Odalisque - Side Story 17

Noah quickly calmed down in Liv’s embrace.

After putting the red-nosed Noah back to sleep, Liv left the bedroom, where Dimus was waiting for her in the sitting room outside. Roman and his subordinates, who had received orders from Dimus, had already vacated the area.

“If you wanted to find the child’s parents, you should have told me. You probably wasted time dealing with that incompetent officer.”

Of course, Liv knew that if she had told Dimus, things would have been handled much faster and more effectively than with the officer. But ultimately, it would have been Dimus’ subordinates carrying out the work, and Liv didn’t want to burden those already weighed down by their demanding master.

“I’ll have it sorted within a day.”

Dimus declared confidently. And Liv could easily imagine him giving the order to his subordinates: “Find that child’s parents immediately and bring them here. You have one day!”

Liv made a mental note to arrange extra bonuses for Roman and his men, who had come all the way out here to escort their master’s date without even getting a chance to rest. Otherwise, even someone as stoic as Roman might one day decide he’d had enough and quit without warning.

“Thank you, Dimus.”

“It’s not you who should be thanking me—it’s that child.”

“He’s too young to understand such things.”

“Do you really think he doesn’t understand?”

Liv pursed her lips in response to Dimus’ question. Noah was still very young, certainly not old enough to grasp adult motives, greed, or ugly selfishness.

But that didn’t mean he was foolish.

“Children are cunning. Especially when they’re young and vulnerable, they instinctively seek out the safest refuge.”

The proof was that Noah clung only to Liv out of all the people in the city. He must have instinctively known that she would never abandon him.

But was that a bad thing? Noah was far too young to survive on his own.

“If you keep acting so coldly, he’ll keep calling you ‘that bad man.'”

“What do you want to do, then?”

Dimus lit a cigar, murmuring with a hint of sarcasm.

“You went through all the trouble of coming here, only to find the parents who abandoned the child and hand him back over?”

“They might not have…”

The faint hope that they might not have abandoned Noah never made it past her lips. Seeing her crestfallen expression, Dimus gently stroked her cheek.

“Miss Rodaise, righteous and kind. You have the power to make anything happen—it’s not even that difficult. All you have to do is command your man.”

His low voice carried a cool, cynical tone, but there was something oddly seductive about it, like the way his large hand naturally moved to massage the back of Liv’s neck.

“I will gladly serve you.”

“It’s not an order.”

“Fine. Whether it’s an order or a request, it makes no difference.”

Dimus smirked, scoffing at the idea that the phrasing mattered.

Indeed, what difference did it make what words she used? The fact that he would do anything she asked remained unchanged.

“No one would believe that you are the great Marquis Dietrion at this rate.”

“That, too, is of no importance.”

Liv leaned naturally into Dimus, her body practically in his arms. When she looked up at him from that position, Dimus gave a small smile, his eyes softening.

“Just use me as you wish. But let me remind you—a wise superior always rewards and punishes appropriately.”

“I said it’s not an order. Ugh. What kind of reward do you want?”

Dimus, who had been murmuring in Liv’s ear, moved his lips to her neck and slowly began to speak.

“Well, first of all…”

Creak.

“Angel?”

“Oh, Noah! You’re awake!”

Pop!

Liv wriggled out of Dimus’ arms faster than she ever had before and hurried over to the bedroom.

Dimus stood there with an incredulous look, his arm still frozen mid-air. Liv, seemingly unaware of his gaze, was busy comforting Noah, who peeked out from behind the door.

Feeling the warmth he’d just had in his arms suddenly vanish, Dimus’ already sour mood took a turn for the worse.

“…First of all, we need to decide what to do with that child.”

Grumbling to himself, Dimus bit into the cigar he’d been holding. Meanwhile, Noah, who had fully emerged into the sitting room, peeked at Dimus from behind Liv’s skirt.

“Angel, are you friends with that bad man?”

“He’s not a bad man—he’s the one I love. He’ll be my husband soon.”

Liv gave Dimus a stern look as she spoke—a look that clearly said not to smoke in front of the child. Dimus could have ignored it, but he didn’t. Not because he particularly enjoyed being introduced as her future husband, though it was true. After all, they had set the date for their wedding, and this was one of the last dates they’d have as lovers.

“Why did you wake up? Were you scared to sleep alone?”

“I wanted to give this to you, Angel. I couldn’t let anyone else take it, so I’m giving it to you now.”

Noah shyly offered something he’d been holding close to his chest—a basket of candy.

“I was going to eat it with my mom, but I’ll give it to you first, Angel.”

With that, Noah took the biggest, prettiest candy from the basket and handed it to Liv.

Liv smiled as she accepted the candy, then glanced at Dimus.

“Just me?”

Would he be upset about not getting any candy? Dimus folded his arms, watching Liv fuss over him. He would have refused it anyway, but since she was looking out for him, he decided to see how Noah would react.

Noah’s gaze shifted from Liv to Dimus. Standing there, pink sleep marks still visible on his cheeks, Noah blinked and then reached into the basket.

Holding two candies in his small hand, Noah offered them to Liv instead of approaching Dimus.

“These are for the baby.”

Liv looked down at the two candies placed in her palm, not quite understanding.

Dimus scowled and interjected, “The baby?”

Noah flinched, his shoulders shaking under Dimus’ intimidating voice. But he didn’t seem inclined to give up his candy, holding the basket close to his chest. After rolling his eyes nervously for a while, Noah made a peace sign with his fingers.

Dimus’ eyebrows shot up at the gesture.

“I gave you two.”

Liv still didn’t quite understand and stared blankly at Noah, while Dimus casually tossed aside the cigar he’d planned to smoke.

“Alright. I’ll invest in you.”

“What?”

Surprised by his sudden declaration, Liv asked in confusion.

“You’re young, but you show promise. That kind of insight isn’t easy to come by at your age.”

“…Insight?”

It felt like she’d misheard something. Liv stared at Dimus, incredulous. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a hint of humor on his face.

Dimus, still looking down at Noah with a haughty expression, raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk.

“If I support him, you won’t have to worry about this child anymore, right?”

“Well…”

That was true.

Liv looked bewildered, as if Dimus had struck some sort of agreement with a child twenty-five years younger than him without her realizing. Yet Dimus remained completely unfazed, mentioning that he’d ask Adolf to prepare a sponsorship contract.

A sponsorship contract, of all things?

Still feeling uneasy, Liv led Noah back to bed. The child, who had secured Marquis Dietrion’s sponsorship with just two pieces of candy, had no idea what a great achievement he had accomplished as he was led back to bed by Liv.

A few days later, after the harvest festival date, a new seat was added to the carriage taking Dimus and Liv back home. It belonged to Noah Leblanc, the only protégé of the Marquis Dietrion.

And on the day Noah had lived at the Langess mansion for a year, the Marquis and Marchioness Dietrion welcomed their beautiful twin daughters into the world.

It was a joyful coincidence brought about by two pieces of candy.

…Or perhaps it was the result of an innocent insight?