“Tia is here! Tia is back from school!”
“Ah?!”
Suddenly.
The carriage door opened, and Tia jumped down, landing effortlessly on the ground.
In Tia’s right hand, there was a cage.
In that brief moment, Lara had to experience an intense quake.
It felt like a moment of weightlessness.
It was a kind of chill that she never wanted to experience again, causing Lara’s face to go pale.
“Tia, are you back?”
“Hehe! Hello, Sister! Where’s Mother?”
“Mother should be…”
As she spoke, the maid’s cheeks turned slightly red.
There wasn’t a single person in this villa who didn’t know why the Duke, who had suddenly departed, returned.
And everyone also knew why Julia despised the Duke so much.
Thus, when the Duke and Julia would meet again, everyone feared how awkward the situation would be, but things unfolded entirely differently than expected.
The atmosphere between the two was better than anticipated.
No, it was not just acceptable; it was quite pleasant.
“She’s in her office…”
Julia was still solely in charge of cleaning the office since the Duke left the villa.
The problem was that the Duke also used the office.
Every day when Julia entered to clean it, she found herself alone with the Duke.
After finishing her cleaning, Julia would take her time to walk out of the office.
With a slightly flushed face and a weary body.
It wasn’t difficult to imagine what had taken place inside.
‘Julia has forgiven the Duke.’
This was the most dominant claim among the maids.
Julia had forgiven the Duke.
Even if she hadn’t, it was clear that she no longer hated him to the point of trembling just because he got close, as she once used to.
“Sister?”
“Ah, she should be in the office cleaning.”
“Then she must be with the Duke?”
“Y-yes?”
“I should go greet them together!”
“……?”
Tia said brightly.
‘Together’ to greet them.
The maid tilted her head, unable to comprehend what she meant.
Soon, small footsteps echoed from the inside of the carriage, and a small boy appeared.
“Impressive. Did you enchant the wheels with a two-axle horizontal stabilization magic? The ride is better than the royal carriage.”
Prince Nikolai.
He stepped down from the footrest and scanned his surroundings.
This was the Dragania villa.
The very villa that Father had furiously ranted about, saying it was a base for a black lizard spawn that had been given a title to man the border defenses who would gradually encroach on the institution using their long lifespan.
In reality, it didn’t particularly have a grand or overwhelming sensation, but it was a mansion that emanated a pristine beauty.
‘He finally arrived here under the pretense of Tia.’
For a long time, he had wanted to visit the villa where Duke Dragania resided, but couldn’t find a suitable excuse to do so.
Sister Anastasia, having fallen out of Father’s favor, was seemingly speaking of marriage talks with the Duke as she pleased, but Nikolai, who had Father’s overwhelming support, could not do the same.
He needed a justification beyond mere practical purposes, and now he had a splendid reason to visit under the invitation of Tia.
‘Moreover, if I could find out how Tia studies at home, it would be two birds with one stone!’
Of course, he didn’t plan to use Tia merely as an excuse.
That monstrous girl, who ranked first in every mock exam, seemed to have no intention of revealing how she studied to anyone.
He thought it impossible that the girl, who presumably slept through every class and only played and ate during breaks and lunch, could do that well.
Surely, she must have been studying frantically with the help of her mother or a tutor at home.
One of the purposes of his visit to the Dragania mansion was precisely to reference Tia’s study habits.
“Hmmm? A boy? Are you in the same class?”
“Hm? No?”
“Ahhh! How did you become friends if you’re in different classes?”
The maid, her lips curving into a smile, dropped the broom she was holding and whispered to Tia.
Tia brought a boy home.
It was undeniably an incredibly exciting development.
“That boy always picks on me! My mother says he likes Tia.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Hehe, how cute! So what’s his name? Can you introduce him to me?”
“Um! Nikolai… uh… um…”
“It’s Vladimir. You should at least remember the name of your kingdom.”
“Right! Nikolai Vladimir!”
“Hmm…?”
The maid’s smile froze on her face.
She trembled as she quickly scanned Nikolai’s entire figure, feeling her breath getting short.
This was a disaster.
She had committed a significant faux pas, not to a distant royal family member, but to the prince himself.
The maid decided to act before it was too late.
“Juliaaaa!”
She ran off to call for Julia.
Before the prince remembered her face.
That was the best judgment the maid could make, trapped in a panic.
.
.
.
Prince Nikolai visited the villa.
With Tia.
He was in the carriage with Tia.
They had been in that cramped space together for about 20 minutes.
“This one is Hekheki! And this one is Hekheki too! And that one is…!”
“Aren’t they all Hekheki? If that’s the case, what’s the point of naming them?”
“Um. But they all look the same…”
“Do you have face blindness or something?! Look closely! This one has slightly different fur color on its neck! And this one has a shorter tail!”
“I don’t know!”
The atmosphere was peculiar.
