After finishing her first lesson, Eriel liked Daniel very much, but keeping potential issues in mind, she made him a proposal.

“Would it be alright if I continue to observe the lessons?”

“…Do you mean you want to participate in the lessons yourself?”

Daniel’s question was tinged with wariness.

Parents sometimes unintentionally interrupt children’s thoughts when talking beside them, and it seemed he was worried about that.

Eriel thought she had finally found a tutor who perfectly matched her educational philosophy.

“No, I won’t participate directly. I just meant if I could observe Lucy’s lessons anytime while you continue teaching.”

“If you’re not participating, there’s no problem with you watching. You’re welcome to attend anytime.”

“I see. Then I’ll set about four days a week for observation.”

“Alright, then I’ll take my leave now.”

“See you at the next lesson, teacher!”

As Lucy waved brightly to Daniel, a warm smile spread across his face as well.

“Yes, I’ll be going then.”

Eriel glanced at Lucy and Daniel, certain that the tutor issue was now resolved.

Nevertheless, she didn’t forget to ask Lucy’s opinion until the very end.

“Lucy, what do you think? I think Daniel is really good…”

“I like him too! I like Daniel!”

Eriel nodded as she gazed at Lucy who jumped up excitedly.

*

A few days later, Lucy, who was staring intently at a thick book, and Eriel, who was writing a reply to an invitation at the opposite desk, sighed simultaneously.

“Phew…”

“Hah…”

As they sighed at the same time, mother and daughter’s eyes met for a moment.

Eriel was the first to burst into laughter.

“…It seems quite difficult for our Lucy.”

“It looks like you have some worries too, Mother.”

At Lucy’s words, Eriel casually waved the golden envelope signifying a letter from the imperial palace.

Lucy also smiled, grabbing a chunk of the remaining pages in her thick book to show.

“You know sorrow is halved when shared, right Mother? The same goes for worries. Let’s split our worries in half with each other.”

“Haha. I didn’t know worries could be halved just by talking about them.”

“Of course! It’ll be much better if we talk to each other.”

Saying that, Lucy closed her thick book, scurried over to Eriel and hopped onto her lap.

“You go first, Mother. I’ll take my turn after.”

“Alright. Well, Mother’s concern is whether I’m using too many people based on my personal thoughts and judgments.”

“Is that related to the imperial palace?”

“Unfortunately, it has become so.”

“Hmm…”

Lucy furrowed her brow, pondering deeply.

After concentrating on her thoughts for a moment, Lucy gave Eriel an answer.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that. Because Mother’s judgments are for the family, not for personal gain! I don’t think that fits the description of being personal.”

“What if it’s for the family, but ends up conflicting with your father’s opinion as Duke of Genova?”

“Then Mother has even less reason to worry.”

The child met Eriel’s eyes with a resolute face, speaking with conviction.

“Father prioritizes his duties as Duke of Genova, but Mother prioritizes Father himself and me as your daughter. I think Father’s thoughts could actually harm the family. Mother, do you think the Genova duchy should be above people?”

Eriel’s mouth slowly opened at Lucy’s words, and she answered firmly.

“…No. People should be above the family name. The family name shouldn’t be above people.”

Lucy nodded vigorously, beaming at Eriel’s answer.

“I think so too, Mother!”

“Talking with Lucy like this has completely erased Mother’s worries!”

“Really?”

Lucy held up her thumb proudly.

“Now then, what is our Lucy worried about? Mother is very curious.”

“Mother… do you think white lies are sometimes necessary?”

Eriel’s eyes narrowed slightly at the question, which was harder to answer than she had expected.

“Hmm… white lies…”

“Have you ever told such lies, Mother?”

“Mother…”

Eriel trailed off, unable to answer easily as she looked at Lucy.

White lies were of course common in life, and could even be seen as essential in high society.

But if she said she did it often, she worried the child might think lying itself was good.

“I can’t say I’ve never done it.”

