Finally, when the long-awaited answer came from Reidox’s lips, I couldn’t believe it and asked once more to confirm.

“Really?”

“How could I possibly dare to lie to the Duchess?”

Right. This isn’t a place where one can easily spout nonsense.

“By the way, I received the toy gifts you sent. Thank you. The children loved them. I was quite surprised that you, Duchess, knew our children’s preferences so precisely.”

I had given Lucy a winter princess doll and Luid a toy bow—both things they adored very much.

“I also intended to buy a gift in return for His Highness the Royal Heir, but since I don’t know what he likes, I wanted to ask you, Duchess.”

Come to think of it, I know well what Kian dislikes, but aside from cake, I barely know what he likes.

In the original story, all he ever liked was polishing weapons, honing skills, refining spirit magic—just endless polishing… Honestly, aside from enjoying origami, I truly know nothing else about his preferences.

“He doesn’t have any strong preferences yet. Since he’s a boy, would it be alright to ask for a toy sword?”

“Of course.”

“Then, when do you plan to start taking care of our Kian?”

Sikar, seemingly uninterested in what to buy for Kian, went straight to the most urgent question. Reidox paused slightly before replying.

“Come starting tomorrow.”

It was a satisfying answer. Sikar, too, lifted one corner of his mouth and said,

“Fine.”

“Then I shall purchase a gift that will please His Highness and await your arrival.”

“When you meet Kian, please refrain from using such titles. The child doesn’t even dream that he is of royal blood.”

“Understood.”

Finally. We’ve toppled the great fortress that is Reidox. Sikar spoke as though granting a grand favor.

“Since the troublesome matters have been mostly resolved, I’ll permit free outings. But you’d better not think of running away—not even for Kian’s sake. If you attempt escape and get caught, you won’t be staying in a comfortable room like now, but inside an iron cage like a birdcage.”

And even that would be generous. That’s why I gave up any thought of escape long ago.

The next day, as soon as breakfast was over, I dressed Kian up as beautifully as possible.

Kian was handsome no matter what he wore, but since this was his first meeting with the female lead, I had to make sure he made a good impression.

“Mei Li. What do you think?”

“Young Master is always handsome, isn’t he?”

“Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, of course! I’ve never seen anyone in Blake lands with golden hair and blue eyes like our Young Master.”

True. That’s right.

“Then shall we go out dressed like this today?”

Wearing a fur coat with fur cuffs, Kian looked unmistakably like a royal heir to anyone who saw him.

‘Lucy, wait for us. We’re bringing you your male lead right now!’

Kian, seemingly excited by this rare outing, looked brightly at me as soon as he climbed into the carriage and asked,

“Mother, where are we going today?”

“We’re going to study.”

“Study?”

“Yes. Our Kian is now old enough to start studying. And soon, you’ll make friends and have a teacher.”

“Friends…?”

“Yes. It just so happens the Duke’s twins are exactly your age.”

Having spent his formative social years only in the snowy mountains and the Duke’s manor, friends must seem like a mirage to Kian.

Even when we visited the orphanage, Kian enjoyed watching children his age but couldn’t easily approach them—he’d never learned how to initiate friendships.

So Kian hesitated, unable to answer immediately. It was the same in the original story.

“Kian, does the idea of friends feel difficult?”

Kian looked at me as if wondering how I knew, then slowly nodded his head.

“It’s always hard at first. Remember when you first came to the Duke’s manor? That was very difficult too. But now you’re much more accustomed to it. Don’t be so intimidated—they’re just kids your age.”

And he won’t even have time to feel intimidated. The twins fight constantly, and he’ll be too busy trying to stop them to feel nervous.

Sikar, who had been quietly sitting with arms crossed and eyes closed, now opened his eyes slightly and asked us,

“Are you done talking?”

I nodded as if to say yes. Sikar then picked up a box beside him and tossed it onto Kian’s lap. Kian quickly caught it with good reflexes before it could fall to the floor.

Before I could even ask what it was, Sikar said,

“Stationery. I procured it in a hurry last night, so delivery was delayed.”

Stationery! I suddenly remembered how stationery was always the most exciting gift at the start of every new school term.

Kian, too, seemed delighted by the gift, looking at me with sparkling eyes.

His gaze clearly asked, ‘Can I open this right now?’ So I nodded as if to say yes, and together we opened the stationery box.

Inside were all sorts of colored pencils, paints, crayons, notebooks, and other stationery. There was even an eraser.

“Look, Kian. This is an eraser.”

“Wow… the eraser is shaped like a bear.”

“Duke bought this for our Kian to study even harder, so you must work extra hard. Understood?”

“Of course. I’ll never disappoint him.”

Sikar sat with arms crossed and eyes closed as if nothing had happened, but today, that expression didn’t bother me.

Kian and I were engrossed in admiring the stationery, but since outings like this weren’t frequent, our attention was soon stolen by the scenery outside the carriage. The landscape, still covered in unmelted snow like sprinkled white sugar, was beautiful.

