Ding-ling!
The emergency bell rang, and moments later, a frantic voice came through the magical communicator tucked in the corner of the study.
—Silver Alert! Silver Alert! Codename "Sibsae" has just crossed the front gate!
Gillen, who had been reviewing documents sent from the territory, snapped his head up. He quickly rose from his seat, tightening the tie he had loosened earlier. Then—thunk!—he slammed his thigh into the mahogany desk corner.
"Ugh!"
Before he had a chance to even grimace in pain, someone pounded on the study door.
"Your Grace! 'Sibsae'1 just stepped out of the carriage!"
"Damn it."
Cursing through clenched teeth, Gillen gave his thigh a quick rub and hurried to the door. The moment he opened it, a servant stepped aside with a deep bow. Gillen strode forward, asking over his shoulder,
"Where's Cecil?"
"Lady Cecilia is in the drawing room, having tea with His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Front of the drawing room—did you block it off?"
"Yes! A few servants are pretending to hang a new painting in the hallway. We've even set up a ladder."
Gillen practically flew down the stairs. The beta servant, unable to keep up with the stamina and agility of a well-built alpha, was soon panting heavily with his tongue practically hanging out.
Normally, Gillen would slow his stride out of consideration for his staff, but right now, there was no time to wait. In a Silver Alert situation, every second counted.
Leaping down the last three steps in a single bound, he saw the butler and several maids lined up in front of him, ostensibly to greet the incoming guest. In truth, their bodies were the first line of defence against the oncoming disaster.
"What tea would you like to have, sir?"
The butler's voice was drawn out, twice as slow as usual.
"Anything's fine."
The guest, still standing at the entrance, shot an irritated glance at the maid fumbling with his coat before answering.
"Surely you must have refined, distinguished tastes. The Blake ducal household keeps twenty-six varieties of tea for our most esteemed visitors, and first among them is the rare Morabi black tea, found only in the Asteria Kingdom. The second is—"
"Morabi. That one."
The guest cut him off impatiently, shrugging his arms to make the coat fall. The startled maid barely managed to catch it before it hit the floor.
"Now, could someone—anyone—go tell Cecil I'm here? Preferably someone who's not slow as molasses. If such a person exists in this place, that is."
The guest's voice was taut, like a man on the verge of exploding, when—
"We meet again."
It was Gillen, stepping forward with a gentle smile, showing no sign of having just rushed over. The butler and maids, who had been moving at a turtle's pace, suddenly sprang apart with military precision to clear the way.
"Duke Blake."
"Ewan."
They exchanged a brief, formal greeting.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I sent you a letter a few days ago—told you I'd be visiting today to see Cecil."
The young man, breathtakingly beautiful with his shining silver hair, spoke through clenched irritation.
"Did you? Must be my age catching up with me—my memory's not what it used to be."
"Cecil's in the drawing room, right?"
Ewan glanced toward the direction of the drawing room, clearly ready to head there at any moment. Gillen stepped into his path, blocking the way.
"Cecil's still in her room! You know how beautiful women are—they love their beauty sleep, hahaha."
"…It's four in the afternoon."
"Our Cecil's a night owl. Now, while we wait for her to wake up, how about a cup of tea with me in the garden? Didn't you say you wanted Morabi black tea earlier?"
"No."
"Brian, bring the tea to the rose garden."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Gillen slipped an arm around Ewan's back and began steering him toward the front door.
"Come along. The roses are in full bloom. I really must show you the Blake family's pride and joy."
"You already showed me last week."
"Oh! Did I? Well, that won't do. Brian! Forget the rose garden—bring the tea to the butterfly garden instead!"
Gillen's voice boomed across the hall.
"Yes, Your Grace."
The butler bowed obediently.
"The late duke loved flowers and trees so much that he had five gardens built around the estate. One's the rose garden, one's the butterfly garden—"
"And the others are the topiary garden, the moonlight pond garden, and the delphinium garden. You told me the week before last," Ewan said sharply.
