"I'll wait and see."
"Locard, you're the one who's asking me to blindly trust you."
"Your Highness, you enjoy risky things too. Can you trust him? Is he doing it right? I'm anxious. And my family is also rich."
"Crazy."
Grayon suddenly asked as if he had a thought.
"Count Loire's legitimate daughter?"
"..."
Locard secretly respected Count Loire. It wasn't easy for anyone to behave with such a sense of balance in the Emperor's eyes, which were like a blade on a blade, throughout their lives. Even Duke Kydel, who sometimes opposed the Count due to his position, had the same opinion. It was definitely not pleasant to say that the glory of the Count Loire family had ended in this generation.
Grayon turned his head again while Locard was choosing his words.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"She's pretty."
"Damn."
Grayon heard that Misha Loire’s only advantage was her looks and swore softly.
No matter how much he was in a difficult position, he would have regretted having an illegitimate child. Since the topic was already on the table, Locard continued the small talk.
“Lorisha.”
“Why?”
“She is the one treating Your Highness right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She is the one giving herbs to Director Royman. She seems to be skilled in that area as well. I think she is trying to become independent from the Count’s family with that. From the bottom.”
From the bottom. When Locard said that, even the slight hostility that had remained in his heart dissipated and disappeared.
In the few months since arriving at the Tunbar Mountains, they had to fight the bottom of survival before the enemy. For those who had been living in the mild capital, survival in the harsh nature was a war from the start.
That’s why he understood how desperate it was for humans to crawl up from the bottom. That was why he felt an absurd sense of kinship.
Of course, that didn’t mean he forgave her. Her provocation established a strict confrontation, and Kydel never backed down from the confrontation.
His intention to secretly leak information like this to make the second Prince familiar with Lorisha never changed.
Grayon muttered regretfully.
“The Count must be quite upset.”
Locard remained silent in agreement, and Grayon wiggled his torso and said,
“Tell Royman to come in. It’s starting to get hot.”
When Locard got up to deliver the order, the door swung open. The palace servant guarding the door stood outside, not knowing what to do, and Princess Miliora came in quickly and without hesitation.
“Brother, you’re using some kind of strange sorcery on your body?”
“Sorcery? It’s Royman’s treatment.”
“Then alchemy? He doesn’t make gold anymore?”
Grayon couldn’t hold it in anymore and shouted.
“Royman! It’s hot!”
Whined ran in, his robe fluttering silently, and picked off the clumps of herbs that were almost burnt off and placed them on a plate.
The only Princess of Tagar seemed to have lost interest in her brother and turned to Locard.
“Locard! Still handsome?”
“Locard is the son of His Majesty’s lion. Treat him with respect.”
Grayon interjected, but Miliora pretended not to hear. She laughed, her neat silver hair swaying.
“Locard Kydel is meeting the Princess.”
“Prince Locard? Come to the Princess’s palace and have a cup of tea. Not now, but later!”
Grayon groaned in pain, but she paid him no mind.
“Do you know how much trouble the young ladies are causing? A war hero is now the top student at the academy? Aren’t you being too greedy? If the Prince comes, my tea party will be ruined. The ones who couldn’t attend will cry? It’ll be funny. Hohoho.”
“You’re still the same, Your Highness.”
“Still immature? I know. But you take good care of even my more immature and wicked brother, so I shouldn’t be a problem. Right?”
When Locard answered with a grin, Grayon closed his gown and shouted.
“Can’t you get out? Do you think Locard is your toy?”
“Ha! Then, is he your toy?”
Grayon stared at Locard at those words, and Milliora followed suit.
Grayon nodded briefly and answered.
“Yes.”
Locard groaned and placed his palm on his forehead, and Whined gathered his tools and quietly disappeared.
“Where did you hear about witchcraft?”
At Grayon’s question, Milliora wrinkled his round forehead and turned to him.
“Where would it be?”
“...”
“I heard that Her Majesty the Empress teased His Highness that the Second Prince might recover?”
“How can you be like a soldier rolling around on a battlefield?”
“So what, who in the palace cares about me? Her Majesty is the only one who cares about Your Highness. Her Majesty the Empress takes care of everything for my eldest brother.”
When Grayon’s expression became sensitive at that remark, she said to Locard.
“It's not a secret anyway, is it? So, when's my tea party coming?”
“It's not a secret anyway, is it? So, when's my tea party coming?”
“I think I’ll have time during the Academy’s vacation.”
Grayon cut in fiercely.
“Even if the Academy fails, Locard won’t come to your tea party. Go back.”
“It’s so fatal! Is it this sad for someone who doesn’t have a cub to raise?”
Milliora smiled prettily at Locard and sarcastically, then shouted at Grayon.
“Anyway, get well soon! Don’t make me nervous just by watching.”
Regardless of the form, the love between the Princess and Prince is beautiful to see, said Milliora as Locard smiled warmly.
