episode_0011

Episode 11

Alice turned 15.

Alice, who started to brag about being an adult as soon as she turned 15, but from my perspective, everyone was just a kid until they turned 20.

But now that he’s an adult, I guess I should give him a gift.

“Alice.”

“Yes, master!”

“Take this, it’s a gift for becoming an adult.”

“Ohhhh!”

When I opened the luxurious box I had given her, a hairpin decorated with an amethyst that looked exactly like her eyes, like a forget-me-not flower, came out.

“Wow… It’s really pretty, Master! Thank you! ”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes! I will treasure it for the rest of my life!”

“Come here, I’ll show you how to use it.”

“Ouch…!”

I put the hairpin in Alice’s hair myself to show her how to wear it, since she had never worn such jewelry before.

As I stood close to Alice, I could smell the faint scent of flowers.

Did you spray some perfume on?

“Where is the master who does this much for his slave? You are blessed.”

“Yes, yes…”

Alice was so touched that she blushed and couldn’t speak properly.

He seemed quite happy as he muttered inaudibly, ‘The meaning of the hairpin gift is…’

I’m so glad that Alice looks so genuinely happy.

#

Time passed quickly, I turned 18, Serena turned 13, Leman turned 5, and Tania became an adult this year, turning 15.

These days, the Duke’s family is busy preparing for Tania’s coming-of-age ceremony and debutante.

“Congratulations on becoming an adult, Tania.”

“Huh! Leon, I’m not happy at all when I receive congratulations from you?”

“You didn’t even call me by my name before, but now you at least call me by my name.”

“…Shut up.”

Now I’ve completely absorbed myself into the Duke’s household, and I’m acting like siblings with Tania and Serena who are on very bad terms.

Originally, siblings grew up fighting.

Still, I’m really touched that Tania and Serena now treat me like family.

“Leon will be Tania’s debutante escort.”

“Your father.”

I will be escorting Tania for the debutante to be held in the capital this spring.

Tania looked a little displeased, but I had no choice since I was the only one there.

I also heard from my father that I should go to the debutante to make myself known.

It’s one of the few events that can solidify my position as successor to the outside world.

“If you ruin your debutante by acting like a jerk there, I won’t let you off easy.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll just stay by your side like I’m dead. I won’t even look at the other girls and just sit there eating something delicious.”

I’m not interested in babies under the age of 20, Tania.

“Ouch! I’ll believe you this time.”

Tania’s debutante preparations were going smoothly, and the time to leave for the royal capital was approaching.

Before Tania got into the carriage, her father and mother came out together to make one last check of preparations.

“Then have a nice trip. Leon, please escort Tania well.”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

“You just have to do well?”

“I wish I had a sister…”

“You just have to wait two years.”

“2 years is too long…”

Serena couldn’t hide her regretful expression, as if she was jealous of Tania going to the royal road.

Soon everything was ready and now Tania was getting into the carriage and I was about to mount the horse.

“Brother!”

The youngest son of our Norman Duke, Liman, popped out.

“Okay, Liman, wait nicely for your brother to bring you a gift from the capital.”

“Yeah!”

Unlike Tania and Serena, who hated me, this cute guy followed me around well.

There was a time when I followed along so well that Tania and Serena were jealous of me.

He reached out and ruffled Lehman’s red hair, which was just like his mother’s, then mounted his horse and lightly hit his stomach with his heel to signal his departure.

-Purrrr!

“Then let’s go.”

The journey out of the Duchy of Normandy and to the royal capital was smooth.

Since it is a distance that can be reached in two days by horse and carriage, the plan is to stop by other territories along the way to relieve fatigue.

Since there was no need to rush, we headed to the royal road leisurely as if we were out for a walk.

“Master!”

“Why.”

Alice must have been bored of just being in the carriage, because she would come up to me and chatter while the horses were resting.

“Is it true that there is a dessert shop in Wangdo that has been around for 200 years?”

“Well, I don’t know because I only heard rumors.”

“Even the royal family always reserves and buys desserts from that store! How delicious must they be…”

Seeing Alice’s expectant face, her purple eyes shining like jewels, brought back old memories.

.

.

.

‘Wow… Oppa, what is all this?’

‘I thought you were craving the yogurt ice cream that’s so popular these days, so I remembered it and bought it while it was on sale.’

As soon as I entered high school, I worked any job I could without my parents’ consent to earn enough money to rent a semi-basement apartment.

And as soon as I graduated from high school, I left home with my younger sibling and started working in earnest at a restaurant.

It was to save on food costs by asking for the boss’s understanding and receiving leftover food or food that was close to its expiration date from customers and eating it with my younger sibling.

