I was startled and stared at Kian. Sikar was equally surprised.

Sikar glanced at Kian with a slightly hurt expression.

“Somehow I feel discriminated against. Why don’t you give me a kiss too?”

Kian, who had been smiling gently at me, turned to Sikar with a stern look.

“What did Father say Mother was?”

“The one we must protect?”

“That’s why I protected Mother’s fist.”

Was that it? Knowing now made it even more touching.

Sikar snapped his fingers as if he understood.

“Well done.”

Then Kian also snapped his fingers following Sikar.

“It’s basic.”

In the original ‘Blood King,’ Sikar was clearly a cold-hearted villain, but now he seemed… like a cold-hearted goofball.

Not bad, but I’d need more time to adjust.

As we took a few more steps, Vika spoke while looking somewhere.

“There’s Hersia.”

“Hersia?!”

“Where, Vika?”

“Over there.”

Vika pointed ahead, but our eyes saw nothing.

Since Vika’s eyes, capable of seeing far distances, apparently spotted Hersia somewhere, we followed him.

Sure enough, we saw Hersia. She had her hair braided on both sides and wore a headband with rabbit ears. She had shed her fancy dress and wore the same plain one-piece dress and apron as me.

Upon closer inspection, Hersia was selling milk tea at a street stall.

A small banner in front of the stall boldly proclaimed:

At that moment, I recalled sending Hersia the milk tea recipe.

So she’d been selling milk tea using that recipe.

“Hersia! I wondered what happened since you never replied to my letters—here you are!”

Hersia trembled slightly, startled upon seeing me.

“Ma, Marchioness!”

“Hersia, you’ve been busy running a stall on such a festive day.”

“Ma, Marchioness. I’m sorry…”

“For what?”

Hersia blushed, looking utterly flustered with guilt.

“For using the recipe you gave me to do business.”

Oh. I don’t mind.

Sikar glanced at Hersia, then lifted a milk tea and handed it to Kian.

“This one’s drinkable.”

Kian, who had been thirsty, gratefully took and drank the milk tea.

Hersia, startled upon seeing Kian, immediately bowed her head.

“I, Your Majesty. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hersia Mobiaert of the Mobiaert family. Without Your Majesty’s grace, I could not have weathered this storm. Allow me to belatedly offer my—”

I stopped her before she could kneel.

“Shh. Hersia. We came out today to enjoy ourselves—Your Majesty’s identity must not be revealed.”

“Oh. I, I see?”

Kian also smiled and raised his index finger to his lips toward Hersia.

“Shh! Please, Hersia.”

“Ah! Yes! Understood, Your Majesty!”

“That title is problematic. Shh!”

“Oh, yes. Yes! Understood!”

“Good. Omit unnecessary titles and just speak like that.”

Meanwhile, Durion was already drinking his second milk tea. Vika clicked his tongue at him as if he were pitiful.

“Don’t you have any dignity? Are you human or a bear?”

Upon hearing Vika, Durion paused just before drinking his third milk tea, smacked his lips, and set the cup down.

“I must’ve been very thirsty.”

Durion’s eyes sparkled brightly as he thanked me appreciatively for my attention, while Vika picked up and drank the third milk tea Durion had intended to drink.

We sat at a cheap wooden outdoor table in front of Hersia’s small stall. The crowd visible in the square occasionally made me dizzy, but it was bearable.

Sitting under a parasol barely better than a straw mat, watching passersby didn’t seem so bad after all.

“Hmm. You really make delicious milk tea.”

“I’m sorry. I sold it using your recipe without permission… I truly only meant to do it for a few days.”

“It’s fine. That’s not why I was surprised.”

“Then, why?”

“I was surprised to see you running a street stall. Why are you doing this? Shouldn’t you be on a date with Aaron today?”

“Oh. Aaron went to get milk.”

“Really?”

Hersia glanced at Sikar, but Sikar was busy arm-wrestling and playing with Kian.

“Actually… Aaron kept saying he had no money, and his family opposes our marriage, saying they won’t give us a penny if we marry. So I thought I’d earn some myself and started this stall, but your milk tea recipe became so popular. I truly only meant to earn enough for the wedding and then stop. Honestly.”

Hersia looked utterly flustered and apologetic toward me.

Anyway, I hadn’t come here intending to earn money from milk tea. Even without earning, I had Sikar giving me bundles of checks, and since the king was my son, living in the palace meant I never lacked money.

So it didn’t matter if Hersia sold milk tea, but I’d wanted to ask her to be my maid—though I doubted she’d accept.

“Hersia, don’t feel sorry toward me. Feel free to sell milk tea using the recipe I gave you. After all, I didn’t create that recipe myself.”

“Really? Then may I ask who created it?”

“Someone from where I used to live. Anyway, that’s not important. I have a request too.”

“Please speak, Madam.”

“I’m looking for a maid. Would you consider becoming mine?”

“My lady’s maid?”

“Yes. Hersia. The salary is decent, so you won’t need to worry about income.”

Hersia didn’t immediately give a positive answer. After hesitating for a while, she spoke.

