Chapter 74

### Chapter 3

After the banquet in the Kingdom of Klingate, Claudia rode along with Noah on Karlheinz's teleportation magic.

Karlheinz's destination was Claudia's homeland, Abinoia. However, unlike Karlheinz, who was returning to report to their father, Claudia had a different purpose.

"Big brother, big sister, I'm home!"

"Whoa, Claudia!?"

When Claudia poked her head in, her eldest brother Wilhelm was surprised and widened his eyes.

This room, which their father called the "children's room," was a place where the siblings played indoors. It seemed that everyone was gathered there after dinner. Her two older brothers and one older sister were sitting around a large table.

Wilhelm stood up from his chair to greet his youngest sister, who had arrived at this hour.

Wilhelm, now twelve, had grown taller over the past two years. He was still taller than Noah and was likely to become even more athletic. Due to his daily magic training outdoors, he had a slight tan despite his protective magic.

He had slanted eyes and a strong-willed face, but he was full of righteousness and kind to his younger siblings. He bent down to meet Claudia's eye level and said,

"What's up? You're supposed to be staying in the Kingdom of Klingate until next week, right?"

"Big sister, I missed you all so much while playing with Lord Lewis."

"Claudia..."

"So I came to see you before my bath!"

With her cutest expression, Claudia continued to act innocent, even as Noah, standing beside her, gave her a meaningful look.

"I see, I see, you must have felt lonely! You're still a child at eight, Claudia. Are you okay? Has anyone been bullying you? If anything happens, tell us right away, okay?"

"Hehe, I'm fine! Lord Lewis is very kind!"

As Wilhelm ruffled her hair, the sister at the table sighed.

"You don't understand, Wilhelm big brother."

"Emi big sister!"

Emilia, her sister, ran her hand through her red hair and looked at her eldest brother.

Like Noah, Emilia, now eleven, had changed her hair from twin tails to a more mature half-up style about a year ago.

Her naturally wavy hair made the balance between the neatly braided braid and the fluffy, floating hair look adorable.

Her long, downward-sloping eyelashes gave her a melancholic look when she lowered her eyes. Combined with her porcelain-white skin, she had grown into a transparently beautiful girl.

However, the words that came from her rose-colored lips were filled with firm opinions.

"This is our sister, Claudia. She's bound to have easily wrapped the prince of Klingate around her little finger."

"...Emilia, you're the one who dotes on Claudia the most among us now..."

"That's only natural. She's so cute."

"Claudia, I think Emi big sister is cuter!"

"Aah, Claudia..."

Emilia also ran over to Claudia and hugged her tightly, saying,

"Still, I'm worried. She's such an angel; there's a chance she might be kept in the Kingdom of Klingate and never allowed to return..."

"That's unrealistic, Emilia."

"What's that supposed to mean, Erenfried?"

Erenfried, the second eldest brother, was leaning on his cheek with little interest, arranging the pieces on the table.

Every time Erenfried moved, his beautiful golden hair swayed. The second eldest brother, also eleven, was not only shorter than Noah but also slightly shorter than his half-sister Emilia, which seemed to be a bit of a concern for him.

However, his slender and delicate appearance emphasized his intelligence. Erenfried's magic research was highly regarded in a different field from Claudia's, and he had received offers to study abroad from various countries. According to him, he was "considering the most beneficial choice for the country," but it seemed he was just lonely without his siblings.

Nonetheless, Erenfried usually spoke in a somewhat cold manner.

"The Kingdom of Klingate isn't stupid. They're bound to treat her with respect to avoid making our country an enemy. No matter how cute Claudia is."

"You don't understand! What if the prince is a terrible person and uses magic to put Claudia to sleep and lock her up?"

"Don't be ridiculous! If that were to happen, I would protect Claudia with my life."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

It seemed that Emilia had let go of her romantic feelings for Noah.

When Emilia was allowed to visit their mother, the former queen, Claudia had secretly observed them. Although she didn't observe them too closely, she confirmed that Emilia and the former queen Ilmela were able to laugh together and decided to leave them alone.

(Thanks to the information extracted from Ilmela, several cursed magical artifacts scattered across the countries have been found. Now, all that's left is to help her recover from the mental exhaustion caused by the curse-induced brainwashing.)