When I Announced A Divorce, The Obsessive Maniac Went Crazy Chapter 137 - Side Story Chapter 9 - The End

Chapter 137

 

Side Story

In that moment, Cesare thought,

I truly don’t wish for anything else—please, just grow up healthy and safe.

“Come here.”

Cesare opened his arms.

Without a word, Lizbeth rushed into his embrace.

The moment he held his child, all the fear and anxiety melted away.

Lizbeth is okay.

I didn’t lose her.

Cesare let out a breath of relief.

No words were needed.

He gently patted Lizbeth’s back.

The warmth of the child’s body was comforting.

“Did you take your medicine?”

“Yeah.”

Lizbeth answered obediently.

Cesare offered a prayer of thanks to God.

He had never turned to God before, but after having children, he found himself praying over and over again.

When Aiden climbed a tree and fell, hurting his leg… and when Lizbeth had a sudden unexplained fever…

With nowhere else to turn, Cesare prayed.

“Good, that’s all I needed to hear.”

Cesare kissed Lizbeth’s forehead.

“Now get some rest. You need lots of sleep to get better quickly.”

Cesare stood up.

After patting Lizbeth’s head, he was about to leave the room— but Lizbeth suddenly grabbed his hand tightly.

Surprised, Cesare turned back to her.

“…You were really cool when you saved me, Daddy.”

“……”

“I’m so glad you’re my dad.”

Cesare’s expression crumbled.

Moments like this come when you raise children.

Moments when your emotions nearly overwhelm you.

In the heat of that deep, overwhelming gratitude, Cesare smiled brightly.

“So am I, Lizbeth. I’m so happy that you’re my daughter.”

Lizbeth hugged Cesare tightly.

It was a true happy ending.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Gabriel left as soon as the afternoon came.

He had arrived like a storm and left like one.

Though he was supposed to stay longer, it seemed he couldn’t bear to face Cesare.

Even if it wasn’t Gabriel’s fault, he still seemed to carry a sense of guilt.

In any case, once Gabriel left, peace returned to Burstoad.

Things truly went back to normal.

Even Aiden and Lizbeth returned to their everyday lives.

Completely.

“I hate you, Daddy!!”

A loud, clear voice rang out—just what you’d expect from a five-year-old.

Cesare’s eyebrows twitched like worms.

“You’re five now, practically a grown—”

“Shh!”

Daphne quickly jabbed Cesare in the side.

One look at their teary-eyed son, and Cesare knew—if he raised his voice now, he wouldn’t be sleeping in this room tonight.

Daphne glared at Cesare with dark, warning eyes.

“Are you trying to make him cry?” she whispered.

Clearing his throat, Cesare turned his head.

Aiden was definitely his father’s son.

The way he adored Daphne more than anything in the world, the way he clung to her—it all screamed Cesare.

Even the temper.

And how he used actions rather than words to express himself.

A son born as a mirror image of Cesare—so it was no surprise that the two often clashed.

Just like now.

Aiden stomped his feet furiously.

Tears the size of raindrops rolled down his cheeks, and Daphne sighed as she looked up at the ceiling.

There goes sleep.

“Mommy’s mine! Daddy stole you! I hate Daddy!”

When will this war between father and son ever end?

With an exhausted look, Daphne reached out her arms.

“Come here, Aiden. Let’s sleep together.”

She patted the spot next to her on the bed.

Aiden shot a fierce glare at Cesare with his big eyes.

“…Daddy too?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t want Daddy! Daddy, go away! Daddy can’t sleep with us!”

Cesare let out a dry laugh.

“Alright, if that’s what you want. Cesare?”

Daphne called him gently.

Cesare looked at her.

Aiden buried his tear-streaked face into her arms.

Daphne gave Cesare a sharp look.

“Now!”

In the end, Cesare couldn’t win—he was kicked out of the room.

He stepped out and closed the door behind him with a defeated sigh.

First his wife was taken from him, and now even his bedroom.

The room they had just been quarreling in? It was his bedroom.

Running a hand through his hair with a helpless expression, Cesare muttered,

“…Where on earth did he get that from?”

