Of course, the Duke Ellard was not a person to be swayed by the opposition of the aristocracy, as he was calm and ruthless in character, and likely brushed aside such opinions with ease…
However, the Duchess Elard, being an ordinary woman, would have been different.
In such a situation, having gone up to the capital, it is unlikely that other nobles would have treated her kindly, ignoring the opposition of even the aristocracy in the process.
‘If stress is really the cause, then they should have stopped her from going to the capital.’
However, as the only mistress of the Elard family in the empire, she could not avoid social activities in the capital.
Moreover, while she could ignore events hosted by other noble families, she could not avoid those held at the palace, and she was already worried about being harassed by other noble ladies and not being able to adapt.
“Oh, really? Allen refused to go out? That’s unusual.”
It was when she let out a deep sigh and came out to the courtyard.
The voice of the curious Duchess was heard.
It seemed that she had heard from the butler that Allen had refused to go out today.
“Recently, we haven’t even had meals together… Oh, Diana and Lia are here. Today’s outing should be just for us girls.”
The Duchess, who had noticed us, spoke brightly, but there was regret on her face.
It was natural. It had been several days since she last saw Allen.
Since the moment when the accusation against Seed Valerie was revealed, Allen had been keeping a low profile.
‘Well, it must have been a shock for him to see the true nature of the mentor he trusted.’
Actually, when I faced Sid Valerie, I noticed right away that Allen was hiding behind the supporter.
But there was no situation where I could send him away, and since it was something he would eventually find out, I thought it would be better for him to see it with his own eyes.
Perhaps I had the expectation that he would be on my side and reveal Sid Valerie’s true identity to the Duke.
‘But as expected, it must have been too much for a child to handle.’
Since then, I felt heavy-hearted thinking of Allen, who had been avoiding me while hiding himself.
“Let’s enjoy looking at pretty clothes and shoes today. We’ll also visit the toy store, and you can choose as many as you want.”
“Whoa!”
When I went outside with Diana, who was bouncing with joy, I saw Taze and a few knights standing in front of the carriage.
“Madam, Miss. This is Taze Sedian, who is in charge of today’s escort.”
“Nice to meet you, Sir Sedian.”
After the countess’s greeting, Taze said he wanted to talk to me and approached me cautiously while trying to calm Diana, who was clinging to me. As the countess boarded the carriage first, Taze knelt down and spoke to me with a grateful and embarrassed expression.
“Lia, I want to say thank you and apologize to you. When we first met and this time too… I owe you a great debt.”
“It was nothing, really…”
“You’re a smart and capable child, and I don’t know if I’ll need your help, but if there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know. I’ll definitely repay the favor.”
Taze finished his words with a meaningful gesture towards the decoration on his sword. I was startled and shouted.
“Sir! Please leave your father’s belongings where they are!”
“…. , okay.”
Why is this person so desperate to give away his belongings if he gets a chance?
As Taze, who exuded a lonely atmosphere, withdrew his hand, I rolled my eyes in disgust.
And then it happened.
“Jack, even though this is just a field trip, this is your first escort mission. Are you just going to hide? Don’t be ashamed and come out.”
“… Jack?”
At Taze’s words, I looked around and saw Jack, who was wearing a trainee knight’s outfit, slowly walking out from among the knights.
Startled by his appearance, I blinked my eyes and Teizeu spoke while patting Jack’s shoulder.
“I decided to take him as my disciple because his talent is outstanding. He’s just a trainee knight now, but he will become an official knight after a few years.”
“Wow! Congratulations, Jack!”
I applauded sincerely, impressed.
Indeed, Jack was Jack.
The process of becoming a knight, commonly known as the Elite Course, involves becoming a sown, a trainee knight, and then an official knight.
Of course, there were cases where one could become a knight by winning a victory in battle like Teizeu or by passing a separate entry examination, but the former was overwhelmingly favored.
“Especially, I heard that many people end their journey as a sown in the Lexion Knights because the wall is so high.”
Although I knew he had talent, I was surprised that he already had a mentor after joining not long ago.
I felt proud that Jack’s path to becoming a knight was getting closer because I had gotten rid of Seed early on.
“Um…”
Jack, who had been looking down at the ground the whole time, suddenly spoke up.
“Thank you.”
“Huh? For what?”
“For helping me out last time… and for being able to join the Knight Order. It’s all thanks to you.”
Jack finally lifted his head and looked directly into my eyes.
“Thank you for making me a knight.”
