Chapter: 20
“Hey, Peanut.”
Kasel crooked a finger at Aika, signaling for her to come down.
“Grandpa, Uncle keeps calling me Peanut.”
“Hah.”
Thinking this was her chance, Aika leaned close to Duke Valiert and whispered her complaint.
“He only says that because our Aika is so adorable. Kasel, if you’re done with your business, take Aika home. She must be sleepy. We can’t keep her in this noisy place.”
“I was planning to. Peanut, come down.”
Just then—
Aika looked like she was thinking for a moment before her eyes suddenly sparkled.
The way she secretly glanced at Kasel looked suspicious.
“Grandpa, I’m going to the Imperial Palace next week.”
“The Imperial Palace?”
“Yes! I made a friend, so I’m going to visit. His Majesty the Emperor told me to come too.”
“Oh ho, I see. Then this old man will definitely come see you.”
Aika happily bounced with both arms spread wide.
“My friend’s name is Ruspe. He’s kind, gentle, and knows the palace really well. He even brought me flowers!”
“He brought you flowers too? What a fine lad.”
“Ruspe said he even goes to the Imperial Palace by himself. He’s an amazing friend. And his eyes are really pretty.”
“Ruspe? Could it be that little one from Kelphodia?”
Duke Valiert’s eyes shifted toward Kasel.
“Yes.”
The head of House Kelphodia, Marquis Ricardo Willo Kelphodia, was the younger brother of the current emperor, Winchester Gaia Celedor.
He, too, was a member of the House of Celedor and possessed succession rights to the imperial throne.
And the only child of the Marquis and Marchioness of Kelphodia was Ruspe Winterris Kelphodia.
Though still young, Ruspe was the beloved nephew of Emperor Winchester Gaia Celedor, who stubbornly refused to marry.
He was also another heir to the throne, personally marked by the emperor as his chosen successor.
He resembled the emperor even more than his own father, the Marquis of Kelphodia. Handsome and exceptionally intelligent.
His only flaw was his gentle, somewhat weak disposition.
Putting that aside…
Kasel raised an eyebrow and shot Aika a sideways glare.
Startled, Aika hurriedly wrapped her arms around Duke Valiert’s neck.
Only after deciding she was safe did she stick out her tongue playfully.
She was trying every trick she could think of because she was afraid he wouldn’t take her to the Imperial Palace.
“That boy isn’t bad. Tell me when you’re going. And make sure Aika doesn’t catch a cold.”
“It’s almost midsummer.”
“Don’t you know summer colds are even worse?”
Yes, yes. What could he possibly say?
Kasel rubbed the back of his neck in defeat.
No matter what he said, there wasn’t a single person here who would take his side.
Goal accomplished!
Just as I’d promised Ruspe, I was finally going to the Imperial Palace.
Uncle’s glare was scary, but Uncle was afraid of Grandpa!
Grandpa was the most popular person in the banquet hall.
Even though the place where Uncle had been talking with Grandpa was far from the center of the hall, people constantly came over wanting to speak with him.
So I couldn’t keep pestering him. After saying goodbye to Grandpa, I followed Uncle out.
“Uncle, let’s look around a little more before we go!”
“Who said we’re close enough for you to act so familiar?”
When I looked up, I saw Uncle’s grumpy face.
Pretending not to notice, I opened my eyes as wide as I could.
“Hm?”
“What’s with those big innocent eyes? You betrayed me.”
“No! No! I didn’t betray you, Uncle.”
Afraid he would leave me behind, I quickly grabbed his hand.
“…Hehe.”
“You ran straight to your grandpa to tattle on me, and now what?”
“That wasn’t betrayal… it was a strategy!”
…Was it?
Even after saying it so confidently, my conscience gave a guilty little sting, and I avoided his eyes.
“If only you couldn’t talk.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking he was about to flick my forehead.
But no matter how long I waited, nothing touched my head.
