The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 61

CHAPTER 61

As if mesmerized by the sweet voice, they all ran there just as they were about to fall into spring sleep. 

Without waiting for anyone to say anything, they quickly brushed aside the leaves. At the faint sound coming from between the big rocks, they all moved without anyone saying who should go first.

Duke Tigris, who was watching their actions from behind, clenched his fists. He could have used magic to clear the way, but the situation involved his grandchildren, and he couldn’t control the magic in such circumstances.

“Eugene, Rafi! Are you there?”

“Yes, father…”

At the sound of Eugene’s voice, which he hadn’t heard in a long time, Duke Panteur moved the stones with the help of those around him, not even realizing his grip was tearing.

Slowly, a gap opened, and Ciel, wearing a cat’s eye, popped out from there. Following that, small ferns gradually rose. Duke Panteur’s pupils trembled as he saw her hand. He quickly wiped away his tears and lifted her small hand tightly.

Rafi, who had watery eyes, smiled broadly as if nothing had happened and cuddled up to him as before. But perhaps the tension suddenly broke because she burst into tears in an instant.

“Father! Why are you here now? Do you know how scared we were…? Hooaah.”

“Shh, Rafi, my daughter… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I’m late, and I’m so sorry for scaring you.”

After picking up Rafi, Duke Panteur immediately pulled Eugene out of the pit. Confirming the well-being of both children, Duke Panteur, with tears in his eyes, poured out the tears that were welling up on Rafi’s cheekbone.

“Ah, father…”

He hadn’t been this emotional when Seraphina died. Eugene was bewildered by the tears of Duke Panteur, whom he had considered an unfeeling person who couldn’t shed a single tear.

“Welcome back. I’m relieved. You protected your younger sibling well. You’ve grown up splendidly. You’re undoubtedly mine and Seraphina’s child.”

“Oh, no. It’s just that… I…”

Eugene, who had never heard such an affectionate voice before, was stiff and unable to speak properly in that position. 

Duke Panteur opened the remaining arm for Eugene. Nestling in the strong arm, Eugene melted as if he was about to collapse. 

“Welcome back. I’m relieved. I’m truly relieved. My children, I would have been so heartbroken not being able to see you.”

Duke Panteur’s voice, soaked with emotional tenderness, made Eugene also unconsciously shed tears.

The Duke of Tigris and Jerome hastily prepared a video stone to send home. Everyone cheered at the sight of what they had prepared for the family members who could not even make it here from home and would be stomping their feet and burning their insides.

“We’ll talk about the details later… Eugene? Rafi!”

The two children, still sobbing, suddenly relaxed in his arms as if they were about to collapse. Startled for a moment, Duke Panteur shouted while holding the two children. 

“Don’t worry. It seems like Eugene and Rafi are just relieved and may have fainted. Let’s move them quickly through the warp gate.”

“Yes, that’s right. It might be better to move them when my brother-in-law is unconscious.”

Duke Panteur, who thought it might be necessary to take them home and check the children’s condition, returned with everyone’s help. Everyone’s faces were filled with anxiety, but they all sighed with relief and cheered when the two children returned safely.

First, after washing Rafi and Eugene, Elio examined them and smiled faintly. 

“Considering that they spent four days in the mountains, they’re both quite healthy. So don’t worry. They probably just fell asleep because they’re relaxed.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it seems like both of them managed their physical stamina well despite being young. Their nutritional status is fine, and most importantly, they didn’t get hypothermia. So they’ll wake up soon.”

With Elio’s assurance, Duke Panteur breathed a sigh of relief and silently called the name of the Seraphina in his heart. She seemed to have taken care of the children.

“Whew, I’m relieved. Really relieved… If something had happened to these kids, I would have…”

Duke Panteur swallowed the rest of his words and wiped the faces of the two children. The children who were sound asleep truly looked like angels.

“We can’t leave it like this. We need to identify the ones who attacked my brother-in-law and sister-in-law right away.”

“We searched for the attackers while looking for the children, but they vanished without a trace.”

“They must have fled before we arrived, and there’s not even a trace of mana left behind. It’s clear that there was a magician from the Magic Tower.”

Magicians are trained in two places: Duke Tigris’s house and the Magic Tower. The two groups almost acted like enemies.”

No matter how much money they were offered, magicians from Duke Tigris’ house could not directly harm Eugene and Rafi. If such a request had come in, it would have been reported to Duke Tigris immediately.

“Does that mean we should just stand by and watch as my sister-in-law remains in danger?”

“We won’t be able to for a while. If they know that the three families have set out to find the children, they won’t be able to act with impunity.”

Even if they were obsessed with capturing the Child of Destruction, they must have realized by now that the child was under the protection of the three families. They wouldn’t scratch their heads if they had any brains.

“If that’s how it is, I won’t say anything more. I’ll leave now.”

“All right, thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome. But before I go, let me touch our little lady’s chubby cheeks a bit.”

Jerome, who smiled broadly as if he had taken war spoils, poked Rafi’s chubby cheeks and gently pinched them. Healing from the slightly sticky texture, Jerome confirmed that it was indeed Rafi before heading to Aquila Mansion.

“I also need to report to my family, so I’ll be on my way. And… in the future, please send Rafi to our house more often. It seems like we need to increase Rafi’s mana a bit so that she doesn’t end up in a situation like a few days ago.”

If Rafi had more mana, she would have been able to return home immediately after tearing the warp scroll. But because her mana was insufficient and she fell near the mountains, Duke Tigris wanted to teach Rafi more robustly.

