Though the value of a dress diminishes over time, jewels double in value.

In five years, they’ll be worth much more.

I felt I needed a definite answer.

“Are you really giving these to me? You won’t take them back later or anything?”

“Yes. They’re yours. Use them for upcoming weddings, banquets, tea parties, and such.”

I almost asked whether he’d still give them to me even after a divorce, but I decided to hold off on that question for now.

I couldn’t let Sikar Blake’s temper turn sour and take them back. Maybe I should sneak a few away beforehand, just in case.

The jewels, though seemingly similar, were all different, and I had no idea what to wear to a wedding—I’d never even attended one bustling with people.

Sikar told me to choose jewels that matched the dress I’d wear to the wedding, but all I could think about was which jewel would fetch the most money if sold.

So, I’d wear the cheapest ones and keep the most expensive ones safely stored away to sell later.

“Fine. I’ll choose for you. Just wear whatever I pick.”

“Understood.”

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you leaving?”

“Huh?”

“Kian will arrive soon. Let’s go down to the dining room. We need to eat dinner.”

“Oh, but didn’t you say all these are for me?”

“That’s right. They’re yours.”

“Then shouldn’t you move them to my room? I wanted to watch them being moved to my room before leaving.”

“It’s true I’m giving them to you, but I’ll be the one keeping them safe.”

“Wait, doesn’t a gift only hold meaning if the recipient keeps it themselves?”

“The value of these jewels is far beyond what you can imagine.”

“I know that much.”

‘Which is exactly why I’m asking for them.’

“By now, rumors have surely spread across all of Recador that I bought all these jewels in the capital city today.”

‘Yeah, probably.’

“Some foolish person might visit our ducal manor to steal these jewels. If you kept them in your room, it wouldn’t be strange at all for that foolish thief to slit your throat and take the jewels.”

Hearing that sent chills down my spine. Come to think of it, this was a world overflowing with night hunters.

“So it’s safer for me to hold onto them.”

“Ha, but. This is the Blake estate, right? Even night gentlemen wouldn’t dare invade a place where they’d risk death.”

“Of course no one would dare break into my room, but yours is a different story. If they set their minds to it, they can slip into your room unnoticed, like ghosts.”

That was a statement I simply couldn’t argue against.

“Y-yes. I suppose you’re right.”

Listening to Sikar felt like having my neck returned to me after offering it to night hunters. His meticulousness for my safety was quite comforting in moments like this.

Even though I wasn’t actually under threat of death, I somehow felt protected by Sikar.

When we went down to the dining room, Kian had already arrived, washed up, and changed his clothes. Since this was likely his first time playing with peers, I had so many questions.

“Kian, how was your day? Did you have fun with your friends? How was class? Was it worth listening to?”

Ah, I shouldn’t ask like this—but becoming a parent, I guess I can’t help it.

Kian seemed to be thoughtfully reflecting. Come to think of it, he’d been acting more mature lately.

“Hmm… it was a bit overwhelming.”

“How overwhelming could it have been for you to get injured on your hand?”

At Sikar’s sharp tone, I quickly turned to look at him. Sikar didn’t even glance at Kian, so I had no idea where or how Kian was hurt.

“What? Where are you hurt?”

Only then did Sikar look at Kian with displeasure and say,

“You injured your wrist.”

“Wrist? You hurt your wrist? Why?”

I asked worriedly, but Kian only gave me an awkward smile.

“Well… I’m not sure what you mean…”

“This won’t do. I need to check for myself.”

When I rolled up Kian’s sleeve, I indeed saw scratch marks on his wrist. Kian smiled awkwardly, as if embarrassed, and pulled his sleeve back down.

“Oh, it’s nothing serious.”

“It’s not nothing! What happened?!”

“Tell the truth, Kian.”

As Sikar narrowed his eyes, Kian sighed resignedly and put down his spoon.

“I got scratched by Lucy’s nails.”

“Why? How did that happen?”

“I was trying to stop a fight between Luid and Lucy. It was just an accident.”

So things were unfolding just as in the original plot. I’d thought in the original story that Kian was ignored because he was an orphan, leading to such incidents. But now, even knowing Kian is a duke’s son, they still scratched him—perhaps it’s simply Lucy and Luid’s nature.

Contrary to my thoughts, Sikar seemed quite offended.

“How dare they injure the wrist of the young lord of House Blake! I must correct the manners of House Yukandar tomorrow. I’ll instruct Vika Lamberst to unleash dark spirits and give those children a harsh lesson.”

This man is turning children’s squabbles into adult conflicts.

Anyway, since Kian shouldn’t hear such talk, I urged Sikar to start eating first.

“Sikar. I’m hungry, and Kian must be too. Let’s just eat first.”

We needed to finish dinner quickly to send Kian upstairs to sleep—and only once Kian was asleep could I have a proper conversation with Sikar.

We ate quietly. Though Kian was the one injured, Sikar was the one acting tense.

Even during dinner, Sikar occasionally muttered things like “Yukandar’s dogs… those insolent Yukandar…” making me break into cold sweat.

After that terrifying dinner, I immediately sent Kian to his room and had tea time with Sikar.

