Episode 36
“Appa, appa.”
Duren called Lennox “Dad.”
“This is appa.”
He pointed to a black line stuck right next to a pink one, like a ball of thread, and whispered.
“This is dudugo.”
“Did you just call me Dad?”
Lennox’s voice dropped low.
“Yeah!”
“Why?”
Just last night, the boy had insisted on calling him “Mister.” Why the sudden change?
“Because Dad only looked at Mom!”
Duren smiled brightly as he said it.
“Dad is someone who’s supposed to love Mom!”
Then he ran straight to Estelle.
“Mom! I’m hungry!”
“Should we have a snack? But since you made a mess, you have to clean it up if you want to be a great grown-up, right?”
“Clean up?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Duke, please say something.”
“Uh… uh, yeah.”
“Duke?”
“Forget it. Don’t worry about this and just go. You said you’re hungry.”
Estelle glanced at Lennox, puzzled at his strange behavior, then nodded.
“We’ll go ahead, then.”
Even after the two left, Lennox stood there in a daze for a long time.
Did I… only look at Estelle?
[Dads are supposed to love Moms!]
That sentence kept echoing in his head.
So, Duren had called him “Dad” after seeing the way he looked at Estelle.
Me, looking at Estelle… like that?
“It seems the storm has passed,” Pippin’s voice brought Lennox back to reality.
The study was now covered in crayon marks.
The neatly stacked papers had been scattered all over the floor.
“We should call the servants to clean up the study.”
“No, leave it.”
Pippin frowned—Lennox was known for being a neat freak.
“No need to clean it up. Especially the crayon marks—don’t erase them.”
“…Understood.”
Lennox bent down to pick up the papers, but there was one strange sheet mixed in.
“What’s this?”
“Huh? What is it?”
Pippin came over and tilted his head.
“It looks like some kind of code. A new cipher, maybe?”
It was a palm-sized map with what looked like encrypted writing on it.
Lennox and Pippin narrowed their eyes.
ㅊㅓㄴㅊᅟᅵᆼ 셩무ㄹ ㄱㅏㅉ ㅑ
And there was a circle drawn on one location.
“The sacred relic Libra that the temple rents to the imperial family for a huge fee… is fake.”
“What?”
“The real one is here.”
“You can read this? And if this is true…”
Pippin’s face grew serious.
“This will definitely damage relations between the imperial family and the temple.”
“And the temple will be in chaos for a while—too busy to send spies.”
It was the perfect card to play.
“The question is whether this information is real. And it’s suspicious that this paper just happened to show up now.”
“If nothing else, the information is real,” Lennox said firmly.
Libra is a relic that judges truth and lies. In my past life, I suspected it was fake…
But back then, he had no proof—only suspicion.
“Let’s go right away.”
The map marked a place near the Gehenna River, full of dangerous magic.
Which meant only Lennox, who could resist magic, could retrieve it.
“Isn’t this a bit rushed?”
“The location’s nearby. I can finish the search tomorrow or the day after.”
“…Alright.”
“Anyone who dares to set foot in Winterlen without permission deserves to pay back that courage a hundredfold.”
“I’ll prepare for your departure at once.”
After Pippin left, Lennox rubbed his face.
He had used the temple as an excuse—but the real reason he was rushing was…
Me, looking at Estelle?
Normally, he would have laughed it off.
But now, the thought kept nagging him until it was all he could think about.
I need to clear my head.
He had finally been called “Dad” by Duren—yet his mind was a mess.
Phew, thank goodness.
When Estelle heard about Lennox’s sudden trip, she felt relieved.
I was worried he might ignore it or treat it like a doodle.
[“Duren, want to copy this drawing?”]
[“Yeah!”]
Holding the note Duren had drawn, she had deliberately gone to Lennox.
The night before, she’d overheard a servant telling Lennox something while she pretended to sleep.
If I want to keep the temple from interfering, I need to cause a big distraction. To do that, the Duke has to find the real relic.
So she had laid the groundwork to keep the temple busy.
That night, after putting Duren to bed, she quietly stepped outside.
As usual, she leaned against the door in case Duren woke up.
Then she saw a figure in the distance.
Long black hair.
A slow, unsteady walk.
It was Glessia.
Her height was like that of an adult man, but her thin frame made her easy to recognize.
Where is she going alone?
Her swaying steps looked unstable.
And strangely, no maid was with her.
Worried, Estelle quietly followed her.
Then she saw something odd.
Clunk.
Clunk.
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
Glessia was trying forcefully to open a locked door.
“Hello. What are you doing?”
Glessia glanced at her and answered flatly, “It’s locked.”
“It’s probably because of Duren.”
The door she was trying to open was the kitchen door.
After Duren had stolen sweet potatoes, the chef had been locking it tightly.
“Duren?”
“Your nephew.”
“Oh.”
Clunk.
Without much reaction, Glessia tugged on the door again—
and the door came off.
Estelle was shocked, but Glessia acted as if it was normal.
She stepped inside, grabbed the first carrot she saw, and began eating it raw.
“Should I call the chef?”
“No.”
Then she began grabbing anything she could reach—
green onions, potatoes, almonds, onions—stuffing them into her mouth.
Isn’t she eating too much?
Suddenly, she covered her mouth and gagged.
“Glessia? Are you okay?”
She nodded slightly, but she didn’t look fine at all.
I should’ve called the chef to give her real food!
“Please wait here!”
Realizing something was wrong, Estelle ran to call a maid.
“Glessia seems to have eaten too much.”
“What? I see.”
A few middle-aged maids came with Estelle to the kitchen.
They weren’t even surprised that Glessia—who usually stayed hidden—was out at night behaving strangely.
They quickly cleaned up the mess and helped Glessia away.
“Madam!”
Pippin came running in his pajamas, clearly woken by the news.
“Madam, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. But… hasn’t Glessia recovered by now?”
“What? Didn’t the Duke tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“There was only enough Mandrake medicine for one person, so all of it was given to you.”
Estelle’s eyes widened in shock.
“He never told me that.”
“I guess the Duke didn’t want you to feel guilty. That’s unusually considerate of him.”
Pippin had expected Lennox to boast about it—so this surprised him.
“So… all of Glessia’s share went to me?”
“Yes.”
Estelle’s expression darkened.
“Does Glessia know about this?”
“Ah…”
“Ah?”
Pippin looked guilty.
“She probably doesn’t know.”
Estelle pressed her hand to her forehead.
