Chapter 93

* * *

Chesier knew that the Duke would come again.

So, he said what he had prepared to say when they met.

"Father."

The Duke brightened at the affectionate address.

"Do you think of me as your child?"

"Of course, you're my child. My son."

"Then, may I ask one favor, just once... and for the last time?"

Chesier hoped, recalling what Lilith had once said.

"Because you're my mother. Even though you didn't raise me, you still gave birth to me."

Yes.

Still, because you're my father.

Even though you didn't raise me, still...

Can't you grant this one heartfelt request?

"I'm happy here. When I lived with Mother, and when I stayed at Father's house... I never once thought I was happy."

"......"

"I want to stay here. Is that not possible?"

Chesier added with a pleading look.

"Just leave me alone. Treat me as if I never existed, please."

"......"

"I'll never forget you, Father. I'll live with gratitude for giving me life."

The Duke remained silent, merely staring at Chesier.

After a long while, the Duke's mouth opened, and a voice like ice poured out.

"Who made you a Dos? Who do you think gave you that blood?"

"......"

"It wasn't the Duke of Rubenstein who picked you up and made you his daughter's plaything, nor your lowly non-magical mother."

"......"

"It was me. Me."

The Duke's eyes gleamed with madness.

"Have I ever laid a hand on you? I didn't kill you, did I? I even fed and housed you, didn't I?"

"......"

"Is it because your brother is at home? If you find his face repulsive, I'll drive him out immediately. If you want to repay what you've suffered, you can do as you please."

Chesier's mouth slowly opened.

His half-brother Jonathan...

To the Duke, unlike the lowly bastard that I am, he was the real son.

The Duke was saying he would drive Jonathan out without a moment's hesitation.

"You feel awkward because you don't have affection for me. Time will solve this. Let's go somewhere nice and spend some time together."

The Duke quickly put on a gentle expression and grabbed Chesier's arm.

Thud!

Chesier shook off his hand.

"I won't go."

The Duke, as if he had expected such an attitude, took something out of his pocket.

A paper with the royal seal.

"It's a certificate that grants me the right to see you face-to-face every two days for three hours. Since the Duke is preventing me from seeing you, I had no choice but to personally request it from the royal family."

Chesier's shoulders sagged helplessly.

There was no way to deal with the Duke, who had brought official documents.

He turned around quietly.

From a distance, Lilith was watching him.

"Let's go. Let's go somewhere nice and have a meal together."

Chesier, finally, held back the urge to cry and took a step forward.

That's when it happened.

"Where are you going now?"

Axion approached. The Duke tried to show the visitation rights document again.

"Ah, Duke of Rubenstein. I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle of training..."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

But Axion, seemingly uninterested, put his arm around Chesier's shoulder and smiled.

"Son."

...?

Chesier doubted his ears.

The Duke was equally shocked.

"What did you just say?"

"Ah, the Duke didn't know? The news is slow. I decided to make this boy my son."

"What?"

The Duke's mouth dropped open.

"Didn't you expect that? He's the most famous person in the kingdom right now. A new Dos, and without a family name."

"What?!"

"How many nobles are drooling over him? They couldn't touch him because the Duke of Rubenstein was his guardian, but..."

Axion added with a casual tone.

"...We're close, you know. I asked him to join me, and he personally gave his permission."

"That's ridiculous! This boy's father is me!"

"Proof?"

"Of course! I've already submitted a petition to the royal security bureau! It's under review!"

"Is that so? When will the results be out?"

"Well, that's..."

Axion smiled.

"I'm going to submit the adoption papers today."

Adoption only requires mutual consent and is approved within a day of submission.

The Duke's face turned pale.

"Why, why are you doing this without asking the child's opinion?"

"Opinion?"

Axion shrugged and looked down at Chesier.

"Are you going to be my son, or not?"

Chesier was flabbergasted.

How was he supposed to respond to this sudden situation?

"Ah."

While his lips moved aimlessly, he saw Lilith.

She seemed to have heard the conversation and was excited, clutching Axion's pants leg and peeking out.

Her large, tear-filled eyes sparkled.

"Yes..."

Still confused, but one thing was clear.

What answer he needed to give.

"Yes, Father."

Chesier nodded.

"What, what? Father?!"

The Duke shouted.

Seeing the Duke, who looked like a corpse, Axion sneered.

"T, this, this...!"

After a moment of floundering, the Duke swallowed and quickly left.

