133 - 144

DAMIAN(7)

'Why am I…'

Without even realizing it, Chris was some way or the other, sitting inside a carriage running through the capital's streets. And inside the carriage, sat the famous Duke of Taran on the opposite side of him and beside the Duke, was Damian with his fox on his lap.

'I'm thankful that journey to the capital was comfortable and fast but…'

Chris didn't know why he was currently in the same carriage with the Duke of Taran and his son, going to who-knows-where. He couldn't muster up the courage to ask the Duke of Taran where they were going nor could he say that he was very grateful to have been brought this far and that if they let him down anywhere now, he could find his way home. Chris felt like if he went home now, he could actually look at his strict father straight in the eye. Compared to the Duke of Taran, his father was a very comfortable person to be around.

"You mentioned earlier that something had happened. May I ask what that is?" (Damian)

What Hugo said before in the dorms had kept on swimming around in Damian's mind. He waited for his father to say something first but when there were no signs of that, he couldn't hold back and asked.

"Your mother received your notice of suspension." (Hugo)

"…" (Damian)

Damian's face sank. He didn't want to make his mother worry.

"When I said don't kill people at the Academy, I didn't mean you should get beaten by irrelevant turds." (Hugo)

"…I'm sorry." (Damian)

"Do you bear the weak thought that no matter the issue, killing isn't an option?" (Hugo)

Hugo was worried that Damian might show weakness like his biological father. Once he became the head of the Taran family, he couldn't avoid the subjugation of barbarians in the north. He must be prepared to reap numerous lives.

"No. Whenever I lift my sword, I am always prepared to stop my opponent from breathing."

Chris turned ghastly pale and his body shook with fright. His hands gripped his knees harder. Was he hearing something he shouldn't be hearing? Would be dragged to some quiet place and ended at this rate? All sorts of thoughts ran through his head.

Unfazed by Chris' terror, the Taran father and son continued their bloody conversation like it was an everyday occurrence.

"Your mother wants to introduce you into the social circle. Don't argue and just do as she says."

"Yes, sir."

"You'll go back to the academy when the semester starts. I'll take care of the outing issue."

"I want to go back at least a week before the semester starts."

Hugo hummed, as he thought it over.

"I am in the process of speaking to His Majesty about your title. If the bestowment procedures finish quickly then it is possible. For now, we'll have to wait and see."

"When you say title…"

"The successor to the Taran name cannot go without a title after debuting in the social circle."

Chris' face, which had been deadly pale, now looked dazed.

'Title? Successor?'

Chris looked at Damian with new eyes.

'What? This guy is the next Duke?'

Chris figured that the reason why Damian's status was unknown was because he was a precious young master, experiencing the world. A wicked smile crept onto Chris' lips.

'You're all dead now.'

Chris laughed inside, thinking about how black the faces of those two guys who caused the suspension incident would look, as well as the bastards who kept looking for Damian's trouble for no reason.

'Still, even if he is the successor, he's already being given a title? Is that possible?'

Most of the people that were conferred titles were usually around twenty years old. The successor of Marquis Philip, Chris' elder brother, was 19 years old, but he had not received a title yet.

Despite Chris' expression seemingly changing every minute, the Taran father and son's dry conversation continued.

"After today, rumors that you are my son will likely spread in your academy."

As they were on their way to the carriage after leaving the dorms, a string of students who were returning to the dorms after the graduation ceremony saw them. Some of them seemed to be from Xenon because when they saw them, they looked like they were going to have a fit. Rumors were bound to spread quickly from their mouths.

"Did you plan to keep hiding it?"

"No. I was going to reveal it soon."

Hugo remembered what his wife had carefully said before he left.

[I'm worried that Damian might be hiding himself purposefully because of his birth. Please comfort the child so that he won't be anxious or uncertain.]

"Damian. I said I will give you my position and I never go back on my promise. I think you can do well."

"…Yes. Father."

Damian's gaze slowly fell to the floor. His flushed ears itched like it had a rash. Glancing at the red-eared Damian, Chris thought for the first time, that Damian looked his own age.

'Although the manner of speaking is stiff and the content of their conversation is dubious, it's not very different from my relationship with my father.'

Chris was relieved. He didn't know why but he was just relieved. Chris' feeling of contentment only lasted a moment.

"If I ever hear of the heir of the Taran family being beaten again, graduating from the academy or not, I will stick you at the northern border to train."

"I will keep that in mind. Such a thing will not happen again."

Chris' face went ghastly pale again.

'Like I thought, these people's conversation is odd somewhere. Oh? That's my house.'

Chris sorrowfully watched his house, which he weirdly missed a lot today, getting farther through the window as the carriage rode on.

The carriage entered the ducal residence then it stopped. Chris came down from the carriage and looked around. The surrounding view was immersed in darkness, but thankfully, he wasn't being dragged to a scary place like he feared. After handing Asha over to a servant, Damian approached Chris, who was looking around, and tapped him on his shoulder.

"What are you doing."

"Huh? Oh. We're at your house…?"

"Of course, where else would we be? Ah, do you have to go home right now?"

You're only asking now? Chris mumbled inwardly as he shook his head.

"There's nothing urgent." (Chris)

"Come in then." (Damian)

Chris silently watched Damian's retreating back, then he hesitantly followed.

DAMIAN(8)

Lucia came out to greet her husband with Evangeline in her arms. Evangeline stretched out her little hands to Hugo, happy to see him.

"Papa."

Hugo took Evangeline into his embrace and pecked her on the cheek, then he wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and lightly kissed her lips.

"You must be tired from the carriage ride all day? You haven't had dinner yet either." (Lucia)

"What about you?" (Hugo)

"I waited to have it with you when you came back."

"I told you not to wait when it's late."

"It's not that late. You should stop by your office first. Your aide has been waiting for you for a while now. I think it's urgent."

Hugo returned his daughter to his wife and headed for his office. Lucia turned away from her husband's retreating back and gave Damian a bright smile.

"Damian, welcome home. You must be tired, right?"

"Have you been well, mother?"

"Wow, my son had already grown so much taller. Alright, let me hug you."

Lucia gave Evangeline to the nanny and gave Damian a big hug. He was now so tall and big that Lucia couldn't wrap him up in her arms anymore. Going from holding a soft baby girl to hugging a boy with a sturdy frame, made her feel his growth more distinctly and she felt emotional. She felt like he was growing up so quickly.

"Bobba. Bobba." (T/N: She's trying to say Oppa, I think.)

Evangeline, who was with the nanny, excitedly reached for Damian when she saw him.

"Looks like Eve is excited to see her older brother. Say hello."

Damian took Evangeline into his arms as the nanny handed her over and Evangeline clung tight to his neck with her short arms. Damian supported her with his hand and held his small, soft little sister firm. She had the sweet smell of a baby, mixed with the smell of milk. His heart grew warm and it finally hit him that he had really come home. He was thrilled that his sister hadn't forgotten him even though he hadn't seen her in a couple of months.

"Who did you come with?"

"He's my friend from the academy. I invited him."

"Oh my, a friend?"

As soon as the Duke of Taran who seemed like he could kill someone with his eyes alone left, Chris watched the figure full of warmth with wonder, then he bowed towards the Duchess.

"Greetings to the Duchess. I am Chris Philip."

"Ah, we have met before. I'm glad to meet you again as Damian's friend."

Lucia sweetly received the greeting with pleasure. Chris was amazed that both the Duke and the Duchess remembered him even though he had only greeted them once about a year ago.

'Maybe my impression is so strong that people can't forget me once they see me.'

Chris' confidence was boosted with his delusion.

"You both must be hungry. Damian, can you take your friend up to your room? I will call you when the food is ready. Do you want me to take Eve?"

"No. I'll watch Eve."

"You'll do that?"

Damian took Chris to his room with Evangeline in his arms. As soon as the door to the room closed, Chris sighed heavily as if he was letting out the breath he had been holding.

"Wow. I thought I would die from nervousness. Hey! How can you let me freak out like this? You could have at least told me in advance!"

"It was beyond my control. I didn't know my father would come either."

"Let's never ride in the same carriage as your scary father for hours again, hm? There shall be no uncontrollable incidents in the future. If such a thing happens again, you must block it. Okay?"

Chris stared at Damian, who shrugged his shoulders vaguely in response, then he put on a friendly expression and approached Evangeline, who was clinging to Damian. Once he touched the pretty little hands hanging onto Damian's neck, Evangeline pulled her hand away and quickly turned her head.

"Ai, little lady, you're discriminating against me."

Chris muttered dejectedly.

"I wish the little brat at home was a cute little sister." (Chris)

"You have a younger brother?" (Damian)

"I have a little demon. Like you, I'm quite older than my brother. He's five years old and once you take your eyes off him, he causes an accident."

Evangeline fell asleep in Damian's arms. Chris carefully observed the child that was sleeping peacefully with her arms still clinging tight to Damian's neck.

"The baby is so quiet, is it because she's a girl? My little brother gets so cranky before he sleeps. I'm glad to meet you, lady Taran. Although it's sad the feeling isn't returned."

Chris couldn't resist gently holding the small hand of the baby girl, his remaining regrets manifesting.

Damian was about to leave his room to put Evangeline to bed in the nursery room, when he met the maid who was coming in just as he was leaving. The maid informed him that their meal was ready.

Damian took Evangeline to her room first and lay her down. Chris, who was following like a baby duck, held Damian's arm when Damian started to head down to the dining room.

"Wait, do we have to eat with your father when we go down?"

"Probably. Father hasn't had dinner yet too."

"…I think I might get indigestion."

"I'll give you medicine for it."

"Hey!"

Chris ate dinner and eventually asked Damian for digestive medicine.

* * *

The last month of the year was the busiest month but once there were only ten days left till the New Year, everything had been finished and it became the slowest time of the year. People usually took a break from work for about 10 days to meet friends that they had rarely heard from or ended the year by spending time with family. It was a custom that most people followed, regardless of their status or position.

