Part 2 Chapter 106
Clink.
At that moment, two men stood behind us.
“Oh my, it’s my older brother!”
Bania’s older brother? Could it be Duke Belzer?
Suddenly, like this?
“How many months has it been?”
Bania’s eyes welled up with tears.
It had been quite some time since Duke Belzer left to manage his territory, and Clara knew this well.
‘They really have a deep bond.’
Seeing Bania tear up, Clara reconsidered Duke Belzer.
‘If the third prince admires his brother this much, he must be a good person after all.’
She felt embarrassed about the earlier preconceived notions she had from rumors, thinking he was a scary person.
Kyaaah!!!
But as soon as she saw Duke Belzer, Ryan, she couldn’t help but scream internally.
He was HUGE!
Out of all the people Clara had seen, he was the largest! His imposing physique made her instinctively flinch.
“Brother!”
Bania ran toward the approaching Ryan.
With a quick leap, she jumped into his arms, and Ryan smiled as he effortlessly caught her.
…What should I say about this?
A cicada on an old tree?
A lion on top of a rabbit?
Little Bania seemed so small compared to Ryan, it made anyone watching feel uneasy.
Watching the emotional reunion between the siblings, Clara’s legs started to tremble.
***
“Hehe~ Your Highness, should you really be so formal?”
“There’s no one here. It’s fine!”
After Ryan left for his territory, we had all been busy with our own lives.
Has it been about half a year since we last saw each other?
I hugged him tightly and gazed at his face, inspecting every detail.
It seemed he had gotten even more handsome during our time apart. Looks like he had been eating well and doing fine.
“Your Highness, how have you been?”
Richard, who had been standing next to us, also greeted with a smile.
They’ve come!
Today, I had a very specific purpose in calling them to the imperial palace!
“Brother, don’t call me so formally. Come here.”
“Hm?”
Richard leaned in, and I whispered in his ear.
“Did you quit smoking?”
“Ah.”
He nodded immediately.
“I quit the moment I got caught in the backyard of the manor. You said if I kept smoking, we’d both die, didn’t you?”
“Yaho!”
Before the regression, I didn’t even know how to light a cigarette, but my innocent brother had fallen into the habit.
Of course, he probably didn’t start on his own, but as he got used to it, sometimes he went outside for a smoke. I had threatened him severely to stop.
‘Thank goodness!’
Feeling relieved, I got off Ryan and turned around to see Clara had come close.
Clara Flint.
With her crimson hair and snow-white skin, she had the delicate beauty of an angel.
Having endured all sorts of hardships with the fragile young nobleman from the crazy household, she would finally be able to focus on love now without any worries.
“This is my maid, Cl—… Ugh!”
Just as I was about to introduce her, Ryan suddenly pushed me aside and stepped forward.
“Nice to meet you. I am Ryan Belzer, Duke of Belzer. I rule over the Belzer domain in the east. It’s a land of beautiful mountains, clear waters, and hardworking, good-hearted people. Truly a great place to live.”
???
What? Why did he suddenly start promoting himself?
“Please, speak comfortably. I’m Clara Flint, maid to Her Highness the Princess.”
Clara bowed politely, but her legs were trembling, and she had cold sweat on her forehead.
It seemed she was intimidated by Ryan.
“No, Clara~?”
But Ryan didn’t seem to care and continued speaking.
“Such a nice name! I don’t know if you’re aware, but I have a deep story related to that name…”
And then, I felt a sense of unease.
Why was Ryan acting like this?
Could it be that he liked Clara?
“Heh. But…”
Ryan, who had been talking nonstop, suddenly stopped and awkwardly smiled at Clara, looking her over.
“May I ask how old you are?”
“Oh, I’m nineteen.”
“…”
An awkward silence fell.
After a moment, Ryan broke the silence with a wide smile.
“I see.”
Then, he took a step back and said to me:
“It’s been a long time, so I’d like to spend some time alone with you, Your Highness…”
“Yes, yes! Go ahead. I’ll return to the palace, Your Highness.”
Clara’s sudden eagerness to leave was obvious, and she quickly tried to escape. I didn’t miss the chance and dragged Richard along.
“Oh, Clara. If it’s alright, could you guide my little brother through the palace?”
“Hm? Bania, I too…”
“No!”
I shook my head and gestured toward Ryan.
“I have something to discuss with our Duke Belzer!”
We can’t let a big misunderstanding like this ruin everything!
“Clara, is it alright?”