“Ah…”
Looking at Jack, who had a deep red blush on his face but was silently expressing gratitude, I lost my words.
To be honest, I felt very embarrassed.
But I couldn’t say, ‘You were meant to be one of the Empire’s top three knights even without me!’
So I awkwardly smiled instead.
Somehow, Jack’s ears became even redder.
***
The Duchess, Diana, and I rode in a large and luxurious carriage adorned with jewel decorations as we set off for the palace.
Although the carriage we rode in last time was excellent, a real aristocrat’s carriage was impressive not only in appearance but also inside.
‘How is there no shaking at all?’ The seat was so soft and comfortable that I felt like I could fall asleep like this.
As I wandered around in amazement, the Duchess wiped the chocolate on Diana’s mouth and burst into laughter.
I quickly straightened up, feeling like I was acting like a child, but my cheeks were burning with embarrassment.
At that moment, the Duchess showed a snack bag and said, “Lia, have some too. You should eat something sweet before shopping.”
Oh, I see!
Upon learning the new fact, I quickly nodded my head and took a candy from the purse she held out to me, putting it carefully into my mouth.
As I rolled the candy around in my mouth, the sweetness spread.
“Oh, how cute!”
“….?”
Startled by the sudden shout, I looked up and saw the Duchess with a relaxed expression on her face.
I thought she was talking about Diana, but she was looking at me as well as Diana.
“Siste, you’re so cute….!”
Diana’s scrutinizing gaze made my shoulders jump in surprise.
I wondered what kind of strange expression I had on my face.
My face turned redder than a moment ago.
I quickly turned my head and looked out the window, shouting, “Wow! It looks like a downtown area already!”
The shopping street of the Duke’s territory was as developed as the capital city itself. The clean and well-organized street was lined with various shops, from street vendors selling snacks and drinks to high-end shops.
After a while, the carriage stopped, and I was admiring the elegant way the Duchess got off the carriage with Taze’s escort when I suddenly became startled by a hand reaching out to me.
“Jack?”
“Grab it. It’s high up here.
Indeed, the carriage was higher than me in height.
Despite having a foothold, it seemed like I could just jump off the carriage. But because Jack was so graceful and mature, I held his hand and got off the carriage.
“Jack, you really look like a knight. You’re so cool!” I said.
Oh, now that he’s just become a trainee knight, he’s a real knight now.
As I added this compliment, I noticed Jack’s ears turning red.
Now I understood that Jack was feeling, and I smiled.
“Oh my, Diana!”
The Duchess exclaimed in surprise and pulled Diana away.
It was because Diana suddenly bit Jack’s hand.
Fortunately, Jack didn’t seem hurt too badly thanks to the strength of a four-year-old, and only looked a bit shaken up. The real problem was Diana, who had started crying.
“Boohoo, that’s my princess!” she wailed, seeming upset that Jack had been taken away from her.
I tried to console Diana, but once she started crying, she didn’t stop easily. In the end, I bought her a fluffy, cloud-like cotton candy from a street vendor we had passed by, which finally quieted down the small commotion.
“Diana is yellow, and I’m pink,” I thought, holding the cotton candy in my hand as Diana had directed me to. I looked at it with wonder.
“I have never tried cotton candy before.”
“Quick, eat it, it’s delicious!”
At Diana’s urging, I hastily took a big bite of the yellow cotton candy, which was stuck on my lips like a mustache.
“Wow! It disappeared!”
I was amazed by the strange experience of it quickly melting away on my tongue.
Although Duchess and Taze, who had been watching me, burst into laughter and made me very embarrassed, my intense first experience of eating cotton candy quickly overcame my embarrassment.
I quickly tore off a piece of cotton candy and offered it to Jack.
“Jack, try some.”
“… Thanks. I didn’t come here to play, I came here to guard.”
His resolute gesture of turning his head away was as if he had already become a formal night.
‘Even though he’s just a kid who’s only 10 years old.’
Suppressing my laughter inwardly, I said dejectedly, “Really? It’s delicious…” and took advantage of Jack turning his head to push the cotton candy into his mouth.
Jack, who accidentally swallowed the cotton candy, started to blush from his throat to his whole face.
Watching from the side, Diana said, “Siste, give some to Dana too!” and I repeatedly fed her like feeding a bird.
After a while, a dressing room appeared in front of us, with various high-end clothes displayed.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
Next chapter will be released on tomorrow. To read chapters in advance support us on Patreon!!
