“Ahem!”
Lucas, the first to open the dining room door, surveyed his surroundings and sat down.
In his hands was a gift box as large as his body.
“Dandelion will love this much, right?”
That’s when it happened.
“…What’s that?”
Calypse, who entered the dining room second, frowned at his son’s gift bundle.
“It’s a gift for Dandelion. What about you, Dad?”
But Calypse wasn’t the only one frowning.
Lucas eyed the small box in his father’s hands warily and slyly placed his gift box on the table.
Meaning his gift won by size.
Just as the tension between the two men was escalating—
“Is it someone’s birthday today?”
Knox, who had finished organizing Calypse’s work and followed him in late, asked.
“No.”
“Nope.”
At the two men’s answers, Knox quietly stood beside Calypse.
“…”
Then the gift box that had been hidden behind his back slyly rose onto the table.
Seeing it, Calypse grimaced.
“What are you doing?”
“Entering the war.”
Bang—
Lucas struck the table with his fist in warning.
“Why even you, Knox? This will dilute Dandelion’s reaction!”
“We can each earn her reaction with our own skills. You’re not lacking confidence, are you, Young Master?”
At Knox’s question, Lucas, who had been crossing his arms, turned his head with a “Hmph.”
“Whatever you give, what will it amount to? Probably a coloring book with creatures.”
“Ah, there’s that too.”
Knox adjusted his monocle.
“I prepared it as a bonus.”
“!”
Bonus.
He hadn’t thought that far.
“…”
Shocked by the unexpected tactic from his aide, both men closed their mouths.
And so, before Aisha arrived, a chilling wind began to blow in the silent dining room.
Shortly after.
“So what is all this?”
Aisha, who entered the dining room, swallowed and asked.
“Open them.”
“Dandelion, you can take off that scarf now, can’t you?”
“These are gifts, Princess.”
The three men answered competitively without pause and thrust their gifts toward Aisha’s table.
Aisha, who had been blinking her large eyes, carefully began unwrapping a box then stopped and asked.
“…You know tomorrow is the candidate examination, right?”
Then Calypse and Lucas, who had been staring at her blankly, had their mouths fall slightly open.
Only Knox, whose monocle glinted, nodded.
*･☪D✶༄ ‧₊˚a⋰˚☆m✶༄ ‧₊˚
And so now, we’d wrapped up the sudden gift party.
“Don’t you have to prepare since the candidate examination is tomorrow?”
Munch munch.
I asked just in case, but Lucas oppa and the Duke were surprisingly carefree.
“I’ve been dealing with nothing but creatures day and night for five years. Whatever creature comes, I’ll pass the exam.”
Lucas stabbed his steak and chewed the meat leisurely.
‘Come to think of it, that’s true.’
His words had credibility.
The abilities Lucas displayed at Ahili’s circus grounds were real combat skills that couldn’t be learned through training alone.
“Well, oppa will definitely pass.”
“A-ahem! Of course!”
At my words, Lucas’s face turned red in gradation and he puffed up.
“And I’ve known about taking the heir examination since I could talk! Though there’s no meaning to the exam now since hyung is gone…”
“What do you mean?”
Then Calypse, who had been eating quietly, wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Isn’t the heir examination just me since hyung is gone?”
At Lucas’s question, question marks appeared over the others’ faces.
Knox, who was assessing the situation, narrowed his eyes.
“You didn’t tell him?”
“Ah. I’ve been busy lately. My mind has been elsewhere.”
At Knox’s reproach, the Duke, who had scrunched one eyebrow, sighed.
‘You had time to buy my gift but not to tell him something so important, Duke.’
I narrowed my eyes following Knox, but didn’t voice my thoughts aloud.
Because it was true that the Duke had been busy.
After finding Lucas at Ahili’s circus grounds—
He’d been simultaneously handling the circus cleanup, Lucas’s room assignment, and miscellaneous tasks related to the heir examination.
If there had been a duchess, she would have handled Lucas’s room assignment and the training ground setup for the heir examination.
‘But without a duchess, the Duke has to do everything alone.’
Moreover, Calypse, who’d lived alone for five years, had suddenly taken in both me and Lucas.
One way or another, it would be hectic.
“Lucas.”
After taking a sip of water, the Duke spoke.
“The heir examination will proceed as scheduled. Of course, in reality, you’re the only candidate. Aisha is direct lineage but has no ability.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“An ability user emerged from the branch families.”
“…What?”
Lucas’s eyes widened as he ate his steak.
His reaction showed he’d never heard such a thing before.
Of course he was hearing it for the first time since the Duke hadn’t told him.
Unlike Lucas, the Duke’s expression was unaffected.
“No matter what anyone says, you’re the only direct heir, and you’re the only heir candidate. That’s why I didn’t bother mentioning it. But we can’t let an ability user go to waste, so we’ll hold a ceremonial examination.”
“Ah, mm. Well, okay.”
Lucas shrugged.
“Still, since another ability user appeared, they’ll be helpful when guarding the ice wall. By the way, which family are they from?”
“House Rillis.”
“…”
The conversation that had been flowing smoothly stopped from that point.
Because Lucas, who seemed about to continue speaking, closed his mouth.
“…Oppa?”
When I turned my head while listening to the conversation, Lucas had stopped even his fork and was just staring at his steak as if lost in thought.
I leaned forward slightly to check on him.
Lucas’s complexion up close wasn’t good.
Like someone who couldn’t breathe.
“That,”
Actually, Lucas, who stammered slightly, lowered his voice.
“About the heir examination. Isn’t it a bit awkward to take it on the same day in the same place as someone from the branch families?”
Finally, he spoke and said something unexpected.
Changing his words so suddenly?
I closed my mouth, a bit puzzled, and listened carefully to their conversation.
“You’ll meet them often anyway since they’re an ability user. It would be good to get acquainted tomorrow while we’re at it.”
“Uh, mm… Then, since it’s just an exam anyway, I can leave right after I’m done, right?”
“I don’t mind. If you’re not curious, you can see the branch face later.”
“Great!”
At those words, Lucas’s face brightened a bit.
“But the House Rillis side will probably insist on watching your examination.”
At the Duke’s words, he darkened again.
“Dad.”
“What.”
“What about postponing the heir examination instead?”
At that question, both Knox’s and my eyes widened slightly.
It was an absurd suggestion. House Krost, which had lost all its children, had already postponed the heir examination for years.
Calypse frowned and raised his voice slightly.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, I’m the only heir anyway now. There’s no one else to examine, so it wouldn’t matter if we postponed it a bit, right?”
“It’s an examination we’ve been postponing for years. If we delay further, the family heads’ backlash will grow.”
He seemed upset and stopped, then blurted out.
“You’re the Duke, aren’t you, Dad?”
“So what.”
“If you just order them to postpone the examination, shouldn’t the family heads say yes?”
At the increasingly unreasonable words, Calypse sent a warning look.
“Lucas.”
“What?”
“You know that’s nonsense. Stop throwing tantrums.”
“I’m the only heir candidate anyway, and I want to postpone the date—why not?”
Calypse sighed and muttered.
“…If tyranny is your dream, it would be better never to hold the heir examination.”
“Tyranny?”
At those words, Lucas let out a hollow laugh as if absurd.
Then.
“I was locked in a cage until just days ago! I want to rest a bit, and a Duke can’t even do that much for me?!”
Crash—!
He overturned his steak plate and rushed out of the dining room before Calypse could even stand up.
“…?”
Wait a minute.
What just happened here.
________________________________________
