How can someone without kids be so sad!

“Wow, really… Kramer… just let me greet the kids, okay?”

“Sure. Greet them from a distance.”

Waving at the children from a distance where his hands couldn’t reach… Constantine almost forcibly sent the kids out as soon as the greeting was over.

“What. You’re treating me like a germ.”

“Who knows? You might really have some disease.”

“No, what disease? What disease do I have?”

“From what I hear about you, you might have some disease. Don’t even think about touching our kids.”

“Hey!”

Lucas, indignant at Kramer’s injustice in defaming his pure body, burst out in anger.

“You know exactly why those rumors started…!”

No one else, but you shouldn’t be doing that! Lucas sighed and sighed, spewing flames of anger.

“That’s too much…!”

But there was no one to accept his anger, and the direction of his anger was wrong, so Lucas sobbed and drank alone.

Since Constantine wasn’t going to engage, he had no choice but to drink alone. At least the brat didn’t take away the bottle, which was a relief.

“Oh, really, this Guardian Spirit… I want to be free–!”

Then, a tearful hope sprang up, but that freedom was far, far away.

Even if he could pass on the succession, how could he do it with no lover, let alone a wife, and when would he ever be free?

“And I see you can pass on the succession now….”

He had tried very hard not to be envious, but he failed. Suddenly, Lucas started to envy Duke Kramer immensely.

“They’re still kids. What are you talking about?”

“They grow up fast, you know….”

He was shocked when Kramer said he was getting married, and now he had kids. And it turned out the kids were already five years old.

Seeing how kids grow, time really flies.

‘When that guy has finished passing on the succession and retires, I’ll still be working alone, exhausted…’

Suddenly, such an unlucky thought came to mind.

No, no! No way!

That guy has two kids, and I don’t even have one, which is why I’m having these ominous thoughts!

This is unfair!

“Give me your daughter… Erenhorn might be able to pass on the inheritance to a girl….”

“What nonsense.”

“Your Guardian Spirit will be inherited by your son anyway….”

From a quick glance, the boy seemed a bit more reserved, but if trained from a young age, he would probably be able to hunt monsters and go on missions.

It would all fall into place. It had been the case for Lucas himself.

“Who knows. It seems Primula might have a better affinity….”

“Are you crazy? You want to pass the inheritance to a girl?”

“…I just said she might have a better affinity.”

“You say ‘who knows’ about passing the succession to a girl? She has to go on missions….”

Lucas stopped talking.

Wait, something’s off….

This was suspicious.

Just now, he was looking at his daughter with eyes that seemed to be dripping with honey, and it was definitely not fake.

Lucas was surprised that Constantine could look at anyone with such eyes.

Both of them knew how difficult and painful the process of inheritance was, so there was no way he would joke about it.

“You… are you hiding something from me?”

This guy especially had even considered cutting off the line before meeting the current Duchess. (Constantine might think he didn’t know, but he had already noticed.)

How could a guy who had once thought of cutting off his line talk so lightly about the succession just because he had kids?

Something’s up. Something’s definitely up!

“……”

“Hey, what’s with you! Don’t enjoy it all by yourself!”

Seeing Kramer’s tight-lipped expression, Lucas became even more convinced.

This guy wouldn’t act like this unless there was something!

“Hey– You traitor…!”

Just as he was about to explode with a deep sense of betrayal, there was a knock on the door.

“Honey? I heard we have a distinguished guest?”

“…Zaya….”

Duchess Saya entered the parlor.

“…What? Zaya?”

“No, no.”

Saya’s sudden appearance made Lucas’s anger lose its target and fizzle out.

“Saya, you’re here.”

Look, look. There he goes, changing his attitude again.

His transformation from a cold-blooded person to a gentleman always sent shivers down his spine.

“What did you bring? For someone who’s leaving soon.”

The Duchess was holding some snacks in her hands.

She had returned from an outing and heard that Duke Aberdeen was visiting and having a drink with Duke Kramer, so she came to see them.

Someone…. Though she seemed to put on slightly less of an act than before, the content remained the same, so Lucas told her once again that he wasn’t leaving.

“Have you been well, Duke Aberdeen?”

“Formalities make me uncomfortable. Just call me Lucas.”

“Why should my wife call you by your first name?”

Kramer, who was good at speaking up to refuse, was actively hindering him.

“Really, you’re always the same. Always the same… What a nasty guy.”

Lucas grumbled, and Saya smiled faintly and said,

“I was a bit worried leaving you alone, but if I knew you were with Duke Aberdeen, I could have come later.”

“No, Saya, he’ll be leaving soon.”

He was as consistent in trying to send him off.

Lucas, feeling extremely irritated, grumbled.

“I’ll see how long I can stay. I’m going to get really drunk and stay overnight!”

Despite the icy glare, Lucas grumbled on.

