# 18.
“Ah! I almost had them all!”
“This round is my victory.”
“My Lady! You touched the other stone just now!”
The sound of rolling stones and cheerful laughter echoed throughout the room.
Those who had been hesitant, merely gauging the atmosphere due to Max’s earlier agitation, were now fully immersed in the game of Petra. Since Max had already turned tail and fled, there was no one left to dampen the mood. The air had grown warm and amicable in an instant.
Swept up in the excitement myself, I was busy racking up points, showing off the skills of someone who had handled a few *gonggi* stones in her day. Akid watched me, looking fascinated, as he murmured softly.
“You seem very experienced at this.”
“Ah, well, I’ve always been a quick learner,” I replied with an awkward smile, realizing I had been a bit too enthusiastic.
I deliberately dropped a stone to end my turn, and Akid asked, “Did the maids teach you?”
“That’s right. I found out they were keeping all this fun to themselves.”
I playfully shot a look at Hanna, who looked back at me with a wronged expression, her lips wordlessly moving in protest. Akid let out a short, soft laugh at the sight.
“It is good to see you getting along so naturally with the servants.”
“I want to get along naturally with you too, Akid.”
By which I meant, for instance, sharing a bed.
I hid my wicked inner thoughts behind a bright, innocent beam. Since we currently slept in separate chambers, I had no way of knowing what he was up to once we retired for the night. How wonderful would it be to start every morning by seeing Akid’s face when he just woke up? I felt like I wouldn’t even need vitamins if I could just see that every day.
Akid’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected the conversation to turn back to him so suddenly. I grinned and added, “I want to become much closer to you than we are now.”
*Honestly, the distance between us right now is further than that of childhood friends, let alone a married couple.*
In truth, I had plenty of complaints about our separate living arrangements. I mean, we’ve been married for over a year—how is it that we haven’t shared a room even once? I’m sure it was out of consideration for the Young Grand Duke and Duchess’s tender ages, but this was a serious problem for me.
“I see…”
Akid lowered his head, his expression unreadable. I thought I saw the tips of his ears turning red. Seeing him make such an adorable face made me want to tease him even more—surely I wasn’t the strange one for having a bit of a mischievous streak?
We were right in the middle of our Petra game when the conversation naturally shifted toward the upcoming festival events.
“I heard they’re doing a seed-scattering event this time. Have you been?”
“I went as soon as it opened! It was so beautiful to see the sky lanterns filled with seeds floating in the air.”
“Oh my! They’re launching seeds into the sky?”
“Isn’t it amazing? I never knew planting seeds could be done in such a fun way.”
As the topic of the seed lanterns came up, I had to suppress the urge to puff out my chest with pride.
*‘Mother actually chose my idea.’*
She had seemed so indifferent that I thought she might skip it, but it seemed she had actually brought it to life. Even though I couldn’t go myself, I felt a surge of pride that made the corners of my mouth twitch upward.
“I heard they used magic stones to set the direction of the seeds? Some lanterns are designed to drop the seeds perfectly into the tilled soil.”
“The scale of the events here in Delus is truly something else. They certainly have plenty of magic stone mines to work with.”
“That’s not all. It takes a massive amount of talent to create such magical tools. The artifactors in Hadellus must be quite gifted.”
*Good heavens, they turned it into an artifact?*
I was struck once again by Elena’s sheer efficiency in transforming my suggestion into a flagship event. I had only provided the raw idea; the execution was entirely the result of Elena’s and the vassals’ hard work.
*‘I suppose controlling the wind is difficult, so they made them into magic tools that can be maneuvered freely from the sky.’*
Given the tight deadline, the fact that they designed and produced such artifacts suggests that Hadellus Castle employs some incredible work-slaves—I mean, loyal subjects.
*‘It seems I was more helpful than I thought. I really want to see it for myself.’*
Feeling a mix of joy and regret, I nibbled on a snack. Since it was a large-scale event, the magically bloomed Delus flowers would be everywhere. I was absentmindedly swinging my feet under the table in excitement while eavesdropping on the young ladies’ gossip when Akid leaned in.
He must have heard the neighboring table too, as he whispered, “Do you want to go, Roena?”
He had clearly misinterpreted the longing look on my face. While I appreciated the offer of a date, I had no intention of jumping into a death trap. My life goal was to live out the rest of my days healthily while looking at Akid’s face as much as possible before I died.
“No. The Delus flowers will be everywhere; it would be a struggle if I went.”
“You don’t necessarily have to go right into the middle of it.”
