The Engagement of the Baron of Flowers and the Withered Tree Lady.

Chapter 48 The Sad Failure of Julia’s Father

This is a story from the time when Julia left the port town and wandered around here and there!

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Around the time the search for his wife and children began, Hardis received these words from his close friend, Marquis Rudolf:

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but it’s strange how Lady Margaret knew about Lord Hans passing so quickly. Someone must have intentionally informed her. But as far as I know, only you and I would have known their address, right?”

So, Hardis replied:

“Your imagination is spot on. You see, right now, we have four children.”

“What? Are you saying you were unfaithful while Lady Margaret was around?”

Jade, taken aback by the sudden turn in the conversation, blurted out an unthinkable remark. He had always known his close friend to be a devoted family man.

However, as expected, he was met with a stern gaze from Hardis.

“Impossible! They’re my brother’s children, you know. Well, to be honest, there’s only one biological child. The two girls, my brother was just looking after them, and I suspect the other one was a result of an affair.”

“What on earth! Lord Hardis, what were you thinking? You’re just too kind-hearted! Wait, are you planning to take care of them now? You’re something else, too. You haven’t even found your own daughter yet.”

Jade = Marquis Rudolf bellowed.

He had played the role of the matchmaker between Hardis and Margaret.

He believed that Hardis would make Margaret happy, or rather, they would support each other.

He was incredibly handsome, a favorite among women, but he was a bit too serious, bordering on being a prude. He had a brilliant mind and a pleasant personality.

And, to top it off, he was the second son of a prestigious earl’s family…

However, Jade deeply regretted his actions afterward. Even though he was a naive student, he had supported them, not realizing how peculiar the Woodcliff Earl’s family was.

“Why aren’t you getting married officially? You even have children now,” Jade kept blaming Hardis.

Even though she was a commoner, she came from a respectable family and was an exceptional woman who had received a scholarship and graduated at the top of specialized school.

Families who wanted to have her as a daughter-in-law weren’t limited to commoners; there were even noble families interested, thanks to her grandmother’s sterling reputation as a true lady.

Indeed, they had invited relatives and friends from the bride’s side, and they had held something like a wedding reception. They had even dressed her in a wedding dress.

She looked radiant, as if she were an angel, glowing with happiness.

But due to their failure to obtain the approval of the groom’s family head, they couldn’t have a wedding ceremony in the church, and, naturally, their marriage certificate wasn’t accepted.

In essence, the two had been living in a common-law relationship all along.

Indeed, when their daughter was born, she resembled her father so much that, reluctantly, his father allowed her to be registered. Thus, the child was named Julia Woodcliff.

However, his wife retained her maiden name, Margaret Laurie.

Furthermore, Hardis had started his trading business and seldom returned to their love nest, creating a situation akin to a single-parent household.

When Jade, accompanied by his fiancée Liana, visited their home in the port town, he was taken aback when the two or three-year-old Julia called him ‘Daddy.’ There was a moment of panic as he felt Liana’s disapproving gaze upon him.

Of course, Liana had been acquainted with Hardis and Margaret from the beginning, so she didn’t suspect Jade at all.

In any case, Julia had always borne an uncanny resemblance to Hardis since birth, so there was no need to worry about misunderstandings.

Julia didn’t remember her father’s face, as she rarely got to see him. Consequently, whenever she saw an adult man, she would call him ‘Daddy,’ much to Margaret’s chagrin.

This infuriated Liana, Jade’s fiancée, who found Hardis’ actions to be excessively callous. She eventually broke down in tears and anger.

Liana had been Jade’s fiancée since childhood, often visiting the Rudolf Marquisate’s family. As a result, the maid Margaret was a familiar face, and they had even learned manners and sewing together under their grandmother’s guidance.

On the way back to the capital city, Jade was confronted by Liana:

“Margaret is incredibly talented, capable of excelling in any estate or as a respectable woman, no matter where she serves or whom she marries. Yet, she’s living a life akin to that of a mistress, just waiting endlessly for her husband to return. It’s too cruel.

If you hadn’t assisted, it would have been better! I’m truly disappointed in you, Lord Hardis.”

And so, she scolded him.

