Eriel sat at her desk early in the morning.

She sighed as she spread out a map and checked the Alento territory.

Although the butler’s response was only that Damian would speak about it directly, in other words, it also meant that Damian wouldn’t say anything about Eriel discussing this matter.

Given Damian’s personality, he would likely think that the territory he had given her had already left his hands.

He would consider it the owner Eriel’s decision to do as she pleased with it first.

Eriel, who had sighed, turned her steps.

She heard that he had come in late last night and spent the night in the study.

Amidst being busy with the merchant ship work, he also had to finish the ducal residence affairs, and since the imperial family was trying to put Damian forward as part of the emperor’s faction, he must have had a lot to do.

Thinking he would surely be sleeping, Eriel quietly opened the door without knocking.

Lately, when talking with Lucy, she would often think about Damian.

A white lie.

Perhaps Damian was also telling her a white lie… she thought.

However, she wished he would tell her the truth at times like this.

If he told her the truth, she felt her heart wouldn’t be this heavy.

She wanted to confront him, saying that the lie Damian was telling now wasn’t a lie for Eriel’s sake, but a lie for his own sake.

“Hah…”

Eriel, who had fully opened the study door, let out a short sigh upon seeing Damian.

Damian was sound asleep on the sofa, his arm covering his eyes.

The table was covered with scattered documents and open books, and he was still wearing the clothes he had gone out in yesterday, as if he had fallen asleep while working.

Seeing him sleeping uncomfortably on the sofa without even changing clothes, just roughly rolling up his sleeves, made Eriel feel uneasy again.

After spending a long time only at war, this was the life of the Duke of Genoa, unable to rest comfortably even within the empire, always pressed for time with work.

Contrary to Eriel’s efforts not to give Lucy the life of a duke’s daughter, Damian was a person who had lived to fulfill the life of a duke.

As she always felt, it was because of his sacrifice that the imperial citizens, including Eriel and Lucy, could enjoy a comfortable life.

When faced with this uncomfortable truth and unsettled family, even Eriel often couldn’t grasp how to resolve it.

Seeing this, Eriel’s thoughts seemed to be just groundless worries. How could such a person tell lies for her sake? Surely there must be another reason he couldn’t tell her.

“Damian, don’t sleep uncomfortably, go inside and sleep.”

Eriel woke him up, patting Damian’s arm.

Sleeping crumpled on the sofa, it seemed unlikely he had slept well.

Today, Eriel also had to go to the imperial palace early with Lucy, so she didn’t have time to look after him.

“Damian…”

Eriel woke him again, lowering Damian’s arm that was covering his eyes.

“Go to bed and lie down comfortably.”

It was when she was about to wake Damian one last time.

Damian, who had just woken up, met Eriel’s eyes. He looked at Eriel and grinned, then reached out his arm towards Eriel’s face.

“Eriel.”

A deep but infinitely gentle voice and blue eyes that seemed to ripple warmly.

Eriel stopped, grabbing Damian’s hand that brushed her cheek.

She leaned her cheek against his hand between her tightly closed eyes.

Damian’s hand, solid and full of calluses.

Even in a single hand, she could feel his life filled with nothing but war and the position of duke.

Gradually, Eriel felt the strength leaving Damian’s hand that she was leaning on.

He seemed to have smiled briefly at Eriel in his sleep before falling asleep again.

Eriel, who had firmly grasped Damian’s now limp hand for no reason, opened her eyes.

“…”

Yes. If he was doing his best in his life as a duke, Eriel needed to be devoted to the family as the duchess.

Not just Lucy, but her husband Damian was also included among those she should protect.

For Damian, for our Lucy.

Eriel was thinking of telling a white lie.

It seemed she would have to find out one by one what Damian was hiding.

For what purpose he was doing so.

*

On the day of the tea party with the empress, as all the attendees were gathered, there was a knock on the reception room door of the imperial palace.

Knock knock.

The one who opened the door and entered was the crown prince, Eden.

Despite being only 8 years old, the crown prince who entered with measured steps approached the ladies’ table.

Jessica and Eriel stood up in turn, and Lucy and Derek also rose from their seats.

“We greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince of the Empire.”

Eden, dressed in a white uniform, bowed his head in response to the greeting.

“I heard you had come to the imperial palace, so I stopped by to pay my respects. I hope I’m not interrupting your time with mother?”

