Robben VIII, whose eyes had widened in surprise for a moment, nodded a couple of times with a smile.
“Right. I think the 2nd Prince’s response would be excellent advice. In a country with a system of slavery, slaves are considered part of one’s property, so he could indeed choose the slave.”
“Ah, then he could easily acquire all the property of the father who owns the slave.”
As the emperor, who had been listening, chimed in, Robben VIII chuckled. “That’s correct. But how did the 2nd Prince come up with such a thought? What do you think the father didn’t properly convey his will from the beginning?”
Nathan’s smile froze at the follow-up question.
At the same time, Lark was also taken aback.
‘The note didn’t write down such specific answers. Can Nathan answer that question?’
Given that he had answered ‘the slave’, it shouldn’t be too difficult to answer that question… However, it was clear that Nathan was struggling.
‘Oh no.’
The mission that Rubette gave to Lark today was to “make Nathan think he defeated the crown prince and make him feel good”. To accomplish this, the ending had to be perfect.Lark quickly spoke, “Nathan.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“I heard your well-thought answer. I feel ashamed as an elder brother. May I answer the king’s next question if it’s alright with you?”
There was a moment of silence.
Lark’s sudden intervention seemed like he was stealing the spotlight for the sake of his own reputation. Understanding this, Nathan nodded wistfully, “Yes, Brother. I yield…”
Lark swiftly cleared his throat, “Abroad, the only person who could keep his property safe and pass it on to his son would’ve been the greedy slave.”
“Indeed.”
“Perhaps it was a clever move by the father, fearing that a slave might steal the property. When the slave heard such a radical will, promising all the property to himself, there was no need to resort to theft.”
“Ah, I see… So that’s why he passed on such a will to his son.”
Robben VIII nodded as if he understood. However, his face didn’t show great joy. Robben VIII turned his attention back to the 2nd Prince. “2nd Prince, your advice today has been a great help to me. It was a very witty response. There couldn’t be a better solution than this!”
Perhaps Robben VIII recognized the circumstances of the younger brother hidden in the shadow of his talented elder brother, and he seemed eager to encourage him even more.
“Indeed, the nobles of Descarde are all brilliant. Talent is not limited to just the crown prince.”
“You flatter me.”
As Robben VIII exclaimed in admiration, the emperor smiled and patted Nathan on the shoulder. In his gaze, there was a glimpse of satisfaction and contentment.
‘Wow…’
Nathan forcibly lowered the corners of his mouth that were trying to curl up and subtly glanced at Lark in front of him. And then, he was surprised.
Lark’s expression was a charade.
Defeat. Shame. And jealousy… All the emotions Nathan had felt from Lark until now were now reflected in the opposite on his face.
<Hey.>
<What is it?>
<Pause time for a moment.>
The moment Nathan commanded Pose, time inside the banquet hall stopped.
Robben VIII and the emperor froze with their pleased smiles intact.
The siblings who were admiring him in awe.
And…
Lark’s pitiful expression that was too precious to witness alone.
“Yaaah!!!” Nathan roared. This exhilarating emotion was a first for him.
Nathan, who had always carried Rubette’s note as if it were a lucky charm, retrieved it from his pocket and kissed it repeatedly.
“Oh, my goodness. My goddess of luck. Damn, damn. This is insane. Really.”
With the note in his hand, Nathan gathered his hands together as if in prayer and trembled with excitement.
“Hmm.” Pose, who had been silently observing this scene, turned his gaze toward Lark.
“Look at that bastard’s expression! Dammit!”
“Yeah, yeah… Ugh!”
Nathan, holding onto Pose, who was flying around, joyously smacked his cheeks against Pose’s, reveling in victory.
Lark’s expression was exhilarating no matter how often he looked at it. In his heart, he wanted to preserve that state forever.
“Yeah. You should experience it too, what it’s like to feel defeat.”
Nathan chuckled.
This was his first victory.
***
That evening, in the palace, at the quarters of the Imperial Knights.
“These, these crazy bastards…”
Victor, who had come to conduct a surprise inspection of the 1st Imperial Order of the Knights’ quarters before bedtime, trembled at the sight before him—the barracks’ walls were covered with boutique promotional posters. Along with the shop’s name, “Madame Ruby,” the shop owner, was prominently displayed on the poster. In the poster, she had silver hair, a mask, and was dressed in a black fur dress, sitting with a haughty pose, crossing her legs.
“Unbelievable…” Victor, his anger reaching its peak, strode over and began tearing the posters off the wall.
Rip, rip, rip!
“Uwaaa!”
“Vice-captain!”
As the posters were ruthlessly torn apart in Victor’s hands, the knights clung to their heads and sobbed.
“Hey! Are you guys even in your right minds!?”
“Uwaaa…”
“Madame Ruby…”
“These lunatics…”
Victor was bewildered by the sight of the knights shedding tears.
The popularity of this boutique owner, who appeared on the capital’s video screens day after day, had reached the sky.
Listening to the grumbling knights, everyone seemed to be talking about Madame Ruby. The dignity of the Imperial Knights seemed to have completely withered away.
“You guys, who get paid for your duties, don’t even train properly, and oh! You can’t even stop talking about some fictional woman!”
