Episode 91

I was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the crown prince and awkwardly stood up from my seat.

While debating whether I should bow deeply like last time, the duke casually spoke.

“Well, I am this child’s guardian, after all.”

“…Guardian? But your name wasn’t listed as the guardian on the application form.”

“You’ll understand once you see this.”

The duke pulled out a neatly folded sheet of paper from his chest pocket and placed it on the table. Then, as if inviting the crown prince to read it, he tapped the paper lightly with his finger.

The gesture felt slightly discourteous, but the crown prince approached without a word and picked up the paper.

<Guardian Delegation Letter>

‘Belze (Female, 5 years old)’s temporary guardian, ‘Gordon Pelliachae (Grandpa Gordon),’ can no longer fulfill his role as guardian due to personal reasons. All rights are therefore delegated to her legal guardian, Liam Kallios.

“Guardian… delegation letter?”

“Yes. Identity verification has been completed, and it’s been notarized by a lawyer. Therefore, I am officially Belze’s guardian.”

The duke’s confident response made my face flush with embarrassment. Yesterday, when Grandpa Gordon begrudgingly signed the paper, I had wondered what on earth he was up to.

‘Of all things, a delegation letter… Couldn’t he have just said he wanted to come with me!’

Suddenly, I recalled the image of Grandpa Gordon clicking his tongue after signing.

‘They said there was a monster in the house… Turns out this whole place is a den of beasts… tsk tsk.’

It was the first time I found the duke’s meticulous personality so mortifying, even over something trivial.

“I thought this was simply a relationship between a guardian and a ward,” the crown prince remarked with a grim expression after reading the letter. “But this overprotectiveness… It’s a bit much. Anyone would think she’s your secret daughter, Duke.”

Startled, I snapped my head up.

‘No matter how exaggerated, a secret daughter? Isn’t that a bit much?’

Even the crown prince should know there are lines not to be crossed. Such remarks could be interpreted as an insult to the deceased duchess.

“Do you think Belze and I look alike?”

The duke asked nonchalantly.

“Not in the slightest.”

“That’s quite unfortunate.”

The duke clicked his tongue, but his expression showed no sign of anger. If anything, he looked genuinely disappointed.

Then he added, “I’m not hiding anything. In fact, I’m making it blatantly obvious.”

The crown prince’s face twisted in exasperation at the remark.

“…I had no idea.”

“If you didn’t know, you should take note now, Your Highness. Information is a powerful weapon, after all.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

A visible tension sparked between the two as they locked eyes. Though the duke was older and exuded a commanding presence, the crown prince didn’t back down in the slightest.

It was rare for someone to stand up to Duke Kallios with such confidence. To my surprise, the crown prince was holding his ground remarkably well.

While their exchange was unsettling, I nervously watched, afraid something worse might happen. Thankfully, it was the crown prince who broke eye contact first.

“Well, look at that, teddy bear.”

He said, turning to me. His gaze landed on the stuffed bear in my arms, and he chuckled at my bewildered expression.

Sure enough, I had brought along the real teddy bear this time. Hugging the teddy bear tightly, I bowed awkwardly.

“Greetings to the shining sun…”

“Enough with the greetings.”

The crown prince interrupted, waving dismissively.

“And it’s not ‘shining sun.’ It’s ‘the sun.’”

“Ack…”

I paled at his correction. My nerves, heightened by the tension between the two, had made me blurt out my words without thinking.

“Ugh… I knew that,” I stammered, trying to explain away my embarrassment.

The duke, seemingly amused, patted my head reassuringly.

“You can call him whatever you like, my little princess.”

“Princess?”

The crown prince’s brows furrowed in confusion.

‘Please… not in front of royalty, Duke!’

I barely managed to swallow the scream rising in my throat and hastily changed the subject.

“When do we get the awards?!”

Fortunately, the crown prince seemed to gloss over the “princess” comment as if it was no big deal.

“Let’s sit and talk for now.”

“Isn’t it just handing out awards and being done with it?”

“The other award recipients haven’t arrived yet.”

When the duke sharply questioned him, the crown prince shrugged.

“There’s a cabinet meeting in an hour. Duke, feel free to leave early if you must.”

“I’m fine. I’ll wait.”

“Then perhaps you should’ve brought a guardian with more free time, little Belze.”

At the crown prince’s remark, directed at me, the duke’s gaze sharpened. I could only laugh awkwardly amidst their tense standoff.

Of course, I didn’t even know there were other recipients.

‘…So, there are other awardees after all.’

Considering the number of children who came to participate that day, it wouldn’t make sense for me to be the only one recognized.

