Ruan is working in his office, reading the document, when he hears a knock on the door.
"Come in," he answered without gazing at the door.
Klave stepped inside and closed the door behind him before approaching his desk.
"Do you need something?" Ruan put down the document and lifted his gaze to his son, who looked so much like him.
"Are you going to keep her here?" Klave asked directly with a stern expression.
Ruan sighed. "I already have the investigation ongoing about her background."
"I also wanted to let my hopes up. She looks like mother despite having the Ledroux traits in her, the crimson eyes." Klave clenched his hands. "However, I don't want us to go through it again just like last year. We just barely get through it…."
Silence surrounds them. Ruan just stared at his son and understood what he was pointing out.
"So, you also see her in her…" Ruans sighed. "I'm sorry, Klave, if I worried you. I make sure that we will not go throught like that again. As you know, even an illegitimate child of a Ledroux must be registered under the family name to be traced to them. We can't let happen what happened before."
"But is she really your daughter? Or from the unknown relatives out there?"
"As of now, the report says that she is not related to any relatives out there. Besides, that deep red color of her eyes says she must be at least a close relative from direct descendants of the family."
"And the way it resonates with me, I think she is most likely from a direct descendant. The question is how." Ruan pondered. "It seems Klave did not yet feel anything resonating from her. It means there's a possibility that she is not my daughter. As the head of the family, I can almost resonate with any relatives who contain great power as a sign that I should recognize those certain people as serving me or inherit the head title."
"I'll go visit mother now," Klave left the office.
Klave makes his way heading to the back part of the estate, where you can find a small hill. There he saw the grave of someone. He laid down a flower he picked up in the garden.
"Hi, mother," he said with a smile, watching the grave and its name written on it.
"Brother," a small voice suddenly pops up behind him.
Clairene took a peek and saw the name on the grave. Her face turned pale, and she suddenly sat on the grass. Klave immediately reacted and approached her.
"Why is mommy name's on it?" she said horridly.
"What?" he stopped midway.
Clairene faced him and grabbed both his arms. "Brother, why is mommy's name on it?" pointing out the grave. "She is alive! She is!" she started to insist, with tears coming out from her eyes.
"Who are you calling mommy?" Klave questioned in his mind but he couldn't say it out loud because of the adorable face filled with tears and shocked in her eyes in front of him.
"Calm down first," trying to console her.
"NO!" Clairene yelled. "Why is mommy's name on there! Why!"
"Haa~ Clairene is it really your mother's name?" Klave questioned.
Clairene paused and was even more surprised than ever. She got speechless and feel irritated and hurt.
"So, you also don't believe me that I am your sister?" She said coldly while standing up. "You are like daddy, he also think that I'm not his daughter. Only mommy…. LOVES ME!" she shouted with feeling betrayed and hurt before dashing away,
"Clairene!" Klave was about to grab her but too late to do it. He sighed and glance at the graveyard one last time before heading the direction where Clairene dashed off.
When Klave take a turn on the corner, he paused as soon as he saw a figure from afar. A person covered in a cloak and hood was standing and Clairene is hugging to to that person while crying.
The hooded person made a gesture of lifting its gaze but not enough to let Klave see the face. The person pushed away Clairene gently and dashed off. Klave was alarmed when it started to run away. He tried to chase it, but Clairene grabbed his shirt.
"No!" she begged.
The mysterious person is gone. Klave faced Clairene.
"Who is that person?" he said with a dead serious tone.
Clairene keeps her silent.
"Ha! So now you are meeting someone inside this estate? Are you a spy?" brushing his hair up, feeling frustrated and confused.
Clairene held tightly on the hem of his shirt and still kept her mouth shut.
"I'll tell father about this," Klave pushed away her hand and left her behind.
Clairene bit her lower lip and stared at her brother's back walking away.
"Brother…. Daddy, sorry," she whispered in the air.
Without hesitation, Klave reported everything to his father. Ruan, who received the news, also got curious and became more wary of things happening around them.
"What if it's just magic to make her look like that? So, she can infiltrate and lower our guards? What if she is a spy?" Klave commented. "She might be taking orders from the one who killed mother!" Klave couldn't help but raise his voice, remembering how his mother died five years ago.
"Calm down, Klave. As I have said, we are already investigating everything. If we send her away or show a hint of suspecting her, we might lose something vulnerable from this investigation. As long as she is here and within our reach, we can take information from her anytime we want," Ruan explained.
Klave understands his father's points and agrees on them. He held back himself and composed.
"What will you do now? She has some guts, calling out that my mother is hers," Klave said indifferently.
Ruan sighed. He really understands where his son is coming from. Being sensitive talking about the duchess has the same effect on him. The two of them, who are deeply attached to the duchess, have had a hard time coping with everything ever since they learned of her death.
The duchess's death almost leads to ruin in the house of Ledroux. The duchess who gives life to the estate almost died together with her. The duke locked himself in the room with nothing but to let himself get drunk. Klave, who was just five years old, tried to continue living, yet he himself looks like a walking corpse. All the Ledroux men's emotions, sparks of life, were suddenly robbed from them.