Perhaps my act was a success, Rüdiger tried to persuade me.

“I understand your concerns. However, the Winterwald household will strive to offer the best environment for Luca.”

Rüdiger’s words seemed to ring true.
Rüdiger and his parents, therefore Luca’s grandparents, sincerely treated him as their real grandchild, not an illegitimate child.
Matter-of-factly, Rüdiger had no thoughts of getting married, so Luca was their only grandchild…
That’s why they wanted to make Luca the next heir, carrying on their family name.

When thoughts of all the horrendous events awaiting Luca came to mind, I grimaced.
All of a sudden, hesitation welled up inside me.
Must I send off Luca…
It wouldn’t be too bad if he stayed with me like this…

But the Winterwalds wouldn’t give up on Luca.
Although Rüdiger didn’t mention it, the fact that Jonas had a living descendant was far more important than anticipated.

I’m only his aunt, not his mom, so I wouldn’t be able to win if there was a custody battle.
Even if I were his mom, there still would be no way to win against the Winterwald family.
If that wasn’t enough, all the abuse from the past can’t be justified with being nice to him for just a month…

Luca probably wanted to follow Rüdiger.
Looking back, that month’s effort seemed meaningless, leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

‘I shouldn’t be so clingy! The reason why I was trying to be kind to Luca was not that I wanted something in return, but simply because I wanted to. It’s probably for the best to proceed with what I planned from the beginning. Besides, it’s better to go with my gut instincts, not second-guessing myself.”

As I tried to gather all my disordered thoughts, I sighed deeply.

“It’s just so sudden…”

“I understand.”

Rüdiger bowed his head.
I barely managed to smile and quietly added,

“Luca’s sick right now, so it’ll be rather difficult to tell him about this situation so soon. If he takes his medicine today, he should be better by tomorrow. Would you like to meet with him tomorrow then?”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“No worries. It’s for Luca.”

I gave my best impression of a melancholic aunt parting with her nephew until Rüdiger left.
I was relieved when he didn’t suspect any impression of sending off Luca from the start.

‘Whew, I somehow managed to climb over that mountain.”

As Rüdiger vanished from my sight, I let out a small sigh of relief.

***

That evening, I gave my best effort in making Pot-au-feu for dinner.
It must’ve not tasted too bad, as Luca cleared his bowl with haste.
I watched him eat, pleased.

‘I suppose this can be our last dinner together. It only lasted for a month, but I did whatever I could to the best of my abilities.”

I tried to remember this proud moment in the making.

I purposefully didn’t tell Luca that Rüdiger was here earlier.
He would find out the reason tomorrow anyways…
Rüdiger’s sudden appearance today was so jarring, I struggled to find a way to lessen the shock of it, even a little bit.

And the next day, as expected, Rüdiger came.
Luca, whose fever completely dropped overnight, was startled by Rüdiger’s sudden appearance.

“Uncle?”

“That’s right. I’m your uncle, Luca.”

I cracked a smile and gently patted Luca’s back, nudging him to greet Rüdiger.
But Luca stood still with his back stiff.
He was afraid of strangers.

I gave an embarrassed smile to Rüdiger and urged Luca,

“You have to introduce yourself, Luca.”

“…That mister doesn’t look like me at all. How can he even be related to me?”

Luca looked at Rüdiger with utter disbelief.

Uh oh, it wasn’t supposed to be like this.
Something’s amiss, but since Luca’s sick, he may have been more sensitive, so I tried to reason with him.

“Luca, you and I don’t look alike, yet we are family. You can’t just judge someone based on their appearances.”

Of course, Judith was able to understand Luca’s suspicion.
In terms of hair color, eye color, and even facial features, there was no resemblance between Rüdiger and Luca whatsoever.
The original story stated that they were relatives though, so that must be true.
If I didn’t know any better, frankly, I would be doubtful too.