Earlier, when the maid tried to sneak a kiss—
I didn’t say anything more out loud.
But Blizen understood my meaning and slowly nodded.
“Yeah.”
‘What? So he knew the maid was trying to kiss him but pretended to be asleep with his eyes closed?’
Then—
“Ah, so you like her. Sorry for interrupting.”
I had accidentally butted into a couple flirting.
That was tactless of me.
The maid must have been embarrassed.
As I quickly apologized and was about to pass by,
“No.”
Blizen’s denial caught my ankle.
I slowly turned to look at him.
“Hm?”
“I don’t like her.”
He didn’t like that maid?
“Then why did you let her try to kiss you secretly?”
“Well.”
Blizen tilted his head lazily.
Unlike his wild father Balzac, Blizen had a languid, deadly charm.
When Blizen narrowed his eyes, his ruby-like eyes were half hidden.
“Because she’s the one who told me that the rose changed from Brown Velvet to Teresica?”
“......”
His slender, curved eyes matched the beautiful curve of his lips.
Now I understood why the maid had sighed so wistfully before.
Despite the clear and fresh sunlight in the forest, Blizen exuded a languid and dangerous atmosphere.
But what mattered wasn’t his looks.
It was what he said.
I frowned sharply.
‘What is this teenager saying now?’
“It’s not good to accept payment in exchange for your body. Not at all.”
“......”
“Even if it’s just a kiss!”
Blizen’s narrowed eyes widened a little in surprise at my words.
But since he didn’t try to fight back, I explained a bit more.
“If you get used to little things, one day you’ll cross the line.”
“......”
“When you realize it’s gone too far, it’s too hard to turn back.”
I scolded him firmly in a serious voice.
“Regretting later won’t bring back the lost time.”
Blizen looked at me quietly and chuckled.
“What?”
“Sometimes, even though you’re one «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» of the youngest cousins, you say the most mature things.”
Oops.
I rolled my eyes and added cutely in a ten-year-old voice,
“—that’s what my dad said.”
“Your uncle?”
Ah, maybe that didn’t work.
“Yeah! My dad!”
Blizen blinked slightly, tilted his head, then nodded.
“Right. That’s true.”
Did he really agree...?
‘Good.’
I glanced but couldn’t read anything on Blizen’s face.
Joshua wasn’t much more expressive, but still easier to read than Blizen.
“But you know.”
“Hm?”
Blizen gave me more explanation before I misunderstood.
“She’s not that brave. She just gets butterflies if you stare at her closely, then runs away.”
So that’s why he left her be.
I frowned.
“But still—”
“Bad is bad.”
Blizen caught what I was going to say.
I added,
“Exactly! Because she tried to kiss you!”
I knew.
A kiss doesn’t wear down cheeks.
Lips don’t wear down!
‘But lip kisses are baby kisses. Kisses should be with someone you like.’
At least at Blizen’s age, that’s how it should be.
Just staring closely didn’t explain how near they were.
Blizen found my getting worked up amusing and smiled broadly as he got up.
He grabbed his jacket, dusted it off, then wiped his hands on his pants.
Then he stroked my hair.
Unlike Balzac’s firm pats, this was a soft, tickling touch with fingertips.
Caught off guard, I didn’t react before Blizen whispered quietly.
“Thank you.”
“......”
He left after saying only that.
I stayed behind, stroking my hair.
I could still feel the warmth of his touch.
‘...I really can’t figure him out.’
He was the hardest cousin to read.
Not uncomfortable, but literally difficult.
I liked his face that resembled dad’s.
‘But I have no clue what he’s thinking.’
I let my hands go from my hair and shook my head.
That didn’t matter now.
I just needed to see Ragon and head home.
After playing with Ragon as much as I wanted, I returned to Daymond’s domain.
When I went to Dad’s office, he was studying a map carefully.
A pile of documents next to the map showed the tangerine production of each country.
‘No way...’
I wanted to believe otherwise, but it looked right.
Like last time when I said I liked grapes and he planned to bring lots, this time he was planning to bring tons of tangerines.
‘...By conquering the largest tangerine-producing country.’
Please don’t do that!
But if I told him now, he’d definitely get sulky.
I sat on the sofa facing the desk and opened a book.
Casually, I said,
“Dad, I think you can stop bringing fruit now.”
Dad looked up at me.
“You haven’t received the martial honor yet?”
If you get the martial honor, you receive a noble title.
The title varies depending on the case.
But since Dad is son of Duke Astra, he could at least get viscount, maybe even count if lucky.
‘Then last year’s viscount Grimmy would be on par with uncle.’
No more mere general talk!
But—
‘I hate it when he keeps getting hurt trying for that.’
I was upset.
My shining platinum medal wouldn’t give him a title.
Being first in the third generation rankings was only among the third gens.
Now Dad was at least buffed by my blessing.
He’s the protagonist of the story.
But who knew how long that buff would last?
‘The protagonist buff won’t last forever. The story might shift into a crisis phase.’
Protagonists don’t only have buffs.
There are crises, hardships.
Obstacles and deep wounds.
Even the readers’ hearts tremble from the immense hardships.
‘If such a crisis hits Dad—’
There are few crises that could hit my not-so-affectionate dad.
Me, the twins, or a serious injury to himself...
‘Stop thinking!’
Just imagining it was horrible, so I stopped.
“Tangerines are enough. Now there’s white jade. Marquis Debussy said Dad’s name is the talk of the capital.”
So now might be better to leave expeditions aside and leave a strong impression on the capital people.
To cement Dad’s great reputation.
Dad immediately understood what I meant.