Accompanied by the rhythmic clopping of hooves, it felt as if we were embarking on a long journey somewhere—filled with excitement, we felt no boredom at all.

Kian must have been secretly thrilled at the prospect of meeting new friends, and I was equally excited at the thought of Lucy and Kian finally meeting.

The long-awaited moment for the protagonists to meet arrived swiftly. We sat in the Duke’s reception room, waiting for Reidox.

I had hoped he would bring the children out and introduce them to Kian, but he came alone to greet us.

“Welcome, Duke Blake, Duchess. And…”

Reidox looked at Kian with a reverent expression, as if saying, ‘So this is His Highness the Royal Heir,’ and bowed.

“Young Master Blake. Welcome to Yukandar Duke’s residence.”

Sikar shook hands with Reidox—ostensibly to glimpse his memories—and then said,

“You’ve always been exactly the same inside and out. Transparently so.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

That statement confirmed Reidox’s words matched his character—he was indeed honest and upright, so the praise was well-deserved.

I quietly nudged Kian, who was watching the two men with an uncertain gaze.

“Kian. You should greet him.”

“Hello, Duke.”

“Pleased to meet you. I look forward to our time together.”

“I look forward to it as well.”

When actually greeting Reidox, Kian showed no hesitation at all. Just as Sikar always said, dignity and nobility were ingrained in Kian.

“Duke, where are the twins?”

The moment I mentioned the twins, Reidox sighed, revealing just how exhausted he was from parenting today.

“Well… they’ve been fighting since morning over the gifts you sent, Duchess. Right now, they’re sitting on thinking chairs, reflecting on their behavior.”

As expected, they fought again today. Even though I gave them gifts matching their preferences, they still fought over who gets to do what. Why did they have to fight over the gifts I sent?

Reidox suddenly seemed to remember something and called a servant. Shortly after, the servant entered carrying a toy sword. Reidox extended it toward Kian and said,

“This is a gift symbolizing ‘I look forward to working with you.’ Will you accept it?”

Though it was just a toy sword, Kian couldn’t take his eyes off it. He took it and smiled.

“I like it very much, Duke Yukandar.”

“Kian, from now on, you may call the Duke ‘Teacher.’”

In the original story, he was called that too—using such a title might even be a shortcut to becoming closer.

Reidox smiled as if to say he welcomed being called that, but Kian gave no particular reply.

“Now, let me introduce you to the children. Since these will be Kian’s first friends, I have high expectations.”

“The children are in the study room, so perhaps we should head there.”

“Of course.”

As we walked down the corridor holding Kian’s hand, Reidox gave Kian a brief introduction about the twins.

“Our twins strongly dislike anyone touching their belongings. As long as you respect that, getting along without fights should be no problem.”

Though in reality, the twins constantly touched each other’s things and fought endlessly.

“By the way, if there’s anything you dislike, please let me know in advance.”

Kian made a serious face as if unsure what he disliked himself, then spoke with sudden certainty.

“Getting hurt.”

Kian said it with no particular expression, but truly, it was a statement that revealed his character.

Reidox, upon hearing this, seemed freshly shocked—he paused mid-step, then resumed walking. He looked at Kian as if doubting he’d heard correctly and asked,

“Could you say that again?”

“Getting hurt. I hope my friends won’t get hurt.”

Seeing Reidox’s astonished expression, my shoulders lifted slightly. Somehow, Sikar’s shoulders seemed to lift a bit too?

Reidox smiled warmly, as if deeply impressed.

“What a wonderful thought.”

Truly, a wonderful thought—something ordinary children would never say.

Of course, it also clearly reflected how tumultuous Kian’s short life had been—but it also showed just how clever and thoughtful he was.

Reidox’s satisfied smile instantly twisted the moment he opened the study room door.

The study room was pure chaos.

‘Do these children reflect on their behavior by drawing on each other’s faces?’

I knew the twins were troublemakers… but this exceeded expectations.

‘Who would believe these kids will grow up to become queen and Pathfinder?’

In the original story, the Pathfinder was the one who discovered new wastelands and expanded the continent—and Luid was precisely the one who achieved that feat.

In other words, right here, right now, the three protagonists who will one day rule this nation have gathered.

Reidox pinched his forehead as if suffering a headache and let out a long sigh.

“Lucy! Luid! Can’t you stop drawing right this instant?!”

The twins, who until now hadn’t even noticed our arrival and had been drawing on each other’s faces, suddenly looked up at us in shock.

The moment I saw their faces, I barely managed to suppress a burst of laughter.

Lucy and Luid, noticing Reidox’s angry expression, froze like statues, staring blankly while still clutching crayons in their hands.

Sikar remained expressionless as ever, but Kian looked startled—as if he’d never seen anything like this before.

Seeing Kian’s expression, I felt quite flustered too.

The first meeting between the female lead and male lead is… too memorable?