"Miss!"
Upon entering the castle, Becky, who had hurried down the stairs, came running while sobbing.
"Becky!"
Rellia shared a reunion embrace with Becky as well.
Startled by the word 'Miss,' she tried to check Oscar's expression, but couldn't because Becky was hugging her tightly.
After crying her heart out, Becky pulled away from the embrace and immediately asked.
"By the way, Miss. What's with this outfit? It's so cool! You really look like a noble man!"
"Becky... that's..."
She tried to calm Becky while sneaking a glance at Oscar, but he had a composed expression.
As if he wasn't surprised at all.
Rather, it was Rellia who was surprised and asking with her eyes 'how did this happen?'
Rellia blinked as she looked at him, but Oscar said nothing.
Then, Becky urged with her question.
"But why exactly are you dressed like this, Miss?"
Carius and Duke Superion also looked at Rellia as if curious about the answer.
"...Just... I thought this attire would be comfortable while coming to the territory."
Rellia made an excuse in passing, then asked something more important.
"Where is Grandmother?"
"Ah..."
At the mention of Grandmother, a shadow fell over the Duke's expression. Rellia felt her heart drop and asked in alarm.
"Where is she? Surely she hasn't gotten worse?"
"...She's currently at the villa in the Teren region with Artias."
Teren was a small village within the Superion territory, considered a resort area.
'If she's been moved to a resort, has her condition deteriorated significantly?'
Grabbing her grandfather's arm and pressing for an answer, the Duke hesitated before responding.
"Not much, just a little worse. Don't worry too much. Since you've come, I should contact Artias to bring her back to the castle immediately."
Rellia held her grandfather's hand tightly as he spoke.
"I've brought the ingredients for Grandmother's medicine."
"Is that true?"
Duke Superion asked with an expectant gaze, though he had his doubts.
In truth, his wife's condition was serious. After Rellia left for the capital, her condition deteriorated rapidly.
Now there were many times she couldn't even recognize her own husband's face.
That was why he had sent her to the resort with Artias, and now Rellia said she had obtained a cure.
Though he was half-doubtful, he wanted to believe Rellia's words.
But even if the medicine proved useless, he had no intention of blaming Rellia.
He had no choice but to accept it as fate.
"Don't worry."
Rellia gripped his hand tightly, as if she noticed the Duke's anxious heart.
When had she grown enough to know how to reassure her grandfather?
Duke Superion's eyes grew moist once again.
"What about Uncle?"
Rellia asked anxiously and thought.
'Surely the battle hasn't already started?'
In the original work, her uncle Zenon lost his life in battle against an army created by heretics after the Mad Dragon died.
At this point, shortly after the Mad Dragon's death, she hadn't heard news of heretics appearing yet.
The battle shouldn't have happened yet, but she was anxious nonetheless.
"The Temple sent an official document to the territory, so he's at the Temple. He'll return tomorrow."
At her grandfather's words, Rellia breathed a sigh of relief.
After that, in the reception room, she held her uncle and grandfather's hands tightly and shared a few more stories.
After some time passed, her grandfather said, 'Look at my state of mind,' and spoke to Rellia.
"You must be tired from coming all this way. Go rest now. You should relieve your fatigue until dinner is ready."
"Yes, Grandfather."
Wanting to wash with warm water desperately, Rellia nodded without refusing.
Duke Superion also instructed to give a guest room to Oscar, who had been silent the whole time.
After the two left the reception room, Duke Superion narrowed his eyes and asked his son.
"Who is that fellow?"
Carius scrunched up his face and said.
"He's the Crown Prince of the Hresvelg Empire. And he's a broken one."
Saying that, Carius tapped his own head with his fingertip to emphasize.
"His head? Why?"
"He's incomprehensibly cruel. Recently, news came that the Emperor of the Hresvelg Empire was left half-crippled. That's definitely his doing."
"What?"
When Duke Superion asked back in surprise, Carius continued in a low voice.
"He's a complete lunatic and an unfilial son! We absolutely can't let him get close to our Rellia!"
"But we don't know what circumstances lie behind it... Not all parents are the same, you know..."
"Still, he's someone who crippled his own parents! Even if my father was trash, I wouldn't do that!!"
This kid...
Duke Superion looked at him with narrowed eyes and asked.
"Then if Rellia crippled that Perseus fellow, would you call her unfilial?"
"No, I'd praise her."
"......"
"That and this case are clearly different, Father."
Carius looked at his father with eyes that showed complete lack of affection, filled with contempt.
"...Hoo."
Duke Superion lost his words and only sighed. Carius spoke as if scolding such a father.
"How could you think of using such words with Rellia? Father, please... think before you speak."
