Due to Kian dozing off, the two awkward men couldn’t avoid each other’s gaze for long.

“Sikar, it looks like Kian is falling asleep?”

Sikar, with an impression of fatigue, picked up Kian and placed him on his lap. At that moment, I recalled what Ledox had said.

“The sight of the duke holding a child suits you quite well.”

Back then, I was too preoccupied to notice, but now it seemed like they really matched. Sikar, holding the peacefully sleeping child, looked like a dad.

Even until we reached home, Kian remained in a deep sleep, so Sikar had to carry him into the duke’s mansion.

It felt heartwarming, like the scene of a content family returning home after an outing.

Feeling a bit exhausted, perhaps due to the stroll, when we entered the foyer, Andrea came out, lowered her head, and spoke.

“Madam, a guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

“It’s Lady Hersia, the beloved of Viscount Mobiat. Since she is His Majesty’s cousin, I couldn’t refuse her visit.”

Sikar, who was coming in with us, glanced in our direction and went up the stairs, saying, “I’ll go and lay Kian down. Welcome the guest properly.”

“Sikar, change Kian’s clothes too.”

Sikar gathered his fingers as if to say he understood, made a circle, and disappeared up the stairs.

“Alright. Since she’s His Majesty’s cousin, we shouldn’t be impolite. Well done, Andrea. By the way, when did Lady Hersia arrive?”

“It’s been about three hours.”

“Quite a long wait. But why would Hersia come to the duke’s mansion?”

“Please have a new carriage brought in.”

“Understood, Madam.”

“Three hours seem too long. But, what could Hersia want, coming all the way to the duke’s mansion?”

Without time to change into new clothes again, I headed to the reception room where Hersia was.

“I heard you waited for a long time.”

Hersia, who had been dozing off, jolted at the sound of my voice. She hurriedly got up, bowed toward me, and greeted me with a rushed nod.

“Oh, hello, Duchess.”

I smiled gently and sat in front of her.

“Please, have a seat.”

“T-thank you, Duchess.”

“But why are you at my duke’s mansion without any notice?”

“I-I’m sorry. I thought it would be too late if I made a formal visit. I felt like it would be more proper to greet you as soon as possible. After all, I heard that the remnants of the faction that supported the deposed king and tried to assassinate me were those villains who attacked yesterday. It seems that it was an intrusion to assassinate me. I heard that you were in danger too because of me. I’m so thankful and sorry. That’s why I wanted to express my gratitude and apologies together.”

I was taken aback, never having imagined such a thing, and said with wide-open eyes, “Gratitude and apologies for what?”
“Oh my. If that’s true, we could have faced a truly frightening situation. Remnants of the deposed king’s faction… It could have been a serious problem, Hersia.”

“Yes. His Majesty mentioned that you captured the assassins through the duke’s efforts, which allowed us to learn about it through interrogation. Therefore, His Majesty acknowledged the duke’s significant contribution.”

In the original, Sikar apprehended the supporters of the deposed king by extracting memories from the assassins. In this case, Sikar seemed to have completely stepped back from the situation, and it was the king who resolved it thanks to the captured assassins. It might not lead to the same significant acknowledgment as in the original.

Hersia suddenly shyly touched her blushing cheeks with both hands.

“Of course, the reason the duke rescued me was that the duchess was there.”

‘But why is her face turning red?’

“He was really, um, impressive.”

He did save us by dropping down from the upper floor like a white knight on a horse, so I guess he was impressive.

Hersia, who had shyly blushed just a while ago, suddenly sparkled with her eyes, and they gleamed brightly.

“Especially! The duchess even subdued all the assassins to not surprise you!”

Oh, so that’s the story. I wonder how long this tale will continue to be romanticized.

“My boyfriend Aaron was there that day. I went there because the duke asked me to, and then that incident happened.”

Even though I already knew the story, I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the unexpected twist.

“I bet your boyfriend was very surprised.”

“He was surprised, but he also admired it. When the Dark Elf said, ‘Let’s cut their throats!’ the duke replied, ‘My wife is surprised.’ and told him to ‘put them to sleep.'”

Imitating Sikar’s tone, Hersia’s manner of speaking alone painted a vivid picture of what expression he might have had and how he might have said it. I had to suppress laughter by pretending to cough a few times and managed to smile subtly.

“It must have been embarrassing. Hersia, you must have been very surprised yesterday.”

Hersia, with moved eyes, lowered her eyebrows and smiled comfortably.

“I was quite surprised, but I’m fine now. How about you, Duchess? You must have been quite surprised too.”