episode_0152

The grand opening ceremony came to a successful close.

Soon after, the students returned to their homes for the holidays, including Katlena and Zeros.

“After… ”

Sighing softly, Katlena carefully got out of the carriage.

There were many tiring things to do on the way here, but the most tiring thing was cleaning up after the grand opening.

‘Oh my… Sentinel is in charge of everything from testifying about the attempted assassination to cleaning up the destroyed building… This should have just been left to Noblesse, who committed the crime…’

The incident itself was decided to be treated as something like an explosion rather than an assassination, so Katlena, as a sentinel who was present at the scene, had no choice but to give her testimony.

And, since it was an accident that happened on campus, it is naturally the Sentinel’s responsibility to handle the aftermath.

Eventually, she and Zeros had to work hard to clean up the scene along with the other Sentinel officers, and thanks to that, they were able to return home about two days later than everyone else.

‘Well, anyway, I guess it’s okay since I came back safely…’

After leaving her thoughts about the academy behind, Katlena quietly looked around.

It had been a long time since I had returned home, but nothing much had changed.

‘I hope everyone is doing well. Father too… and everyone else too.’

Katlena walks towards the mansion with those thoughts in her mind.

At that moment, a familiar face began to appear in her eyes.

“Welcome, Katlena.”

“Sister.”

Elios welcomes her with a quiet smile.

Then Katlena was held in her arms.

Unlike before, her fear of her had almost completely disappeared, but perhaps due to the minor trauma, Katlena automatically felt the need to prepare for any eventuality and began to show as much affection to her sister as she could.

And, seeing his younger brother like that, Elios also gently hugged his younger brother’s body.

“How have you been? I’m sorry I couldn’t help you when you were having a hard time.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m sure you’ve had a hard time taking care of all the paperwork up until now.”

“That’s true, but honestly, I didn’t know that I would be staying overtime until the end of the semester. I should have made Senel pay more attention to this.”

“Haha. It’s okay, but… This was a different experience, wasn’t it? Since I don’t have the usual perspective, I feel a little more free in various places… Uh…um…”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“Ah..no nothing haha..”

Katlena blushes and smiles a little awkwardly

Helios tilted his head slightly at Katlena’s words, but soon thought it was nothing and smiled again.

For some reason, the fact that Zero’s face, standing behind me, is red is quite bothersome…

A fleeting thought crossed her mind that something embarrassing might come out if she thought too deeply about it, but she tried to ignore that part.

“Anyway, let’s continue our conversation over a cup of tea. It’ll be a while before your father and mother get home.”

“Ah.. I guess you’re still very busy these days?”

Katlena asked with a hint of regret, and Elios nodded quietly.

“Yeah.. First of all, the fact that the Marquis isn’t here is a big deal, but honestly, things have gotten a lot worse for my mother than for my father.”

“Huh? What is that..”

Katlena expressed her doubts at the unexpected words coming out of her sister’s mouth.

It was clear that Rosetta had been quite relaxed, having participated in the grand finale not long ago.

Of course, since her father is basically busy, she must have squeezed in some time to come. Even so, just the fact that she can make time like that means that she has some leeway.

Katlena had an expression on her face that said she couldn’t understand…

Helios sighed softly and said this.

“Something… has happened. Something very serious… that could add to the workload.”

“day… what do you mean?”

My older sister tells me stories that aren’t even in her memories from her previous life.

At this, Katlena felt worried and asked her, and her sister spoke to her younger sister in a serious tone, different from before.

“This is something only you should know. It’s not set in stone yet.”

“Yes..”

Elios makes a careful request.

To this, Katlena nodded in response, and Elios spoke quietly into her ear.

As if she was worried that someone might overhear her, Katlena began to listen to her sister’s words, realizing that the situation was not normal as she watched her actions in the room where there were only two of them.

And, the story that came out of that older sister’s mouth…

“I think my father will step down from the Duke position.”

“..Huh?”

Elios brings up an unexpected story.

At this, Katlena’s face began to turn red with shock, and Zeros, who had been quietly listening to the story from behind, also automatically began to show a shocked expression.

*

About two days after returning from the Grand Hall.

Duchess Rosetta, having heard the news of her near-assassination, went to her husband’s room without much thought when he called her, after having expressed genuine concern and anger for some time.

But, right after that…

The story she heard in her husband’s room felt like a punch in the face to her.

The words of Duke Radu Constantino Dragona, who declared that he would abdicate the ducal title to him.

This statement came out only a few years after being appointed as successor..

Duchess Rosetta looked at her beloved husband with an expression of profound shock.

“… Are you.. serious about what you said?”

“Of course, even so, do you think I’m the kind of person who would mess around with the Duke’s position?”

“Ah.. No matter what, you’re rushing things like this. Are you sick anywhere..”

“Haha, me? I’m sure your wife knows better than you that that’s impossible?”

“Then why? Why all of a sudden when there was no problem..”

Roseveta asked with a trembling voice.

Radu spoke to her about this in a slightly amused voice.

“It’s something that must be done someday. You, who have been taking care of state affairs with me, don’t really need any training. And in terms of legitimacy, you, who founded the principality together, are not lacking in anything.”

“You know very well that that is not the problem, right?”

Duchess Rosetta raises her voice in surprise and bewilderment.

To this, Duke Dragona simply answered in a calm voice.

“What else is there? I don’t think it would make much of a difference whether I were here or you were here.”

“… Sigh… ”

My husband’s words were light-hearted, but they definitely didn’t sound like a joke.

At this, Rosebetta sighed heavily and spoke to her with a hint of provocation.

“In some cases, you could hand over this position to Elios, whom you hate so much?”

“If your Majesty wishes… No, how could I oppose what Your Majesty the Duke wishes? Do as you wish.”

“… ..”

The husband speaks with a smile on his face.

Seeing this, Rosebetta couldn’t think of anything else to say, and just looked at Duke Dragona with a look of concern in silence.

“Then, I will start preparing for the succession to the title, so the wife should also get ready. As for the date… Well, I don’t know for sure, but we need to see all of our children, so it would be best to do it within the next month. It seems like time will be tight, but it’s something that can be pulled forward easily.”

With those words, the Duke left the room with light steps, and as he watched her husband, Duchess Rosetta felt her head throbbing and placed her hand on her forehead.

‘They said I would rise to a very high position… Is this how it ends up?… This position is already more than enough for me.’