6. The Meaning of Family

The charity banquet celebrating the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Drasia was held at Dicon Harbor.

The central square with its magnificent golden clock tower overflowed with food and drinks prepared by the ducal couple for the territory residents.

And directly beneath the clock tower, a band played love songs all day long.

Along one side of the path leading from the central square to Dicon Harbor, people came out to sell food or items they had made themselves.

The residents of Drasia were immersed in happiness just seeing the ducal couple up close.

The Duke of Drasia was still handsome and impressive. Even the scars on the back of his hand looked attractive. That alone was enough to make their hearts full, but the beauty of the Duchess, whom they were seeing for the first time, made any jewel seem trivial in comparison.

Especially the Duchess’s yellow dress, though in a form they had never seen before, was incredibly lovely. The perceptive noble ladies guessed it would certainly become fashionable before long.

Not to mention, the sight of the ducal couple sharing modest food made by territory residents! Living in Drasia was truly a great fortune in their lives.

“Oh! What’s this? It looks strange.”

Dion stood in front of a temporary wooden stall, examining the food presented by the stall owner.

“Hmm. Is this actually edible?”

Clementina stared intently at the food with a serious expression.

“It’s frog!”

When the stall owner answered energetically, Clementina pointed at the food on the stall with an interested expression.

“Give me one of these. How much?”

The stall owner was a young boy about ten years old who attended the small school in Dicon. Dion smiled and raised his chin. But he spoke to the boy in a firm tone.

“No lying.”

“L-lying? I’m not lying!”

“Despite appearances, I’ve slept on the streets many times. I’ve gone hungry many times too. Which means, I’ve eaten frog before. Frogs don’t look like this.”

“It is frog. If I grilled it in its original shape, I thought the Duchess might hate it, so I prepared it in my own way.”

“You’re saying you cooked this yourself?”

The grilled frog at the stall was skewered on thin wooden sticks with several pieces of meat. It seemed the meat had been minced to give it shape, but it had been minced so thoroughly that the original form was unrecognizable.

“Yes! I caught the frogs myself, minced them, added seasonings inside, and shaped them. I’m absolutely not lying!”

“And you wanted to give this to me?”

Clementina picked up one of the meat skewers.

“I changed the shape because I thought you wouldn’t eat it if I said it was frog, but I absolutely wasn’t trying to deceive you. The frogs living here on Dicon Mountain have a unique taste and are really delicious.”

With a serious face, Clementina saw Dion’s face overlapping with the small boy’s as he described the taste of frog.

Clementina smiled slightly. It seemed the people of Drasia were quite serious about food. Clementina brought the meat skewer to her mouth and took a bite. It was delicious, just as the boy had said. She opened her eyes wide and took another bite.

“Give me all you have here.”

At Clementina’s nod, her lady-in-waiting Jan took money from the pouch hanging from her hand.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Your Highness. I’ll use this to buy the books I need for next semester. I’ll study hard and become a proud worker for the Duke and Duchess of Drasia.”

“You don’t need to work hard for me.”

Clementina leaned forward and poked the small boy’s nose with her finger.

“Work hard for yourself. That’s what I want. Your life is your own. Don’t live for others, live for yourself. Well, you seem quite young now, so for now, it might be good to use this money to go elsewhere and buy more delicious things to eat.”

The small boy’s eyes grew round. His mouth opened slightly, and his cheeks flushed.

Dion gazed steadily at Clementina. He imagined a distant future where Clementina would leave him to live her own life. It should make him feel content, but somehow it left a bitter aftertaste.

“Oh my, that little boy seems to have fallen for the Duchess.”

Jan spoke to Dame Lillian, the only dragon rider who had accompanied them to the charity banquet.

“Well, that’s only natural.”

“Oh my! Dame Lillian Hunts. Aww! I didn’t see you that way.”

Jan covered her mouth with her fan and stamped her feet. Lillian stood at attention, vigilantly watching the surroundings, when he suddenly stopped walking and stood close beside the ducal couple.

“Ha! To think that the infamous Duke of Drasia would grovel so pathetically even to worthless peasants. As a member of the imperial family, isn’t this too shameful?”

A high-pitched, rhythmic voice poured cold water on the affectionate ducal couple.

Thick makeup, a doublet with orange background lavishly embroidered with golden birds, and a collar rising up to the neck with countless layers. Well-shaped legs tightly encased in hose that gleamed brightly.

The cloak was full of polka dots in green, blue, and yellow—truly a peacock in human form.

And this peacock was Jerbek Sichenti, who had come as the representative diplomat from the Kingdom of Umbarot. He was even a handsome man who suited his flamboyant attire well.

In Umbarot, only women have had the right to succession to the throne for generations. The current ruler of Umbarot is Queen Shasha Sichenti, Jerbek’s elder sister.

The main reason Umbarot became a friendly nation to the Ronakia Empire is because Queen Shasha and Jerbek’s father are of Ronakia Imperial bloodline.

Arti Aeskis, the man who would have naturally become Emperor if Dion’s father had not, fell in love with Princess Merella Sichenti of Umbarot.

Merella, who was first in line for the throne, was a strong woman who loved Umbarot more than anyone. When she bid farewell to Arti, saying she would never leave her country, Arti suddenly abandoned his position as Crown Prince.

Later, as Merella ascended to the throne as Queen, Arti became the Queen’s husband.

The resourceful Jerbek used this blood relationship to finally obtain the small but topographically flat Suderel region from the Emperor of the Ronakia Empire, earning the title of Count.

Jerbek is both the Duke of Kowan in the Kingdom of Umbarot and the Count of Suderel in the Ronakia Empire.

“You’re quite dedicated to spouting nonsense.”

Dion tilted his chin and crossed his arms askew. The Duke of Drasia made no attempt to hide his displeasure.

“Hahaha, why be angry? I’m saying this all out of concern for you.”

Jerbek burst into laughter and approached Dion with both arms extended. A white dove feather attached to his eyelashes fluttered.

Dion sighed as if resigned and embraced him lightly.

“It’s been a while.”

“I heard you’ve been busy. But you’re not neglecting our diplomatic delegation too much, are you?”

“Do you know how many brown pigs the Umbarot diplomatic delegation has eaten? Besides, you only arrived yesterday. When would I have had time to neglect you?”

“How did you know? You’ve been holed up in your laboratory not coming out.”

Did Dion’s private life cross over the walls of Aeskis Castle?

The faces of Clementina and Lillian beside him hardened.

“Not laboratory, but honeymoon chamber.”

Dion lightly grasped Clementina’s waist and pulled her to his side. Clementina smiled a doll-like smile toward Jerbek.

For a moment, Jerbek’s cheeks seemed to tremble slightly, but instantly he smiled slyly and extended his hand toward Clementina.

“This is our first meeting, Duchess of Drasia.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Clementina.”

As Clementina naturally placed her hand on his, Jerbek kissed the back of her hand with his glossy lips.

“I thought no one in the world was more beautiful than me, but I see I was mistaken. I had no idea the Duke of Drasia was hiding such a beautiful pearl.”

Clementina’s face froze stiffly.

“One cannot compare the Duchess to a mere jewel.”

Dion naturally stepped between them and removed their joined hands. Then he took a bite of meat from the frog skewer.

Jerbek frowned as if looking at garbage. He made a retching sound and gestured to his attendant. The attendant immediately handed a handkerchief to Jerbek.