After finishing their voyage, men in sailor’s clothes were busily moving wooden crates from a ship docked at the port. With a gentle breeze blowing, the harbor had an unusually peaceful atmosphere.

And there was a man watching those sailors. It was Duke Artenbach.

“The spices and Western vodka are expected to arrive by tomorrow. Barring any unforeseen incidents, that is.”

Askal watched as the boxes piled on the dock were being moved onto carts. Given the rather high temperature for spring, beads of sweat were forming on their foreheads.

“Once the collection is complete, give the port workers a bonus.”

“How much should we provide?”

“Use your judgment to determine an appropriate amount.”

“Understood.”

The secretary made a small note under the purchase confirmation. Askal moved to see if there were any other instructions to give. But then.

‘I hear a familiar voice.’

At first, he thought it was just his imagination. But the child’s voice that kept ringing in his ears whenever he was about to forget put him on edge.

‘There’s no way he could be here…’

Thinking this, he looked in the direction of the sound. And there he discovered Rublion and the Baron’s daughter mercilessly plucking flowers.

Even though they weren’t close by, the child’s laughter was loud enough to pierce through the noisy ship engines.

For Askal, who had only seen Rublion’s sinister smile or forced laughter, it was quite a fresh shock.

Seeing him like this, even the snake-like Rublion seemed to be acting his age.

How long had he been watching the two of them?

“Your Excellency, the collection is complete.”

The secretary who had finished his work approached and spoke. Then, noticing that he was looking in one direction, he looked the same way.

“The young master is out there. Shall I bring him over?”

Askal shook his head.

“Are there any more schedules left?”

“No, the dinner with the investors has been postponed until tomorrow.”

“I see.”

Rublion and the Baron’s daughter sat down on the ground and started making something. After quietly watching that scene for a while, he finally spoke.

“Let’s call it a day from here.”

“Understood. I’ll inform the office as well.”

As soon as the secretary bowed, Askal moved towards the hill. Since he had run into them anyway, he thought he might as well bring them back himself.

He stood at the entrance leading up the hill after turning the corner of the building. The head of the large tree looked majestic.

As he slowly walked up, it seemed that the crafting was finished. Rublion, seen up close, was throwing a tantrum at the Baron’s daughter, begging to play more like a real child.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something.

“Oh? Duke!”

Rublion, who had spotted Askal, jumped up from his seat. At the same time, the Baron’s daughter turned around and their eyes met.

* * *

“It’s an honor to see you, Duke.”

Though surprised by the Duke’s sudden appearance, I didn’t forget my manners. By the way, how long had he been there?

“What brings you here?”

To Rublion’s question, Askal answered bluntly.

“To check on the collection of trade goods.”

“So that was today?”

The kid brushed off the dirt on his knees with his hands. Then, looking back and forth between me and the Duke, he fixed his gaze on the Duke and said,

“Are you done with work?”

“Yes. Let’s go back together.”

I was just feeling a bit awkward because he wanted to play more, but this worked out well. After the kid leaves, I should stop by the office and go see Olive with Anna.

“Auntie, the Du-, I mean Fa… ther says his work is done.”

It feels like he was about to say Duke but changed it to Father?

“Father, you haven’t had dinner yet, right?”

The kid gently took the Duke’s hand. His already stiff expression became even stiffer.

“…That’s right. Not yet.”

“Great! Let’s all go have dinner together.”

We just had sandwiches barely an hour ago?

“I was feeling hungry anyway, it would be nice to have something delicious together, the three of us…”

The kid was twisting his body, while the Duke stood frozen with a face that seemed to say, “Why is he acting like this?”

The words I should say here right now are these:

“I have a prior engagement, so it would be difficult for me to join you for dinner.”

I said this while forcing an expression of regret. As if that was the signal, the Duke broke out of his frozen state.

“I see. Then we’ll be heading back now.”

When the Duke spoke firmly, the kid pouted and replied.

“…I had a really tough day today. So there’s somewhere I absolutely have to go.”

My heart sank. Surely he’s not planning to take the Duke to where Olive is and cause a scene?

“Who dared to give the heir of the Ducal family a hard time?”

The Duke’s golden eyes flashed dangerously. I unconsciously swallowed dry at his threatening attitude.

“It wasn’t so tough that it needs to be dealt with… Anyway, there’s a huge restaurant in Lyubega. What was it called… Live Young or something. We have to go there.”

The kid looked at me with a bright smile.

“Auntie, you’ll come with us, right?”

