“Did His Majesty call you again?”
“I told His Majesty not to bother you, but it looks like I’ll have to remind him again.”
The happiness of seeing her again, the warmth of their reunion, and their concern that Ceres might have been dragged along by His Majesty against her will were all evident in their expressions.
“Why are they...?”
“They know each other?”
“How?”
The other nobles in the council hall were stunned. The two people who had created a tense atmosphere earlier were now smiling brightly. The sight left everyone bewildered.
Ceres’s reaction only deepened their shock.
“Uncle. Auntie.”
Ceres greeted them warmly and walked toward the two, leaving the nobles staring in disbelief.
“U-Uncle?”
“Auntie?”
“I’m not the only one who heard that wrong, right?”
Who would dare address two dukes so casually?
While everyone remained frozen in surprise, the three continued their conversation as comfortably as if they were the only ones in the room.
“His Majesty wasn’t the one who called me here.”
“Then? Did you come because you wanted to see your uncle?”
Faced with Duke Nora’s hopeful gaze, Ceres smiled awkwardly and glanced at Kainel, who was standing silently behind her.
“......”
“......”
“......”
She hadn’t even explained anything, yet the moment the two dukes saw Kainel, their expressions turned displeased.
“Why did you come here with him? You’re not close with him, are you? No, of course not. You’re not someone who easily lets just anyone get close.”
“Of course not.”
Duke Nora and Duchess Elkein stepped between Ceres and Kainel, as though trying to pull them apart.
At their obvious attempt to separate the two, the corner of Kainel’s lips curled upward.
“Are they your acquaintances?”
The coldness radiating from Kainel made it seem like he would immediately attack if she said they were strangers. Ceres quickly answered.
“They’re friends of my late parents.”
So behave yourself.
“......”
At Ceres’s warning gaze, the faint smile on Kainel’s lips faded. He was clearly unhappy, but he didn’t seem intent on picking a fight with the two dukes.
Watching him return to his seat, Ceres sighed in relief.
“Everyone, take your seats. Enough with the commotion.”
At that moment, a quiet voice fell over the room, bringing the previous tension to a halt.
Ceres raised her head and met the gaze of a man who had been watching her intently. His eyes were completely black. However, he soon looked away as though avoiding her gaze.
“Alright, let’s sit.”
Duke Nora smiled and returned to his seat. Duchess Elkein followed without another word, no longer interested in making a scene.
Could that person be...
Ceres moved behind Kainel. As she stood there, she looked at Duke Schweiss, the man who had spoken moments ago. He seemed to be one of the people Duke Nora had mentioned before.
The atmosphere is completely different.
Unlike the other two, Duke Schweiss didn’t even spare her a glance. Seeing his cold attitude, Ceres tilted her head slightly.
Could His Majesty have misunderstood?
Had the Duke really said that she was his child? Even after thinking about it again, it was absurd. Perhaps there was some misunderstanding during their conversation...
Swish.
“......?”
As Ceres lost in thoughts, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Duke Schweiss suddenly stood from his seat. He walked over to an empty chair, picked it up, and carried it himself all the way to where she was standing.
“Sit.”
“...Huh?”
Ceres stared at Duke Schweiss in confusion when he placed the chair behind her, then calmly returned to his seat as if nothing had happened.
His expression remained as cold as ever, and he still avoided meeting her eyes. But despite that, he kept stealing glances at her as if checking whether she was uncomfortable.
Seeing him worry about her without showing it on his face, Ceres couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.
Just what kind of people were my parents?
For the first time, she felt genuinely curious about what life the original owner of this body’s parents had lived.
***
“The Baron?”
“Yes. By any chance, was my father close with the three dukes?”
There was only one person Ceres could ask about the late Baron Drow: Colin, the butler who had served the Drow family for many years. If it was him, perhaps he knew something.
“Ah...”
When Ceres asked about the three dukes, Colin lowered his head before sighing heavily.
“Yes. They were close when they were younger. He often spent time with Duke Nora and Duke Schweiss. They even attended the Academy together. But...”
“But?”
“Eventually, he suddenly cut off all contact. I believe it happened around the time something occurred within the Schweiss ducal family.”
“Something? What happened?”
