RRMD 21

Chapter 21

Seeing Lorr giggle, Alcaide began gently stroking the child’s head again.

“Hehe!”

Lorr loved the touch of her dad’s hands. They were big and strong, yet tender, careful not to hurt her at all.

Daddy’s hands are so big! Mommy’s hands are so tiny!

“Mommy….”

Thinking of her mother, Lorr’s round little shoulders drooped. But soon, a happier thought lit up her eyes.

“The book said it! Daddy sent knights to Mommy! That means we’ll see her soon!”

If Mommy comes here, she won’t be in pain, right? Then Mommy could hold Daddy’s hand and go to the park. They could all see the fountain together!

Excited by the happy thought, Lorr wiggled her little bottom.

Alcaide looked at the child, who had suddenly started bouncing.

‘What could this mean?’

He glanced at Giselle, as if asking for an explanation, but she was now hunched over, quietly trembling and trying to stifle her giggles.

‘No help at all.’

Alcaide decided to analyze the child’s signals himself.

He recalled seeing a foal once, wild and kicking, calmed by its mother with a gentle nudge. Could Lorr be excited in a similar way?

He couldn’t nudge little Lorr roughly, so he simply gave her bottom a gentle pat.

Lorr happily wiggled while Alcaide, with a serious expression, softly patted her.

Watching the pair, Giselle could hardly contain her laughter.

But if she laughed too loudly, Alcaide might really scold her, so she forced it down.

“Kyaaang!”

Lorr got even more excited.

She was a little embarrassed that Daddy had caught her doing a little wiggle-dance, but she had been careful this time!

And Daddy even patted her gently.

“This is the best!”

Lorr spun around to face Alcaide, stepping up on his firm thighs. Now their eyes were at the same level.

Smiling brightly, she gave Alcaide a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Huh?”

“Pft!”

Alcaide froze in surprise, and Giselle could no longer hold back, bursting into laughter.

Alcaide shot a sharp glare at her.

“Ah, ahh. Hm, hm.”

Giselle managed to stifle her laughter with a cough, then handed over some documents as if that were her main purpose.

“The Imperial Palace has sent an official notice recognizing Miss Lorrvantes’ registration in the Grand Ducal House.”

“Ah, it’s finally here.”

Alcaide accepted the papers with delight.

Because Alcaide was of the royal bloodline, his children also had to be verified and recognized by the royal family.

Lorr, of course, had no idea what it meant, tilting her head in confusion.

“And also…”

Giselle handed over another document she had been holding beneath the official notice.

“What’s this?”

Alcaide’s gaze followed her hand as he waited for an explanation.

The look of joy on his face, after receiving Lorr’s registration papers, instantly faltered.

Giselle was holding a letter stamped with the royal seal.

Smiling, she continued,

“It came with the registration papers.”

“Hm…”

Alcaide opened the envelope with a displeased expression.

It bore the royal seal used by the Crown Prince. Sometimes, the Crown Prince’s seal appeared, but either way, letters from the royal family usually caused Alcaide some trouble.

Alcaide examined the letter carefully.

Rustle. His grip tightened, creasing the corner of the envelope.

“Daddy, why’s your face all scrunched?”

Seeing her father’s face mirror the envelope, Lorr tilted her head in curiosity.

Alcaide sighed deeply, smoothing his expression.

“Seems like some annoying business has come up.”

“Annoying business? What is it?”

“The Crown Prince and the Prince are coming to visit.”

“Eh?”

The Crown Prince and the Prince…

Prince?!

The prince who would heroically save the princess from villains!

Lorr’s eyes sparkled, and Giselle whispered an explanation.

“The Crown Prince and the Prince are your cousins, Miss.”

“Meeting them would just be troublesome. You can ignore them…”

Alcaide tried to quickly cut off Giselle, but Lorr had already heard.

“Cousins! I have cousins?!”

“…Yes, you do.”

Lorr’s delighted exclamation made Giselle flustered.

Then Lorr turned quickly, her eyes gleaming with anticipation as she looked at Alcaide.

“Dad, I wanna meet my cousins!”

Alcaide forced a reluctant expression back into place. He had been planning to brush off these troublesome little nobles…

But how could he refuse when Lorr wanted to meet her cousins?

“…Send a reply saying you’ll welcome them appropriately.”

Alcaide instructed Giselle reluctantly. After all, these were relatives she would inevitably meet as the daughter of the Grand Ducal House.

‘But why do I have such a bad feeling…’

Knock, knock.

“Big brother….”

A small voice came from behind the closed door.

Reycal went to the doorway to meet his sibling. His movements were elegant, almost like dancing.

His ebony hair swayed gracefully, and his fair, translucent skin gleamed like porcelain.

His round cheeks still held a hint of baby fat with a gentle blush.

His large, sharp eyes gave him a proud, dignified look.

“Hey, Yuren. What is it?”

Opening the door, Reycal saw his five-year-old younger brother, Yuren.

Reycal was a kind older brother to his timid sibling, and Yuren adored him.

“A letter came…”

Reycal naturally led Yuren into the room, smiling encouragingly. Yuren, relieved, giggled and set the letter gently on the tea table.

Reycal’s eyes widened as he saw the royal seal on the envelope.

“Oh my! It’s from Uncle Alcaide!”

He couldn’t hide his excitement.

“Yes, he sent a reply. But I didn’t send him a letter…”

Yuren tilted his head curiously.

Reycal hurriedly picked up Alcaide’s letter, clearing his throat.

“Hm, hm. I had something to ask Uncle Alcaide, so I wrote a letter.”

“Something to ask?”

“Yes. Something I wanted to tell him in secret.”

Secret! Yuren clapped his little hands, proud that his older brother could share a secret with their uncle.

“Uncle Alcaide doesn’t usually reply, but since you sent it, he did!”

Reycal pretended not to hear, turning his head, but a small smile tugged at his lips.

At ten, it felt good to see the admiration in a younger sibling’s eyes.

“…He must’ve been busy and couldn’t reply before, Yuren. Seems like he had something important this time.”

“Important…?”

“He had a reason to send us a letter.”

“I see!”

Yuren didn’t fully understand, but he thought his older brother talking to their respected uncle was very cool.

Reycal, equally thrilled, carefully opened the letter.

‘He said he’ll visit the Grand Ducal House soon…’

His heart thumped wildly.

Reycal really admired Uncle Alcaide.

Watching him manipulate shadows was so amazing!

Uncle Alcaide always led monster hunts, returning victorious every time.

His grand, commanding presence with knights and soldiers marching behind him was awe-inspiring.

Even though their father, the Emperor, often thumped his chest in frustration seeing him…

This letter would be kept safely in a beautiful box in the drawer, uncreased.

A letter from Uncle Alcaide.

Actually, Reycal didn’t just like his uncle—he adored him.

So much so that one of Reycal’s desk drawers was filled with items related to Alcaide.

A very precious space he never showed to anyone.

“Big brother… What did Uncle say?”

Yuren leaned forward eagerly.

Reycal cleared his throat and began reading the letter.

“To the Crown Prince…”

Even reading the first line made Reycal’s heart race.

“To the Crown Prince! To the Crown Prince!”

His excitement mounting, he read the rest and couldn’t contain a cheer, forgetting the dignity of a Crown Prince and elder brother.

“Uncle says he’ll visit the Grand Ducal House soon!”