” as a father.
There was no need for guilt or effort.
‘Who even goes this overboard taking care of a kid?’
He lazily shoved the contract into a drawer and headed up to the fourth floor.
That floor was originally meant for the duke and duchess, but currently his mother, the Dowager Duchess, and his younger sister Penelope were living there.
He went to Penelope’s room.
“…You have a daughter now?”
Penelope, who had been lying in bed, sat up in surprise after Johann told her about Leah and Raphaella.
“So that’s where you were during your memory loss….”
“In some remote village.
No wonder Father couldn’t find me, no matter how hard he looked.”
Johann’s face darkened for a moment—he felt a flicker of guilt about his father.
“So, what’s her name?”
“…Raphaella.”
“Raphaella? That’s a pretty name!”
Penelope seemed really interested in her new niece and started asking excitedly,
“What does she look like? Who does she take after?”
Their mother also looked curious.
“She has black hair and emerald eyes.”
“Oh wow, I bet she’s adorable!”
“And?”
The Dowager Duchess pushed him for more, sensing there was something he wasn’t saying.
“…I think she looks like me.”
“Except for the eyes? That’s so cute!”
“She looks like you? That’s so strange but cool.”
“Cough, cough.”
Penelope suddenly started coughing, probably because she got too excited.
“Penelope, you can meet her when you’re a bit stronger,” the Dowager Duchess said, gently patting her daughter.
Penelope, who had been all excited to meet her niece, immediately got sulky.
Sometimes knowing something and still not being able to act on it just made it worse.
She turned away, clearly annoyed.
Johann let out a silent sigh, feeling bad for his sister.
“Johann, what kind of person is the child’s mother?”
“…She seemed pretty normal in most ways.”
“Really? I should try to meet her sometime.”
“No need for that.”
Johann didn’t want his mother worrying about his business too.
She was already busy taking care of Penelope and searching for famous healers across the continent.
“She’s the mother of my granddaughter.
Of course I’ll meet her.
Don’t worry about it,” his mother said firmly.
—
Later that afternoon Leah took Raphaella to the bath.
She turned on the golden faucet and filled the tub with warm water.
Once the tub was full, she checked the temperature and got in with Raphaella.
“Ughhh…”
They both let out relaxed groans and laughed together.
The ducal mansion was amazing—truly.
Just knowing her daughter would grow up surrounded by this kind of luxury made Leah feel happy.
Though… that would only be true if Raphaella was loved here.
‘Don’t overthink it.’
She didn’t know exactly when or how things would go wrong.
Too much worrying would just give her a headache.
She just had to prepare for emergencies and act in Raphaella’s best interest whenever trouble came.
The bath was so comfortable that they stayed in longer than expected.
Eventually, Leah realized it was time for dinner.
The problem was—where could they eat?
Would someone bring food like before?
‘Raphaella must be hungry.’
Knock knock.
Just as Leah was getting ready to leave the room with Raphaella, someone knocked.
“It’s Pola,” came the voice of the maid who had brought her clothes earlier.
“Lady Leah, His Grace the Duke has asked you to join him in the dining room.”
Now that the contract was signed, Leah felt more at ease.
She followed Pola to the dining room with lighter steps than before.
There was a long rectangular table in the room, and Johann was already seated at the head.
“Take your seat,” he said, without even looking at them.
Leah and Raphaella sat where the tableware was already prepared.
The servants began bringing in dishes.
Unlike the light meal in the guest room, this was a very formal dinner.
Both Leah and Raphaella felt a bit stiff and nervous as they picked up their forks.
After starting with a salad with fruit and ending with a creamy custard dessert, Johann finally spoke—he’d been silent the whole meal.
“…From now on, meals will be brought to Raphaella’s room.”
He said it in a cold, business-like tone.
“Yes,” Leah replied just as stiffly.
“If you need anything, you can ring the bell
or ask a maid.”
“Yes.”
“If there’s anything Raphaella needs, tell the butler, head maid, or a regular maid.”
“Yes.”
“And as for education…”
“Education’s fine! I’ll handle it!”
Leah suddenly cut him off, startled.
In her previous life, the tutor who had taught Raphaella was abusive—a total
scumbag.
The abuse was all emotional, so no one even knew it was happening.
Or maybe no one cared.
‘Absolutely not! I might be gone soon, but only after making sure she has a good, safe tutor.’
She couldn’t let a terrible tutor near her child—not now, when she hadn’t even adjusted to this new place.
“…Normally at that age, a child gets basic education from a tutor.”
“Then I’ll teach her myself!”
Johann raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical.
“I’m capable of teaching basic education.”
“But didn’t you live in the mountains or something?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Places like that don’t have schools, right?”
His voice was full of condescension.
“No worries, my grandmother taught me everything I needed.”
“Your grandmother?”
“Yes.
My parents passed away early, and she raised me.”
Her grandmother, though now gone, had taught her so much.
She had passed on all her knowledge before she died.
“You’re such a smart girl.
Teaching you is always rewarding.”
Leah had absorbed everything like a sponge.
She even received advanced education thanks to her grandmother, so teaching basic things to Raphaella would be easy.
“…If you’re that confident, go ahead and try.”
Johann was still a bit doubtful but allowed it.
‘She’ll need etiquette lessons too, but there’s no plan to let her leave the mansion anytime soon…’
He didn’t like the idea, but didn’t want to argue and waste energy.
‘She’s leaving in a year and a half anyway.’
There’d be time to hire a real tutor then.
“But if I see that you’re not doing a good job, I will bring in a proper tutor.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen,” Leah said, glaring at him.
—
Ten days later
Leah sat nervously across from a very intimidating woman—Duchess Dowager Isabella von Blumhardt, Johann’s mother.
‘Pola said she hardly ever comes downst
airs…’
Yet here Leah was, sitting with the ducal matriarch herself.
She was so elegant and noble, it was almost overwhelming.
Leah swallowed hard.
She had just wanted Raphaella to spend a little time with her dad today…
So how did she end up sitting here?
