Chapter 262
“……”
Freesia quietly closed her eyes at the man’s sorrowful voice.
‘It’s just like a lullaby.’
If she were to die right now, in this very moment, it felt like it would be okay.
The day was blue and beautiful. And even though Izar didn’t shed tears…
This much was enough. She could tell he was grieving over her end.
“…Go inside, Izar. Nova will be waiting.”
But she still had things left to do. And for the sake of a peaceful death, she had no intention of throwing her heart once more into the violent current that was love.
In the end, Freesia cruelly evaded Izar’s plea without giving him a definite answer.
Izar bit his lip as he looked at her retreating figure.
Was this really the end of everything?
Without even receiving forgiveness—or hatred, or resentment—from her?
‘That can’t be.’
A stubbornness began to rise within him. He would remain the only man in Freesia’s life until the very end, and the reverse would be just as true.
So he would struggle with all he had to keep her from pushing him away in her final moments.
Though he was utterly exhausted from the prolonged strain, he forced himself to steel his heart.
But maybe because of the crushing fatigue—
〈…God! I’ve given up everything!〉
A phantom voice echoed once again on the early summer breeze.
He was desperately sleep-deprived.
But to rest now and miss even a single second of Freesia’s remaining time felt like a waste.
So he bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to bleed as he forced himself to walk back into the palace.
***
A space was quickly prepared in the palace where the three of them could live together.
Though they had separate bedrooms, the space for caring for the child was freely accessible.
However, Nova stared at her mother with a face that clearly said she had brought home something bizarre and frightening.
“This is… really… Nova’s Papa…?”
“Yes, Nova.”
Freesia forced a bright smile toward her daughter.
“You said you were curious about your father. You even asked Mathilde who you take after.”
“Ack…! T-That was…!”
Nova slapped both her hands over her mouth as if to silence herself.
Why had she gone and asked that?
Why had she dragged in something so scary?
Sure, he had yellow eyes and black hair just like her, but she couldn’t bring herself to accept that this thing was the same as the ‘Papa’ in storybooks!
“Nova.”
Unable to just watch her daughter flounder, Izar knelt down on one knee and met her gaze.
Still, was it really fair to pretend all the good moments they’d shared didn’t exist?
“I… I read you books, didn’t I?”
“That’s…!”
“I even found the doll you dropped in the lake.”
“Eek!”
Nova squinted at him, glaring.
How could he bring up her mistake in front of Nova’s Mama?!
‘This is why! Nova gave you a chance because you’re pretty, but you keep making Nova mad!’
There had been a reason she kept asking him to read stories aloud.
He was scary when he was just sitting still, but when he read, his expression would soften. And that was… pretty.
His hair was as black as crow feathers. His pale, cool-toned face held eyes that sparkled like ancient stars.
If only he didn’t act the way he did, she might have told him he was pretty a long time ago.
‘If Nova thinks that way… then Mama must, too, right?’
…Then couldn’t they just pick some other pretty person to be ‘Papa’?
Nova looked around in a fluster and tugged on Freesia’s sleeve.
“Mama, Mama.”
“Yes, Nova?”
“Can’t we make that person Nova’s Papa instead?”
“Hm? Who…?”
“That one! He’s pretty too.”
Nova waved her chubby finger toward the person she’d seen around lately, someone new, brought in to help wake her mother.
“His hair! His hair is the same color as Nova’s eyes!”
“……”
“So make that person Nova’s Papa!”
“Ah…”
Freesia opened her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
She should scold Nova for referring to someone as ‘that one’, but the target was…
‘Ah, so Sir Albireo came here too.’
A man who had once harbored feelings for her, whose letters she had delicately declined…
She wasn’t expecting him to be here.
Albireo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, head deeply bowed, but his shoulders were trembling slightly as he clenched his teeth with all his strength.
“Ahh…!”
This wasn’t good, but he honestly felt delighted.
Even if he got stabbed in the gut by the Duke the moment they left the gorge, right now he felt like he could fly.
And just as anyone would expect, Izar gripped Albireo’s shoulder like he meant to crush it and shoved him aside.
“Out.”
“Ugh— His Highness hasn’t dismissed me.”
“This is family time.”
He roughly dismissed Albireo and the other attendants as well, grinding his teeth internally.
Meanwhile, Nova lifted her head from Freesia’s arms with a mournful expression.
“Mama… then is that really Nova’s Papa…? We can’t pick another pretty one?”
“Nova. Don’t call people ‘that’.”
“Hmph.”
“And you can’t talk to your father like that.”
“But still…”
Nova mumbled like a black-eared rabbit with drooping ears.
“Mama, you’re not close with that person either…”
“Ah, that’s not true. Um.”
Freesia was too flustered to correct her daughter’s choice of words and stammered awkwardly.
She had heard from Riegel what Nova had been like while she slept.
〈She’s very sharp and persistent. Strong-willed too.〉
〈……〉
〈I mean, she’s healthy.〉
Even having heard all that, facing her daughter after waking up for the first time in so long was dizzying.
In the end, Freesia blushed and mumbled softly.
“No, we… we’re close. Very.”
“Really?”
Nova’s eyes sparkled innocently.
“Then show Nova! Show Nova you’re close!”
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