The sight of Tia stroking and laughing with a boy her age while petting a fox was something I could have never imagined witnessing in my lifetime.
It was far too sudden.
It felt like I had been struck on the head with a hammer without a moment to prepare.
“Touch its belly! Isn’t it so nice?”
“Hmph. What’s so nice about it…?”
“Isn’t it soft? Isn’t it good?”
“It is warm.”
“Hehe!”
Moreover, if one were to ask whether that little boy had any ulterior motives, it would be self-evident that he did not.
Every time Tia pressed close, his reaction of flinching or the blush faintly rising on his cheeks, and his act of quickly averting his gaze when meeting Tia’s eyes clearly indicated he was overly conscious of her.
Come to think of it, that little brat had shown a strange level of interest in Tia from the first day he had seen her in the photo I had, hadn’t he?
Then he followed her home…
I had spoiled him just because he was a prince, and now he seemed intent on crossing the line.
“How dare you…”
“Forgive me, Your Highness. Please allow me to welcome you to the Dragania villa, albeit late.”
Before I lost my sanity and stepped forward, the Duke appeared and lightly rested a hand on my shoulder, allowing me to calm down.
The Duke stood before me, dressed in formal attire.
It seemed he had changed clothes to properly present himself to the royalty.
“Schwarz…”
Upon seeing the Duke, Nikolai stood up abruptly, leaving the fox’s belly behind.
The previously relaxed boy, who was smiling obnoxiously, disappeared, leaving only the noble boy with sharp eyes.
He faced the Duke, glaring, his eyes radiating an unusual energy.
Yes. That cunning little one didn’t come to the villa because of Tia.
Nikolai had come to meet the figure he nearly worshipped, the Duke.
Soon, Nikolai looked up at that idol and spoke.
“These foxes really listen to human speech! How did that happen?”
“Hahaha. It’s no use asking me. They’ve always been like that. Or perhaps Tia has trained them exceptionally well.”
“Is that so!”
The back-and-forth conversation was trivial…
The fox, who had been getting its belly rubbed, suddenly dashed up Nikolai’s leg, and Nikolai, without turning to look, slightly bent at the waist, stroking the fox’s head.
It was behavior I could somewhat understand.
When you’re petting those things, you forget important matters and lose track of time.
I too sometimes sneak out at night, when no one is watching, to bring snacks to that furball and pet it.
It’s not because they’re cute.
I don’t know what it is, but it’s surely spreading some sort of narcotic compound.
Maybe it’s one of the side effects of being transformed from a monster to an animal.
We urgently need to investigate to uncover its identity.
“May I guide you around the villa, Your Highness?”
“Please do! It seems like quite a well-thought-out design.”
“I’m honored that you’d recognize it. You truly have an excellent understanding of art.”
“Stop flattering me! Hurry with the tour!”
“Of course. Julia, please guide His Highness. I need to attend to some matters at the administration.”
“Yes, Master.”
“W-what?!”
Nikolai’s expression contorted in an instant.
He must have been quite flustered.
He must have been anticipating only to meet the Duke upon arriving at the villa, but now the Duke shamelessly left the room.
The Duke was glad not to have to deal with the annoying little boy.
I was glad I could keep an eye on this arrogant little brat and make sure he didn’t cling too much to Tia.
It was a win-win.
At the moment the Duke brushed past me, I exchanged a very brief look with him.
It felt like we were in sync.
“Mother! Let’s go quickly! I want to show Nikolai a lot of things!”
“Schwarz…”
“Your Highness, you may come this way.”
Lately, it seemed like I got along well with the Duke.
Could it be that I’ve been receiving guidance on handling mana from him in the office whenever there’s a chance?
Anyway, it didn’t feel too bad.
.
.
.
It was just another ordinary afternoon.
Tia left the villa for school.
The Duke went out early in the morning to adjust his marriage discussions with Grand Duchess Anastasia.
And then he returned to the villa and flirted with Julia, who was busy with chores.
Julia, although somewhat annoyed, didn’t seem to mind it too much.
Leo, unable to bear it today, silently left the villa once again.
“Ahhh…”
It was ridiculous.
From afar, Leo couldn’t help but sigh, peering inside the villa.
Julia and the Duke were getting along so well.
They matched better than expected.
They had already formed such a relationship, despite starting off on the wrong foot; what if they had started off well?
Perhaps they would have…
“Damn it.”
Just imagining it made his heart ache.
Leo covered his eyes with his wrist and lay down.
Julia, the Duke, and Tia.
Those three suited each other far too well.
In reality, they had no choice but to.
After all, those three were blood-related family.
“I really have no place to fit in…”
Leo sighed and chuckled bitterly.
He had long since known that he had no room to intrude.
The person suited for Julia was not him.
“Hahaha…”
The moment Leo lowered his arms, his eyes lost all focus and became empty.
It was the look of someone who had nothing to lose, capable of doing anything.