However, lying to the child here could make her feel betrayed when she grew up.

Moreover, that would mean Lucy would first learn about lies tainted with betrayal from Eriel, rather than white lies.

After careful consideration, Eriel revealed the truth with a bitter smile.

“If Mother does it, it probably means everyone in the empire does it.”

Lucy had clearly sensed Eriel’s hesitation.

Instead of saying “If Mother does it, then I can do it too,” she deliberately said that everyone must do it, as if shielding Eriel.

Eriel’s eyes grew moist at Lucy’s deep thoughts.

“Sometimes white lies are told solely for the sake of the other person, to be considerate of them. Funnily enough, people sometimes want to stay in a peaceful reality rather than face the truth.”

Lucy blinked her eyes repeatedly as she listened to Eriel’s words.

Somehow, the child’s eyes seemed to hold sadness, even without tears.

“Then what about you, Mother? Do you also want to stay in the peaceful reality created by someone else’s white lie? Won’t you be angrier when you find out later?”

Eriel stroked Lucy’s eyes with her fingers as she spoke.

“Mother is the same as anyone else, so I might feel that way sometimes. But I don’t think I’d be angry. You know what the ‘white’ in white lies means, right Lucy? I think I’d just read the other person’s intentions.”

“…I see.”

Lucy snuggled into Eriel’s embrace, burying her face in her mother’s chest.

*

Damian returned to the ducal residence long past midnight.

Just as he was taking off his coat in the study, the butler knocked and entered.

“Your Grace, the Madam has decided on Daniel, son of Baron Mehirn, as the tutor today.”

The butler placed a tutor file in front of Damian.

Damian picked up the file after briefly confirming the name.

“…Daniel? I see. Have you checked anything related to Baron Mehirn?”

“Yes. There were no major issues. His reputation is not bad, so there’s nothing particularly problematic about hiring him as a tutor. The person himself seems to have a rather righteous personality, and his educational philosophy aligns with what the Madam wants, so it seems fine.”

Damian pointed to the tutor’s background with his finger as he listened to the butler’s explanation.

“He suddenly switched to being a tutor in the midst of pursuing a political career. The reason?”

“This is his second tutoring position after the Genova ducal residence. He cited admiration for Your Grace along with financial reasons.”

“Financial reasons for someone aiming to be a member of the Lower House… Where did he work before?”

“He mentioned a Mrs. Parker. Should we contact the recommender as well?”

Damian leaned back in his chair and shook his head.

“No, that’s fine. Leave a copy of the file just in case.”

“Yes, understood. And there’s one more matter to report. …The Madam has selected the Alento estate for the family trip. She wants to set an exact date. How should I respond?”

“…The Alento estate?”

Damian repeated the butler’s words.

It was one of the estates bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor in recognition of his merits.

It would clearly be a trip to publicly announce that Damian had gifted that estate to Eriel.

While it wasn’t a big problem since His Majesty the Emperor had already given permission, what was certain was that Bruno would be in an uproar.

“Yes… It seems she wants to talk about the Alento estate at Her Majesty the Empress’s upcoming tea party.”

“What’s the guest list for the tea party?”

“The Madam and Young Miss… and Mrs. Jessica and young Master Derek will be attending.”

“Hah…”

Damian closed his eyes tightly for a moment upon hearing the guest list.

As expected, it was an obvious course for the story to reach Bruno’s ears in short order.

It seemed Eriel also knew this and deliberately intended to speak about it.

Pressing his temples where fatigue had accumulated, Damian finally nodded.

“I understand. You may go now.”

“Um… Your Grace. How should I respond to the Madam about the family trip dates…”

“I’ll speak to Eriel about that myself.”

“Yes, understood.”

After the butler withdrew, Damian covered his eyes with the back of his hand.

In the deep darkness of dawn, Damian’s sigh escaped amidst the settled silence.

After sitting like that for a while, Damian finally lowered his hand and shifted his gaze to the report.

There was a mountain of work to be dealt with.