“The capital, huh...”
He leaned deeply in his chair.
He started thinking seriously.
‘My dad listens carefully and seriously even to his very young daughter.’
Such a good dad.
Objectively and subjectively, the best dad ever.
Watching Dad seriously think made my heart tingle.
He didn’t hesitate long and said,
“...It’d be a shame to miss a good opportunity.”
Yes!
I slyly pushed the tangerine documents far away.
“So what if I go to the capital and meet your friends?”
“...?”
Dad looked at me with a questioning face.
His gaze was confident but—
‘Like he’s thinking, “Where would I even have friends?”’
“...”
I was silent for a moment.
‘It’s okay, I don’t have any either.’
I lived only in the Astra manor — how could I have friends?
But Dad was different!
“Uncles I went to the academy with!”
Dad had run away early from bloodline education because he was at odds with grandfather.
Seven years ago, Dad’s ability and martial skill were why he governed the poorest domain.
Instead of bloodline education, Dad went to the academy and met uncles there.
All the uncles were central nobles.
Dad might not consider them friends, but I knew.
‘They consider Dad a friend!’
Some uncles helped me even in my first life.
I was so grateful to them for helping me when Dad died and I was left helpless.
“But why did you think of that?”
Dad asked, making me flinch.
“Co-Conrad said so.”
“Conrad Marcial...? Well, that’s not wrong.”
Dad fell into thought at my words.
Since the uncles were influential people, it would be good to secure firm connections.
“I’ll consider it.”
That was basically a yes to my idea.
Dad is way too soft with me.
“Yes!”
I answered strongly and stood up.
I neatly put away the book I had barely looked at.
So embarrassing.
Anyway, it was late, so I was about to go up to sleep.
But Dad called me.
“Erilot.”
“Yes?”
I spread my arms and jumped up from my chair toward him.
He hugged me tightly.
I wrapped my arms around his neck as usual.
‘Dad’s scent.’
After our goodnight hug, we looked at each other.
“Sweet dreams.”
“You too, Dad.”
After the affectionate farewell, I went up to my room.
The comm device was glowing and ringing.
‘Since when was it ringing?’
I quickly answered, surprised.
“This is Erilot.”
[This is Michelan.]
Wow!
‘The call I was waiting for.’
I had given Michelan a task before.
To investigate Count Talos.
How he, the eldest son of Astra’s Grimmy uncle, entered the central tower ahead of him.
A daunting order, but Michelan followed without complaint.
I asked with anticipation,
“How did it go?”
[The information is tightly controlled, so it will take time to uncover details. But...]
Michelan paused.
Had he encountered sensitive information?
“Why?”
[There are rumors that Count Talos met with Lord Noarizen last month.]
Noarizen?
Noarizen Astra?
‘Noarizen is Blizen’s father.’
Noarizen had come into Astra as a son-in-law.
He continued living as part of Astra even after his aunt died.
And I heard he was continuing the Astra affairs his aunt had handled.
“Count Talos and Noarizen meeting amid these circumstances... sounds fishy.”
[Should I investigate Lord Noarizen too?]
“Yes.”
[Understood.]
I ended the call and crossed my arms.
‘Hmm, unexpectedly uncle-in-law pops up here.’
It felt weird since I had oddly encountered Blizen in the forest today.
Knock knock.
While I was deep in thought, I heard a knock.
Before I could answer, the door burst open.
“Let’s have a midnight snack!”
The twins came energetically into my room.
They carried a tray full of plump green grapes.
“Nice.”
We sat side by side on the sofa in my bedroom, chatting as we picked grapes.
Balzac popped grapes into my mouth.
The ripe grape skin burst between my teeth, filling my mouth with sweet-tart juice.
‘Sweet!’
Cool and sweet. Really delicious.
As I savored the taste, Joshua popped a grape into my mouth.
Then Balzac did.
Then Joshua.
Then Balzac.
Again and again.
Keep feeding me.
‘Ugh!’
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the two.
“More. I can’t chew anymore.”
Balzac clenched his fists, trembling.
“I want to smash the wall if you turn into a squirrel. Why is that?”
“...I don’t know either.”
I hoped he’d stop breaking walls.
I looked at Balzac with tired eyes.
I was trying hard to chew with my nearly bursting mouth when Joshua murmured.
“That uncle Noarizen...”
We were talking about Count Talos and Uncle Noarizen while eating grapes.
Actually, I thought Balzac wouldn’t be much help, but Joshua would, so I talked.
Well, sometimes Balzac surprises.
Like when Prince Belen’s group arrived at the port without flying their flag.
Though he had no idea.
For now, I focused on Joshua.
“What do you think?”
“Uncle Noarizen’s reputation is good. He’s friendly and easygoing. As a son-in-law, he’s not involved in succession struggles and gets along well with other relatives.”
“He’s a magician, so useful.”
Balzac added.
They were right.
Noarizen was a fairly capable magician.
Grandfather had even given him a place in his research institute.
‘But even in the last life, he wasn’t particularly problematic.’
In this life, I had met Uncle Noarizen fewer than five times.
I knew less about him than about Blizen.
All I knew was Astra people liked him.
‘But he’s colluding with Count Talos?’
Why?
Talos wasn’t that good a connection.
‘Definitely not a connection my grandfather would have wanted.’
Compared to even the other second generation of Astra, Talos was a much weaker connection.
‘Something’s fishy.’
When something smells fishy, you have to dig deeper.
Because you need to figure out what’s buried there.
Otherwise, the land may be rotten and you’ll have to plow the whole field.
I needed more information.
‘Should I try digging into Blizen’s side?’