Hailey didn’t know much about the natives of Winchester, but she thought it was wrong to treat them as spectacles just because they were a bit different. Even if Theo didn’t mean any harm, it could come across that way.

Recently, Hailey had been teaching Theo not to be rude, even to servants. No servant would feel respect and dignity from a rude noble.

Dora was in a dilemma. It was rare for someone to touch her ears. But Dora was weak to children, especially ones as young as Theo.

Seeing Dora’s troubled face, Hailey spoke to Theo.

“If someone pressed down on your head because you’re short, it wouldn’t feel good, right?”

“I don’t like it when people press my head…”

“It’s the same thing. Just as everyone’s height is different, everyone looks a bit different.”

“Just once, it’s fine.”

Dora, who had been watching, said as she approached Theo. Theo looked at Hailey.

When Hailey said, ‘Just once,’ Theo nodded vigorously and carefully extended a small finger to touch the tip of Dora’s ear.

Dora felt a strange sensation from the warmth of the little boy’s touch, reminiscent of her long-deceased son.

Axel counted to five and then swiftly restored Theo’s finger to its original position before Dora could feel anything more.

“Thank you for understanding, butler.”

Hailey expressed her gratitude on behalf of Theo. Despite the great rudeness, Dora cooperated.

Dora had many concerns about the bride brought by the rogue prince.

She wondered what kind of person the rogue prince’s bride would be. She found Hailey’s eyes to be sharper and more intelligent than expected, with a transparency not typical of nobles, somewhat reminiscent of the late Lady Madeleine’s eyes.

Not only in appearance, but Hailey’s actions and speech also exuded the atmosphere of the late Grand Duchess.

Dora smiled kindly.

“Young Madam, please feel free to call me Dora. Don’t worry. However, I must caution you that the residents of Winchester, especially the natives, have strong prejudices against inland people. Please be careful so that the young master doesn’t get misunderstood.”

But that kind smile of Dora’s was only for Theo and Hailey. She didn’t even glance at Axel and turned her body away.

* * *

The white-haired Grand Duke of Winchester had a robust physique despite his old age. He was meticulous about self-care, never missing his daily exercise, and occasionally sparring with younger knights.

Having lost his wife early and sent his only daughter, Madeleine, to the royal family as a queen, he had guarded Winchester alone.

It was true that he had faced difficulties due to the lack of an heir since Madeleine was his only daughter.

He had no desire to take another wife now. He still missed his deceased wife dearly. He often pondered whether he should adopt an heir if things didn’t work out.

One day, his grandson and former prince, Axel, arrived at the Grand Duke’s castle without any escort.

‘How can a prince of a country come all this way without a single escort? Did Their Majesties allow this?’
‘None of my escorts are stronger than me. I’d have to protect them. It’s a hassle. Wouldn’t it be better for the Grand Duke if I came alone?’
‘Your Highness’s arrogance will cost you someday.’

Axel von Oterre.

His grandson and the Black Lion of the battlefield. An arrogant tyrant who knew no exhaustion and only looked forward.

‘I intend to renounce my title as prince.’
‘I assume you didn’t come all this way just to ask my opinion. Did you come to deliver that news?’
‘When I renounce my title, I’ll have to leave the palace. So, I was thinking…’

The Grand Duke had a premonition then.

Surely, he doesn’t mean to come here, does he? He hoped not, even though he already sensed it.

‘Winchester is short of hands, isn’t it? What do you think about registering me in Winchester when I leave the palace?’

Although he wasn’t particularly fond of his grandson, the Grand Duke agreed to accept Axel.

Of course, he set some conditions that seemed a bit unreasonable.

‘When you come here after leaving the palace, you must bring a duchess. But it cannot be Lady Brahe. Also, you must produce an heir within a year. If not, I can’t give you the position of successor.’

Lady Brahe was Axel’s fiancée.

The Brahe Duchy and the Grand Duchy of Winchester did not get along. The Duke of Brahe had long coveted the Grand Duchy of Winchester.

He constantly nitpicked, saying the Grand Duchy should open up more territory or that it had too much autonomy.

A wife and child.

It was essential to curb the arrogance of the rogue prince.

But knowing his nature, he wouldn’t accept it easily. So, he calculated that Axel wouldn’t come to the Grand Duchy.

The Grand Duke had imagined himself claiming ‘the conditions were not met’ and driving his grandson away.

‘Alright. I accept. Although you’d prefer me to come as soon as possible, bear with me a bit. I need to sort things out before I come, don’t I?’

At first, Axel frowned, thinking it wasn’t up to him, but then he suddenly changed his attitude and accepted, which made the Grand Duke uneasy.

Sure enough, this troublesome grandson pulled a stunt by marrying a single noblewoman with a child.

When he first heard the news, he was utterly dumbfounded.

‘Just let him come. I’ll straighten him out thoroughly.’

The Grand Duke had been waiting with bated breath.

“They said they would change their clothes and come back. They were covered in dust from the harbor, and their appearance was quite a sight, my lord.”

“How was he? As I expected?”

“Yes. He swung his sword as soon as he saw us. Fortunately, one of the knights he brought was a battle mage from Winchester, and he managed to handle the situation alone.”

“I can imagine. Did he throw a fit?”

“He was quite on edge. But I might have contributed to that by not being very cooperative.”

“I instructed you to do so, so don’t worry about it. He’s a prince who has lived doing whatever he wanted without experiencing failure. He needs to learn that he can’t always get what he wants and what failure feels like.”

Dora quietly bowed her head without saying anything else.

The Grand Duke, signing the piled-up documents, pressed his temples as if he had a headache.

“My lord, you’ve been overworking yourself lately. Since your grandson is here, how about sharing some of the work and getting some rest?”

“I’m fine. I haven’t been sleeping well lately, that’s all.”

“Then, shall I have some medicine prepared for you?”

“If I take that medicine, I get sleepy and can’t concentrate at all.”

“It’s a medicine prescribed to help you sleep, so that’s expected. You’re really going to harm your body at this rate.”

When the Grand Duke was young, he had such good stamina that he only needed two hours of sleep a day.

But now, the Grand Duke had turned white-haired. His eyesight wasn’t what it used to be, and neither was his stamina.

The Northern swordsman, who was said to be unparalleled, once emitted a red aura. Now, he struggled when sparring with younger knights.

To Dora’s nagging, the Grand Duke just laughed heartily, saying, ‘You’re really something.’

In fact, she had been very worried when she heard that the rogue prince was coming, but she also secretly hoped that he would relieve the lord’s excessive workload.

“What did you think of the others who came with him?”

“In my humble opinion, Sir Rethel, who serves the young master, seems quite intelligent. The young master also seems to rely on him a lot. We’ll need to observe a bit more to see if he’s trustworthy.”

“The Rethel family members are all smart. Even so, it’s surprising that the second son of the Rethel family, who could have secured a position in the royal family, followed him here. What about the other two?”

“The little young master is very bright and cute. He seems to have a good relationship with the young master, which was quite surprising.”

“All children of that age are pretty much the same.”

The Grand Duke answered with little interest.

In fact, there were few children in the Grand Duke’s household. The Grand Duke of Winchester wasn’t particularly affectionate and didn’t treat children kindly. Even hearing that a child was very cute didn’t spark his curiosity.

“You’ve had a hard time taking on the role of the mistress of the house for so long. While it’s fortunate that a mistress has come, I worry that she might try to wield influence in this Grand Duke’s household. If you notice any signs of that, report to me immediately. I will take firm measures to prevent it.”