“But…”

After giving some advice not to behave naively without flexibility, Kalail hesitated in his rebuttal, and his words trailed off.

“I want to be someone who supports the royal family.”

A moment later, hesitating and fiddling with the hem of his sleeve, the boy raised his voice.

“There’s no need for that.”

Unlike usual, he immediately looked sullen, not lowering his tail, and showed determination. But Kalail’s words didn’t change my thoughts. It was natural.
I’ve lived for hundreds of years, but being trapped in the body of a 3-year-old princess, there’s not much I can do, and now a 6-year-old, in their first attempt at life, what could they possibly accomplish?

“I know that I’m still too young to be of help. But…”

Honestly, this child’s loyalty to the kingdom is overflowing to the point of flooding. When I calmly tried to discourage, the little bit of courage squeezed out of the withered Kalail as he bowed deeply, and I inwardly grumbled.
“Is someone demanding responsibility from him?”

His behavior lately, with his mouth twitching and the actions he’s been taking, it didn’t seem right to just let it go. So, I decided to ask him directly.

“Kalail.”

I closed the book I was reading and placed it neatly on the table.

“From now on, answer my questions truthfully and honestly.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As we locked arms and set the mood, Kalail looked at me with a serious gaze.
“As you know, you’re still young.”

I emphasized once again, with no intention of retracting my initial statement.

“But you’re showing excessive loyalty for your age.”

After a moment, I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

“What’s the reason? Did they teach you that way in Flourga?”

Kalail, who had been listening silently, suddenly trembled at that moment.

“Tell me honestly. I’ll be the only one to know.”
If I don’t address this now, he’ll keep behaving this way, and I can’t get irritated or preach every time, so I did my best to gently convey my message.

“Lord Flourga treats me like… his own child. He’s really a kind person.”

Giving him some time to think, Kalail, who had been silent for a moment, cautiously spoke up.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Lord Flourga would never give me strange education!”
Surprised, I exclaimed loudly as if something had pierced my ears.

“Alright, I understand.”

Originally, it wouldn’t have been so surprising for a child to raise their voice a bit, but with the frail body of the princess, she seemed particularly delicate in various situations.

“So, your words aren’t because of the educational method, right?”

“No. I swear it has nothing to do with that.”
Then why did you have to shout unnecessarily when you could have calmly said that from the beginning? I still felt a tingling in my ears and used my hand to touch the area below my left ear.

“The Marquess and Flor would never discriminate between me and the other children.”

I didn’t specifically ask, but I left it to her to chatter away without prompting.
“He took me in when I was an orphan and always told me to think of him as a mother. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t be his own child.”

She wasn’t wrong. Karlael had lost her parents when she was just a newborn, and at Hecate’s command, the Fluer family had taken her in.

“Someday, I’ll have to step out of his shadow, so I’m always trying not to disappoint him.”
Karlael, who said she didn’t want to cause trouble for Viscount Fluer, tightened her grip on her fist.

“Even though I’m young and weak right now, I’ll definitely become a person of great strength to Viscount Fluer in the future.”

Speaking calmly as she organized her thoughts, Karlael gradually regained her composure. Her complexion, which had paled slightly when I initially confronted her, had returned to its normal state.

“But… in reality, I’m not sure if I can achieve that.”
Confessing that she had been plagued by complex emotions, Karlael also appealed to the pain woven by the gaze of others.

“I just thought that if I learned and practiced a lot, people would think of me as a burden that Viscount Fluer forced upon them. Every time I feel that way, I…”

Karlael, who had suddenly become melancholic, teared up.

“I feel like I’m completely useless.”
Feeling like a lone castaway on a vast sea, Karlael had seemingly endured considerable stress from the gaze and murmurs of numerous noble adults regarding her background and origins.

“It seems like more nobles than I thought are trying to obstruct the reconstruction of Vergamothga.”

She could be confident about this based on what she had heard from Lillies during military training sessions and what she had learned from previous tea times with Fluer, Hecate, and Viscount.
“Anyway, the Viscount is a good person.”

“Yeah.”

Living sure can be tough. I offered a half-hearted response. If you’re skilled at soothing children or listening to others’ stories, you might offer comforting words, but I was far from that kind of person.

“Reality can be quite cruel. To think they’ve been trampling over Karlael’s family since she was young, all for profit and power.”