“Not at all. It’s an honor to meet Your Highness the Crown Prince like this.”

As Eriel paid her respects to the crown prince’s greeting, the empress naturally took over the conversation.

“That’s right. How could that be, Crown Prince? I was about to call for you anyway. Come here. These are the children of the ladies who have come today.”

Along with the empress’s introduction, Lucy curtsied. Eden’s face stiffened slightly at the sight.

With a slightly reddened face, Eden swallowed hard and stared at Lucy.

Even as Derek greeted him from the side, his glancing eyes lingered on Lucy.

Eriel had no intention of raising Lucy to be the crown princess, but she thought there was no need to worry too much about the relationship between Eden and Lucy from such an early age.

They could become childhood friends, and she thought it was fine for them to experience such fluffy emotions sufficiently.

“By any chance… does Lady Lucy like gardens?”

Eden, red to his ears, held out his hand to Lucy.

As Eriel unconsciously covered her mouth saying “Oh my,” the empress watched Eden and Lucy with a proud face.

“Yes, I do like them.”

Lucy took Eden’s hand with a shy smile.

Eriel took in the sight while silently screaming.

Then Eden, suddenly realizing, also invited Derek who was standing beside him.

“I heard Derek is the same age as me, would you like to go to the garden together?”

Derek looked at Jessica with a slightly hesitant face.

As Jessica quickly nodded, Derek also nodded to Eden.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Eriel watched the children’s backs as they moved together to the garden.

The ribbon on Lucy’s dress that she had put on her today fluttered along with her blonde hair, rippling.

Fortunately, Lucy seemed to like Eden as well.

“Fortunately, it looks like the three of them will play well together.”

Eriel said, following the children’s backs with her eyes.

The empress also nodded slightly, grasping the teacup on the table.

“By the way, I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince is now seriously learning swordsmanship.”

Jessica quickly brought up the common point between the crown prince and Derek in response to Eriel’s admiration.

“Yes, that’s right. I hear Derek is learning swordsmanship too.”

“How wonderful! Derek is also very interested in swordsmanship, so after getting along with His Highness the Crown Prince today, they might become good friends with overlapping interests.”

“That’s right. Oh, Duchess, I heard you were going on a family trip, have you decided where to go?”

“A family trip?”

Jessica showed a puzzled look as soon as she heard those words.

Eriel widened her eyes at Jessica’s question.

“I’m sure I mentioned it when you came to the ducal residence that time…”

“Ah, no. I did hear about it, but then my husband got injured…”

“Ah… I guess you didn’t hear. Unfortunately, that proposal was declined. We had already decided to go on a family trip.”

Jessica’s mouth fell open at Eriel’s words.

Then, looking at the empress in front of her, she quickly smiled and erased her expression.

“So where did you decide to go, Duchess? It’s been so long since I’ve traveled, I got excited just hearing about it.”

As the empress casually asked Eriel, Eriel lowered her head shyly.

“Ah… actually, we’re going to the Alento territory.”

At the mention of the Alento territory, the empress’s face brightened.

“I see! You’re going to the area that was recently granted to the duke. Oh my, I made a mistake. It’s the duchess’s territory now, isn’t it?”

“Yes… I’m just grateful that Your Majesties the Empress and Emperor congratulated us.”

Jessica, who once again had questions about Eriel’s words, tilted her head.

“What do you mean by the duchess’s territory?”

“Ah… Damian gave me the Alento territory, which he received from His Majesty the Emperor for suppressing the rebellion, as my personal property.”

“…What?”

Jessica’s voice grew a little louder.

Eriel shifted her gaze to the empress after answering Jessica’s reaction with a gentle smile.

“Even so, it was granted to Damian by His Majesty the Emperor, so I feel ashamed to receive it as personal property like this, Your Majesty.”

“No, there’s no need for that. I also received something similar when the Emperor was still the Crown Prince.”

Jessica’s face could be seen gradually hardening.

Eriel continued the conversation, regardless of whether Jessica’s face hardened or not.

“I’m so grateful for the permission that I’m thinking of erecting a statue of His Majesty the Emperor and Your Majesty the Empress when we arrive at the Alento territory this time. Would that be alright?”

“It’s your personal territory, why a statue? It’s fine, do as you wish.”

“Thank you for the permission.”

“Haha. I can’t match your eloquence. Yes, if that’s what you want, you may do so.”