Compared to before, the hallway seemed a lot more cramped. No matter which corner she turned, there would be an entire line of servants waiting. The fear that they had for Charlotte seemed to have lessened, but there was still a large gap between them.

Under their uncomfortable gazes, Charlotte made her way to the duke’s study.

“Fa-“ as soon as she had entered, his body flew towards her as he tightly embraced his daughter in his arms “Father…I….can’t…..breathe…..”

“Oh, sorry! Lotte, are you alright?” she gasped for air after being freed and nodded her head.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, father.”

“No, all that matters to me is that you are alright.”

“My Lady, how are you feeling?” Walter then joined in after the duke composed himself again. Walter poured her a cup of warm tea as she took a seat.

“I am fine. But, how long have I been asleep?”

Duke Adrian coughed dryly as he glanced at Walter, who then explained “Today marks the fifth day. Luckily we had Professor Karin with us who informed us of your condition. At that time, your mana had been depleted too much and caused you to faint.”

“Oh…what of Leila, his highness and Terence who were with me?”

“Rest assured. They are all alright without a single injury. They had been coming each day to visit you as well.”

“I see.” A smile formed on her lips. Now she was sure that nothing happened after she left. “Ah, what of the kidnappers?”

“…That…I’m afraid some managed to get away and we only arrested a few underlings.”

(Well, as expected I should say. Those two probably made an escape as well.)

“I understand. Thank you for telling me. As for me…father, I suppose I also have some explaining to do, don’t I.”

Duke Adrian smiled bitterly. He had wanted to ask her, but was afraid she would try to avoid the topic. As for Charlotte, she knew that she would have to tell them sooner or later. She had already come up with an excuse *cough* explanation long before all this mess.

She told them as she had told Karin. Of how she had been secretly practicing with Iris and Lilly and of her contract with Puff Puff. But, as she thought, telling them about her real identity would still be impossible. She also didn’t tell them about what happened after she split with Leila, Leo and Terence and of her relationship with ‘Ran’ and his real identity. She just told only what was necessary. The fact that they didn’t even question his identity smelled fishy, but she concluded that he used some sort of hypnotizing magic on them.

“Father, I also need to tell you one more thing. …It is about my engagement with his highness.”

“Hmn. That you are against it, right? I understand.”

“Yes, I know it’s unreasonable but-….pardon?”

Again, he laughed bitterly “Although I do I have to admit that as a father, I fail to understand you, but as the duke, I had already found out about the relationship between you, his highness and that girl, Leila. It was a bit too obvious that another girl would always seem to tag along with you three and yet you didn’t seem to have any objections.”

“That obvious huh.”

“But can you tell me the reason why? It doesn’t seem like you hate his highness nor does he seem to hate you, so I fail to understand your reason.”

“Well, that is…we certainly don’t hate each other, but. Father, you should know how much he loves that girl.”

“That isn’t the only reason I assume.”

“Eh…well….to be honest, it’s just my selfishness but I do not wish to become the future queen. There is also the fact that I am the only child of our household, one that has great influence over the kingdom. If the royalty and the strongest duke household were to form a bond of marriage, the future king no less, problems may arise within the aristocratic society. I also wish to see those two happy as their friend, but I suppose the biggest reason would still be the fact that I do not wish to enter the castle.”

“…The king and I did know of the consequences when we decided as such, but I didn’t think that you would even think of such things. Furthermore, this isn’t something that noble young ladies your age would usually even fret about. Hmn, you are indeed our daughter. It is the queen training, isn’t it?”

“You read my mind, father.”

(You can put it that way, I guess….)

“But, why are you worried about entering the castle?”

“Father, you should know best at how many secrets are hidden behind those walls. If one accidentally stumbles across them, there won’t be any guarantee that they will be able to keep their heads.”

“…Lotte dear, your imaginations frighten me.”

“I speak only the truth, father.”

Even Walter at the side who pretended to be invisible was stunned at discovering for the first time in a long time about the things that really went through her head. Since when did she been this sensible?