As I quietly peeked my head out, I saw the frozen Sun Society boys. Only Prince Abino blinked his eyes.

Among the Sun Society, the first to move was Cezare.

“It seems that the Calsoi Empire welcomes state guests like this~”

His voice was as always, tinged with playful charm, but no one responded.

That was because my grandfather’s mouth twisted crookedly.

He let out a bitter laugh and took a step forward.

“Ah, does the prince’s homeland, Shueliz, lavish such grand welcomes on state guests?”

“It’s a country that knows manners.”

“I remember. How politely the prince’s father treated me. Even when my soldiers only came near Shueliz’s borders, he was at a loss and insisted on a private meeting.”

“......!”

Cezare’s usually composed expression instantly crumpled.

My grandfather smiled and slowly approached the boys.

“It seems the world has changed much while I stayed at the manor, Prince.”

“.......”

“The time has come for the Prince of Shueliz to dare meet my gaze.”

“Duke Astra!”

My grandfather lightly grasped Cezare’s shoulder.

Cezare flinched and stepped back.

‘Oh, looks like he’s scared.’

Well, of course.

The atmosphere was so overwhelmingly intimidating it made the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end.

Duke Astra, seasoned by the passage of time, was not someone those young princes could handle.

“W-what rude....”

“Take note.”

“.......”

“The Biferi family knows how to retreat, but I do not.”

“.......”

“Astra never avoids a fight that comes to them.”

The boys flinched and stared at my grandfather.

Cezare clenched his teeth.

“Do you really think you’ll get away with this? Our alliance is still intact.”

“In nature, the weak always gather in packs.”

“Damn you......”

“Even if they swarm, I’ll surely bite and kill one. Who do you think that will be?”

“......!”

That was when Marquis Debussy hurried over.

“Laontra and Aligiosa have requested a meeting.”

The boys all took a deep breath.

‘Not the emperor, but Astra was requested for the meeting?’

That meant two nations were already breaking away from the alliance.

No wonder grandfather didn’t come straight to the border city, and it took some time.

‘He was preparing for this.’

The boys from countries other than those requesting the meeting turned pale.

My grandfather slowly patted Cezare’s shoulder.

Then, fixing his gaze on the boys, he ordered Marquis Debussy.

“Astra forces, prepare for heightened alert.”

“D-Duke!”

The boys shouted, but my grandfather did not react.

Only this:

“They acted foolishly, so they must pay the price.”

Thunk!

My grandfather’s voice sank heavily.

The boys, guessing what the subject was, turned pale.

I smirked inwardly.

‘No wonder this is the strongest family of Ice.Black.Hand.’

Other families would have had to retreat when pressed by the alliance, but not grandfather.

He bites and kills just one.

That was Astra’s most fearsome trait.

‘Still, I shouldn’t corner them too much.’

Even a rat needs an escape hole to avoid going mad rampaging.

“Grandfather......”

When I called, his shoulder flinched.

Then his expression changed in an instant.

He cleared his throat with a prim look, startling the boys of the Sun Society.

He cleared his throat again.

“Alright, are you ready to leave?”

“Yes. But am I going alone?”

“You should go with Liantin.”

“......What about you, grandfather?”

If you stay here, those kids might have a heart attack.

He looked at me, silent for a moment.

Then finally.

“Huh, really......”

“......?”

“Anyway, don’t be spoiled. ...Well, do you want your grandpa to go with you?”

‘Not necessarily together, though.’

He seemed pleased but didn’t need to overdo it.

I smiled awkwardly.

“Yes.”

Grandfather quickly turned his head to Marquis Debussy.

“Prepare my carriage.”

“Sir? The imperial investigation team will arrive soon.”

“Let them investigate as they wish! Do I have to do that too?!”

Marquis Debussy looked displeased.

“Yes... I will order the carriage prepared immediately.”

“Hurry.”

Saying that, grandfather suddenly reached out his hand to me.

“Huh?”

“What are you doing?”

“Ah......”

‘He must be in a really good mood after this.’

Showing Astra’s power to the whole continent would do that.

I gently took grandfather’s hand.

He took mine and strode forward; I followed behind, scampering.

Behind us, there erupted awkward laughter, sighs, and flustered breaths.

“They say Duke Astra’s favorite grandchild is the cutest...”

“Not just cute, but a spoiled brat...”

