When the war ended, another war began.

The aftermath of dealing with the war’s consequences was also a war, one that simply didn’t involve bloodshed.

They had to purge those who had sided with the marquis, restructure the power dynamics, and establish a new foundation for the king’s authority.

In such circumstances, the kingdom, devastated by four seasons of war, needed reconstruction, and countless territories that had missed the farming season suffered from famine.

For a king who had just turned nine years old, these were truly the worst possible conditions, but with the support of new ministers and lords, she wisely endured it all.

Thus, the cold winter of trials was coming to an end, and the season of preparing for fruition was beginning to arrive.

It was early March, when magnolia branches began to bloom with flower buds instead of heavy snow.

As Roderick returned to the palace’s inner chambers after observing the guards’ training, the gardeners’ chatter drifted to his ears.

“This year, the magnolia has far more flower buds than last year.”

“It’s a good omen. This fall will be a bountiful harvest.”

“The age of life has opened its doors.”

People believed that the new oracle foretelling the arrival of the age of life was already being fulfilled. Despite enduring difficult times, people had not lost hope.

Roderick also smiled hopefully like them as he headed to the inner chambers.

“Triangles can be classified according to the length of their sides……”

Standing before the door from which the teacher’s voice leaked out, the guards respectfully and quietly opened the door. Roderick quietly entered so as not to disturb the class and stood at the back of the classroom.

“……can be categorized as.”

There were five children listening to the lesson. His lord and four playmates serving the king.

All were concentrating on the lesson with bright, sparkling eyes, except for one boy whose eyes were dull and unfocused. As the father of that child who consistently ranked last in mathematics, Roderick always felt embarrassed before the math teacher.

‘Why does Eric hate studying so much?’

Erica said the child resembles his father, but Roderick, who had never studied before, found it hard to agree.

“Ahem.”

Checking the clock on the teacher’s desk, Roderick cleared his throat audibly. The teacher, who had been enthusiastically conducting the lesson, turned his gaze toward Roderick.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll need to end the lesson now. The ministers’ meeting will begin soon.”

“Oh my. I lost track of time. Then let’s end today’s lesson here.”

Only then did Eric’s eyes become bright and sparkling.

The children rose from their desks one by one, but no one moved. They had to wait respectfully for the king to leave first.

Roderick, the captain of the guards, couldn’t tend to his son and had to follow the king out. Before leaving the room, he only exchanged glances with Eric to acknowledge each other.

The war had left its mark not only on the kingdom and the palace but also on the lives of the four ordinary families. And these were irreversible consequences.

From Elodie, who became king overnight, to the three people who became heads of the restored Winterborn family, all experienced tremendous changes in their lives.

The relationships that had been familial became those between lord and retainer.

Their home changed from a small cabin in the forest to a massive palace.

While it was fortunate that they no longer had to flee and everyone had reclaimed what was theirs, not all changes were welcome.

Due to their changed status and increased scrutiny, the four faced many restrictions in their lives.

“Your Majesty, this way.”

Roderick could no longer call Elodie by name.

“Where’s Mom… where is the head maid?”

Elodie could no longer call Roderick and Erica mom and dad.

For a retainer to be called parent by their lord……

It went against the etiquette between lord and retainer, and would certainly cause misunderstandings that the Winterborn family was devouring and manipulating the royal family.

Power and prestige inevitably bring checks and surveillance. From now on, they had to be as careful as walking on thin ice with every move.

“If I had known being king would be like this, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“I don’t want to take etiquette lessons.”

At first, the children complained a lot, but children adapt faster than adults, don’t they? Both children had become quite accustomed to their new lives after nearly three months.

As Elodie said, Erica was nowhere to be seen. Roderick asked a nearby maid.

“Where is the head maid?”

“The head maid is at the House of Blue Flames.”

The House of Blue Flames was an annex, the residence of the Winterborn family located within the palace.

‘She went home.’

Roderick’s expression darkened.

‘Could it be that she’s not feeling well?’

Erica, already six months into her second pregnancy, had become noticeably heavier lately.

To carry the duties of both head maid and countess with such a body.

Worried, Roderick had told her to find a substitute and rest, but Erica wouldn’t listen.

“I’m not a patient, just a pregnant woman.”

“Same difference to me.”

Roderick was holding back his desire to confine her to a room and not let her out. If he did that, Erica would hate him.

For Roderick, there was no disaster greater than being hated by Erica.

When he tried to prevent her from overexerting herself or attempted to carry her around, Erica would express her disgust and say things like this.

“I’m perfectly fine, you know? When I was pregnant with Eric, I crossed half the kingdom alone on a mule in this condition.”

Hearing such words made Roderick even more distressed.

‘To think Erica suffered so much because of me……’

The incident of him choosing his royal duty over Erica when faced with both still weighed on his heart like a debt. Though he was the captain of the guards who should escort the king to the meeting room, his duty as a husband took precedence now.

“Your Majesty, please go ahead. I’ll briefly visit the House of Blue Flames.”

Understanding that he meant to see Erica, Elodie readily nodded, but soon showed a slightly anxious expression and added.

“You must return before the meeting.”

No matter how much she was adapting to her role as king, Elodie was still a young child.

A meeting filled with large, loud men speaking in difficult-to-understand terms was bound to be frightening.

Though Duke Pendrel, a supporter of the king with the skill to control the ministers, attended the meetings as court chamberlain, to Elodie he was just another unfamiliar man.

That child needed Erica and Roderick, the only adults she could trust and rely on.

“Yes, I will definitely return on time.”

Roderick promised Elodie and set off.

“Count, it’s been a while.”

At the entrance to the residence, Roderick encountered a familiar face. The person who came out and bowed to him was a merchant who dealt with the Winterborn family.

“What brings you here?”

“I came to see the countess and show her samples of timber to be used for repairing the mansion.”

“Ah, I see.”

As the restored heads of the Winterborn family, Roderick and Erica had to work in that capacity as well, so the past three months had been literally hectic with no time to breathe.

“Would you like to see them as well, Count?”

“I’ll go with whatever the countess chose.”

Erica was always right.

After sending the merchant away, Roderick walked into the residence.

The House of Blue Flames was an annex that some minister had used during the reign of the false king. Perhaps he had been favored by the marquis, as the entire building was decorated with silk and gold to such an extent that when they first set foot in it, they were overwhelmed by its splendor.

“Ugh, this taste…… It’s all expensive stuff plastered everywhere, but how can it look so cheap?”

Meanwhile, Erica was horrified.

“I need to change everything before my eyes get worse.”

With other tasks already piled up like the Staig mountain range, they thought changing the interior would take a long time, but Erica finished it all in just two months.

The House of Blue Flames was decorated mainly in silver and blue to match the Winterborn family’s symbol.

Simply thinking about it, gold was more expensive than silver, but somehow the current silver decoration looked more noble.

Erica said they needed to preserve the sense of openness, so she removed all the flashy decorations that the previous owner had crammed into every wall and space, placing only simple items sparsely.

The previous owner had loudly proclaimed ‘I am rich’ and ‘I am powerful’ from every corner of the house. But why did Erica’s calm and restrained approach feel more dignified?

If previously it had been suffocating, now it inspired admiration.

Roderick climbed the grand staircase in the central hall, once again filled with admiration.

‘I never knew Erica had such refined taste……’

What was surprising wasn’t just Erica’s sophisticated taste.