“Jordan, bring us some tea.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

At that moment, the crown prince addressed an aide I hadn’t even noticed was present.

“Bring chamomile tea for Belze.”

The duke sat down on the sofa with an irritated sigh.

“Chamomile has a calming effect.”

Perhaps I was too distracted by the unspoken battle of wills between the crown prince and the duke. Thankfully, the strange symptoms I felt upon entering the palace seemed to have subsided.

I was so touched by the duke’s care for me that I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Hehe.”

Forgetting my embarrassment, I let out a silly laugh.

A short while later, the crown prince’s aide returned with the tea.

“Don’t you have any child-friendly teacups?”

“What? Oh, uh, no, we don’t…”

“Tsk. It could be too hot, so be careful.”

With a dissatisfied click of his tongue, the duke poured a small amount of chamomile tea into my cup. He must have kept the tea from being too hot to accommodate me.

“But…”

The moment the duke and the crown prince took a sip of their tea, the tension reignited.

“You seem to know teddy bear. Have you met Belze before the charity event?”

“Yes. We’ve known each other for quite some time.”

“For quite some time?”

The duke’s eyebrows twitched.

“When I went to register a trademark at the guild! That’s when I met him!”

Fearing the duke might misunderstand, I hurriedly exclaimed.

“I didn’t know he was the crown prince back then! Really!”

“I see,” the duke said with a nod.

“I had no idea you were participating in such an odd competition. Had I known, I would’ve supported you in every way possible. It’s truly regrettable.”

The words “truly regrettable” no longer sounded ordinary coming from him. Shuddering, I quickly stammered, “I-I forgot about participating too!”

And I genuinely had—until the duke showed me the official document.

“I knew all about it,” the crown prince interjected casually.

The duke’s eyebrow shot up in annoyance at the prince’s smug tone.

“Is that why you bought Belze’s items at the charity event?”

“Well, partly. It was also to repay a favor.”

“A favor? What favor…?”

Knock knock.

The sound of a knock interrupted their escalating conversation.

It seemed another award recipient had finally arrived.

“Come in.”

But instead of a child, it was an adult man—a familiar face to me.

“Huh? Logan?”

“I greet the empire’s little sun. I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but I have an urgent matter regarding the upcoming cabinet meeting to relay to the duke,” Logan said hurriedly, looking troubled.

“Go ahead,” the crown prince permitted.

Logan quickly approached the duke and whispered something into his ear.

“It seems you must leave immediately,” Logan said.

“What?”

The duke glared at him in irritation.

“The meeting must have been moved forward. Feel free to leave first, Duke,” the crown prince said nonchalantly, as if he had anticipated this all along.

The duke stared at him grimly before turning to Logan with instructions.

“Logan, take Belze to the duchy immediately…”

“That won’t do,” the crown prince interjected firmly.

“The awards haven’t been presented yet. Where are you planning to go?”

“It’s dangerous for a child to be left alone without a guardian.”

“Hah. Am I going to eat her?”

The crown prince let out an incredulous laugh.

“And, Duke, you seem to forget my age…”

“…”

“I’m still just a kid like Belze. Isn’t that right, Jordan?”

“Well… yes…”

The crown prince’s aide replied hesitantly, his expression awkward.

“Duke, I’ll take care of things here. Please…”

Logan, clearly anxious, urged the duke.

Feeling like I was a hindrance, I raised my voice resolutely. “I’m okay, Duke! Please go quickly!”

The duke might see me as a child, but I’m a capable adult! “I’ll stay here, get my award, and head back on my own!”

“That’s not happening,” the duke said, leaning down to meet my gaze.

“I’m sorry, Belze. I’ve left you in a difficult spot because of this urgent matter. I’ll return in an hour.”

“…An hour? Cabinet meetings usually last four hours…” the crown prince muttered under his breath, though the duke ignored him entirely.

“I’ll be back soon, so stay here in the crown prince’s quarters. Keep teddy bear close,” the duke instructed.

“Yes! Don’t worry!” I replied enthusiastically.

Though it was clear he didn’t like leaving me behind, the duke left after a few final warnings. He seemed particularly uneasy despite the fact that I’d be safe as long as I had teddy bear with me.

“Take your time and be careful!” I called after him as the door closed.

At last, the duke and Logan left the room.

“Ha… finally, just the two of us,” the crown prince said with a languid sigh, sinking into his chair.

“Now, about why you glared at me so fiercely that day…”

“…”

“Shall we have a little chat?”

“Gasp!”

I realized I’d been mistaken. The moment the duke was gone, I was in grave danger.

Closing my eyes tightly, I prayed to the recently departed duke.

‘Please come back soon, Duke…!’