Today was the last day to visit the palace this year. Hugo sat opposite of the King, enjoying a relaxing teatime after his year-end meeting was over.

From this evening onwards, it was the beginning of a very long holiday. Last year, Damian has come home for the winter but had to leave for the academy just a few days before New year because of limited time. This year, Damian would be attending the New Year party and also making his social debut, so this was going to be the first end-of-the-year where all four members of the family were together.

His wife was excited, and he was also affected so he felt like he was looking forward to a special holiday.

"Have you found my replacement?" (Hugo)

When Kwiz first established the central policy-making body, he promised Hugo that he would leave him in charge for only two years. Two years had already passed and several months had also passed. Hugo wanted to simplify his unnecessarily busy schedule. And so, for a few months now, he had been urging the King to find his replacement. When the King only drank his tea without saying anything, Hugo raised a brow.

"Gong, why don't you keep holding onto it?" (Kwiz)

"You made a promise, Your Majesty."

Hugo frowned, showing that he certainly did not want to.

"I have no one but you."

"I am sure there are a lot of people who want to sit in that seat."

"There are a lot indeed. Which is why it can't happen."

The central body which the King had been pushing forward with lightning speed, had been growing steadily over the span of two years and would remain the country's top department as long as Kwiz was king. The head of the central body was at the center of power.

"To be brutally honest with you, this King has absolutely no intention of making the central department a playground for nobles."

"I am a noble too."

"Gong is excluded."

After watching the Duke of Taran hold the position of Head of Central for two years, Kwiz reconfirmed that the Duke was truly not interested in power play. Although he was in the best political position to cultivate power that was only next to the King in those 2 years, he remained alienated from noble politics like before.

Kwiz was also very satisfied with the way the Duke did his work. He wasn't interested in picking only obedient people for the important positions and simply picked them if they did well at their work. Even if it was a politically influential noble, if they weren't proficient at their job, he cut them off without any hesitation. Thanks to that, the central body had a surprisingly transparent structure, considering the amount of power it held and it consistently gave great results.

Kwiz had figured out that the Duke was not a wolf that led the pack but a lone tiger. No one was strong enough to stand on their own, but he was not the type to lead the majority. He was someone that was more accustomed to energetically blowing someone's head off than engaging in an intricate mental fight where you smiled even if you didn't like it or held hands on the outside while hiding a knife in your heart.

Kwiz trusted in the Duke of Taran's disposition, which found the struggle for power bothersome and he also liked the Duchess' actions. Just like her husband, she was not interested in taking control of the social circle. He didn't know whether the two of them became a couple because they were similar but if the couple continued to live satisfied like this, he couldn't see the Taran family becoming a problem in the future.

"It is a controversial position regardless of who has it. As long as it is Taran Gong, people can't exactly say anything openly."

Everyone knew about the King's firm trust in the Duke of Taran. Day in, day out, the King called the Duke to meet privately for food after every important meeting. The king's favor was like a double-edged sword, so although many were envious of the Duke, no one dared to move carelessly.

People were afraid because the Duke was unpredictable. The Duke's image as a knight was stronger than his image as a politician. And knights were a group that caused trouble when they were displeased. To put it bluntly, if he were to kill every single one of them and run to his territory, there was nothing they could do and the dead had died uselessly. There was no one who wanted to be subjected to such a state.

DAMIAN(9)

Hugo heaved a sigh when he saw the firm determination in Kwiz's eyes.

'How annoying.'

A high position only gave immense headaches, there was nothing good that came out of it. The fact that he frequently went home late was something he really didn't like. When he got back late, he could only see his daughter's sleeping face while she got prettier every day, he couldn't eat dinner with his wife, couldn't take a walk with his wife, and he was even having a hard time getting some fun at night.

However, being close to the King was definitely convenient. He needed the king's help in order for Damian to take over his position.

"It is not my hobby to work unpaid." (Hugo)

"…Gong. Do you know what kind of position you are sitting in? If this king were to offer the position, there will be a string of people lining up to kiss this king's feet." (Kwiz)

"Then give it to one of those in the line."

Kwiz groaned loudly.

"What do you want? I'm curious if there is anything this king can give you."

"I need a title."

"A title? What are you using that for?"

"I plan to introduce my son to the social circle at this New Year party."

"Hoh. Is your son already that old? How old is he?"

"He will be thirteen soon."

"But what title is given so early? There has never been such a case."

A young successor may inherit a title due to the loss of his father, but such situations were very rare.

"Then this will be a new precedent." (Hugo)

"…" (Kwiz)

"I promised my son that I would help ensure that his succession is unshakable."

"Alright. Alright. I'll begin the process."

"Is it possible to be ready by the New Year party?"

"Do you think titles are made and spat out overnight? There are a lot of procedures to get there."

"Then, Your Majesty can do simply do the conferment ceremony at the New Year party and have the procedures done separately. And while you're at it, please give me another title."

"You want me to give two titles to your son? What's he going to do with two?"

When Lucia heard that Hugo was going to ask the King to grand Damian a title, she was concerned.

[Damian just made a friend, so I'm worried that his relationship with his friend might become strained if his position suddenly rises.]

Hugo planned to resolve his wife's concerns by giving Damian's friend a title too.

"I would like it to be given to the second son of Marquis Philip."

"Why Marquis Philip all of a sudden?"

"The Marquis' second son is my son's friend."

"…so because he is Gong's son's friend. In other words, you're going to give him help from behind?"

"In any case, he's the second son of a Marquis so he'll be getting a title someday anyways."

"Look, Gong."

Kwiz massaged his temple. Bestowing a title wasn't something as simple as giving candy to a baby. Granting titles was the King's sole unique right. It was a weapon for the King to use as much as he wished to coax the nobles who loved honor and reputation.

If a privilege got overused, its value would fall. There was a limit to the total number of titles that could be given out. Titles were returned due to circumstances such as a lack of descendants and so on, or the successor that was supposed to inherit the title from his father returned it, creating a vacancy. Therefore, there weren't many titles that the king could bestow every year.

"Let's be materialistic for a little bit. The responsibility that follows in accordance to the title held, isn't an easy thing. What is going to happen to taxes? Your son aside, do you think Marquis Philip's young second son can afford to pay taxes?"

People who received titles when they were around 20 were usually successors to their family. The children from second son and below usually received titles after they got married or they received a large residence on a piece of land from their father. There were also many cases where they didn't get anything at all. The title-based tax was one of the reasons why it was important.

"Your Majesty can give him a title with tax exemption and that solves that. I can satisfy the tax deficit with another cause."

Kwiz fixed Hugo a stare then he gave a deep sigh.

"It must be really nice to handle everything so simply, Gong."

"If there's an issue due to the limited number of titles, I can make two vacancies."

"…How?"

"I will deal with that on my own."

The way he would deal with it was most likely frightening. Kwiz wouldn't put it past the Duke to reap two lives in order to make vacancies. He decided to be a benevolent king and save the two poor unknown lives.

"This king will handle that matter."

When Kwiz thought about it, he wasn't losing anything. Marquis Philip was a noble in the Royalist party and he was an inflexible person when it came to aristocratic politics, so he was someone that Kwiz trusted as a close associate. By gifting a tax-exempted title to the Marquis' son while listening to the Duke's request at the same time, he could lord it over both parties. In addition, the Duke of Taran said that he would repay the deficit from the tax-exemption. He had been given a lot of work to do during this holiday, but he could bear it.

* * *

The sight of two men in tailcoats standing side by side in the lounge on the first floor wasn't something one saw every day and even the employees couldn't help but look from time to time. The gazes of the maids stayed especially longer. Some of the maids hid in the corner of the hallway and stole glances at the pair of father and son.

Their outward features of dark hair and red eyes were distinct but eerily similar like an image, but one of them was taller and more well-built, while the other, the younger one, radiated maturity. When you looked at the smaller, and younger one separately, you could see a perfectly grown youth, but when they stood side by side, he looked like a young boy.

"Her Grace is blessed indeed."

"I know what you mean. I mean, the first day I saw the young master, I thought 'what chaos is this'."

The sudden appearance of the Duke's grown-up son made people feel sorry for the Madam for a while. But as the maids watched the two men obediently listen to whatever their wife or mother said, they were jealous of the Madam who had obtained such a wonderful and filial son without going through the trouble of carrying him in her belly and raising him.

"Ehem. Ehem."

The maids who were peeking at the edge of the hallway, discovered the butler when he was clearing his throat and they were frightened. Upon seeing the butler frown, they flinched and quickly scuttled off.

Tsk. Jerome clicked his tongue as he watched the maid scattered, then with a tea tray in his hand, he approached the pair of father and son, who were standing idly, not saying anything to each other.

From her spot on the top of the stairs, Lucia watched her husband and her son, drink tea together, and her cheeks were stained with red. Antoine, who was right next to Lucia, also looked in the direction of her gaze and clasped her hands together, showing how moved she was. She was filled with joy to see the tailcoats she had personally made be worn by perfect creations.

'Ah, my masterpieces. It's perfect. It's fantastic.'

As gentleman's tailcoat consisted of only two colors, black and white, so although they all looked similar at a glance, it was a garment unique to noble parties. Designers put a lot of work into making delicate designs to overcome the limitations of the two colors. A gentleman's tailcoat was in a more profound field than a noblewoman's flashy dress.

Lucia commission Antoine for all the outfits for this New Year's party. When Antoine first saw the small Duke of Taran, she held her chest and staggered, expressing her feelings in an exaggerated manner. She was excited to have new material to work with and made a bunch of tailcoats for Damian.

Antoine insisted that all of them had different designs but to Damian, they were all the same, so from his standpoint, he had to go through the trouble of trying out the same outfit many times.

Hugo's tailcoat had the classic design of a high-class item that exuded sharpness. Antoine judged that it was more attractive to show off the Duke's icy impression than suppress it. So, she chose the most basic design with no useless and unnecessary decoration, and put a brooch gemmed with rubies as the focus of the outfit.

