I Became My Son's First Love - Chapter 40

Dane clicked his tongue in frustration as he noticed something on the floor. Narrowing his eyes, he bent down to retrieve it from beneath the desk.

‘A portrait?’

The small portrait, about the size of his palm, was slightly worn at the edges, as if handled often. Dane frowned as he brought the portrait closer to the candlelight, then froze. He blinked in disbelief.

‘Why…?’

The girl in the portrait had red hair and glowing crimson eyes, much like the flame flickering in front of him. Her faint smile was beautiful. It was a younger Eve. Dane stared blankly at the portrait for a long time. Why was Eve’s portrait here?

‘Aeshath?’

Dane shook his head, dismissing the thought. The office where the work had been done, the sudden departure of Azazel, the portrait of Eve in the office of the Seratine villa, the letters bearing the seal of the Count of Hound—all these connections between the Seratine family and Eve were too many to be mere coincidence. Everything pointed more toward Azazel than Aeshath.

Dane let out a hollow laugh. So, his son was the one responsible for ruining his marriage?

If he hadn’t found this worn-out portrait, Dane would have assumed that Azazel was simply following imperial orders. He thought of his son, smiling at his stepmother earlier, and his face twisted. Was it possible that Azazel, his son, liked Eve?

“Is he out of his mind?”

The very thought made him nauseous. Yet, there was too much circumstantial and tangible evidence to dismiss it as absurd.

Despite feeling the need to search the office further, his body froze, too revolted and afraid of what else he might find.

After standing there dumbfounded for what felt like an eternity, Dane heard footsteps beyond the door. He instinctively snuffed out the candle and hid beneath the desk. How much time passed was unclear, but only after the sounds faded did Dane cautiously slip out of the office. Hidden in his coat was Eve’s portrait.

***

Dane blinked his tired eyes. After discovering something like that, how could he sleep?

He had spent the night wide awake, and now, rising from bed, he glanced again at the portrait sitting on the bedside table. His mind was a tangled mess, feeling like it might burst. He carefully put the portrait away, and then rang the bell to summon the servants. While being attended to, he inquired about Eve’s whereabouts.

Unlike her usual routine of the past three years, she was already up and had gone to the corridor. Dane, feeling unsettled, left his room as well. Maybe seeing Eve’s face would bring him some comfort.

It was a long shot, but there was a slim chance that this portrait could belong to Aeshath. He tried to deny his intuition as he descended and soon encountered Aeshath. Dane skillfully concealed his anxious thoughts and greeted her.

“Aeshath, you’ve started the day early as well.”

“You, on the other hand… look exhausted.”

“I’m picky about my sleeping arrangements. Are you on your way to the corridor?”

“Yes, Eve is there.”

Indeed, Aeshath was paying a lot of attention to Eve. But was it truly personal interest? Or could it be that she knew about Azazel’s feelings for Eve and was watching over her because of that?

Dane, harboring suspicions, stifled a bitter smile. If Aeshath knew that Azazel liked Eve, she wouldn’t be showing such affection for her.

Even though Aeshath had changed since the divorce, she was still imperial family and had lived her entire life as a member of the Duchy of Seratin. Would Aeshath ever accept Eve as Azazel’s partner, especially knowing she wasn’t just any divorcée but Dane’s former wife? It was absurd. Aeshath wouldn’t condone a relationship between Azazel and Eve.

Therefore, it was safe to assume Aeshath didn’t know about Azazel’s feelings yet. Even if Azazel did like Eve, no one would understand it. He could never be with Eve. Azazel was in no position to do such a thing.

As Dane’s thoughts continued to oscillate with each joke Aeshath made, by the time they found Eve, he was inclined to believe Aeshath knew nothing.

Dane quickly distanced himself from the group as soon as Azazel arrived to converse with Eve. Aeshath and Eve moved further away with Rose.

