A month before the banquet, news that the Duke had found his biological daughter spread to foreign countries across the sea even before reaching the imperial capital.

“My friend Count Crustel has found his daughter, what joyous news!”

Grand Duke Consta, who was staying in the Grand Duchy of Valcandia, immediately prepared to depart.

Moreover, it’s a daughter, not a son.

Grand Duke Consta harbored hope that the wish he had only dreamed of might become reality.

With an excited heart, he crossed over to the Baius Empire right away.

And before meeting his son, the first thing he said upon meeting Cailius was this:

“I propose a political marriage between your daughter and my son!”

Cailius’s reaction to those words was quite a sight to behold.

At first, his expression froze as if he didn’t understand the words, and soon even the contemptuous emotion in his gaze disappeared.

As the surroundings gradually turned chilly, Philen, standing beside him, debated whether it would be better to evacuate the tactless Grand Duke or to flee alone to survive.

“Hmm, by the way, your house seems a bit cold. Shall I introduce you to some furniture that’s good for indoor heating?”

“……”

Needless to say, he was immediately kicked out of the Duke’s residence without hearing any further words.

It was for this reason that his son was not invited to the banquet at his friend’s mansion without knowing why.

However, Grand Duke Consta did not give up.

In fact, he was not unaware of why Count Crustel was so strongly opposed.

‘Well, since it’s a daughter he’s only recently found, it might be difficult to have an engagement right away.’

Even excluding that reason, there were many points that could be problematic, but Gerogi did not dwell on the remaining minor issues.

He did not give up and entered the Duke’s residence again to persuade the Duke.

That’s when he met Diane, who might become his future daughter-in-law, and by such a coincidence!

‘This is fate.’

So it goes without saying why he was so excited.

* * *

The Duke, suddenly at a loss for words, glared fiercely at Philen.

Startled by that intensity, Philen hastily withdrew his hand. Despite his cowed appearance, he steadfastly spoke what needed to be said.

“It’s in front of the young miss. And the young master is here too.”

Only then did the Duke’s gaze flicker towards me before returning to the front. He let out a deep sigh.

‘Strange, in the original story they were said to have a good relationship.’

I alternately looked at Grand Duke Consta sitting across from me and the Duke.

‘Was it not that they were close, but merely a cooperative relationship?’

Just earlier, Grand Duke Consta had been eagerly explaining. About how close he was with the Duke.

But seeing the Duke’s expression harden like that, it seems it was just the Grand Duke’s misunderstanding.

‘Still, it’s better to get along well with Grand Duke Gerogi.’

In fact, there was a reason I was glad to see Grand Duke Gerogi earlier.

‘His company will exclusively sell spatial movement scrolls.’

Until now, the only means of using mana for movement in the empire was through huge mana stones engraved with teleportation magic circles.

The mana stones capable of moving people were not easily portable.

Therefore, to use teleportation, one had to move to an area with an officially approved teleportation magic circle, and even this was so expensive due to high demand.

Many commoners never used it even once in their lifetime, and even among nobles, many used carriages or horses for most travel due to the burdensome cost.

In such an era, when Grand Duke Gerogi’s company starts selling scrolls that allow easy spatial movement, the situation gradually changes.

It was a truly groundbreaking invention.

Not only that, but his company also produces many other inventions.

They sell new inventions that didn’t exist in the world before, such as video transmission orbs, invisible ink, nightmare-chasing scented candles, and so on.

Of course, there was a reason why only Gerogi’s company could exclusively sell these inventions.

It was because the one inventing all these items was none other than his only son.

‘That son was later called a mad inventor.’

That was the reason I wanted to be friendly with Grand Duke Consta.

‘His company will make an enormous amount of money with that.’

Of course, I wasn’t expecting to get any scraps just by being friendly with him.

However, I couldn’t just sit still when I could benefit just by providing simple ideas to his son.

‘And the Grand Duke is someone who gives back surely when he receives something.’

At that moment, the Grand Duke stood up from his seat. It was the same tone he had used earlier when greeting Cynthia energetically.

“My friend! It’s been a while!”

The Duke silently glared at the Grand Duke, who was approaching with a hearty laugh.

As the Grand Duke approached as if about to embrace the Duke at any moment, I seriously pondered.

‘He shouldn’t approach the Duke right now…’

Fortunately, the Grand Duke stopped in his tracks while facing the Duke. It seemed like an instinctive action he took without consciously realizing it.

“It’s good to see your face like this, how fortunate that you held a banquet while I’m staying in the Baius Empire!”

“Well, I don’t remember inviting you. Did you bring an invitation?”

“Hahaha! An invitation to come to a friend’s house! Your jokes have improved!”

“…It seems we need to have a separate conversation, you and I.”

“Good, good! You’re always welcome!”

The Duke’s last words seemed to carry multiple meanings, but the Grand Duke just smiled broadly, saying it was all good.