“Tch.”
I flinched at the irritated click of his tongue and looked up.
His gaze wasn’t on me.
Not only that—
He hadn’t let go of the hand I was holding.
“It seems there’s someone here who’s rather difficult to see at banquets.”
A man about Grandpa’s age approached us.
He wasn’t extremely old, but his hair was far whiter than Grandpa’s.
His snow-white hair was neatly brushed back from his forehead, and his reddish-brown eyes sat beneath eyelids without a single crease.
His lips were stretched into a pleasant smile, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.
Pure white hair.
Brown eyes.
And like Grandpa, he carried a cane.
On the cane was an emblem resembling a turtle shell—a hexagonal pattern with two intertwined trees crossing each other.
Ah, where had I seen that before?
That crest…
Mom definitely taught me that one!
‘Ro… Rondo?!’
Mom had told me about it before.
I loved drawing, so I was always proudly showing her my pictures.
One day, I drew House Valiert’s crest and showed it to her.
Mom was so surprised that after that, she taught me every noble family’s crest in the Empire, from the easiest to the most difficult.
And every time she taught me a crest, she also explained the family behind it.
Most of it was hard to understand, but it was still so much fun.
I memorized every single one!
Rondo was one of them.
“Mom, is this Rondo? It’s an ugly turtle!”
“Haha, why is it ugly?”
“Because you said we have to be careful of them!”
I had even drawn four legs, a head, and a tail onto it so it looked like a real turtle, making Mom burst into laughter.
I’d heard that Rondo was close to House Deslin!
“But Aika, Deslin and Rondo are people with snake-like eyes. You must never become close to them. Right now… that may be difficult, but promise you’ll remember.”
“Mhm…!”
House Rondo was a marquis family, but its influence rivaled that of a ducal house, making it impossible to treat lightly.
Mom had said they had maintained a brother-like relationship with House Deslin—one of the ducal families—for so long that they were practically considered part of Deslin’s faction.
And Deslin had been the most powerful family during the reign of the emperor before the previous one. Being such an ancient house, they also had countless vassals.
Mom had sighed as she explained that they were troublesome people, and crossing paths with them would only bring headaches.
So I memorized it like this:
“Watch out for turtles and snakes!”
“Our Aika is so smart. My beautiful daughter.”
But even though I’d never seen this man before, his voice strangely sounded familiar.
“Is there some reason why that shouldn’t be the case?”
At Uncle’s low voice, the old man with white hair flinched, and his eyebrows trembled.
Even I was startled because his voice was lower than usual.
Maybe it was just me, but it felt like Uncle’s voice alone had crushed the atmosphere around us.
Was it because I’d betrayed him?
“…Of course not. I simply meant that after such a terrible incident, I’m relieved that His Grace Duke Valiert and Marquis Reguier are both safe and sound. You even held a banquet like this.”
A faint scoff escaped Uncle’s lips.
It felt as though icy air spilled from them.
“What? Are you worried things didn’t go according to plan? That your scheme might have fallen apart? Should I have rotted away in some room for a year instead?”
“A-a scheme? I think the Marquis has misunderstood something. It was such a shocking incident that I was simply worried. Could this child be the Prime Minister’s daughter? The one I’ve only heard rumors about…”
His words trailed off as the white-haired old man’s eyes lowered.
His gaze settled directly on me.
Those reddish-brown eyes felt strangely cold.
Wood-colored eyes were supposed to feel warm.
Without realizing it, I flinched and quickly hid behind Uncle.
Feeling inexplicably frightened, I tightly grabbed his leg and looked up at him.
At the same time, Uncle turned his head toward me.
I wondered if he was about to scold me for bothering him.
Instead, he suddenly picked me up.
My body lifted into the air.
Startled, I hurriedly wrapped both arms around his neck.
“If you say another word, you’ll be making your own life very difficult.”
Uncle’s voice was even colder than before.
