Chapter 58
The chaos finally settled when Geppetto arrived.
“What’s going on? Busy?”
“Not really. Why?”
“I organized that stuff you asked me about before. Thought you should take a look.”
Laura had asked Geppetto to investigate which of the Luweiz Marquessate’s businesses were connected to the Grand Duke.
In the original novel, the entire Luweiz family was suddenly wiped out without a trace. While it was noted that the Grand Duke had worked with the Marquess, the how was never clearly described.
So to understand the details, Laura had to dig into it herself.
Sure, it’d be easy to just destroy the underground businesses…
‘But then there’d be no way to find Laura’s blood relatives.’
The Marquess always threatened to disown Laura. And Laura, who thought she’d have nowhere to go if the family threw her out, had no choice but to submit.
Knowing how lonely and abandoned she must have felt, she couldn’t give up on finding her remaining relatives.
Still, it was a personal matter—and hard to explain.
But the three men had already figured out the general picture.
“It’s fine, noona. I’ll take care of the kid too. Gotta get used to being a dad, right?”
“Right. I’ll watch her so you won’t have to worry.”
As soon as Asel said that, Dindin snapped coldly.
“You were all about avoiding responsibility before. What’s with the clinginess now? Pathetic.”
“……What did you just say?”
Naturally, as soon as Laura turned her back, the two stopped bickering.
“We’ll take good care of her.”
“Yup. We’re great friends, noona.”
They even forced a shoulder hug.
‘Well, just for a little while…’
Besides, Marsha was here too.
Laura mouthed something to Marsha.
‘If things go south, grab Seraphina and run.’
Marsha nodded firmly.
After Laura left, the three men quickly created space between themselves and Seraphina.
“Let’s be fair.”
“Right. No bribing the kid for points.”
Asel said it, and Dindin agreed. Angel also backed away from Seraphina with a helpless sigh.
“So… what do we do now?”
That’s when the three men realized exactly where they were.
They were in Seraphina’s playroom.
All the furniture was scaled for her size—small and cute—and toys were scattered everywhere.
Some of them were so mysterious they had no idea how to even play with them.
Thankfully, Seraphina was a sweet child.
“Book! Read me a book!”
The men responded instantly.
“Yes, of course. Reading is important for kids. I’ll go get one right now.”
Asel was the first to jump up.
He remembered how Seraphina had called Dindin a human trafficker and pushed him away.
‘That choice of words… for a child? She must read a lot.’
Now that he thought about it, for her age, she was very articulate and spoke clearly.
‘Could she really be my daughter?’
Asel completely forgot about the time he once thought Seraphina might be a demon child.
He picked out a book and sat beside her.
“I’ll read to you.”
The other two men had no choice but to sit nearby as well. There wasn’t anywhere else to go.
“So the Frog Prince received a kiss from the princess and turned back into a human. And they lived happily ever after. The end. Hm, a happy ending indeed.”
It took Asel less than 30 minutes to finish the story.
He didn’t pause to engage or get emotional—he just read through it.
“Again! Read more!”
There was still plenty of time left before Laura would be back, so Seraphina wasn’t satisfied.
“More? Alright. Let’s read this one next.”
He took the book she picked—Cinderella.
“And Cinderella lived happily ever after with the prince. Not a bad ending.”
Asel was about to close the book, satisfied with the clear-cut fairytale structure, when—
“But how do you know they lived happily ever after?”
Dindin interrupted.
“It says so here. So I guess they did?”
“You don’t die the day after the wedding. How can a life be summed up like that?”
“Then what kind of ending would you prefer, Mr. Merchant?”
“Life is an open ending. Anything could happen. For example, a republican revolution could break out, and all royals might be executed.”
“That’s absurd.”
Asel looked exasperated.
“Why ruin a child’s innocence? Just say they were happy.”
“It’s not about innocence—it’s reality. What harm is there in teaching children about the world early?”
Asel twisted his mouth.
“Why not just admit it? You don’t like that all the stories end with the prince or emperor getting the girl.”
“You’re exactly right. I don’t like it. How can a leader’s wife ever be happy? Everything she owns is paid with taxes, every move is judged by others—where’s the joy in that?”
Of course, Dindin wasn’t just talking about the story.
He was saying that Laura would be miserable if she married Asel.
Asel narrowed his eyes.
“Sure, what you say could happen. But what’s the point in bringing this up to a four-year-old? What are you trying to prove?”
Then something clicked. His eyes widened slightly, and he smirked.
“Are you that insecure? That you can’t win Laura from me?”
Asel had instantly recognized Dindin as a rival in love.
“Ha! Look who’s talking!”
Now thoroughly provoked, Dindin fired back.
“You’re supposedly so busy with work you live in your office. And yet you’re here? That just screams insecurity.”
Dindin smirked.
Words were his weapon of choice.
“And I don’t get why Your Highness suddenly changed your tune. When the whole world called Laura a villainess, you completely ignored her. Cruelly, even.”
“That’s—!”
“Now that she’s being praised as the perfect crown princess, you want to keep her around? How convenient. Do you just chew what’s sweet and spit what’s bitter? Is that your policy? That’s disgusting.”
“Shut that mouth of yours.”
Asel finally lost it and grabbed Dindin by the collar.
“So I speak a little truth and suddenly I’m being assaulted? Dangerous, Your Highness.”
Dindin played it off with a mocking grin.
Angel, stuck between them, looked utterly lost.
Meanwhile, Seraphina slipped out of the room as the three men bickered.
“Mommy… my nap…”
“Seraphina?”
Laura picked her up. With droopy eyes, the child clung to her shoulder and yawned.
“What the hell are these guys doing? They let the kid wander out here?”
Geppetto, who’d been in the middle of handing over a report, was irritated at the interruption.
“Wait here a bit. I’ll be back soon.”
Laura carried sleepy Seraphina back into the playroom.
It was a total mess.
Not because anything was broken—
But near Seraphina’s cradle, two grown men were snarling and arguing loudly about who-knows-what.
“So from the start—”
“Why is everything my fault? You’re the one who—”
Seraphina flinched and scrunched her face. Not ideal nap-time vibes.
Laura summed it up in one line:
“This is a damn mess.”
And she wasn’t wrong.
* * *
Laura politely kicked all three men out.
There was no reason for them to argue in the child’s room when she needed rest.
Asel, still unwilling to give up, tried to protest—
“Please hear me out. Lady Laura, that Machetta merchant is dangerous. So—”
“I’ll listen later. Right now, it’s Seraphina’s nap time. Please leave.”
“But—”
“Out.”
She was still smiling—but that smile carried pressure.
These three powerful men, unfazed by anyone else, obediently turned and walked away.
Laura laid Seraphina in bed and gently patted her.
“Time to sleep now, Coco-nanna.”
Even after handling the three most powerful men in the Empire, Laura was calm and composed.
Seraphina was about to fall asleep but thought one last thing:
‘Wow… she really is amazing.’
The way she stayed calm—no matter what.
