Chapter 36

"Thank you always.

The seating arrangement at the garden table was as follows: Her Royal Highness, Elise, Diana, Cain, and Arundelano.

The two mothers apparently wanted to seat the same-aged Diana and Arundelano next to each other, but Cain prevented this.

And to their surprise, Cain, who was only four years old, took excellent care of the two children seated next to him.

'Diana, hold your drink with both hands. Put the cookie down first. Yes, holding both the cookie and the drink is not polite.'

Cain reminded Diana, who was trying to pick up a glass with her opposite hand while holding a biscuit.

'Your Highness, you have cream on your mouth. ... On the other side. ... A little higher... Please lean your face this way.'

Cain wiped Arundelano's mouth with a napkin as he leaned in.

'Diana, if you can't reach something, I'll get it for you. Don't strain yourself. You might knock over the plate. Which one do you want?'

Cain picked up a macaron from the middle of the table and placed it on Diana's plate.

'Remember, when you put cream on a biscuit, don't be greedy. Put just enough for one bite, and you won't spill it. You can always add more cream for the next bite.'

Cain wiped Arundelano's mouth, which was smeared with cream, and reminded him.

"Oh, how attentive. Does having younger siblings make the older ones more responsible?"

"Cain is very attached to Diana and won't let the governess or me take care of her. He should share Diana a bit more..."

"Really? Diana must be very dear to him. And he's so good to Arundelano... Could he be a big brother to Arundelano?"

"I would decline if it were through certain means."

Cain firmly refused the sudden suggestion. If it meant becoming Diana's brother-in-law through marriage, he would not accept it. Normally, a royal request couldn't be refused, but in a private tea party, it wasn't a big deal. Moreover, it was just a child's suggestion.

"Through certain means?"

"Cain doesn't want to marry Diana off."

The queen looked at Elise with a puzzled expression, and Elise sighed as she answered. In truth, she wanted to say, "I don't want her to be the Crown Princess," but she couldn't say that to the queen. Instead, she said she didn't want to marry her off. Cain wasn't foolish enough to correct this.

"Hehe, I see. Cain must really love Diana."

The queen nodded in understanding, though Cain didn't know what she understood.

After that, the conversation shifted to various topics. The ladies talked about the embroidery club, where the other ladies wanted to talk more with Elise, and they suggested having an embroidery club tea party. They also discussed the challenges of raising children and Elise's interest in poetry.

"Your Highness, Mother, may Diana, the Prince, and I take a walk in the garden?"

Cain noticed that Diana was no longer eating the macaron, so he asked for permission to leave the tea party. The two women were engrossed in a conversation that Diana didn't understand, and she was also tired of the sweets. He thought a walk might distract her. A quick glance showed that Arundelano was also playing with his glass, so he was probably bored too.

"Sure. A little movement might help with the appetite for lunch. Cain, take good care of Arundelano."

"Thank you."

Cain bowed, then lifted Diana from her chair. Arundelano had already jumped down from his chair.

"Come, Diana. Let's go see the flowers."

Cain extended his right hand, and Diana naturally took it. This was the result of consistently holding hands while walking since Diana started walking.

"Prince, shall we go too? ... Would you like to hold hands?"

Cain asked casually, expecting Arundelano to refuse, but to his surprise, Arundelano took his hand. Cain was taken aback but quickly recovered, and he shook Arundelano's hand with his left hand. Arundelano smiled happily.

"Are you not afraid of me, Your Highness? I tried to set your head on fire."

"I forgave you, so it's okay. I was surprised when the big flame appeared, but it was beautiful. I want to see your magic again."

"My brother has a lot of magic! He's amazing!"

"I've heard that the royal family has a lot of magic. If you practice a lot, you can do it too, Your Highness."

"Diana is also starting to practice magic. One day, I'll be as amazing as my brother!"

"Will you be able to do it...?"

"It depends on you, Your Highness."

As they walked toward the flower beds, they had this conversation. The garden was on a rooftop terrace, so the flower beds were in boxes filled with soil. They admired the flowers, taught each other their names, and played a flower language quiz. When they moved to the next flower bed, Cain felt his left hand being pulled. He turned to see Arundelano had stopped.

"Your Highness?"

"I want to explain what happened that day. I want you to listen."

Cain didn't know why Diana was hurt and why he had grabbed her head. He only saw her arm being pulled when he heard the blocks fall. He was immediately confined and couldn't talk to Diana. Since he felt guilty for pulling and pushing her, he wasn't interested in the details.

However, he had a mission to raise Diana into a sincere and lovely lady and prevent her from becoming a villainous young lady. If Arundelano had said or done something harmful to Diana, it needed to be corrected.

"I will listen."

Cain nodded at Arundelano, then turned to Diana.

"Diana, listen too. If you think the story is different, you can tell your side after the Prince."

Diana enthusiastically agreed and moved to a position where she could see Arundelano's face while still holding Cain's hand.

"That day, we built a castle with blocks. It was very tall and cool, so when I said it was finished, everyone looked and said it was amazing. But there was a group of girls who were engrossed in a story and didn't look. I thought it was a waste for them not to see such an amazing thing, so I tried to bring them closer to the blocks."

"That's not true. We were doing a riddle about why rabbits have long ears, and Kae was still thinking of an answer. I told you to wait, but you said, 'Look now!' and pulled me."

"I didn't say 'wait'!"

"I did! Your voice is so loud, I couldn't hear you!"

"It's not loud! Your voice is too soft!"

Their voices grew louder, and they almost grabbed each other with the hands not holding Cain's. Cain lifted both of them by their arms, keeping them in a half-hanging position, and sighed quietly, looking up at the sky.

The Duchess of Elgranderk, known for her grace and dignity, stood up so abruptly that she knocked over her chair, lifted her son by the collar with one hand, and delivered a powerful punch. The ladies at the embroidery club, after the Elgranderk family left, commented that even a duchess is a mother and felt a sense of camaraderie, wanting to bond over the challenges of raising children.