Chapter 252

‘But... my guardian?’

Had he really come all the way here because of him? The Duke of Schweiz, of all people?

Antonian unconsciously swallowed hard. There were so many things he wanted to ask, but that only made it harder for him to open his mouth.

“Antonian is very talented in many areas. His grades are excellent as well.”

His homeroom professor showered him with praise as he handed Antonian’s report card from the end of last semester to the Duke of Schweiz.

“.......”

The Duke of Schweiz accepted the report card and slowly read through it.

‘No, why are you showing him that?!’

Antonian could not hide his flustered expression. Why was he showing that to the Duke?!

His grades weren’t bad, but having someone else look at them made him feel strangely awkward and embarrassed. He had never even shown them to his sister.......

Pat.

“......!”

Antonian’s slightly flushed face froze as his eyes widened once again.

A large hand was stroking his head.

‘...Is he praising me right now?’

Antonian stared blankly at the Duke of Schweiz.

Then his mouth fell open once again.

For the first time, he saw it.

A smile on the Duke of Schweiz’s lips.

It was extremely faint and disappeared almost immediately, but it had definitely been a smile.

“His swordsmanship grades aren’t bad either.”

“Yes. Even in the first semester, he could barely keep up with his swordsmanship classes....... Haha. It seems his talent simply manifested late. During the second semester, he’s been displaying greater talent in swordsmanship than anyone else. I’ve always been rooting for him. Haha.”

‘Why in the world are you trying to learn swordsmanship?’

‘Because I like it.......’

‘How foolish.’

‘.......’

‘At least your other grades are good, so look into something else. Your family is already in poor circumstances. Don’t waste your time on something pointless.’

The very person who had most enthusiastically criticized him for wasting his time on something he had no talent for when he did not even have a proper family capable of supporting his swordsmanship training was his homeroom professor.

His words had certainly been realistic and understandable enough... but they had still hurt.

Was he not even allowed to dream simply because his family was weak and he had no one backing him?

“Our Antonian could take the knight order entrance examination right now and easily pass. Haha.”

But now, as though he had completely forgotten everything he had said back then, nothing but praise poured endlessly from his homeroom professor’s mouth.

“He’s still young. He can take his time deciding what he wants to do.”

The Duke of Schweiz’s hand stroked Antonian’s head again.

As though telling him he had worked hard all this time... that he had done well.......

The somewhat clumsy touch unexpectedly made emotion surge inside Antonian.

‘...It’s been a long time.’

Since someone had praised him like this.

After his parents died, there had been no one to praise him like this, no matter how hard he worked or what results he achieved.

Even when he received good grades... even when he accomplished a goal he had set for himself.......

It had merely been his own private satisfaction.

“.......”

Embarrassed by his eyes beginning to redden, Antonian hurriedly lowered his head.

Bang!

Just then, the consultation room door flew open and someone strode inside.

Wondering what was going on, Antonian raised his head, and his eyes gradually widened.

“...Sis?”

The person who had entered the consultation room was Ceres.

“Why are you here.......”

“.......”

“.......”

Gulp.

Antonian, who had been about to ask what she was doing there, failed to finish his sentence.

He had read more than enough from her gaze.

He was dead when they got home.......

‘Why, why? What did I do wrong?’

His eyes shook wildly.

No matter how hard he thought about it, he hadn’t done anything wrong to his sister.

Why was she angry at him?

“I’m his guardian too. Some idiot forgot there was a consultation today and didn’t tell me, so I’m a little late.”

“......!”

“Though whether he really forgot or still treats his sister like some lunatic is something we’ll have to discuss thoroughly later.”

At Ceres’s following words, Antonian’s pupils shook even more violently.

“N-No. I did deliberately not tell you, but it wasn’t because I was ignoring you because I thought you were crazy......!”

“Yeah, shut up.”

“.......”

...I’m dead.

‘This is definitely going there, isn’t it?’

Hell training at the magic training grounds.......

Antonian clutched his head and screamed inwardly over and over again.

***

“How did you know to come?”

Once all the consultations were over and they had left the consultation room, Ceres was finally able to properly speak with the Duke of Schweiz.

“When did you get back?”

There were so many things she wanted to know.

It had been a long time since she had last seen the Duke of Schweiz, and she was also curious about the situation in the western region.

From what she had heard, things there were not going as well as they were in the capital.

Was it really all right for him to leave his post like this?

“Is everything all right in the western region? You weren’t injured anywhere, were.......”

Pat.

Ceres, unusually bombarding him with question after question, stopped when the Duke of Schweiz patted her shoulder.

“Have you eaten?”

“...Yes.”

Feeling the warmth contained within his characteristically blunt manner, Ceres finally gave him a faint smile.

The first question he asked whenever he saw her was always the same.

‘Did you eat breakfast?’

‘Have you eaten?’

‘You are making sure to eat properly, aren’t you?’

...I don’t think I look like someone who goes around starving herself, though.

At first, those questions had felt a little awkward and strange, but now she knew very well that this was how he expressed his affection, so every time he asked, it left her with an odd feeling.

Even when she had lived as Grace, after losing her parents at a young age, there had been no one to ask her questions like that.

‘Artia and Kainel were both almost completely indifferent when it came to meals.’

If anything, she had been too busy taking care of those two.

“Did Antonian contact you separately?”

Ceres asked another question.

After all, she still hadn’t received a proper answer to any of them.

“No.”

“Then how did you......?”

The Duke of Schweiz patted the puzzled Ceres on the shoulder once again.

‘Those two probably know as well.’

It wasn’t only the Duke of Schweiz.

The other two dukes probably knew that the parent consultation was being held today as well.

After returning to the capital and revealing themselves to the children, the very first thing they had done was thoroughly secure the children’s surroundings.

The moment they restored the intelligence networks that had temporarily collapsed, all three ducal houses began monitoring every faction and force that approached the children.

After all, countless factions would have gladly used the children to pressure them.

But they soon discovered one thing.

Someone else was already doing the same thing.

‘The Grand Duke of Persia.’

They confirmed that he had already planted people around not only Ceres, but the other two children as well, monitoring and protecting them.

No one objected to it.

There was nothing bad about having even one more person protecting the children.

At the same time, they had been receiving regular reports about what was happening around them.

That was how the Duke of Schweiz had learned about Antonian’s parent consultation this time.

“Is everything really all right in the western region?”

Was it truly fine for him to leave like this?

“The Magic Tower paid a visit.”

“Ah.......”

Fire magic circles for dealing with the dead had been installed in the western region as well.

Of course, installation had also been completed in the southern and eastern regions.

That did not mean the situation was safe enough to completely relax, nor was it one where the duke responsible for the region could simply leave whenever he pleased.

But unlike the other two, he had one card he could play, didn’t he?

“I used the father card.”

“Pardon?”

His father... Lord Harua?

Ceres’s gaze grew even more puzzled because she could not understand what he meant, but the Duke of Schweiz merely stroked her head without explaining.

‘Parent consultation?’

‘Father, manage things here for a while while I’m away.’

‘I’ll go.’

‘...Pardon?’

‘There’s no reason her grandfather can’t attend the consultation, is there?’

‘The child is very shy around strangers. Your first impression is awful too, so just stay home. What if the child has a fit when he sees you?’

‘...You rotten bastard.’

It had taken a bit out of him to stop Harua, who had stubbornly insisted that he would go instead, but in any case, he had managed to arrive safely and on time.

“By the way, Ceres.”

“Yes.”

“I picked up something strange on my way here.”

“......?”