“The Count of Humphrey… no, it’s not him. I barely ever talked to him in the first place.”
“Then who made that kind of proposal?”
“It makes some sense if the Count of Humphrey would go after the main line, but…”
“Let me first tell you the families that come to mind.”
Luciard tried hard to recall everyone who had ever made a meaningful comment to him from his past.
“…That’s about it. But honestly, most of the people who said those things were my classmates, so I can’t be sure if they were seriously targeting Winston’s house or just joking around.”
His academy classmates were just kids back then, not even adults.
It wasn’t uncommon for them to make playful remarks about eliminating their older brothers and inheriting the family titles. Luciard thought it was just along those lines.
Of course, he always denied it, not wanting any misunderstandings.
“Yeah, it’s all pretty vague.”
“And there’s no real connection between those families either.”
“Was it really just kids joking around?”
While Derrick, Hestia, and Luciard were chatting, Melvin tapped his fingers on the armrest.
Hestia, noticing his gesture, asked, “Master, did something come to mind?”
“Hmm?”
Realizing everyone was looking at him, Melvin chose his words carefully.
“Maybe… something’s been bothering me a little. Luciard, did you have any contact with the royal family while you were at the academy?”
“The royal family, huh…”
“Not just the royal family, but anyone associated with them. The Florence Duchy counts too.”
“Florence, huh… Oh yeah, I ran into him sometimes. We were the same age, even though we weren’t in the same department.”
The current Grand Duke of Florence is the younger brother of the late emperor, which makes their family part of the royal circle too.
Luciard had consistently ranked first in the swordsmanship department at the academy, while Gabriel Florence, the eldest son of the Florence family, never lost the top spot in political studies.
At the end of each term, the top students from each department were often called up to the stage together, so Luciard bumped into him occasionally.
“We weren’t really close; we’d just exchange greetings in passing. But, well…”
Occasionally, he felt like Gabriel looked at him with disdain.
“Probably because I’m an illegitimate child,” he thought.
Gabriel never showed it openly—he had an image to maintain. But Luciard, who was pretty sharp about these things, could sense the subtle hostility.
“Hmm, I see.”
“Honestly, I never got involved in the cliques or the politics at school, so I don’t know much about that stuff. Sorry, I can’t be of more help.”
“No need to apologize. Just knowing which families they belong to is valuable enough.”
“But, Master, why are you asking about the royal family?”
Now that he thought about it, before leaving Byron, Melvin had advised him to be careful of the royal family.
“Just a thought. Something made me wonder if this could be connected to them. Don’t worry about it.”
“Got it…”
“Anyway, back to the main point. You both seem to want the other to become Leon’s guardian.”
Back to the main topic. They still hadn’t decided who should become Leon’s guardian.
Just a week ago, both were dead set on keeping the position for themselves, but now that their hearts had changed, they both felt a bit confused.
“I get how you both feel, but one of you has to be his guardian in the end,” Melvin said.
Since he wasn’t wrong, the two exchanged nervous glances.
“…I still think you should be Leon’s guardian, Luciard,” Hestia said first.
But Luciard disagreed.
“I don’t know anything about managing an estate. I don’t even know how a duchy operates. You’d be better at leading the family than I ever would.”
“You can learn. I wasn’t able to do it all overnight either. I spent three years under Father’s wing, watching and learning. You also have the potential to be a great lord. Remember that idea you suggested last time?”
“That was just one small thing. I don’t have a big-picture vision for running an estate. Plus, don’t you remember? If you leave, Leon will cry like last time.”
“…He’s just not used to goodbyes yet. If we take our time and say proper goodbyes, he’ll be fine. And it’s not like we’re parting forever. Byron isn’t far; I’ll visit often.”
The two of them kept passing the role of guardian back and forth, each insisting that the other was more suitable. The more they talked, the more it became clear that they weren’t going to find any middle ground.
As the conversation dragged on, both of them looked visibly exhausted. Seeing that, Lavio quietly spoke up.
“Uh, can I ask something?”
“What is it?”
“Does it really matter if you’re not his guardian, Luciard? I mean, couldn’t you just become the duke?”
Everyone’s eyes widened, so Lavio quickly added, “No, I mean, if you’re already leading the family, can’t you just be the duke and hand over the title to Leon when he’s an adult? Even if you’re an illegitimate child, you’re still a Winston, and you’ve got just as much right to be a duke.”
“…He’s not wrong.”
They’d been so focused on who would be the guardian that they hadn’t considered this option.
Hestia looked at Luciard, but his expression had turned unusually grim.
“I’m fine with being Leon’s guardian, but I’ll never become the Duke.”
“Why not?”
“I already told you. There are people who want me to become Duke. I hate that they’d twist my intentions, and I worry that Leon might even be in danger because of it.”
If Luciard became Duke, there would undoubtedly be those who would be displeased and might target Leonhard.
“I don’t want Leon to live a life of constantly watching his back, like I did.”
Luciard had already lived through enough of that.
As he had discussed with Leitner before, becoming Duke himself was absolutely out of the question.