“Don’t misunderstand, I’m doing this because I need my eldest brother’s shield. While my eldest brother is trying to cut off my younger brother’s head, I’ll be safe, right?”
Milliora left with a lingering aftertaste as she walked out with the same brisk steps she had entered.
Grayon muttered in a bitter voice.
“That’s really... It’s embarrassing to even look at her.”
“The flowers of the Tagar Imperial Family are full of life.”
Locard’s response, comparing Milliora to a flower, was so refined that Grayon waved his hand telling him to get out of there too.
The Empress, who had been offended by the announcement of the last war compensation plan, was now attacking Grayon’s health issues. It was a difficult problem to defend.
“Do you think Director Royman’s treatment is effective?”
“Maybe. If you get out.”
Locard smiled, bowed, and left the second Prince’s room.
Instead of leaving, he walked for a while to the Third Palace. While he was there, he wanted to find out how often Lorisha Loire had been in and out of the palace.
However, Lorisha Loire was not on the entry list. After a moment of confusion, he searched through the list and found another name.
'Lorisha Loba'. There was only one entry record.
"Ha... Even an alias?"
***
4. Reconciliation
Misha returned to the Count's residence every weekend. Three of the five tutors who had helped her prepare for the entrance exam were rehired, and they were frightened by Misha's changed attitude toward studying.
Judging by the fact that she kept trying to look good, it seemed that Prince Kydel had not answered the letter. It was a wise decision, just as Misha had said.
As I watched her, I couldn't help but wonder.
'Is love really that great?'
Thinking about it, I was skeptical of love. The only thing that the Count and my mother had left behind was pain that had been passed down through generations.
As time passed without incident, I forgot about the letter incident. It was just my own joke from the beginning.
My coming-of-age birthday was just a week away, and the Count came to see me and asked,
“Have you decided how you’re going to spend your coming-of-age ceremony?”
Throw a party, collect gifts, and receive flowers from the men. I wasn’t interested in that kind of coming-of-age ceremony.
I answered after much thought.
“I want to go to the villa.”
“The villa?”
“You buried your mother’s bones there. I want to tell her that I’m an adult now.”
When I was ten, I was suddenly dragged away by the Countess, so I didn’t bring my mother’s urn with me. The maid Moria, who took care of me at the villa where I first stayed after following the Count, left it out when she sent my luggage to the Count’s residence. It was a really wise decision. If the urn had come with me, I don’t know what the Countess would have done.
So now my mother was sleeping under the beautiful oak tree in the yard of the villa.
The Count’s voice was slightly hoarse.
“That’s a good idea.”
“And... if you come with me...”
Why wouldn’t my mouth open, my voice was hoarse.
Normally, I would never have asked the Count such a favor.
But when I found out that my mother wanted to leave me in the care of the Count, I wanted to go with him.
I knew that this request was asking the Count to take on the role of a father, but on the one day in my life when I would become an adult, I thought that such recklessness would be forgiven.
“Yes. Let’s go together, Lorisha. We’ll leave in the morning.”
The Count answered coolly, patted my head calmly, and left.
I sighed involuntarily. I dared to ask the healthy Count for an inheritance, but why was it so hard to ask him to accompany me for a few hours?
Still, somehow I felt good after talking and getting permission. I fell into a good sleep.
But my luck was not so good.
Misha, who had returned to the Count’s residence over the weekend, said at dinner that she was going to invite the first-year students of the academy to a party next evening.
On my birthday.
The Countess asked excitedly.
“Who will be there? Will there be any children from families I know?”
“Prince Kydel!”
“Oh my, Misha!”
Misha said proudly as if she were a victorious hero.
“Since he has agreed, everyone will come, right?”
“Good! Good!”
That was when the Count got angry.
So now my mother was sleeping under the beautiful oak tree in the yard of the villa.
The Count’s voice was slightly hoarse.
“That’s a good idea.”
“And... if you come with me...”
Why wouldn’t my mouth open, my voice was hoarse.
Normally, I would never have asked the Count such a favor.
But when I found out that my mother wanted to leave me in the care of the Count, I wanted to go with him.
I knew that this request was asking the Count to take on the role of a father, but on the one day in my life when I would become an adult, I thought that such recklessness would be forgiven.
“Yes. Let’s go together, Lorisha. We’ll leave in the morning.”
The Count answered coolly, patted my head calmly, and left.
I sighed involuntarily. I dared to ask the healthy Count for an inheritance, but why was it so hard to ask him to accompany me for a few hours?
Still, somehow I felt good after talking and getting permission. I fell into a good sleep.
But my luck was not so good.
Misha, who had returned to the Count’s residence over the weekend, said at dinner that she was going to invite the first-year students of the academy to a party next evening.
On my birthday.
The Countess asked excitedly.
“Who will be there? Will there be any children from families I know?”
“Prince Kydel!”
“Oh my, Misha!”
Misha said proudly as if she were a victorious hero.
“Since he has agreed, everyone will come, right?”
“Good! Good!”
That was when the Count got angry.
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