He was probably heading to the bureau first.

He looked like a bird with its tail on fire.

"Uncle!"

Lilith was jumping with excitement.

"What's going on? Did you just say that to chase the Duke away?"

Axion, after staring at the excited Lilith, turned to Chesier.

"Son, get ready."

"...What?"

"We need to go quickly."

* * *

What's happening?

Me, Chesier, Axion, and Dad.

We're in our family carriage, heading to the royal security bureau.

"What am I doing...?"

Axion is staring out the window, looking like his soul has left his body.

"......"

Chesier, beside him, also seems to be struggling to understand this bewildering situation.

"Ahahaha! Hurry, hurry!"

Dad, on the other hand, is grinning from ear to ear.

We needed to sort things out, but we didn't have time.

"Run, run!"

As soon as we arrived, Dad quickly lifted me out of the carriage.

And we really did run!

The royal civil service department.

"Ow! Ah, Dad! Slow down...!"

"Ahahaha!"

Dad, with his hands under my armpits, carried me and ran, holding me up in the air.

Everyone, from the civil servants to the visitors, stared at us in surprise.

'Embarrassing! What is this?'

It took exactly 20 minutes to reach the security bureau.

Dad, with a screech, stopped and took a spot at a counter.

"I'm here to submit adoption papers."

Dad, after putting me down, quickly introduced Chesier and Axion to the civil servant.

"The name is Chesier. I'm the child's guardian, and this is the head of the family he will be joining."

At that moment, I noticed Duke Onyx standing at the counter next to ours.

He saw us, his mouth dropped open in surprise, and he urged the civil servant.

"Hey! Hurry up!"

"Yes, sir..."

The civil servant, who looked exhausted, slowly read the document he was holding.

"You said you would submit additional statements to the paternity petition you submitted earlier... Let's see... The reason for hiding and raising the child was... that he was an illegitimate child and had marks of abuse, making it difficult to show him..."

"No! Why are you reading that out loud?!"

The Duke, with a red face, shouted.

'Ah. He's finally telling the truth to get a quick review.'

With the fire under his feet, his choice is understandable.

"Enoch Rubenstein?"

At that moment.

The female civil servant at our counter, with her hair neatly tied, smiled and handed over four documents.

"Here is the guardian's consent form, the child's personal information form, the head of the family's personal information form, and the adoption confirmation form. Please fill out and submit all four documents."

"Will it be approved immediately upon submission?"

"Yes. Adoption is approved immediately after submission, as long as the guardian's identity is verified."

"Phew, good work. It's great that it's so fast."

Dad picked up a pen right there.

The Duke, who had been staring blankly, reached out his hand, but—

"Hehe."

—Dad, with a sly smile, held the documents up in the air.

"Y, you..."

The Duke, grinding his teeth, urged the civil servant.

"When will the review be finished?!"

"Please wait a moment... You just submitted the additional documents to the review department..."

"How many days have I been waiting?!"

"Pressuring us won't make the review faster."

"Ugh!"

I was trying hard not to laugh, watching both counters.

Our side finished the paperwork in less than five minutes.

However.

"Oh."

The civil servant, checking the documents, smiled apologetically.

"What can I do, Mr. Axion Livre? You need to stamp the documents, not sign them."

Two documents with Axion's signature were rejected.

"Even if you don't know the person, adoption requires a more secure identity verification, so we only accept documents with a notarized stamp."

Dad's face turned blank.

We had rushed straight from home.

Who would carry a stamp around?

Axion was only wearing a damp black sleeveless training uniform.

"Damn."

Unlike Dad, who had lost his composure, the Duke, who had been watching us, was delighted.

I also became anxious.

'What if the Duke's documents are processed first?'

A tense situation.

Dad, making a quick decision, turned around.

"Let's go to your house to get the stamp..."

But, snap, Axion stretched out his arm to stop Dad.

Dad's face hardened immediately.

"You, are you going to change your mind after coming this far?"

"......"

I watched them with tension.

I had a feeling that there was already some kind of deal between them.

'Is Uncle forcing Dad to adopt Chesier?'

Axion didn't seem to like it.

And Chesier...

Chesier, looking anxious, glanced at me and then looked away.

"We don't need to go home."

"What?"

Axion, after a deep breath, inserted his fingers into the front pocket of his training uniform.

After a moment, he pulled out a small, golden...

'Stamp?'

Dad's eyes widened.