‘What are those little things doing?’

I crossed my arms, intending to intervene if the situation dragged on.

‘Huh, laughing?’

In the midst of this, Sasha twisted the corner of his mouth into a smirk, and, as if nothing had happened, greeted with a faint smile. His face was as mysterious as his veiled thoughts, as if he had discovered something amusing in that brief moment.

Meanwhile, Carlyle seemed flustered by Sasha’s change of attitude, but calmly responded without showing it. He said his goodbyes and left through the ornate glass door.

Thud!

Only after Carlyle completely disappeared from sight did I notice Beris nearby. Typical of him to be choked up over parting so soon after smiling goodbye.

“You look like you might collapse from exhaustion.”

In fact, the shock of Ronowe collapsing probably contributed to his condition.

“Take him to another room, soothe him, and let him take a nap.”

Judging from what I had seen so far, children’s emotions are impulsive and sensitive, especially with this eccentric child, so I decided not to provoke him further.

“Yes, understood.”

While exchanging a few words with the maid, Beris clung to the bedside where Ronowe lay, like a sloth attached to a thick branch.

“Sister….”

After glancing at the tearyeyed boy, I signaled the maid to hurry.

“Your Highness, please take care of my sister!”

Soon after, Beris obediently let the maid carry him away without causing a fuss, continuously looking back until he shouted loudly at the last moment and vanished.

‘He’s asleep.’

His voice is unnecessarily loud. I quickly checked Ronowe’s condition, fearing what I would do if she were to wake up.

‘Phew, when Ronowe wakes up, I’ll send them together.’

Climbing onto a large cushioned chair and letting out a sigh, Sasha, who had been standing at a distance, came right beside me.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

Again with that enigmatic smile! I asked sharply, feeling annoyed by the opponent’s crossed arms and attitude.

“There’s something I want to ask Your Highness.”

“Then speak quickly.”

You scoundrel, what’s so funny that you’re chuckling like that? I struggled to hold back the words that reached the back of my throat.

“What do you think is the reason Carlyle Duke left?”

Isn’t it too intentional to ask when it’s just the two of us?

“It must be because of family matters.”

I beat around the bush, showing no interest.

“But isn’t Carlyle Duke still young?”

“Then there must be other reasons.”

What do you want from me? Digging persistently is something else. I showed my discomfort.

“I was also outside with Duke Carlyle before coming in….”

Then, Sasha, who had been staring at me with slightly narrowed eyes, hesitated before adding,

“I thought Your Highness would know.”

Sharp for a child. I faced Sasha’s words impassively, not showing any signs of being moved, as it would mean falling into his trap.

‘I managed to deflect it for now, but I didn’t think he’d probe my thoughts by pretending to ask.’

Could it be that Sasha’s persistence in probing was because Carlyle is now considered worthless as the survivor of a fallen ducal family?

Either way, Sasha’s interest in Carlyle seemed bad, so it was a reasonable suspicion.

“How should I know everything?”

I raised an eyebrow and fired back, annoyed by Sasha’s persistent probing.

“Because Your Highness is wise.”

Trying to slip away like a fish with such an obvious statement.

I shrugged my shoulders, looking at Sasha’s smiling face, expressing that he had not asked with any particular intent.

“Being smart and seeing people’s inner thoughts are two different things.”

He could roll forward, backward, or even spin in place, but he’s still a wicked devil wearing an angel’s disguise.

“And I’ve been watching what you’ve been doing lately…”
Anyway, lately I had become increasingly annoyed by the constant fussing over Carlisle, secretly getting on my nerves, so I decided to advise him when the opportunity arose.

“Seems like you’re too concerned about Carlisle. Don’t be like that among friends, just take it easy.”

While the relationship with the children might be simply seen as friendship, digging deeper there were political aspects entwined with the imperial family and close noble families, so discord was something to avoid.

Because later, if they ended up fighting for some reason and feelings were hurt, it would cause problems for me.

“Your Highness, it seems to me that you are being cautious of Prince Carlisle.”

Though I pretended not to see, when I observed, I had strongly received that impression.

“No? Then forget it.”

As he denied it and insisted, there was no more to say, so I cut off the sprout of interest.

Anyway, Sasha was a clever one, and if he caught on to what I meant a little earlier, he would be mindful of his words and actions.

“I hope there were no misunderstandings.”

On the other hand, Sasha came out with a relaxed and polite manner.

“But since I’ve made Your Highness uncomfortable, I will be careful.”

“Alright.”