Damian's tailcoat was lined with dark blue fabric on the sleeves and collar, and the black base material shone with a blueish light when it was illuminated. It was a different design from the conventional practice so far of using just plain black fabrics. It wasn't an outfit that an elderly person could pull off, but it blended well with Damian's fresh and youthful aura, so it was luxurious without sacrificing formality.

Damian was momentarily stunned, looking at Lucia. It was his first time seeing Lucia groomed and draped in a party dress. Her silver dress with elaborately woven fine beads shone like butterfly wings reflected in sunlight. Her reddish brown hair drooped over her pearly white shoulders. It was only after Lucia came down the stairs with her hand in Hugo's that Damian regained his senses and politely kissed the back of her hand.

"You look beautiful, Mother."

"Thank you. You look dashing yourself. You will definitely be the main focus today."

"I think you will be the main focus today, Mother. They all will not be able to take their eyes off you."

Lucia burst out laughing. Damian was usually blunt and taciturn, but sometimes he said things that could shake a woman's heart surprisingly well. Lucia alternated glances between father and son, and thought to herself, 'as expected, like father, like son'. When she saw that Damian's gaze was fixed on the second floor, she reassured him.

"It's fine. Eve is asleep. She won't wake up till tomorrow morning. Just enjoy your time at the banquet hall. Don't worry about Eve."

"Yes, mother."

Lucia climbed into the carriage escorted by Hugo and Damian. She had once vaguely imagined that such a day would come. When was that? Lucia was filled with excitement and felt like she was dreaming.

DAMIAN(10)

"Aren't you nervous?"

"I am fine."

Lucia talked to Damian, trying to make him relax. She kept remembering the party break that happened back in Roam. She scolded herself for having ominous thoughts on such a good day. Although it was hardly possible for there to be someone tactless enough to insult the Duke's successor in a venue where he was being accompanied by the ducal couple, Lucia couldn't let go of the anxiety that Damian might get hurt.

Hugo saw through her anxiety and frowned.

"My dear, you are more nervous than him. Don't worry about the boy, he's not a child."

"I am really okay, mother. I don't want you to feel uneasy because of me."

Although their manner of speaking was different, both men were more worried about Lucia. Lucia looked at them and smiled sweetly. She decided to be at ease and enjoy the merry New Year party to the fullest extent.

The carriage stopped in front of the hall to the Outer Palace and the door opened from outside. Damian came out of the carriage first and watched his father follow behind him, escorting his mother down. A quick glance around showed him that carriages were already parked here and there, and that a line of carriages were just entering. As he looked at the blindingly bright lights coming from the party hall, Damian's heart began to beat a little faster. Even though he was completely unbothered just a little while ago, it wasn't because he felt nothing but because it hadn't felt real yet.

"Let's go in."

"Yes, mother."

Damian sucked in a breath as he entered the party hall alongside his parents. It was his first time seeing so many people in extravagant costumes gathered together.

The moment when all their eyes were simultaneously drawn to him and his parents was mind numbing. He thought he was already used to people's gazes but there was something different from the gazes in the north and the academy.

It was strange. There was neither malice nor goodwill. They were definitely surprised by Damian's presence but none of them outrightly showed such feelings. Damian faintly came to a realization. There were people who were well-versed in controlling their emotions and the high society was a place where such people were gathered.

Hugo called a servant and asked.

"Where is His Majesty?"

"Yet to arrive."

Hugo then suggested to his wife:

"Shall we eat something simple first?"

"That sounds good. We won't have time for that later."

When Lucia discovered the familiar face approaching them, she happily greeted him.

"Oh my. Chris."

Damian quirked a brow when he saw a face he was very familiar with, Chris, approaching and dragging along the two boys whose faces he was definitely not happy to see.

* * *

The New Year party held in the Outer Palace hall had started late in the afternoon and by the evening, it was practically crawling with people. The noble children who had expectably debuted into the social circle at this year's New Year party, were going around greeting people with their parents.

'I was once like that too.'

Chris got sentimental watching all the inexperienced little kids, even though he was in that spot just a year ago. The New Year party was one of the large-scale parties held by the royal family so the young boys and girls making their debut, were mesmerized by the splendor. Even if they tried to act calm, their flushed cheeks were filled with excitement, exposing their nervousness.

'The way they're walking is so stiff. I wasn't that bad.'

Watching his juniors who were obviously just debuting, Chris patted himself on the back with groundless praise. When he saw a servant passing by with a tray full of cocktails, his eyes grew round. He stealthily looked around then quickly picked up a glass of cocktail. The translucent pink drink looked way too appetizing.

"I finally found you. Where have you been?"

"Elder brother…"

Chris froze with the glass of cocktail in hand. Although he was prepared to get chewed out, his brother, Raven, merely frowned slightly upon seeing the cocktail and said, 'Father is looking for you', then he turned around. Chris followed after him and quickly finished the cocktail in one gulp. Then he grimaced at the unexpectedly strange taste and the sudden wave of tipsiness that hit him.

Going around and greeting people with his father and brother was really boring. Chris' expression imperceptibly showed his unwillingness.

'I understand that my brother will inherit the mantle of Marquis in the future so he has to do this, but why do I have to do this too?'

Although he bowed his head as he was told, his mind had flown elsewhere. He glanced at the entrance at intervals, checking to see when Damian would arrive.

'Oh, it's those guys.'

He found familiar faces. The ash-haired boy and the brown-haired boy. They always went around together at the academy and even here, they were together too. They weren't alone but were mixed with several of their peers, both male and female, forming a group. A mischievous smile slowly crept onto Chris' face.

"Elder brother. I'm going to go, I have something else to do. You can take care of the rest."

"Chris!"

Raven sighed as he watched Chris disappear into the crowd. He recalled the conversation he had had with his father not too long ago, when his father returned from the palace after receiving the King's summon.

[You will be presented your title at the New Year party, so keep that in mind.]

[Didn't you say you would apply for my title later?]

[I don't know if I should say that it is because of your brother or thanks to your brother.]

When Kwiz was looking into giving Chris a title, he realized that the Marquis' heir and eldest son had not received a title yet. So he called the Marquis, explained the situation, and said that since the order was wrong, both sons of the Marquis could receive titles.

[I'm sure you have already heard of the Duke of Taran's extramarital son. You see, Taran Gong is quite protective of this son of his. His son will soon be debuting in the social circle and it seems Taran Gong wants to give his son a title as a present. Now, Taran Gong's son made a friend at the academy, but this friend happens to be your second son. And it seems the Duke of Taran is very satisfied with his son's friend, so he requested a title for him too. It is a tax-exempted title, so you don't have to worry about that issue. Now, what do you think? Would it be fine for this king to put aside your first son and only give your second son a title?]

The Marquis had no choice but to reply that he would accept both titles.

Chris' father, Marquis Philip, had sent Chris to the Academy because Chris wasn't particularly talented in anything nor was he interested in dating anyone. All he did was play with his younger brother every day, causing the Marquis to worry for his future. However, Chris had made a connection that his father had never expected him to make. It was always this way. Even though Chris handled everything without much serious thought, he always got good results.

Chris and Raven had completely different personalities and they weren't very close brothers. Raven didn't hate his brother, but he usually couldn't understand what was going on in his brother's head. But honestly, sometimes, he was jealous of his brother's manner of going with the flow.

DAMIAN(11)

T/N: Maybe I should have translated Marquis Philip as Marquis Philippe instead. Since we already have a Philip haha.

The faces of the ash-haired boy and the brown-haired boy fell when they saw Chris approaching. The ash-haired boy, Henry, was the second son of a Count and the brown-haired boy, Steve, was the third son of a Marquis. They had fought with Chris not too long ago, so they didn't want to have to go out of their way to greet each other.

Steve held a huge grudge against Chris. Although it had been refreshing to watch the arrogant Damian get suspended, Steve had been disgraced at the disciplinary hearing before the punishment was handed down.

Actually, Damian had been quiet but Chris had actively tried to defend Damian, testifying to the number of times that Steve and Henry had come to look for Damian's trouble.

Steve believed that Damian had tattle to Chris, who was volunteering every detail.

Steve's elder brother was a member of the Council in charge of their first disciplinary hearing. Thanks to that, Steve and Henry were able to receive light punishments. And later on, Steve was called out separately by his brother and criticized heartlessly.

[I am not asking a lot from you. I only ask that you do not disgrace our family, is that so difficult? What kind of low-grade act is this? You're not even a child. I am scolding you because my face is heated from embarrassment.]

He was very displeased because Steve had chosen a cheap method like that of a vulgar street rat, not because Steve had harassed Damian. Steve was sick of his elder brother acting every time like he was trying to teach his pathetic little brother. His elder brother wasn't even that much older than himself. But because his brother had helped him, he couldn't reply back and could only hang his head while his face burned.

"Been a while." (Chris)

"…It has been a while, Sir. Philip." (Steve)

Steve sourly accepted the greeting. He didn't want to greet Chris but ignoring someone who had greeted you first was an immature, undignified behavior, so he was forced to act polite.

Chris chuckled inside. The reason he rarely ever hung out with other noble children was because he didn't like their pretentious imitation of adults. Once they made their debut in the social circle, they only talked to each other with honorifics, never addressed each other by their actual names and made sure to always add the title 'Sir' to their family names.

Only knights or title-holding nobles could use the address 'Sir' in an official occasion, but among the nobles, there was a fixed practice of adding 'Sir' to the family name when they referred to each other.

But it was too much for children who were not even of adult age to be calling each other 'Sir/Lady'. The adults referred to children who hadn't yet come of age as 'Mr./Miss', even if they had debuted into high society.[1] Therefore, it was more reasonable for the kids to call him 'Mr Philip', than 'Sir Philip'.

