“I don’t want him.”
The words left her lips too quickly. Too sharply.
Aeliana kept her expression still, but inside—her heart was slamming against her ribs, fast and unsteady.
She wasn’t lying.
Was she?
Her father studied her for a moment, his golden eyes flickering with something unreadable. Then, as if deciding there was nothing more to say, he leaned back in his chair.
“Very well,” he said simply. “I will see to it that he is compensated for his efforts. If nothing else, he has done a service for our family. I will ensure that he is well-rewarded, and that he does not interfere with your future any further—”
Aeliana’s breath caught.
Wait.
What?
He continued, speaking as if the matter was already settled. “I will see to it that he has no reason to trouble you again. There is no need for you to concern yourself with—”
“No!”
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
Her father raised an eyebrow, pausing mid-sentence.
Aeliana stiffened, her fists tightening in her lap.
Damn it.
She could feel the heat rising to her face, the undeniable twist in her chest.
Her lips pressed together. She couldn’t take the words back. And yet—she didn’t know how to move forward either.
Her father watched her in silence, waiting.
Aeliana swallowed hard, forcing herself to breathe. Then—her voice lower, hesitant, unsteady—she muttered,
“…I may want him?”
It wasn’t a declaration.
It wasn’t even a solid statement.
But—
It was enough.
And the second she said it, she knew.
She knew it was the truth.
Thaddeus narrowed his golden eyes, his fingers tapping lightly against the armrest of his chair. His gaze sharpened—not angry, not disapproving, just assessing.
“What is it, then?” he asked, voice steady. “Do you want him, or do you not?”
Aeliana’s jaw clenched.
What kind of question was that?
Did he think she had the answer? That she could just—just say it out loud?
She didn’t even know what she wanted.
Her fists tightened in her lap, her breath coming quicker. She could feel it—the heat rising in her chest, the pressure building under his unwavering scrutiny.
And then—
“Don’t meddle with my affairs!” she snapped, her glare sharp as a blade. “I will deal with this on my own!”
Silence.
Thaddeus exhaled slowly, his gaze remaining steady, unfazed.
For a moment, she thought he might push further.
But then—
“Very well,” he said simply.
Aeliana blinked, caught off guard by the ease of his response.
She had expected another argument, another round of cold logic and calculated words.
Instead—
Her father leaned back, watching her with something almost amused.
Almost.
Aeliana narrowed her eyes. “…What?”
Thaddeus shook his head. “Nothing.”
It wasn’t nothing.
She could feel it.
Something in his expression. In the way he was looking at her now.
Like he knew something she didn’t.
And that—
That really irritated her.
But there was not much that she could do about that.
Aeliana exhaled sharply, pressing her fingers to her temple. She had already spent too much time in this room, too much time under his scrutiny, too much time thinking about him.
Lucavion.
That irritating, reckless bastard.
Her father’s gaze lingered on her, but she ignored it, rising from her chair with a sigh. “I’m leaving.”
Thaddeus didn’t stop her. He only nodded once, as if he had already expected this. “Go, then.”
Aeliana frowned slightly at how easy that was, but she didn’t question it.
She had no patience left for another conversation—not when there was too much circling in her mind already.
Too many memories. Too many realizations.
She turned toward the door, her fingers brushing the cool metal of the handle—
And then—
“Aeliana.”
She stiffened.
Her father’s voice was quieter this time, lower.
She hesitated but didn’t turn back. “…What?”
A brief pause.
“…Don’t take too long figuring it out.”
Her grip on the door handle tightened.
Something about those words—about the way he said them—made her chest clench.
But she didn’t respond.
She only pushed the door open and stepped out, letting it close behind her.
*****
Thaddeus exhaled slowly, his golden eyes lingering on the door his daughter had just walked through.
The thing was—
He knew that look.
He knew his daughter well.
Young heart, is it?
It had been a long, long time since he had seen something like that.
Aeliana had always been sharp, always carried herself with a poised, almost untouchable air. She had been raised as the heir of the Duchy, despite the obstacles placed upon her. Even when she was bedridden, even when her illness made her future uncertain, she never once looked at someone like that.
And now—
Now she had.
It was subtle, but it was there.
He had once worn that same expression.
Once.
A long time ago.
Thaddeus leaned back in his chair, dragging a hand down his face. Even though he still had a long road ahead of him as an 8-rank Awakened, even though he was far from an old man, love affairs had never once crossed his mind since the loss of his wife.
To be frank, both his father and his attendants had urged him to remarry more times than he could count.
The logic had been sound.
With Aeliana’s condition deteriorating, the Duchy had been left without a qualified heir. And an heir was necessary. The noble houses needed stability, needed certainty.
And in their eyes, he needed another child. Preferably a male one.
But—
He never did.
He never could.
And now?
Now, Aeliana had recovered.
The Duchy had its heir again.
Things would be smoother. The pressures on him to remarry would ease, and yet—
Somehow… I doubt that will stop the old men from nagging me about it.
Thaddeus sighed.
As if he had the time for such things.
He had too much to deal with already. The Royal Family’s increasing pressure on his house. The fallout from the recent expedition. The growing instability of the empire’s internal politics.
And now—
Lucavion.
That boy had thrown himself into his life like a blade slicing through paper, reckless and confident and utterly unconcerned with consequences.
And his daughter—
His daughter had noticed.
‘Tch.’
Thaddeus exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple.
He didn’t know if this would lead to something—or if it would end in disaster.
As Thaddeus sat in the dimming quiet of his study, his fingers absently tapped against the polished wood of his desk. His mind, usually a fortress of calculated strategy and measured control, found itself circling back—again and again—to the same thought.
That smile.
The one Aeliana had shown, brief yet unmistakably real.
It had been years since he had seen anything like it.
For so long, her face had only held quiet endurance, silent suffering, and a carefully maintained distance from everything around her. Even before her illness had worsened, even before she had been confined to her chambers, she had never been joyful.
And yet—
Today.
Today, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he had seen a flicker of something different. Something alive.
A warmth he had not been able to give her.
A color that had not come from his protection, nor his power, nor his endless efforts to ensure she had the best of everything.
No.
It had come from that kid.
Lucavion.
That reckless, aggravating, uncontrollable boy.
Thaddeus exhaled sharply through his nose, shaking his head. Tch.
It was absurd. Unreasonable. Impossible to explain in political terms.
And yet—
All of the things that made this situation dangerous, all of the risks I am about to take…
They no longer mattered.
Because if Lucavion had done what he could not—if he had managed to bring back something Aeliana had lost long ago—
Then so be it.
Thaddeus closed his eyes briefly before letting out a quiet, rare chuckle.
“Heh….”
A smile ghosted across his lips—faint, almost unnoticeable, but there.
Then, just as quickly, it was gone.
His golden eyes sharpened once more, and with the weight of a decision fully made, he turned toward the door.
It was time to get serious.
“Call the butler,” Thaddeus ordered, his voice firm. “And notify, Reinhardt. He is to be here immediately.”
The guards outside moved instantly, one stepping into the hall to summon the necessary attendants.
Because from this moment forward—
The Duke appeared to has returned to his normal state.
———–A/N——–
I am starting a new book, Transmigrated into Eroge as the Simp, but I Refuse This Fate.
As you can see from the title, the main character transmigrates as a simp character. But, he will be different from Lucavion, as he will be more unhinged.
Heavily inspired by Johhny Silverhand, the mc will be quite chaotic. Also, it will be an R-18 novel for those who are interested.
It is a light read, and I will write it as a side-project, so neither Hunter’s nor this book’s updates will be effected.