"You rascal, still!"
Eventually, a large bump formed on Carius's forehead.
Carius held his painful forehead and thought, 'Father's strength is still the same.'
'Actually, seeing my aged father after 6 years made my heart ache... but it's a relief.'
He felt relieved inside and rubbed the bump on his forehead.
However, contrary to Carius's thoughts, Duke Superion's health was not in a good state.
His health had deteriorated since Rellia left the territory.
Nothing he ate tasted good, and every day was so quiet and depressing that both his body and mind grew weak.
In truth, Duke Superion thought Rellia might never return.
No matter how much of a scoundler Emperor Perseus was who couldn't even recognize his own child, parents were still parents.
He had raised her with much affection as her grandfather, but... it still couldn't match the love parents would give.
So he thought Rellia left late to find her parents, and even if she never returned, he prayed and prayed again that she would only be healthy and happy.
To think she returned this quickly!
Though she came back in men's clothing and brought along a strange fellow, that didn't matter.
What was important was that she 'returned healthy.'
"By the way, Father. Do you intend to never reveal it to Emperor Perseus?"
When Carius asked abruptly, the Duke's face crumpled.
"Do you think he would believe me if I told him?"
"But you said you still haven't found the whereabouts of the nurse who knows all the facts."
"......"
When the Duke fell silent, Carius spoke in a tone of resignation.
"Well... since we don't know what will happen anyway, let's leave it until Emperor Perseus figures it out himself. If the Emperor finds out, he'll drag her to the imperial castle immediately."
The Duke let out a heavy sigh.
In fact, he had been worrying about this problem for years.
Rellia had grown into a beautiful young lady who looked exactly like her mother.
Whether it was the nurse's testimony or whatever, there was actually no need to prove anything.
If she just appeared wearing the white dress Elizabeth used to love, Emperor Perseus would recognize his daughter immediately.
'If Rellia was still young it would be different, but now no other evidence is needed...'
Because Rellia resembled her mother that much.
Seeing such Rellia, the Duke was sometimes overcome with guilt.
For Rellia's sake too, shouldn't he tell Emperor Perseus the truth?
'Heavenly bonds cannot be severed...'
But Emperor Perseus's conduct kept diminishing that resolve.
Also, when he recalled how Rellia suffered while growing up in the imperial castle, killing that fellow wouldn't have been satisfying enough.
He was the one who nearly killed his precious daughter. Sending his granddaughter there, what hardships would she face?
'Anyway, there's Princess Uriana whom he considers his own daughter, and now he even has a son with the Empress, doesn't he?'
If it weren't for Cedric and Damian who share Elizabeth's blood, he would have severed ties long ago and made the Superion territory independent.
Carius brought up a related topic.
"What do you plan to do about Cedric and Damian, Father? Wouldn't it be better to send big brother to the capital?"
"...I'm already thinking about that."
After a child was born between Emperor Perseus and the current Empress.
The Empress's family was instigating the capital nobles.
'Now a true legitimate imperial prince has been born.' That was their claim.
It was a congratulatory message for the late-born child between the remarried imperial couple, but also an open statement ignoring Cedric and Damian.
There were already two grown imperial princes.
Yet such words appeared openly in the capital newspapers.
In fact, until now, the positions of Princes Cedric and Damian had been solid.
Solid enough that there was no need at all for their maternal family, Superion, to stay in the capital and support them.
But recently, the atmosphere was becoming increasingly strange.
After the Emperor remarried, the current Empress's family grew their power day by day like a ship sailing with fair winds.
And now, they had become an enormous mass that had swelled tremendously.
Such people were crossing the line more and more.
They were even showing movements to appoint the baby imperial prince as Crown Prince, which was maddening.
The problem was that despite knowing this, Emperor Perseus took no stance whatsoever.
Duke Superion swallowed his anger and ground his teeth.
But there was still time.
No matter what, appointing a baby as Crown Prince would not be easy.
The forces opposing them also currently held solid power.
For now, it was better to watch the situation more.
Immediately, his wife's health and the fact that Rellia had returned were more important.
The Duke sighed and spoke.
"Let's wait and see for now."
"...Yes, Father. Then I'll go. I need to give Rellia the gifts I bought for her."
"Gifts? You came back after the war ended and even bought gifts?"
"I bought them in the capital. If I knew I'd miss Rellia, I would have stayed longer in the capital... Father should have contacted me sooner."
"Right, so that fellow doesn't have a single gift from his father."
"Really... at that age, so greedy. Me returning safely is the gift for you, Father."
At those words, Duke Superion looked around then grabbed his cane.
Seeing this, Carius quickly fled from the reception room.