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The next day, even though the coming-of-age ceremony had ended, the castle was bustling.

The heirs of each family, having completed their own duties yesterday, finally felt free to shake off their heavy shoulders.

Among them, there were quite a few who were more excited about exploring Hespania than the ceremony itself.

Since it was a land personally ruled by the head of the Grand Duchy, everyone had their own imaginations about this place known as the heart of the north.

And this commotion also continued in the garden, which was usually quite tranquil.

Ariel, who had come to the garden without much thought, was accompanied by Edgar.

In fact, had she known there would be so many people, she probably wouldn’t have set foot there at all, but she hadn’t anticipated that so many would come to the garden after the ceremony.

“Good morning, Your Highness. Yesterday was truly a delightful day.”

“I wanted to express my gratitude once again for inviting me to such a wonderful occasion, and here we are.”

Thanks to this, everywhere Ariel stepped, whenever people saw her face, they greeted her like this.

Some brave souls asked about the shocking incident from the previous day, but Ariel, without showing any discomfort, explained her relationship with Edgar once again.

What had happened yesterday was purely her mistake, and there was no fault on those who were curious about it.

Thus, while greeting people from the morning as if reconstructing the events of yesterday, for some reason, a smile never left her lips.

Normally, she would feel uncomfortable seeing so many people bustling around in the morning, so what was different today?

“Hm.”

“You seem to be in a good mood?”

Edgar, who had been observing her closely, couldn’t help but inquire.

In response, Ariel touched her face, looking puzzled as if to ask how he knew.

“Really? Does it show?”

“You were just humming a little tune.”

If she wasn’t even aware that she was humming, then it certainly meant she was in a genuinely good mood.

Edgar urged her to share what was making her so happy, insisting that if something good was happening, she should let him in on it.

“Everyone keeps saying that we look good together, and it’s making me happy.”

“What’s up with this? The princess who usually doesn’t fall for flattery seems different today?”

“That’s just because I despise hearing strange men say I’m pretty…! This is a different case altogether.”

“Well, that’s true. I feel happy about it too.”

Just as she had said, Edgar also felt lighter in heart now that everyone they met in the garden had blessed their relationship, as if acknowledging them together finally.

People often refer to it as being public, right?

Even though Edgar was recognized by her parents, the joy of being acknowledged by those who were completely unrelated felt distinctly different.

On the other hand, it seemed that Ariel was perceiving today’s scene a bit differently than Edgar.

With her arms crossed and her nose up, she stood in front of him, pointing a finger decisively towards him.

This was her signature posture that came out when she had something to confidently declare.

“I told you, right? You can’t get married to other women now. The whole world knows we are a couple. Got it?”

“I don’t even plan to. Why, do you want me to send you off?”

Despite Ariel’s intimidating words, Edgar replied mischievously, not intending to let it slide.

In response, she snorted and raised her voice.

What nonsense was he spouting?

“Hmph, now it’s too late! Just try to have any other thoughts.”

“What are you gonna do? Try to kiss me in front of everyone again?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of that…!”

She had been trying to forget, so why did he bring it up again?

Ariel, in retaliation, went to smack his arm with all her strength.

Edgar, late to react, quickly waved his hands in apology, but she was already quite riled up.

In the end, as usual, the two of them faced a noisy morning, only returning to the castle after some time had passed.

Of course, that timing was when Ariel’s anger had settled down.

* * * * * * *

Today, Yulken’s day started off exceptionally well.

It was because Ariel had requested to speak with him alone.

Any time spent with his daughter, who was as precious as jewels, was always welcomed by Yulken, so he gladly set aside his duties.

After finishing lunch and taking a moment to catch his breath in his office, a gentle knock echoed.

Considering who would visit the office at this hour, Yulken, with a knowing expression, invited the visitor to enter.

Since Elpelt, who usually stayed by his side, had momentarily left, he had asked a servant to prepare tea in advance.

When it wasn’t this kind of occasion, Yulken’s servant would usually be busy trying to take over his tasks, but today, that servant hurriedly prepared with delight.

“Welcome, Ariel.”

“I’m sorry to bother you when you’ve been busy, Father.”

Though the castle was close to a festive atmosphere with all the bustle, Yulken still had to carry on with his family’s duties.

Ariel was concerned that her visit might disrupt his schedule, but Yulken merely shook his head with a gentle smile.

“When our daughter asks to see me, I should drop everything and meet her. But what brings you here?”

“I had something to ask. But where’s Elpelt today?”

