So even if he heard everything.
I was a bit embarrassed, so I pretended not to hear.
“And Father?”
Void asked as he sat down.
“He said there are many documents he must review.”
“Ah, I see.”
A reply as if he hadn’t expected anything in the first place.
But by now, I couldn’t help but notice.
Every mealtime, Void asked about Uncle.
Even knowing Uncle wouldn’t appear, he held onto a faint hope.
*‘Hmm……’*
I watched Void intently, spoon in my mouth.
No matter how I looked at it, he had the face of someone who wanted to eat with Uncle.
*‘Ha, come to think of it, I haven’t had a single meal with Uncle since I came here, have I?’*
Could he be avoiding the table to let me eat with Void?
I fiddled with a small hairpin.
“Hey, Hazel.”
I whispered, covering my mouth with a large piece of bread.
“Yes, Lady Rubian.”
“……?”
Hazel was, surprisingly, an ability user who could whisper without moving her lips.
With a calm face, I asked the rest.
“Could it be that Uncle is deliberately not eating with Void?”
At that, Hazel hesitated slightly.
I guessed right.
“……No. His Lordship is truly busy today.”
“Today?”
“Yes. Actually, it is quite rare for the two of them to dine together. Over the past few years, His Lordship has stayed at the ducal estate but a handful of times, and…… when Young Master Void was little, he was very frightened of His Lordship.”
“Ah, I heard about that.”
“He would feel nauseous every time they ate together…… so things became like this.”
“Hmm,” I bit the end of the bread slightly. It was crispy.
“Void was that scared of Uncle?”
“When the young masters first came to the castle…… His Lordship was truly not in a good state. To the point where no one could approach him.”
Ah. So it was when he lost his child and fell into despair.
I recalled Uncle Leviathan’s past.
*‘He probably wandered lost for several years.’*
When confronted with such immense sorrow, there are times when you cannot see anything around you.
“We may have gotten off on the wrong foot. Of course, he always regrets what happened back then……”
Hazel, who had muttered softly, seemed to come to her senses and exclaimed, “Oh my, what am I saying,” jerking her head up.
“I’m sorry. I disturbed your meal, didn’t I?”
“No, you didn’t.”
So that’s what this is.
A father who has grown careful, sorry for not treating his son well in the past.
And a son who doesn’t want to seem the least bit displeasing to the father he respects.
*‘But how long are they going to live like this?’*
I stabbed the meat Void had cut and put it in my mouth.
Chew, chew.
The juice spread throughout my mouth, melting softly—it was the highest quality meat I’d ever tasted in my life.
“Rubian, you have to eat the bell peppers too.”
“Mmm……”
Lost in thought, I gave a half-hearted reply and pushed the chopped bell peppers off my plate.
“……”
Naturally, I didn’t see the young master drop his jaw in shock at table manners he’d never seen nor heard of.
Chew, chew, gulp.
“Hey.”
When I looked up, Void was staring at me with a very displeased face.
*‘What do I do, look at him. He looks a bit sad……’*
Honestly, I had been a bit worried.
Wondering if it was okay for me to interfere in another family’s affairs.
Besides, as had happened in the latter half of the original story, their relationship would slowly improve anyway. So I didn’t really need to interfere, but……
I fiddled with my hairpin again.
*‘Because I’m grateful to both of them……’*
I wondered if I should give them a little push.
“Should I ask Uncle to eat with us from now on?”
Clatter—Void dropped his utensils.
“Huh?”
“What? Is that weird?”
“No, it…… would be nice.”
“Are you still scared of Uncle?”
“Of course not!”
That made sense. Considering how much he loved those hero cards.
Void scratched his cheek shyly.
“I now understand that something terrible happened to Father in the past…… Of course, I’d like to eat with him now.”
“You’d like to, but?”
“It’s just…… it’s a bit awkward to ask him now……”
“Aha.” I narrowed my eyes.
“So you need an opportunity?”
“Well, it’s not necessarily that…… He might find it bothersome……”
“Hmm.”
With the evasive Void before me, I contemplated a method.
Then, I suddenly noticed servants busily passing by outside the dining room. They were carrying loads of documents. Probably on their way to Uncle’s office, right?
The corners of my mouth turned up.
“Big Brother Void.”
“Huh?”
“I have a good idea.”
*Hehehe.* When I laughed, eyes gleaming, Void flinched slightly.
*‘What the heck, my little sister is kind of like a devil……’*
I heard that muttering, but.
What did I care?
* * *
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the heavy office door.
“Come in.”
