It was a place arranged to give the young ones a break, but since they were immature, they argued so much that he got angry, scolded them, and never went again.

“Was the picnic with His Highness the Emperor fun?”

Embarrassing. He thought it wasn’t a particularly good moment to cherish.

“I was mischievous then and got scolded.”

Meanwhile, Jeff answered a question thrown to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

“But now… he has become a warm pillar of strength whenever I’m struggling.”

Jeff placed a hand on one side of his chest and closed his eyes, smiling gently.

“Of course, our daughter is the best to Father!”

He suddenly said cheerfully, making the shape of a gun with his fingers.

‘Please don’t do that! My limbs feel numb!’

Ugh. He held back an almost retching feeling, looking pale.

‘It’s so strange.’

It was odd that they cherished and mulled over a picnic he’d given them without much thought, only to annoy them.

Thump[dash]!

‘What’s this? Why am I feeling irritated here!’

It was bewildering.

As with last time, he didn’t understand why he felt this way around these children.

‘Annoying.’

Inwardly grumbling, he brought both hands to where his heart was. It was just in case something else happened, but his heartbeat had only quickened momentarily. It returned to normal as a little more time passed.

“Oh my, Darjeeling. It’s tea time, so we should start going.”

“Yes.”

In this life, things seemed different from the past life, he thought, as he briefly pondered the recent phenomenon when Hecate spoke.

“Empress, I will come with you.”

Today was the day to meet Countess Fleur and Hecate and share tea and conversation.

But look at that Jeff fellow. Even though Ashian was there to take him, he was openly planning to skip the meeting in front of his aide.

“Your Majesty, have you forgotten about the meeting? Leave Darjeeling to me.”

Hecate firmly responded to this, while Jeff, pouting because he hated the meeting, cheerfully insisted on leaving together.

Soon, he was in Hecate’s arms as they left the room.

Jeff and Ashian walked the same corridor for a while, then parted at a crossroads. They had different destinations, so parting was inevitable, but Jeff kept looking back, tears in his eyes.

‘Please maintain some imperial dignity.’

He had done this more than once. He muttered inwardly, unable to restrain him, and shook his head.

“The weather is nice, fortunately.”

“Yes.”

Afterward, as they strolled leisurely, Hecate went out of the palace and onto the wellgroomed grassy path, inviting him to enjoy the fresh outside air.

“Ah, since we’re passing by, I must show you.”

Thinking she might be giving some natural learning, he absentmindedly followed along, only to be whisked somewhere else.

“I originally planned to reveal it at your birthday celebration.”

What has she planned again? He assumed it would be at best a giant toy and followed Hecate’s gaze.

“Look over here, Darjeeling!”

“What’s all that?”
I must be going crazy. I couldn’t control my expression, feeling overwhelmed by the bizarre sight.

“Our lovely Darjeeling captured in a statue as he grows.”

This was because, in the direction that Hecate proudly and contentedly pointed, there were statues modeled after the baby when he was just born and another when he could stand a bit more grownup.

‘I thought boasting was only done with words.’

Anyway, these guys always go overboard. I had a feeling that a new statue would be added every few years.

“It’s amazing. Now that we’ve seen everything, shall we go to our friends?”

“Our daughter, you must have missed your friends.”

It wasn’t really like that. I told them I would walk alone and started walking side by side with Hecate.

“You have classes in the afternoon, so play and eat as much as you like in the morning.”

“I will.”

If only the little ones were less noisy today. Since this was not a place only for children, I hoped it would be less chaotic.

Gaaaahhh[Dash]!

“What’s wrong?”

I was startled when Poppy, who had been quiet, suddenly cried out loud. I thought the side effects of Beris feeding Parfait last time had finally kicked in and ruined the taste.

‘What’s the fuss?’

However, contrary to my expectations, Poppy’s tantrum was due to a worm wriggling and crawling energetically.

‘Because of a worm…’

I felt slightly irritated watching Poppy running towards me and embracing me tightly just because of a single worm. It wasn’t even a disgusting insect.

‘Huh?’

But what was this burning gaze on the back of my head? I turned my head towards the culprit at close range. It was obvious who was staring at me.

“Oh dear, our daughter, are you scared of worms?”

“I’m not scared!”

It was unfair. It was Poppy who was startled, not me, but Hecate seemed to misunderstand that I was trembling with fear while holding Poppy and looking at the worm.

“It’s okay~ Should Mom scold it?”

Scold what? I raised my voice, irritated.

“I don’t need it!”

This is driving me crazy. I felt my head ringing. There was no point in getting angry, so I regained my sanity and took a deep breath.

“My Lady~.”