“Young master, I am As.h.i.+n, the administrative secretary . Do you remember me?”

Damian briefly looked up and down at As.h.i.+n then giving him a stiff nod and entering the carriage . His coldness is not inferior to his father’s .

‘This is why they say you can’t feign blood…’

Perhaps the Duke was just like this when he was a child . With his black hair and red eyes, Damian was a miniature Taran Duke . There was probably no need to use the royal family’s magical treasure to determine his ancestry .

No one would be able to say that the little lord was not of the Taran Duke’s blood .

‘Whew…this is just my fate . ’

He hated long-distance trips . He would be extremely satisfied if all he had to do was routinely go back and forth between Roam and the house . He couldn’t help but sigh when he thought about having to sit next to that dreary little kid for a long time .

“I see you’ve been healthy and comfortable in the meantime . You’ve grown a lot, I almost didn’t recognize you . ”

As.h.i.+m spoke amiably in a bland effort to elevate the mood . It wasn’t something he usually did but he didn’t want to be taken as a thug and As.h.i.+n found the little Taran duke that looked exactly like the Taran Duke whom he knew as the scariest man in the world, to be extremely p.r.i.c.kly .

Also, it was the truth that he almost didn’t recognize him .

‘Whew…what eight year old is like this? He looks like he could be three to four years older . My nephew is ten years old but even he is smaller than our little lord . ’

Even when the little lord was six years old, he had a burly physique so there were already signs of it back then .

Just like how a fox and a tiger were of different sizes .

‘If he keeps growing like this, won’t he end up with a huge frame? Completely different from what’s on paper . ’

“…what is it?”

“Huh?”

As.h.i.+n felt pleased with himself as the mouth of the little lord had finally opened .

“You know with your rank, you didn’t have to pick me up personally . ”

“Ha…hha . ”

Right . Someone of his status usually wouldn’t have to . Although he didn’t think those words were something that would have come out of an eight year old’s mouth .

‘Let’s put aside him remembering me… he remembers my rank?’

The Taran Duke’s bloodline must have something different . When he thought of it that way, he felt it was unfair and could also understand .

Even the current Taran Duke was like that . As a knight and as one of the best, his brain was excellent .

‘The world is originally unfair . ’

He realized this the day his childish innocence was broken .

“It was the order of his Grace the Duke . ”

Damian’s eyes grew a little bigger .

‘Why?’

His expression seemed to be was asking .

“I believe young master has already heard the news . The Taran Duke now has a Lady of the House . ”

Damian nodded his head . He usually received news about the Duke in a relatively detailed manner .

In order for him to take over in the future, the Duke intended for him to know about everything .

No matter how long he had left the house and no matter whether he was in a boarding school that was cut off from outside news, it was all so that the Duke would never hear the words, ‘I didn’t know’ .

Damian memorized the letter that had been sent, word for word .

“These are just my thoughts but since both of you now have a mother-son relations.h.i.+p, I think both of you should get to know each other as a family . ”

‘Mother-son relations.h.i.+p, you say?’

Damian inwardly questioned . His father was not such a delicate person . The idea that the Duke would want them to have a strong mother and son relations.h.i.+p did not make any sense .

Perhaps he and the d.u.c.h.ess would bite and tear at each other and the Duke wouldn’t be interested until one of them died .

“He didn’t say anything else?”

“He didn’t say anything else?”

“Ah…he…wanted you to…not be rude to your mother . Said you should show proper respect…”

‘Well that’s that . ’

As.h.i.+n had simplified it but he had delivered the warning . He just had to stay there quietly without being nervous .

Even though he was the successor, he was still illegitimate . Which meant he shouldn’t needlessly get on the d.u.c.h.ess’ nerves .

Even if the Duke didn’t warn him, Damian had no intention of confronting his stepmother .

After all, the consent of the d.u.c.h.ess was absolutely necessary to elevate his status .

“Is she pretty?”

“Huh? Ah…I have only seen her a few times…”

‘You only needs to see someone once to know if they are pretty or not . ’

Due to As.h.i.+n’s hesitant response, Damian came to a conclusion .

‘She must not be that pretty . ’

Damian’s interest in his stepmother was only to that extent, after which he folded that thought .

Looking at it from his stepmother’s point of view, Damian didn’t expect to be welcomed and expected that while he was in Roam, they would only meet a few times .

Looking at it from his stepmother’s point of view, Damian didn’t expect to be welcomed and expected that while he was in Roam, they would only meet a few times .

He would live as quiet as he were dead . If she didn’t want to see his face, he would lock himself up in the room and she hara.s.sed him and it was tolerable, he planned on just enduring it .

Damian was not very surprised when he heard that the Duke was getting married . He expected that the Duke had only done so because it was around time for him to get married .

Damian was grasping the cold temperament of his father that was only moved by necessity .

Even if the d.u.c.h.ess were to give birth to a child, Damian’s status as the successor would not be shaken .

His father was never a good father but he was someone that one could have firm belief in .

Damian’s attention then switched towards the Academy . The sudden summon at the beginning of the semester had messed up his schedule .

He was initially worried about leaving and falling behind since he didn’t know when he would be returning . At worst, he would have had to give up on the entire semester .

‘At most, I’ll be there for a week . ’

It would take about three weeks if the journey back and forth was included .

If he didn’t want to fall behind when he returned, he couldn’t let any of his time be spent in vain .

Damian had already filled the trunk of the carriage to the brim with books .