/
Catching tails, passing handkerchiefs, and just jumping around!
“Yeah, fine.”
Upon Russphe’s happy answer, I took his hand and went out into the garden.
***
“I heard something interesting happened at the Imperial Palace not too long ago?”
“What was the fuss about?”
“It looks like that mad dog turned the palace upside down again. What the country is going to be like. He’s been strangely calm these days.”
Smoke filled the room like fog.
The bearded man who sucked his pipe loudly burst into laughter.
“I was wondering if someone wasn’t a mad dog.”
Ragia de Deslin.
Deslin, a family that had been greatly trusted by the previous emperors and had been with the history of Warford.
He was the man who stood at the pinnacle of this gathering, the one who wanted more than anyone else to bring down House Valliot.
With Kassel de Leguier poking around like a valiant action leader, there was no easy day for him.
“What the hell happened to him?”
“Does it seem like he has touched an imperial maid? He didn’t seem to be interested in women, so I guess it wasn’t like that?”
“If it was just that, would there be any words out? If he had rather enjoyed women’s colors, we would’ve easily communicated with him.”
The meeting was about ten people.
They were men from aristocratic families, including Deslin.
The main members of the group were the Duke of Deslin, the Marquis of Rondo, the Count of Menivera, and the Viscount of Lahodo.
“I don’t know exactly what caused it because His Imperial Majesty kept his mouth shut, but there was a lot of talk about someone disappearing from within the palace.”
“Someone disappeared inside the Imperial Palace. Did a mess grow with just that?”
“There must have been another reason.”
“Then?”
“A kid.”
All kinds of speculation followed, and Ragia de Deslin chanted.
At the same time, the men’s eyes turned to Ragia.
“A kid?”
“You mean the kid with black hair?”
Rondo asked with a puzzled face.
“Don’t the Duke of Deslin and the Marquis of Rondo know?”
Magi Lahodo sighed on the sofa and pulled his neck.
The shiny eyes were busy looking here and there quickly.
“If the Mad Dog of Valliot moves, what is it about other than his family? There was a face I hadn’t seen before in the banquet hall. He was carrying around a girl who looked like 5 or 6 years old.”
“A girl, at that?”
“I thought my eyeballs would be plucked out after I gave her a glance. So I wondered if what happened in the Imperial Palace was related to that child.”
“What, what is it? Don’t just let it be known between the two of you, please tell me.”
Magi urged Rondo’s words even more.
Ragia then dumped the pipe ashes into the ashtray.
“The deceased Prime Minister’s child out of wedlock.”
Everyone has a surprised face in the thick smoke.
As they continued to solve their guesses and questions, all the eyes of the meeting were on the Duke of Ragia.
Ragia smiled.
A thick cloud of smoke escaped from his mouth.
Everyone quickly turned their eyes, unable to utter an answer out of their mouths.
They were busy watching as if they wanted someone to speak for them.
The moment Ragia opened his mouth again, the surroundings were greatly agitated like waves crashing.
“A girl with black hair and golden eyes who has been hiding for 7 years. Don’t you smell something?”
“Yes?”
“Ho..”
“No way
”
It was like the eyes of an animal that caught its prey.
“No, so you’re saying the rumors were true?”
“Didn’t you say it wasn’t true!”
The surroundings were buzzing again.
But her black hair and golden eyes.
It looked like a mixture of the two.
It’s been hidden for 7 years.
So Rondo was also suspicious about that.
In fact, when seen up close, the child looked exactly like the face of the deceased Prime Minister, yet somehow the Emperor’s face seemed to be visible as well.
In addition, in the Valliot  family, from the head of the family to the brother of the head of the family and the children, there is no one who doesn’t have red hair.
However, since the child who appeared to be the granddaughter had black hair, they couldn’t help but to be more suspicious.
The noisy hall soon turned into a sharp atmosphere.
“Does Calpodia know about this?”
Ricardo Willow Calpodia.
A family of the only brother of the Emperor and also a strong supporter.
In addition, since the son of the Marquis of Calpodia was being talked about as the next heir to the throne, of course, if he knew this fact, he would be sensitive to it.
What if the child who suddenly appeared as they expected was the Emperor’s only bloodline?
Will the Marquis of Calfodia, who has a close relationship with the Valliot family, see his son’s next throne taken away?
He had already yielded the throne once, but it was questionable whether he would be able to see his son being pushed out.
If the Imperial Family kept quiet and hid the child, as in the story just mentioned, that child might already be on the scale.
“If they do well
”
Magi Rahodo gave a fishy laugh.
The original problem arises from small cracks.
It’s much more effective to touch young than adult prey.
Will the wind of blood blow that they want?
Everyone had greedy eyes and exchanged glances for a long time as if they were raising stakes for each other.
Valliot, who put him on the throne.
And Calpodia, his own brother.
Who will the Emperor save?
***
“Russphe, come here!”
I knelt down and tucked my body through the low garden trees and called for Russphe.
As I pushed my hips out of the narrow space like a dog hole, I saw a small lake.
Next to it stood a tall tree much taller than an adult.
It’s been a while since I’ve been here with Uncle, but there are still many places I haven’t been to.
I haven’t been to the outbuildings, and I saw this lake for the first time today.
Uncle hid this good place and only knew about it himself.
Then this morning, he threatened us even though I and Russphe didn’t break anything in the house.
Like a ferocious uncle.
I pointed to a lake with a large tree holding Russphe’s hand, who belatedly followed me and crawled out to his knees late.
“There’s a lake over there? Let’s go over there and play.”
“Mm, okay.”
Fortunately, Ruspe agreed to everything.
As we got closer to the lake, something moved in the water.
“It’s a fish!”
Even though I thought there was nothing!
We knelt down and watched the fish near the shore.
When I splashed the water with my fingertips, the fish miraculously flocked to this side.
I mustered up a little more courage and plunged my wrists into the water.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“Mm. Does Aika like fish?”
“Me? Um, I don’t know. I like seeing them. What about you?”
“So do i.”
“But I think I’ll get scolded if I look at it any more.”
Russphe also nodded, removing his hand from the water.
Now, don’t do anything dangerous.
As I stood up and turned around, the pocket I had attached to my dress fell out.
It really was a, huh? moment.
“No!”
In the blink of an eye, the pouch fell into the water.
I was startled, so I lay down and stretched out my hand to the lake.
“Aika, it’s dangerous!”
“Ah, wait!”
Russphe pulled my clothes from behind.
There’s a contract I wrote with Uncle over there, and it’s important!
The bag floated above the water, but I couldn’t reach it.
“Ah
”
I knelt down and looked at the bag floating in the water with a lost face.
“I also put the bracelet Zenda made for me there
 What should I do.”
“Is it important?”
Russphe looked at me and asked hastily.
I looked sad and nodded.
“There, I have something Uncle promised me and a pretty bracelet. I have some candies to share with you
”
In the meantime, the pocket moved a little farther away. Oh, no!
“I have to tell Zenda. Or even Leto!”
I could only think of Zenda and Leto as adults to ask for help right now.
Since Zenda and Leto are big adults, I wonder if they will find a way to get it out.
But Zenda told me not to do anything dangerous.
I kept looking at the lake and stamped my feet.
“Aika.”
Then Russphe touched me and called.
For some reason, his voice was hoarse.
“Hm?”
“Close your eyes.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly he told me to close my eyes?
“Close your eyes and count to 10.”