“My lord asked me to relay this message.”

After taking a breath, the man quickly continued.

“Silvio has always respected those who carry the most noble bloodline. Therefore, Silvio recommends Lady Belinda Blanche as the next head of the family.”

With this, all three vassal families had effectively declared their support for Belinda.

The representative of the branch family, who couldn’t even manage to delay Belinda’s succession, let alone prevent it, roughly slammed the table and vented his anger.

“You faithless beasts! You gobble up all the bribes, and now you stab us in the back?”

“Ahem, I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Didn’t you clearly state it was a development fund for greater art? Now you call it a bribe? I find this quite perplexing.”

“My father donates all money of unknown origin and purpose to society. So if you sent something to my father, it surely went to a good cause, so please don’t be too upset.”

Count Dukoff shook his head at the successive remarks from Baron Rechel and Silvio’s son.

When even the branch representative was left speechless by their brazen responses, Belinda’s gentle voice broke the silence.

“My dear relatives.”

The heads of the branch families turned toward the highest seat.

When they first set foot in this mansion, Belinda had been nothing more than a foolish girl who had luckily survived the divine trial.

But now, facing her as she remained relaxed as if she had anticipated all of this, they couldn’t help but realize.

“If you have any objections to today’s meeting results, please speak freely. However, if you intend to utter even a single word, you must be firmly prepared to make me your enemy.”

That there had been no luck or coincidence in her path to sitting in that seat.

As the suffocating silence continued, Belinda seemed satisfied as she raised the corners of her mouth and said.

“No objections, I see. Then shall we enjoy the formal dinner with pleasure?”

***

The branch families who had visited the Blanche residence with gleeful expectations all had to acknowledge my succession with faces that looked like they had bitten into something foul.

If even one of the vassal families had opposed, they would have tried to find some excuse to buy time, but fortunately, all three houses indicated their support for me.

But honestly speaking, I didn’t expect Lord Silvio to support me.

And the reason was that I was still of the direct bloodline.

‘He’s exactly the type to ruin himself in the stock market.’

Because he would never bend his stubbornness, even while watching a graph plummet. Of course, that stubborn nature allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief.

As the guests began to leave one by one, Silvio’s son lowered his voice considerably and spoke to me privately.

“I’m terribly embarrassed to say this, but I have nowhere else to turn.”

As I thought, was his support for the direct bloodline just an excuse, and he recommended me because he wanted something else?

I nodded without lowering my guard.

“Please, go ahead.”

“My father, ahem, is sulking. Quite severely, in fact.”

“Pardon?”

“The lord is deeply hurt that you visited Baron Rechel and Count Dukoff separately but didn’t come to see him. When I suggested he visit you himself if he felt so slighted, he snapped that he wouldn’t show his face first, and now how could he possibly face you…”

“……”

“I know it’s a rude request, but if you don’t harbor any resentment toward my father, could you possibly visit him?”

“…I’ll visit him soon.”

“Thank you so much!”

He boarded his carriage with a face as bright as if a decade-old indigestion had finally been relieved.

It seemed that Silvio’s son, like Baron Rechel’s son, was having a hard time because of his father.

Only after seeing off the last guest did it finally sink in that everything was over.

Feeling somewhat tired, I spoke to the butler as usual.

“Send someone to the annex to prepare tea and refreshments. There will be six participants in total. One is a child, so prepare something appropriately sweet for his drink.”

“Yes. But do you not plan to move your residence?”

At the butler’s words, I briefly looked up at the high, ornate ceiling of the main building.

Belinda had spent her childhood in this grand mansion, but unfortunately, the annex felt more like home to me than the main building.

“I’ll conduct business and receive guests here, but I’ll continue living in the annex as I have been. So, please add more staff to the annex.”

“Yes.”

Though I was busy enough to need two bodies, I couldn’t miss the daily tea time I enjoyed with the annex residents.

***

In the royal capital in March, there’s a popular saying about “the spring queen’s jealousy.”

It referred to the especially large temperature fluctuations and capricious weather of early spring, and today, of all days, the spring queen’s envy was particularly severe.

The employees had put great effort into preparing tea and refreshments in the garden in front of the annex, but by afternoon, the weather had turned chilly, and I was contemplating whether we should move indoors.

“It seems our Master needs protective magic today.”

At the words of Cheshire, the last participant to join the tea time, everyone tensed up, only for their expressions to sour at what followed.

“The spring queen will surely envy our Master. For being too beautiful.”

“Ugh, if only he couldn’t speak.”

Terry grumbled at the forefront, but soon had to press her lips shut.

“Seedo, may I borrow Cheti for a moment?”

As Cheshire used Leo’s Seal Stone as a medium to realize his magic, a warm spring breeze soon enveloped the group.

Thanks to this, we could enjoy our tea time feeling the pleasant warmth.

“Master, so all that remains now is the succession ceremony?”

The succession ceremony, where I would receive the king’s certification as the family head, is held to coincide with the royal spring ball.

As I nodded, already feeling tired about the event that was only a week away, Terry contemplated what outfit to wear that day, showing the air of a quite capable assistant.

Terry, who now served as my assistant in addition to being the butler of the main building, was going to be extremely busy following me around.

“I’m thinking of selling new magical tools from the workshop… Oh, and of course, I’ll continue improving ‘The Elixir of Life’.”

Vivian spoke with a slightly more confident voice than before.

The Magic Tower still didn’t acknowledge ‘The Elixir of Life’, but Vivian didn’t seem to mind much.

Moreover, though she had previously mentioned naming the healing potion after me, thankfully, she had given it the familiar name ‘The Elixir of Life’.

After ‘The Elixir of Life’ saved Terry, Vivian seemed to have gained confidence in herself.

“Master, the compensation was set too high. May I pay the remaining balance with my body?”

The compensation Cheshire referred to was for helping me during the winter trip and for the magic he had placed throughout the annex in preparation for Sybel’s possible intrusion.

Cheshire wanted Seal Stones as payment, and I gladly purchased a large quantity for him, but it seems it was a bit excessive.

Instead of being flustered by Cheshire’s way of making even ordinary statements sound suggestive, I nodded with familiarity.

“I permit it. For the time being, Ratchet’s education expenses will be handled as the remaining balance.”

A slight crack appeared in Cheshire’s smile, which had been as gentle as the spring breeze.

Finally, I alternated my gaze between Leo and Sir Penadel.

Like master and disciple, the two sat side by side, quietly munching on cake since earlier.

I pushed a lukewarm cocoa toward Leo and asked.

“Ratchet, did something happen today?”

“Wh-what? No, nothing happened…”

“Your face suggests otherwise, like you’re troubled by something.”

“Well, it’s just… while cleaning my room, I saw something I shouldn’t have…”

Something he shouldn’t have seen?

‘Could it be a c-cockroach?’

But Leo didn’t provide an answer and instead took a sip of the cocoa in front of him, then whispered with a face still clouded with worry.

“It’s really nothing…”

It was obviously a lie to anyone who looked, but I couldn’t force the child to tell me what was wrong when he clearly didn’t want to share.

Having no choice, I wiped only the milk foam from the child’s philtrum and turned to Sir Penadel.

“And you?”

“Pardon?”

“What troubles you that your expression is so grim?”

Though he wore his mask as usual, having spent considerable time together, I could tell his mood was different from normal.

“…I cannot tell you at the moment.”

“Why?”

The shadowed eyes visible through the eye holes of the mask scanned the people participating in the tea time.

“I don’t think this is a good time to discuss it. Perhaps after the succession ceremony, could you spare me some time?”