Tsk.

He clicked his tongue.

Narrowing his eyes, Cesare turned around.

His hunched, slow footsteps looked smaller than ever.

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

Tea time with just the four of them, without Gabriel, was nothing short of peaceful.

The small commotion from the night before now felt like nothing at all.

Aiden was acting like an older brother again, looking perfectly fine.

“Lizbeth, eat this.”

“You eat it. I don’t like it.”

Lizbeth definitely had stronger language skills than Aiden.

When she widened her eyes and argued, even Daphne would sometimes be at a loss for words.

Rejected, Aiden glared at Lizbeth and crossed his arms.

“Then don’t eat it!”

Daphne smiled sweetly.

It was truly a peaceful scene.

Cesare, with a slightly tired expression, was sipping his tea.

He’d gotten used to letting little arguments between the kids go in one ear and out the other.

That’s just how it was raising kids that were barely a year apart.

“Lizbeth.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you say you’re glad Daddy is your dad?”

Daphne brought it up, remembering Cesare’s proud story from earlier.

It was definitely on purpose.

It was a secret weapon to soothe Cesare’s hurt pride after being kicked out by Aiden last night.

If Lizbeth just said “I love Daddy the most!” one more time right here, it would be perfect.

Daphne smiled at Lizbeth.

“You said you wished the Emperor were your daddy. Did you change your mind?”

Cesare smiled contentedly.

Yes, this is it!

“Yeah. Gabriel can’t marry Mommy. I don’t want that.”

“Why not?”

Daphne asked with a hopeful look.

“Because then Daddy wouldn’t be my Daddy anymore.”

Lizbeth said it proudly.

Cesare’s face lit up even more.

Exactly as planned.

This clever little rascal.

But that wasn’t the end.

“And I want to marry Gabriel. So Mommy can’t marry him! Gabriel’s a fairy, so I have to protect him!”

Daphne’s smile broke.

And with a great crash, the peace that had finally settled over Burstoad shattered.

Cesare spoke with a terrifying expression.

“NO!”

“Why not?”

Lizbeth blinked and asked.

Kids forget things quickly.

“You’re dummy Daddy!”

“Lizbeth! I said no and I meant it!”

“You’re not the best Daddy! You’re a dummy!”

In the blink of an eye, the world’s coolest dad became a dummy.

Daphne held her head in her hands.

How am I going to fix this one? Why did I even bring it up?

She looked back and forth between Lizbeth and Cesare.

“Cesare, you should show some fatherly grace. Are you really going to argue with a little kid?”

“Yeah! Do you feel good arguing with a little kid?”

“Lizbeth! What kind of way is that to talk to your father? Didn’t I tell you not to do that?”

Lizbeth’s lips trembled, and her face turned red as she started to sob.

“Wahhh! I hate Mommy! I hate Daddy too! You’re both big dummies!”

Lizbeth jumped to her feet, stomping her feet loudly.

It was like déjà vu from yesterday.

Daphne sighed.

Aiden, pretending not to notice anything, kept eating cookies.

“Cesare, as a father—”

“She just said she wants to be that Gabriel guy’s wife! That’s something I absolutely won’t allow!”

“She might want to be Empress! Why are you making her cry!”

“Daphne?”

Cesare looked at her like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Even putting everything else aside—

Do you even hear the age gap?

Daphne whispered to him,

“She’ll forget soon. Why take it so seriously? Just go along with it.”

Cesare shut his mouth with a very unsatisfied look.

“When Lizbeth grows up, maybe she can marry His Majesty. Our Lizbeth has to eat well, sleep well, and study hard. If she wants to marry a fairy, that is. Right, Cesare?”

No matter how well they speak, kids are still kids.

Just like Aiden, who acted mature sometimes, was still just a child.

The more Daphne spoke, the more Lizbeth’s sobbing calmed.

Daphne nudged Cesare’s side, clearly telling him to join in.

“Uh… That is… That’s not happening!”

“Wahhh!!”

It seemed like peace in the Duke’s household was still a long, long way off.

 

Side Story <The End>