“I’ll ask Rafi about that when she wakes up.”

“All right, you should rest now too. Don’t stay in a pathetic state when the kids wake up.”

As Duke Tigris also left, Duke Panteur smiled faintly as he looked at the two children. Grateful that the children who were almost lost had returned safely, Duke Panteur sighed softly.

“Your Grace, now that they’ve both returned safely, it’s time for you to catch up on your backlog of work.”

Vance, who had come from behind with a pile of documents that had been inflated like glutinous rice cakes, smiled broadly. Seeing this, Duke Panteur sighed once again.

As the head of the household and the ruler of the eastern region, he didn’t even have time to keep watching over his children.

“The southern advisor manages things even without my son-in-law, but it seems our advisor can’t do the same.”

“Ahem, it’s a bad habit to compare yourself with others. How do you think you’ll feel if the young lady calls her father’s friend better later on?”

“Hmm, unfortunately, I think I’m better than the guy who is Rafi’s friend. At least, I’m quite a decent Father. Besides being a duke, I’m a well-built, handsome Father with a big chest.”

In response to Duke Panteur’s words, Vance nodded without realizing it, then quickly shook his head left and right. Afterward, he handed the documents, which had been inflated like glutinous rice cakes, to Duke Panteur.

“Think of it as Little Miss Rafi, and handle the work gently. I’ll help too.”

Vance, who had forced the pen into his hands of him, stood beside Duke Panteur.

“The information leaker?”

“When we found him, he was already dead. The autopsy confirmed it was murder, but the tail was cut off, and we couldn’t find it.”

The decision for Rafi to meet Eugene was not made on the same day. It had been decided a few days earlier, and someone who heard the news leaked the information, leading to the attackers setting up an ambush.

“I’m sorry. We should have found him sooner.”

“It can’t be helped. Instead, from now on, we’ll have to be extremely vigilant. Next time something like this happens, I’ll forbid you from touching Rafi’s chubby cheeks.”

“Eek! That’s so cruel…”

Trembling, Vance immediately increased the number of guards. Only then did he work with Duke Panteur in relief. After Duke Panteur had reviewed all the documents and let out a sigh, Eugene woke up.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes.”

Eugene, who had risen from the bed, looked at Rafi, who was still sound asleep beside him and felt relieved. Fortunately, there was no sign of any harm.

“You protected your little sister well.”

“It wasn’t me; Rafi protected me.”

Eugene had been speaking calmly since the attack. Hearing his words, Duke Panteur felt his heart, which had been calmed down with great effort, race again.

“Thanks to Rafi, I could barely survive.”

“That’s fortunate. I kept refusing because Father kept spoiling her, saying that it would lead to bad habits, but Rafi secretly accepted them and found them useful.”

Sharing warmth and sharing food, they managed to survive. Duke Panteur nodded in agreement with Eugene’s words.

“Lie down a little longer. You haven’t fully recovered yet.”

“I’m fine. But more importantly, please show me the letter Mother left…”

It had been mentioned that there was a message from Seraphina in the Duke’s letter. Eugene had rushed here as soon as the break began to read it.

[To our beloved son, Eugene.

Eugene, congratulations. Mom has a baby in her belly now. You wanted a sibling, and I’m glad we can finally fulfill that wish. So, when you meet your little siblings, please be sure to protect them with love.

Your sibling may feel strange since they’ll come into a world that seems unfamiliar when it’s safe here. But be sure to hold them. I can’t breastfeed the baby, so it’s unfortunate, but you can hold and cuddle them. Eugene, my son… Become a wonderful person and build a happy family. Mom will be watching from heaven. Get along well with Erica and never oppose your Father.

And if you ever fall in love with someone, like your Father, don’t hide your emotions; express them openly. My beloved son, my child… I can’t write a long letter because I have to be fair to others as well.

Goodbye, my baby. Take care. Let’s see each other in the distant future. When we do, I hope you’ll tell me that you loved and were happy enough.]

With a sniffle, Eugene’s vision blurred, and he couldn’t see the contents of the letter. Soon, clear tears fell onto the letter. He quickly wiped the letter with his sleeve, surprised by his weakness.

“It’s waterproof paper, so you can cry if you want.”

In response, Eugene covered his contorted face with the letter and burst into tears. He tried not to make any noise while crying, biting his lips tightly, but his trembling shoulders were impossible to hide.

Seeing Eugene like this, Duke Panteur stepped closer and gently patted his shoulder. After a while, when Eugene’s tears had somewhat subsided, he wiped his tears with his sleeve and looked at Duke Panteur.

His eyes were red and swollen, but Duke Panteur used his handkerchief to dab away the remaining tears.

“Ah, Father…”

“Go ahead, say it.”

“Is, is it… Is it true that Rafi…”

Whatever Eugene was about to say, Duke Panteur nodded without saying a word.

“Huuu, M-Mother…”

He was told to call her “Mother” and Eugene quickly got used to it.

“My, my sister…… really…….”

“Yes, with the medicine brought by your cousin, we did a kinship test with her father, Erica, and Vance present… It was confirmed that it’s my child, your sibling.”

With those words, Eugene quickly snatched Duke Panteur’s handkerchief to blow his nose and looked at Rafi.

“W-Where… did you…… stay until you turned into a pumpkin, didn’t you miss your brother? I didn’t know… Sorry for grumbling as soon as I saw you… I was bad.”

Remembering Rafi’s words about protecting him despite their rocky start brought a mixture of pain and joy to Eugene’s heart.