Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Confrontation at the Gates
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Florian kept silent instead of answering right away.
The barracks where Dad was staying weren't far from ours, so we reached our destination in no time.
He stood stock-still in front of the barracks entrance for as long as it took the night watchmen to finish their shift change, bow to us, and return to their posts.
"I'm not the Empress's son right now. And..."
Florian hesitated as if he had more to say, then looked me up and down like he was measuring my height.
Why, what!
So what if I'm only four years old?
Then, as if deciding it wasn't something to tell a baby, he pressed his lips together and just shook his head slightly from side to side.
Besides not being on speaking terms with his birth mother, there must be other reasons too, but he wasn't saying.
In that case, better not pry.
No point in letting my guard down just a little, only for him to bristle right back up.
"When go to Daddy house, food pwenty. If head huwts, okay."
If I revealed that Florian's digestive system was weak and demanded a suitable diet for it, his health would recover in no time.
He was still young, after all.
Even after I said all that, Florian's expression didn't brighten.
He dropped his gaze with a dark look on his face.
"There's no time."
...Is the Emperor that sick? What a worrisome kid.
'I need to help him.'
Time to pay back some of that life debt, at least.
I'm no doctor, but I've got plenty of experience prescribing all sorts of diets.
Once we get to the duke's estate, maybe I can start by planning recovery meals for Florian, then work out training diets too?
Judging by those winter-branch-thin arms, he'd need a serious bulk-up menu for a good long while.
I quietly ran through ideas in my head over and over, piecing together a diet that would suit him.
The moment the main family's castle came into view, signaling the end of that godawful carriage ride, I had to fight back a surge of overwhelming emotion.
Tears are gonna happen...
It really was such a long, grueling trip...
"Ugh, thought I was gonna die."
As expected, Dietrich felt the exact same way I did.
The second we entered Kalena Castle, home of the main family, we changed into the fancy clothes we'd packed ahead of time at Dad's orders.
Even so, seeing his face still grubby with travel fatigue stirred a sense of camaraderie.
Mine probably looks just as bad.
Out of us three little ones, Florian was the only one who looked perfectly fine and clean.
He's so used to hiding things that I couldn't tell if he was really okay or just pretending.
"Nuwse gwown-up, me an Dwitwi cwawwige too much."
"Yeah, the traffic jam was no joke."
"Dwitwi knows gwown-up wowds?"
"Hey, Baby Ella, what the hell do you think I am on the daily?"
"...Want twuth?"
Even if it means things get super tense between us?
I shot him a look loaded with that thought, and Dietrich scoffed in disbelief before mashing my cheeks flat.
Even if it turns me into a fish-face, the Earth keeps spinning!
"They say this time of year is when the Little Duke's birthday banquet is held."
The nurse tossed out a topic that pulled our bickering attention away, smoothly reaching out to rescue me from Dietrich's clutches.
Uncle's birthday?
"How'd you know that?"
I was just about to ask the same thing.
"Heard it from Sir Walter. He said the banquet lasts a week, so carriages will be backed up."
"A whole week?"
"He's the Northern Duke Family's heir. Considering guests come from all over the Empire, a week isn't even that long."
If Uncle's birthday is this big, Grandpa's must be on another level.
Gazing at the endless procession of carriages outside the window, I felt the Northern Duke Family's prestige hit home anew.
I'd heard they were lords of the North, but it hadn't really sunk in until now.
A majestic castle piercing the skies, a grand and glamorous city, streets lined with luxury carriages of every style.
This was Kalena, heart of the Kalenberg Duchy.
Finally...
The nurse kept fiddling with the ribbon she'd already tied in my hair.
"When you meet the Duke, you have to be on your absolute best behavior. Got it?"
"Yeah."
"Such a good girl. The Duke is a very scary man, so no making a fuss."
A hint of anxiety clouded her face as she impressed this on me over and over.
I figured it was because Dad had marched up here with his knights without even asking permission first.
And that wasn't all.
The main family butler who'd been outed as a spy had been hauled back in an iron cage.
The main family servants who'd survived the monster Giamtia's attack on our house? Dragged back tied up in ropes.
'Even though Grandpa sent them himself.'
Of course, they were rotten enough to deserve it, but to outsiders, it wouldn't look good.
On top of that, Grandpa had never once come looking for me or Dietrich.
A cold-blooded man who'd shown zero interest in his grandkids even after they were born.
Which made it all the more strange and fascinating that he'd taken in and raised our big brother Erich.
"We've arrived."
With the branch family's banner flying, we passed through the main gate inspection faster than the other carriages.
The scenery outside grew even more imposing and splendid.
To tamp down my nerves, I glanced at Dietrich and Florian's faces in turn instead of looking out.
Dietrich looked as thoughtless as ever...
"You okay?"
I patted the back of Florian's hand, which had gone a bit pale, and he blinked wide-eyed before giving a faint smile.
Once the carriage came to a full stop and the door opened, Dad dismounted from his horse and approached.
He scooped up the shortest of us three—me—and set me down.
Standing on solid ground and looking up, the duke's estate showed off its even more awe-inspiring grandeur.
"Please show your invitation."
Two knights stationed in front of the banquet hall building stepped up to block Dad and us.
"You forgotten my face already?"
"Ah, even if you are Sir Leopoldt, without an in, invitation..."
They were trembling, so they clearly knew who Dad was.
Stepping up to block him anyway—professional duty, or on Uncle's orders?
Recalling how they'd sent servants to spy on or assassinate Dad, I could easily guess Uncle wouldn't welcome this visit.
We hadn't sent word ahead, but with knights marching along, rumors might have leaked.
"Dominique's still as spineless as ever, huh."
Dad grinned mischievously, and one knight forced out the courage to speak up.
"Sp, speaking of the Little Duke like that is rude."
That set off our knights like a swarm of bees.
"What'd that bastard say?!"
"Blocking the commander who returned from triumph? Has he lost his mind?!"
"Hey, punk, your knight commander was in my year! We hit the baths together, y'know?!"
If it were me, Dad's mere presence would've crushed my spirit, but main family knights were something else.
"Quiet down! This isn't a place for commoner knights to butt in!"
"What, you little shit? I'll toss you to a monster as an after-dinner toothpick...!"
Of course, Dad's knights were no pushovers either.
As the tension ramped up on both sides, Dad finally stepped in.
"That's enough, all of you."
Expecting Dad to back off here, the main family knight went from terrified to smugly scanning Dad and us.
Are we really backing down like this?
"Wha, wha, what are you doing?!"
I'd been racking my brain for a smooth way out of this when a shriek-like cry made me look up.
It came from one of the main family's guard knights.
'Why's he so shocked?'
I got the reason the moment I turned to Dad.
Dad was slowly removing the gloves he'd worn after changing from uniform to formal attire for the main family visit.
Seeing that, the main family knight turned pale as a ghost.
"Wha, what, th, this is a problem!"
"Since when did Northern knights grow such long tongues?"
"I was just doing my, my duty. I..."
Face drained of color, the main family knight backed away step by step as Dad closed the gap leisurely.
The gloves—surely that meant...
The kind where if a knight slaps someone across the face with them, it's a duel to the death?