I knew well that Sikar wasn’t angry because Kian was hurt, but because someone had dared to touch the young lord of House Blake.

Blake itself was Sikar’s pride and honor. Right now, he believed House Yukandar had dared to tarnish his honor.

“Sikar. Things are going according to the original plot. That’s not bad.”

“Back then, they might have thought Kian was a homeless orphan, but the situation is different now. For Yukandar’s brats to look down on Kian is no different than looking down on our entire house.”

“They’re still children. You know how mischievous the twins are. Just let them get along naturally. Besides, those kids don’t even understand what a house means yet.”

“True. Compared to them, Kian is far too mature.”

For a moment, I felt pleasantly amused, as if watching a doting father.

“It’s better to leave matters concerning the children to Reidox. We just need to play nicely with Kian.”

Sikar didn’t reply—just drank his tea. Well, silence means agreement, right? Surely Sikar understood by now.

Or so I thought—until Sikar proved me completely wrong by visiting House Yukandar the next day.

Judging by Reidox’s expression as he greeted us, he probably knew we were coming.

After all, he said as soon as he saw us,

“I was prepared, but I didn’t expect you to rush over the moment the morning sun rose.”

He must have anticipated this, knowing Sikar’s temperament well.

“I barely restrained myself last night because my wife stopped me.”

“Anyway, thank you for coming. You must have skipped breakfast—shall we eat first?”

“No. Let’s shake hands first.”

Reidox should have refused that handshake. Only a fool like Reidox would grasp the hand offered by a Sitar clansman whose face looked ready to burst a blood vessel.

The moment Reidox accepted Sikar’s handshake, Sikar subtly twisted his wrist.

“Do you know that yesterday, your twins scratched the back of our Kian’s hand?”

Not to be outdone, Reidox twisted his bent wrist in the opposite direction. But no matter how strong he was, he couldn’t overcome the nearly troll-level strength of a Sitar clansman.

“It wasn’t intentional. I’ve already apologized sufficiently to Kian.”

“Will an apology erase the wound? How are you raising your children?”

“Ordinary children naturally grow up that way.”

Sikar gritted his teeth slightly and twisted Reidox’s wrist again.

“Don’t you think you’re raising them poorly?”

Reidox twisted his wrist back once more.

“My parenting has no issues.”

“The children seem quite temperamental—perhaps they should see a therapist?”

“Children naturally cry, throw tantrums, and grow up that way.”

“I’ve said it repeatedly—our Kian doesn’t act like that.”

“It’s wrong to compare an unusual case to a normal one and claim normalcy isn’t standard.”

“So you’ll just let your children fight like brawling roosters every day?”

“Don’t you know children naturally grow by fighting?”

‘Sigh. This really won’t end.’

I felt I had to intervene. So I stepped between them—couldn’t grab Reidox’s hand, so I pulled Sikar’s instead.

“Stop it, Sikar.”

Only then did Sikar reluctantly release his grip.

“Sikar. We shouldn’t interfere in this matter.”

“Did you hear that? Even the duchess says not to interfere.”

“My wife is tender-hearted. Don’t use her gentle nature to justify your brats’ childish behavior.”

“You, Duke, should first acknowledge that all children are childish and mischievous.”

I stretched my arms wide to create distance between them.

“Wait! Didn’t I tell you to stop? At this rate, children’s fights really will turn into adult fights. So stop it. And, Sikar—we already entrusted Kian to the Marquis. We should trust him and leave it be.”

“You can only trust if trust is possible.”

“Then let’s take Kian back.”

“That’s an irresponsible thing to say.”

“Lord Reidox, excuse us for a moment. Could you please step aside while we talk?”

Reidox left the parlor without a word. I stepped firmly in front of Sikar, who was glaring holes into Reidox’s back, and said decisively,

“You’re acting like a ridiculously overprotective parent right now.”

“My house comes first—that’s why I’m like this.”

“Instead, why don’t we directly ask the children to get along with Kian, or find another way? It doesn’t seem right to pressure the Marquis now.”

“That’s because you don’t understand the situation.”

“Don’t understand the situation…?”

“That brat Luid says he dislikes children from our House Blake.”

“What do you mean…?”

But after a moment’s thought, Sikar’s words didn’t seem strange at all. Considering what House Blake has done to House Yukandar over the years, from Luid’s perspective, he naturally wouldn’t like this household’s son.

In fact, if he quickly became friendly given his personality, that would be stranger.

Then, a good idea occurred to me.

“Then, how about we directly ask the children to get along well with Kian?”

“Directly, how?”

“The training room. I heard last time you called Jeremi Iker to add more devices. Why not ask him again to make it a fun space for the children? Then invite them over to change their perception of our ducal manor—show them this place is full of childlike innocence.”

“You want to turn the training room into a children’s amusement park?”

“If the children get along well, that’s what matters.”

“They’ll still fight. It’d be better to teach Kian to hit first rather than just get beaten up.”

“What? You don’t raise children like that.”

Sikar either didn’t ignore my words or paused to think, then smiled contentedly and said,

“Come to think of it, that might work. I’ll invite the children immediately.”

His response made me uneasy instead. It felt like he had some hidden agenda.

And that unease soon became reality.