“That… Damian. About the tutor. I’m really sorry, but for that part, I’d like Lucy to be at least 10 years old. I don’t want to stifle a child’s expanding thoughts yet. Also, I’d appreciate it if you could be more careful with such remarks in front of the child.”

“Remarks?”

Eriel glanced at Damian, then closed her eyes tightly as she spoke.

“Things like telling me to come to your bedroom, or saying Lucy lacks manners. And…”

Eriel paused, pressing her lips together before quietly opening her eyes.

Damian, who had just finished washing up and had a languid expression, didn’t seem to be paying much attention to Eriel’s words.

Walking to the sofa, Damian nodded slightly as if telling her to continue.

“Please don’t treat me like property in front of Lucy. Your words aren’t wrong, but regardless of whether it’s true or not, it’s not good for a child’s emotional development.”

“…Your job is to come to my bedroom, and Lucy can be raised by a nanny. Besides, the property talk is simply stating facts.”

“I’d like you to refrain from saying such things in front of the child. It’s fine for now since she’s young, but there’s no need for it, is there?”

At Eriel’s words, Damian frowned. He looked as if he was wondering why he should have to be mindful of such things.

As the silence stretched on, Eriel got up from the bed and approached him.

She filled an empty glass on the table with water and handed it to him. Damian took the glass.

“Eriel. Come closer.”

Damian took a sip of water and beckoned to Eriel with a slight nod.

Eriel carefully sat down next to him. A fragrant scent lingered around Damian, who had just finished showering.

Damian’s hand, after placing the now-empty glass on the table, slowly moved towards Eriel’s face.

“Damian…?”

Damian grasped both of her hands and held them interlocked in front of her.

“Prayer.”

“…Pardon? Prayer?”

Eriel looked at Damian’s thick hands and asked again.

Is this what he calls prayer? The rough hands, devoid of any sense of devotion, moved before Eriel’s eyes.

“Yes. You said it was prayer. If I want to call you to the bedroom, should I say it’s prayer?”

“Ah…”

A blush quickly rose to Eriel’s face. She gulped and rolled her eyes.

“That’s…”

As Eriel averted her gaze, Damian quickly added:

“Lucy was worried. She asked what if daddy doesn’t pray with mommy. So shouldn’t you fulfill Lucy’s expectations? She seems to have quite high hopes for you.”

“Ah, that. Damian…”

While Eriel was trying to figure out how to respond, Damian grasped her hand.

“Lucy wants it.”

Damian mentioned Lucy’s name once more.

Even so, as Eriel seemed to hesitate a bit, Damian made a suggestion.

“I’ll talk about treating you as property later when Lucy is older. Now, shall we offer a prayer together?”

Property… treatment?

Eriel’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“…No. I don’t have the faith to offer prayers today.”

*

It was Eriel’s first visit to the imperial palace in years since Damian’s arrival, so she was extremely busy from the morning.

Because of that, she didn’t have time to take care of Lucy meticulously.

Just before entering the banquet hall, Eriel finally made eye contact with her daughter and knelt down to adjust Lucy’s clothes.

“Lucy, is your dress uncomfortable at all?”

The dress had been fitted several times. But clothes that were comfortable at home could feel uncomfortable at the palace.

Worried that such a situation might trouble Lucy, Eriel checked her daughter’s outfit one last time.

“No. It’s not uncomfortable at all.”

Lucy spread her skirt gently and did a slight curtsy.

Eriel, adjusting the ribbon on Lucy’s golden hair, smiled brightly. How could she be so pretty and have such a good attitude?

Even though Lucy was her own daughter, Eriel thought she might truly be an angel sent from heaven.

“Oh? Mom, you’re wearing an amethyst necklace today too?”

Lucy pointed at the necklace around Eriel’s neck.

Then she touched the center of the ribbon on her own chest with her small hand and smiled broadly.

A large amethyst, specially ordered by Eriel, was embedded in Lucy’s ribbon.

“Yes. This time, I matched with Lucy using amethyst. What do you think?”

“It’s so pretty. Mom is the best!”

Lucy’s thumbs-up gesture was so cute that Eriel forgot they were in the imperial palace and held Lucy’s face, rubbing their noses together.

“…Oh my. Duchess Genova.”

Just then, someone approached from the side and stopped briefly in the corridor.