‘What an impressive person…’

From amassing an enormous amount of money later to speaking so casually in front of the Duke, he was impressive in many ways.

Soon, the Grand Duke, who was about to leave with the Duke, suddenly turned his head towards me.

“Lady Diane, it was nice to meet you. I hope we have another chance to have a cozy conversation, just the two of us. Feel free to send a letter if you have time.”

Despite being worried about the Grand Duke’s well-being, I too felt happy at his greeting.

In fact, the conversation we had during the snack time earlier was just the Grand Duke’s one-sided boasting – about how he has maintained a very close relationship with the Duke since childhood and such.

I just sat quietly and listened, but that alone seems to have left a good impression on the Grand Duke.

‘I need to maintain this good relationship!’

I hopped down from my seat. As I ran towards them, Clemens approached me first.

“Child, did you come out for a snack?”

“Yes, and I talked with that Grand Duke.”

“I see, shall we go back to the room together?”

“No, wait a moment.”

Leaving Clemens, who had stretched out his hand to me, behind, I ran to the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke looked at me with wide eyes, as if he hadn’t expected me to come to him.

No, it didn’t seem like just a surprised expression.

‘Why does he look expectant?’

Although I was puzzled, I decided to brush it off. Instead, I tightly held one of his hands and said,

“I’ll definitely write to you, Grand Duke!”

* * *

“Is the young lady really 4 years old? How can she be so smart and articulate! We got along so well, do you know what she said to me at first? She said I looked full of dignity! Haha! It’s fortunate she doesn’t take after you, your eye for these things is quite lacking!”

Gerogi’s chatter didn’t stop even as they walked to the office.

Soon, the office door closed with a thud. Cailius coldly asked him who had followed him in.

“What did you say to that child?”

His expression was one of suspicion, wondering if he had said the same things to the child as he had said to him.

Gerogi shook his head.

“What do you take me for, my friend? I had no intention of immediately telling such a young child about matters not yet agreed upon with you.”

“Then what did you say to her that made her say she’d write to you?”

“I merely told her about how close we are, how long we’ve known each other, the history of our friendship. She seemed quite curious about it.”

Cailius’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Gerogi. It was a look of doubt about whether those words just now were sincere or not.

“If you’re so doubtful, ask the young lady directly later. About what I said to her.”

Although it was still hard to fully believe, as Gerogi said, he could ask her later.

Unlike Gerogi, that child’s thoughts were obvious, and if she lied, it would show immediately on her face.

“So, my friend, have you reconsidered?”

The smile-filled expression from earlier had disappeared. As if he had never grinned and laughed, Gerogi’s expression now held only gravity.

He now revealed the real reason he had come to the Duke’s residence. Seeing his friend like this, Cailius let out a mirthless laugh.

“Was my answer that day not enough? Or was I too kind in my response?”

Gerogi responded without backing down, even to words that were half filled with threats.

Cailius suppressed the indignation welling up from deep within his chest.

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

When Cailius first received that proposal from Gerogi, he truly thought this Grand Duke had gone mad.

But Cailius soon changed his mind.

It was because at that time, Gerogi had been kicked out of his house due to a marital quarrel.

‘He must be talking nonsense due to stress.’

With that thought, he sent him away without a word. By Cailius’s standards, it was quite a gentlemanly response.

When the banquet for Clemens approached, he felt a sudden surge of resentment and didn’t invite him.

But seeing him bring up the same nonsense today without forgetting, it seems he really had gone mad.

“…So you’re saying we should marry that child, who’s just turned 4, to your son. Do you think that makes any sense?”

“I know that too, of course. Do you think I really proposed marriage to a 4-year-old young lady? Let’s just proceed with the marriage for now, and cancel it before she comes of age. No, we don’t even need to wait until she comes of age. The minimum marriage period to be recorded in the royal genealogy is 10 years! The young lady is 4 years old, isn’t she? We can divorce when she turns 14!”

Having one’s name recorded in the royal genealogy, that was the very reason Gerogi was trying to push for this marriage.

What Gerogi had boasted to Diane was not an exaggeration.

In reality, Gerogi had indeed been a long-time friend who had grown up with Cailius since childhood.

Because of this, Gerogi also knew about Cailius’s long-cherished wish.

Knowing this, he was making such a proposal, Cailius took a deep breath.

He had been tolerating it until now because he understood the intentions behind Gerogi’s proposal.

Cailius uttered words that were like a final warning.

“You have a second daughter too.”

“Yes, are you talking about my youngest? Come to think of it, my youngest daughter must be the same age as the young lady!”

Gerogi clapped his hands. He was about to bring up the nonsensical talk of a political marriage again, saying that his youngest daughter and the young lady would soon become friends.

At that moment, Cailius continued in a toneless voice.

“I’ll ask you one last time, what would you say if I told you to marry Clemens to your daughter?”

“…You bastard!”