Because Allen and Diana were so excited in the morning, we arrived in front of the main building early, even before the Duchess had finished getting ready. It was time to greet the carriage that was waiting in advance, Taze, who was in charge of escorting, and Jack, who was once again wearing an apprentice knight’s uniform and helping with the escort.
“Wow, what are you doing?”
Allen asked with a surprised look on her face. I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at the fat pockets I was wearing.
“This is the salary I have saved so far.”
I was a little embarrassed, lifted my chin, and proudly patted my pocket. Even though all I’ve been doing lately is comfortable things like playing with Diana and reading books at the library, I’m still very happy. At that time, Allen asked with wide eyes.
“Where are you going to buy land?”
“… yes?”
I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he was making fun of me by saying something absurd, but Allen’s eyes were truly full of sincerity. Still, he was wondering if he was completely oblivious, and when he saw Taze suppressing his laughter, he said, “…Or home?” and tilted his head. I cried, clutching my pockets full of coins. I felt very sad for Allen, who had no sense of money. But how many noble masters like Allen have ever made money like this? Moreover, I quickly felt relieved because there was enough money in the safe in my name at the capital bank to buy land or a house.
“I worked hard to save up my salary, but it’s not that much.”
“Okay? But why did you bring all that out?”
“Young master, as you kept singing, this is our first time out in the capital. When I heard about it, there were a lot of shops and stalls in front of the academy. So, I’ll grab some snacks and buy whatever I want.”
For example, something that will become the basis of my plan.
“Uh… I have no money, what should I do?”
Allen’s eyes, who had been very excited by my words, drooped down. I almost burst out laughing at the face filled with genuine concern. Even if I chose anything, the escorts behind me would pay on their own, so it was a useless worry.
“I don’t have any money, so what should I do…”
Even Diana, who was listening to the conversation next to us, looked tearful. It was a time when Diana was willing to tell me that I could buy her as much snacks as she wanted with the money I saved.
“Well. It doesn’t work if you don’t have money.”
The Duke appeared with the Duchess who had finished preparing.
“I went out as much as I could, but wouldn’t it be sad if I couldn’t buy what I wanted to eat?”
So what should he do? As the Duke looked at him intently, Diana and Allen quickly ran in front of the Duke and held out their hands.
“Please!”
“Father, money!”
The Duke burst out laughing at the sight of his children proudly praising him as if they had come to retrieve something he had left behind, but then he took out a bag that seemed to have been prepared in advance.
“Now, it’s pocket money.”
“Wow!”
“Kya!”
The sight of Allen and Diana jumping up and down in turns was so innocent that I couldn’t help but laugh. It was then.
“Come on, Lia. This is your pocket money.”
The Duchess handed me a pouch the same color as hers.
“Mine?”
As I blinked in embarrassment, the Duchess put the pouch in her hand and said,
“Of course. Did you think I left out yours?”
“But… I have money.”
“I know. But that’s money you earned through hard work, and this is pocket money.”
“…”
I was speechless and stared blankly at the pocket in my hand. It was the first allowance I had ever received in my life. The guild executives also liked me a lot and bought me various delicious things, but they never gave me pocket money like this.
“Taze, you’re a first-time dad, so you didn’t even think about preparing for something like this, right?”
The Duke looked at Taze, who had been at a loss since the word ‘pocket money’ was mentioned, and proudly gave Jack a pocket as well.
“I’m not going there to have fun…”
After hesitating, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and took the bag and nodded, thanking him. Taze’s face was colored with self-destruction and frustration in real time.
“Okay, let’s go now.”
The Duchess called the children together to get into her carriage.
When I saw that, I secretly smiled. Actually, we came out early, but the Duchess also came out quite early. Although she did not chatter for days like Allen, she also seemed to be looking forward to meeting Lucio. I was about to get on the carriage, feeling my heart pounding for some reason.
“Please be careful.”
The Duke, who was watching Allen and Diana getting into the carriage, gave me one last look and said. As expected, the Duke seemed to think that I was more trustworthy than Allen, the oldest of them all.
I smiled broadly and said, “Yes!”.
* * *
A carriage carrying children left the Duke’s residence. The Duke, who had been watching the carriage drive away, returned to his office to prepare for the upcoming meeting of his retainers. And he was reading documents as usual.