Today, Dane was determined not to see Azazel and Eve together. Though Azazel cast an annoyed glance at Dane, it was hard for him to return the look. Instead, Dane observed Azazel closely, checking if his son was looking at Eve or what kind of expression he made when he did. However, his worries were unfounded; Azazel behaved no differently than usual.

‘Was it all in my head?’

He wished it were. If so, he could laugh at himself for such ridiculous thoughts and discard these nauseating suspicions.

After spending the whole day scrutinizing Azazel, Dane again started to believe that perhaps everything was just his imagination. Azazel hadn’t shown any interest in Eve, hadn’t even spoken to her, and had simply returned to his room. As Dane headed back to his room, his mind filled with doubt.

‘What should I do?’

Should he dismiss everything as a figment of his imagination and bury it? Or should he investigate further?

Lost in thought, he mistakenly took a wrong turn. It was embarrassing to actually get lost. Hearing the voices of servants beyond the corner, he instinctively concealed himself.

“I heard the madam and the young master argued yesterday?”

“Would you call that an argument?”

“They say the young master didn’t look too happy.”

“Maybe it was about that new collection?”

“You mean the paintings by the artist they recently brought in?”

“No, I’m talking about the madam’s private collection.”

“Well, they seemed fine today, so I guess it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Is that so?”

Dane had hidden himself impulsively, but it didn’t seem like an important conversation, so he was about to move when—

“Oh, right. Did the young master stay up late the other night? Someone mentioned a light coming from the office.”

Dane stiffened and listened again.

“They said they had to leave without cleaning because he was in there. When are we supposed to clean, anyway?”

“Well, he’ll be leaving soon, so maybe then…”

Dane gritted his teeth. If Azazel was indeed the owner of that office, then there was no question about who owned the portrait. He felt sick to his stomach. He wanted to march into Azazel’s room, throw the portrait in his face, and demand an explanation.

Back in his room, Dane opened the drawer of the bedside table where he had hidden the portrait. But his hand grasped nothing.

“…It was definitely here.”

Anxiety, confusion, or maybe even anger—he wasn’t sure which emotion was making his eyes tremble.

“How…?”

He hurriedly rang the bell and summoned the servants. Frantically, he searched the room but found nothing. He interrogated the servant.

“Did anyone enter this room after I left?”

“Yes, I came to clean briefly.”

Dane snapped his head toward the servant. “Did you touch anything inside the table?”

Startled by Dane’s sharp tone, the servant asked back in confusion, “Pardon?”

“Did you take anything from the table?”

The servant turned pale at Dane’s question. “Is something missing? I’ll help you find it.”

The servant was trembling, but seemed to know nothing. Dane sighed and said coldly, “…Forget it. Leave.”

The servant hesitated, but Dane sternly repeated, “Leave.”

Once alone, Dane struggled to calm his racing mind. The only person who could know the portrait had gone missing was the owner of the portrait itself. As much as he wanted to confront Azazel immediately, without the portrait as proof, any accusations would be futile.

Dane’s face twisted in frustration. “Is this how you want to play it?”

Without hesitation, he left his room and headed for the fourth floor. It was time to inform his mother that her son had gone astray.

Despite the fourth floor being where the family resided, there was a noticeable lack of presence, unlike the lower levels where the guests stayed. Except for one place. Light filtered out from a door that hadn’t been fully shut. From within, voices could be heard.

“What?”

“Are you planning to maintain your connection with Lady Jenna?”

“Yes.”

“Though others haven’t noticed yet, the young master’s behavior has been a bit…”

“Muel.”

At the sound of the unfamiliar, icy voice, Dane instinctively tensed. Aeshath’s cold warning followed.

“Even if I am a merciful master, there are times when the line must not be crossed.”

“…I apologize.”

“Make sure nothing leaks elsewhere. Keep a tight rein on the servants. I’ll handle it myself once I’ve observed a bit longer.”

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over Dane’s head.