As I arrived at the Countess Solfisia’s household, still unable to contain my anger, the countess greeted me with wide eyes.
“Your Excellency. The master is currently away, but…”
“Today, I didn’t come to see the count, but to see Henrietta.”
“Oh, her?”
The countess looked at Klaus with a worried expression, but, seeming to have no choice, she instructed one of the maids to call Henrietta.
After being led into the reception room and waiting for a moment, a young Henrietta was carried into the room by a maid.
When she was set down, Henrietta, swaying slightly, pinched her skirt and bowed.
“Good day, big brother.”
She truly was a well-mannered girl. Klaus was impressed and directed his gaze toward Henrietta, who sat quietly beside her mother.
“Sorry for the sudden visit, Henrietta. I believe you received a painting from Prince Georges the other day, but where is that painting now?”
“It’s displayed in my room.”
I see…
Klaus hesitated slightly, but told himself it was for his adorable little brother’s sake. He considered his tone carefully so as not to frighten her too much, and spoke to Henrietta.
“I’m very sorry, but the painting Prince Georges gave you the other day was someone else’s. Can I have it back?”
“Oh, dear… That’s quite troublesome,” said the countess, placing her hand on her cheek and then looking at Henrietta.
“Henrietta, do you think it would be alright to return it?”
Henrietta smiled sweetly and nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes. If I receive something that belongs to someone else, I’d be a thief.”
(Truly, she’s such a obedient child. I wish Georges would learn at least a little from her…)
I had expected her to protest more stubbornly, but Henrietta simply handed back the painting, and Klaus, feeling unexpectedly guilty, found himself unable to help but feel sorry.
(Snatching a gift from a young child…)
While immersed in self-loathing, Klaus knew he had to retrieve his brother’s precious painting. Gently, he patted Henrietta’s head and lowered his eyebrows.
“I’ll bring you something in exchange later. Thank you, Henrietta.”
“Yes!”
After receiving the painting from Henrietta, Klaus, clutching his aching chest, hurried back to the castle and headed straight for Richard’s room.
There, Lena was also present, and the two of them were happily drawing pictures together.
Lena noticed Klaus’s presence, but Richard, still focused as ever, was completely unaware and was diligently working with his brush.
“Lord Klaus, what’s wrong? …About that picture…”
Lena quietly moved to the sofa and looked at the painting Klaus was holding, eyes widening in surprise.
“It’s your precious picture, right? I managed to get it back.”
“Eh!?”
Startled, she let out a cry, which caused Richard to lift his head in response.
“Big brother?”
“Ah, Richard. Sorry to interrupt your concentration.”
“It’s fine… but what happened to that painting? I thought it had already been delivered to Henrietta, right? Did you, perhaps, steal it from her?”
“Uhh…”
“There’s no way you did that, big brother,” Richard said with a look of disbelief.
Richard’s face was filled with exasperation, causing Klaus to avert his gaze awkwardly.
“I-I heard it was a precious painting, so I couldn’t help myself…”
“Yes, but… wait a moment!”
Richard brought over a picture of a white dove from inside the room and handed it to Klaus.
“You probably lost your temper and went out of control, right? When you get angry, you seem to become calm, but you actually become much less calm. You need to be careful not to get too angry. Anyway, here. It’s not as cute as Lena’s picture, but could you give this as a return? And make sure to apologize properly to Henrietta.”
“…Sorry.”
Thinking that it was hard to tell which of them was the older brother, Klaus accepted the picture from Richard.
Then, quietly, he offered the picture he had retrieved from Henrietta to Lena.
“Your Majesty and the Queen are sorry. I will be more careful so that something like this doesn’t happen again. Please forgive me.”
“No, I… Thank you so much for going out of your way for such a humble drawing.”
“No, I think it’s a lovely and warm picture,” Klaus said softly, eyes on Lena’s drawing, with a small smile.
And then… he continued, “Also, thank you for trying to protect Richard when Your Majesty stormed in. I appreciate it.”
“…Big brother, I think you’re too lenient with me,” Richard said, blushing and turning away.
Seeing Richard’s rare embarrassed face, Klaus was surprised, then silently thought again:
(Thanks to you, Richard shows so many different expressions. Thank you, Lena.)
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released on November, 22.
See you then!!