Chris swept a glance over the gathered group. There were faces he recognized and faces he didn't. They were likely all children from families ranked Count and beyond. Chris didn't like this sort of thing either. The kids were already only hanging around with people who matched their standards.

Chris thought the privilege of being young was the freedom to get along with all sorts of people and not care about status. Just because your father was a Count, didn't mean that all of your father's children would become Counts. Non-successors were not likely to get titles and there was no guarantee that a Count's daughter would become a Countess.

When Chris was around ten-years-old, his mother was pregnant with his younger brother and suffered from severe depression. Due to this, the atmosphere at home was dark and the busy Marquis didn't have time to take care of his young son. So he left Chris with his grandparents for a year.

Chris' grandfather was a Count, but it would be more accurate to call him a wealthy merchant that headed many businesses. Chris followed his grandfather to journey across many national borders. He saw and experienced so many things and realized that the world was vast. It became an important opportunity that shaped Chris' values.

"If you go by Sir Philip then…are you the esteemed son of Marquis Philip?"

The young ladies showed a great deal of interest in Chris. Since he was a Marquis' son, even if he wasn't the successor, he would at least be titled a Count, so if they were looking to be a Countess in the future, conquering Chris was a good method.

Chris politely greeted the lady as he had been taught, even though he could completely see through her.

"That is correct, Lady…"

"Winsor. Audrey Winsor. Count Winsor is my father."

"Lady Winsor. I am glad to meet my academy classmates at such an occasion and I have something urgent to talk to my classmates about, so can you forgive me for having to put off our greetings for later?"

"Oh my. You are attending the Academy too. As a matter of fact, I was just listening to stories about the academy. I will gladly excuse myself and allow you gentlemen to discuss in-depth."

Although not a queen bee yet, Lady Winsor seemed to be the leader of the flock, so when she turned around, the other young ladies followed too.

'Male or female, adult or child, they're all the same.'

Chris didn't understand why people liked to hang around in big groups. They weren't gathered together because they were truly friends, but more like they were coasting along. When many people gathered together, some people would stand out and some people would be excluded.

Just because he was the son of a Marquis, Chris would never be excluded, even if he didn't say a single thing. Because he didn't like such shallowness, Chris gradually went less and less to gatherings with his peers. Perhaps, that might be the reason he kept getting interested in Damian, who always moved around the Academy by himself.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Steve's tone denoted his unhappiness with Chris' rude actions of doing whatever he wanted and sending all the girls away.

Chris found it ridiculous for someone like Steve to be acting like a gentleman when he had just been involved in a dog fight on the academy's campus a month ago. Chris gave a lopsided grin.

"So, stories about the academy, huh? Did you tell them about how you rolled and fought on the floor? I bet it would be a very interesting tale."

Anyone could tell from Chris' provoking tone that he was trying to pick a fight. Those who didn't want to get unnecessarily involved in a fight between two Marquis' sons quietly slipped away. The gathered group dispersed, and the only people left were Chris and Steve who stood opposite of each other, and Henry who stood behind Steve.

Steve's clenched fists trembled.

"What in the world are you doing?"

Steve didn't want to have a particularly bad relationship with Chris, a Marquis' son. He considered Chris to be one of the few people on the same level as him. Steve couldn't understand why Chris would take the side of a guy with no background at the academy.

"Are you aware that you are a huge coward? But then again, if you were aware, you wouldn't do such a thing. You started the fight and then dumped the blame on the victim. If you are already doing such a despicable thing, you can't be the good adult with refined speech that you're trying so hard to imitate."

Chris turned to look at Henry.

"Same goes for you too. Let's act with dignity in the future. OK?"

Henry got angry and came forward.

"Who are you calling a victim? That low-born guy started punching people, not knowing his place. He even made the beast he was carrying run amok. Don't disrupt order with your ridiculous sympathy."

Ha. Ha. Ha. Chris gave short exaggerated laughs. Then while massaging his temple with his hand, he deliberately mumbled in a serious manner.

"It's my mistake for having too much useless sympathy. How can you guys understand the generousness of my heart in doing what I can to aid those pitiful guys?"

Seeing the two boys looking at him like he was crazy, Chris smiled craftily like he was cooking up a scheme.

"You two. Do you know who you provoked?"

At that moment, people began to stir. The gaze of the crowd gathered at one spot and the children who were fascinatedly watching the Marquis sons bicker, got curious and flocked over. Chris felt like he knew why people were acting like this. He threw his arms around the shoulders of both boys and hooked it around their neck so they couldn't escape.

"What are you doing!"

"Let go!"

"Now, now. Come with me. I'll show you something good."

It wasn't that Chris was so strong that the two boys couldn't shake him off. They were afraid that if they forcefully shook him off, it would draw people's attention and look like they were fighting, so they had no choice but to follow along. Chris was able to easily drag the two boys because they took appearance and honor so seriously. Chris squeezed and pushed through the crowd and took the two of them to the front.

And just as Chris expected, the talks of the town had appeared. The ducal couple of Taran and Damian. Chris was certain that Damian's appearance would cause a stir in the social circle. The ducal couple of Taran simply accompanying someone would become a hot topic, talk less of them accompanying a boy who looked like the Duke of Taran. The appearance of the boy was a shock itself.

'Although, I doubt people are as shocked as these two guys right here.'

With his hands still on the shoulders of the two boys, Chris alternated gazes at both sides. The both of them had gone white and they looked like they had lost their soul. They were stiff like a frog when it meets a snake. Seeing Steve and Henry enveloped in shock and horror, Chris decided to play with them a little more. Dragging them by neck, he approached the Ducal family of Taran.

Translator's Corner:

[1] English doesn't have that many respectful titles, so I had to make do. Here, Miss doesn't have a male equivalent, so we're stuck with Mr. I might have translated it as Lord/Lady but we've been using 'sir' so far, no need to change it now.

DAMIAN(12)

"Oh my, Chris."

The duchess smiled brightly and greeted Chris happily. When their eyes met, Damian used his eyes to ask Chris what he was doing. Chris smiled mischievously in response. Then when he faced the Duchess, he wore a polite look on his face.

"Chris. It saddens me to not have seen you for a few days now. Will you come to hang out again from tomorrow?"

Since the day Chris was forcefully invited to the Ducal residence, he had been visiting frequently. He even brought his younger brother, Jude. He stayed from morning till night, ate snacks, lunch, took naps, read a book; basically, he enjoyed himself like it was his own house. The only thing he declined was the Duchess' proposal to have dinner before he left. He wanted to avoid eating with the Duke of Taran.

Visiting someone else's house a few days before the New Year wasn't good etiquette, so he stopped visiting to avoid acting out of line.

Lucia liked Chris's friendliness. He seemed like he would be a good friend and a great balance to Damian's stiff personality. She also liked his shamelessness in happily visiting the ducal residence without reserve.

"Yes. I will gladly come to visit if you invite me." (Chris)

For the few days that they didn't go to the ducal residence, his little brother, Jude, kept whining, asking when they were going to see the princess again. Jude called the Duke of Taran's little daughter, 'princess'. When Chris asked him why he referred to her like that, the little boy fidgeted and replied:

[She's pretty.]

Chris was dumbfounded. The little brat had a good eye.

"There's no need for an invitation. You are always welcome. By the way, who are these two gentlemen?"

Chris held the shoulders of the two boys firmer. He giggled inside as he felt them trying not to stagger.

"They are classmates from the Academy."

Steve and Henry stated their names and greeted the ducal couple. Lucia figured they were probably nervous, so she accepted their stiff expressions.

"Damian, are they your friends?"

When Damian's indifferent gaze swept over the two boys, their clear faces darkened. Damian glance at Chris, who was grinning with satisfaction, and he secretly smiled. Chris had kept grinding his teeth over the suspension incident and it looked like he couldn't stop himself from playing a trick on the two boys. Damian decided to play along with Chris.

"They…"

Damian drew out the end of his sentence and observed the paling expressions of the two guys.

"…are not my friends, mother."

'Mother'. This was practically killing them and making sure they were dead. The arrogant guy who didn't know his place was in fact, the Duke's son. They already had a bad feeling when Chris talked with the Duchess in a friendly manner and revealed that he had been visiting the Ducal residence without reserve. Steve and Henry really felt like dissipating on the spot.

Damian didn't plan on torturing or taking the two boys to task for something that had happened in the past. If they kept acting up in the future, he would definitely crush them but that hadn't happened yet. To the two boy who didn't know what he was thinking, it sounded like a declaration of war.

"And I don't think they will be in the future."

From Damian's answer, Lucia sensed that their relationship was not very good, so she stopped being interested any further.

"Chris, where are your parents? My husband and I have already met them, but Damian should officially say hello."

Chris let the two boys go and joined the ducal family. As Steve and Henry watched them get farther away, their legs trembled, and they sank to their knees. Their knees touched the floor and they supported themselves with their hands. The only comfort was that most people were focused on the ducal family of Taran, so they didn't pay much attention to the unseemly sight of the two boys.

* * *

The Duke of Taran couple and the Marquis of Philip couple greeted each other, then they moved to a separate room and had a light meal together. The Marchioness was very thrilled to learn that her son had a connection with the Duke of Taran's son, so she was excited throughout the meal. Chris felt embarrassed because of his mother's overreaction and grumbled to himself.

After the meal, Damian stayed with his parents and greeted the nobles that came up to them endlessly. Around when all the faces were starting to blur together, the King made his entrance. Damian was finally able to take a breath. The chamberlain faced the party guest and spoke loudly.

"His Royal Majesty has arrived."

People lowered their clamoring voices and stepped aside, making a path for the King to come in. Kwiz was donned in white robes with a crown on his head and golden mantle draped over him, revealing the majesty of a king. This was an appearance that was only seen on the King when it was an important and official occasion. The crowd hasn't heard of anything beforehand, so they began to stir.

"I look forward to endless jubilation in Xenon's future as we face the glorious first day of the New year."

The King gave a short speech to his attentive aristocratic audience.

