Chapter: 622
Since my last visit, it seems a bizarre rule has sprouted at Tailglehen. Knights without work or training are required to parade around the castle carrying Teresa.
I can’t help but feel a bit guilty for sowing chaos at Tailglehen, but as long as we can endure until Teresa starts crawling on her own, we should be fine. No matter how long it takes, it can’t be more than half a year, and I believe the knights will understand.
– Billy has been carrying Teresa every day. Teresa, too, seems to prefer being in her dad’s arms over anyone else.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter if they understand or not. The current patriarch and the former one have already tossed dignity aside for family. If some mere knight insists on keeping his pride, he might as well pack his bags and leave the Krasius family.
It’s a power play based on status, but what can you do? We live in a hierarchical society. If they don’t like it, they can go live in a world where democracy reigns.
“Keep track of how many times the knights play with Teresa. Since it’s extra work, they should be compensated.”
– Yes. I’ll record every instance without fail.
On the flip side, if the knights are devoting themselves to our family, it’s only fair that I offer them some form of reward as the patriarch. Since I’ve assigned them duties outside their regular knightly work, they deserve some extra compensation. After all, nothing is more frustrating than a boss’s personal orders, right?
Thus, I instructed the steward to keep a tally of the knights’ hours of playtime. Based on that, a little silver or some time off should suffice.
“Is Teresa doing well?”
– Thanks to the devotion of the former patriarch and the knights, she’s smiling every day.
“Nothing beats the sound of a baby’s laughter over crying. Please tell the knights to hang in there.”
– Yes, Your Grace.
With the steward’s response ending our conversation, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. With my father and the knights dedicated, and the steward keeping thorough records, there was nothing left to worry about. From now on, showing my face every weekend should be enough.
“Our Friedrich is much quieter than his aunt, thank goodness.”
“Uh—?”
Tickling Friedrich’s cheeks, he reached out his arms towards me, flailing around.
It’s fascinating. These kids were born around the same time; one is so lively while the other is incredibly subdued. It’s as if all of Friedrich’s curiosity and temperament were funneled into Teresa.
‘Must take after Rizie?’
But if that’s the case, just who does Teresa take after? Neither my father nor my mother is particularly lively.
‘A mutant, I guess.’
No matter how I think about it, the only conclusion that comes to mind is that Teresa is some kind of mutant. I know my father, mother, and even my grandfather were all stoic and cold. My grandmother was all about political marriages too.
Even my maternal grandparents, while gentle, are far from lively.
‘If there’s anyone similar in the family, it must be the Wise Duke.’
But Teresa isn’t blood-related to the Wise Duke. No one pops up when I flip through the family tree.
‘… So what if she’s a mutant?’
Eventually, I folded the imaginary family tree in my mind and tried to look on the bright side.
Having at least one lively, cheerful person in the family is a good thing. It makes sure our gatherings aren’t all gloomy and instead lift the mood. Honestly, no one among me, my parents, or Erich can really light up the place.
Thinking this way made me smile involuntarily. I could picture Teresa holding a vibrant performance.
“Ah—”
“Why? Do you want me to hold you?”
“Uh—!”
While imagining Teresa performing a New Year’s greeting, I snapped back to reality at Friedrich’s babbling.
Admittedly, it was just an imagination, but seeing Teresa greet like that almost made me open my pouch of gold coins.
*
I wiped the sweat from my forehead with a towel around my neck. As I felt the wind wrapping around my entire body, I laughed softly.
A body moderately heated from training, sweat releasing that heat, and the breeze embracing it all—one could say I train just to feel this way. Sure, training to become stronger is a reason, but you can’t feel your growth immediately, can you?
That’s why the physical pleasure of it all—the joy of feeling as if I’m burning with heat—fuels me forward.
“Thanks for sparring with me again, Lady Perosa!”
“It’s an honor…!”
When I thanked Lady Perosa, who sparred with me today, she answered boisterously and fell back down.
Such a beautiful sight! To stand on her own two feet until the very end and only collapse after the sparring—what a true knight!
‘There’s such a gem nearby.’
I looked down at Lady Perosa, sprawled out.
Truthfully, I felt a bit gloomy when I graduated from the academy. I had never met anyone quite as suitable and remarkable as Erich in my life, and without the intersecting grounds of the academy, I feared I might never see him again. The thought of living for decades without a friend or rival was daunting.
However, ever since I sparred with Lady Perosa by chance, that gloom and anxiety have vanished.
‘Objectively speaking, comparing her to Erich might be a stretch.’
Well, for one, Lady Perosa isn’t at Erich’s level. Sadly, no one among my peers has achieved the same level of accomplishment that Erich and I have.