“I also think it’s better if Luciard doesn’t become duke. If we want Leon to inherit the title safely,” Melvin, who had been listening quietly, took Luciard’s side.
“The things Luciard heard at the academy were when the late duke and duchess were still alive, right? They weren’t sick, and they were leading the family just fine, yet people still said those things. If Luciard became duke now, it would only get worse.”
Who knew why people said those things to Luciad back then, but the point remained.
“It could put the young lord in danger.”
Melvin’s words carried weight. He had taught many noble children during his long career as a professor, so he was more familiar with noble politics than anyone. That’s probably why he had retired to the quiet countryside to get away from it all.
“So, what do you think we should do, Master?”
Hestia and Luciard were both unwilling to change their minds, making it hard to come to a decision.
“From what I’ve heard, it seems like Luciard really doesn’t know much about managing estates or running a family, right?”
“Yes. I graduated from the swordsmanship department at the academy, and my grades in politics and administration were pretty poor. Honestly, I’ve never been great at… using my head.”
He had chosen swordsmanship for many reasons, but mainly because it was the one thing he had a natural talent for.
“But, if Hestia’s right that Luciard would be able to take care of Leon just fine, then it would be odd for Hestia to stay on as his guardian.”
“Besides, I promised Leon. I told him I’d give the role back to Luciard once he arrived.”
“This really is a tough one.”
“They both make valid points, so it’s hard to pick a side.”
“But it seems like the best option right now is for Luciard to take over as guardian.”
When Lavio spoke up, everyone turned to look at him.
“Didn’t you say there’d be a handover? Why not extend that period a bit longer?”
“Extend? How long are you thinking?”
“Not just a few months, but at least a year, maybe even several years. The Captain doesn’t know anything about managing an estate, so if he’s going to start from scratch, it’ll take some time to learn.”
He wasn’t wrong. It does take a significant amount of time to gain experience and understand the ins and outs of estate management.
“If Miss Hestia helps with the handover while teaching the Captain how to manage everything, it means she can stay here longer. That way, Lord Leonhard won’t feel like she’s leaving suddenly, and he’d probably be more understanding.”
“That’s true…”
“You’ve got a point,” Melvin and Derek both nodded in agreement, and it seemed Hestia was also convinced.
Only Luciard looked completely unsatisfied.
“…I don’t think one or two years will be enough to learn everything.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. And honestly, Lavio’s right. It’s better to set a longer timeline, like a year, rather than rushing through a few months. It’s easier for me to teach by showing you examples over time.”
“Ugh…”
“Well, that settles it.”
“For now, Hestia will stay on as the guardian, but once the handover is done, Luciard will take over. This seems like the cleanest solution out of everything we’ve discussed.”
Everyone except Luciard, who still seemed uneasy, was satisfied with the plan.
“Now, we just have to tell the young master…”
Suddenly, silence filled the room.
Hestia and Luciard exchanged nervous glances.
“…How are we supposed to explain this?”
They were both worried about whether Leonhart would cry again, like last time.
***
“Master Leonhart?”
After finishing their discussion, the two headed to the playroom to explain the decision to Leonhard.
“Did everything go well?”
Anna, who was sitting on the sofa with Elvin, noticed Hestia and stood up.
“Yes. Where’s the young master?”
“He’s over there.”
Following Anna’s direction, they saw Leonhard playing with Eric and Annie in a large toy castle that took up much of the playroom.
The room was filled with their cheerful laughter. With three kids, it was a little noisy.
Hestia and Luciard nodded to each other and quietly approached the children.
“Oh! It’s sis!”
“Look, sis! This is the biggest toy castle I’ve ever seen!”
Eric and Annie noticed them first. Even Annie, who was usually more mature, was showing a rare playful side today.
“I see. Are you having fun?”
“Yeah! Do you want to come inside?”
“Sorry, I can’t. I think if I go in, it’ll collapse.”
“Then don’t come in! Just watch from outside!”
After laughing at being brushed off by the youngest, Hestia glanced up at the top of the toy castle and spotted Leonhard.
When their eyes met, Leonhart flinched and hid his face.
“Master Leonhard, are you having fun?”
“Yeah!”
“I’m glad, but I need to talk to you for a moment.”
“Leon, come down for a bit. We need to discuss something important.”
Even Luciard called out to him.
But Leonhard didn’t respond and kept hiding his face.
As the two were about to call him again—
“Attack!”
Leonhart suddenly shouted. In response, Eric and Annie quickly snapped into action.
“The enemy is attacking! Defend the castle!”
“Waaaah!”
“Don’t go easy on them, sis!”
“What? Hey, wait! Ouch…!”
Eric and Annie, armed with soft toy weapons, suddenly started attacking the two adults.
Though the blows weren’t painful, the two were left completely bewildered.
“Leon! We’re trying to talk to you!”
A flustered Luciard called out again, but—
“Ah, the Captain has appeared! Let’s defeat him!”
Leonhart yelled as he threw a big towel down from the top, disrupting the conversation once again.
It seemed like the kids thought this was all part of the game, so Hestia and Luciard had no choice but to play along.
