Translator: Effe and Nabi

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Chapter 19

Marie and Ellie lay side by side in their room. They had just come back after watching Brielle sleeping.

Thanks to the Count’s care, the room that belonged to them was a pretty good room in the mansion. It may be because it was a room with a light brown nuance, so it looked very cozy and warm. The window was also wide, so the garden was visible at a glance.

“Really, this feels good.”

Ellie often went outside the mansion but was excited to know that she and her older sister had a night date alone.

“I think it’s better to lie side by side with my sister.”

The two changed into comfortable clothes from a market stall while they were out and lied on the wide bed together. Marie quickly became broken-hearted. She felt as though she should have paid more attention to Ellie and patted the hair of the favorite child.

Marie promised to do better for Ellie and Barry every day, but there was something odd about this.

‘She has a more mature side than her peers. She doesn’t show up unless asked, and she looks after herself.’

It was only when she was with Brielle that Ellie acted her age.

“Do you want to sleep with me?”

“Yes!”

Excited by her sister’s warm words, Ellie quickly clung to her side, grabbed Marie’s hand tightly, and took it to her cheek. Marie continued to look at the child’s appearance in the darkness. A round forehead, long eyelashes, and a cute nose.

If there was a television here, she could have been a child actor.

“Sister.”

“Why?”

Even with her eyes closed halfway, Ellie, who wants to keep this moment for a long time, said, barely awakening.

“Are you doing well with Mr. Yuses?”

“Why do you have such a misunderstanding? We’re not really in a relationship.”

It seemed that even Ellie had sympathized with the young master’s wrong idea. She saw him in the market earlier, but his actions were plain. So, she doesn’t think she likes him.

“But…you…”

“Huh?”

Ellie fell asleep without saying anything else. It seemed that she was lost in the pouring drowsiness.

After Marie looked at the child a little more, she put the blanket well over her neck, and she took a good night’s sleep herself.

***

The Count’s breakfast table was lined with one more person.

“Ellie. Sit next to me.”

Marie said she was okay and would eat separately, but Kentrail insisted, saying it would make Brielle disappointed. It was because a few days ago, Brielle’s words about why Ellie was eating alone were stuck in his heart.

She would be lonely after her brother left, so she had to pay more attention to Ellie.

“Good morning.”

Ellie said her greeting to the Count and Brielle, who were sitting in the seat first, then she sat in what appeared to be her seat.

“Yes. Was it fun yesterday?” He asked after allowing them to go out yesterday.

“Yes.”

As Ellie spoke in a loud voice from the morning, the maids behind her laughed.

“Young Master, Count.”

Marie, who followed, clasped Ellie’s mouth, then greeted Kentrail and Brielle. However, Brielle, who usually greeted energetically, had an uncomfortable expression.

“Did you have a nightmare, young master?”

“I thought I had a pleasant dream, but it wasn’t.”

“What kind of dream did you have?”

Ellie turned her body toward him and asked. The Count was also curious, so he drew his ears and focused on him.

“I went to the market with Marie and bought donuts, juice… But yesterday, Marie and Ellie went to the market together.”

Marie looked at Ellie as if she understood the young master. Then, Ellie quickly pointed to the Count with her eyes. When Marie was in trouble, Ellie asked Brielle.

“How about me? Was I in your dream, too?”

Brielle, who can’t lie, turned his head, avoiding Ellie’s eyes, but this time, he met his uncle’s eyes. His mouth, which had popped out a little, went in. Even at a glance, they could see that Brielle is now embarrassed and doesn’t know where to put his eyes.

“Tsk. I bought a donut yesterday.”

Staring at Ellie, blowing her cheeks, Kentrail opened his mouth.

“Then, let’s go to the market together next time.”

“Really?”

Brielle asked, opening his eyes wide. Ellie usually told him how gorgeous the market was and how excited the people were on the day of the King’s birthday. She said that they all got together and danced. However, the more people there were, the more dangerous it would be, so he never went outside during this period.

“Yes. Let’s go to the palace this time.”

Brielle and Ellie were already excited, talking about what to see and what to do when they go out.

“Count, are you not busy?”

“Someone tells me to cut down on my work, so I’m trying to do that.”

Brielle and Ellie quietly ate the soup that the maid had prepared.

***

“Do I look all right?”

“You look great.”

Marie said as Brielle put on a new suit a moment ago.

Today is the first day that he will enter the palace, so she prepared more carefully. From the fabric to each button attached, a shirt was tailored with great effort, and even a tie for a child was made to match the color with Kentrail.

“Among the men who attend today, you will look the best.”

“More than my uncle?”

“Of course, it can’t be compared.”

As she rubbed Brielle’s fluffy cheeks, she heard her throat coughing somewhere.

“I didn’t know I couldn’t be compared.”

She felt the glow from the appearance of his slicked hair that was neatly raised and the buttons.

Marie admired the Count for his masculine appearance, even though he was somewhat similar to Brielle and was a supporting character in the book. ‘The writer also praised and wrote down the Count’s appearance.’

Marie was embarrassed to say that the award can go to the writer’s taste.

“Is it that much uncomparable?”

