Evangeline
“Is this really alright, Evangeline? If you don't say your goodbyes here, there's no telling when you'll be able to see him again.”
The Chancellor, Duke Balanchette von Halterius, returned to his carriage and spoke to his granddaughter waiting inside.
He had assumed she would get out of the carriage, but Evangeline never showed herself. She hadn't even peeked her face out the window.
“If you go now, you can still make it in time.”
At her grandfather's gentle words, Evangeline shook her head.
“It's fine, Ojiisama. Eva is... the way Eva is right now. I haven't finished dieting at all yet.”
“Even if you say that, it's only been ten days or so since then. One cannot lose weight that quickly... ah, no. Ahem. Eva, are you truly sure?”
Evangeline gave a small nod.
The duke gently patted her little head with his large hand.
“I see. Yes, you're right. Dermont is about to walk a difficult road from here on. Even if you told that boy how you feel, it would only become a burden for him. This is for the best. Your decision is the correct one.”
“M-My f-feelings!? I-I-I d-don't have anyth…”
“Hm? Ho ho ho ho ho. Is that so? Nothing at all, then?”
His five-year-old granddaughter had fallen in love. And she was even trying to hide it.
It wasn't the sort of feeling common among young children… “I like him because he's my playmate”, “because he's kind”, “because he's fun”... the kind of emotions that could hardly be called love.
No, this seemed different.
The duke reflected on his own childhood.
Then again, his first love had been when he was twelve. Thinking about it that way, wasn't his granddaughter quite the precocious one?
It made him happy.
But it also made him lonely.
(*Still...*)
Watching the Spanberg family's carriage grow smaller through the window, the duke's lips curled into a smile.
(*That boy is quite an interesting one. I look forward to seeing what he becomes. Dermont... can you grow into a man worthy of my granddaughter?*)
The look in his eyes was no different from the one he used when gazing at the granddaughter sitting beside him.
But…
(*If you become the kind of man who makes Evangeline cry, then when that day comes, I shall personally send you on your way myself!*)
In an instant, his expression transformed into that of a demon.
This old geezer, after all, was devoted to his granddaughter to the very end.
What do you think about this chapter?