“Yes, of course.”
Clara, seemingly frightened by Ryan, grabbed Richard and disappeared as fast as lightning.
I immediately turned to Ryan.
“Did you like Clara?”
“No.”
Then why?
“Thank you. And I’m sorry.”
“…?”
Ryan let out a deep sigh and, as he put his arm around my shoulder, said:
“I heard from Her Highness the Princess that you’ve been trying to find a match for me. You even called them here today to introduce me to your maid.”
What is he talking about?
“You said she seemed like a kind person and someone who would suit me.”
When did I say that?
…Oh no!
At that moment, my conversation with my brother from before flashed in my mind.
“Are you getting close to any maids? You’re always with just one, right?”
“That’s right. She’s really kind and sweet. I even thought of introducing her to my brother.”
The process of bringing Clara into my service and getting close to her had gone so smoothly that I casually responded without thinking.
“Really? That’s great!”
My brother, who was genuinely happy for me, must have assumed that the ‘brother’ I mentioned was Ryan.
In reality, I had been looking into several families to find a match for Ryan.
“Mm.”
A huge misunderstanding has occurred!
But I couldn’t bring myself to explain it to poor Ryan!
“However, don’t you think a ten-year difference is too much? I’m twelve years older than you, so she’s practically a child to me?”
Fortunately, Clara’s age was far outside Ryan’s strict standards.
I quickly started thinking of a solution.
There’s only one way to make everyone happy in this situation.
Take the truth to the grave!
“Brother, it’s hard to find a noblewoman over the age of twenty-five who is unmarried.”
“I know. But does that mean I should settle for your age?”
“Of course not. It’s a shame, though.”
“I guess you should stop looking for people for me. If it’s fate, it will come eventually.”
“……”
Ryan spoke casually.
I looked up at him and then wrapped my arms around his waist.
Our poor lion.
“Somehow, it feels like the absolute ruler of this world is desperately trying to stop the love of this man named Ryan.”
“Do you want to say something unlucky?”
Ryan grumbled but then sighed and added:
“Love can wait until the next life…”
“Ha.”
“What if these powers disappear?”
Hmm.
I paused, considering Ryan’s concern.
We couldn’t ignore that worry. The cursed lands. The monstrous threats to peace still lurk.
But right now, with the collaboration between Laton and Ryan, things had been much easier.
The general soldiers now barely ever had to draw their swords, with no casualties and no injuries in the ongoing battles.
But…
“What if I die without having children, and the prince dies of old age?”
With time, even Ryan, as strong as he was, would return to dust.
The same went for the prince who had lived for 600 years as Laton. Even though he was a human in the past, he would age, and eventually, he too would close his eyes with time.
Of course, thanks to modern weapons, regular soldiers could now handle monsters more easily…
“The healers will be gone too.”
Sigh.
‘Powers’ are a necessary evil.
While there’s concern about the monopoly of power, I can’t give up on it when I think about the safety and prosperous future of this world.
So, those with powers must continue living under control.
‘Ryan will have to try his best…’
He’s the most likely person with the chosen bloodline right now.
But I don’t want Ryan to feel burdened, so I said:
“For now, let’s all try our best. Honestly, we won’t know who has the chosen blood until we try, right?”
“That’s true.”
“Somehow, it’s faster for me to have baby rabbits than for a lion to mate.”
“Eek!”
Ryan looked at me in horror.
“Why?”
“…You’ve always been like that. Now that you’re talking about having babies, it feels weird.”
“Pfft. Want to make a bet?”
“What kind of bet?”
“Which will happen first, a lion’s wedding or seeing a rabbit’s children.”
“Isn’t that unfair to me?”
“No. We’ve already planned to have children after we see the second prince.”
“Did the first prince just get born?”
Hmm, Ryan rubbed his chin as he thought and then smiled slyly.
“Then maybe I’ll be faster.”
“Oh, you’re so confident? The loser has to grant the winner a wish. Deal?”
“Sure, deal!”
***
Life is truly mysterious.
I thought as I held the baby.
The baby’s hair was still sparse, and its eyes, as bright as the ocean, shone with a soft blue color.
“How is this possible?”
I looked at Nike with teary eyes.
“Looks just like you.”
“Indeed.”
It was clear the baby had Valencie’s blood.
As I once again felt the mystery of life, I suddenly remembered the bet I made with Ryan two years ago.
“Ah!”
Two years later.
My brother is still unmarried.
“I won the bet!”