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Hardis, who was constantly jetting around the country and abroad, made a rare visit to the castle and had an overdue reunion with Jade. Seeing his best friend’s face made Hardis genuinely happy, and with a smile, he approached his friend. However, without even a greeting, Jade said the following:

“You know, every time I visit your daughter, she calls me ‘Daddy.’ I got married last year, and we’re expecting our own child soon. I’ve been thinking, maybe it’s time to make Julia my real daughter. My wife, Liana, is on board with the idea.”

“What?!?”

“Well, I don’t plan to take Julia away from Margaret. I think it should happen when she’s ready to stand on her own. Or perhaps when she gets married and starts her own family?”

“What are you talking about? Margaret is my wife, and Julia is my daughter!”

Hardis grabbed Jade by the collar and shouted, “Sure, Julia is your daughter, but you and Margaret are essentially strangers. Or patrons, perhaps?”

“Don’t insult Margaret!”

“Are you the one being insulted here? Margaret doesn’t need your protection. She’s a capable woman who can live on her own. Aren’t you keeping her confined in a cage? Besides, have you ever been called ‘Daddy’ by Julia, even once?”

Jade trembled as he grabbed Hardis. Despite nearly three years passing since Julia’s birth, he had been home for only about ten days during the past year, and he hadn’t seen his daughter in that time. Thus, he had never witnessed his daughter speaking, let alone calling him “Daddy.”

“If you haven’t officially registered your marriage and haven’t been home for a year, can you really call it a marriage? You’re just sending money, right? If you still have any love left for Margaret, it’s time to let her go.”

“Let her go? Why? I love Margaret. Margaret loves me too…”

“When was the last time Margaret said she loved you?”

When? When…

Every week, I send letters to Margaret. In those letters, I always convey my love to her. She’s a conscientious woman, so she must have wanted to respond to me. There must have been things she wanted to convey.

However, I’m not staying in one place, so Margaret can’t send me replies. When there’s something important she wants to tell me, she addresses it to Jade of the Rudolf Marquis family, who brings it to the royal castle and hands it over to my subordinates.

And then, my subordinates send Margaret’s letters to me via fairy delivery. They informed me about the news of our child being born, that Julia was safely delivered, and that Julia had started to walk.

Jade and his fiancée, Liana, were the ones who had helped Margaret prepare for the child’s birth, and they had continually encouraged her. Jade even attended the childbirth, and they celebrated Julia’s first birthday together with Margaret.

During the times when I should have been there as a husband and father, I was never present.

Saying “I love you” while not doing anything as a husband or father… We’re not a family. It took someone else pointing out this painfully obvious fact for Hardis to finally reflect on his actions.

However, he still managed to hold on somehow, with an unnatural gait that sounded like creaking, and he walked away from the castle towards the outside. His friend called out to him from behind as he moved away.

“I’ll inform your superior that you’re taking a short vacation,”

Jade, who had become Marquis Rudolf a year ago when he married, made the ‘Green Circle’s Oath’ when he inherited the title. This oath bound him, along with the royal family, dukes, and other counts, to share and never divulge state secrets through a contract of magic. Breaking this would immediately expose the transgressor to the connected parties, and they would be swiftly apprehended.

At this moment, for the first time, Jade learned the secret of the Woodcliff Earl’s family. Despite being childhood friends, he had never imagined that Hardis was a ‘Green Spirit Wielder.’ Hardis had always been a calm and serious man, and he had never demonstrated any supernatural abilities.

Now, Jade finally understood why Hardis was always so busy.

Whenever he met Jade, Hardis always wore an apologetic and melancholic expression. He had often sent rare and unusual items from all over the world to the Rudolf Marquis family as a way of showing his appreciation. But if he had the time to do all that, Jade couldn’t help but think that he should spend at least a little time with his wife and child.

However, after learning about Hardis’s unique situation, Jade felt a mixture of guilt and pity toward his friend. Still, he couldn’t just leave things as they were when he thought about Margaret and Julia.

This was because, from time to time, the words his wife had said in the past would resurface in his mind.

“You shouldn’t have helped him!”

Please, make them happy! Jade silently cried in his heart as his friend walked towards his wife.