"Because prayer is an act done between people who love each other."
Damian, tightly pressed against Ariel's side, bent his waist and stared at Lucy.
"So your mother loves your father very much."
Damian had a look on his face as if he had delivered a decisive blow.
Ariel tilted her head and frowned at the sight of her husband for the first time. She felt like she was seeing something wrong.
"No. Mom loves Lucy more. Mom prays because Lucy said so. Not because she loves Dad. She does it so Lucy and Lucy's brother can live happily."
Whispering, Lucy refuted her father's words, not avoiding Damian's gaze as she pushed her face forward in the same way.
"Dad... I don't need you if it's not for my brother."
Lucy stood in front of Ariel. She spread her arms wide, as if to protect Ariel from Damian.
"Mom loves Lucy more!"
Lucy's confident voice was so chilling that Ariel blinked her eyes.
Coincidentally, since Lucy had her back to Ariel, she couldn't see her expression.
"Lucy?"
At Ariel's call, Lucy turned her head slightly and smiled, as if everything was fine.
Seeing that face, Ariel fell into serious contemplation.
A sigh came out involuntarily at the sight of Lucy, who seemed to have become a heroic protector from a fairy tale, guarding her mother.
At this age, they say they tend to follow their mothers more... But to regard her father as a monster is a bit...
With a troubled expression, Ariel pondered how to teach Lucy about the existence of her father while holding Lucy in her arms.
"No. Mom belongs to Dad."
"No! Mom is mine!"
Lucy tightly pulled Ariel's hand and looked up at her.
"Right, Mom? You're Lucy's mom, right? Lucy is better than Dad, right?"
It was a given that Lucy was better, but Ariel still held Lucy in her arms, considering her husband who had just returned after a long absence.
Most of all, it was a bit of a problem for Lucy to say that her father was unneeded.
"Mom loves both Lucy and Dad. There's no preference for who I love more in my family, Lucy. Let alone being unneeded. Family members are not objects."
At Ariel's words, Lucy's pupils wavered.
Her green eyes narrowed, then she lowered her eyes helplessly and started crying again.
It looked like tears would flow at any moment, so Ariel placed a soft kiss on Lucy's cheek.
"Lucy."
At Ariel's call, Lucy nodded slightly.
"Mom."
"Yes?"
However, when Ariel looked at Lucy again after the kiss, there was not a single tear in Lucy's green eyes.
The resolute green pupils stared at Ariel. Lucy's tiny fingers pointed at her father.
"Dad said Mom belongs to him, right? Then that is wrong. It's only livestock that have ownership rights. What ownership does Mom have? Mom is just Mom. Lucy's mom. Right?"
Ariel swallowed hard. Her large, clear eyes urged her to answer.
"Th-that's right? Since Mom's not livestock..."
Ariel blinked her eyes as she looked down at her daughter.
Gazing into her upright pupils, Ariel felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
Ownership that only applies to livestock... Lucy's words seemed to stab a sharp spear into a corner of Ariel's heart.
They say children are more difficult because of their innocence. Is this what they mean?
Unfortunately, Damian's words were not wrong.
A wife does belong to her husband, and now Ariel was close to being the possession of the Duke of Genova.
The trophy her father had spoken of long ago. The most beautiful trophy in the Genova duchy.
Ownership is correct, but... Unable to finish her words, Ariel sat with her lips parted, only looking at her daughter.
"Even if not livestock, she is a part of my private property. Your mother is a possession I acquired when I married her. And now you're included in that possession, too."
Damian filled in the blank for Ariel.
Ariel, tightly hugging Lucy, looked at Damian with cold eyes. She didn't care about being called a possession.
But Lucy too... Calling our daughter a mere piece of property, valuing her as nothing more than a gold nugget.
"Dad... is a pebble! A pebble!!"
Lucy seemed to get angry at her father's words and started shouting loudly.
This time, Ariel did not correct Lucy's words either.
Because harsher words than "pebble" were coming to Ariel's mind.
It seems he didn't want to lose to a child, even as an adult.
With a sigh, Ariel hugged the raging Lucy and glanced sharply at Damian.
Exhaling a sigh, Ariel patted Lucy's back.