She raised her body while briefly arranging her thoughts, the Count suddenly approached and glanced at her, bowing his body.

‘Why. What’s wrong with you…’

She has always seen and talked to a lot of people on the street, but Marie wonders why she can’t make eye contact with him today.

After Marie secured her distance on the excuse of Brielle, she replied.

“That’s true compared to you.”

“A very tough evaluation.”

Brielle’s mood was rising in inverse proportion to his uncle. He was very nervous when he said he would enter the Imperial Palace, but when Marie said he was the coolest, he felt a little less anxious now.

“What do you think, uncle?”

When his nephew turned around and asked, he lifted the child.

“Let’s look in the mirror together.”

The reflections of the two in the full-length mirror next to each other resembled the relationship of a father and son.

When he was younger, though, the difference in the two’s appearance was noticeable, but now they looked almost identical, except for the hair colors.

“What do you think?”

“Good.”

Brielle was excited to see his resemblance to the best-looking uncle, in his eyes.

“Can you do well today?”

“Yes.”

The child had practiced a little for today. The nobility’s etiquette was so tricky that Marie was sticking her tongue out. In addition, there was another example to go meet the king, so he had to learn the etiquette from the beginning.

It seemed that there could not be a lazy nobility here.

Marie stood, waving her hand until the carriage disappeared.

***

“Count Charant and his successor.”

Their entrance rang out in the banquet hall.

The officials working with the Count looked rotten and some even hid because they couldn’t finish their work yesterday, avoiding eye contact with him.

“Him, too…”

“No way.”

The nobles who visited the balcony together were discussing how they had to finish their work no matter what happened until the chancellor would go to work tomorrow morning. Other nobles who didn’t work with him were no different. There were only a few youngsters still looking at Kentrail’s face and blushing their cheeks.

“Be mindful. The family has no intention of sending you to his house anyway.”

The noble ladies went to crack down on their daughters. They seemed to be nagging in case a scandal would occur.

Brielle, who has an entirely different expression and appearance after sensing the atmosphere of this banquet hall, grabbed his uncle’s hand tightly and took a deep breath before stepping into the door.

“Are you nervous?”

“A little…”

When he was with Marie, Brielle had been a little loose. Now, he looked at the door several times and seemed to be overwhelmed by it already.

It was a different size from his birthday party, so the Count thought the child would be nervous. If he knew this would happen, he would’ve allowed him to participate in a socialite party at least once. It seemed that Kentrail must have set too big of a stage for his debut.

“Don’t worry, you have uncle.”

“Huh.”

Holding his firm hand, Brielle had nothing to fear in the world.

The banquet hall’s head security was guarding the entrance door, and some of the attendants were wide eyed at the Count. They even looked at each other as if confirming that they were seeing things right.

‘He always walks around expressionless, or only has a cold atmosphere…’

It was a different side of him.

Kentrail and Brielle joined hands side by side and finally walked into the banquet hall decorated with dazzling crystals.

***

Brielle’s mouth opened slightly while holding his uncle’s hand and entering. It was the first time that he saw such a sparkly place like this. It flashed and shined whenever he glanced around. It was a contrasting reaction to Kentrail, who saw this and frowned.

‘How much budget did they spend?’

[ T/N: Lol, Uncle’s priorities XD ]

When he came up with a relief package for the famine-stricken people, he had to squeeze out everything for the budget plan. In his view, though he wasn’t a very bad king, he wasn’t a very good king either.

“Oh, that kid is the Count’s…”

Everyone who wasn’t invited to Brielle’s birthday was admiring the child’s appearance.

“Anyway, the Count’s genes…”

They murmured and were looking forward to Brielle growing up already.

‘Well, if not the Count, you can try to marry his successor.’

People quickly spread the family tree in their minds and began to compare which child was the right age for the Count’s successor.

Kentrail took a closer look at the child that had sparkly eyes.

***

“Thank you all for coming.”

The king’s greetings began, and Brielle asked curiously to his uncle.

“That crown, I think his neck would hurt a lot?”

Kentrail laughed as he stared at the crown that contained all the precious stones in the world, which in the child’s eyes seemed to be nothing more than just a heavy object.

As the king gave a speech, he glanced at the Count and was amazed.

‘There are times when he laughs brightly.’

When he was young, he thought he saw the Count’s wide smile occasionally. However, recently, he hasn’t seen anything other than a slightly raised mouth, so he felt sorry from a friend’s point-of-view.

If Kentrail knew what he was thinking, his friend would have been seven-colored embarrassed.

The queen’s gaze, sitting next to the king, also turned towards Brielle. At that moment, Kentrail quickly hid his nephew from her gaze. It was a natural move, but his face turned stiff as he turned back.

“What’s wrong, uncle?”

Seeing his expression, Brielle whispered. His uncle’s sudden change seemed odd.

“No, just… because I’m thirsty. Brielle, should we go get a drink?”

While the king’s speech was being continued, the shifting of seats was an obscene behavior, but Kentrail still moved away regardless. And it was more important now to keep the child away from her gaze.

“Yes, I want to drink juice.”

“Okay.”

He hastily grabbed the child’s hand and moved away from where they were sitting.

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