Chapter 5

After the conversation ended, Duke Johann called his butler and told him to take the guests to a room on the second floor.

Then he sat down on the sofa in the drawing room, deep in thought.

He had always wondered why he hadn’t returned to his family during all those years.

Thanks to the woman who showed up with his greatsword, he finally had his answer.

“I wasted four and a half years playing a stupid ‘happy family’ game.”

He couldn’t believe it.

It was ridiculous.

If only he hadn’t lost his memory or hadn’t been poisoned by a monster, then his father might have…

“Samuel, she says that girl is my daughter, but I have no memory of her.”

After a long silence, Johann finally spoke to his aide.

“What are you planning to do about the woman’s request, sir?”

“She saved my life.

Do I really have a good reason to say no? And she’s asking me to raise my own daughter.”

Even after regaining his memory and returning home after 4.5 years, the duke seemed surrounded by gloom.

Just having the lost heir of House Blumhardt return didn’t make things better — not when his father, the former duke, was on the brink of death.

When Johann went missing, his father had to push through his grief while handling the huge responsibility of leading monster-hunting missions in the northern Black Mountains.

He’d done it partly to forget his son’s absence, putting everything into fighting the monsters every winter.

He’d also blamed himself for sending his young son there alone.

Then, one winter before Johann returned, his father suffered a fatal injury in a monster battle.

Despite every healing mage and potion in the empire, nothing could truly heal him — they could only prolong his life a little.

Johann returned around that time.

“You’re alive… God has shown me mercy in the end.”

“…Father.”

“Johann, please don’t ever blame yourself for not being here.”

“…”

“I got hurt because of my own pride and mistake.”

But Johann couldn’t stop blaming himself.

He felt his father got hurt because he hadn’t been there.

He hated his past self who had been lost and confused, wandering around instead of coming back.

“Tell the mage to prepare a paternity test stone by tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

Samuel left the gloomy duke and headed toward the estate’s mage quarters, located in the east wing behind the main mansion.

When he explained the order to one of the mages:

“A paternity test stone? Why would you need that all of a sudden?”

“Please keep it to yourself for now.”

“Wait, don’t tell me the duke has some hidden child?”

“You guessed it before I could even say it.”

“Well, nobles usually only ask for those stones for one reason — illegitimate kids.”

“She’ll be officially registered.”

Samuel frowned slightly at the word “illegitimate.”

“That sweet girl doesn’t deserve to be called something like that.”

He’d only met the girl briefly, but he already felt protective.

Then the mage raised another concern.

“What about the princess? Won’t she react badly?”

Samuel just smiled.

“Actually, this child might be useful.”

“Useful?”

“When I came back, His Majesty rushed into a damn engagement to reward me or whatever.

Maybe this child can be my excuse to break it off.”

“You really think the imperial princess can accept her fiancé’s child?”

Johann, Duke of Blumhardt, had already started thinking politically about the girl who might be his daughter.

It was sad for the child, but that was the kind of man he was.

“I’ll get it ready by tomorrow lunchtime.”

—

Meanwhile, after the intense conversation, Leah followed the butler to their room with her daughter, Raphaella.

The butler brought them some snacks, and Raphaella happily explored the room while munching on cookies.

“…I’m so tired.”

Leah collapsed onto the sofa, chewing on a cookie.

She had tried to act calm and composed in front of Johann, but it hadn’t been easy.

Seeing her husband again — a man who didn’t remember her — had stirred up all kinds of emotions: hurt, anger, longing.

She had to hold herself together the whole time.

“If I didn’t, I might have just screamed at him for forgetting us… for leaving so heartlessly.”

The man she met today felt like a stranger.

Yes, he had the same face as her husband Hart, but he wasn’t the same person.

He spoke coldly, moved with authority, and looked so different in those fancy noble clothes and slicked-back black hair.

His once warm red eyes now felt icy.

“I know he lost his memory, but does he have to be so cold and harsh?”

Leah found it hard to face the man he had become.

“Mom?”

Raphaella had finished exploring and came over.

“Hmm?”

“I think Daddy really forgot me.”

Her sad little voice broke Leah’s heart.

“And… he’s a little scary.”

“Daddy scared you?”

“Yeah… a bit.”

Raphaella leaned into Leah’s lap.

Leah hugged her close, lifting her onto her knee.

Johann hadn’t even said a word to Raphaella earlier — just stared at her with those cold red eyes.

“I wanted to hug him because I was happy, but I couldn’t.”

“Oh, sweetie.

That must’ve made you really sad.”

Leah knew how intimidating Johann’s presence had become, and her daughter must’ve felt it even more.

She could only hope that with time, father and daughter would grow close and this awkwardness would fade.

That evening, the butler brought their dinner and told them the paternity test would happen the next day after lunch.

Leah wasn’t too worried — they’d done this before, in her past life.

What really mattered was the contract that would follow.

—

The next day after lunch, the butler took them back to the duke’s drawing room.

This time, another man was there — a middle-aged man in a luxurious black robe.

Definitely a mage.

Leah and Raphaella stared curiously.

They’d never seen a mage before.

“Take a seat,” Johann said with a curt gesture.

He clearly wanted to get this over with.

Once everyone was seated, the mage introduced himself and explained how the test would work.

Leah, who had already experienced all this in her past life, was more focused on the contract that would follow.

“He’s a high-ranking noble — even if I saved his life, he won’t say yes easily…”

But surprisingly, after the test, Johann agreed to take responsibility and raise Raphaella.

Leah then calmly laid out the terms she wanted in their agreement.

Samuel, the aide, wrote everything down.

Johann glanced through the list.

He didn’t like most of it, but decided to just go through the motions.

“Anything else you want to add?”

“No.

That’s everything.”

She looked satisfied and nodded.

Samuel copied the agreement onto two official papers while Leah sipped some cold tea.

When everything was ready, Johann and

Leah each signed a copy.

Then Samuel signed both papers as a witness.

He handed Leah the one with Johann’s signature, and gave Johann the one with Leah’s.

“That’s it.

The contract is complete.”

“…Thank you.”

Leah read over it again.

It was filled with details about Johann’s duties as Raphaella’s father.

Her only obligation was this:

“The biological mother of Raphaella von Blumhardt must leave the estate right after Raphaella turns 8.”

Leah was fine with that. She planned to follow it anyway.

“As long as you stay here, I’ll treat you as my life-saver and Raphaella’s mother,”

Johann said, folding his copy neatly.

“But don’t think of using the child to get close to me again.”

“As long as you act like a proper father, that’ll never happen.”

“I’ll try, at least.”

Leah looked at the cold, distant man and thought, Was he always like this?

He felt like a complete stranger now — not the man she used to know.

“The head maid will come soon and show you both to your new room.”

“Okay.

We’ll go now.”

Leah carefully folded her contract and stood up to leave.

“Oh,

and don’t go to the fourth floor.”

“Huh? Okay…”

That was the last thing he said before she stepped out of the drawing room.

“We’re really here now… Raphaella and I are officially in the duke’s estate.”

She leaned against the wall by the door and let out a quiet, relieved sigh.