“I won’t leave until you spill your secret! I can’t leave!”

“…Secret?”

As soon as Saya asked, Lucas started spilling out their conversation.

“That guy has no sense of camaraderie as a fellow Oathkeeper! He knows a good way and is keeping it to himself!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Shut up. Stop talking nonsense and get out.”

Kramer, who seemed to want to use his Guardian Spirit’s power to force him out, was subtly raising his energy.

“Your constant attempts to drive me away make me even more suspicious!”

“……”

And aren’t you an Oathkeeper too? I’m an Oathkeeper too! I can use my power too!

“Hmph. What are you going to do if I don’t leave, force me out?”

“…I could.”

This guy! He’s really using his power!

He really is a bad guy, and Lucas was about to bad-mouth him to his wife when he hesitated.

“Eh, eh?! Wait, you….”

While the Dukes had never directly fought to determine superiority, most people acknowledged Kramer.

It wasn’t that the current Dukes hadn’t fought; it seemed that in the previous generation, someone had fought, and the Aberdeen family had received a warning not to fight Kramer’s Guardian Spirit.

It was likely that similar warnings had been issued to Rosedale and Francis as well. Despite the significant age difference, they had never treated Constantine with disrespect or as a young upstart.

Even when he inherited the dukedom at a young age, they had shown him great respect from the first meeting.

But it wasn’t just because Kramer’s Guardian Spirit was the strongest in combat.

While he didn’t know about the other Dukes, when Kramer used his power, the cold air around him, combined with that cold-blooded expression, made him genuinely terrifying.

Partly because they were adjacent to the north and received a lot of help from Kramer during the flood season (Erenhorn was the weakest in combat among the four), he rarely did anything to offend Kramer.

But in reality… it felt like he might die if he messed with him.

Sometimes, when standing next to Kramer using his full power, the chill would reach his heart, and he often suspected that Morev’s real attribute wasn’t ice.

But… but!

“Something’s off! The energy is different!”

When he raised his power, the psychological coldness that used to spread around him was no longer felt.

‘Could it be that his heart has thawed after getting married, and his power has become warmer….’

…No way!

It seemed more plausible that the reason for this change was something Constantine was hiding.

“What is it, you bad guy! Tell me too! I’m struggling too…!”

Seeing Duke Kramer’s behavior of suddenly withdrawing his power when he mentioned the difference in energy, Lucas became even more convinced.

His outbursts now sounded like those of a drunkard, but Lucas couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

While he usually valued his dignity and coolness, it was of little use here, and most importantly, he had a strong feeling.

This moment could be a crucial turning point in his life!

Whatever it was, he had to find out that secret!

“What’s going on with him….”

The Duchess, intrigued by his desperate drunken outbursts and the content of his words, asked.

It seemed she was asking on behalf of Duke Kramer, who had his mouth tightly sealed.

“Madam as a fellow Oathkeeper, where has the camaraderie gone? Isn’t this guy being too much…!”

Lucas redirected his lamentation to Saena.

“Because of this Guardian Spirit, I’m struggling too…. I can’t even have a lover… let alone think about marriage….”

He seemed to be drunk.

Or was he just sad?

His mouth wouldn’t close, and he even started complaining to the Duchess….

No… thinking about it, the Duchess was also an Oathkeeper now! She might understand….

‘But does she know the pain of the succession process…?’

As the first-generation Oathkeeper, she probably hadn’t experienced the inheritance process.

“Madam, you being the first generation, you might not know about the succession method…?”

“Me? Ah, that’s right…. I haven’t experienced that….”

Even Lucas, for a moment, hesitated to share this topic, which wasn’t exactly a cheerful one.

“That’s enough.”

Duke Kramer, who found the topic unpleasant, gave Lucas a strong look. But Lucas, who had been pondering just a moment ago, felt rebellious when he saw Duke Kramer’s reaction.

“The Duchess is an Oathkeeper too; she should know!”

“Stop it.”

“These little ones will have to bear this power when they grow up, so the Duchess should prepare herself mentally, shouldn’t she!”

Yes. Does a child bear the burden alone? The Duchess, as a mother, has the right to know what the inheritance process entails for her children! Absolutely!

He was striving for the Duchess’s right to know.

“Ha….”

Constantine rubbed his forehead, clearly annoyed.

“Is it because… you haven’t married yet because of Erenhorn?”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t married, but rather that he couldn’t. Saena, unable to ask directly, cautiously inquired.

Given her past experience with Erenhorn, she felt she could understand the reason, and it made her feel a bit sympathetic.

‘Another person who needs to control their Guardian Spirit….’

This thought was a natural progression.

“Maybe you need—”

“Saena, his case is different from mine. There’s no need to worry.”

As soon as the Duchess offered to help, Constantine quickly cut in.