Cale took his eyes off the prince and picked up his teacup.
"Look at this!"
An innocent child held out a pouch in one hand. Behind him, a servant with a troubled expression was behind him.
The emperor sighed deeply.
"...Argen. I'm meeting with the duke."
"Ah!"
Only then did Argen notice Cale, who was drinking tea with his legs crossed.
His unruly hair bobbed in a quick bow.
"Hello, um... Duke Winterwald!"
"Y-Your Highness! A member of the royal family shouldn't bow so low...! And besides, Cale became a duke a few days ago. How could you not know?"
The servant, fidgeting beside him, whispered quickly and quietly.
Argen blinked and gave a bashful smile.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Duke Winterwald."
"It's fine."
Cale replied nonchalantly.
Maybe it was because he was used to it at home, but the chattering and energy didn't bother him much.
"Anyway, Argen. You had class, didn't you? Did you skip it again?"
The emperor clicked his tongue and asked sternly. Only then did the prince look flustered with a gasp.
"Ah, well... the weather was so nice, so I wanted to play in the garden with the servants..."
"Hoo. How long are you going to hang around just the servants? Didn't I arrange those classes with the nobles' permission so you could make friends with other noble kids?"
The emperor's voice got lower and lower. He looked openly displeased.
"I'm sorry... But I like playing better... I just... I just..."
"How many times do I have to tell you to speak clearly instead of mumbling...? Ha. Never mind. Just go."
The emperor waved his hand. Argen's shoulders slumped like a drowned rat. The hand clutching the pouch tightly looked somehow pathetic.
"Come on, Your Highness. Let's get you to class."
The servant quickly wrapped his arm around Argen's shoulder and coaxed him.
"Don't be too upset. If you do well in class, I'll give you some jelly. You like that, don't you?"
"Yeah..."
Clack.
As the door closed, the emperor cleared his throat loudly. The wrinkles around his eyes seemed even deeper.
"That was embarrassing, Duke. Sorry, but let's have dinner another time. I'm tired."
"Yes."
Not that he'd wanted to have dinner anyway.
"Then, I'll see you on the day of the parade."
In any case, Cale, freed from the tedious audience with the emperor, left the audience chamber.
'Prince Argen, huh.'
The last time he saw him, he was about four years old.
'He seemed more docile back then.'
The emperor had three children.
The Crown Prince had not yet been decided, and the eldest Princess or the second Prince, who were about to come of age, were likely candidates.
Prince Argen, well.
Considering his age.
Looking at his current appearance, and his aptitude.
It might be difficult in many ways.
'Well, that might be a more peaceful life.'
Receiving a title and territory at the appropriate time and living outside might not be a bad choice for a Prince treated as a nuisance in the palace.
The image of old clothes and unkempt hair popped back into his head.
"......"
Trying to shake off a vague, unpleasant feeling, Cale quickened his pace.
On his way home, Cale stopped abruptly.
He saw a familiar figure sitting in front of the flower bed in the distance.
"......"
According to what Ruska had told him, the kid had been running around the mansion all day like she owned the place.
Pink hair stuck out in the stiff, colorless duke's residence.
It was totally out of place, like a mismatched puzzle piece, but somehow, the mansion looked okay with that harmless figure in it.
"Kyaah! No fair!"
When he grabbed her lightly by the scruff of her neck, the child flailed her short limbs.
"What do you mean? It's me."
"Hup."
"Where have you been running around all day?"
What on earth had she been doing...?
Her hair, which he'd tied up that morning, was loose, and her dress was covered in dirt.
She must have been playing in the flower bed. Looking around, he saw she'd made a bunch of little sand houses, like caves.
"Hey! I'm busy!"
Meanwhile, Ririn felt a little wronged.
She'd planned to leave Cale's office, get some fresh air, and then go look for the protective magic tool.
And then Cale had caught her just like that!
"I was discussing very important things with the trees!"
"Yeah, right. 'Miss Maid,' I heard you were running around like you were going to do all the housework yourself."
"Heh. I kinda am."
"I was being sarcastic. Why are you so proud of yourself?"
Cale sighed and strode forward.
6:30 PM. Time for the third thing that had to be done, no matter what.
He trudged to the dining room, feeling self-loathing, with Ririn tucked under his arm. It couldn't be helped.
At that moment, he discovered a familiar silhouette in the hallway.
"Miss Maid, deal with that."
Ririn's head shot up.
"Theo!"
She jumped down and ran over to Theo, who was pouting with his face buried in his arms.
"Why are you pouting again?"
Maids were gathered around, not knowing what to do.
"Aigoo. Did you get upset because you woke up from your nap and your sister wasn't here?"
She was good at coaxing. The baby, small as a chestnut, wriggled into Ririn's arms.
Cale tilted his head slightly, watching them. Come to think of it, that little brat Theo had never once come to him to be held.
Not that he wanted to be held, or anything.
Anyway, Cale picked up both kids and kept walking.
"Really? Our Theo was bored? Well, there aren't any toys here..."
Blah, blah, blah.
She chattered on and on, coaxing her little brother.
Theo, already calmed down, just listened to Ririn's story with curious eyes.
"Oh! Duke! Can we go out tomorrow?"
Ririn, settling down at the dining room table, which was filled with delicious smells, suddenly looked up.
Cale frowned.
"Go out?"
"Yes!"
While I'm out, I'll scope out the parade route!
Ririn chuckled to herself, thinking over her plan.
Cale looked at those sparkling eyes and scoffed.
"You two want to go out? You'd lose a fight with a passing cat. Does that seem like a good idea to you?"
"Aww, you're just worried about sending us out into the big, bad world, but why are you beating around the bush?"
"I'm not."
He really wasn't.
"We're not going to play! We're going on an errand with the maid unnies!"
Ririn raised her hand and said. Kate and Aisa, the maids attending to them, couldn't hide their smiles.
Just then, a low, seemingly displeased voice sounded.
"...An errand?"
Huh? What's his problem? Ririn's eyes widened.
"What errand do you have outside? Who told you to do that?"
The servants' shoulders tensed at his subtly twisted tone.
It was Kate who bravely stepped forward.
"Master, I have business at the clothing store tomorrow, and I thought it would be alright to take Ririn and Theo with me."
She glanced at Cale's hand.
"...I didn't realize you disliked the combination of 'Ririn' and 'errand' so much you'd pulverize your silverware. I'll rethink the whole thing."
"......"
When did this break in two? Cale unclenched his fist with a crack.
"Don't rethink it! I wanna go on an errand! Duke, you might not know, but errands are important for an 8-year-old! I even went on an errand to buy five eggs in Lepi Village! Seriously!"
That's pretty impressive.
That wild 8-year-old could buy five eggs without breaking them. She really was a capable kid.
And she said they were going to the clothing store.
He suddenly noticed Ririn's old dress. Now that he thought about it, he should get rid of that eyesore.
"Errand..."
Cale grabbed Ririn's face, which was giving him the puppy-dog eyes, and turned it away, speaking again in his usual cold tone.
"Fine, go. But."
"......!"
"Take 500 escort knights—no, 50—no, five. And you'll need money, so take 70 million gold—er, not 70 million, just 70 gold."
70 gold is still a lot...
The maids thought, but didn't say anything.
Squeeze. Cale's fist tightened around the spoon until his knuckles turned white.
Now even my own mouth...
Daring to betray me.
That day, none of Cale's tableware survived the dining room.
Cale was too busy lamenting how hard it was to say a single word with his tongue having a mind of its own.
