A Father Who Loves His Child, A Father Who Does Not Love His Child

“Phew… Where on earth has Marguerite gone?”

The Marquess of Hagenberg looked around the hall where the celebration was being held and sighed deeply.

It had already been thirty minutes since she had left her seat saying she would pick flowers due to the nerves of possibly meeting Jonah; he didn’t think she would be kidnapped inside the Imperial Palace, but still, his unease remained.

His only daughter Marguerite was a precious treasure entrusted to him even by his late wife.

No matter what, he had to protect her.

“…Has it already been ten years since then?”

Marguerite’s mother, who had been frail to begin with, grew worse after giving birth to her and passed away peacefully ten winters ago.

The Marquess of Hagenberg was plunged into grief, but what saved him was his beloved daughter’s untroubled smile.

At that moment, he swore.

No matter what happens, he would protect only Marguerite and ensure her happiness.

In his original fate…, the Marquess of Hagenberg had been ruined by a locust plague.

Marguerite, defying the Marquess of Hagenberg, sold herself into the Langheim Ducal House.

And… the Marquess of Hagenberg, regretting that he had forced such a thing upon his daughter, ended his own life.

Now, thanks to his meeting with Jonah, that terrible fate would never come to pass, and Marguerite was promised a happy future.

Unaware of that, the Marquess of Hagenberg took a glass of water from a servant, drained it in one gulp to soothe his dry throat, and continued desperately searching for his beloved daughter.

At that moment.

“Lord Hagenberg. You seem flustered—what has happened?”

“Lord Langheim…”

The one who spoke was the Duke of Langheim, who had previously proposed a marriage alliance to Marguerite.

One step behind him stood his son and heir, Siegvald.

“…No, nothing in particular.”

Saying that, the Marquess of Hagenberg attempted to leave.

“Well, there’s no need to be so cold, is there? You might become family with me after all.”

“……………………..”

Being annoyingly detained by the Duke of Langheim, the Marquess of Hagenberg visibly frowned.

Frankly, he did not want to be involved with the Duke of Langheim… No, to be precise, he believed there was nothing to say to a man with whom he could never agree.

Of course, there was a reason the Marquess of Hagenberg felt this way.

He had learned of the existence of the eldest son of the Langheim Ducal House, Jonatan Gerhard Langheim, the boy revealed to Emperor Karl by the hero Quylindra when she mentioned Jonah’s name.

After the events in the audience chamber, the Marquess of Hagenberg immediately sent inquiries to the Langheim household.

As expected of one of the five great ducal houses, the Langheim inquiries were difficult, but he still learned some things.

That in the Langheim household, the boy Jonatan had been bedridden since birth.

That Jonatan had been treated like a fragile, troublesome thing by everyone from his family to his servants.

Above all… not a single member of his family had shown him love.

Unfortunately, contact with the boy Jonatan was impossible, but the thought that he might be the same person as Jonah tightened the Marquess of Hagenberg’s chest with pain.

…No, not only Jonah; his pride would not permit treating a sick child so callously.

Precisely for that reason.

“You must be joking. As I said the other day, my daughter already has a chosen suitor. A man who wouldn’t lose even to that boy Jonah whom the hero Quylindra said defeated a Demon Lord’s army commander in the audience chamber.”

“…!?!”

The Marquess of Hagenberg made his rejection of the Duke of Langheim plain.

Moreover, he believed without doubt that the boy Quylindra had named Jonah was his daughter’s benefactor and beloved.

The Marquess of Hagenberg himself had also witnessed Jonah’s miracle.

“…Lord Hagenberg, you too believe the old hero’s tall tales. I have heard that Princess Patricia brought that boy Jonah from the Kingdom of Karelia, but that he is not the sort of person Quylindra describes.”

Though his expression did not change, the Duke of Langheim fixed a sharp gaze on the Marquess of Hagenberg.

Despite having gone out of his way to propose the match to the Marquess, he had been flatly refused.

Since that time, he had been determined to make the man before him kneel.

The Duke of Langheim had thought so all along.

“Is that so. However, even if the boy Jonah is judged that way, I do not care at all. If anything, that would be preferable—for both me and Marguerite. But…”

The Marquess of Hagenberg slowly stared the Duke of Langheim down.

“Lord Langheim is unrelated to the boy Jonah and has no interest in him… May I take that as your meaning?”

“……………………..”

The name ‘Jonah’ that had been uttered in the audience with Emperor Karl and Quylindra.

Since that day, his mind had been haunted by Jonah, who had disappeared three months earlier.

He kept thinking that that Jonah—nothing but a useless failure—could never do something so grand; therefore, the boy Quylindra spoke of could not possibly be Jonah.

Yet at the same time, the thought persisted that the boy might indeed be the Jonah born to him and the woman he once loved, Marta… the Jonah whom he had abandoned as a father. That idea, too, took root in his heart and would not leave.

The Duke of Langheim found himself at a loss for an answer.

He was gripped by an indescribable fear that a single wrong answer here could cost him everything.

The Marquess of Hagenberg stared him down, waiting for an answer.

No matter how much he investigated, he could not find proof that Jonah—the man his daughter smiled for—and the Langheim eldest son named Jonatan were the same person. The possibility was almost non-existent.

Still, the Marquess of Hagenberg demanded an answer from the Duke of Langheim.

He wanted a verbal assurance that the Jonah who would soon be presented by the royal family—by Patricia—was ‘unrelated to his child’ and that they were ‘not interested in the boy Jonah.’

He wanted even the smallest potential obstacle removed so that Marguerite and Jonah might be united.

Silence continued between the two.

Siegvald, who stood nearby, could not break in and simply hung his head.

His father, the Duke of Langheim, had said, ‘One day Marguerite will be yours.’

And yet, the Marquess of Hagenberg would neither yield nor take a single step back.

Even though they were a Marquessate, they were one of the five great ducal houses—the Langheim family.

Siegvald had excelled in studies and shown extraordinary talent in swordsmanship and horsemanship, earning great expectations from his father and being doted on by his mother.

Around him, the only comparison was Jonah—dismissed as a worthless failure—and servants who would obey his every command.

It was an environment more than sufficient for a mere ten-year-old boy to become proud, haughty, and arrogant.

All the more, the Marquess of Hagenberg’s attitude toward his father only increased Siegvald’s irritation.

And then.

“…As Lord Hagenberg says, I have no interest in that Jonah fellow. Whatever he may be, it’s none of my concern. Are you satisfied with that?”

After hesitation, the Duke of Langheim gave that answer.

With that… the fragile final thread of fate that remained was now severed.

“Is that so?”

He nodded, turned on his heel, and prepared to leave the place.

Though it should have been the perfect answer he sought, he clenched his fist in anger.

It was only natural.

Because the Duke of Langheim had chosen that answer despite being aware of the possibility that the boy Jonah might be his own son, Jonatan.

He had clearly cast aside Jonatan Gerhard Langheim.

“Hm… Where are you going?”

“…I’m sorry, but I have no intention of discussing this further.”

A clear rejection, laden with anger and contempt.

At the Marquess of Hagenberg’s attitude and words, Siegvald, carried away by anger, was about to protest, when—

“Ah… that’s—!?”

“Oh…!”

The doors were thrown open, and a small boy and girl appeared, holding hands.

—It was Jonah in white formal attire, and Marguerite dressed in a black-and-red gown prepared for the day.