The Empress might have found it cute, but the Duke, being a child himself, just frowned slightly after seeing my face.

“Don’t use difficult words. You mumble your speech.”

It’s not really mumbling at this point. I don’t like being inarticulate, but the Duke really seems unable to tolerate it.

Considering his exceptionally clear articulation for a 5-year-old, my improved pronunciation after practicing with a pen must be unbearable for him. I wonder how he managed to speak when he was younger. He couldn’t have stayed silent until he could speak properly.

“And don’t think I don’t believe you, but the Empress really did care about you. She was so regretful that she couldn’t come today.”

Though I didn’t entirely believe it, just hearing someone cares is pleasant. Unlike my artificial smile earlier, I now smiled genuinely.

“The Empress has her own schedule too.”

“Well, that’s true, but─”

The Duke sighed lightly.

“If the Empress comes, we can’t pick out the wild horses. They get scared. In front of her, even the wildest horses become tame lambs, making it hard to identify the aggressive or ill-tempered ones. Choosing horses with her might lead to accidents later.”

Is it that significant? I tilted my head in curiosity.

The Empress’s hands, unlike her delicate and beautiful face, were calloused and rough at the fingertips – the hands of a warrior.
So, I knew she wouldn’t be easy, but even animals reacted to her? Sensing my bewilderment, the Duke made an incredulous face.

“You’ve been smiling at the Empress since then, don’t you have a survival instinct? Didn’t you feel scared of her?”

“Seems so. I just thought she was kind and caring.”

Well, come to think of it, I spent half my life on battlefields. Living a life where death was as close as breathing, it’s not strange if my self-defense instincts were dulled.

Either way, if thinking that way earned the Empress’s attention, it’s more of a gain than a loss. No matter how foreign the country, I wouldn’t face any dangers within the palace walls.

But it seems the Duke had a different view on the matter.

“No, what are you…”

Just as the Duke was about to scold me, the carriage stopped.

“Alright, enough of that. It’s good that the Empress is happy with you.”

The Duke seemed to give up, shaking his head and standing up. The carriage door opened, and the Duke, who stepped out first with the help of a knight, turned around briskly.

“Here.”

He extended a small hand, apparently offering to escort me. Although an adult could easily lift and move me, seeing a kid barely taller than a footstool doing this was honestly quite cute.

“Thank you.”

So I smiled and took his hand. His fern-like hand was a palm bigger than mine, completely enveloping my hand.

The horse market was bustling, and the Duke didn’t let go of my hand even after we got out of the carriage.

Honestly, two kids holding hands would probably just get swept away in the crowd. But the Duke seemed to take very seriously that he was two years older than me, so I just obediently held his hand. It wasn’t a difficult task.

“So, it was for your nanny to ride the horse?”

“Yes.”

“It’s surprising that your nanny knows how to ride. Is that common in the Lamore Kingdom?”

As if I’d know, I’m only three years old. But this was a good opportunity. If I’m going to use Tula as my proxy in the future, it’s better to have her status as high as possible.

“People selected to go to the Empire were specially chosen for being exceptional talents.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. I would personally make her an exceptional talent. I planned to teach her horse riding skills, too.