However, Lady Perosa had charms beyond her skill. The tenacity not to give up even when unable to face me, the unwavering will to keep going despite the odds, and the conviction to battle me as a knight regardless of my royal status.
Thanks to that, I grew fond of Lady Perosa. While a fierce battle might be pushing it, a pleasant sparring session was definitely possible.
‘I think she’ll become a good knight.’
This fondness is a joy in finding a great sparring partner and happiness in seeing a future talent of the kingdom.
Lady Perosa, the daughter of Villar, has officially become a knight at a young age. In about ten years, she will undoubtedly become a pillar of a skilled knightly squad. As the knight Rutis, and also as Prince Rutis of Ainter, this is something I should surely look forward to.
“Here, drink this.”
“Th-Thank you!”
When I approached and handed Lady Perosa the water bottle, she quickly got up to take it from me.
Her intense reaction made me laugh. If someone receiving something from my hands while lying down would be seen as treason, I could let a hot-blooded warrior lying around slide. I have that much flexibility.
“Since you’re up, how about another round?”
At that, Lady Perosa’s eyes quivered.
I couldn’t help but chuckle again. It was hilarious to see her look ready to say something, yet her body had reached its limits, and she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. What a loyal knight!
“Just kidding, just kidding. I’m already grateful you’re putting up with me every day. Asking for you to go through that twice would be pushing it.”
With that, the frantic shaking in Lady Perosa’s eyes calmed down.
I really liked her easy-to-read personality. Since I had a fondness for my sparring partner, even the little things seemed positive—
“Your Highness!”
“Hmm?”
From far off, a court attendant rushed over.
What now? Surely the palace knows I’m usually training at this hour?
“The Holy Kingdom’s pilgrimage group is about to arrive!”
“Oh.”
The following words cleared up the confusion. The pilgrimage group is coming to Rados today, huh?
‘It’s been a while since I last saw them.’
I quickly headed in the direction the attendant came from.
Leading the pilgrimage group is Tannian. He’s my friend whom I parted ways with about a year ago.
“I’ll head out first, Lady. I look forward to your training tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Highness! I will do my best to learn from Your Highness’s sword as well!”
Even in equal sparring, her words reflect that she’s learning from me.
What a commendable and incredible knight she is!
I swiftly changed my clothes and made my way to my father, where many other royal family members had already gathered.
“Rutis, have you arrived?”
“Yes, Father. I apologize for being late.”
“It’s fine. Your brother just arrived as well.”
As my father pointed to my eldest brother, whose face was crinkled in an ‘I can’t believe I was late’ expression, I felt a slight ache of sympathy for him.
“Your Highness, I was delayed due to handling the stationed troops issue for the Leon Kingdom that you assigned…”
“Someone who arrives later than you has quite a lot to say, huh? Who do you think has more duties to handle, you or me?”
“How incredibly cheeky of you.”
My elder brother’s complaint drew a quiet laugh from my second brother.
“Every time I see you, I feel grateful for being the second son.”
“You’ll only snap out of it when this brother drops dead from overwork.”
In the usual quarrel between my brothers, I smirked. How is it that they can squabble every time they meet?
“Everyone, please quiet down. We have Father to answer to.”
Well, technically, this includes my sister too.
The argument of the Crown Prince, Second Prince, and First Princess. To outsiders, it might look like royal siblings are fiercely competing for the throne, but in reality, it’s nothing more than typical sibling squabbles.
“Salria! Didn’t you hear? That damnable thing has insulted Armain’s Crown Prince, me!”
“Insulted? She was merely showing respect to you, brother, who has been dutifully attending to your responsibilities.”
“Shut up, both of you!”
The shouting escalated, but no one seemed to care. This was just another ordinary day.
“Quiet!”
Even though Father’s voice interjected,
“Yelling like this will cool off the tea. You plan to throw away tea made by your mother herself, don’t you?”
The reason he managed to stop them was quite far from maintaining royal dignity and etiquette.
Yet, surprisingly, that reasoning seems to work strangely well.
‘Is there any royal family like ours out there?’
As I quietly savored the sight of my brothers and sister finally readying their teacups, I couldn’t help but smile.
Thanks to my father and mother emphasizing family bonds, we were a far more harmonious royal family than those in history, or even those in other countries. For centuries to come, there might not be a royal lineage that surpasses ours.
“Rutis?”
“Oh, I apologize. I got a bit excited as I take pleasure in seeing my friend again.”
Since my second brother had reacted to my laughter, I quickly pointed towards Tannian.
It’s inevitable. If I say, ‘I can’t help but smile at my brothers and sister,’ the bickering that was 1 vs 1 vs 1 would soon turn into a 3 vs 1 match.
Even I am afraid of that. I’d rather take on a sword fight than face them three on one!
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