"You've got quite the memory."
"Not just good—genius level. I also remember, word for word, your explanation of the late duke's search for a gardener, the construction of the greenhouse, and the evolution of each garden's theme."
'…Smug little brat.'
Gillen thought it, but outwardly, his smile only grew brighter.
"Remarkable! Truly remarkable! But I haven't told you about the list of candidates for the pebbles laid in the butterfly garden's pathways, have I?"
"…Pebble candidates?"
"Oh, it's absolutely gripping. Until Cecil wakes up, we can have a nice, thorough discussion about the shape and colour of each one."
With that, Gillen slung an arm over Ewan's shoulders—tight enough to make sure the younger man couldn't dart off somewhere unexpected. And so, the two of them headed toward the butterfly garden.
**
Gillen Blake. Forty-five years old. One of the twin pillars of the Moore Empire, head of the prestigious Blake Ducal House, and a celebrated "god of wealth" who discovered a diamond mine in the fertile lands of the Blake territory.
A remarkable swordsman who became a Sword Master at seventeen, Duke Gillen Blake was also a rare alpha who, after losing his wife to illness at nineteen, had remained faithful to her memory ever since.
On top of that, he had lovingly raised his only daughter, the pure and gentle Lady Cecilia Blake, all on his own, while also being an active patron of children's charities for the past twenty years.
In short—the perfect bachelor. Every single woman in the Moore Empire, regardless of age, dreamed of becoming the Duke's second wife. They longed to be the one who would rekindle the flames in his barren heart. The elevation in social rank would be the cherry on top.
And that very Duke Blake was…
'When did so much time pass?'
…a twenty-year veteran transmigrator.
His original name, now hazy with time, was Yoo Jeong-hyun. A university student majoring in Webtoon & Webnovel Studies at Korea Culture University, he had been on his way home from his first drinking party after returning from academic leave when, still woozy from too much alcohol, he was struck by a drunk driver.
When he woke, he had already transmigrated into the body of Gillen Blake in this world. By sheer coincidence, he knew exactly who this man was and what kind of world this was. Just the night before, he had binge-read the webtoon "Adorable Young Lady"—a required reading for his "Understanding the Romance-Fantasy Genre" class.
In the original, Gillen Blake was a cold, unfeeling father who resented three-year-old regressor Cecilia Blake, only to eventually be won over by her irresistible charm and become a doting parent. Of course, the reason he resented her was one of the genre's standard tropes—his beloved wife had died giving birth to that very child.
But Yoo Jeong-hyun, now living as Gillen Blake, made up his mind the moment he grasped the situation.
'I died in the real world—hit by the isekai/reincarnation truck. That means I'm stuck living in this romance-fantasy childcare novel. Then I might as well just accept it and live comfortably!'
And so, he skipped right over the "resent and neglect Cecilia" phase. Besides, how could anyone hate a baby as angelically cute as Cecilia? The original Gillen might have blamed her for his wife's death, but the transmigrated Gillen didn't think that way at all.
'Just get therapy for depression and psychological counselling! Don't take it out on the kid!'
Cecilia, the regressor, seemed a little startled by her suddenly different father, but quickly adapted—likely thinking that her own changed actions had changed him in turn.
No matter what she thought, Gillen braided her hair, dressed her, fed her, read her bedtime stories every night, travelled with her, and told her he loved her. When she went away to the academy, he fretted constantly and exchanged hundreds of letters with her until her graduation.
On each other's birthdays, they exchanged gifts they knew the other would love. Whenever a supporting villain tried to interfere in her life, Gillen stepped in without hesitation to protect her. And on the day Cecilia presented as an omega, he made such a fuss that he had the Emperor personally summon her to the palace, earning himself a reputation for overprotection and countless clicks of the tongue.
But Gillen didn't care what others thought. His only wish was for his precious Cecilia to suffer as little as possible.