Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The First Prince Leaves the Palace
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I slyly extended my palm toward the letter Daddy was holding, hoping to unravel the mystery. At that instant, Daddy teasingly yanked the letter back toward himself.
What?
Having swiped at nothing but empty air, I stared at him with utter bewilderment. Daddy flashed a playful grin.
"I heard you ran away because you didn't want to learn ancient holy tongue. Do you know your letters at all?"
Unfair! Nurse! You already told Daddy!
"A kid who can't read letters can't read letters either, right?"
"Now Mawiew knows wots of wetters?"
"Oh? Then shall we see how much your daughter's reading comprehension has improved?"
Is there nothing special in the letter's contents?
Instead of teasing me for long, Daddy obediently handed over the letter. It must be the kind safe to show a child, with no real substance.
As expected, the letter held just five characters.
...That's it?
No, they should have written about our family's situation or some secret order to assassinate Daddy in secret—then I'd fire them on the spot.
What am I supposed to do with this?
"Is the word 'departs palace' still too hard?"
"Yeah. This no fun. Don't wanna pway with Bidu. Gotta go room and pway with Wawwa."
"Go ahead."
I turned away like any ordinary three-year-old who'd lost interest in a boring letter.
Laura, who had been standing at a distance with a pleased smile watching Daddy and me together, hurried over when I beckoned her and followed behind me.
First Prince departs palace.
I had no idea what the intent was behind sending such a message, but one thing was clear.
Just before entering the manor with Laura, I glanced up once more at the third-floor window where the cup still sat today.
'The main family seems to dislike that child.'
There had to be a reason someone bothered informing the servants in our house about the First Prince's departure from the palace.
After quietly observing for a few days, it seemed even the servants couldn't enter that room—only Daddy went in and out.
That behavior must be connected too.
'The main family dislikes the child, but Daddy wants to protect him.'
So it was obvious whose side I should take.
As long as he was in our house, I had to guarantee that child's safety no matter what.
"Commander!"
A heavy yet somewhat urgent call rang out from behind me as I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the third-floor window.
Commander—that's calling for Daddy.
When I turned toward the tree where Daddy stood, I caught sight of a knight rushing over in a hurry.
Isn't that Walter, Daddy's adjutant?
"What is it?"
"Well, tomorrow Knight Stipe is supposed to escort the war prisoners to the main estate, right?"
War prisoners?
I mulled over the familiar-sounding name for a moment.
'Who was Stipe again?'
Stipe... Ah, that loose-lipped old guy I saw in the kitchen last time!
He must hold a pretty trusted position with Daddy.
Escorting war prisoners to the main estate sounds like an important mission.
"And?"
"I think you need to replace the person in charge. It seems Knight Stipe hurt his wrist while overseeing the young master's sword training."
"A skilled fighter like Stipe gets injured by my son, who's just starting sword training? Even a dog wouldn't believe that."
"They say even monkeys fall from trees."
"I heard a physician from the main family is staying here. Did they check it properly?"
"Yes. The physician said it looks like a bone injury, so it's best he rests and avoids straining it for a while..."
Dietrich mentioned last time that even though it's a wooden sword, it has an iron core inside, making it incredibly heavy.
How did he get hurt?
Dietrich isn't the type to swing a sword recklessly at people.
Did he accidentally bump into him while supervising the training?
"I'll go."
Instead of immediately responding to Walter's offer, Daddy fell silent for a moment.
"I'm the most suitable since I know the details of the matter. If the prisoner escort gets delayed further, who knows what nitpick the ducal family might find."
Normally, this kind of task would indeed be Daddy's job.
It was a war he led to victory, and as the commander of the returning army, he had a duty to report directly to Grandfather.
Handing it off to Stipe was probably due to resentment toward Grandfather and a sense of duty to protect me and Dietrich.
"Just send Peter or Gilla."
"They're both commoners, aren't they? Besides, Sir Peter got injured too. Will the ducal family even treat commoners properly? At least Stipe is from nobility, but now he's hurt..."
"You're a commoner yourself."
"Aw, come on. But I'm the adjutant you personally appointed, Commander. I have more pull than the others."
"I could go myself."
"You won't. Like when you went to the shop to buy a gift..."
Shop? Gift for who?
But Walter's words didn't continue to the end.
The moment he met Daddy's icy gaze, he let out a yelp and clamped his own mouth shut.
Daddy, who silenced Walter in an instant, glanced my way.
Still standing under the tree shade eavesdropping on Daddy and Walter's conversation, I flinched guiltily, but Daddy's expression showed no change.
He simply stood there gazing at me steadily as a few petals drifted down on the breeze.
"Then we have some things to discuss. Follow me."
"Yes! I'll do my best!"
"You're happy about taking on all the work."
In the end, it looked like they decided to entrust the prisoner escort to Walter.
I felt a bit sorry that Stipe got hurt because of Dietrich, but Walter seemed more reliable than that loose-lipped guy anyway...
As I unconsciously looked at Walter with that thought, he, following Daddy toward the study, started winking at me furiously with one eye.
...Why's he doing that?
With the sudden change in mission leader, there must have been a ton of things to prepare.
Daddy, who'd been eating dinner with me and Dietrich every evening since returning, even sent word today that he'd eat separately.
'Not that I mind.'
Entering the dining room, I sat across from Dietrich, who looked utterly dejected and didn't even bother turning his head as I came in.
"Dietwi, want sawad?"
"Eh, whatever... I'll just eat."
He was shoving even the vegetables he usually hated into his mouth without protest, so he must have been pretty shocked.
Watching the usually cheerful and noisy Dietrich moping like this kept nagging at me.
"Did Knight Stipe get hurt? It's okay. Say sowwy and be mowe careful next time."
"I apologized. He accepted it too."
"Then why you still sad, Dietwi?"
Did starting sword training and immediately hurting someone shock him that much?
The moment he heard my question, Dietrich's face darkened even more.
Watching that expression stirred up all sorts of thoughts.
'Is Stipe bullying Dietrich?'
Did Dietrich hit him on purpose because of that? He's a subordinate Daddy trusts quite a bit, though...
'But if not, why does Dietrich look so down?'
As all sorts of worries swirled in my head and my own face clouded over like his, Dietrich hesitated before speaking.
"I didn't want to tell anyone because it'd sound like an excuse..."
"You can tell me. I'm Dietwi's wittle sister."
"Okay, just you then. I did hit Sir Stipe, but he wasn't supposed to be there originally."
What?
Not fully understanding, I tilted my head, and Dietrich added an explanation.
"I swung the sword toward the side where Sir Stipe wasn't. But he... like he did it on purpose... stuck his hand out right there."
"Why?"
"I don't know either. But I swear! I swung it carefully toward an empty spot so no one else would get hurt, but Sir Stipe suddenly...!"
Truly feeling wronged, Dietrich started jutting out his lower lip.
I took a moment to sort my thoughts.
There was no reason for Dietrich to lie.
He didn't seem to have any personal grudge against Stipe, and even if he did, he'd confront it head-on rather than pull something petty like this.
So why on earth did Stipe do that?