Chapter 31
How much time had passed? The door quietly opened, and Theophanes entered.
“I knew you’d be here.”
He gazed at the two, sleeping soundly in each other’s arms on the bed. They weren’t even biologically related, yet they looked so alike. Their sleeping positions were similar, and with their eyes closed, their features seemed even more alike.
Carefully, Theophanes unwrapped Daphne’s arm to pull out Jacquette. The movement made Daphne groggily open her eyes.
“Theo…?”
Holding Jacquette in one arm and a bundle of papers in the other, Theophanes gently tucked Daphne’s blanket in place.
“You can keep sleeping. I just came to take Jacquette.”
“I guess he kept me warm.”
Daphne mumbled, half-asleep. Theophanes touched her cheek to check for fever, but thankfully, it seemed to have gone down.
“I’ll be going now. Rest well.”
“Okay….”
Before he even finished speaking, Daphne had already dozed off again.
Theophanes carried Jacquette to the child’s room, laying him down carefully before placing the bundle of papers beside him. He thought about reading them but decided it would be better to go through them together later. After tucking Jacquette in, he left the room.
Once she had fully recovered, Daphne’s busy schedule resumed.
She had to continue her education to manage internal affairs, train to control her transcendent powers, and practice purification. Only after handling all of that did she finally have some free time.
The first thing she did? Spending time with Jacquette, something she could no longer delay.
Somehow, she, Theophanes, and Jacquette all managed to align their schedules, so they planned to have tea together.
Jacquette, who had been sulking for some time, was now beaming with excitement.
Of course, he hadn’t just been idly waiting while Daphne was busy. He had been learning how to read and write. He was still at the stage of memorizing words, but he was making progress.
Feeling overwhelmed by their expectant gazes, Jacquette hid his face behind the bundle of papers he was holding.
“Y-You’re both scary….”
“Ah, sorry about that.”
“Ahem….”
To an outsider, the scene might have seemed strange—two adults staring so seriously at a child. But for Daphne and Theophanes, this was an important moment.
Theophanes had once promised to grant Jacquette’s wishes as part of their contract. At some point, Jacquette had been told about this promise, and he had decided to write down a list of things he wanted to do—his Wish List.
But writing down what he wanted to do had proven to be harder than he expected.
To help, Blake, the one teaching Jacquette to read, had given him a great idea:
Ask others what they would like to do.
By hearing many different answers, he might find something that truly interested him.
The usually quiet servants of Anaxi had found the little boy’s curiosity amusing. The mansion had been unusually lively for a while as Jacquette went around asking everyone what they wanted to do.
In the end, Jacquette had carefully drawn his wish list with his tiny hands, since he couldn’t write yet.
And now, on the much-anticipated presentation day, Daphne and Theophanes were tense with anticipation.
“I’ll show you one at a time… and after we do each one, I’ll show the next wish.”
Jacquette glanced nervously at Mary as if confirming he had said it right. It seemed she had helped him prepare.
“Alright.”
“Do whatever makes you comfortable, Jacquette.”
Hearing that, the nervous child immediately looked more at ease.
“Okay, then… I’ll reveal the first one…!”
Everyone in the room, except for Daphne and Theophanes, held their breath, waiting for his words.
“I want to go see a festival!”
“A festival?”
The servants, who had been quietly cheering for Jacquette, nodded in agreement.
But Theophanes, of all people, looked uncertain.
“Jacquette, there’s no festival happening right now.”
In his words, the entire room was left in shock.
Does this man understand what a date is?
Daphne tapped the table twice with her finger to get his attention.
Noticing the gesture, Theophanes turned to look at her.
“Theo, the Spring Festival is happening right now in Anaxi.”
“Oh.”
He didn’t know.
“I forgot.”
Jacquette broke the silence, patting Theophanes’ arm with his small hand as if comforting him.
“It’s okay! People forget things sometimes.”
“Who told you that?”
“I read it in a book.”
“You’re a smart one.”
Theophanes ruffled Jacquette’s hair.
“Ack! My hair…!”
Jacquette, who had carefully styled his hair that morning, looked at him with slight annoyance before quickly turning away.
“Jacquette, come here.”
Seeing an opportunity, Daphne held out her hand. This was the perfect chance to naturally get closer to him.
Unlike how he easily interacted with Theophanes, Jacquette hesitated when approaching Daphne.
But he didn’t seem to dislike it.
“I bet you’re upset about your hair getting messy.”
Jacquette hesitated for a moment, then quickly shuffled over and clung to her.
Daphne gently ran her fingers through his hair, fixing the pins and smoothing it back into place.
“There. All done.”
“Thank you….”
Jacquette mumbled shyly, making Theophanes pick up the bundle of papers.
“So, who suggested this festival idea?”
At that, Jacquette covered his mouth in surprise, his body trembling slightly.
Then came a small hiccup.
“You’re so timid. Even birds are braver than you.”
“Stop teasing him, Theo.”
Realizing he was being teased, Jacquette pouted and stretched out his hand toward Theophanes.
“Hic! Give it back…!”
“Alright. When do you want to go?”
“Huh? Hic!”
“The festival. Waiting until next year would be too long. How about tomorrow?”
“Wow?!”
His hiccups disappeared in an instant.
As he jumped up and down in excitement, Theophanes caught Daphne’s gaze. His lips curled into a smirk as he mouthed:
“Our first date.”
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
“I heard children have been going missing in the capital.”
“So?”
“Well… now that you’re a father, shouldn’t you be more cautious?”
Theophanes, flipping through documents without interest, barely responded.
“Who would dare kidnap my daughter?”
Dryly remarking, he put down his pen and looked at Dante.
“Dante.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have plans today?”
“Of course not. How could I, with all this work you give me?”
Dante glared at him as if about to flip the desk. Theophanes glanced at him before standing up.
“I see.”
He casually grabbed his coat and put it on.
Dante, at first, didn’t think much of it. But as soon as Theophanes dressed to leave, he realized—
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I have plans.”
“…Huh?”
“I have plans. Take care of things here.”
Before Dante could even react, Theophanes swiftly left the office.
“Wait—what? You’re joking, right? You’re coming back, right?!”
Dante’s desperate cries echoed behind him, but Theophanes ignored them completely.
