Chapter 1 - Part 1
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Bonus Chapter (2/2)
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***
“……”
“His case and hers are quite different, Dad.”
Carius looked at his father with contempt for her father, as if he had no affection.
“… Wow.” Duke Superion was speechless and sighed.
Carius spoke as if admonishing his father, “How could the same be said for Lelia? Her father is… Think about it and tell me.”
“But, this guy!”
Eventually, a large bump appeared on Carius’ forehead.
Carius grabbed his sore forehead and thought, ‘My father’s power is still there. It was actually heartbreaking to see my old father when I came back after 6 years… That’s a relief.’
He sighed in relief and rubbed the bump on his forehead.
However, contrary to Carius’ thoughts, the Duke of Superion was in poor health.
His health began to deteriorate after Lelia left the estate.
No matter what he ate, his taste buds did not change, and every day was quiet and melancholy, and his body and mind became weak.
In fact, the Duke of Superion thought that Lelia might never return.
Even though Emperor Perseus was an idiot who couldn’t even recognize his own children, Lelia’s parents were still her parents.
As her grandfather, he raised her with affection in his own way… Still, he wouldn’t have been as good as her parents would have been for her. He had thought that Lelia left to find her parents, and he prayed and prayed that she would be healthy and happy even if she never came back.
Yet she came back so quickly!
He thought although she wore a man’s outfit and she came back with a weird hairstyle, it wasn’t a big deal.
It didn’t matter to him as long as she came back in good health.
“Anyway, Dad. Are you going to keep it from being revealed to Emperor Perseus forever?”
When Carius asked the question, the Duke’s face crumbled.
“Would he believe what we say?”
“But she said he still hasn’t found the whereabouts of the nanny, who knows all the facts.”
“……”
When the Duke didn’t say anything, Carius responded in a tone of wanting to push as far as he could.
“But… We don’t know what’s going to happen anyway, so let’s wait until Emperor Perseus finds out himself. If the emperor finds out, won’t she be taken to the Imperial Castle right away?”
The Duke let out a heavy sigh.
In fact, he had been thinking about this issue for years.
Lelia has grown into a beautiful young lady who resembled her mother.
There was no need to prove anything, with or without her nanny’s testimony or anything else.
If she appeared in Elizabeth’s favorite white robe, Emperor Perseus would immediately recognize his daughter.
‘He wouldn’t know when Lelia was a child, but she’s grown now and needs no other evidence…’
She resembles her mother so much.
Seeing Lelia like that, the Duke sometimes felt guilty.
For Lelia’s sake, he wondered if he should tell the truth to Emperor Perseus.
‘You can’t break the Thousand Rings…’
However, because of the actions of Emperor Perseus, his thoughts would suddenly disappear.
Additionally, when he remembered that Lelia grew up struggling in the imperial castle, he was not happy to let him live.
Perseus was the one who even killed his precious daughter. What will the Duke go through after letting his granddaughter go?
‘Princess Julianna thinks she is a real daughter anyway, and now doesn’t he even have a son with the empress?’
If it wasn’t for Elizabeth’s bloodline, Cedric and Damien, he would have cut ties earlier and made the Superion Territory independent.
Just then, Carius brought up a story related to him.
“What are you going to do with Cedric and Damien, Dad? Wouldn’t it be better to send the older brothers to the capital?”
“… I am still worried.”
After the birth of a child between Emperor Perseus and the present Empress, the power of the Empress family was instigating the capital aristocrats.
“Now, a prince with true legitimacy has been born” was their claim.
It was a way to celebrate the birth of the youngest child between the remarried emperor and his wife, but it was also a remark that openly ignored Cedric and Damien.
They were already two grown princes.
But it’s hard to say that such thoughts appeared in the capital’s newspapers.
In fact, the positions of Prince Cedric and Damian have been solid so far.
To the extent that there is no need for their maternal family, the Superion’s, to stay in the capital and provide support.
However, lately, the atmosphere has been getting weirder.
After the emperor remarried, the current empress’s family grew stronger day by day like a sailing boat in the wind.
And presently, it has become a huge mass that has grown enormously.
Then they gradually crossed the line.
