Chapter 13 (2/2)

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.