Chapter 78

Dad stiffened, so I gathered my strength and asked again.

"Am I a burden to Dad...?"

"No way!"

His expression was one of disbelief.

My older brothers were also taken aback and fumbled around.

I was quickly surrounded by the four of them.

Seeing Dad's affectionate gaze, I felt a lump in my throat and clutched my skirt.

"There could have been other ways to deal with it."

"..."

"I didn't go to the former empress just because I thought it would only be hard for Dad."

"..."

"Dad's way of protecting me is too sad."

As tears began to fall, Dad pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Yeah, I know, Elyott."

"..."

"I'm sorry for making you witness such things. I'll try to be a wiser father."

"..."

"I'll do my best."

I cried, smearing my tears and snot all over Dad's shirt.

It felt like I had gone back to my childhood.

When I was three, I cried looking for Dad, but now, Dad is right beside me, comforting me.

My four older brothers smiled, seeing me cry with tears and snot streaming down my face.

Balzak patted my head.

"Yeah, there could have been other ways to deal with it. ...But how can you talk so smartly like that?"

I flinched and shuddered, my shoulders rising involuntarily.

Then, I stopped crying and moved my eyes around.

And I found an excuse.

"– That's what Michelan said."

Sniff.

I didn't forget to sniff loudly like a child.

"Oh."

"Oh."

The four foolish men believed my clumsy excuse without question.

'Because they never thought to doubt me.'

Even Joshua, the smartest of my cousins, was just a fool to me.

I felt relieved inside.

I'm really lucky that my family consists of these four foolish men.

I sniffed loudly again and looked at Dad.

"So, um... "

* * *

Four days later.

Daimond's territory.

The Astra bloodline, the royal family, and the officials of the royal sacrificial garden ascended the altar for the Harvest Festival.

Many citizens gathered to watch the festival.

The Trokan Square, where the altar was set up, could accommodate about 3,000 people.

The priest who prepared the altar greeted Empress Ocellia.

"May you be blessed."

"Thank you for your hard work in preparing the ceremony."

"Only the noble ones who have traveled from the distant capital to pray for Astra's prosperity could do such a thing."

The priest's polite words made the empress smile kindly.

"Is the First Prince well?"

"He suffered from a fever while in Astra. Perhaps it was due to a lack of faith."

"The blessing of the gods in his small body must have been immense. How great must the blessing have been to cause a fever?"

The empress, satisfied with the priest's words, smiled and nodded.

After greeting the empress, the priest turned to Anatoly.

However.

Anatoly looked as if she had bitten into dirt.

Her eyebrows twitched, and she had a nervous, agitated expression.

Her glaring eyes were fixed on the Daimond mother and daughter at the bottom of the altar steps.

Seeing Anatoly's expression, the priest was flustered, and the empress looked at her disapprovingly.

"This is a ceremony to pray for the nation's prosperity. You should at least manage your expression."

"Sister!"

Anatoly, unable to control her anger, burst out.

Daimond had not shown her face since Elyott was taken to the garden.

Even if the emperor was angry because of Elyott, he remained steadfast.

'Back to the old days.'

Anatoly bit her lips tightly and clenched her fists, trembling.

'That cunning woman.'

How did she get close to Daimond, and how can I interfere?

I won't let this go.

Anatoly stepped away from the royal family and called a maid.

"Is everything ready?"

"That's... "

"Is it ready or not?"

Anatoly urged the maid with a fierce expression.

"Yes..."

The maid, bowing her head to Anatoly, looked worried.

'If this is discovered, it will be a big problem...'

But with the former empress pressing her, the maid had no other choice.

The maid secretly approached the altar's brazier.

The brazier was where the fire would be placed when the ceremony began.

She removed the straw in the brazier and hid the herbs inside.

The same herbs that made Ragon go wild last time.

Seeing this from behind, Anatoly smiled in satisfaction.

'I'm glad I could get them in time.'

It was worth bribing the duke's employee.

After dealing with the steel crow last time, the herbs were discarded.

She had to get the herbs again, but the bribed employee was quite skilled.

He found the herbs, which were hard to obtain, in just a few days.

'It must be because we are in Astra territory.'

Thanks to being the center of trade, even rare herbs were easily obtained.

Of course, bribing the employee was not just for the herbs.

She also got information about Elyott from the duke's employee.

The amount of money she paid would shock even a noble, so it was natural that the information flowed freely.

"Are you talking about Miss Elyott?"

"Yes. Is there any information related to monsters?"

"Hmm... I heard that there is another monster allowed to enter the castle besides Ragon."

"Really? Where is it?"

"It's a special monster that hides in the shadows. I heard that Miss Elyott never lets it leave her body."

What will happen if not one but two monsters go wild?

Especially during a major event like the Harvest Festival.

Anatoly's lips curled up.

And a little later.

The Harvest Festival began.

* * *

Balzak yawned and said,

"How long do we have to watch this? I'm bored to death."

Joshua looked at Balzak with a disdainful expression.

"Please consider the dignity of Daimond's territory."

Rishimond sighed.

"Whatever, just stop fighting, you two."

The three older brothers were enduring the Harvest Festival with bored expressions.

After all, for over two hours, they had been pouring and discarding wine, pouring and discarding...

Now I understand why the silver goblet used for the wine shines so much.

'If it was gilded, it would have all peeled off by now.'

Repeating the same actions for three hours can only make one feel bored to death.

I'd rather listen to the opening speech for three hours.

The other direct relatives also had tired expressions.

But I'm not like that at all!

Oh, Anatoly, how long do we have to watch this?