“Your Highness, you’re about to officially become the Grand Duke. How do you feel right now?”

As Amy approached and asked, Noah looked up from his speech notes and gazed at her with an awkward smile.

“Well, I’m not particularly thrilled. I feel like a peacock in a cage.”

Amy looked Noah up and down, then raised the corners of her mouth.

“But you look splendid.”

“…While I’m at it, I might as well try to be the most magnificent peacock.”

Noah muttered shyly, lowering his eyes, but soon furrowed his brow.

“But we won’t have to do this often, right?”

“Events of this scale might happen once or twice a year, I suppose?”

The New Year’s banquet and the autumn meeting for harvest reports and tax payments couldn’t be skipped.

‘And we should restart the spring festival too.’

It would be a good opportunity to promote the Grand Duke who brought spring back to the North. They couldn’t miss it.

“Who in this world gets to live doing only enjoyable things? We all endure and persevere.”

Amy replied offhandedly while brushing off the emblem and insignia on Noah’s ceremonial attire. Then she looked up and smiled brightly.

“It might seem painful now, but when viewed from afar, life is an upward curve, even if gentle. That’s what we live for, Your Highness.”

“…There are still things I enjoy now.”

Noah’s eyes, sweeping over Amy, radiated admiration. But Amy didn’t notice as she was busy checking Noah’s appearance. She tilted her head.

“By the way, Your Highness, you seem to have grown taller since coming here.”

“Really?”

In fact, Noah had felt it too. His joints ached so much at night that it woke him up. Amy gestured with her hand to measure his height.

“You used to be shorter than me, but now we’re about the same. How did you grow so much in just a few months?”

At her tone, which sounded like she was doting on a child, Noah pouted his lower lip.

“I’ll grow more. Much taller than you, Amy.”

“Of course. I pray that Your Highness will grow abundantly, so that your figure can be seen even from outside the Grand Duchy.”

As Amy giggled, covering her mouth with her sleeve, Noah’s face softened at the sight. Behind them, Mrs. Weaver’s eyes gleamed as she watched the scene.

Amy led Noah, saying it was time to go to the hall. The two walked side by side down the stairs of the inner castle, conversing.

“…So Mrs. Weaver sent that spy maid away.”

As soon as Amy finished speaking, Noah turned to Mrs. Weaver.

“Make sure to always have a guard or knight accompany for anything that might be dangerous.”

“I will keep that in mind, Your Highness.”

Mrs. Weaver answered obediently. She felt quite good about his concern for the servants.

“So, did she leave quietly? Didn’t cause any trouble?”

At Noah’s question, Mrs. Weaver made an awkward expression.

‘It was the other maids who caused trouble.’

The rough maids, led by Cecil, dragged out the bribed maid and unleashed all sorts of threats. Yet they subtly made it clear that the Crown Prince’s side was even more dangerous than themselves.

The maid, who at first kept her mouth shut, eventually started spilling everything while shedding tears. Cecil and the maids were so skilled that they managed to draw out all the details by responding appropriately, sometimes scolding, sometimes encouraging.

‘I wonder if they’re really ordinary maids. I’d believe it if someone said they crawled up from hell.’

Mrs. Weaver clicked her tongue inwardly but outwardly responded properly.

“We persuaded her nicely. She seemed to be completely won over by the suggestion that the Crown Prince’s side might attempt assassination.”

“They wouldn’t leave loose ends. You hid her well.”

As Noah turned around and spoke, Mrs. Weaver stared at the back of his head with a surprised expression. It was quite different from the masters she had served before, caring about the safety of the spy first rather than what information was obtained.

She hesitated, then carefully asked.

“I thought you might be angry that we didn’t imprison her…”

Noah replied indifferently.

“How much valuable information could a maid who hasn’t been here long have?”

“…”

“That maid probably acted under threat rather than of her own will, right? Honestly, my brother’s charm isn’t that great.”

“Pfft.”

Amy, who laughed involuntarily, quickly composed herself.

“I apologize.”

“It’s alright.”

Noah grinned, apparently pleased about something. This made Amy even more embarrassed. Noah subtly changed the subject.

“What kind of Grand Duke should I appear to be to the people?”

“What kind of Grand Duke do you want to be, Your Highness? Have you ever thought about it?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“…”

At Noah’s answer, Amy silently lowered her gaze. It was entirely her responsibility that he had become a Grand Duke he never wanted to be. Although she had pursued this as the best way to escape a miserable life and avoid conflict with the new Crown Prince, it must have been an unexpected accident for Noah.

‘But there are new paths here…’

Even if there weren’t, she was confident she could forge a path according to Noah’s wishes. As Amy was lost in thought, Noah looked around and revealed his inner feelings.

“But… I think I like it here.”

“!”

His words considerably alleviated Amy’s guilt. As she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, Noah added.