"I am pleased to have the opportunity to borrow today's occasion to present to you all, the excellent pillars of our nation."

When the King stopped speaking, the chamberlain unfurled the scroll in his hand that was covered in red silk, then he spoke sonorously in a loud voice.

"Damian, son of Taran. Raven, son of Philip. Chris, son of Philip. Come forward and accept the honor bestowed onto you by His Majesty."

Chris nodded his head when Damian's name was called and when he heard his brother's name, he was a little surprised, but when he heard his own name, his eyes widened. He blankly watched his brother and Damian walk forward then he felt someone hit his back and turned around. His father was frowning and scolded him, 'what are you doing, not going out there?'

"Huh? F…Father. Why…"

"Hurry up and go!"

The Marquis clicked his tongue as he watched Chris go forward hesitantly.

'That boy. He didn't know?'

The Marquis thought that his eldest son had already told Chris while Raven thought that his father had already told Chris. In other words, Chris had absolutely no idea that he would be receiving a title today.

Chris' soul flew away as he stood, suspended with a red mantle over his shoulder and a silver emblem on his collar, symbolizing his title as Count. He didn't know what senses he had used to finish the ceremony.

Every noble learned the ceremonial procedure for receiving titles or medals because it was mandatory. Chris was able to subconsciously react thanks to this rooted memory, but he didn't remember anything he had done. He could only guess that he hadn't made any mistakes since his father didn't have a fierce expression.

"…Have I really become 'Sir. Philip'…"

He had gained the official qualification to become Sir. Philip instead of Mr. Philip.

'What's with this count title.'

He had received a Count title alongside his brother. He had never seen such a case before.

"Chris."

Damian patted the shoulder of his completely distracted friend.

"Are you even listening? Our parents just arranged to have dinner tomorrow evening at your house."

"…What?"

Light came back to Chris' eyes.

"We'll be eating with our parents? It's not just our parents together?"

The awkwardness during the meal some time ago had been very unbearable for him, so what was this talk about invitation! He could already see a vivid image of his mother turning the house upside down to clean it from tomorrow morning.

"Of course, you and I will be there too." (Damian)

"…Ah. Indigestion again." (Chris)

"If you don't have digestive medicine at home, I'll bring some for you."

Chris mumbled gloomily.

"…I'm so thankful I could cry."

All Chris knew was that he was envious of his friend's sturdy stomach.

[End of sidestory: Damian]

IN ANOTHER FUTURE―HUGO(1)

T/N: There are only 2 parts for this one.

The torches that brightened up the darkness like day, cast a darker despair than the cover of the night. The chaotic scene was tidied up in the blink of an eye, and the household of the Count was bounded and lined up. The dozens of servants in the house were gathered in one place while the soldiers stood guard.

The servants hugged each other and wept soundlessly. Their chances of survival were slim. They were fated to share their life and death with their master who had committed the crime of plotting treason.

The sound of a group of people approaching could be heard. The thudding sounds of their footsteps were like signals leading to death. The soldiers straightened up tensely, along with the knight who was conducting them. The man approaching the criminals was accompanied by dozens of knights and his hair was so dark that it melted into the night.

"Status report."

The conductor at the scene took a disciplined step forward before opening his mouth.

"All but two members of the traitor's household have been captured."

"Two?"

The tone of the voice asking was fierce. The knight flinched and quickly added.

"The traitor's third son was confirmed to be currently enrolled at the Academy and immediately after confirmation, an arrest unit departed for Ixium. We expect to hear from them by tomorrow morning. But only the whereabouts of the traitor's wife is unknown."

The man listening to the report raised a brow.

"And her maid's testimony?"

"Neither the family members nor the servants closely serving her have any idea. We are currently combing through the mansion repeatedly. I have also sent people to look outside the mansion."

"What is the possibility she has already left the mansion?"

"The maid testified she had last served the traitor's wife late in the evening. No one among the servants are missing."

It was hard to believe that a noblewoman had escaped alone into the dark without anyone helping her.

"She might have been hidden away because she was carrying the traitor's seed. Look into that."

"Yes, sir."

"If she is in the mansion, then she is hiding somewhere. Which means there is a secret compartment in this place. Dean, pick out a few men with good eyes."

"Yes, my lord."

"I am innocent! There must be a mistake!"

Hugo's indifferent gaze turned to the direction the sound came from.

"Please let me see His Majesty!"

The chubby man kneeling on the floor with his hands tied behind his back had a silhouette like that of a pig. Just like he looked, the sound of his screams were unpleasant to hear.

The Count of Matin. If Hugo had not been told by his subordinates on his way here, he would not have known who this house belonged to. This man was the most insignificant game among the targets Hugo had hunted until dawn. Perhaps the man was falsely accused like he claimed, but Hugo didn't care. The mere fact that he was a subject of suspicion and got on his hunting list was a crime.

After taking a brief glance, Hugo coldly turned around and headed into the mansion. The annoying cries grew louder, then after a scream, it became silent. An eerie chill enveloped the surroundings like a fog.

As Hugo stepped into the mansion, a corner of his lips went up slightly. He didn't think there was a day that suited his life more than tonight.

The office of Count Matin was already a mess from being turned upside down. But Hugo could see a few documents that were neatly arranged on the desk. Hugo skimmed through the documents with a bored look on his face. He didn't expect anything important to come out of here from the beginning.

After a while, the knight came in and reported:

"I have confirmed that it is unlikely for the traitor's wife to be pregnant with a child. According to her maid, she is infertile and incapable of having children. For further verification, I have sent someone to bring over the doctor that visited here."

"There's no family doctor?"

"There is apparently not one because of the cost of employment."

The life of one doctor was saved thanks to Count Matin's stingy nature.

"When the woman is found, execute her with all the traitors. I will report it to His Majesty separately."

There were a few more places they had to stop by and clean up. There was no more time to delay here. Leaving the finishing up to his subordinates, Hugo left the Count residence that would soon become a haunted house.

No one would want to buy a house where the former residing family committed treason and dozens of people died in the courtyard. Even if it continued to be empty and grew old and hideous, it would take at least 10 years before it was torn down and a new house built in its place.

IN ANOTHER FUTURE―HUGO(2)

Translated by: Miss Ruby

Edited by: ShadowDog

The clean-up of the Count of Matin, a supposed 'small fry' was moving at a snail's pace. The traitor's third son who was attending school at the Academy had luckily escaped to another country and the traitor's wife had still not been found for three days. Thanks to this, the lives of the traitors was extended by several days and because leaving them at the count's residence while monitoring them was a waste of manpower, they were all taken to prison.

On the fourth day, Hugo got a report from Dean stating that he had found a device that led to a secret area.

"Have you gone in?"

"I have not checked inside as you ordered, my lord."

As a day passed, then two, then three, Hugo became curious about the woman who had hidden herself so deeply. She had definitely not left the mansion. Currently, security in the capital was water-tight and anyone suspicious would definitely standout. Since she had no one helping her, a noblewoman who had lived an easy life, would not be able to hide without leaving any trace. Therefore, Hugo figured that there was a secret location in the mansion and that she was hiding there. He told his subordinates that if such a place was found, they should immediately report it to him instead of combing through it.

He took only a few knights with him and went to the deserted house of Count of Matin. As Hugo watched Dean manipulated the device to reveal the darkness behind, his red eyes narrowed slightly. A knight lit his torch, cutting through the darkness.

Hugo looked around with interest. The expertly-made secret area was impressive. After descending for a while, they reached a chamber with dimly lit walls. Upon finding the shadow of a person lying in the corner, Hugo's footsteps came to a stop.

He stopped his knights behind him, grabbed a torch and approached the shadow. There was no movement from the woman who was lying down, with her body curled up. Hugo lifted the torch higher to illuminate the surroundings. The temporary bed that the woman lay on was made of several layers of blankets and the surrounding leather sacks were filled with dry food. He also saw a bundle of clothes.

'I suppose it's a prepared shelter.'

The Count of Matin's family did not know about the existence of this place. It was clear that the woman had prepared all of this by herself. It wasn't possible that she knew about the Count's household extermination beforehand. So why? Hugo's red eyes gazed down at the soundly sleeping figure of the woman.

'Interesting.'

The woman's struggle was intriguing. Hugo couldn't understand the woman's passion for life. This was boring and tedious world. If the woman had a child then he could see why, but both the maid that served her and the doctor in charge of her treatments said that she was infertile.

[She is definitely infertile. Even if she were not infertile, her husband has been incapable of having children for a few years now.]

Without even being asked, the doctor spoke about Count Matin's sexual dysfunction. It was as if the doctor thought that proving the Countess' infertility would save the Countess' life. It was never a good thing to get involved with someone who had been caught up in a plot of treason, but the doctor looked to be more worried about the Countess' situation than being afraid.

It felt like a contradiction for a woman who was supported by the people around her to have found a route to escape alone, abandoning her husband and children, even if the children weren't actually her own. Was the life of a woman who chose the lifelong status of a fugitive worth being so obsessed about?

Hugo searched through his memories, checking to see if he remembered a woman called the Countess of Matin. He had a good memory, but he couldn't remember people he didn't have an impression of, or simply passed by without talking to. He had no memory of the Countess of Matin.

Hugo turned away from the woman.

When their lord began to climb up the stairs without saying anything, the knights followed silently as well. After they had fully exited the secret space, Hugo ordered:

"You have not seen anything today."

The knight simply accepted without asking questions.

"Get a female body, put some noble clothes on it and throw it in the woods. The hair color should at least be similar."

Hugo felt somewhat merciful and decided to save a member of the traitor's family, giving her a chance to escape. It was on a whim, but he, himself, didn't know why. Since she wanted to live so much, why not let her try. A noblewoman that had enjoyed a nice and easy life; how long could she endure? There was some cynicism mixed within.

"However, don't slack on tracking down that damn third son."

