Sikar Blake, perhaps not forgetting my words about treating the children kindly, at least smiled brightly at them as he spoke.

“Lucy. You dare say such things to me, a Duke? That won’t do.”

Lucy lowered her sword with a bored expression, swaying her body petulantly.

“It was a joke.”

Sikar, who normally would have snorted dismissively, merely raised one eyebrow.

Then he looked at me and sighed.

“I’m starting to regret asking you to be kind to them.”

But I can’t take it back now. I’ve already fallen for the kindness I’ve shown…

Huh. They shouldn’t be imitating this.

Reidox walked over, smiled contentedly at Sikar, then bowed his head.

“Dinner is prepared; please move to your seats.”

The twins, upon seeing Reidox, immediately let out a “Waa—dash!” cheer and dashed off toward the meal, while Kian Blake calmly followed behind, reminding the children not to run.

Truly, Kian isn’t just ordinarily impressive—he’s extraordinary.

Since Sikar showed no intention of leaving and was glaring at Reidox, I also lingered, sending Seo Yeon ahead first.

After all, if Sikar tries to “eat” Reidox again, I’ll need to step in and stop him.

Is this what it feels like to raise a ferocious beast?

Reidox seemed to recall why Sikar was upset, then spoke as if he’d just realized something.

“Thank you for taking such good care of our children, Your Grace.”

From that remark, it seemed Reidox believed Sikar’s displeasure stemmed from not receiving proper thanks for sparring with Lucy.

But, from my perspective, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Sikar gave a bitter smile and looked at Reidox.

“You shouldn’t just dote on the children—you need to pay more attention to their education. Lucy just said something to me that should never be uttered.”

“If you say it was something that should never be uttered…”

Sikar briefly widened his eyes in anger, then exhaled as if barely maintaining his composure.

“She called me Satan.”

Reidox, clearly startled by this, immediately bowed deeply.

“I—I’m sorry, Your Grace. The children must have grown too comfortable with you after spending time with His Highness the Royal Heir.”

“Can the children of a Marquis’s household really be so immature? Besides, the twins will soon serve Kian; you must gradually teach them proper respect for their future lord.”

“That sounds as if you’re planning a rebellion. If Princess Veronia isn’t found in the North…”

“This time, I believe we will find her.”

Reidox, who had been worried, now smiled brightly and bowed again.

“I look forward to your bringing us glad tidings.”

Even I smiled at that. If Sikar is confident, then Veronia will finally be found.

I wanted to rush to Kian and tell him we might soon find his birth mother, but I resolved to wait—until the princess meets Kian, until Sikar safely brings her back.

Reidox had prepared a lavish outdoor meal for us in the Marquis’s garden.

Not just food—he’d even arranged musicians.

Judging by Reidox’s personality, this must have been set up either to surprise Seo Yeon or for her to be surprised.

Thanks to him, we enjoyed our meal accompanied by beautiful harp melodies.

After eating our fill, we sat on benches and leisurely enjoyed tea time.

As I sat beside Sikar, watching the children tumble and play on the grass after eating, Lucy approached us.

She walked forward with her hands behind her back, as if she had something to say to Sikar.

“Got something to say?”

At Sikar’s question, Lucy spoke as if she’d made a firm decision.

“I know you went easy on me.”

Sikar immediately looked pleased, as if confirming she’d realized it, then glanced at me and feigned modesty.

“Go easy? Do I look like someone who’d do that?”

“Yes. The Sitar Clan is strong, I know all about it.”

“Well, it’d be strange if you didn’t. True, I did go easy—but you also did well.”

At Sikar’s praise, Lucy grinned and pulled out what she’d been hiding behind her back—it was an apple. She looked so adorable I couldn’t help laughing.

Did Lucy bring the apple to apologize for earlier?

Sikar seemed to think the same. He cleared his throat once and said,

“What’s with that apple? Does it carry some symbolic apology to me?”

“No, not that… You can split this, right? For the Sitar Clan, that’s as easy as lying down and eating bread!”

It wasn’t just Sikar who was flustered by Lucy’s boldness—I was too.

So that’s why she brought the apple—not to apologize, but to ask him to smash it…

Sikar glared sternly at Lucy and split the apple into two halves.

“Your father, the Marquis, can do this too. Next time, take such things to him.”

“But Dad went inside to take care of business—he’s not here right now.”

Seeing Lucy’s pout, Sikar glanced at me again. He must’ve felt awkward, since I’d told him to be kind and now Lucy looked upset.

Sikar cleared his throat once more and said, as gently as he could manage,

“Bring it to me when the Marquis isn’t around.”

He immediately looked away, apparently embarrassed by having said even that much.