Jessica, with her hand on her chest and eyes lowered, greeted Eriel and Lucy. She was the wife of Bruno, Damian’s younger brother.

“Hello, Duchess. And hello, Lucy?”

Next to her, Jessica’s son Derek greeted Lucy.

“Hello, madam. Hello, Derek?”

Eriel straightened her bent knees and greeted Jessica and Derek.

They were not particularly welcome family members.

Although it probably wasn’t Jessica’s intention, when she gathered with other nobles, she often brought up unfavorable stories related to Eriel.

Surely she wouldn’t do it on purpose to a fellow sister-in-law, it was probably just frequent slips of the tongue. But it was uncomfortable nonetheless.

Swallowing a sigh, Eriel smiled as much as she could, greeted the mother and son, and then firmly held Lucy’s hand.

With the attendant’s loud announcement, Eriel moved away from them by entering first.

It was Damian’s first return to the imperial palace, and it wouldn’t be good to cause a big commotion, so Eriel decided to avoid Jessica just for today.

“…I was outraged that such rumors spread, but seeing how calm you are, Eriel, you really seem amazing.”

However, regardless of Eriel’s resolve, Jessica wouldn’t leave her alone.

Once again, Jessica brought up the topic of Lucy’s tutor and started speaking loudly, leading a group.

The people around, who had been curious anyway, brightened their eyes as if this was just what they wanted.

The ladies who had been secretly spreading rumors about the Genova ducal family behind their backs covered their mouths with fans and gave Eriel looks demanding an explanation.

Eriel tried her best to smile and interrupt Jessica’s words, but it wasn’t easy as expected.

She was prone to frequent slips of the tongue and lacked tact as well.

“It’s really nonsense to say that the duke’s finances are struggling. Just look at how much the duke has received in royal gifts. The duchess doesn’t indulge in luxury, so there’s no way that could happen. How frugal you are. So probably… such rumors might be because Lucy, the young lady, is perhaps ill somewhere…”

Jessica’s eyes became sympathetic as her words trailed off.

Eriel’s right hand, holding a fan, tensed.

From Eriel’s perspective, this part seemed to need a clear correction.

She didn’t want to reveal her child’s educational philosophy unnecessarily, but as it was related to Lucy, this needed to be corrected.

Just as Eriel was about to open her mouth:

“Mother.”

Lucy, who had walked over gracefully, spread her skirt wide and greeted Eriel with perfect etiquette.

“Lucy?”

As it was rare for Lucy to come looking for her unless it was something important, Eriel glanced briefly at where the children had been staying until just now, with a ‘surely not’ expression.

“I’m sorry for coming to you like this while you’re in conversation. But I thought I should tell you, Mother. It might be a big deal in a way.”

The word ‘big deal’ came from Lucy’s mouth.

At the same time, Derek, bursting into tears behind Lucy, ran to Jessica.

Lucy lowered her eyes as if feeling sorry.

Behind Derek, the other children followed, each walking towards their mothers, calling for them.

Jessica’s voice rose.

“Derek! What’s wrong? Son! What happened!”

Jessica quickly picked up Derek and asked him several times, but he just kept crying without answering. Then her head turned to Lucy.

Just then, Lucy took a step forward and clasped her hands in front of her chest.

Looking up at Derek with a sympathetic face, Lucy showed a worried expression.

“It seems there might be a big problem with Brother Derek’s tutor.”

At those words, Jessica’s eyes widened, and Eriel was also surprised by Lucy’s sudden statement.

However, Eriel waited for Lucy to finish speaking.

“What do you mean by that! Miss Lucy! Such slander…”

“The lady hasn’t finished speaking yet, madam.”

As Eriel stopped Jessica, Lucy slightly bowed her head to Eriel in gratitude and then opened her mouth.

“Brother Derek suggested we have a competition, but it seems there might be a problem with his tutor. Brother couldn’t answer a single history question correctly. But there’s no way the clever Brother Derek would be like that, right?”

“History…?”

“Yes. Brother clearly told me that he, who even has a tutor, would never lose to me. I thought so too. But the fact that he lost… it seems to be the tutor’s problem.”

Lucy looked up at Eriel with eyes that seemed genuinely worried.

“Ah!”

Then, clapping her hands, Lucy tilted her head.

“Could it be that Mother taught me better than Brother Derek’s tutor?”