Ch.207Royal Family (3)

“…”

I don’t like this.

Duke or whatever, how dare he interrupt my conversation with Lilianne.

“—?!”

‘…Hah.’

Claudia inwardly mocks Ethan as he flinches at the chilling sensation on the back of his neck.

‘If you’re scared of something this trivial, what do you think you can accomplish?’

There have been countless fools who approached Lilianne not because they were genuinely interested in her, but because they were attracted to her background. Each time, I revealed myself and exposed their true intentions.

Those presumptuous fools all seemed to share the same mindset, always belittling me and trying to drive a wedge between us. And each time, Lilianne would put them in their place.

But… this is a first.

Instead of trying to create discord, he’s actually complimenting her to score points with Lilianne.

‘…He must have done quite a bit of research.’

Well, I suppose that makes sense.

Given how many men have been sent away empty-handed, their tactics must have become common knowledge.

Analyzing that information to figure out what not to do would have been relatively simple with so much data available.

…I dislike him even more.

“Lili— When are we going to see the chef?”

“You know the dining hall is straight ahead.”

“But I was worried you might wander off somewhere else again.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

What’s even more concerning is that Lilianne seems oblivious to his sinister scheme.

Normally, between my interference and Lilianne’s cold response, such a pest would have been completely brushed off by now… but instead of being cold, she’s responding warmly and moving along cheerfully. Tch.

‘This won’t do.’

I can’t let anyone take Lili away.

Lili is my precious… family.

……….

“Now, this is a dining hall exclusively for our use, but Ethan is specially permitted as a guest to…”

After some twists and turns, Lilianne’s group finally arrived at the dining hall, but there was already someone there. Upon seeing this person, Lilianne became so distracted that she momentarily forgot to finish her explanation to Ethan.

Ethan looked at her with puzzled eyes as her words trailed off, but Lilianne was too focused on the other person to notice his confusion.

“Ah, the princesses.”

“…Lady Jeanne.”

Lilianne rarely feels intimidated.

As the eldest daughter of the king, who has a difficult temperament and rules with an iron fist, there aren’t many people who can act imposingly toward Lilianne, either inside or outside the palace.

Even when someone truly intimidating appeared, Lilianne’s inherently cynical nature allowed her to dismiss such pressure as presumptuous and trivial behavior.

But Jeanne is different.

“And who might this be… hmm, a face I haven’t seen before. Pleased to meet you, I’m Jeanne.”

“…Hello, Lady Jeanne. I am Ethan of Aquitaine.”

Jeanne has been looking after Lilianne and Claudia since they were young.

Having been involved in Lilianne’s life since she developed a proper sense of self, Jeanne became one of the few people Lilianne genuinely engaged with in conversation.

“Aquitaine… You’ve caught quite a big fish, Lady Lilianne.”

“…”

After confirming Ethan’s origin, Jeanne gives Lilianne a look of surprise, making Lilianne uncomfortable.

Catching a big fish? Anyone who overheard might misunderstand that she’s accompanying Ethan for political purposes.

“Lady Jeanne, Ethan is merely here as a guest.”

“Hoho, isn’t this the first time I’ve seen Lilianne escorting a guest around the palace? Besides, this place is—”

Jeanne glances around the room as if to remind Lilianne of something, and Lilianne’s group follows her gaze.

It’s extraordinarily luxurious.

While the dining hall used by servants and attendants is designed purely for functionality, this place is entirely different.

The walls and floors, which would normally be plain wood, are completely covered in plaster and decorated with beautiful patterned wallpaper and flooring.

The walls are adorned with precious metals and spotlessly clean mirrors, while candle-shaped stands placed at regular intervals emit a yellow light, creating a subtle ambiance.

The curtains on the windows seem designed more to showcase their beauty than to block sunlight. The tables are covered with tablecloths so pristinely white that one would be afraid to soil them, and the armchairs are reinforced with leather at all contact points, offering a high level of comfort.

“—Isn’t this dining hall exclusively for the royal family?”

Befitting its luxury, this dining hall is used solely by the royal family.

Others, those not of royal blood, can only enter as servants. This standard applies even to important guests.

