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Chapter 96

"Rude things like this—you can do them anytime."

His hand, firmly gripping her shoulder, gave her a strange sense of security.

A pleasant voice came from above.

"And this doesn't even count as rude."

"...Then what would you consider rude?"

Emilia murmured from within his embrace.

Kayden thought for a moment, then said seriously.

"I'm not sure. But if it's you, I think anything would be fine."

"What kind of answer is that?"

At his overly generous reply, Emilia laughed.

She soon pulled away from his embrace.

Kayden's brow twitched, and he spoke in a dissatisfied tone.

"Come to think of it, I'm not sure I remember properly. Want to try something else?"

"...Pardon?"

Thinking he was teasing her, Emilia shot him a look.

"That's enough. I think I've had plenty."

Then she said to him, who seemed somehow displeased.

"Thank you for waiting. Let's go back now."

She added in a small voice, looking at the two of them.

"Home."

---

H-Her Majesty the Empress...

Cedric followed the attendant with trembling steps.

He never thought he'd live to see the Empress in person...

Standing before the ornate door, Cedric swallowed hard.

"Please go in."

"Huh? Yes!"

He answered, stiff with tension, and entered the audience chamber.

The dazzling interior overwhelmed him.

A middle-aged woman sat there, leisurely sipping tea.

Cedric's eyes went wide as he quickly bowed.

"I-it is an honor to meet Your Majesty the Empress! I am Cedric Romains!"

The Empress's red lips curved.

"Ah, yes. Sir Romains."

She looked him over once, then spoke lazily.

"I hear you have a deep connection with the Duchess of Valen."

---

Late at night.

Reina anxiously waited for Cedric.

What could it be?

The Empress had suddenly summoned him.

She couldn't help but worry.

And finally—

Burst.

The door opened and Cedric returned.

Reina hurried over to him.

"Cedric...!"

But his face was flushed with excitement.

The sharp-eyed man who had berated her before leaving was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, he frantically searched for something.

"The vial! Where's the medicine vial?!"

Soon, he found the vial engraved with the Valen crest and grinned ear to ear.

"Haha! Who knew this would be my lifeline!"

He turned to Reina, his lips twisted.

"Looks like you're finally useful for something."

"...What do you mean?"

Reina asked tensely, not understanding.

Cedric answered with a much more generous expression.

"What else? Thanks to you getting this from that Emilia bitch, I'm about to make a fortune! No—if I play my cards right, I might even get a title!"

"...What?"

But Cedric only stroked the vial as if it were a precious gem.

Then he set it on the table and gripped Reina's shoulders tightly.

Her face crumpled under his strength, but Cedric spoke excitedly.

"Listen carefully, Reina."

And at the words that came out of his mouth, Reina's face went pale.

---

Emilia sat under the shade of a tree, watching the training yard.

"One! Two!"

Ivan gripped his wooden sword tightly, swinging it with all his might.

Whoosh—

The sound of the sword cutting through the air was surprisingly strong.

His focused expression was so cute that she couldn't help but smile.

The experience at the toy shop must have left a deep impression—since that day, Ivan had also taken an interest in the swords the knights carried.

Eventually, he'd gone to Kayden and asked to learn swordsmanship.

That was why Kayden was now beside him, correcting his form.

"Wait. Don't grip it at the very end."

"Like this?"

Ivan looked up at Kayden with a puzzled expression.

Kayden adjusted his grip directly.

"Move your back foot further back."

"Yes, yes!"

When Ivan swung again, the sound of the sword cutting through the air was sharper than before.

Emilia's eyes went wide.

Ivan seems more talented with a sword than with a bow.

Even to her, a complete novice in swordsmanship, the difference was clear.

Not only was his stance better, but his eyes sparkled much more than when he handled a bow.

"Now swing a thousand times in that stance."

"Yes, yes!"

Emilia almost doubted her ears at the conversation from the training yard.

A thousand times?

Wasn't Ivan's arm going to fall off?

But Ivan, looking unbothered, began swinging again with a bright face.

Is that just how it's done?

Seeing how natural they both seemed, Emilia set aside her worry and began reading her book.

"Five hundred and one! Five hundred and two!"

With Ivan's rhythmic shouts and the cool breeze, she felt as relaxed as if she were on a picnic.

Just as she was turning to the middle of the book—

"Emilia!"

Ivan's face popped up over her book.

Her eyes went wide at the sight of him.

"Ivan, are you okay?"

Emilia asked, startled—he was drenched in sweat.

His hair and clothes were soaked.

He was even breathing heavily, his lungs still catching up.

"Yes! I'm fine!"

But Ivan answered confidently, as if nothing was wrong.

Come to think of it, boys that age are supposed to have endless energy.

Maybe he'd simply been kept too cooped up at the residence until now.

Deciding she'd been worrying over nothing, Emilia smiled and wiped the sweat from his forehead with her sleeve.

"Still, if you feel even a little tired, don't push yourself—make sure you tell the Duke. Okay?"

"Yes, yes!"

Ivan then proudly showed off his wooden sword and said.

"The Duke says I can get a new one next week! A little heavier than this one!"

"Really?"

Emilia looked at him with interest.

"Can I try holding it?"

"Yes, yes!"

She set her book aside and took the wooden sword from Ivan.

"Huh?"

She'd expected it to be light enough for Ivan to wield easily, so she grabbed it with one hand.

But her arm dropped instantly.

Eyes wide, she lowered the sword and asked Ivan.

"Isn't this heavy?"

"Huh?"

Ivan only tilted his head, confused.

It was heavy enough that even she, an adult, could barely hold it in one hand—

"Ivan, you're amazing."

Emilia said in awe, and Ivan's eyes lit up.

"I'm strong!"

His shoulders lifted as he puffed out his chest and declared.

"Strong enough to protect Emilia!"

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