I was very curious about what ‘dealing with it’ meant, but I decided not to ask. I felt like I’d be more anxious if I heard.

* * *

I’m not sure how things ended up like this.

Why is Olive, the owner of Live Young, standing here trembling?

Why do I have to eat while facing the Duke?

“Auntie, they say this dish is delicious here.”

“Is that so?”

The kid pointed to a dish in the menu with his finger as he spoke.

“What do you think, Father?”

“Anything is fine.”

The Duke seemed uninterested.

“We’ll have three portions of this, please.”

“Cer-certainly, and what would you like for dr-drinks?”

The kid looked back and forth between me and the Duke.

“We don’t need any alcohol.”

My order seemed to be the right answer as the Duke nodded slightly. Olive said he’d take the order like that and then fled.

“Auntie, you know what?”

I turned my gaze from the Duke, who was just staring outside with his arms crossed. The kid was looking up at me with eyes full of expectation.

“This is the first time the three of us are eating together!”

Right. How did things end up like this? Am I sitting in a place where I should have stopped by the herb shop to buy and drink some digestive medicine before going to the mansion?

As soon as we entered Live Young, the waitress sent all the guests on the second floor down to the first floor. Thanks to that, all the second-floor seats were empty except for us. They even put up screens to prevent other guests from coming up.

It was really too burdensome a visit. Plus, there was that unpleasant incident with Olive earlier in the day, which made it even more so.

Unlike the two awkward adults, the kid had so much to say, chattering away by himself. I was responding appropriately, but honestly, none of it was really registering.

From when the appetizers came out until the main course arrived, the Duke didn’t say a single word. Occasionally I felt a sharp gaze, but when I looked, it seemed like my imagination as the Duke was just staring out the window.

“Let’s eat!”

The kid picked up his knife and fork and exclaimed energetically. Then he cut the palm-sized steak into six pieces and looked at me.

“What? Do you need help with something?”

“Auntie, please eat this.”

What the kid held out was his own plate. He pushed the neatly cut steak towards me and took my plate for himself.

And then he smiled brightly.

“They say this is gentlemanly manners.”

Oh my… Did I just get butterflies from a 10-year-old kid?

“Please enjoy your meal.”

If the Duke hadn’t been sitting across from us, I might have kissed the kid on the cheek.

I didn’t know he could be this charming. Really.

With a slightly tight feeling in my nose, I put a piece of steak in my mouth. The corners of my mouth kept twitching upwards.

I looked fondly at the kid who was focused on eating. Then I noticed the carrot pieces pushed to one side of the plate.

“You don’t eat carrots?”

“Ah… They’re not to my taste.”

The kid answered sheepishly, embarrassed by my question. I spoke to myself loud enough for anyone to hear.

“I see. I like people who eat carrots well.”

The kid’s eyes, full of confusion, shook violently. He looked at his plate for a moment, then at the Duke sitting across from him. The Duke was just about to put a carrot pierced with his fork into his mouth.

“So you like people who eat carrots well.”

At the kid’s meaningful words, the Duke and I became even more awkward. It became even more uncomfortable because our eyes met.

Knowing this or not, the kid picked up a piece of carrot that he had pushed to the corner of his plate with his fork and pushed it into his mouth with his eyes tightly closed.

“Ugh, it tastes bad.”

Touched by his courage to forcibly eat one, I gently stroked his head.

The kid, with a carrot in one cheek, smiled as brightly as could be.

* * *

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

After finishing the thorny meal and returning to the mansion, Rublion stopped Askal, who said he had to go to his office.

“Why.”

Rublion stood politely with his hands together. Askal, knowing this was the posture Rublion took when he had decided something, became slightly afraid.

“Duke, I’ve found something I want to study.”

“…You want to study?”

After learning that Rublion was smarter than his peers, Askal had first tried hiring a teacher rumored to be a genius to teach him.

At first, it was basic education like the Imperial language and mathematics.

But in less than two months, he had mastered everything up to the curriculum that would be taught at the Academy.

After about three months, the teacher resigned, saying there was nothing left to teach. He even said that being with the child made his own genius seem inferior.

So Askal sat Rublion down and asked him seriously. If he wanted to study.

Rublion’s answer at that time was this:

Askal actively accepted the child’s opinion. So he didn’t touch on the subject of studying at all.

And now, that child suddenly declared he wanted to study.

“Alright, you can do whatever you want. But what kind of study do you want to do?”

Rublion smiled gently and said,

“The Empire’s art and history. And aesthetics too.”