He could allow an infertile, childless, traitor woman to live, but a child was impossible. His usual belief was to never leave an ember behind.

The next day, all members of the Count Matin household were executed.

* * *

About a month later, Hugo attended an event where the king intimidated the nobles, calling it a party as a pretext, then sometime after midnight, he was on his way home. As he was passing by a noble's mansion, he saw a shadow through the window and suddenly got curious.

'That woman. She must have escaped, right?'

He had his carriage change directions to the Count of Matin's residence. The Count's residence was now a bleak sight and it only got gloomier as the day grew darker. Hugo manipulated the device, opening up the secret space and headed down. Sensing the presence of several people, the small creatures scuttling around quickly scattered in the dark. When he lit the torch and looked around, there was no person in sight, only rats.

Although he had already guessed that she would be gone, Hugo felt empty for some reason. He slowly looked around and found traces showing that someone had been here until just a few days ago.

'She stayed in this place for over a month?'

He admired her extreme patience and tenacity. He didn't expect such attributes from a Countess who was formerly a Princess. He couldn't help but wonder what in the world had given her so much sustainment. Was it simply just the wish to live?

"There should be a passage out of here. Find it."

The knights scoured the surroundings, then they manipulated a device and found a dark passage. Hugo and his knights walked along the narrow path of the tunnel for quite some time. When they finally got to the other side, one of his knights said that they were at a public cemetery at the outskirts of the capital.

The light in the sky was dim. As it was a cemetery, the area was completely void of people, not even shadows could be found. Hugo stared at the morning sun which was shining light on the graveyard.

"Do we track?" (?)

"…No need." (Hugo)

This was the result of his useless curiosity. Hugo decided to stop here in doing things that were unlike himself. No matter how the woman lived after this, it was a matter that had left his hands.

His carriage was at the Count's residence. Rather than waiting for one of his knights to bring a vehicle for him to ride, he decided to use the passage and go back. Hugo turned around, about to go into the passage entrance, but then he halted and bent down. He cleared away a pile of rubble and a small wooden jewelry box, usually used by noblewomen, was revealed underneath. He took off the cover and chuckled. The rings and necklaces heaped inside the box didn't seem like very expensive items.

'Must be an escape fund. So she hid all her trinkets here instead of carrying it on her body. Clever judgement.'

As he was about to cover it again, Hugo's gaze fell on his left chest collar. There was brooch pinned to the collar of his tailcoat. It was in the shape of a lion's head exquisitely crafted from silver and had two small red jewels embedded on it. It was an ornament that represented the lord of the Ducal House of Taran.

Hugo tore off the brooch from his chest. It was more valuable than several of the rings in the jewelry box. He threw it into the box without any hesitation, covered up the box, put it back where it originally was and even piled up the stones like before.

Hugo stayed squatting like that for a very short while. He shook off his thoughts, feeling strange and rose to his feet. Then he unhesitatingly began to walk into the dark tunnel. His knights immediately followed after him. Their figures quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Three years later, Hugo received a report that Bruno Matin, the third son of the traitor was caught and executed on the spot. The third son of Count Matin, who had been evading the tracking unit with his sudden appearance and disappearances was a hot topic in the social circle for a considerable amount of time, but as time passed, people's attention turned elsewhere. And so, Bruno Matin's death was quietly buried.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(1)

Edited by: ShadowDog

The King came to the Queen's Palace without sending any message in advance. When he appeared, Beth was in the middle of a conversation with a noblewoman that she had invited. The noblewoman couldn't blame person that had suddenly disrupted them and had to rise in the middle of their discussion to leave.

Beth wondered why the King abruptly intruded into her palace. It was hardly possible for the king not to know that the time when she met with the noblewomen was in its own way, an important part of her itinerary as Queen.

"What might be the matter, Your Majesty?"

"This king got stood up."

Kwiz plopped down on the sofa with a peeved expression on his face.

"Sorry?"

"This king is the only one in the world that can stand someone up. Yesterday, Selena definitely promised to have lunch with me today."

Kwiz was really looking forward to the lunch appointment with his lovely daughter whom he wouldn't trade for all the treasures in the world. Even when it went past the appointment time, he gratifyingly thought that she was running late because she was a young lady and had to prepare. But even after waiting for a good while, there was no news. He got concerned and sent a servant to check but the servant returned with a hollow answer. Princess Selena had already gone out in the morning, so she wasn't around.

Kwiz was terribly hurt by his daughter's betrayal. It seems like just yesterday when she was clinging to him and crying 'Royal Father' and he couldn't believe that she'd already found other things more interesting than her parent's embrace.

In Xenon, there were two men who showed off their unstoppable love for their daughters. One of them was Beth's husband and the sovereign of this country, and the other was the Duke of Taran, a man who held power second only to the king.

Beth recalled the ridiculous matter that happened because of the highest authorities in the country. It was called the dollhouse case.

Kwiz custom-made a dollhouse with a cutely decorated bedroom for his daughter. Selena took that dollhouse to the ducal residence and boasted about it to her friend. Evangeline was very envious and waited for her father who was returning home late that day.

Hugo was moved to see his daughter came out to meet him with sleepiness in her eyes.

[Father. I want a dollhouse too.]

When Evangeline rubbed her head in his chest and whined, Hugo felt very regretful that he couldn't put a dollhouse in front of his daughter right now. And the very next day, he found a constructor and began production for the dollhouse immediately.

My daughter should have the best in the world!

A larger, fancier dollhouse with a living room inside a bedroom, became Evangeline's. Selena, who visited the ducal residence, was shocked to see her friend with a better dollhouse and ran to Kwiz.

[Royal father. Eve has a better dollhouse.]

Who will make the nicer, more fabulous, more expensive dollhouse?

Beth and Lucia watched, completely dumbfounded at the two men who were competing with each other over something immature.

It went past the standard of being a toy and crossed into the territory of artworks. They chiseled a small bathtub out of marble, called a watchmaker to make a miniature clock to hang inside the dollhouse, commission a famous painter for a painting to hang on the wall of the dollhouse, and even got adopted equipment facilities for the small bathtub to receive water.

After almost six months, the dollhouses were completed, and the two men came to a mutual agreement and set up an objective judging panel to judge their work. They got the same score in the first round and chose a date for the second round. Their wives who had just been observing the situation came forward. It was a competition that had nothing to gain even if you won and would only hurt the feelings of whoever lost.

[It looks like we are both troubled by husbands who can't act their age, Duchess.]

[I know what you mean, Your Highness.]

The two women comforted each other and forcefully concluded the fight by agreeing to donate the dollhouse to the showroom in the Outer Palace hall.

In fact, while the fathers were busy fighting over the dollhouse, their two daughters had already lost interest and were focused on other ways to entertain themselves.

The amazing competition that drew the attention of many people, fizzled out in the end without a winner. The two huge dollhouses, made in the form of a three-story estate mansion, became a specialty for foreign envoys to see at least once.

After the dollhouse incident, it became a trend for people to look at their youngest daughter and go, 'our daughter is the cutest.'

"She's at an age where she forgets promises she makes easily, even firm ones." (Beth)

"She went to the Duke's residence again, right?" (Kwiz)

"There's no other place that Selena goes to."

"It is troubling for the princess to form the habit of going out continuously from a young age. Why do you allow it, Queen?"

"It's the Duke's residence, I see no issue there."

"Still, when you consider it, an esteemed young lady should be the one entering the palace. How can the princess be going out to meet an esteemed young lady?"[1]

Beth chuckled. Her husband wasn't the type of person to be strict or nitpicky over such formality. He was grasping at straws.

"They are children. It's not a matter that requires the pride of adults."

"There's also the issue of safety."

"To be quite frank, the Duke's residence would be safer than the palace."

Kwiz couldn't say anything to that. The guards around the Duke of Taran's residence reminded him of an impenetrable fortress. Kwiz always wondered how heavily guarded the security was at the ducal residence. So last summer, he lightly made a bet with the Duke.

[Gong. This king is going to try to go through the guards at your residence. Will you take up this king's challenge?]

[I never avoid a challenge.]

Kwiz also made a second bet with his adjutant. Naturally, he bet that he would succeed, and the adjutant had no choice but to bet on the remaining option.

The way the wager worked was: if the mansion's intruders brought back a specific mark in the mansion's garden, it was Kwiz's win, and if the infiltration failed, it was Hugo's win. The result was terrible. Kwiz was soundly defeated. Two out of three attempts, they couldn't even get past the wall before being discovered, let alone acquiring the mark.

In exchange for the bet, Kwiz had to meet the Duke's demand for another title and once again, he could not use a word chosen by his adjutant. So far, his bets with his adjutant have all been consecutive defeats.

The adjutant was overwhelmed with pride because Kwiz's conduct had become more refined since he became king.

There were no doubts about the safety of the ducal residence, and so, Kwiz didn't need to worry about Selena. Kwiz couldn't think of anything else to nitpick on, so he sullenly shut his mouth.

Translator's Corner:

[1] [Gongnyeo] vs [Gongju]: Gongnyeo is used to refer to a young woman with high status, Gongju is the formal title for princesses, i.e of royal family. Gongju Katherine = Princess Katherine. In a way, Gongnyeo can also mean princess but it isn't a title. I didn't want to use princess(because it overlaps) so I translated gongnyeo to esteemed young lady.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(2)

"Nowadays, Ethan is also going to the Duke's residence with Selena." (Beth)

"Ethan?"

Kwiz didn't anticipate this unexpected news about his third son.

"Ethan is going to the Duke's residence? Why?"

"The third son of Marquis Philip often visits the ducal residence and apparently, his age is very similar to Ethan's. He seems very excited about making friends with his peers."

"Hmm, the children have already reached the age where they are looking for friends more than their parents."

Although it was said that children only listened when they were young, Kwiz wasn't yet ready to let Selena out of his protection.[1] As her husband mumbled while looking discouraged, Beth said something even more shocking to him.

