Chapter 318.2
Papas [Part 2]
Francesca’s Father, Isaac Delacour’s POV
“Oh, really! It’s because my Emma has been in her great care.”
“Y-Yes… Yes?”
When I lifted my head, prepared to take any sarcasm about my daughter’s misconduct, the Count was… smiling genuinely with a happy face.
“My daughter is very cute but a little shy, so I have been worried about whether she could make friends at the academy. What’s more, you see? When I heard that the first subject on her first day of class was the only class where she separated from her brothers, I was so, so worried that I couldn’t sleep at night. Those times were really hard… for me. However, as if to show that my worries were for nothing, didn’t it end up with Emma happily telling me during dinner that Lady Francesca was in that very first subject and became groupmates with her? Emma said they exchanged cufflinks and were even together during the class on the second period, Monster Science, and lunch break! Also she told me how Lady Francesca talked to her first at the Royal Castle party before her enrollment! Oh boy, my daughter is the epitome of cuteness, but because we’ve been living in the borderland, I’ve raised her just a tiny bit too carefree. I’ve been afraid she couldn’t get used to high society in the Royal Capital. It was so, so distressing that even swallowing food felt hard… for me. However, Emma beamed and said she was saved because Lady Francesca had told her many things about the academy and the young ladies and noble sons she didn’t know… so truly, the favor Lady Francesca has done for my cute daughter… should be repaid and never be forgotten… by me, of course.”
(By you?!!)
Not just me, but my grinning coworkers behind me and all the bureau staff who just happened to be present also became one in mind and retorted in their hearts.
“Eh? F-Francesca…? is getting along well with Lady Emma?”
The things Count Stuart mentioned during his passionate talk about his daughter weren’t things I was aware of. Because I was especially busy these past few days, I had been staying at the Royal Castle and hadn’t returned to my family mansion. Even if I went home, the parent-child relationship I had with my daughter wouldn’t allow me to have such a conversation with her…
“You didn’t know this?”
Count Leonard widened his eyes.
“That is not good, Sir Delacour. I don’t approve of your attitude. Children… grow up in the blink of an eye. Will it not be a pity if we do not etch every moment of their growth into our minds? We are indeed at the age where we have heavier responsibilities at work. And although working for our family is also important, the time we can spend together with our cute daughters… is awfully… little.”
Count Stuart tightly held my hands and made a fervent speech.
“Y-Yes…”
“This is an alarming situation, you know? How could a father not know about his daughter…”
“No, well… Francesca is… a few years older than Lady Emma… so I think there is no need to meddle too much…”
“What are you saying?! Of course things like age do not matter, right?! It is a father’s duty to protect his daughter all his life!”
Count Stuart looked straight into me with unclouded eyes. …the weight of his love was no joke.
“Hmph. It can’t be helped… I will tell you how Lady Francesca is doing at the academy.”
“Ye… yes?”
“First, about the group your daughter is in in the Embroidery class. There are three other young ladies aside from Emma. One of them is Lady Marion Bell. I heard she is a young lady with a tall stature and an elegant disposition.”
“Ye…YES?!”
Lady Marion Bell… he said…? The one from the Four Great Duke Houses?!
Eh? Is it really THAT Four Great Duke Houses?!
“The other two are twin sisters, Lady Catherine and Caitlyn Simmons. Emma said they are adorable young ladies with silver hair and brown skin.”
“Yes… Yes?!”
By Simmons, he is talking about that Simmons family who owned the largest port in the Kingdom, right? The twins of House Simmons who were rumored to have the blood of a foreign royal family…?!
“Also, in the Monster Science class, she has been interacting with my three children and their childhood friend Joshua Rothschild.”
“Y-Yes… Wait, huh? Rothschild?!”
Isn’t that the name of the wealthiest merchant in the Kingdom who bought a Baron title with money?! The successor of THE Rothschild Company…?
“Yeah, yeah. Now I seem to recall that Emma said Lady Marion’s older brother also takes Monster Science with them… And after class, they eat and hang out together during lunch break…”
“A-Arthur Bell…?”
“Yes, him. He seems to have told our daughters many things about the academy too.”
“!?! ?!?”
Wait, wait, wait, wait… For Arthur Bell to be present with them there means that…?
“Also, there’s His Highness Edward.”
H-HERE COME HIS HIGHNESSSS OH MY GOD!!!
“J-J-J-Just what is it?! What’s with that lineup of members?!”
???
Translator’s corner:
It’s funny how Leonard straight up wouldn’t even bother to describe the male friends.
Marion: Emma said she’s elegant.
The twins: Emma said they’re adorable.
Arthur: Ah, yes. This guy exists.
Prince: Barely worth mentioning.