Although Claude never explicitly declared that this dining hall was exclusively for the royal family, not a single non-royal had ever dined here, thus establishing the custom.

In other words, from an outsider’s perspective, Ethan’s presence here meant—

“…I apologize for the intrusion. We should leave.”

That Lilianne was including Ethan in the category of royalty.

Having this fact pointed out by Jeanne, Lilianne’s face slightly contorts before she attempts to escape the situation.

From Lilianne’s perspective, there was no explicit law stating that only royalty could enter this place, which is why she invited Ethan. But when confronted by Jeanne like this, Lilianne—though mentally mature for her age—is still just a young girl and cannot withstand the pressure.

“No, no, no, why leave? Come, come in, please.”

Jeanne waves her hands, stopping Lilianne.

She had merely teased the properly grown princess, expecting her to blush and be embarrassed, but instead, Lilianne turned to flee—a completely unexpected reaction.

“But…”

“Come now, the chef is waiting inside to serve you new dishes, isn’t he?”

“…”

Claudia becomes extremely displeased watching Jeanne waste a perfect opportunity to humiliate Ethan, but she doesn’t show it—not even in her expression.

As mentioned earlier, the greatest adversary to the two princesses who could otherwise have whatever they wanted—aside from their parents—was Jeanne, who had managed them since childhood.

Even if they caused trouble, they could get away with it by acting cute if it was family, and ordinary servants wouldn’t dare say anything because of their status. But Jeanne, who feared nothing except the Holy One, was immune to such tactics, making her an instinctive natural enemy to Lilianne and Claudia.

“…Yes.”

Finally giving up, Lilianne, with a slightly flushed face, follows Jeanne’s instructions and leads her group to take seats in the dining hall.

Ethan, now understanding the significance of this dining hall, becomes somewhat excited as befits his age. Seeing this, Claudia secretly sighs to herself, resolving to separate this tactless fool from Lili as soon as possible.

……….

Meanwhile, Rother, Claude’s eldest son, is studying unlike his sisters.

The workload is slightly burdensome for a child who is just 9 years old (10 in Korean age), but it can’t be reduced any further.

After all, Rother is to succeed Claude.

“That concludes the morning lessons, Prince Rother.”

Still, the amount of studying has been reduced as much as possible, so it’s not overwhelmingly burdensome.

Ines had wanted to assign many more tutors to Rother, based on the various cultural educations she received in her youth in the Laurel Duchy, but Claude had been horrified and stopped her. As a result, Rother only learns what is essential for governing the nation, which has turned out to be very beneficial for him.

If he only has to study for 6 hours a day, he can spend the rest of his time as he pleases.

Compared to modern Korean children who attend academies until late at night, this is nothing short of paradise.

Crack, crack—

“Nngh…!”

Having completed about half of today’s study material, Rother stretches and makes a sound unbefitting his age, both vocally and physically.

He knows that such studies are essential to follow in his father’s footsteps, but knowing something intellectually and finding it physically comfortable are entirely different matters.

To be honest, he’d like to throw all this away and just play.

‘…That won’t do.’

Rother suppresses the desire that surfaces in his mind.

Though only 9 years old, Rother is well aware of his father’s achievements.

The centralization his father implemented is different from any previous centralization efforts. Typically, when rulers attempt centralization, they concentrate power in themselves, which leads to the dissolution of centralization once that ruler is gone.

However, his father’s centralization didn’t concentrate authority in himself but in the position of the king.

If his father had concentrated power in himself like other rulers, even if future kings were incompetent, the Kingdom of Rotaring could have maintained its facade through decentralization, like the Holy Empire or the old Carolingian Kingdom.

But he didn’t do that, which means that if an incompetent person becomes king, the country will be completely destroyed without a trace. Power and responsibility are directly proportional, after all.

“I’m going for a short walk.”

“Yes, I’ll see you in 30 minutes.”

Well aware of this fact, Rother doesn’t complain.

He has a sense of duty befitting his status, and he knows that if he complains about something this trivial, he won’t be able to properly control his half-siblings when he eventually ascends to the throne.