SUPER SIDE STORY 08…………………………………………………….
Arsen had expected a furious reply telling him to bring the children to the imperial palace immediately.
But unexpectedly, there had been complete silence.
Instead of feeling relieved, Arsen looked strangely uneasy.
Roselia, who was sitting across from him eating cookies, tilted her head.
“Dad, why do you look like that?”
“Ah.”
“You look like when Ru eats bell peppers.”
Roselia giggled.
Bell peppers were the one food Ruamin absolutely couldn’t eat.
He hated the texture and the smell, and since forcing him didn’t seem right, Ivelina never made him eat them.
After all, he wasn’t a picky eater otherwise, and not eating bell peppers wouldn’t kill him.
Ruamin puffed up his cheeks at Roselia’s teasing.
He had realized she was making fun of him.
While they were laughing and chatting, someone suddenly knocked on the door in a hurry.
Noah came in, looking extremely flustered.
Arsen’s eyebrow twitched.
Noah swallowed nervously and said,
“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”
Ivelina’s eyes widened.
“Like this? Suddenly?”
“Y-Yes. He said he was sorry for coming without notice… and he brought many gifts.”
Noah was sweating, clearly very nervous.
Ivelina hurriedly stood up.
Since he had already arrived, they had to prepare to receive him.
“Noah, please tell His Majesty to wait in the drawing room. We’ll be there shortly.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Arsen quietly ground his teeth.
It was obvious Jonas had come suddenly for revenge after reading that letter.
They couldn’t chase him away, so they had no choice but to face him.
Berry and the other maids rushed in after hearing the news.
“We’ll help you prepare.”
Leaving the children with another maid, Ivelina went upstairs with Berry.
She changed out of her casual indoor dress into another one and redid her hair.
Since she was indoors, she skipped jewelry and simply braided her hair and tied it with a ribbon.
“It’s finished, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, Berry.”
Thanks to Berry’s skillful hands, the preparations were finished quickly.
“Could you go help Rosel and Ru as well?”
“Yes!”
Ivelina quickly went downstairs.
Arsen had been waiting for her, intending to go together.
“Arsen!”
“You’re finished already?”
“Berry has gotten very fast with her hands.”
Ivelina smiled and linked arms with him.
Noah was waiting outside the drawing room.
Arsen gave him a small nod, and Noah knocked on the door before slowly opening it.
Inside, Jonas was leisurely drinking tea.
Arsen’s eyes hardened for a moment before relaxing again.
Ivelina and Arsen sat down across from him.
“Your Majesty, have you been waiting long?”
“Not long. I’m sorry for visiting so suddenly.”
“It’s alright. Um… may I ask why you came?”
At her question, Jonas’s eyes sparkled mischievously.
For some reason, Ivelina felt slightly uneasy.
Looking directly at Arsen, Jonas said,
“I came because I wanted to see Roselia and Ruamin. And… I was curious about how big the swing in your garden is.”
Ivelina gave an awkward smile.
It felt somewhat disrespectful to think this way, but the two men were unbelievably childish.
“This is my first visit to the Grand Duke’s residence, so it didn’t feel right to come empty-handed. I brought some gifts.”
“You must be busy. There was no need for you to come all this way.”
Arsen said stiffly.
Ivelina quickly nudged his arm while watching Jonas’s reaction.
Jonas laughed heartily.
“No matter how busy I am, I can spare this much time.”
“……”
“We’re family, aren’t we? What’s work compared to seeing family?”
Arsen gave him a look of disbelief.
Jonas cleared his throat and pretended not to notice.
Ivelina smiled gently.
“If we have time, I’ll bring the children to visit the palace more often.”
“Will you? That would make me very happy.”
Jonas beamed.
While they were chatting, there was another knock on the door.
The door opened, and Roselia and Ruamin walked in, neatly dressed.
The moment Jonas saw them, his face melted.
He looked like the perfect doting uncle.
Roselia and Ruamin greeted him politely and walked over.
Roselia sat next to Ivelina, and Ruamin sat beside Arsen.
Roselia asked in a clear voice,
“Uncle, why did you come so early in the morning?”
“Ahem… I came because I missed you two.”
Even after hearing that, Roselia looked unimpressed.
Jonas revealed his trump card.
“It wouldn’t be polite to come empty-handed, so I brought you some gifts.”
“Gifts?”
“Gifts?”
Roselia and Ruamin’s eyes sparkled.
Roselia immediately stood up and hurried over to sit next to Jonas.
