IBTHM Chapter 10

It was the first time my name had come from Hades's mouth, which usually addressed me as "young lady" or "you." I felt somewhat dazed.

Hades lifted my left wrist and gently held it. He softly rubbed the hard interior of my wrist with his thumb.

"You don't need to worry about such things. Of course, you know better than anyone that there's virtually no one in this empire who could dare harm me."

"..."

"The same goes for Abel. I'm that child's father, and protecting him is my duty. I'll find and eliminate anyone who might pose a threat to Abel before they can even approach. And."

Hades paused briefly before continuing.

"Protecting you, who will become my wife, is also my duty. Rather than receiving help from you, I promise to protect you so that not a hair on your head is harmed."

At the awkwardly heartfelt sincerity from the Northern Duke, who should normally be radiating cold air, I was left speechless.

"I'm strong enough to protect you. So worrying about whether I'll get hurt or die is the most useless concern of all."

...said Abel's father, who would pass away in a year.

How tragic.

If the awakened female lead Deborah could be there a year from now, she could prevent Abel's rampage and Hades wouldn't die either.

Being four years younger than Abel, Deborah was living her life as a mere six-year-old right now—still too young to become this father and son's salvation.

"So you only need to worry about yourself."

From that day's conversation with Hades, I could instantly understand why Abel had continued to miss his father until the very end of the novel.

Hades Ruvermonte.

Aside from his excessive self-awareness, he was truly a wonderful man. He couldn't have been more reliable.

How much guilt must Abel have felt, knowing he'd driven such a father to his death?

I couldn't even dare to fathom Abel's feelings.

I became somewhat melancholy.

'I don't seem very useful. No matter how I think about it, I'm really not suited to be a Ruvermonte talent.'

'If I were even slightly more useful, I could at least provide minimal help when Your Grace or Young Lord Abel came back injured.'

Even after Aisha had left, Hades thought about her for quite some time.

As expected, Aisha believed she wasn't suited for the position of mistress of the Ruvermonte Ducal House.

She'd probably never once thought about becoming the duchess, despite persistently following him around.

Hades thought it might have been better if she'd had at least some degree of greed.

For instance, if she'd been satisfied with the duchess title she would soon obtain, or if she'd been dreaming of indulging in extravagance with the ducal family's wealth.

However, Hades had investigated her just as thoroughly as she'd followed him around.

Far from being extravagant, she'd been steadily saving the portion of her wealth sponsored by a certain noble to purchase and send expensive treasured swords, and she was a woman who seemed satisfied merely watching from afar, never once pushing herself forward.

Perhaps that was why Hades felt somewhat indebted to Aisha.

The very fact that she treated Abel—known as an illegitimate child—without hesitation and was willing to accept him was a tremendous decision that no ordinary noble young lady could possibly make.

Moreover, worrying about himself—someone called the empire's greatest ability user, for whom concerns about getting hurt or dying were absurd in the first place—when she appeared to have absolutely no power herself.

'What exactly did she fall for about me?'

As always, there'd been plenty of women clinging to him like aphids. However, the reason Hades had treated them coldly was that he'd felt no sincere affection from them whatsoever.

But Aisha was quite different. Even just watching from afar, he felt goosebumps at the depth of her true love—a warmth that heated his body involuntarily.

Hades, who'd sunk deeply into his chair, covered his eyes with cold hands to cool the heat.

His face had suddenly grown hot.

When I arrived at the dining room where dinner had been prepared, I encountered Abel sitting alone.

This was the first time I'd met Abel in the dining room. I glanced at the empty seats before casually claiming the spot next to Abel and sitting down.

Fortunately, Abel welcomed me.

"May I sit next to you?"

"What?! No, I'd be honored..."

Abel murmured, his cheeks flushing shyly.

To think my humble self sitting next to him would be an honor for my ultimate favorite.

This would've been unimaginable in my previous life. Second life, excellent.

"But why does your face look so gloomy? Am I imagining it?"

Even as I asked, I was certain Abel had some significant worry.

I'm not someone who'd fail to notice even the slightest change in my favorite's expression.

"Countess Gaspel is coming today. I'm supposed to receive education from her, and I'm a bit worried. After all, I'm quite lacking..."

