Chapter 23

Adel liked Chacha.

More than his real family, Kate, Roana, and Nine!

His family members never met his eyes for long. They were all difficult people to even meet, and even when he did, he didn’t feel like he had “met” them.

Kate always stared into space and didn’t pay attention to Adel, and Roana, reeking of alcohol, would stagger past him.

Nine’s gaze was clearer than the other two, but that was it. It was cold and distant.

But Chacha was different from them.

When she talked, she always met his eyes, held his hand, or even hugged him.

When he left Chacha’s arms, Adel, who had lived his whole life in the North, would realize what coldness truly was.

Adel thought there was no one in the world as pretty and kind as Chacha.

That’s why he couldn’t understand what his brother and sister had told him.

“My brother and sister told me not to play with you!”

In the end, Adel told Chacha.

“My brother sent a letter…”

Even though Nine lived in the same castle, he had gone to the trouble of writing a detailed letter.

Many things were written in it, but the main point was this:

‘Don’t bother the pregnant Chacha and maintain your dignity as a noble.’

When Adel saw that, he thought:

‘I didn’t bother Chacha, did I? Chacha said she likes it when I come.’

Adel told Chacha about the letter, but he inwardly denied it.

“And my sister came and said…”

Adel then told Chacha about the incident with Roana.

A few days ago, Roana came to Adel’s room, reeking of alcohol, and spewed out a bunch of incomprehensible words.

The gist of Roana’s words was probably something like this:

‘Chacha is a bad person, and she’s not our family, so why are you being friendly with her! Are you even my brother?’

“Chacha is a good person, and you don’t even know her!”

The Chacha Adel knew was a better person than anyone else, so the words “don’t play with Chacha” made him even angrier.

‘Is she jealous? Humph.’

As he pouted and bit into a cookie, Chacha placed a cup of tea for him in front of him.

The tea and snacks in Chacha’s office were all exactly to Adel’s liking, and he quickly felt better.

“I see. Weren’t you surprised?”

“Of course not. Even if my brother and sister told you not to play with me, you wouldn’t listen, right?”

“Of course not. I have so much fun playing with you.”

Chacha didn’t seem to be offended by their words at all and just wiped the corner of Adel’s mouth with a gentle smile.

Adel’s cheeks turned crimson.

Knock, knock.

“Lady Chacha, a moment, please…”

“Ah. Adel, can you play by yourself for a bit?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

When a servant came looking for Chacha, she stroked Adel’s head and left the office.

At first, he couldn’t hide his anxiety whenever Chacha left, but now Adel could confidently wave her off.

Van’s proud gaze fell upon Adel.

Adel, who was left in the office, jumped onto the soft chair where Chacha had just been sitting and stuffed his mouth full of snacks.

“It’s so good!”

Adel’s legs dangled in the air as he savored the sweetness of the marshmallow and chocolate.

Adel loved Chacha’s office, which had become his favorite place after his own room.

‘It’s like Chacha.’

This place was cozy like Chacha, filled with Chacha’s scent, and always had sweet snacks ready.

Chacha’s care and affection for him were all over the office.

Had there ever been a place like this before?

Adel thought for a moment and then quickly shook his head.

There was no place warmer than this. Not even his own room was this cozy.

It wasn’t just about the temperature.

Before, when he walked down the hallway, he only received gazes of fear or annoyance, and when he walked outside, only a cold wind blew.

Sometimes, even with a blanket in front of the heating magic tool, he felt cold.

But now he knows.

What Adel felt back then wasn’t just coldness.

And Chacha was like a spring breeze that blew into this ice castle.

Adel felt like the ice here was melting these days. Chacha’s warmth was seeping into every corner, melting the ice.

The few storybooks in his room, the snacks in this office, and the few pink flowers in the hallway were all Chacha’s warmth.

Moreover, she made the gazes of the servants, and not just the castle, full of warmth.

‘Chacha is so amazing.’

Every day with Chacha was fun. It was the first time he looked forward to what he would do the next day.

Adel reached for one of the few remaining cookies but stopped.

He didn’t pick up the cookie and pulled his hand back, and Van asked him with a puzzled look,

“Is it not to your liking?”

“No, no. Chacha didn’t get to eat much. This is for Chacha.”

Also, Adel had become used to eating lunch with Chacha after she was done with her work.

He loved his time eating with Chacha, so Adel didn’t ask for more of his favorite snacks to be brought out.

‘If I get too full, I won’t be able to eat much for lunch.’

Instead, he kept glancing at the door, wondering when Chacha would return.