Arsen looked at his daughter with betrayed eyes.
Roselia seemed completely unaware and looked eagerly at Jonas.
“Uncle, what are the gifts?”
“Ridel, bring the gifts.”
Ridel hurried outside.
A moment later, he returned with Noah, both of them carrying their arms full of presents.
There were far more than Ivelina expected.
Her eyes widened.
“Your Majesty, you didn’t need to prepare this much…”
“Well, I kept thinking about what they might like, and it ended up like this.”
There were many kinds of gifts.
There were dolls of various types, a large dollhouse, and even a toy sword.
Although it wasn’t sharpened and safe for children, it looked exactly like a real sword.
Roselia immediately ran toward the dolls.
The doll she picked up was soft and pleasant to the touch.
The dollhouse looked strangely similar to a certain mansion.
Ivelina stared at it and asked,
“Is the dollhouse modeled after our residence?”
“That’s right.”
Jonas winked.
The exterior of the dollhouse was identical to the Grand Duke’s residence in the North.
“I specially commissioned an artisan to make it.”
Inside the dollhouse were small dolls modeled after Ivelina, Arsen, Roselia, and Ruamin.
Roselia looked at them with wide eyes, examining everything curiously.
Ruamin, however, had little interest in the dolls.
Instead, his eyes remained fixed on the sword.
Noticing this, Jonas asked,
“Are you interested in the sword?”
“Huh? Oh… just a little.”
Ruamin replied hesitantly.
Jonas grinned and stood up.
He knelt down in front of Ruamin and held out the sword.
“It’s yours. Try holding it.”
“Ah…”
After hesitating, Ruamin carefully took the sword.
Ivelina whispered softly to Arsen,
“It seems Rosel takes after me, and Ru takes after you.”
“I didn’t even realize he was interested in swords. He’s never seen one before.”
Since he was only eight, they had never shown him a sword because it was dangerous.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes.”
Ruamin looked over the sword carefully.
Jonas smiled with satisfaction.
For some reason, he had a strong feeling that one day the boy would become famous for his skill with a sword.
Jonas decided to stay until lunch before returning to the palace.
Arsen looked like he wanted to kick him out immediately, but he could only clench his fists.
Besides, Roselia and Ruamin didn’t seem unhappy about his presence.
Surprisingly, Jonas was also very good with children.
His jealousy over the swing lasted only a moment.
Soon he was happily riding the swing with the children.
Ridel sighed deeply.
Seeing him like that, who would ever believe he was the emperor?
Ridel was convinced that Jonas was the least dignified and least charismatic emperor in the empire’s history.
“Uncle, how about this?”
“That’s very well made. Show me how you did it.”
“Okay!”
The children and Jonas were sitting in the garden filled with wildflowers, making flower crowns.
Ruamin was a little more skillful with his hands than Roselia, and he was the one who had taught her how to make flower crowns and flower rings.
“Ru is much better than me!”
“Really? That’s impressive.”
At Jonas’s praise, Ruamin’s cheeks turned red.
With his small hands, Ruamin showed Jonas how to weave the flowers together.
Surprisingly, Jonas was quite good with his hands too.
Even though it was his first time, he made a very nice flower crown.
He placed it on Roselia’s head.
“Well? What do you think?”
“Ru, how does it look?”
“You look really pretty!”
Roselia burst into laughter at Ruamin’s praise.
Arsen and Ivelina were watching them from a short distance away.
Ivelina giggled.
“His Majesty is surprisingly good with children. When he gets married and has kids someday, he’ll be a big help.”
“It’s because his mental age is similar to theirs.”
“Arsen.”
Ivelina lightly elbowed him with a reproachful look.
Arsen sighed and said,
“His personality is naturally warm and he’s always smiling, so children probably find it easy to approach him. Though I only realized today that His Majesty likes children.”
“Still, it’s much better than Rosel and Ru being scared and crying.”
The children still didn’t fully understand how high the emperor’s status was.
When they grew older, received proper education, and entered the Academy, they would realize just how important Jonas’s position was—and that they shouldn’t treat him so casually.
“Uncle, why are you so good at making flower rings?”
“Hm… because I’m an adult?”
“Then when I grow up, will I be able to make flower rings as well as you?”
Roselia asked with sparkling eyes.
Jonas chuckled.
“Of course. You’re the daughter of the Grand Duke and Duchess of Rokfelt. The same goes for Ruamin.”
Jonas glanced at Arsen.
Then he lowered his head and began whispering to the children.
