episode_0203

The royal capital, which I visited after a long time, was still full of life.

It was still a peaceful era, and there were still no major political events.

If there was such an event, it would have been the Crown Prince’s engagement ceremony that took place more than two years ago. Of course, as everyone knows, it fell through.

“To be honest, when I came here, I didn’t think I would miss it that much. It’s not a place I have many good memories of.”

“Don’t you have many good memories?”

“Yes?”

“Does this mean that Diane didn’t value the time she spent with me…? … .”

“Yes?Yes?Oh, no, that’s not it!”

Diane was embarrassed and called out to Adele, but Adele, who had covered her face with both hands, grinned and stomped her feet when she lowered her hands.

“Oh, really! You make fun of people like that, right? I almost lost my mind!”

“Because I know that Diane cherishes her memories. When I think about how she raised Ulysses with great care even to this day… … .”

Adele paused for a moment and then said,

“… … No, rather, is it because I gained too much weight?”

“What does that mean? Ulysses is cute because he is chubby.”

After shrugging her shoulders at Diane who defended herself, Adele looked around the mansion.

“… … It will take some time to clean.”

It was a mansion that received minimal maintenance after leaving the royal capital. The exterior was in good condition because the occupants were asked to maintain it, but the inside was covered with white cloth and covered with white dust.

“I’ll only be staying for a few days, so I’ll just organize a suitable place to stay.”

Adele nodded at Diane’s words.

“It would be nice if Amelia and Elsie stayed here too.”

“Great nobles have their own ways. My uncle has barely retired, but I brought him back to the royal capital, so it would be wise to go and say hello.”

Adele laughed bitterly at Diane’s explanation.

*

Amelia’s uncle, who had achieved the retirement life he had longed for but was forced to return to the royal capital to work because of me and Amelia, welcomed us much more kindly than I expected.

I don’t know if it’s because they know our story or because they know my worth. Probably both.

Maybe it’s because there are so many scandals among the nobles, or maybe it’s because things are okay between me and Amelia.

“Phew.”

Amelia must have been thinking that she would be scolded too, so she took a deep breath and came out of the mansion.

I didn’t do much when I came, but the sunset was already setting in the sky.

“Can I come visit you at this time?”

“It’ll probably be okay. I’m not going to see Count Hoover in person.”

It is said that Count Hoover has been confined to his home since then.

This is because the way to gain more power has been completely broken. The tower that I had built my entire life collapsed in an instant.

At least he received some sympathy for losing his daughter, but after the crown prince went to the empire, the empire sent an official letter saying, ‘If Count Huber is involved, we will not cooperate with the kingdom.’

In fact, this did not go to other families, and was secretly known only to the Grand Duke of Grattonmount, who was a grand duke with royal blood and the person who led the incident.

Well, if they see that the royal family is blatantly pushing out Count Huber, other families will quickly notice the atmosphere.

The title of being one of the fiefdoms that provides food to the royal capital will probably soon be taken away. Grattonmount may not be able to take the title directly, but if the royal capital that received the seeds begins to produce food directly and become self-sufficient, the count will Rather, they will be subordinated to the royal capital. They will not disappear completely, but they will become subjects of the royal family who cannot survive without help. It is not an equal relationship.

Therefore, Count Hoover’s representative in the royal capital was Diane’s younger brother. Even after two years, Count Hoover still could not get over the shock.

“More than anything, Diane and Adele decided to go too. It would be difficult if we unilaterally broke our promise.”

I couldn’t help but nod at Amelia’s words.

*

The maid, who was said to be Diane’s nanny, looked extremely surprised when she saw us, but like a professional in this field, she quickly regained her composure and let us in.

Of course, only his face regained its composure, but his hands were shaking slightly.

And Diane’s younger brother Corbin, Count Hoover’s agent, who entered the mansion and met him, literally jumped up in shock.

“Sister… … ?”

In fact, it was the first time we had seen each other.

He was much younger than I thought. The age difference between him and Diane was almost five years? Or maybe even more.

Perhaps he would have been a bit young to be here in the first place, but it seemed that Count Huber had no intention of relinquishing any power to anyone other than his immediate descendants, even in that situation.

“How on earth?”

“Because I have been hiding for a while. I am now relying on the Great Duke of Grattonmount.”

Corbin’s eyes looked at us. We didn’t say anything. Unless we really needed to come out, we were just going to stay here and show off our presence.

“But, the Crown Prince—”

“The Crown Prince already knows this.”

As Diane spoke calmly, Corbin sat down in his seat.

We also sat on the sofa opposite. Fortunately, the sofa was quite wide, so there was enough space for the four women to sit.

“The Crown Prince knows?”

“In fact, at that time, the royal family had already heard about what Count Hoover had done. So, I was in no position to get engaged to the crown prince. My father pushed me, but…”

“… … .”

Corbin seemed to have something to point out.

“Please rest assured that the royal family will not punish the author for that matter.”

“… … However, the current situation of the author is… … .”

“It’s not a punishment for breaking off the engagement, but it’s the karma that accrued before that.”

Diane spoke fervently, just as she had practiced it several times.

“Then, why do you come and show me your face now?”

“… … .”

Diane quietly looked at Corbin’s face for a moment.

Although he was still too young to be the head of the family, he was still trying to appear stern in his own way.

But beyond that, I could see various emotions: fear, loneliness… … Those are probably the emotions Diane felt when she was there.

“Because we are family.”

Diane nodded.

“Because we are family, I miss you. I want to let you know what choice I made.”

“… … .”

“Even a father like that would want to know how his daughter lives.”

“… … How are you living?”

“I met the person I love and am living well.”

Diane gently held Adele’s hand, but Corbin didn’t seem to understand the relationship yet.

“I wish I could have the honor of meeting him in person.”

Corbin said that with a weak smile on his lips.

Diane didn’t seem to mind at all. It was something that would just need to be told slowly over time.

Of course, after today’s meeting, I plan to return to our manor a few days later. I planned to tell that story slowly over several years.

“… … .”

Diane’s gaze turned to the maid.

There was a very strict-looking maid waiting for us when we returned with Diane after completing training.

A maid whom even Diane could not tolerate.

At that time, I thought it was because Diane had been pressured by a strong maid since childhood.

“How have you been, Belle?”

The maid’s shoulders shook slightly at the sound of Diane’s voice.

“I was in such a hurry to leave that I couldn’t even say thank you. Thank you for delivering the letter to Adele.”

“… … .”

“In this suffocating place, if it weren’t for you who treated me harshly and protected me, I would have been completely broken. I was grateful that you pretended not to notice me when I exchanged letters with Adele. I was so emotional at the time that I didn’t know, but you stayed calm. Now that I think about it, the reason you couldn’t find the letter before my father burned it wasn’t that you couldn’t do it, it was that you didn’t do it. I didn’t even hide it separately.”

“… … .”

The maid called Belle made no reply.

“Also, Becky doesn’t seem to know, but Belle was the one who looked at Becky when she copied the letter and kept it separately, right? There was no way you, such a strict and thorough maid, didn’t know that.”

“… … I have never done that.”

But Diane just smiled.

“… … Please take good care of my brother. It has been a big blow to the family, but if you work faithfully for this kingdom from now on, you will definitely be rewarded someday.”

‘I will definitely’ come.

Of course, it will be the story of the next generation after the current Count Hoover.

“Just like I was able to survive without breaking down, please help my younger brother survive as well.”

“… … I understand. I will do my best.”

Nobles often felt more attached to their nurses than to their own parents.

There were many cases where the nanny treated the child more like a biological parent than the biological parent.

like now.