"The reason Selena keeps going to the ducal residence isn't just because she enjoys playing with the Duke's young daughter."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Selena."

Beth couldn't stop herself from smiling as she spoke.

"She fell for Sir. Taran."

Kwiz didn't understand the Queen's meaning for a moment then his eyes gradually grew bigger and his gaze quivered with shock.

"…Sir. Taran? You mean, Count Taran, son of Duke Taran?"

When the Queen nodded, Kwiz slammed his hand on the table and jumped to his feet.

"What is this—?! Do you know how old Count Taran is right now?"

"When Selena is seventeen, Sir. Taran will be 27. Their age difference isn't unsuitable."

"…"

Kwiz sat back down. The difference between eight and eighteen felt like a huge gap but once you added 9 years to it, it changed into a commonly acceptable difference.

"…but still, what does an eight-year-old know?"

"Just like Your Majesty says, what does Selena know? It's probably just curiosity and yearning in the same manner when she sees a pretty doll and indulges in it. However, Your Majesty. Girls grow up quickly. In five years' time, that yearning will change to love."

He hadn't even released her from his protection yet. Kwiz had never thought about marrying off his daughter. She couldn't live by his side forever. He knew that but when he realized that his daughter's marriage might not be that far away, he felt like he had lost all the energy in his body.

"My Queen, you seem to be very pleased with Sir. Taran."

"Oh, very much so. Sir. Taran's succession seems to be set in stone and whether it is his personality, appearance or ability, there is nothing to complain about. Hasn't Your Majesty also praised Sir. Taran frequently?"

"Well that…"

Even if you say he was named the youngest Count thanks to his father's support, becoming the Academy's youngest Shyta wasn't something that could be achieved with backing alone.

'Taran Gong is such a lucky devil, eh.'

In most cases, if the father was outstanding, the children's capability was usually below their father's. However, Taran Gong's son seemed to have inherited his father's capability but none of his father's personality defects, so he was more perfect.

'And he's only a year older than the Crown Prince.'

Compared to Count Taran, the Crown Prince was very young and immature.

"Do you want Selena to be seated as the Duchess?" (Kwiz)

"I cannot say I do not want that. Seeing Taran Gong's unchanging affection for the Duchess has made my heart lean towards them. Wouldn't Sir. Taran love his wife like that as well, seeing as he grew up watching his parents in that manner? It is every mother's wish for her daughter to be loved by her husband and live happily."(Beth)

"…"

"Were you merely jesting when you asked Taran Gong about becoming in-laws?"

"When the Duchess was pregnant, I was honestly willing to pair Selena up with them if the Duchess had a boy."

"Why didn't you consider pairing our son with them if they had a girl?"

"My Queen. Can you imagine how much dowry one would have to give to bring in Taran Gong's daughter? This king can't handle that."

Beth gave her husband a sidelong scowl as he changed realistically concerning their son's issue.

"I made a slight mention of it to the Duchess in passing but I ended up withdrawing. She told me the Duke was disinclined to a union between cousins."

"Cousins?"

Kwiz considered the meaning of that word for a while. Strictly speaking, since the Duchess was his half-sister, their children were cousins. However, Kwiz had never thought of putting it in that category. It wasn't because Kwiz was stupid or daft, but because in the royal family, the concept of having relatives between descendants was rare, unless they were blood siblings.

In Xenon, there was a law forbidding the marriage of blood relations within the second cousin. However, for the royal family, that law was practically nullified. Whether it was for political reasons or for carnal reasons, a king had more than ten concubines and many more children than that. Kwiz having only a few concubines and no children from those concubines was quite a rare case.

The women who entered the back palace for political reasons were daughters of noble families. If they were all slapped with the title of 'relatives', their descendants would not be able to find a marriage partner in the future when they grow up.

Especially in the case of the late King, whose licentiousness was to an excessive degree, quite a number of noble families were relatives.

There would be a limited scope of political marriage partners for their level. Thus, intermarriage between royal descendants such as cousins was something that happened openly.

Moreover, Count Taran was not even the Duchess' biological son. Of course, since he was entered into the family register, their mother-son relationship was acknowledged as no different from biological according to the law, but in a place where intermarriage occurred between blood-related cousins, what was so uncomfortable about a marriage between people who were only acknowledged as cousins by law? Kwiz figured this was just another way to spin the rejection.

"I don't believe Your Majesty isn't thinking about it at all. Consider an engagement between Selena and Sir. Taran."

Kwiz fell into deep thought.

Becoming in-laws with the Duke of Taran. It wasn't a bad idea. If that happened, the royal family would be in-laws with the two Duke Houses that held the highest power in the nations. When it came to building a strong relationship, there was no means more stable than blood.

Translator's Corner:

[1] This is saying that means: Children tend to obey their parents when they are young but do as they wish when they grow up.

Lucia Side Story 3.3: Happily Ever After

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(3)

Translated by: Miss Ruby

Edited by: ShadowDog

Every three months, a joint conference was held by the king and it was attended by all the key figures in the nation's leading administration. It was an important state conference with the largest number of personnel attending.

The attendants of the meeting began to arrive one at a time, from early in the morning, to participate. And as they entered the conference hall, they took at least one glance at the pair of handsomely tall young men standing some distance away.

The two of them were young men around twenty-odd years of age. They conversed briefly with each other while reading the documents they held in their hands. One of them had dark hair and the other, silvery blond hair, and when they stood side by side, the contrast of vibrant colors on their head was eye-catching.

A pair of red eyes quickly skimmed through the meeting files for today, then he spoke to the blue-eyed young man next to him:

"The contents are different from what I received a few days ago. Why has the agenda for today's meeting changed so much?"

"Indeed. I should have double-checked it yesterday."

A man in his mid-thirties was about to enter the conference hall when he discovered the two young men, so he turned and approached them. Damian and Bruno halted their conversation and bowed in greeting towards the man walking to them.

Robin's eyes had a hint of wonder in them as he looked at the two young men who were stirring up all the young women in the high society recently. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that any party attended by these two youths would be crowded with ladies.

"Observing again today?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

After Duke Ramis passed away two years ago, his heir, Count Ramis, succeeded him. Robin, who became the new Duke of Ramis, took a different path from his father. Although his sharp political insights fell short compared to his father, he was recognized for successfully and smoothly establishing himself in politics with a gentle character.

"Why are you standing here instead of going in?" (Robin)

"When all the empty seats are filled, we'll go in. I don't think it's appropriate to take a seat first when we're just observing."

Robin nodded, pleased with the answer the tall, dark-haired young man gave him. This merely 18-year-old youth didn't show off his power, even though he held the honor of being the youngest Count and was the successor to the Duke of Taran, a man who held power second only to the King. Robin really like the young man's prudence.

'He looks so much like the Duke of Taran but he's the complete opposite.'

There were people who were put off by the Duke of Taran's powerful arrogance, which feared nothing in the world, but even those people were in favor of the next Duke who was both courteous and civil.

The platinum-haired youth that was always next to him, was also a desirable talent. He was rumored to have an extraordinary mind from a young age and as he got older, people said he was equipped with wisdom too. The Duke of Taran set his mind on the youth early on and even asked the king to grant him a title. Bruno was born the third son of a Count and currently, he was a Count alongside his elder brother, Count Matin.

Robin admired the Duke of Taran's ability to recognize talent and marveled at the bold rewards he gave them for becoming his people.

"What interesting story might you discussing?"[1]

Marquis DeKhan slipped into conversation and greeted the three men, who were gathered together. The Marquis looked at the two youths, with a gaze just as pleased as the Duke of Ramis'. Perhaps because he had gotten older, whenever he saw young people with manners towards adults, he was very happy.

Since the next Duke lowered himself, other people had to do the same. The Marquis was very aware of the younger people suppressing their youthful feistiness and being careful with their attitudes. It was all thanks to Count Taran's initiative.

"I remember Sir. Matin caused a huge incident not long ago."

Bruno grimaced slightly, looking troubled. It was something that happened a week ago or so, but everyone he met brought up the same story.

"By 'a big incident', you mean…?"

"I suppose Ramis Gong hadn't heard of it yet. Sir. Matin here, poured cocktail on a Count's daughter's head."

"Oh no, that is quite the mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake though, so the social circle was abuzz. He poured it on her head deliberately and embarrassed her."

No one had ever done such a thing in the social circle, where being courtesy to a lady was the virtue of a gentleman; even if they were a troublemaker. When the Marquis was told about the incident by his son, he had laughed for quite a while. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed till his stomach hurt.

When you met a lot of people in the social circles, it was inevitable to meet at least one woman who made you think, 'what? such women exist?'. But you still had to endure it and be courteous with good manners. This was the etiquette they had learnt from as they grew up and they couldn't do something that would bring criticism to their family name.

There were a lot of men who were extremely delighted to learn that Count Matin did something others hadn't dared to do, and boldly at that. Robin was also momentarily surprised to hear this news, but his mouth twitched as he tried to suppress his laughter.

"People's interest fade quickly, Sir. Matin. But you'll still have to watch yourself for a while."

"Yes, sir. I'll be prudent."

Ever since the incident, Bruno had refrained from going to gatherings, but honestly, it felt more like a reward than a punishment. The few days he had spent relaxing in the evening was more than satisfactory.

"I don't think any consolation is necessary. This incident does Sir. Matin more good than harm."

The Marquis had been watching the situation with interest because it was flowing in a different direction that he'd expected.

"At first, public opinion was mostly sympathizing with the Count's daughter. But as time went by, the critical gazes on her began increase."

"How come?"

"Well, because the two gentlemen who have stolen the hearts of all the ladies in the social circle, stopped going to parties. I hear the ladies' resentment for the culprit, aka the Count's daughter, is unspeakable."

Since Bruno was under self-probation, Damian decided to put off outside itinerary for the time being. As the two of them disappeared from parties in the social circle, the number of party participants also dropped significantly. And it was practically only girls.