Lucy took the apple Sikar handed her, shrieked “Kyaa!”, and bounced gleefully away.

Sikar sighed and looked at me almost reproachfully.

“Children really are exhausting beyond imagination.”

“But they’re also lovable beyond imagination, aren’t they?”

Sikar turned his head to the side and frowned again—clearly reluctant to admit it.

“Are children truly lovable beings?”

I turned to follow his gaze and saw Lucy walking toward us, holding a melon.

And she wore the most innocent, cheerful expression.

Thus, Sikar had no choice but to split the melon too—and while telling her not to bring such things again, Lucy happily ran off toward the other children, melon in hand.

Sikar didn’t grumble, but he placed his hands on his waist and closed his eyes, as if suppressing his anger.

“Even after this, you’d still call them lovable?”

I had to bite back laughter.

“I’ll call them lovable little rascals.”

“Drop the ‘lovable’—just call them rascals.”

I was about to burst into laughter and covered my mouth with both hands—when Lucy appeared again, this time dragging a watermelon on a cart.

Seeing this, Sikar’s expression turned absolutely intolerant. He picked up a large stone from the ground and crushed it into fine pieces before Lucy’s eyes.

“There. This is the power of the Sitar Clan. Confirmed now? So stop it.”

Sikar spoke sternly, but judging by Lucy’s expression, his warning didn’t register at all.

Now I see—Sikar actually plays quite well with Lucy.

Lucy frowned at the finely crushed stone, finer than gravel.

“But I can’t eat that! I wanted you to split the watermelon so I could eat it!”

How did Lucy grow up to be so confidently bold? In the past, she’d have cried and fussed—but now, she showed no fear of Sikar at all.

Truly, she’s no ordinary child.

And so. Sikar split Lucy’s watermelon and smiled kindly as he said,

“If you come again, next time I’ll crush the cart you’re holding.”

But as Lucy pushed the cart and ran off, her eyes were entirely fixed on the watermelon—it seemed Sikar’s words hadn’t reached her ears at all.

Sikar took a deep breath, as if unable to contain his rising anger, and pressed his palm to his forehead.

“Hah. Children are truly exhausting. I think I’m better suited for the battlefield.”

“Parenting is war too.”

Sikar bristled at my words and raised his eyebrows.

“What nonsense! This is hell!”

Hell, indeed. Apparently, even the mighty Sikar finds child-rearing taxing.

His expression as he said this to me was so serious I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

When I clutched my stomach laughing, Sikar stared blankly at me.

“Did I amuse you?”

“You’re good with children—it’s nice to see.”

Perhaps my laughter softened his mood; Sikar smiled faintly.

“Well, occasionally dealing with little rascals isn’t so bad.”

“Not ‘dealing with’—‘caring for.’”

“But how did you manage such a difficult task?”

“Raising children is hard, but afterward, nothing has ever made me happier.”

“Hard yet happy? That sounds contradictory.”

Sikar looked at me with incomprehension—he clearly didn’t grasp how something could be both hard and happy.

“Have you ever climbed a tall mountain?”

“I’ve done it so many times I can’t even count them all.”

“When climbing, aren’t there many moments on the way to the summit when you feel like giving up from sheer exhaustion?”

Sikar tilted his head, seemingly unable to relate.

“Well… I’ve never thought climbing a mountain was difficult for that reason…”

“For ordinary people, it’s extremely hard.”

“I suppose so.”

“Anyway, even though it’s hard, reaching the summit brings indescribable happiness and accomplishment. Similarly, raising a child exhausts me several times more—but also makes me several times happier.”

Sikar stared at me blankly for an embarrassingly long time without answering.

“You’re smiling happily even as you say that.”

“Well, happy memories bring happy expressions.”

Sikar’s gaze, meeting mine, somehow seemed gentler. Come to think of it, lately his eyes often look gentler when he looks at me.

I was lost staring at Sikar—nearly drawn in to kiss him as he leaned closer.

But not with the children around.

I abruptly stood up, feigning distraction, and looked around.

“Where is the Marquis?”

“Shall I fetch him?”

Sikar’s voice carried a hint of irritation—as if he felt interrupted by Reidox.

His tone sounded as if he might grab Reidox by the scruff of his neck and haul him over.

“No. It wouldn’t be bad for us to go see him ourselves.”

As I walked forward, Sikar followed me with slightly quicker steps, then suddenly grabbed my hand from behind.

“Sikar?”

“Just trying to recall a memory.”

“There’s no memory to recall—we were together.”

“Just… an old memory.”

“Why suddenly now?”

“Just.”

Sikar spoke indifferently, but a faint blush had risen to his cheeks. Judging by how tightly he held my hand, he probably just wanted to hold it.