The parents, pale with shock, ran calling their children’s names. However, the knights blocked them from entering Rania’s playroom.

“Open the door immediately!”

“That is impossible. You cannot enter this place without permission from the grand ducal family members.”

“Can’t you hear the children crying inside right now! Damn it, my daughter is in there!”

The hot-tempered man finally pushed away the knight who had been blocking the door. Normally, even if several people rushed at him, he wouldn’t have been pushed back, but the knight with bandages around his thigh was helplessly pushed aside and gave up the door.

“Sweetie! Are you okay?”

As soon as the door opened, the sobs of the children trapped inside the room poured out.

And the voices of the parents who had been raising their voices suddenly disappeared.

Ten children who had been raised preciously their whole lives without ever being hit once were trembling in fear. And that while kneeling on the floor!

In contrast, Rania, the owner of the room, sat alone on a high chair with an indifferent expression.

“What happened……?”

Just as they felt unease at the separated atmosphere as if they were in different spaces, some sharp-eyed lady discovered something terrible.

What was visible right next to her child was none other than bloodstains.

“Becky! Sweetie!”

She pushed through people indiscriminately and ran to her daughter.

That became the signal, and other parents also ran into the room screaming their children’s names.

It was chaos.

“What is this commotion!”

The grand duchess who appeared belatedly had the knights restore order. The nobles who had been pushing each other and cursing while checking on their children were caught by the knights and made to kneel on the floor one by one.

“Your Highness! The children are hurt! Look here. Hasn’t this much blood flowed!”

“From what I can see, it doesn’t seem to be blood shed by your children.”

“What? Oh, uh. That is……”

“Moreover, though you were just babbling about sacrificing your lives for Artua until a moment ago, not one person is checking on my daughter’s safety. How disappointing.”

“Please kill us. Your Highness!”

“Please forgive us. We have committed a mortal sin.”

The grand duchess’s words were correct. Even if Rania appeared to be the perpetrator based on the circumstances, they should have at least pretended to check if she was okay.

As the legitimate daughter of Artua, she was a child who deserved such treatment.

Since ancient times, in the north where foreign invasions were frequent, the Artua grand ducal house, as their protector and ruler, had a relationship with their retainers that was uniquely vertical and absolute compared to other regions.

Moreover, with the addition that the north was the only place in the empire where the Eclad faith’s influence was weak, the name Artua meant absolute power, and its authority was no different from a god.

“You will have to officially explain your excellent judgment and loyalty later.”

Separately from coldly warning the retainers, the grand duchess wanted to show mercy to them as a parent. She seated her daughter who had been watching people from behind her and asked.

“Rania. Why were the children crying? They want an explanation.”

“An explanation?”

At her mother’s words, Rania turned her head sharply. The retainers were glaring at her with bloodshot eyes.

“Why are you angry? I only played with the children as you wished.”

“Can’t you see the children are terrified! How is this playing!”

The viscount who had lost his reason hugged his only daughter and raised his voice. Others also sneakily added their words.

Rania let them murmur, then tilted her head and asked back.

“I shouldn’t scare them? That’s strange. Your children played just fine that way? They said it was really fun making someone imitate a dog.”

Rania, who had been staying back, walked forward. The faces of the retainers who had all shut their mouths at once were colored with anxiety.

“So I returned it to that child the same way he did to them. Since there’s no dirt or horse dung here, I couldn’t play exactly the same. But, wasn’t it fun? Did you lie to me?”

The children in their parents’ arms were terrified and shook their heads. As if something would happen if they opened their mouths, they all bit their lips tightly and……

“Hic, hiccup.”

They began to cry with whimpering sounds. It was a struggle that came out reflexively from being crushed by fear, but to the adults watching, it was as good as a confession acknowledging their sins.

The faces of the parents who had been protecting their children turned pale.

“Rania. Our dear child.”

“Yes. Mother.”

While the subordinates were accepting reality, the grand duchess seated her daughter on her lap. And she opened her mouth toward the retainers. It was a judgment.

“You all know that the imperial family recently proposed the title of Duke of Brittany to Rania.”

The ‘Duke of Brittany’ was an honorary title that the emperor traditionally bestowed as a sign of trust and affection when a child he cherished came of age.

The fact that the emperor would allow this to Rania, who was not his own daughter, meant that he valued Rania as much as his own daughter.

Of course, there was also a political intention for the emperor to pull in Artua to compete with the empress who had made a political marriage.

“Before the investiture ceremony, the Grand Duke taught Rania the duties of a ruler. About how she must always be an example to subordinates, and how to educate those who cannot follow her example to continue Artua’s prosperity.”

The retainers hurriedly pushed aside the children in their arms and knelt down. The children who were suddenly expelled from their cozy embrace watched their parents’ appearance with shocked faces.

“The grand ducal house will not forgive those who bite the weak of the pack to fill their own bellies, so teach this clearly in each family as well. Do you understand?”

“We will keep it in mind.”

“Thank you for giving us a chance to repent!”

The grand duchess was where the parents’ submission was directed. And Rania, embraced in her peaceful arms, looked down at them.

In fact, everyone knew. That it wasn’t normal for young Rania to treat a peer like a dog and torment him.

But the parents could no longer protest.

“We were lacking in virtue and failed to properly educate our children. We apologize.”

Far from protesting, at their attitude of even bowing their heads and apologizing, the children felt a shock like the world was collapsing. At the same time, they carved the endless power and cruelty of the grand ducal house into their bones.

Everything was according to Rania’s plan.

‘Now it’ll be quiet for a while, right? I’m a bit grateful to these idiots.’

Rania got down from the grand duchess’s lap and approached a nearby child. And she smiled, pretending kindness.

“I hope the same thing won’t happen again. Even if you meet that child where I’m not present.”

The child swallowed his breath with gulping sounds and nodded. Rania, whose heart had softened considerably, whispered in the frightened child’s ear.

“The game is over now. You can talk like a human.”

Beast-like cries burst out from the ten children who had been holding their breath.

***

After all the retainers had left, the grand duchess took Rania to her office.

“Rania. Come here.”

“Yes, Mother!”

Rania was a child who was lively for her age but surprisingly dignified. So even when she ran energetically in response to her mother’s call, she knew how to restrain herself carefully when being embraced.

Moreover, she even fluttered with her small hands to arrange the dress hem, saying her mother’s dress would wrinkle.

A late-born daughter who made her parents happy just by watching her. Artua’s most precious jewel. The child became more lovable day by day, as if proving her epithet.

“Why did you call me?”

Looking into the blue eyes that closely resembled her husband and two sons, even the heart that had been hardened to scold her inevitably surrendered.

Now too, without fail, a voice much softer than intended flowed from the grand duchess’s mouth.

“You went too far today. You know that, don’t you?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll apologize to the knight who got hurt because of me. But……”

Rania drooped her eyebrows pretending to be dejected and looked up at the grand duchess.

“Studying is boring now, and Mother, Father, and my brothers are all busy.”

“So you were bored?”

“Yes. But it wasn’t because I was bored. Actually, there was a child I wanted to play with, but that child didn’t come, either because he was bullied before or because he couldn’t receive an invitation. So I was annoyed.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The second son of House Bellington. Didn’t Brother Enoch tell you?”

Though she asked innocently, the meaning was ‘Why are you asking when you already know everything?’ The grand duchess chuckled at her daughter’s sassy question and pulled the child into her arms.