“So I want to become the Grand Duke that Amy wants.”

“…I think it would be better if you thought about that yourself.”

Feeling somewhat shy, she said this, and Noah nodded.

“I will.”

Just then, Amy remembered something and carefully spoke to him.

“But for this banquet, I hope you won’t be looked down upon. It’s obvious they’ll underestimate you for being a young Grand Duke.”

“I suppose so.”

“But then again, appearing too oppressive isn’t good either… You need to show a generous side too, right? Ah, this is difficult.”

“Well, we’ll manage somehow.”

As Amy frowned and scratched the back of her neck, Noah spoke lightly. Then he glanced sideways and asked.

“By the way… do I have to recite exactly what Joseph wrote?”

“The speech? Not necessarily. Even the Emperor of the Empire just says a few words to enjoy the banquet. This time, since it’s also your inauguration as Grand Duke, more attention will be on you, but you can do as you wish, Your Highness.”

When Amy asserted this, Noah clutched his chest with exaggerated gestures and even squinted his eyes as he smiled.

“Really? I can do as I want? Will you protect me, Amy?”

“Of course. What a silly question.”

Amy put on a prim expression. But her heart was sincere.

“Making Your Highness happy is the goal of my life.”

To be precise, it was one of the goals of this life, but she intended to work harder and assist him more so that he would think becoming Grand Duke was a good thing.

“…”

Amy suddenly realized that the surroundings had gone quiet and looked up. Not just Noah, but even Mrs. Weaver was looking at her with a strange expression.

“Why are you all like this?”

When she asked in confusion, Noah, whose cheeks had reddened, brushed his face with one hand and let out a short breath. Mrs. Weaver didn’t say anything, but there was a somewhat pitying light in her eyes as she looked at Amy.

‘What’s with that look, as if seeing an animal caught in a trap.’

Amy tilted her head. Mrs. Weaver recalled the time before Amy arrived when she was adorning the Grand Duke along with Rita.

The Grand Duke had complied with all their requests to stand this way, stretch his arms that way, but he didn’t open his mouth unless absolutely necessary. Even on the rare occasions when he did speak, his tone was so stiff that one might wonder if he was being interrogated. So to have a conversation laced with jokes with the Grand Duke like now? It was unimaginable.

‘He was like a still life on a table, but from the moment the head maid entered, life returned to him.’

Even the rambunctious Rita and Mary were demure in front of the Grand Duke. It was the opposite of how they acted coquettishly and sweetly towards the head maid.

People with sharp instincts like Rita and Mary have an uncanny ability to recognize those they can’t handle, that is, those they must completely submit to. And they had judged the Grand Duke to be such a person.

‘But that’s not my judgment.’

Mrs. Weaver, who had been quite disappointed by her previous masters, steeled herself. It was true that she had obtained a job far beyond her experience and status, but she wanted to confirm whether the Grand Duke was a master worthy of receiving her full loyalty.

Thus, the three descended the stairs lost in their own thoughts and stepped into the inner courtyard. Vernon and the knights waiting there saluted Noah with precision.

“Let’s go.”

Noah, who acknowledged the greeting with a nod, unhesitatingly made his way through the center of the people and took the lead. Then he walked towards the hall where the banquet was to be held.

His appearance was so beautiful and majestic that people who witnessed the scene would continue to talk about it long afterwards.

Upon arriving in front of the hall, they found that not all the guests had gathered in the banquet hall yet. Noah, Amy, and Rita, Mary, and Cecil decided to wait in a small waiting room near the hall.

There were familiar faces in front of the waiting room. Amy frowned as soon as she saw them. They were the Crown Prince’s attendants.

Sure enough, when they opened the door to the waiting room, they saw the Crown Prince leisurely sipping tea inside.

“Amy, come in.”

The Crown Prince gestured with a bright face. Amy swallowed a sigh and entered with Noah. Noah sat down in a chair and tea was soon served.

The Crown Prince stared intently at Noah, who was elegantly drinking his tea, then snorted softly.

“Dressed up like this, you look quite presentable.”

Amy’s eyebrows twitched. But Noah wasn’t swayed and calmly smiled as he put down his teacup.

“It would have been difficult without Head Maid Amy.”

“I suppose so. You seem to know that well.”

He was already furious about losing Amy, and now seeing this guy appear with a polished face thanks to her attentive care made him feel like he was dying of stomach pain. Moreover, he still didn’t know why Amy had left him.

The Empress had said she ran away after realizing she couldn’t become the Crown Princess, but he didn’t believe it. Amy had never desired that position from the beginning.

The Crown Prince sneered.

“Amy must have had a hard time starting from scratch and establishing a system with a clueless child.”

Then Amy, standing behind Noah, calmly retorted.

“Having done it once before, it’s manageable.”

“…”