Just as the thread follows the needle, Elpelt was always positioned right beside Yulken.

Of course, there were times when he had to conduct his own duties and would leave, but according to Ariel, he had been in the castle until yesterday.

That meant he had left during the ceremony, which struck Ariel as quite peculiar.

Unless it was an urgent matter, there wouldn’t be a need to disappear like that.

“He went to Whitewood early this morning. The atmosphere there is getting rough again.”

“Wait, Whitewood…?”

Whitewood was one of the frontline encounters with foreign tribes in the northern region.

The news that the atmosphere there was getting rough was not something Ariel could overlook, causing her eyes to narrow.

“Don’t worry. Even if something were to happen, we can deal with it, and if it’s something minor, we can just ignore it.”

But Yulken shook his head, advising her not to concern herself.

Even if she was about to inherit the family head position, he didn’t want to bring dark news to his daughter during broad daylight, nor was it at a level that warranted great worry yet.

“Let’s leisurely have some tea and chat. I still haven’t heard what our daughter wanted to talk about.”

With that, Yulken, sporting a kind smile, smoothly changed the subject.

As he offered some sweets that were on the table, Ariel, while nibbling a cookie, abruptly jumped into the main topic without any preface.

“Actually, I was wondering if you had spoken to Edgar about getting him a maid.”

“Ah? So you’ve already asked him.”

The topic that had popped out of Ariel’s mouth, instead of Edgar’s, startled Yulken a bit, thinking they would at least wait until the coming-of-age ceremony was over.

Nodding at his daughter’s inquiry, he confirmed that it was he who had brought up the suggestion.

He also mentioned that it was a casual remark that came up since a child taught by Shepi was getting to an age where participation was appropriate.

“…”

“Why do you look like that?”

Suddenly, Ariel’s expression turned sullen.

Putting down the half-eaten cookie, she looked at her father with pouty eyes.

Not understanding his daughter’s reaction, Yulken raised an eyebrow, and soon Ariel’s tightly shut mouth began to open.

“I hate it, Father.”

“…!?”

With just two words, she succeeded in widening Yulken’s pupils, and she began to voice her grievances.

“Why a maid of all things? You know how much I dislike the idea of him being around other girls…!”

“I-I know that, but I thought it was necessary…”

“Then it could just be a servant! No matter how much you say the child is taught by Shepi, in the end, she’s still a girl!”

From Ariel’s perspective, the exact status didn’t matter.

Whether it was a slave, a peasant, or a noble, knowing or not knowing someone; the crucial point was that she would still be a girl.

“Ahem. I-I’m sorry. I knew you held that friend dear, but I didn’t realize it was to this degree. That was my mistake.”

In face of her fierce objection, Yulken began to sweat coldly and readily apologized.

No matter how much he was the ruler of the north or the head of the Grand Duchy, ultimately, in front of his daughter, he was just a weak-willed father.

Ultimately, the victor of this conversation was almost preordained from the start.

“If you do it again, I really will get mad! Thanks to you, I even said useless things to Edgar yesterday…!”

“Right. I’ll apologize to him on your behalf. It must have been quite troublesome.”

Though he hadn’t been there, Yulken could roughly imagine the situation from Ariel’s words.

Most likely, Ariel had heard about him getting a maid and scolded him out of jealousy.

But if one were to think further, the instigator was Yulken himself, which meant Edgar had caught the brunt of it.

“So who is this maid supposed to be? I’d like to see her once to decide.”

“You’re speaking as if you have a choice.”

“Of course I should! How can I allow any random woman to linger around my man?”

“…”

Seeing how the path was already full of obstacles for the child supposed to become a maid, Yulken swallowed his words and picked up the teacup from the table.

He then told Ariel he would arrange a time to meet with her during the week, inwardly sending condolences to his prospective son-in-law.

‘You’re going to have a tough time.’

In contrast, he felt fortunate for having met a wife with a comparatively gentle disposition.

While he contained his thoughts within, not wanting to hear any shocking words from his daughter, he managed to swallow it back down.

Now that the matter of the maid was seemingly settled, it was time for Yulken to address something he had heard from those around him earlier that day.

“By the way, Ariel, I heard that you kissed that friend of yours at the dining hall yesterday…”

“…I really hate it, Father.”

“….”

He had no idea he would again have to hear those words he’d rather not have heard again.

In the end, that day, Yulken set aside his duties, drinking alone in the afternoon.

He realized anew just how sorrowful it was to hear his daughter express hate towards him directly.