“As, as Father permitted…… you can make the ma, magic potions yourself. However, you must only use ma, materials provided by the royal family.”

He stared at her with a stern face. Phenelity pondered deeply for a moment, then nodded.

“I understand.”

Viett swallowed a sigh of relief. Now Phenelity would have to accurately record the amount of magic potion materials she used in a ledger. Restricting the supply of materials could stop her overuse. Thinking this made him feel much lighter.

“Co, come here.”

He pushed the fish tank to the corner of the table and pulled her arm as he sat on the bed. Phenelity put one knee on the bed with slight embarrassment.

“I haven’t showered yet……”

“It, it doesn’t matter.”

After the conclusion of the couple’s first cold war, Viett used up all the few remaining records that night.

* * *

Viett boarded the train heading to the Slan Empire early the next morning. He neatly ignored the Prime Minister who snickered about enjoying the marital fight spectacle, and wearily relaxed his body’s tension after not resting all morning.

The time they arrived at the Slan Empire was around late afternoon. He slept without waking once until then.

As he yawned while getting off the train, Slan imperial officials who had come to greet him at the station approached cautiously.

“Well, well, who do we have here. If it isn’t Commander Lionel Coulson.”

A high-ranking officer in a dark blue uniform greeted him playfully. Viett stared at the officer with a bored face. He was a Slan imperial officer with whom he had led training sessions a few times during his days at the Costonia Special Forces camp.

‘This guy…… Was he the king’s twelfth son?’

Viett tried to recall as he shook hands with the officer. The officer, like him, was in a position of serving in the military under an alias. He seemed to have come to greet Viett personally because of that brief connection.

“Going straight to the hotel?”

“Mm.”

He looked around the quiet train station. Fortunately, there was no one who had come to see him. As he looked around the platform where not even an ant could be found, the officer sighed deeply while guiding the way.

“The city is empty after everyone evacuated. Don’t worry, no one has the luxury to come out and see a handsome man from an allied country.”

Viett got into the back seat of the car with the officer. The Prime Minister had agreed to move separately with other high-ranking officials.

On the way to the hotel, escorted by police on motorcycles, the officer offered a cigarette and brought up an unexpected topic.

“I’ve been reading the novel well.”

“……”

“I mean your wife’s novel. It’s very popular in this country too. Since it takes some time for the newspapers to be delivered and translations distributed, we had to learn about you and your wife’s marital fight a day late every time.”

The officer burst into laughter as he looked at Viett, who kept his mouth firmly shut.

“Still as taciturn as ever. By the way, there’s something I want to show you……”

He then snapped his fingers and reached out to the aide sitting in the front seat. The aide handed him a magazine as if he had been waiting for it.

“Take a look at this.”

Viett stared at the flat magazine cover the officer held out. He couldn’t read the magazine name and article headlines written in the Slan Empire’s language, but he could recognize the annoying face on the cover at a glance.

“This, this bastard……”

“Hillias Law. Right?”

The officer pointed to the small face printed on the magazine cover.

“People in this country are also very interested in your wife’s love story.”

“Such a waste of……”

Viett frowned sharply. Then he pointed to the article title written below Hillias Law’s face photo.

“This. What, what does it say?”

“An in-depth investigation into the Westenian Little Lady’s first love.”

“What bullshit.”

“Surely you’re not planning to show off that rough mouth during the treaty signing? Be thankful my driver and aide don’t understand Westenian.”

The officer gestured toward the driver and aide who were staring straight ahead rigidly. Viett snorted slightly, amused by his lie.

How could those who came to greet the crown prince of an allied country be ignorant of foreign languages? They clearly understood his cursing but politely pretended not to understand.

“But about this doctor who was your wife’s first love…… He somehow looks familiar.”

At that moment, the officer muttered as he raised the magazine to eye level.

“You know my mother was a doctor in her youth, right?”

He lowered his voice as he mentioned one of the many consorts of the Slan Empire’s king.

“And among my mother’s colleagues from her youth, there was a doctor with the exact same face as Hillias Law.”

“……What?”

“It’s true. He was such a handsome man that I remember him clearly.”

The officer tapped his head with his finger. Meaning, there were no photos or any evidence.