Voices of the Sun Society boys.

Until now, pretending to be mature, I felt a little embarrassed.

It didn’t take long to reach the Astra manor.

Liantin and I staggered out of grandfather’s carriage.

“Ugh.”

Liantin covered her mouth with one hand, groaning.

I also felt like my eyes were spinning.

‘Indeed, it is Duke Astra’s carriage...’

A carriage almost plastered with Stones of Swift Blessing.

And it was pulled by snow horses.

“I feel like I’m going to die.”

Liantin muttered, her face pale, and I nodded.

“Mm.”

Even with my strong magic, the huge amount of blessing stones made me very uncomfortable inside.

So Liantin must be on the verge of fainting.

‘I knew grandfather’s magic was tremendous... he’s a monster.’

Grandfather seemed completely unaffected by all those blessing stones.

I guess that’s where Selene’s huge magical power was inherited from.

Just as grandfather stepped out of the carriage—

“Liantin!”

“Liantin......”

Uncle Decons and his wife were running up the stairs like they might tumble.

Tears welled quickly in Liantin’s eyes at the sight of her parents.

“Dad, Mom......”

“My goodness, my child.”

As soon as aunt hugged Liantin, she burst into tears.

Decons couple must have watched the Colosseum match.

Other relatives came down the stairs.

Of course.

“Eril─!”

“Erilot.”

“.......”

Balzac, Joshua, and Rishimond were also with them.

“Are you alright? Did those brats do something? Did they hit you? Huh?”

“No.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes.”

“I heard your magic was unstable. Is there no effect?”

“Don’t worry.”

It had only been a few days since the fall, but since we had been together daily before, it felt like a long time had passed.

I smiled quietly.

Even this fuss felt welcome.

Balzac frowned tightly.

“Look at this. So cute!”

He grabbed my cheeks with both hands.

“With a face this cute, those guys must have bothered you!”

Forget what I just said.

This fuss wasn’t so welcome after all.

While we were exchanging reunion warmth—

Uncle Balderic scolded Liantin.

“Dragged out to the Colosseum match? What on earth did you do...!”

“.......”

Liantin pressed her lips shut, and her father, Uncle Decons, frowned.

“There must have been a reason! Balderic, instead of comforting your hard-pressed niece, you start blaming her?”

“You pampered her too much, so Astra got such disgrace.”

“You, brat......”

“How could the direct line of Astra act like a clown in the Colosseum.”

“The Colosseum! It’s a dream place for other nobles!”

“Are we the same as those who cling to the royal family for a living? Huh?”

“Biferi’s direct line was dragged into the Colosseum too!”

“How dare you compare Biferi and us? Their vassals are only a few hundred thousand. Ours number more than ten times that! We are practically a kingdom!”

Other adults clicked their tongues disapprovingly, and Liantin bowed her head deeply.

Aunt didn’t know what to do and hugged her daughter.

Uncle Decons clenched his teeth.

Then suddenly glared sharply at me.

“What on earth happened? Why was Liantin dragged into the Colosseum?”

“Huh?”

“You failed to take care of the child you brought... I heard you were on good terms with the Sun Society, so did you target Liantin?!”

“.......”

“Are you taking revenge for when you fought Liantin as a child?”

“.......”

“Prince Salvatore showed kindness to Liantin, even assigned the Imperial Guard’s attention, so why did this suddenly happen─”

At those words, my three older brothers scowled deeply.

Hot-tempered Balzac seemed ready to jump out.

“That’s not Eril’s fault...!”

I quickly grabbed Balzac’s arm.

Then—

“Stop it!”

Liantin shouted.

“Liantin......?”

When Uncle Decons widened his eyes, Liantin raised her head.

Her eyes were glistening with tears.

“The prince didn’t take an interest in me. He played with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was jealous of Erilot. So, not knowing the prince was toying with me, I took his offered hand!”

“W-what?”

“All the royals of the Sun Society only liked Erilot, and all the other invited nobles clung to Erilot......”

“.......”

“No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep up with Erilot, so... I was jealous. Blinded by jealousy, I was played by Prince Salvatore.”

“W-what?”

“Erilot kept warning me. Saying I’d disgrace the family, that we should return before it got worse, over and over......”

In the end, Liantin broke down sobbing.

She buried her face in her hands and trembled faintly.