〈Lucio seems to think Lia is special.〉
Suddenly, he remembered what his wife said a few days ago. He gave her a puzzled look as if asking what she was talking about, and his wife explained what happened at that time, saying that she was surprised to see Lucio treating Lia just before leaving for the academy.
〈I have never seen Lucio be so kind to someone.〉
〈Well, he knows that his family is precious too. Even though he couldn’t accept her as his sister, he would have been grateful to her to have taken care of Diana. Lia is just as special to us.〉
〈That’s right.〉
But the Duchess laughed softly, saying that it was surprising that it was Lucio, not anyone else.
〈By the way, what happened to what you decided to find out?〉
And at the next words, the Duke’s face darkened. As his attempt to adopt Lia fell through some time ago, he was looking for a new adopter to whom he could place her. He thought that Lia was still young, and that she had no intention of settling down in one place and needed a guardian to control her wandering mind. Of course, he wanted to be that kind of strong fence, but since that had become difficult, the Duke wanted to somehow create a family to put down roots. But it wasn’t really a miracle. Since he intended to keep Lia by Diana’s side, he had to find someone who would be within the confines of the Duke of Elad, who would not be greedy, would appreciate her good nature, and most of all, would truly care for Lia and accept her as a family. Because not long ago, when Taze hinted that he wanted to adopt the Knights’ Jack and Lia, he sent them back to ask the children first.
When she heard that Lia had refused, he suddenly regretted what he had been secretly wanting. Of course, she rejected Taze, not him, and acted as a good daughter. Although Lia still didn’t want to see him, Taze was a trustworthy guy. After recalling his wife’s equally distressed face for the last time, the Duke decided that he should check again to see if any of his childless vassals were alright at the meeting to be held a little later.
* * *
The atmosphere inside the carriage heading to the academy was better than ever. Allen and Diana, who were excited about going out for the first time in a while, laughed and chattered non-stop, and the scenery of the street passing quickly outside the window captured the lively atmosphere of a green summer.
“So, when we go to the academy, let’s ask Askal to show us rainbow magic. I made a lot of bubbles when I was little, and it was no joke!”
At that time, I blinked as I listened to Allen’s words with a flushed face. I remembered the conversation that Prince Nicholas had with Allen last time when he visited the Duke’s residence.
“Young master. Are you by any chance referring to Grand Duke Ascarte Belus?”
“Uh?”
“I think the old master said that last time.”
As I spoke, my eyes suddenly opened. Wasn’t the Grand Duke of Belus the heir to the powerful Duchy of Belus, and a man who was famous for his good looks in the past along with Lucio?
‘He is also the grandson of the Marquis of Diappelle, who protects the borders of the empire!’
〈Grandpa, are you okay?〉
〈It’s okay, thank you.〉
At that time, a memory I had forgotten suddenly came to mind. Among the nobles I met, the Marquis Diappelle was one of the few nobles who did not look down on commoners and treated them like people. In my past life, I had an unexpected relationship with the Marquis of Diappelle, and in this life, with Bianca, and for some reason, I was glad to hear the name of someone related to both of them. When I asked with sparkling eyes, the smile on Allen’s face, which had been talking excitedly just a moment ago, gradually disappeared.
“Uh… Now that I think about it, Askal…”
Allen, who suddenly became serious, pursed his lips and looked worried. I tilted my head and asked why, but Allen kept his mouth shut and didn’t say anything until we arrived at the academy.
* * *
“Wow!”
Diana jumped out of her carriage, her eyes wide, and screamed. I also looked at the academy surrounded by a high wall with new eyes. Although it was clearly the same place as I remembered from before, the impression was completely different. Fragments of sunlight fell through the leaves of the beautiful trees, and the streets were full of energy and laughter, with carriages crowded together and countless people passing by. It was so beautiful that I couldn’t believe that this was the place I ran away to die on a rainy day.
“Hmm, I guess we came too early.”
The Duchess looked up at the clock tower near the academy’s main entrance and looked embarrassed.
“I thought I would be pushed out because there were so many people.”
Because we left so early, it seems we arrived much earlier than the time promised with Lucio. First of all, I decided to wait in front of Lucio until he came out.
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Translator Note:
Next week there won’t be any release since I will take a little vacation to be with the family. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year guys!!
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
Next post will be released on January, 6.
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