episode_0065

After a long journey, the carriage finally arrived at the Hagia Sophia Castle.

As the tightly closed door opened, the three princesses and Zeros slowly walked out.

A familiar yet welcome home that I haven’t seen in months.

And there, there was the person I had always wanted to see.

“Mother!”

Catlena runs towards the girl in front of her with joy.

That person, her body like that…

Duchess Rosetta hugged him with her usual affectionate smile.

“Come in, my daughter.”

Rosebetta welcomes Katlena with a voice that is consistently warm.

Then her gaze turned to the two remaining daughters in front of her.

“I’m back, Mom.”

“I’m back, Mom.”

“Elios, Senel, you guys, come too. You must have had a hard time this semester. I heard there were some pretty big events?”

“Yes, it was resolved quickly thanks to Katlena’s efforts.”

With those words, Elios looked at his youngest brother with rather warm eyes.

Seeing her appearance, which had clearly become softer than before, a deep sense of happiness began to appear on Rosebetta’s face.

“It went well, it really went well.”

Rosebetta gently stroked Katlena’s head as she said those words.

Recognizing the ambiguous meaning contained within it, Katlena also showed a warm smile on her lips.

‘My mother always wanted my sisters and I to get along well, so it’s only natural that she would be very happy to see us like this.’

After the long-awaited reunion between mother and daughter, Rosebetta looked at her daughters and spoke to them.

“Okay, then let’s go in. Since our daughters are here after such a long time, why don’t we have a meal together? I told the chef to prepare a special dinner for them. Oh, Zeros, since you’re here for the first time, it would be nice if you could join us.”

“Huh? Ha..but I..”

No matter what, Zeros thinks that it would be rude for him, a servant, to be present in the presence of such high-ranking officials.

However, before Zeros could say anything about this, Katlena quickly pulled away from her mother and grabbed his arm, speaking.

“That would be good, Mother. Zeros is not just a servant, he is a friend who goes to the academy with me.”

“Ugh… ”

Katlena blocks the hole through which Zeros could escape while speaking in a lively voice.

In the end, Zeros was forced to attend the dinner of the so-called ‘high-ranking people’, led by Katlena’s hand.

‘Well… I guess it’s not that bad since they’ll give me something delicious though…’

Of course, it was quite burdensome to serve not only simple princesses but also a duchess, but apart from that, you have to eat the food that is given to you.

And, as expected, at the place where we participated together, delicacies from the mountains and the sea were waiting for us, enough to make our legs bend.

“Come on, eat quickly before it gets cold.”

“Yes, Mom!”

“I’ll eat well, Mom.”

Among them, Senel answers most lively, and Elios answers in the quietest tone.

As the meal progressed, Katlena suddenly realized something and asked in a cautious tone.

“Huh? By the way… I don’t see your father. Where did he go?”

“Ah.. That’s right, he said he was absent today because he had some work to do. He said he would say hello to Katlena later, but…”

“Ah..yes..”

Rosebeta tells the story with a bit of regret.

Honestly, from her perspective, she thought it would be a good picture if her husband was present in a place like this where all of her daughters were visible.

Whether because he was really busy with work or simply because his eldest daughter, Elios, was uncomfortable, the husband ultimately refused to attend the event.

Feeling regretful that the opportunity to spend time with her family ended in vain like this, Rosebetta quickly hid her feelings and continued eating with a bright expression on her face.

Looking at his mother like that, Elios frowned slightly for a moment.

‘Really… Do I have to hurt my mother like this again?… That man called father…’

*

After the meal, which was filled with both joy and regret, Katlena headed to her room with Zeros.

‘Then I should rest well with Zero for a while. It’ll take some time to get to Benessa anyway, so take it easy.’

Katlena, who plans to relax peacefully while flirting with the man she loves so much.

at that time..

“Katlena.”

From behind her, Rosebeta’s voice began to be heard, and Katlena and Zeros turned their heads to look in that direction.

“Yes, mother. What’s wrong?”

“That’s… It’s not something else, I called you because of what I said earlier. Your father wanted to say hello separately.”

“Ah.. Yes, right now?”

Catlena feels a little tired after having just finished eating after a long journey.

Knowing her situation, Rosebetta also said to her with a slightly apologetic expression.

“Yeah, honestly, I wanted to say let’s meet up later, but your father is being stubborn for some reason. I think he wants to see his beloved daughter sooner.”

“Well… Well, then there’s nothing I can do.”

Although it was a schedule that she wanted to postpone a little, Katlena accepted it knowing that her father was usually busy, and so she followed Rosebetta and Zeros to the Duke’s office.

*

The Duke’s office, which we arrived at after some time.

There, the Duke of Dragona

Duke Radu Constantino Dragona looked at his beloved daughter, Catlena, with a warm face.

“Father, I’m back.”

Katlena bows her head politely to show respect.

Looking at her like that, the duke approached his daughter and began to gently stroke her head.

“Did you have a good trip? Our princess. You must have had a hard time during your academy life.”

“Haha, it was hard., I was quite anxious at first, but once I actually went, it was a lot more fun than I thought.”

“Really? That’s really fortunate. Come on, sit down and let’s have a quick chat over some tea.”

“Yes, Father.”

The duke speaks with affectionate voice while looking at Catlena.

Watching him like this from a distance, Zeros began to feel dissatisfied inside.

‘You treat the youngest Han Tae so kindly, but you treat Elios Han Tae so coldly. That’s why Elios got angry and rebelled in the original.’

Duke Radu, who sowed the seeds of conflict between the two sisters due to his one-sided favoritism towards Katlena.

Zeros also knew very well what the general reason was.

Although it was not without the influence of ‘that incident’ that had occurred in the past, the biggest reason was that the youngest daughter, Katlena, had a personality that the Duke liked the most among his children.

Unlike Elios, who has a cold and indifferent personality with a unique cruelty, Cattlena is a bit immature but is relatively gentle and innocent and knows how to laugh.

Her appearance brought peace and comfort to the Duke, and this became the reason why he favored Katlena among his children.

‘Of course, the reason I later designated Katlena as my successor wasn’t simply because of favorability, but… I can’t say that this had no influence.’

At that moment, which could be called the worst crisis for Zeros and Katlena, Zeros began to seriously prepare himself again as he watched the intimate appearance of the two daughters, as he had to divert Katlena’s attention from her position as successor until that moment came.

‘There are about two years left? Until then, we must prepare well in advance and do whatever it takes to prevent Katlena from becoming the successor.’

While Zeros was thinking like that, Duchess Rosebetta carefully poured tea for them while they were talking, and she also sat next to Katlena, quietly tilting her teacup and listening to their conversation.

“By the way.. I heard you solved a huge case at the academy this time? You’re truly amazing. Even without that, there was a lot of talk among the nobles. They said our cute princess did something great.”

“Ah. Haha. Yeah.. Well, honestly, it just happened because I was lucky.”

Catlena awkwardly smiled at the Duke’s words and glanced at Zeros.

However, the Duke, not caring about her appearance, looked at Katlena with a smile and said:

A smile that seemed to contain an inexplicable seriousness and something important.