Chapter 95

The next imperial sun, His Highness the Crown Prince, personally reprimanded the foolish royal family members, but in fact, it was only moving to see him say what I couldn't. Nothing dramatically changed.

The Crown Prince personally welcomed us and even gave a speech, but it's funny that we're leaving the next day. If the three countries' nobles were the type whose triangular relationships would function normally, they wouldn't have come here in the first place, knowing the Crown Prince would send them back.

They are a new breed of humans who can temporarily detach their intelligence, intuition, and conscience when it comes to matters related to Louise. The Crown Prince's scolding? It can be heard in one ear and out the other. The empire showed its magnanimity and hospitality by receiving the royal family, but now that the Crown Prince can't suddenly exile them, there's nothing to be done.

'Anyway, they're like dogs.'

No matter how annoying, the ruling class, such as the imperial and royal families, tend to look out for each other.

If a royal family from one country treats a royal family from another poorly, and the nobles of the former country start thinking, "Royal families aren't that special," it's a red flag for governance. They might look down on foreign royals now, but there's no guarantee it won't spread to their own country.

That's why the nobles from the three countries are enjoying a fun vacation in the empire. They're really like dogs, after all, just bullies in terms of status.

"Master, you mustn't move."

"Ah, right."

I let out a slight sigh, and a young voice came from behind. I straightened my slightly bowed head, and I felt a hand smoothing my hair.

But it's fine to just go; it's been too long. It will get messy again when I argue with the department heads anyway.

"Enough is enough."

"No, Master, if your hair is messy, I'll be the one in trouble."

'I'm fine, though.'

But from this child's perspective, the butler and senior servants, who are always around, are probably more intimidating than the occasional visits from the master.

And it feels bad to dismiss someone who is putting so much effort into something I don't need. I can't help it; there's still time before I have to go to work.

"Master, you don't usually take care of your hair, do you?"

"Does hair need to be taken care of?"

"I asked a silly question."

My answer seemed to fall within this child's broad sense of humor, as she chuckled. Children often laugh at small things.

Staring at the mirror in front of me, I noticed the brown hair of the maid who was touching my hair. It was Yuris and Sophia, who usually had brown hair, and they usually came together. Was this Sophia?

"Sophia."

"A, Sophia is doing other work assigned by the butler."

So you're Yuris. I'm sorry, you look so much alike that I got confused.

Fortunately, since I didn't call her Sophia, she thought I was looking for the invisible Sophia and let it slide. I almost became a bad employer by saying, "From now on, your name is Sophia."

"By the way, Master, what's that?"

"That?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I kept quiet, and Yuris spoke first. Following her gaze, I saw a pot. Ah, that.

"Rowan. I received it as a gift."

I brought it because I thought the spirit of the rowan tree, which had dried up in the club room during the vacation, might attach itself. I couldn't leave it alone, thinking of Irina staring at the pot every time she visited the club room.

Hearing it was a gift, Yuris looked at the rowan tree for a moment and then smiled.

"It's pretty. Who gave it to you?"

"One of the girls who came with me, the blonde one."

"Oh, her."

Yuris, who seemed to understand, finished styling my hair and stepped back. She nodded proudly, as if she had created a masterpiece by her standards.

"You can get up now!"

"Thanks."

I patted Yuris's shoulder a few times to show my appreciation, and she looked at me blankly. When I gently touched my hair, she finally relaxed and laughed.

The other servants tend to stiffen in my presence, but Yuris and Sophia are so innocent, probably because they're young. The first time I saw them, they were surrounded by musical instruments, but they've grown well. Keep growing like this.

After petting her head for a while, I finally managed to let go. When I tried to let go, she looked at me with big eyes. How could I ignore that?

"Ah, Master."

"I really have to go now."

"I have something else to tell you."

Caught off guard, I turned back to Yuris, who was standing in front of the door. She doesn't usually have personal things to tell me, and the butler usually delivers messages directly, not through a maid.

Not knowing what it was, I became more anxious. Did something troublesome happen that I don't know about?

"Do you know the meaning of the rowan tree?"

Ah, it's nothing serious.

"It means tolerance and forgiveness. I thought it would be good for you to know since you received it as a gift."

"Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome."