The number of attendants was a major factor that contributed to the success of a party. Especially for parties with a lot of ladies attending, the number of men that came was always proportional to the ladies. This event had led party organizers to realize the value of Bruno and Damian.

There were already a lot of invitations going to the two young men, but now, they were practically pouring in. Previously, the invitations to Damian were overwhelmingly more, but now it was almost the same. Bruno's popularity had increased explosively. Now, when people said 'Count Matin', they were referring to Bruno, not Bruno's elder brother who was the actual lord of the Matin family.

Bruno's actions deserved to be criticized. However, the criticism of Bruno lost its power when Bruno went to apologize to the Count's daughter personally and expressed that he was reflecting by not show himself even after a week went by, despite people expecting him to show up at parties like nothing had happened.

Bruno was a friend and close aide of Damian, who was no doubt going to succeed the Duke of Taran. In people's eyes, Bruno's future was promising. Even though he was young, he was in a position comparable to those with significant power.

Traits of humility in those in power was something that cultivated favorable impressions. As the favorable gazes towards Bruno increased, the people critical of him were careful with their words. No one wanted to provide a reason to become an enemy that could never build a relationship with future powers.

'Why did he do that?'

Robin wanted to ask Bruno for the details of the incident, but he pushed down his urge. Asking about the situation would be gossiping about the Count's daughter, and to the public, gossiping about a lady was an act more vulgar than dumping alcohol on one.

'If it was someone else that did this, he would be buried in the social circle.'

But according to Marquis DeKhan, rather than being buried, Bruno was boasting unabated popularity. Robin had never understood Bruno's popularity. He was surprised to hear that Bruno had poured alcohol on a lady's head, but he wasn't shocked. To him, it was something very possible for Bruno to do.

In the social circle, Bruno was originally famous for being rude to young ladies. To older noblewomen, he was courteous and well-mannered but to the ladies who approach him as women, it was common for him to spit out hard words and for the girl who were courageous enough to ask him to dance, he rejected them right to their face.

The older noblewomen called him a polite young man and were pleased, while the young ladies watched Bruno's every move during parties and giggled happily amongst themselves.

Now, it wasn't even a humiliation to be refused by Bruno for a dance. Bruno was known for not saying a lot but when he was rejecting a dance request, he spoke longer than usual so the girls who wanted to hear that, constantly asked him to dance. Thanks to that, Bruno was annoyed to death.

Robin simply couldn't understand, so he asked his female relative, who had recently debuted, about the reason for his popularity.

[I mean, he's rude to everyone fairly. Whether it's a Marquis' daughter or a Baron's daughter, they're the same to Sir. Matin. Do you know how cute Sir. Matin looks when he's annoyed?]

As he watched his female relative cup her reddened cheeks with a dreamy expression, Robin thought to himself that he would never truly understand a woman's mind.

While Robin was preoccupied with the secret that was Bruno's popularity, Marquis DeKhan looked at Damian, covetously.

'He will be such a perfect partner for Molly.'

Marquis DeKhan really desired Damian as his future son-in-law. His status as the next Duke was certainly part of it, but whether it was in his character or capability, there was no undesirable part. Compared to Damian, all other guys were dead wood.

His daughter, Molly, was thirteen years old. An age difference of five years was absolutely desirable. However, Molly had yet to make her social debut. There were a lot of individuals who drooled over having Damian as a future son-in-law. The Marquis was anxious about someone swooping in within the span of a few years, so he was considering pushing Molly's social debut a little earlier.

The sight of the Duke of Ramis and Marquis DeKhan chatting amicably with the embarrassed young men at the side, attracted people's gazes as they entered the conference hall, one after another. As they glanced over, repeatedly, their eyes were filled with the desire to be engaged in that conversation one way or another.

Translator's Corner:

[1] Not sure how to word this sentence. He's asking what interesting thing they are talking about.

Side Story 3.4: Happily Ever After

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(4)

Translated by: Miss Ruby

Edited by: ShadowDog

A group of people approached the conference hall from beyond the hallway. When the Duke of Taran, the Head of Central, appeared leading central officials, the atmosphere in the conference hall changed. The knights standing guard in front of the conference hall stood more upright and there was a strange tension in the air.

The Duke of Taran became a real authoritative power while he was serving as head of the central administration. As he entered his mid-thirties, his experience aged with him and his aura grew more dignified. But at the same time, his aura co-existed with a feeling of being 'rough around the edges'.

Marquis DeKhan looked the Duke of Taran, whose figure was drawing closer and closer, then he looked at the Count of Taran. Their appearances were similar, but father and son had very different atmospheres.

The Duke of Taran was like a wild beast. There was violence, dormant in those red eyes of his, akin to a hunter looking carefreely at the prey around it, right after it had eaten its fill. It made you fear for when he might run in and rip out your throat.

On the other hand, his son grew up among people, so he was like a human friendly beast. It felt like he would at least give you a warning before he ran in and took a bite out of you.

As a matter of fact, if you looked at Damian separately, he was definitely not the easiest person to approach. His personality was cold, he was only appropriately courteous and set a defined distance with people so they couldn't approach beyond that. However, compared to Hugo, there was room to take a step forward with Damian.

Those who wanted to lean on the Duke of Taran's power went after his son, Count Taran, rather than the Duke himself. Unlike Hugo who ignored everything, Damian responded politely. But on a closer look, there was in fact no difference.

Whether it was Hugo or Damian, they were both the same in having no interest in people outside their own. The reason why Damian was polite to pathetic people he didn't even want to bother with, was because there were times when his mother saw his effort and praised him because she was very pleased. Damian always tried his best not to act against his mother's teachings.

Hugo went into the conference hall without as much as a glance at his son, who was standing in the hallway. Usually, whenever people witnessed the stiff distance between father and son or their rigid manner of speaking, they would admire the Duke of Taran for educating his successor well.

As Duke Ramis and Marquis DeKhan also went into the conference hall, the people in the hallway decreased and the two young men remained standing there.

"Everyone always brings up that story when they see me."

Bruno grumbled. He kept hearing the same thing over and over again so he was annoyed to death. His expression was askew, with a hint of cynicism.

"Don't do it again. This was the first time, so it passed over somehow but if you do it again, you'll be branded as a scoundrel."

"I know."

Bruno was also aware that what he had done was not a minor mistake. But at the time, he couldn't hold back.

It happened around the time he went to break room to avoid the dance requests that were surging despite his constant refusal. He heard some Count's daughter yapping away about something; he couldn't even remember her name.

[As you all know, there are almost no cases of an illegitimate child taking over a family. Who knows what will happen when the Duchess gives birth to a son.]

It was a widely known fact that Damian was not the Duchess' biological son. When Damian first debuted in the social circle, it became a very hot topic.

When people gathered, they talked about the Duke of Taran's successor. There were many who were uncomfortable with the Duke's decision to have an illegitimate child succeed him. There were no reputable noble families who haven't had illegitimate children enter the family register and it was a common headache to have an illegitimate child with superior capability earn the family head's trust over the qualified heir.[1]

In Xenon, the position of illegitimate children was vague. Compared to other countries which didn't even treat illegitimate children as human beings, Xenon was generous. There were no limits on the number of illegitimates that could be entered into the family register, and as long as the illegitimate child was in the register, they were treated as qualifiers.[2] What was funny however, was that in other countries, it wasn't too uncommon to see an illegitimate child succeed the family.

However, Xenon was very conservative when it came to such matters. Even if their only descendant was an illegitimate child that was entered into the register, they would adopt a relative and have the relative inherit the family. Damian's existence was a challenge to the deeply rooted custom in Xenon.

The uncomfortable looks that were sent to Damian lessened over time. The noblewomen were cautious because the Duchess' tender affection for Damian remained unchanged while other people were careful with their words because they knew that the Duke did whatever he wanted to do, without caring what people said.

Around when a gentleman with a charming appearance like the Duke of Taran's but polite manners different from the Duke, began to capture the hearts of the noble ladies, Damian became the Academy's Shyta.

Initially, students of Ixium, were usually second sons of families and below. Successors were taught by specialized tutors then built their connections by going to meetings or social parties. However, that changed, and successors also began to attend Ixium.

Ixium's reputation rose tremendously over the years as it became clear that the academy's status would be a central figure in the power of each country in the future. People began to see the Damian who had become Shyta, as an individual with outstanding capabilities.

Now at this point, there was no one who clamored about Damian's birth status. It became an unstated rule to not bring it up even if you knew. However, Bruno was disgusted with the Count's daughter who arrogantly brought up such unsavory details as a topic of conversation. Right then, something surged inside him and he took a cocktail from the tray of the passing servant and emptied it on the girl's head.

Bruno knew that Damian wouldn't really care even if he heard such talk personally. His friend was an interesting guy who didn't have the slightest gloom concerning the weakness of his birth status. But still, it wasn't exactly something good to talk about so Bruno kept his mouth shut about why he did it.

"I just hate those girls who say whatever they want." (Bruno)

"There you go again."(Damian)

When Damian frowned, Bruno gave a half-hearted, 'my bad'.

"I know you wouldn't do it for no reason." (Damian)

The Bruno that Damian knew might not be the most amicable of persons, but it wasn't possible for him to do such a thing without reason, so Damian guessed that the Count's daughter must have done something pretty rude.

"But my mother is right. You are in a position where you have to consider things more carefully."

When the Duchess was brought up, Bruno's sharp blue eyes grew warm.

"Mother is always right."(Bruno).[3]

"That is true."(Damian)

The two young men nodded at each other seriously while saying something that would make people laugh if they ever heard.

Translator's Corner:

[1] I think I've explained this before, but a second time won't hurt. The family register is basically an official document that states you are a member of a certain house. It also gives you rights not applicable to those not on the register. Rights to noble titles, rights to take over the family's mantle, etc.

[2] Qualifier: qualified to succeed the title in your family.

[3] He says 'mother' not 'your mother'. This is not a mistake.