I always felt bad about feeding my little brother leftover food from guests, but today I gathered my courage and spent it.

‘Really? I really wanted to eat this… But isn’t this really expensive?’

‘Hey, it’s not that expensive, and you’ve been making money these days, right?’

‘Still… I feel bad because it seems like I’m having a hard time while my brother works hard to earn money.’

‘Don’t worry about it and just study hard. I’ll somehow pay for your college tuition. And when you go to college and succeed, I’ll pay you back, so don’t feel bad about it.’

‘Yeah… I’ll work hard! The ice cream is melting, let’s eat it together!’

.

.

.

‘There was a time like that…’

Whenever I look at Alice, I keep seeing my younger sister from my past life.

“Hmm… When we get to Wangdo, should we stop by that famous dessert shop?”

##

Francia, the capital of the Frankish Kingdom with 500 years of history.

In the banquet hall of the Royal Palace of Francia, the children of nobles who have come of age this year are exploring each other, each showing off their beauty and charm.

In order to keep up with the latest trends, the young ladies are busy talking about the latest fashions at the royal banquet hall, while at the same time, they are looking for a suitable young lady to match their partner.

‘I was looking forward to it because it was a royal social event, but it feels like a youth retreat.’

“Don’t run away and stay by my side.”

“Of course, miss.”

“Don’t do it, it’ll give you goosebumps.”

I stood still next to Tania and looked around as unobtrusively as possible.

It was clear that the Duke’s name was worthy of her name, as even when Tania was quiet, people would come and greet her.

I just stayed by Tania’s side, leisurely sipping a drink.

Then, sometimes, when Tania introduced me to someone, I followed suit and just exchanged a quick greeting with them.

“I’m tired.”

“Just hold on a little longer, the ball is about to start and you can act freely while I’m dancing.”

“I’m looking forward to that.”

After a while, music started playing and adult men and women gathered in groups of three or four to look for dance partners.

Tania also got up from her seat with her heavy buttocks and slowly moved to the center of the banquet hall, talking to the young men who had asked her to dance.

Now that I was free, I wasn’t interested in the children’s entertainment, so I packed a few snacks for Alice.

“Excuse me, but are you Prince Leon de Normand of the House of Normand?”

Young-ae, who had silver hair and blue eyes, approached me hesitantly.

“Yes, I am Leon de Normand of the House of Normand. Would you do me the honor of telling me your lady’s name?”

“Oh my… I am Rose de Baston of the House of Baston. Do you have someone to dance with?”

“No, I was just enjoying the ball alone.”

“Then, can you dance a song with me?”

I was a little taken aback by the sudden request to dance from the Duke of Baston, Youngae.

I was just going to stay a bit and bring Alice some snacks…

It would be rude to say, ‘Dance. Request. Difficult.’ so I decided to just roundaboutly decline.

“I am honored, but I only learned dance at a general level, so I am not very good at it. I am worried that I might be a burden to Rose Young-ae. Is that okay?”

“Hoohoohoo… Dancing skills don’t matter? Who you dance with matters.”

She’s quite an active girl, if you ask me, I should hang out with her at least once.

“Then I will be enjoying the greatest glory.”

“Oh my, I’m honored too.”

Holding Rose Youngae’s hand, we headed to the center of the banquet hall and started dancing to the music.

“You’re dancing better than I thought?”

“I’m doing well because Rose Youngae is so good.”

“Ugh…”

The dance that Rose Youngae and I performed, which had better chemistry than expected, began to attract the attention of those around us.

As I glanced around, I felt the gazes of the young ladies and young siks mixed with envy and jealousy.

Soon the music ended and a short break began.

Now it’s time to go give the snacks I prepared earlier to Alice.

“It was an honor, Rose Youngae. I have a place to stop by for a moment, so I won’t have the honor of being your partner for the next song.”

“Yes… Then if I get another chance…”

It was Rose Youngae who sent me off with a blushing face and a regretful expression.

After leaving her, several young ladies approached her and asked her to dance, but she declined, saying she had someone to meet and leaving.

The partnerless spirits who looked at me like that looked at me with jealous eyes, and the spirits who already had partners started to restrain me, putting on airs in case their partners were stolen.

‘To brag about having a woman next to you… is nothing compared to a fistful of things.’

They all seem to have trained in their own way, but by my standards, they are just corn stalks that would break if hit lightly.

At that moment, I thought, ‘There’s no one who would pick a fight with me without thinking just to appeal to the ladies, right?’

“Are you Leon, the adopted son of the Duke of Normandy?”

An idiot who didn’t even know the topic showed up.