“Uwaaa.”
“I understand, sir… I’ll do better…”
“Putting this nonsense in the barracks! Are you guys insane!?”
Then, one of the fellows most saddened by the torn Madame Ruby poster mustered up the courage to speak to Victor. “Aren’t you a man too, sir? Why don’t you understand our feelings?”
“Huh?”
He clutched the torn poster like a precious treasure and looked up at Victor with a hateful expression.
Victor was left speechless.
‘Is this something that could make you angry at your higher-ups?’
What on earth was happening in the Order right now? The guys who used to listen obediently were clearly going insane. It seemed that if Victor and Madame Ruby were to get into trouble, they would choose Madame Ruby and abandon their superior without hesitation…
Another guy asked, his eyes sparkling, “Vice-captain, do you not like Madame Ruby? She will finally reveal her face during the New Year’s festival. Aren’t you excited?”
“Sigh…” Victor sighed heavily and rubbed his throbbing forehead.
That darn Madame Ruby, Madame Ruby, Madame Ruby!
‘That’s my little sister, damn it!!!’
It was true. The father didn’t know, and the eldest brother had been unaware of their youngest sister’s secret all this time.
On that day he went to visit Rubette, who was in isolation in Lubon. He almost got fooled by his little sister with silver hair and a mask. He could have made the mistake of a lifetime(?).
Thinking back to that moment, Victor still shuddered involuntarily.
“Ugh!”
Afterward, the video of Madame Ruby, the owner of “Blanc de Ruby,” was released to the public, but Victor was the only one among the knights who couldn’t laugh. He could only see ‘Madame Ruby’ as his little sister in disguise. That silver wig and mask covering her face…
“So the Madame Ruby who’s been causing a commotion on the capital is you?”
“It is me~”
“’It is me~’? Are you insane? What on earth have you been up to?”
“You shouldn’t tell anyone~”
It was absurd to think she had started a business out of the blue when she wasn’t even broke, and now she was revealing her identity.
Victor felt his chest tightening because of these very guys who couldn’t contain their smile and his little sister who was parading around their eyes and mouths!
“Hehehehe.”
“Madame Ruby, you are the best!”
“Everyone, get ready for lights out!”
When Victor exclaimed, the knights reluctantly crawled into their sleeping bags.
“…?”
At that moment, something stuck out at the head of the guy taking his sweet time to get ready. Victor quickly grabbed it. There was something written on a large piece of paper with colored ink.
♡Ma♡dame♡Ru♡by♡
“You crazy-”
“Ugh! No, please don’t! I worked so hard on this! I would stand in front of the shop with this during the New Year’s festival!”
“Ha. Hand it over.”
“Aaaargh!”
Without mercy, Victor snatched the paper from his subordinate’s hand and tore it to shreds so thoroughly that its contents couldn’t even be recognized.
The knights watched with dejected expressions as the bits of paper fluttered into the air.
With a grim expression, Victor ordered, “From now on, there shall be no mention of this woman anywhere within the palace. Not in the quarters, not in the dining hall, not in the bathroom, not in the assembly hall… If I hear Madame Ruby’s name or any nonsense about the New Year’s festival in my presence again…” Thump. Victor stomped his foot, and everyone cringed. “I’ll show you what hell is.”
The knights cast their eyes downward in the face of Victor’s genuine anger.
Then, a voice came from behind.
“Sir Victor, are you here?”
It was Lark.
“Your Highness? What brings you to the quarters at this hour?”
“I was looking for you. I have an urgent request.”
“What is it?”
Victor became flustered and nervous. The torn Madame Ruby posters were still scattered on the floor of the quarters…
‘Oh, this is bad.’
Lark’s gaze fell upon the chaotic floor with a perplexed expression. He slowly bent his knees and squatted down, carefully examining it.
‘This guy is the scariest when he’s angry…’
Lark’s expression was stern and unyielding, like the calm before a storm.
‘Now that he knows there was a commotion in the quarters and they didn’t follow orders to train properly…’
The knights had acted lazily instead of following the orders to train diligently… It was crystal clear that this wouldn’t be brushed aside easily by Lark.
After a long silence, Lark quietly stood up, and Victor discreetly swallowed a sigh.
‘Ah, you bunch of idiots.’
The knights, who had found their way into their sleeping bags, were all kneeling and lined up in a tense position.
“Pack your things.”
Gasp. Victor let out an empty sigh.
Pack their things? It wasn’t just a matter of leaving the quarters; it meant they were talking about stripping them of their knighthood.
‘Oh… They’ve really messed up big time.’
It felt a bit severe, but it might be an expected consequence given Lark’s personality. Victor contemplated whether he should interject and offer help, but for some reason, all the knights who had sat down were now looking at him.
‘What’s going on? What are you looking at?’
The puzzled Victor turned to his side. Lark, who had given the order, was also looking at him.
“…?”
“What are you doing? Pack your things.”
Standing there with his eyes blankly blinking, Victor slowly raised his index finger and pointed to his own face. “…Me?”
Lark nodded. “Yeah, pack your things quickly. You need to go home right now.”
Understanding the situation, Victor’s eyes filled with a sense of injustice. “Wh-why me?”
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