“The duke must win this hunting contest. And instead of the winning prize, the ‘Tears of God’ jewel, ask for something else.”
“If anything else, what exactly?”
“Ask your Majesty for the territory of ‘Regarden’, a barren land at the tip of the north.”
“…Ask for Regarden territory?”
“Yes. His Majesty doesn’t want ‘Tears of God’ to be passed on to someone else, so even if you think it’s strange, he will hand over the ‘Regarden’ territory.”
“Why can’t you tell me now?”
“If anyone finds out, I’m going to be in real trouble. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you right now.”
“There is a special device installed here, so no one outside can hear it.”
“But you never know.”
“…It means that you are not relieved by my words.”
There was a certain bitterness in the duke’s words. For a moment, she felt sorry and decided to give the duke a hint.
“Let me give you a hint, there is something in Regarden territory that the imperial family and the magic tower will greatly covet.”
The duke’s eyes were filled with surprise.
“What are you saying now…”
“I will tell you later how I know this. So please do as I say this time, Duke.”
“Is that really there?”
The Duke still asks with an expression of disbelief. She nodded firmly. The duke stared at her with his mouth closed. When some time had passed, the duke finally opened his mouth.
“I understand that there are some circumstances that prevent you from saying anything. For now, let’s do as you say.”
“…Really?”
“However, let’s revise the plan for the hunting competition. Your plan carries a lot of risk.”
“In what way?”
“I plan to take advantage of the Marquis’ trick during this hunting competition.”
From those words, she could guess what the duke would do at the hunting competition.
“Do you think the Duke will become Your Majesty’s benefactor by saving Her Majesty from being poisoned?”
The duke nodded.
“If everything goes as planned, His Majesty will provide additional compensation without me having to mention it first. Because additional compensation is usually given as territory.”
“But, if you still ask for Regarden territory, you’ll probably be suspicious, right?”
“I already created a reason, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Then I’m glad.”
“Anyway, I’ll tell you again later when the plan is fully completed.”
“Yes.”
As she nodded in satisfaction, she felt a subtle gaze.
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“How long do you plan on holding my hand?”
“Oh!”
Only then did she realize that she had been holding the Duke’s hand the entire conversation. She hastily took his hand away and smiled awkwardly at the Duke.
“Haha, I did it without realizing it…”
“Okay, let’s just leave now.”
“Okay. Then I’ll go.”
As she was getting up, a thought suddenly occurred to her, so she sat back down and said.
“By the way, Duke. I want to learn how to use that weapon. Is that okay?”
The duke’s eyebrows twitched slightly at my words. As if he didn’t like it.
“I want to be able to take care of my own health. Isn’t that okay?”
“So, is there a weapon you want to use?”
“I went to see the training ground with Lian earlier and met Sylvester, and he recommended using a whip.”
“…That’s what the leader said?”
“Yes. I tried swinging it earlier as a test, but it’s not that difficult and I think it’ll be fine as long as I learn well.”
She was waiting for permission to be given, but why was it so quiet? When she looked at the Duke, wanting to know something, the corners of his mouth were quite twisted. It seemed like he really didn’t like the idea of her learning weapons. She decided to try to persuade the duke a little more.
“It’s not like I want to learn because I don’t trust the escort knights…”
“Since when on earth have we been seeing each other? It must have only been a week since you came back.”
…huh? What did this mean?
“Yes?”
“I’m asking since when did you start seeing Sylvester?”
“…When we met each other? I saw him for the first time a little while ago…”
“Is this the first time you saw him today?”
“Yes.”
He nodded quickly, but his duke’s face didn’t seem to straighten. No, why on earth was this person doing this?
“So, you’re calling me by my first name even though I saw you for the first time today?”
“When we met earlier, Sylvester told me to call you by my first name, so I’m just doing that?”
“Although he is not from a noble family, he is definitely the leader of the knights. So, he must show basic courtesy.”
Rather than feeling offended by the sudden admonition, she felt more embarrassed. She was so clueless…
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“From now on, call Sylvester by his last name, not his first name. Understood?”
At first she wondered why it was like that, but now she thought she knew why. Her guess was that it was most likely jealousy. And that was just because he called Sylvester by his first name.
“Duke, I have something to ask you.”
“Why are you avoiding the answer?”
The duke urged her to answer, but she continued speaking regardless.
“The handkerchief that Richard gave me has suddenly disappeared. Do you know where it is?”
“…what?”
“I can’t see the handkerchief Richard gave me anywhere. He must have kept it in his room.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying all of a sudden.”
It was a fool’s errand, but seeing him slightly avoid his gaze made her feel stabbed inside.
“Handkerchief, do you really not know where it went?”
“I do not know.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Without a single lie?”
“…I would have said I didn’t know.”
You keep acting like a fool, right? If that’s the case.
“By the way, Duke. Were you carrying the trash can on the day the handkerchief disappeared?”
She had a run-in with the maid.
“What does that mean?”
