Most of my blood relatives died by my hand, which might seem somewhat detestable from a certain perspective.

Yet if forced to choose between blood-tied affection and the imperial throne, well, I’m not sure. Despite my conviction that I was the one who belonged on the throne more than anyone else at this moment, making such a choice remained difficult.

Just then, Hasis spoke up.

“Blood ties are truly fascinating.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“They’ve managed to tame someone who once pounced on me and my master like a wildcat.”

“Wildcat?”

I gaped at his absurd comparison. How dare he compare the Emperor of the Arsis Empire to a wildcat.

“I might accept being treated like a wildcat in front of Lord Lerrhagen, but there’s no reason for you to see me that way.”

“Aren’t you being too generous in your self-assessment? In front of my master, you’re less like a wildcat and more like a newborn kitten.”

“How are you any different? The moment I return to my adult form, you’ll be bowing before me.”

“Hmm. Will I really?”

Right, I should be the mature one here.

Why should I get entangled in provocations from someone not even twenty years old? I’m beyond that age, aren’t I?

With this thought, I lifted my foot and stomped hard on Hasis’s instep.

“Ugh, sss, hey you!”

“How does it feel to be stepped on by a wildcat?”

I curled the corner of my mouth into a crooked smile.

Having stomped with all my might, Hasis appeared to be in genuine pain.

“Ah, really. That temper of yours!”

“You know what I’m like, so why do you keep provoking me? My mercy ends here. Keep acting insolent and I’ll kill you.”

Of course, I wouldn’t be crazy enough to kill a Dragon Lord’s disciple, and I wouldn’t kill someone over something so trivial, but I meant what I said.

I glanced at Hasis, who was hopping around clutching his foot, then turned my gaze back to where Duke Elvierts had disappeared.

‘Health deterioration, he said. What could have happened suddenly?’

While it wasn’t strange for humans to age and fall ill with the passage of time, the thought that this could happen to my relative made me feel unexpectedly upset.

I slightly hardened my expression.

‘I should suggest he get a thorough medical examination.’

I hoped that Duke Elvierts would live long on this earth, even if not by my side.

‘Otherwise, I truly would have no one left.’

With this thought, I let out another long sigh.

* * *

Despite my insistence that I needed nothing, Duke Elvierts sent a pile of gifts the very next day.

Fortunately, unlike what I had feared, most of the gifts were relatively “normal.”

“Wow, they’re beautiful.”

Evelyn, who had entered the palace with Marquis Adler under the pretext of being my playmate, gazed with sparkling eyes at the array of accessories and dolls spread out before me.

Her gaze lingered on a black ribbon adorned with a large central diamond, then moved to the doll beside it.

“These are absolutely magnificent. Duke Elvierts must truly love Your Highness enormously.”

“You’re a marquis’s daughter, so why do you show such narrow knowledge? Shouldn’t jewels like these be commonplace in your home?”

“I’m still young… my parents don’t buy these for me.”

“Liar. Margrit takes them from you, doesn’t she?”

From what I’d observed when the Marquis came to pick up his daughter, although he clearly favored his eldest daughter, he didn’t seem to mistreat his second daughter.

Evelyn occasionally mentioned meals she shared with the Marquis and his wife, suggesting she wasn’t treated quite as poorly as I had been.

Moreover, the clothes and shoes Evelyn wore were clearly high-quality items.

This confirmed that the person who troubled Evelyn the most was indeed Margrit.

While the parents weren’t blameless, from Evelyn’s perspective, the most direct source of her distress was her sister’s actions.

“Your sister takes things from you all the time, right? She can’t take your clothes and shoes because they don’t fit her, but she can take accessories like these and use them herself.”

My guess seemed correct as Evelyn flinched and slightly hunched her shoulders.

I gave her a disapproving look.

Evelyn mumbled softly, making an excuse.

“She hasn’t done that recently, though.”

Of course not. I scared her thoroughly, and now her sister has become the princess’s playmate.

This signifies that her father has somehow recognized her sister’s value, so Margrit would want to watch her step for a while.

I picked up a flower-shaped ribbon decorated with layers of white lace from among the accessories in front of me and held it out to Evelyn.

Evelyn was startled and waved her hands in refusal.

“I-I don’t need it.”

“It’s a return gift. For the doll you gave me last time.”

“But this is too precious!”

“You were the one who said that doll wasn’t cheap. Why, am I wrong? Was it actually cheap?”