“Could they be the same person?”

“Don’t, don’t talk such nonsense.”

Viett shook his head in disbelief. To begin with, Hillias Law is a young man with a bright future ahead. If he were his mother’s colleague, he would be well over fifty…… How could those two possibly be the same person?

Viett dismissed the officer’s words as nonsense and neatly ignored them. He closed his tired eyes and leaned back against the seat. But he couldn’t completely shake off the unsettling feeling until they arrived at the hotel.

* * *

「<Pepe: Day 77XX since birth…….>

※This regime propaganda novel may contain scenes inappropriate for children to view, such as smoking.

※Names of characters other than the Little Lord and family are marked as XX.

※Details of royal official events have been omitted for security reasons. Please note this.

After Viett returned from the Slan Empire with the Prime Minister. He and I reunited at the auditorium of Desfield Boys’ Military Academy.

He had to come up to the mountains where Desfield is located right after returning home, and I had to go directly from the cathedral restoration site to the school.

I was worried about him, who had lost a surprising amount of cheek fat in just a few days. But Viett also wore a troubled expression looking at my complexion.

— Did you eat properly? Are you sure?

— What about you? I heard you skipped meals several times during the train journey?

He seemed to feel guilty, avoiding the answer and taking me to the basement of the auditorium. Second Lieutenant XX and his subordinates responsible for security stood in front of a door with a nameplate reading ‘Ensemble Room.’

Viett and I entered the ensemble room and closed the door. I quietly looked around the wide space where cold air had settled.

A glass cabinet full of trophies stood against one wall, and the opposite wall was covered with framed photographs. The grand piano placed in front of the blackboard looked so old that I worried whether the keys would even press properly.

— We’ll wait here until the ceremony begins.

Viett unfolded a folding chair and seated me there. Then he skillfully found and unfolded another chair from behind the glass cabinet.

— You seem to know the structure of this place well.

— ……I spent a lot of time here during my cadet days.

He answered as he sat down on the chair.

— This was the only place in the school with a piano.

I turned my gaze to the photographs decorating the wall. There were photos of young cadets participating in the Continental Cup competition.

I could spot young Viett holding a trophy at a glance. He stood out even in the old photos because he was exceptionally tall and had a pretty face.

— Viscount XX is there too?

I asked, pointing to a boy standing next to young Viett. It was undoubtedly the childhood appearance of his friend, Viscount XX. I could recognize him at a glance because his mischievous expression was identical to now.

— The viscount is holding a violin.

— We performed a duet together.

— And you played the piano?

Viett silently nodded. Judging from the sight of young Viett holding a trophy, it seemed he and the viscount had won the competition.

It’s a great honor for a royal family member to win at an event with such deep history as the Continental Cup ensemble competition…

Why didn’t I know about this until now? I remember that when former Crown Prince Minute merely placed in a domestic competition, articles were published noisily everywhere.

— I didn’t know you won this competition.

When I muttered with a disappointed feeling, Viett indifferently replied while checking his pocket watch.

— Nobody cared.

— …….

— Instead, they eagerly wrote articles about how I beat up two upperclassmen that same year.

He added in a bitter tone.

— Why did you fight?

— They damaged that piano.

Viett’s gaze fell on the piano leg wrapped tightly with cloth. Looking closely, the piano was tilted slightly sideways due to a leg that had once been broken.

Just then, Second Lieutenant XX’s voice was heard from beyond the closed door.

— Your Highness. The speech is expected to run longer than anticipated.

— The principal is as consistent as ever…

Viett muttered with an exasperated face. Since the waiting time would be longer than expected anyway, I suddenly wanted to hear Viett play the piano after a long time. So I tugged at his crossed arms and jumped up from my chair.

— Won’t you play a piece for me?

— What? But…… there’s no recorder now…

Viett looked around with a regretful face and hesitated.

— It doesn’t matter. I’d be happy just to see you play.

— …….

— Besides, your playing doesn’t exist solely for me. You like the piano, don’t you?

Viett reluctantly got up and sat beside me on the piano bench. I burst into laughter watching him open the piano lid with an excited face.

— At times like this, you’re supposed to say ‘I don’t like it as much as you’!