Trapped in a Secret Room With the Magnificent Duke - Chapter 30
As Diego grew older, Reyna hoped that one day he would call her ‘Mother’.
“Yes, Diego.”
“Why did you keep staring at those women earlier?”
Reyna felt a bit embarrassed. It wasn’t just the thin, slip-like dresses the dancers were wearing that caught her attention. It was also the fact that she was secretly a bit self-conscious about wanting to stand in front of Kadrion in such attire.
“Well… those dancers from a foreign land were quite fascinating. Their red hair and everything… they were pretty.”
“Pretty?”
“And what about you, Diego? What do you think?”
“Wife is much prettier.”
Reyna smiled warmly, feeling pleased with her son’s compliment. Although it was a bit exhausting to bathe Diego alone, the bath time passed without incident.
After drying his soft hair thoroughly with a fluffy towel, Reyna dressed him in his pajamas.
“Diego, sweet dreams.”
“Wife too.”
Reyna kissed Diego’s forehead as he lay in bed with his eyes tightly closed, then returned to her own room.
“Madam, the sky looks ominous. Do you think it’s going to rain heavily?”
A maid, who had approached the window to close the curtains, spoke up. Reyna, looking out the window, nodded in agreement.
“It does seem that way… Please make sure the windows are secure to keep the rain out.”
“Understood. Have a good night, Madam.”
The maid said her goodbyes and left as Reyna turned off the lights and closed the door behind her.
“Ria too.”
Reyna closed her eyes as she heard the door click shut. The fatigue of the day quickly led her to fall into a light sleep. Just then, someone shook her awake.
“…Wife, Wife.”
Turning her head, Reyna saw Diego shaking her arm.
“Diego…?”
Reyna immediately sat up and picked him up.
“What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”
Diego’s small body trembled slightly in her arms.
“There’s light flashing outside….”
“…?”
At that moment, the room lit up with a flash, followed by a thunderclap that sounded as though the sky might collapse. It didn’t seem like it was raining.
‘A thunderstorm out of a clear sky…?’
Reyna felt a strange sense of foreboding. But she remained calm for Diego’s sake.
“It’s just the thunder god swinging his hammer. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“The thunder god swinging his hammer?”
Diego’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, his innocent question bringing a smile to Reyna’s face. She gently patted his back and began to weave an old tale.
“Yes, a long, long time ago…”
By the time Reyna was concluding the story, Diego’s trembling had subsided, and he was beginning to feel sleepy.
“Now, I’m sleepy.”
It would have been easy for Reyna to let Diego stay in her room for the night, but she remembered past experiences. After a previous incident where she had let Diego sleep in their bedroom, he had insisted on doing so every night, much to Kadrion’s dismay.
Kadrion had claimed it would spoil Diego, but it was clear that he simply didn’t want to be deprived of private time with Reyna.
So instead of allowing Diego to stay, Reyna decided to take him back to his own room.
“Let’s head back to your room now.”
Diego, rubbing his sleepy eyes, shook his head.
“I can go back alone. I’m seven now.”
His stubbornness was so cute that Reyna almost laughed but managed to keep her composure.
“…Are you sure?”
“Mmm…”
Diego murmured something as he climbed off the bed.
‘He’s growing up so fast.’
Reyna smiled softly as she lay back down on the bed.
The night continued to deepen, and neither she nor Diego realized that he had transformed Reyna’s appearance into the dancer they had seen earlier.
* * *
Three days had passed since Reyna had started following Kadrion without his knowledge.
Unable to bear seeing Kadrion captivated by the foreign dancer, Reyna had stopped and hurried back to the residence. She waited for Kadrion to return. Today, she wanted to talk about their strained relationship.
However, Kadrion had not returned by evening.
“Um… Madam, it seems the Duke will be late tonight.”
Bennet tried to comfort Reyna, who was feeling downcast.
“…”
“The Duke mentioned that he had many matters to attend to due to his extended absence from the residence…”
“Of course. I understand. Make sure to help him, Bennet, so he doesn’t exhaust himself with all the work.”
Reyna said with a gentle smile.
“Certainly, don’t worry, Madam.”
Reyna instructed Bennet to clear away the nearly untouched plates and then got up from her seat. She went to check on her only son, Diego.
Having finished his dinner early, Diego was reading a book in his pajamas in his bedroom.
“Diego, it’s time for bed.”
Diego, who had been staring at Reyna for a moment, placed his book on the nightstand and lay down in bed.
“Okay!”