“Of course not! But it can’t be compared to something with such expensive jewels.”

Evelyn shook her head vigorously with an anxious expression.

I forcibly placed the ribbon in her hands.

“I’m not just giving it to you. If Margrit tries to take this from you, pull her hair so hard that she won’t be able to wear ribbons for a while.”

“W-what?”

“It’s fine. We’re young, so we won’t get in much trouble. If anything, Margrit will be the one too embarrassed to show her face.”

It felt somewhat like teaching a child something bad, but isn’t it a parent’s instinct to want their child to fight back rather than be bullied?

Though I wasn’t Evelyn’s parent, as an adult, I needed to teach her at least minimal self-defense.

Evelyn kept her mouth tightly shut before nodding her head vigorously. Though with her gentle nature, I doubted she would actually do such a thing.

With this thought, I called Sela and ordered her to put all these gifts away.

Sela nodded and left with several other ladies-in-waiting, carrying the gifts.

Soon, only Evelyn and I remained in the greenhouse.

Even though she was supposed to be my playmate, Evelyn wasn’t the type to play actively, and I had no intention of pretending to be energetic either, so the greenhouse quickly filled with silence.

Evelyn sat down across from me as I took my seat at the table.

“By the way.”

I spoke as I slowly picked up my teacup.

“What has Marquis Adler been up to lately?”

Evelyn blinked at my question.

I wondered if my inquiry was too obvious, but then realized that Marquis Adler would probably ask Evelyn the same about me, so I just blinked innocently.

Fortunately, Evelyn didn’t seem to find anything strange about it.

After all, she regarded the position of princess as something tremendously significant and looked up to me, believing I was directly involved in state affairs.

“Father has been very busy lately.”

Just taking on all the world’s official duties himself, isn’t he?

I couldn’t speak ill of her father in front of Evelyn, so I grumbled inwardly.

I set down my teacup. At that moment, Evelyn, who had been staring at me, suddenly asked, something occurring to her:

“Um, Your Highness.”

“What?”

“Thanksgiving is coming soon. Won’t there be a party at the imperial palace? I heard there will be a festival in the city for three days during Thanksgiving.”

Ah, that’s right, Thanksgiving is coming soon. Summer was almost over, and autumn was approaching. It wasn’t strange for Thanksgiving to be held during the harvest season.

However.

“No. I… Mother doesn’t hold parties for frivolous festivals. She says it’s a waste of money.”

This was sincere. Official imperial parties were generally funded by national taxes.

No matter how crazy things got, I couldn’t use tax money to put a piece of bread in the mouths of nobles.

“During Thanksgiving, it’s customary to spend time with family. That’s what I plan to do. Mother will inform the nobles of this as well.”

Of course, we would never actually sit down together for a cozy meal.

However, for some reason, Evelyn’s shoulders drooped at my words.

Her disappointment was evident to anyone looking.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“When you have something on your mind, it’s polite to say it directly. What is it?”

Evelyn fidgeted and looked hesitant at my question. I glanced at her over my teacup and calmly waited for her answer.

“Have you ever been to a festival?”

At that moment, I immediately guessed what she wanted to say.

Sure enough, Evelyn asked me with a face full of expectation:

“Would you consider going to the festival with me?”

Just as I thought.

I wondered why she suddenly brought up Thanksgiving.

While I could understand her feelings, I had no interest in Thanksgiving, neither this year nor in previous years.

‘What’s so special about a festival where families gather together harmoniously?’

If there was a day I should observe, it would be something like the Day of Return, when the dead supposedly come back.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not particularly interested in festivals. And as I said, I’ll be spending it with family.”

“The festival lasts for three days!”

Despite her earlier hesitation, Evelyn surprisingly didn’t back down easily.

That’s how badly she wanted to go, I suppose.

It seemed strange for a noble young lady to enjoy commoners’ festivals, but considering Evelyn’s age, it wasn’t that unusual.

‘I was planning to visit the Magic Tower briefly during Thanksgiving.’

Although black magic had disappeared long ago, the Magic Tower was still essentially a breeding ground for mages.

Normally, I avoided approaching it due to the presence of skilled mages, but during Thanksgiving, most mages would either return home or not report to the Tower.

‘I wanted to use this opportunity to search through the materials in the Magic Tower.’

While Evelyn’s expression was somewhat pitiful, I had no intention of missing this opportunity.