"Mm, don't think that way. There's no child more perfect than you, Young Lord."

"What?! Y-Young lady... That's not true at all. Even during our walk yesterday—I don't understand why you view me so favorably. I'm only causing trouble for Father."

Looking at Abel's dejected expression, I felt troubled.

I'd known this, but having been constantly mistreated by those around him, Abel's self-esteem—like my ability level—converged on zero.

Countess Gaspel, who would soon appear here, and her husband Count Gaspel, had probably given young Abel countless pointed looks as well.

Just watching this young child already trembling said it all.

Feeling sorry for Abel, I impulsively grabbed his trembling hand under the table.

Abel flinched and looked up at me.

"Don't worry too much."

Abel stared at me blankly for a while before nodding emphatically.

His small, fidgeting hand gripped mine tightly with force.

His small hand, damp with nervous sweat, clung to mine for quite some time, as if my hand were a lifeline.

"Young lady. I... I really hope..."

Abel said with a gentle smile.

"You'll marry Father."

"Pardon?"

"Actually, I have no interest whatsoever in Father's position. If later, a younger sibling is born between Father and you..."

What's being born?

Though it was a bewildering topic, I couldn't interrupt Abel, who looked so serious, so I listened obediently.

"I'll definitely tell that sibling to take Father's position. So, so please don't leave and stay here."

Abel said this with somewhat worried eyes.

"If Father ends up living alone his whole life because of me, I'd be sad. I'm sorry if I'm being a burden to you, but if someone as kind, gentle, and beautiful as you could stay by Father's side, I couldn't ask for more."

So the essence of Abel's "please stay" wasn't really about liking me, but rather worrying about Hades, who would otherwise grow old and die as a widower.

"...All right."

But as an Abel fangirl, even that was more than satisfactory enough for me.

Well, it wasn't that I felt no jealousy toward Hades... but I knew well enough that their bond wasn't at a level where such petty emotions could intrude.

I'd been smiling at Abel's beaming face, delighted by my answer, for quite some time.

Not many minutes later, unfamiliar faces entered the dining room.

A tall, straight-postured veteran and a middle-aged woman whose face, deeply marked by the passage of time, exuded nothing but stubbornness. Behind the two of them, Hades entered.

Before I could even stand up, Abel, who'd been sitting next to me, greeted them.

"It's been a while!"

I was startled by Abel's voice, which resonated throughout the dining room.

He had as much military discipline as a freshly enlisted private.

As expected, Count and Countess Gaspel barely acknowledged Abel's greeting as they took their seats.

Having missed the timing for my own greeting, I timidly opened my mouth only after Hades and the count and countess had all been seated.

"I am Aisha Esclife of the Esclife Barony. It's an honor to meet you, Count Gaspel, Countess Gaspel."

The couple observed me with sharp gazes.

The more frightening of the two was the countess.

Countess Gaspel, who'd tightly pinned up her black hair streaked with the occasional white strand, scrutinized me with blood-red eyes as if appraising me.

She looked like what Hades might resemble if he'd dressed as a woman and aged. Could they really look this similar?

"Pleased to meet you. We'll be seeing each other often. I am Mason Gaspel."

Count Gaspel, Mason, wore an expression that found me distasteful, but at least he treated me appropriately as a noble young lady.

The problem was his wife—Countess Gaspel, who held the position of Hades's "mother-like older sister."

"I'm Agatha Gaspel. Pleased to meet you, Lady Esclife."

"The honor is mine."

"I heard you came all the way to the North with nothing but the clothes on your back?"

Despite her cold impression, the countess asked with a gentle expression.

So I almost mistakenly thought—despite knowing her well from the original work—that she might actually be quite courteous and kind.

"Yes. Well..."

However, that gentleness lasted exactly one moment.

"To think you came all the way to the North with the intention of ensnaring a man—in a way, I thought that took remarkable audacity. In truth, if you were a woman with any sense of shame, you would have acted with at least some discretion."

A heavy silence descended upon the dining room at her follow-up remark.

Having been blindsided without warning, my mind went completely blank for a moment.

I merely blinked stupidly several times, trying to process her cruel words.

Hades hastily interjected.

"Agatha, have you lost your mind?"