Akid smirked, as if he knew exactly what I was worried about. When I looked at him curiously, he added warmly, “I know a place where we can watch the seed lanterns from a distance.”
“Oh.”
“If we’re just watching from afar, wouldn’t it be alright?”
Akid watched me with an anxious gaze, as if worried I might say no. Our relationship had improved somewhat, but the fear of my rejection still lingered in his eyes. Of course, that was a completely unnecessary worry born from the fact that he didn’t truly know me yet. If he had told me to do a somersault right here and roll all the way back to my room, I would have gladly hit the floor and started rolling.
“If you don’t want to…”
“No, I’d love to!”
I grabbed his hand quickly before he could take the offer back, nodding emphatically. “I’ll go. With you, Akid.”
—
“I heard you bought a mountain of gems and I thought you were taking up beadwork, but then I hear you sent guests home from the party with some bizarre souvenir.”
The Grand Duke of Hadellus looked at me curiously during our luncheon. I swallowed a spoonful of lemon sherbet and replied, “It wasn’t a bizarre souvenir, it’s a game called Petra.”
“Petra?”
“It’s a game popular among the commoners. It’s very fun.”
“Strange. Commoners wouldn’t have the money to buy gemstones.”
Damian tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled. I suppose a man who had never lived as a commoner wouldn’t understand. I glanced at him and explained, “Usually, they don’t use gems; they play with carved wood or small pebbles.”
“Playing with pebbles… how remarkable,” Damian remarked half-heartedly, prompting Elena to chime in.
“The response was quite good. Since they were made of gems, they seemed to be popular as gifts.”
“Is that so? Hmm. It seems you’ve made quite a sensible gift for once.”
Damian looked at me with newfound surprise following Elena’s comment. It felt a bit strange, as if he only accepted it as true because Elena had validated it.
“I didn’t know you were capable of putting so much effort into a gift for others.”
“Do you think I only ever care about things that benefit me, Father?”
“Is that not the case?”
*Excuse me, Father. If you react like that, what does that make me?*
I looked at the Grand Duke with flat eyes as he delivered that blunt truth. To be fair, the original Roena only knew how to indulge in luxury and had never given a gift to anyone in her life. Naturally, hearing she’d bought gems would make anyone assume it was just more extravagance. When I just pouted in silence, Damian spoke up again.
“If you were going to do it, you should have made them larger. It’s not as if we lack gems in the castle. Your ambition is smaller than I thought.”
It seemed my father-in-law thought I had made them small to save on the cost of the gems. I reached into my pocket, pulled out my own set of Petra stones, scattered them on the table, and began to pick them up.
“What are you doing?”
“Look closely. This size is easy to catch for a child like me.”
*Who are you calling a miser?*
I shot him a look as if to ask if he finally understood my deep intentions. Damian blinked for a moment before bursting into a loud laugh.
“I suppose so. With hands that tiny, you’d struggle to hold five large gems at once.”
He then rolled a stone in his palm with interest. Listening to the clicking sound of the stones, he looked toward Elena. She replied flatly with an expressionless face.
“I’m not doing it.”
“Is that so?”
The Grand Duke looked disappointed, smacking his lips before asking me, “How do you play?”
“That is…”
I opened my mouth to explain the rules excitedly, but my gaze suddenly shifted to Akid, who was sitting beside me. He was simply listening to the conversation between the Grand Duke, the Duchess, and myself. I quickly tugged on Akid’s arm.
“Akid will show you.”
“Me?”
Akid looked startled, and the Grand Duke’s lips twitched in response. Like the awkward father and son they were, they simply glanced at one another.
*‘Honestly, these two have zero communication.’*
I pulled Akid toward the Grand Duke and beamed. “While we’re at it, why don’t Akid and I form a team, and Father and Mother form another? We could make a bet.”
“Us against you two?”
The Grand Duke looked amused, while Elena tried to back out, saying, “I told you, I’m not doing it.”
*‘Oho. So that’s how you’re going to be?’*
However, I knew exactly how to get these two into the game. I murmured with a mischievous smirk.
“Oh? Are you both afraid of losing?”
“…”
“I suppose it’s better to avoid the match than to lose to a child. Ho ho ho.”
The one who reacted first to my subtle provocation was the Grand Duke.
“I’ll do it. The bet is on.”
Elena followed suit, picking up a stone. “Don’t come crying to me later.”
“Yay! This is going to be fun!”
As I giggled and explained the rules, the eyes of the Grand Ducal couple began to shine with an unusual intensity.
“‘I knew it. They’re surprisingly easy types to reel in.’”