Van, with a proud smile, poured tea into Adel’s teacup and asked, “Young master, do you like Lady Chacha that much?”

Adel’s eyes widened, and he nodded his head vigorously.

“Yeah! When I grow up, I’m going to marry Chacha!”

According to the books Chacha read to him and the things the people around him said, you marry the person you like the most.

‘Then of course I have to marry Chacha.’

Adel imagined his married life with Chacha.

Now they only ate lunch together, but when they got married, they would eat all three meals together, and after eating, they wouldn’t just work like this but would go for walks in the greenhouse.

‘Chacha likes flowers, so I have to fill the greenhouse with the flowers Chacha likes.’

After the walk, they would talk about fun things all night or read a storybook, and then they would hold hands and sleep in the same bed.

Adel giggled to himself as he imagined such a happy married life.

However, Van looked a bit flustered at Adel’s answer and said something shocking.

“Young master. Lady Chacha is already married to Lord Nine.”

Thump.

Adel was so startled that he just gaped as if he had been struck by lightning.

“My b-brother?”

His brother, who wrote a detailed letter telling him not to play with Chacha?

Just then, Chacha returned to the office.

Adel snapped out of it and ran and hugged her.

“Adel?”

Chacha looked at Adel with a puzzled expression but hugged him as she always did.

Adel’s eyes welled up with tears at her warmth, but he held them back and looked up at her.

“Chacha.”

“Yes, Adel.”

“Chacha, are you really…”

It was so shocking that the words wouldn’t come out easily.

‘It’s not true, it’s not true.’

Adel repeated those words to himself a few times and then, with wide eyes, he asked Chacha,

“Did you really marry my brother?”

“Huh? Yeah. Why?”

Thump.

Adel’s held-back tears gushed out as Chacha’s answer came back without any hesitation.

“L-“

He could see that Chacha was flustered, but his crumbling heart could only utter one word.

“You’re lying!!”

Adel immediately broke free from Chacha’s arms and ran back to his room.

***

‘It’s not a lie…’

Adel knew all too well that neither Van nor Chacha would lie to him.

Adel ran back to his room, dove onto the bed, and buried his face in his pillow.

“Sniffle.”

His tears stopped quickly. But the tears stopping didn’t mean he had gotten over the shock of Chacha’s marriage.

Knock, knock.

“Young master. It’s Annie.”

“…What.”

“Lady Chacha said she would like to have lunch with you.”

“…I don’t want to eat today.”

“Pardon?!”

He could feel Annie, Chacha’s personal maid, pacing in front of his room, looking surprised. But when Adel didn’t say anything more, he heard footsteps moving away.

After that, Adel sent away all the other servants who came to see him and stayed in his room.

As he lay on his stomach, sniffling, all sorts of thoughts about Chacha and Nine’s marriage followed one after another, like a chain.

The endless stream of thoughts tormented Adel.

“Does Chacha like my brother more than me?”

Saying one of his thoughts out loud made him feel even more down.

He buried his sad face in the pillow again.

‘I hate him.’

The thought that Chacha might like Nine more than him made him hate Nine even more.

He didn’t have a strong attachment to Nine in the first place, as they were family but rarely met.

Nine was instantly a person that Adel disliked.

‘Why does Chacha like my brother…’

Adel blankly thought about Nine. It had been a long time since he last saw him, so not much came to mind, but he remembered one thing.

‘He was cold, unlike Chacha.’

But the people around him always respected his brother and said he was a great and wonderful person.

Perhaps Chacha thought so too and married him. Because his brother was a wonderful person.

“Wait a minute.”

A thought suddenly flashed in Adel’s mind, and he sat up.

“Then if Chacha knows that I’m a more wonderful person than my brother, wouldn’t she marry me?”

It was a simple thought, but there was hope. Adel was about to run out but then plopped down on the edge of the bed instead.

“How do I show her that I’m more wonderful?”

To show that he was a more wonderful person than Nine, he first had to compare himself to Nine.

But Adel rarely met Nine and had never had a conversation with him.

So, even though he was his older brother, he had no idea what made him wonderful.

But.

“If I don’t know, I’ll just find out!”

Adel’s worries were short-lived.

***

The next day.

“…”

“…”

Nine’s steps, which were heading to the training grounds early in the morning, stopped.

No one was behind Nine except for Norman.

But Nine’s gaze wasn’t on the empty hallway; it was on one of the pillars supporting the hallway.

“Norman.”

“Yes, Duke.”

“Why is Adel following me?”