It seemed better to soothe the raging child's emotions with other words, since she couldn't let her insult her father.
"Mom will always be Lucy's mom. You know how much Mom loves our Lucy, right?"
Ariel's words seemed effective, as Lucy, held in her arms, stuck her head out. The tears clinging to the corners of her eyes stopped.
"Yeah, Mom... is Lucy's mom. Dad is a pebble."
"That's right. Of course. Since Dad has to wash up, would you like Mom to read a book to Lucy in the meantime?”
"Yes!"
Lucy seemed delighted and hugged Ariel's neck tightly.
Of course, some correction was needed regarding her father, but Ariel didn't really want to do that today. Ariel turned her body, passing by the standing Damian.
Caressing the small, adorable child's back, Ariel resolved:
She would raise Lucy to be a smiling, well-fed, and healthy child. Not someone's possession or trophy.
‘A pebble.’
Lucy, who was being held by Ariel, smiled at Damian.
There was no hint of a smile on her mouth, which clearly pronounced the word "pebble."
Her facial expressions were quite difficult for a 7 year old to make. It wasn't an illusion.
The child looked at Damian as if he was trash right before Ariel took her to her room.
It seemed... His daughter was quite different in front of Ariel than behind her back.
When he came home, it was none other than his own daughter who was trying her hardest to take Ariel away from him.
...That's not possible.
*
Luckily, after reading a few books to her, Lucy quickly fell asleep.
In the now quiet room, listening to Lucy's soft breathing, Ariel rose from her seat.
It seemed she would have to talk to Damian.
Upon arriving at the bedroom, Ariel looked around. The sound of water from inside indicated that Damian was still bathing.
Ariel let out a deep sigh and sat down at the end of the bed. First, she needed to organize her thoughts.
Regarding the matter of the tutor, she would have to persuade Damian once more. As for the rest, it seemed best to caution him about his speech.
Damian didn't have long to see Lucy anyway, so she hoped he would pay a little more attention to her even for that brief moment.
Anyway, since Damian's victory celebration would be held at the Imperial Palace starting tomorrow, he would be busy for a while.
After today, it would be difficult to see Damian's face again for some time.
Suddenly recalling Damian's unexpected visit to Lucy's room, another sigh escaped Ariel's lips.
She couldn't quite grasp whether she should expect him to play the role of a father or not.
Since before Lucy was born, he had been at war, and after returning, he went back to the battlefield again without rest. When Lucy was born, Ariel had given birth alone due to Damian's prolonged absence in the war.
She thought that would be the last time, but he crossed the sea again to suppress a rebellion.
The days they had met were so few that they could be counted on one hand.
It would be nice if this were the last time, but Ariel didn't know when Damian would be deployed again.
She had heard that in other noble households with brothers, they would take turns going.
For some reason, despite having a younger brother Bruno, Damian always went on deployments everytime.
Even for the most recent war, it was said that Bruno asked Damian to go, claiming he was ill.
For the Duke of Genova to be treated like this.....
Ariel, after tightly closing and opening her eyes, shook her head.
No, she shouldn't think this way since Damian was simply fulfilling his duty as the Duke of the Empire.
With a bitter expression, Ariel fiddled with the wedding ring on her fourth finger.
In the frequent wars of conquest, Damian had continuously achieved great victories upon his return, which should have been a joyous occasion as his wife and as a citizen of the empire.
However... sitting in the duchy, every day for Ariel was spent on pins and needles full of anxiety.
If she heard news of someone's death, she would become unnecessarily anxious on that day and unable to sleep.
"Ariel."
"Kyaa!"
Startled, Ariel let out a scream. Damian pushed his face forward before her eyes.
"What were you thinking about that you did not answer when called?"
Droplets of water dripped from Damian's hair onto Ariel's skirt.
"D-Did you call me?"
Without a word, Damian tilted his head. His blue eyes gazed at Ariel.
His pupils seemed to contain a miniature sea, causing Ariel to flinch.
Not Ariel and Lucy of this Genova duchy, but something greater, eyes containing the sea.
Eyes that the Duke of Genova should rightfully possess.
After briefly looking into his eyes, Ariel took a deep breath.
So she too must say what a mother should rightfully say in this duchy.
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