“A very long time ago, when the current Duke Schweiss was still the successor, his younger brother was kidnapped.”
His younger brother had been much younger than him.
“The entire Empire was thrown into an uproar.”
Countless people searched for the kidnapper. But in the end, Duke Schweiss’s younger brother returned dead.
“I don’t know why, but after that incident, I never saw the three of them together again.”
Ceres nodded at Colin’s words.
“They wanted it. They asked us to make sure that you children wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention because of us. We agreed to their wishes.”
They hid everything perfectly.
She remembered what Duke Nora had told her the last time they met.
If Colin, the butler who had witnessed everything from up close, believed that their relationship had ended, then there was no doubt everyone else thought the same.
They had concealed it so thoroughly that no one noticed.
“Except for Aunt Agne, of course.”
“Pardon?”
Colin looked confused at the sudden mention of Agne’s name. Ceres asked him another question.
“What was my father’s relationship with Aunt Agne like?”
“The relationship between those two...”
A long sigh escaped from Colin.
“They were siblings who were closer than anyone else. Until the Baron and his wife passed away, she was also a wonderful aunt to Lady Ceres and her two younger siblings.”
That was why Colin had felt relieved when Agne became the children’s guardian and announced that she would temporarily take charge of the family. He believed that she would care for the children well.
I was wrong.
That belief was shattered in less than half a month.
Watching Agne prevent the children from inheriting the position of family head simply because they were young, and seeing her pressure Ceres until she could no longer make any decisions for herself, Colin desperately wanted to help somehow.
But what could a mere butler like him do? The only thing he could offer Ceres were small pieces of advice and guidance.
Yet even that eventually drew Agne’s displeasure, forcing Colin to leave the Drow estate.
“But why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”
“Just because. Thinking about it now, I think my aunt really was something else.”
She had actually dared to deceive the three dukes of the Empire. Whether that made her foolish or brave, Ceres had to admit she was impressive.
“But, Milady.”
“Hmm?”
“They’re fighting again.”
“......”
At Colin’s words, Ceres turned her head and looked toward the two creatures on the other side of the room, who were busy going bbu, ppi at each other.
[Bbu! Bbu!]
It seemed Airien had played another prank on Sooty. A single flower suddenly bloomed on top of Sooty’s head with a little pop. He frantically waved his short arms around, trying to pull it off. But when it wouldn’t budge, he let out a loud, aggrieved cry.
“Airien.”
[Pi?]
“Stop it.”
[Pi...]
“If you keep bothering Sooty, I’ll scold you.”
[Bbu! Bbuuu!]
The moment Ceres picked up Sooty, who was clinging to her leg, he immediately burst into tears as if he had been waiting for her to step in.
[...Pi.]
Airien glared at Sooty, clearly dissatisfied.
Normally, whenever she played a prank on him, he would retaliate by using his shadow to tug on her ears or trip her. But whenever Ceres was around, he acted like he was the only one being bullied, putting on the most pitiful expression possible.
[Bu...]
[...! Pi!]
Look at him. Just look at him! He’s looking at me from Ceres’s arms with that smug victory smile!
When Airien hopped around in frustration, Sooty’s smile grew wider.
“Enough fighting. Go eat your snacks.”
[Buo!]
[Pi!]
As soon as they spotted the fresh fruit and cake, the two little troublemakers forgot all about their argument.
Humming happily, they rushed toward the snacks together.
***
A cold atmosphere filled Kainel’s office. During a time when he should’ve been busy with work, several unusual visitors had gathered there instead.
“...Why are you here?”
“Beibei, I didn’t expect you to arrive before us.”
Duchess Elkein and Duke Nora stared in surprise at the unexpected guest who had gotten there before them. When they entered the reception room, they saw Duke Schweiss sitting comfortably with his legs crossed, leisurely sipping tea.
“I told you not to call me that.”
At the nickname Nora casually used, Schweiss raised his head without much interest. He placed his teacup down and frowned.
“Come on. If I don’t call Beibei ‘Beibei,’ then what else am I supposed to call you?”
Beinelle Schweiss. Duke Nora had shortened his name to “Bei” and called him that with a wide grin.
Schweiss stared at him before calmly picking up his teacup again.
“I’ll handle things here. You two can leave.”
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