“The maid dropped her trashcan on the floor, and there was, like, a piece of a handkerchief, which Richard gave me. It looked like a handkerchief pattern.”
“…”
“It’s just an illusion, right?”
When asked subtly, the duke answered slowly.
“…Of course, it must be an illusion.”
“As expected, isn’t it?”
She stood up and said, smiling at the Duke as if to show off.
“Oh, and about Sylvester. I know basic manners, but since Sylvester clearly said it was okay, I’m going to keep calling him by his name. Anyway, I’ll just leave now.”
She left the office without hearing the duke’s answer. At the very least, she was probably just sulking alone in her office. When she pictured that image in her head, she couldn’t help but laugh. Feeling better for some reason, she walked towards the training center with light steps.
* * *
When we arrived at the training hall, the child who had already finished his swordsmanship class was wiping his sweat and drinking water.
“Sorry, it took me a while to come back from a short visit.”
“It’s okay. I just went to see my father.”
“Anyway, did you enjoy class?”
“Yes. It was hard, but it was fun. It was my first time using my body this much, and it was good in many ways.”
“But don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
“Yes.”
She told the boy to wait a moment and then walked over to Sylvester, who was organizing his weapons on one side.
“Hey, Sylvester.”
“It looks like you came after telling the duke. Of course he gave permission, right?”
Even though she hadn’t brought it up yet, she quickly noticed and asked. She thought about it before, but she was really quick-witted. She nodded in agreement.
“Yes. He said it doesn’t matter as long as we train for about an hour.”
“Then how about learning starting tomorrow? The training time will be the same as your swordsmanship class.”
“Yes, I like it. Anyway, thank you for your concern.”
“What. He is someone who will have a very close relationship with His Excellency, so this should be the basic level.”
Sylvester narrowed one eye with a knowing look. She laughed awkwardly and then returned to the child.
“Lian, do you have any more classes to take later?”
“No. Swordsmanship class is over for today.”
“Then shall we go back to the room now?”
“By the way, Master, I made sure to get a massage because I might be hungry the next day.”
“Would you like me to give you a massage? I’ll give you a cooling massage.”
“Yes. I like it!”
The child quickly nodded his head and smiled brightly.
“Then let’s go now.”
“Yes.”
She left the gym holding the child’s hand. On the way to the room, she ran into Rubart, and she was a little surprised. Rubart and the servants following behind were all carrying documents piled high.
“Rubart, what is it all about?”
“Ah, these are the documents the duke ordered me to bring.”
Only then did she understood why there were so many documents. He was already trying to investigate. Perhaps Rubart also knew about it after hearing it from the Duke. Why did he need to research about Phezetion?
“You must be busy already, I’m sorry.”
“What does Elia have to be sorry about? It’s something I have to do.”
Rubart smiled softly.
“Why Elia? Are the documents Rubart is holding related to Elia?”
The child, who would normally listen quietly, suddenly asked Rubart a question.
“Yes. That’s because there is something to investigate separately.”
Rubart told the child yes, but did not say why. Instead of asking further questions, the child looked at me and Rubart alternately.
“Lian, what’s wrong?”
“Because every time something I don’t know comes up…”
The child mumbles slightly, trailing off his words. When she saw that, she immediately realized why the child was doing that. Although she didn’t show it all this time, it seemed like she was upset deep inside.
“Of course, I know you won’t tell me because it would be embarrassing for me to hear it. But still…”
The child who added his words wiggled his hands. She lowered her upper body so that the child was at eye level with her.
“I’m sorry, Lian. I should have thought about how you felt, but it’s natural to be upset. It’s even weirder that you’re not upset when you don’t tell me.”
At those words, the child softly purses his lips.
“It may be difficult to tell you now, but I will definitely tell you later when the time comes. Okay?”
“Yes. I understand.”
The child nodded his head and hugged her waist tightly. She lifted the child up and held him in her arms. Her arms immediately went numb due to the heaviness that was definitely different from before. Still, she wanted to hug him until he went to his room. Even if he answered that he understood, it doesn’t mean that his disappointment went away.
“Rubart, I’m going to go now. I think you caught someone who was busy for no reason.”
“No. Then I’ll just go too.”
Lubart lowered his head and walked to the other side with the maids and disappeared. She gently patted the quiet child on the back and made her walk.
“Lian.”
“…”
“Our cutie has really grown up a lot.”
“Is it so?”
“Yes. It’s a lot heavier than before.”
“Gasp! Then it’s difficult. Please put me down. I can walk just fine on my own.”
The child lifted his head and shook his body back and forth with a confused look on his face.
“This is okay. If she keeps moving, will her butt hit the floor?”
“It’s really okay…”
She gently touched the top of her crying child’s head with her chin without causing any pain.
“It’s okay. I’ll go quickly and clean her up and give her a massage.”
“Yes.”
The child soon became calm and hugged her neck tightly with his arms. She smiled quietly, held the child in her arms, and diligently headed to the room.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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