After Sian arrived where Ophilia and Emily were, they left the orphanage.

Ophilia, who was talking happily to Emily while holding her little hand, looked at Sian suspiciously.

Predicting what she wanted to ask, he said. "That talk about retiring was a lie, I was just a bit undecided about what to do at that moment, but then I felt like I wanted to spend time here with you."

"So..." Despite hesitating a little, she asked. "Are you really a noble?"

"Well, yes, but I don't care much about this thing of being a noble." Sian said. "The title of Duke was something the king of Hosnein gave me of his own free will, nor did I know it until the moment I became the Duke."

"Didn't you say before that you weren't a nobleman?" She questioned.

"Well, you asked if I was from a noble family, which I am not, so technically I didn't lie, I just didn't tell the whole truth." He said.

"Now I understand why the mayor was so nervous." She said. "But why not say that before?"

“The titles of nobility are just empty words when I'm out of the kingdom. What really matters in this world is strength, just look at the dragons. There are several kingdoms out there that make offerings to them just so they don't get trampled.” Sian said.

“When you put it that way, using force can be very convenient. But doesn't that make people afraid of you?” Ophilia said, a little worried.

"Are you afraid of me?" He asked.

"No, on the contrary." She replied without hesitation. "I can say with certainty that you are one of the best things that have ever happened in my life."

"This is enough, I don't need strangers to like me." Sian said with a smile. "And of course, our little Emily doesn't hate me either, right?"

"I... don't know?" Emily answered as if she were in doubt.

"Eh?" Her answer confused Sian. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"Our teacher said that there was a very, very, very bad man, who was a Duke of Hosnein. But I don't know if Daddy is that person, she said that we should stay away from bad people like this man.” She said, holding the doll to her chest.

"Do you remember the Duke's name?" He asked.

"He has the same name as our dog and his family name is... I don't remember the rest, it was a name I never heard." She replied, shaking the doll in her hands.

"Out of curiosity, what's the dog's name?" He asked.

"His name is Sian, he is a very cute blue dog." She said.

Ignoring the part where Ophilia turned her head away, Sian replied. "It's a really beautiful name, actually, it's the same name Daddy has."

"Really?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes, and I'm the person who your teacher spoke of. But I promise I won't hurt my precious Emily.” He said stroking her head, which was between him and Ophilia, and from the way she wagged her tail, it was obvious that she was enjoying it.

"So it’s mean the powerful and wicked Duke who makes neighboring kingdoms afraid is Daddy?" She asked with twinkle eyes.

"Well, apart from the wicked part, it's me." Sian said, emphasizing the ending with a hint of pride.

"Since Daddy is a Duke, are you more important than Lady Charlotte?" She asked curiously.

“Than she, yes, since she doesn't have a noble title, but it is a different matter if it’s her father. As I am in another kingdom, although my position has some weight, it is not as much as that of Marquis.” Sian said. "But that would be a different matter if the kingdoms were allies.”

“Yay, yay, yay!” She started jumping for joy while holding the doll in one hand and Ophilia's hand in the other.

'She seems thrilled about it, children are really energized by any nonsense. Fu~~~ That brings back a lot of memories.'

When she calmed down, she immediately asked with bright eyes. "Is it true that Daddy made the Duchy change the name?"

"Not quite, I wanted to refuse the title using the excuse that I wouldn't change my surname, so the king changed the duchy's name to Castilho." Sian shrugged.

The direction of the conversation increasingly surprised Ophilia, who was just listening.

"So Daddy is really a very powerful person." She said, wagging her tail happily.

"Did your teacher really say all this about me?" Sian asked.

"Yes, in yesterday's class the teacher talked a lot about Daddy. She said Daddy was so powerful that even kings had to be careful when they were close to Daddy." She said with even brighter eyes.

“Kulhum” He asked proudly, “What else did your teacher talk about me about?”

“She said that Daddy was unscrupulous and used force to get what Daddy wanted. Because only members of the royal family can become Dukes, but Daddy got the position of Duke even though Daddy was not of the royal family.” Emily said.

“*Cough Cough Cough* My beautiful little daughter, let Daddy say something. The stories that circulate around are not always true, sometimes they distort the facts.”

As if she just remembered something, she added. “Oh, and she also said that Daddy was very, very bad at managing the land. She even said that Daddy was a good example of what a noble shouldn't be.”

"Well..." Awkwardly, he said. "I can't deny that, apart from orphanages, I really don't give a damn about the rest."

Even though she looked a little hesitant, Ophilia joined the conversation. “I know this has nothing to do with me, but I think it would be unfair to the people who live in your territory. Because whenever someone assumes the post of the previous nobleman, this is an event that fills people with hope for a better life.”

"How come you have nothing to do with it? You are my wife, your opinions are always welcome.” He said smiling at her. "But don't worry, I left someone administering the duchy for me."

"Really?" Ophilia asked.

“Yes.” He continued in a low voice. "Although I don't know if she is doing a good job."

"I think you should at least pay a little more attention, that's a lot of lives, you know, and as you said yourself before, ‘After I met her I decided to change my way of living.’” She said thickening her voice and imitating the way Sian had spoken that phrase to Charlotte.

"Hearing you repeat this while imitating me like that makes me feel a little embarrassed." He said awkwardly.

"It can't be helped." She looks at him with a beautiful smile on her face. “What you said made me very happy, you know? And since you said you want to change, I want to do my best to help you achieve your goal, so I need to do my best to help my husband.”

Delighted by her smile, Sian said. “Well, I will try to pay more attention to the duchy. But first I have to build our house here, or rather, our inn.”

“Is Daddy going to build a mansion? I always wanted to see what a mansion looks like.” Emily said excitedly.

"Almost that, I will build an inn and a restaurant."

"What is a restaurant?"

"A place where there is a lot of delicious food."

"Can I eat in it?" Emily asked almost drooling.

"My little princess can eat whenever she wants." He squeezed her cheek. "Someday I'll take you to see my mansion."

"Amazing, I have to tell my friends that Daddy has a mansion." She said excitedly. "Can I call my friends to come with me to see Daddy’s mansion?"

"Sure, but first tell me, do you like Daddy?" Sian took a cookie towards her mouth, which snapped it up immediately.

“Yesh! * Munch Munch Swallow *, very much, Daddy is always good for me and gives me a lot of delicious cookies.” She said so excited that her tail looked like she was going to make her fly at any moment.

***

After wandering around the merchants' stalls, Sian bought some clothes for Ophilia and Emily. Besides buying some essential things for Ophilia, he bought some toys that caught Emily's attention.

Sian also bought a lot of meat and various ingredients for dinner that he will prepare for the night at the orphanage.

After having purchased everything necessary, they return to the inn.

Seeing that Sian had returned with a child, the receptionist, although initially surprised, acted normally and ordered an extra meal for Emily, who was extremely excited when she learned she was going to eat meat.