I smiled at Yuris, who bowed politely to see me off. Tolerance and forgiveness.

'What a big gift.'

To receive tolerance and forgiveness from someone who almost unjustly wiped out my family is a big gift. There was a reason Irina kept testing me with gifts.

If Yuris hadn't told me, I would have never known. I should give Yuris a gift too. Since she likes desserts, I'll ask the butler to get her something nice, and I'll get something for Sophia, who always sticks with her. She'll like that.

But I never imagined the meaning of the flower. How could she know the meaning without even knowing the name of the flower? Irina overestimated my knowledge.

***

When Master opened the door and left, I straightened up. The saying "great expectations lead to great disappointment" is true.

'I thought it was my sister.'

At first, I thought the rowan tree was a gift from my sister Penelia. It's an impossible thought when I see Penelia normally, but now she's wearing a maid's uniform and calling Master "Master." I couldn't help but hope.

But it was just my imagination. Of course, Penelia wouldn't do something so bold.

'What a fool.'

Penelia's two-year secret love. Everyone around her, except Master, noticed, but she kept it to herself. She's a brave and wonderful sister, but why this?

In contrast, the noble lady I met with Master, who has only known him for half a year, was very proactive. To express her feelings through the meaning of a flower—compared to someone who has been in silence for two years, it's a surprising move.

'The only love.'

My face felt hot. It's less embarrassing to say it directly, but it's still a shy and awkward confession.

So I thought about telling Master the truth. I wanted to support such brave love. Master wouldn't have noticed such a subtle and shy confession, and he didn't.

But in the end, I mentioned a different meaning because I was still worried about Penelia.

'I'm sorry.'

I apologized silently to the beautiful blonde noble lady. I want my sister to be happy with Master.

It's impossible for Penelia to become the first wife now that the Baroness of Valente is deeply in love with Master. No matter how early she met him, the social gap is too great.

Even if Master met Penelia before the Baroness, he wouldn't make her the first wife. In such a situation, the appearance of another noble? How far will Penelia be pushed back?

'I'm really sorry.'

So it's not the right time. If Master figures it out on his own, there's nothing I can do, but I can't add more competition for her. Once Penelia succeeds, I won't care if more competition appears.

My growing guilt made me uneasy. No, no, it's not my fault. Who sends such ambiguous flowers? If the flower only meant love, I wouldn't have said anything.

It's because it had other meanings that this happened. And Master didn't know the meaning of the flower before I told him. Yes, it's not my fault. It's Master's fault.

Trying to shake off my guilt, I wandered the hallway. Sophia, who was helping the chef in the kitchen, came with a tray of cookies.

"Master said we can eat these!"

Thinking about it, it's not Master's fault.

***

The Crown Prince said I should show my face at the inspection department occasionally, even if I don't need to go every day. I couldn't go yesterday because of the square tour and other formalities, but today I need to catch up on the backlog and go home. I shouldn't delay and risk a crisis.

"Congratulations on your vacation!"

'Shit.'

Should I just leave?

As soon as I opened the office door, I saw the first department head holding a cake. Why are you congratulating me on a vacation? We don't even have vacations.

"Congratulations on your first! Vacation!"

The second department head's voice, emphasizing certain words, made me laugh awkwardly. My resolve to not delay work was shaken in an instant by the first and second department heads.

Looking at the cake, I saw six candles, with only one lit. What is this? Is it because the celebration is baseless that the candles are baseless too?

Noticing my gaze, the second department head chuckled.

"This is your first vacation, right? We plan to add a candle for each vacation."

Is this bastard teasing me?

"Once all six candles are lit, the chief will graduate too!"

"Hey, the chief hasn't even enrolled."

"Oops!"

While I clenched and unclenched my fists to calm down, I noticed the third department head hiding in the corner, avoiding eye contact. Even from the perspective of one of the three lunatics, this situation must seem off.

The deputy chief and the fifth department head weren't even in the office. The strategy of running away if they can't stop it is always effective.

"Third department head, you can go."

"T-thank you..."

With the third department head bowing and leaving, I grabbed the cake the first department head was holding.

I realized that the cake's frosting was similar to the first department head's white hair, and the bread was similar to the second department head's blonde hair.