“I’m sorry, Marchioness.”

“Yes?”

“When I worked as Diane’s maid, I realized being a maid doesn’t suit me. A maid must be good at making requests to others and oversee all aspects of serving their master, but I’m terribly shy, so it was hard.”

I see. It seems I was mistaken to think she’d readily accept.

“Actually, I want to open a cafe.”

“A cafe?”

“Yes. Selling your milk tea made me realize how much I enjoy this. At first, I only meant to earn wedding funds, but now I’m thinking of using that money to open a small cafe. Aaron also agreed to contribute money. Of course, I won’t use your recipe! That would be plagiarism.”

A cafe… It’d be nice if Hersia became my maid, but if opening a cafe is her dream, I should support that too.

“Then, I’ll invest in it.”

Hersia stared at me as if wondering what I meant.

“Invest?”

“Yes. I’ll help you open a cafe. You’ll be the owner.”

“The owner?”

I explained to Hersia the franchise system, and after listening carefully, she clasped her hands together.

“Then I have no objections!”

Beside us, Sikar, who had never let Kian win an arm-wrestle, finally pinned Kian’s arm and then looked at me.

“Surely, Madam, that money isn’t the money I gave you?”

“Correct. It’s the money you gave me. But we agreed you wouldn’t interfere with how I use this money.”

“Of course, I don’t intend to interfere, but spending money on others again isn’t exactly what I desire…”

“It’s an investment.”

“Investment?”

“Think of it as starting a franchise business.”

Sikar lifted his head as if lost in calm thought.

“As you wish, Madam.”

Hearing Sikar’s positive response, Hersia covered her mouth with both hands as if unsure whether this was a dream or reality.

Soon, she excitedly told Aaron, who had just arrived with milk, and the two began jumping around.

Aaron belatedly came before us and bowed.

“I, Your Majesty! I am Aaron Haviker. I am a knight of the Yukandar Knights and currently serve as aide to the Yukandar Chancellor. Today, to commemorate the rising of the blue sun…”

Aaron introduced himself at length, and Kian, unable to show his boredom, listened with a blank stare. Sikar stopped Aaron’s introduction by covering his mouth with his hand.

“That’s enough.”

“S, sorry, Lord!”

Aaron broke into a cold sweat, but Kian burst into hearty laughter, apparently finding Sikar covering Aaron’s mouth hilarious.

Seeing Kian, Aaron knelt on one knee and closed his eyes, overwhelmed with emotion.

His expression was one of complete fulfillment—as if seeing the king who summoned the blue sun in the sky left him with no regrets.

By the way, without Hersia, how will I find a maid now? It seems I can only ask Seo Yeon.

“In this season, only our twins catch colds. Thank you for your hard work, Seo Yeon.”

“The children are suffering. They can’t even enjoy the square festival today… it’s so pitiful.”

However, unlike Reidox and Seo Yeon’s worries, the children weren’t dying from illness.

They were just bedridden with severe colds—though even then, they still had enough strength to throw pillows at each other.

They couldn’t go outside, but fortunately, they could see the risen blue sun through the window.

The twins stared blankly out the window at the truly rare sight.

“It’s really amazing. The sun is blue.”

Lucy wiggled her fingers as if trying to grasp the sun, while Luid half-closed his eyes, looking too weak to even lift a hand, gazing out the window.

“It’s the first time since the founding king,” he said. “The nanny says once this passes, we’ll never see it again. Look your fill today.”

“Never see it again? That’s a shame. That’s why I can’t take my eyes off it.”

“Outside, the festival is in full swing, and because of you, Lucy, I caught a cold too—what is this?”

“Speak properly! You caught a cold because you insisted on riding that broomstick around the garden at night!”

“You asked me to take you for a ride!”

“By the way, do you know what the blue sun means?”

“I know. The blue sun signifies the birth of a legendary wise king.”

Lucy stared blankly at the blue sun, genuinely amazed.

“Kian being such a wise king? That’s really incredible.”

Luid started giggling as if he’d never been sick.

“Lucy’s lucky. Becoming the fiancée of the Blue King Kian, the protagonist of that blue sun.”

Lucy’s face flushed red.

“Ah, not yet!”

“What do you mean, not yet? The nanny said Kian will definitely choose you. You know, right? The nanny’s predictions are mostly correct.”

“D, did the nanny really say that? Seriously?”

“Yes. She said you’ll become queen of this kingdom someday.”

Lucy touched her own cheeks as if she were already queen, looking bewildered, while Luid chuckled as if enjoying a funny show.

“You believe that?! If you become Queen of Recador, I’ll be Recador’s greatest hunter.”

Lucy, whose expectations had been dashed, threw a pillow at Luid.

“If I become queen, I’ll exile you from Recador!”

Luid put his leg up on the pillow Lucy had thrown and assumed a very comfortable posture.

“I won’t be exiled. You’ll never become queen. Seriously, you as queen? Pfft.”

Though Luid clutching his stomach and laughing mockingly was irritating, Lucy herself also couldn’t easily imagine becoming queen.

Such a thing seemed impossible—it would never happen to her.