“I ignored the warnings, acted arrogantly lecturing her, but Erilot stayed at the border city for me.”

“.......”

“She helped me, saved me.”

“.......”

“It’s all my fault......”

I knew how proud Liantin was.

And here she was, confessing her shameful mistakes ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ before the relatives.

Uncle Decons was stunned.

His lips trembled, and his expression looked like he might cry.

He knew where Liantin’s jealousy had come from.

‘Because uncle made her that way.’

He crushed others with comparisons: “What’s wrong with you compared to Erilot?”

So jealousy inevitably grew in her heart.

Aunt patted Liantin’s back.

“Don’t be ashamed. It was me who planted jealousy in you. It’s the parents’ fault.”

“.......”

Then she looked at me and bowed her head.

“Sorry to trouble you, Erilot. Thank you.”

“......Yes.”

Uncle Decons said nothing and lowered his head.

As silence fell, Uncle Balderic grumbled.

“What’s in girls’ heads anyway.”

“Balderic.”

Grandfather stepped forward.

“You’re utterly useless.”

“Huh?”

“Everyone, go home.”

“F-Father......”

“Can’t you hear me─!!”

Grandfather’s sharp rebuke made the relatives flinch.

The cautious ones slowly turned away.

Decons couple soothed Liantin and left.

Balzac, holding his head in his clasped hands, clicked his tongue.

“You tried to pull down your other nephews in front of grandfather and got your ass kicked. Stupid.”

Joshua smiled coldly.

“The competition among 3rd generations will only get fiercer.”

“Why?”

“Think a little, Balzac. Thanks to Erilot being in grandfather’s favor, your father is one step closer to succession. But those greedy uncles won’t stand still.”

“Annoying.”

Balzac clicked his tongue again and said to me,

“Tired? Let’s hurry back to the jurisdiction.”

“Yeah. But what about dad?”

“I heard he asked Enzo, ‘What’s the specialty of the Sun Society’s country?’ and has been holed up in the barracks.”

“What?”

“Ah, the specialty of the German Kingdom is kiwi.”

Nooo—!

I rushed back to the jurisdiction.

Of course, once back, I clung to dad and said,

“I hate kiwi! I hate fruit now~!”

That damn fruit map.

I’ll burn it all down.

And a few days later, a gift box arrived at the jurisdiction castle.

It was a very beautiful dress.

The sender was ‘Uncle Decons’.

The enclosed letter read:

[If you ever need my help, don’t hesitate to contact me.]

A fitting apology from Liantin’s father.

A week later.

I, entering the palace, looked tiredly at the communication stone.

[Do you know how shocked I was?]

Christopher’s voice flowed out from the stone.

He had contacted me immediately upon hearing dad had acquired the German Kingdom’s map.

Probably, Sebastia had gotten my communication code.

‘Because I exchanged codes with Sebastia.’

“I’m sorry. My father didn’t know we were allies, so that’s why......”

[So? Will our Majesty be torn apart by the famous Astra hounds?]

“No. I told father and grandfather about the alliance.”

[Anyway......]

“But why the formal tone?”

[Because if I disrespect the precious Astra treasure, I feel my leash might get bitten someday.]

I wish he wouldn’t say ‘get bitten’ so much.

‘Grandfather must have scared him a lot.’

I smiled awkwardly.

“Stop it. Our alliance will continue, right?”

[......Laontra and Aligiosa’s meeting, our German Kingdom wants to join.]

“I’ll tell grandfather.”

[Not ‘Grandfather~’?]

“Really!”

When I said that in a sulky voice, I heard chuckles from the communication stone.

[Let me know once it’s confirmed.]

“Yes. Go ahead.”

[Okay.]

After ending the communication, I sighed deeply.

‘I have to tell grandfather that the German Kingdom wants to attend the meeting.’

As we left the gloomy place, Alexis, who was keeping watch nearby, followed us.

Since the Egritz mercenary group became my forces, Alexis had become my personal bodyguard.

“Christopher?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he say?”

“He grumbled.”

We chatted quietly as we headed to grandfather’s study.

Then at that moment.

Someone was coming out of the study.

They wore palace uniforms, and seeing one of them, I froze.

“Ah.”

“.......”

“Nice to meet you, young lady.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

A boy with the same voice and eyes as in my first life smiled gently.

“I’m Vincent Edrope, the palace secretary.”