He was astonished to see the effort to anoint the baby prince as the crown prince.
The problem was, despite knowing this, Emperor Perseus didn’t take any action.
Duke Superion swallowed his anger and gritted his teeth.
There was still time.
Even so, it would not be easy to anoint the newborn baby as the crown prince.
The opposing sides were also a strong force. It was better to watch the situation more closely first.
For now, what was more important was the health of his wife and the fact that Lelia had returned.
The duke sighed and said, “Let’s leave it alone for now.”
“… Yes, father. Then I should go now. I have to give the presents I bought to Lelia.”
“Gifts? Did you come back from the war and buy gifts?”
“I bought them at the capital. Had I known Lelia and his path would have crossed, I wouldn’t have stayed longer in the capital… Father, you should have called me sooner.”
“Yeah, does that mean you didn’t get any gifts for your father?”
“Oh yes… greedy even at this age. It is a gift to my father that I have returned safely.”
At those words, the Duke of Superion looked around and grabbed his staff.
Seeing this, Carius fled from the drawing room downstairs.
***
Meanwhile, after washing, Lelia changed her clothes and stood in front of the mirror.
In her mirror, she saw herself as she was before she left for the capital.
When she was on the estate, she wore the light and generous dress she liked to wear, so her body and mind were comfortable.
She was lying on the bed next to her.
It was a moment that truly resonated with her thinking, ‘Still, my house is the best’.
In the capital’s Imperial city, she slept anxiously every day, and camped inconveniently.
By comparison, this place was heaven.
On the sunlit bed, the sheets had a soft scent that she had longed for.
Even while she was away, Becky was constantly managing the room.
Lelia felt a sense of relief and euphoria, and then she suddenly jumped up.
Although she was at ease here, she immediately became uncomfortable thinking back.
[By the way… Did Oscar already know that I was a woman? Since when? How?’]
Before, when Becky called Lelia a lady, Oscar had a clear expression on his face.
While he knew that she was Leo, did he know that she was a woman?
Lelia was confused, then she got up from the bed.
Just then, Becky opened the door and came in.
A light snack for Lelia was placed on a tray in her hand.
“Lady, are you going out? We have a little time until dinner, so let’s have some snacks. The chef was very excited to hear that you had arrived!”
Becky set the tray down on one of the tables and dragged Lelia to her seat.
Then she asked, hesitatingly.
“Lady, who is the guest who came with you? The maids went mad!”
“Uhhh?”
“Where did you get such a handsome man? You said you had no intention of getting married, did you change your mind? Yes?”
Becky said in a tone of wishful thinking.
“……”
When Lelia was silent, Becky said.
“But he… I have some concerns.”
“… What?”
“He is so handsome and beautiful, but… he looks a little chilly. His eyes are too scary! But it’s different for his lady, right? Does he treat you kindly?”
“……”
“She will never let him go unless he treats her with kindness!”
A sigh escaped Becky’s flutter. Lelia’s head was pounding.
“Lady, tell me. Yes?”
Becky then took a fork and put a bunch of fruit into Lelia’s mouth.
She didn’t know whether to talk or to start eating.
Lelia spoke as she swallowed the fruit Becky put in her mouth.
“I’m sorry, but it’s not like that. We are really just friends.”
“No way!”
“We truly are, Becky… .”
Becky looked as if the world had collapsed when she heard those words.
Then, she heard a knock on the door as if to save Lelia.
“Becky, will you let the guest in?”
Becky approached the door with a gloomy face as if she had no choice. However, Becky’s face turned bright red as soon as she saw the guest.
Lelia’s expression, as she had expected it to be her uncle, hardened.
No way?
[T/N: Yes way!! >.<]
She opened the door fully, and it was Oscar who came in.
Becky nodded her head and closed the door with an excited look on his face.
“……”
Oscar slowly walked towards her.
Like Lelia, he had washed and changed clothes, and he had a gleam on his face.
The maids looked like they would make a fuss.
“Uh, what’s going on? No more rest?” Lelia slumped to her feet, as she had asked.
He glanced at Lelia in her new form, scanning her up and down. Lelia stared at Oscar with anxiety.
“… Since when did you notice?”
“What?”
“… I am a woman.”
***