A low voice.
When I entered carefully, I saw Uncle sitting at his desk.
The silhouette sitting with its back to the sun was enormous. On the side table were countless cups of coffee and traces of hastily eaten meals.
Ah, I could feel it.
The scent of an office worker buried in work.
“Leave the documents there and go. Why so man—…… What are you doing here?”
Uncle, who had been flipping through something, looked up. His eyes showed utter surprise.
“Pardon me!”
“What?”
I bowed at a perfect 90 degrees. Uncle frowned, looking at me as if I were some bizarre creature.
Paying him no mind, I walked right up.
I placed the paper I was holding onto the desk, which was piled chaotically with documents.
“What is this?”
“Please review this, Duke!”
“……Huh?”
He wore a dumbfounded expression.
Uncle picked up the paper written in crooked handwriting.
“A report?”
“Yep!”
To be precise, it was an approval document, *ahem.*
“……You’re planning to hold a welcome ceremony, so you’re asking for my signature?”
A reluctant voice rang out. I puffed out my chest and nodded along.
“What on earth is this about?”
“It means exactly what it says.”
I spoke shyly, feeling like a new employee going to get approval from their department head for the first time.
“I plan to hold a welcome party for myself. The location is the Central Dining Room!”
“……?”
“Please check the item list here and sign.”
*Have you ever heard of a self-driven welcome party?*
“You really do all sorts of strange things.”
Uncle scoffed, incredulous.
“Won’t you allow it?”
“Of course I will.”
Swish. A bold, unhesitating signature. Perfect.
I gripped the returned document tightly.
When I grinned, Uncle—who had been observing me with his chin propped on his hand—chuckled along.
“Then see you at dinner tonight!”
“Ah, I’m busy, so……”
“The Duke is required to attend, though? You signed.”
“Huh?”
Uncle lifted his face from his hand.
I pointed to the last line written in tiny letters.
“If you look at this line…… it also serves as an invitation. Signing means you agree to attend, too.”
*That’s why you should be careful when signing, Uncle.*
Leaving the Duke blinking blankly, I waved my hands.
“See you later, Uncle!”
Slam. The door closed neatly.
Outside, Void was standing there.
With a somehow nervous face.
“Did it work?”
“Of course.”
We put our heads together and giggled.
* * *
It started small, but somehow the entire castle became abuzz.
“Everyone, move aside!”
“Ah, the decoration fell over there!”
“It’s because we’ve never hung something like this before!”
“Adhesive! Buy more adhesive!”
Sturdy maid ladies, servants, and attendants ran about here and there.
“Why haven’t those gardeners come? I told them to bring more flowers, and there’s been no word!”
“I ought to go kick their butts!”
I sat in the dining room, blankly watching the scene.
Colorful flowers and decorations now hung in the previously bleak interior.
*‘It would be quick if we used magic……’*
But of course, we couldn’t use magic.
Besides, Hazel had said my job was to sit still. So I was sitting still.
“Everyone is so enthusiastic.”
I had just intended to set out food and eat together…… but it felt like I’d made a big production out of it.
“Lady Rubian.”
Then, a gentle voice was heard.
I turned and saw a middle-aged woman with a smile.
She was the chef of this castle.
“I came to ask what kind of cake Lady Rubian likes.”
“Cake?”
“Yes. I wondered which cream to choose.”
I tilted my head.
“But…… isn’t this party for Uncle’s return?”
The answer came from the other side.
“It’s also a welcome party for you?”
It was Void, sitting right beside me stacking cards.
“Huh? Wasn’t that just an excuse?”
If I had said it was a return party for Uncle, he obviously wouldn’t have allowed it.
But Void wore the expression of someone who had heard something he shouldn’t have.
“So we should leave you out?”
“Well, not exactly, but……”
I couldn’t find anything more to say and just blinked. The chef spoke up again.
“Now then, would you tell me which cream you like?”
Favorite cream? As if I would have one.
“I…… don’t know much about cake! Anything is fine.”
In both my previous life and current one, I had rarely eaten cake. You need to know things to have preferences.
“Ah.”
The chef’s eyes widened slightly as she read something in my answer, but only for a fleeting moment. A gentle smile quickly returned.
“That can happen. Then…… how about I use my special cream? I’m sure you’ll come to like it.”
“Yes. That sounds good!”
Since she said *special,* I was a little excited.
After asking about foods I couldn’t eat and textures I liked, the chef moved away.
After that, countless people came and went.
The dining room, which had only been spacious, quickly became splendid. Just like a real party venue!