“Is a blue bird, Lena?”
Richard peered over at the painting Lena was drawing and laughed.
“Is this bird imaginary? It’s cute.”
“Your Highness’s painting is also very wonderful. Especially the expression of the pigeon on the far right is adorable.”
“Is that so?”
Lena had drawn a blue bird flying with a single flower in its beak, while Richard’s painting showed white pigeons in a park eating. As expected, with his usual level of skill, it was impressive.
“Surely that pigeon is smiling because the food is tasty.”
“Wow, you noticed that really well!”
“Because the pigeon’s eyes are sparkling.”
“heh, thank you!”
Richard wore a face that suggested he was being tickled, then returned his gaze to his own canvas. His expression tightened in an instant.
(He’s always so intensely focused…)
At this moment, Richard should have only the canvas in front of him in his view. The surrounding sounds and scenery were outside his awareness.
Lena’s own drawing was simple in composition, so it would probably be finished soon, but Richard seemed to have a long way to go. He tended to labor over every detail, so once he started, it would take a while.
(I have to concentrate too, right?)
Though nominally a teacher, Lena couldn’t let herself lose to Richard.
As she focused on finishing her own painting, there was a soft tapping on the door.
Richard, immersed in his work, didn’t seem to notice, but Lena, who wasn’t as immersed as him, turned toward the sound. She briefly worried whether it might be Klaus, but from his side of things, Klaus would burst into the room a few seconds after knocking, even if Richard didn’t respond. But this time there was no sign of the door being opened.
Elvis also seemed to decide that it wasn’t Klaus, and went to check outside. Then, through the opened door, a child about three or four years old sprung into the room as if from nowhere.
“Ojūe!” (“Ojūe”? That would mean Prince George, right?!)
King George III had one four-year-old prince. A child with glittering blond hair and big orange eyes didn’t look much like Richard, but for now the only person Richard could call uncle was George.
“Ah, Your Highness! Not good!”
George, who was trying to leap onto Richard, was quickly picked up by Elvis.
“Yay!”
When George wriggled in Elvis’s arms, perhaps because they were right in front of him, Richard looked up with a start.
“George?”
“Ojūe!”
“Oh, no, you’ll get paint on you.”
George, being held by Elvis, reached out toward Richard, who gave a wry smile and pointed at his apron.
“Ugh!”
Perhaps unhappy with Richard’s response, George puffed out his cheeks.
“Elvis, bring us some sweets. George, sit on the sofa for now? I’ll change.”
“Mm.”
George seemed to react to the word sweets, nodding vigorously, and after Elvis set him down neatly on the sofa, he sat properly.
Elvis called a maid to prepare tea and sweets for George.
Meanwhile, Richard took off his apron and checked the clothes underneath, probably to see if there was any paint on them.
“Lena, is there paint on your back or anywhere?”
“Don’t worry, there’s nothing anywhere.”
“Good. Thank you.”
Sure enough, a countess would not interrupt a discussion between the king’s brother and the prince, so Lena quietly watched the two.
Richard sat beside George, and George climbed into Richard’s lap.
Seeing a handsome child cradling his adorable young nephew, Lena felt flustered with emotion.
(I want to draw this…)
The sweets were brought, and Richard fed George with an “a-an” (open your mouth) gesture.
What a highly stimulating scene for artistic inspiration. The two were too cute. Were they angels?
“So, George, what happened? Did you study?”
“Study, yes!”
“Did you run away again saying that?”
“Ha-ha, I said yes it’s fine.”
“…Sigh.”
Richard shrugged as if exhausted. It seemed George disliked studying. He was still young, but it was said that royal children had far more to learn than noble heirs, so Lena shouldn’t judge by her own simple notions.
“Won’t you become king someday? You have to study.”
“Even if I can’t study, I can become king.”
“Who said that?”
“Ha-ha!”
“That person again… If you can’t study, the country would suffer, you know?”
“It’s fine, because for that, this… an engagement will help us!”
“Enagement? Are you proposing an engagement?””Yes, that!”
“What does studying have to do with engagement?”
“He says if you study, it’s fine,” giggled George.
When George spoke with a sparkling smile, Richard closed his eyes tightly, looking up at the ceiling. The long sigh that followed revealed his feelings.
“George, who will you be engaged to?”
“Anrietta!”
“Anrietta? Could she be Anrietta Solfeccia, the granddaughter of Auntie?”
“Yes!”
Lena knew the name of Countess Anrietta Solfeccia well. She was Isabella’s granddaughter, Isabella being Ernesto’s sister, and she was reportedly about three years old, cherished by Isabella beyond measure.
“That’s quite the choice… Well, Auntie is looking after her, so hopefully Anrietta will be well-behaved.”
“Anrietta is smart! It’s fitting!”
“Indeed. Even if she dotes on him, Auntie wouldn’t neglect his education.”
“So, I’ll say thanks.”
“Thank you?”
“Thank you for becoming Konnyaku with me! And, you know, I want a present.”
“It’s good to say thank you, but a present?”
“Your Uncle! Him! Uncle Clarence always says he gets drawings from you!”
George then jumped down from Richard’s lap and ran toward a painting placed at the room’s corner. Elvis hurried after him to prevent him from touching the painting.
George glanced around the room, then stopped to look at Lena’s canvas.
“This! This is it! The bluebird!”
“Huh…?”
This wasn’t Richard’s painting; Lena was still sketching it. It had a simple composition and clearly wasn’t something a prince engagement gift would be.
(And besides… once this is finished, I’d planned to give it to Klaus-sama…)
Klaus apparently liked birds, so perhaps he would accept it. Of course, there was a real chance he would refuse.
(But if you say I’m with the prince, I can’t just give it away…)
Lena was just a countess’s daughter. She couldn’t risk angering the prince.
As Lena crouched to match George’s eye level and started to say, “That’s fine,” a slightly firm voice of Richard cut in.
“No, George. Not that.”
“What…?”
George hadn’t expected to be told no by Richard, and his big eyes grew even bigger.
“Any other painting is fine to take. But that’s not.”
“…No! I want this!”
“Your Highness, if it were me…”
“Not good, Lena. And it’s not right to make him think he can get anything he wants just by asking.”
(Maybe that’s true, but…)
George’s face was flushed red. Having watched a younger brother, Lena knew this look was a step away from tears.
“George, give up on this and choose another painting. You may take anything else.”
“No!”
“George!”
Richard called his name a bit more firmly, and George looked up with tears welling in his eyes and glared at Richard.
“Uncle is mean! Waaah!”
When George began to cry loudly, Richard held his head in his hands, and Elvis patted George’s back and tried to soothe him with a smile.
“Then I’ll handle the rest. I’ll take George to the bedroom.”
“…Thank you, Elvis.”
“No problem.”
Elvis carried George toward the adjoining bedroom, and Richard sighed wearily.
“Lena, I’m sorry for the racket.”
“No, it’s fine. But is this all right? If it’s a painting, we can always paint another one, so if it’s okay to give this away…”
“No. It’s a painting meant for my older brother, right? You must finish it properly and give it to him.”
“…Perhaps he’ll accept it, perhaps not?”
“I’ll take it. Absolutely. You can bet on it.”
While Richard and Lena talked, George’s cries faded from the bedroom. Elvis seemed to have settled him.
(Being a child, he’ll forget as soon as he’s awake, right…?)
Lena’s sunny thought persisted, but a few days later the situation would take an unexpected turn.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
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, 1.
See you then!!
