âUh, well, I meanâŠâŠ the trees are so bushy and pretty!â
âI put some effort into it. And what else is good?â
âHuh? And, umâŠâ
Suddenly, I was trapped in a feedback loopâŠ..
Siegfried glanced at Kirios with a âyouâre patheticâ expression.
âCanât you see that Tatiana is embarrassed?â Siegfried said, shaking his head chidingly.
âKirios, do you have a thorn in your mouth if you donât get into an accident at least once a day?â Cesar joined in.
Kirios glared at his friends with a resentful face.
âWhat accident did I cause? I just wanted to know more about the little kidâs preferencesâŠ
ââŠâŠ.â
âDonât play around. You just want to hear praise from Miss Tatiana.â
ââŠâŠâŠ..â
Kirios kept his mouth shut.
I broke out in a cold sweat inwardly.
Sometimes, Cesar really does look like he could stab someone to death with his sharp tongue.
Just then, one by one, the ladies started to arrive.
âWell, everyone dressed appropriately.â
I had notified them in the invitation to wear comfortable clothing.
The ladies seemed to have followed my words faithfully.
While not everyone was in full hunting attire like me, they were all dressed in womenâs hunting outfits.
âGoodness, this is something!â
Meanwhile, the ladies had astonished expressions on their faces.
âHow can the weather be so sunny?â
âIt definitely rained before!â
âLook over there! Look! The color of the sky is different!â
âItâs so fascinating!â
They excitedly chattered among themselves.
As they were engrossed in their conversationâŠ
âWelcome, everyone! Thank you for coming!â
As I greeted them, the ladies also gathered their voices and greeted me.
âHello, Princess!â
I approached the ladies with brisk steps.
âThank you so much for coming to my outing today.â
âYou are most welcome, and we are honored that you have invited us.â
âWell, actually, this is my first time near the Magic Tower.â
âOh, my, how many imperial citizens have been there?â
âYes, the Magic Tower is originally a secure facility. My mother said that the entire vicinity of the tower is designated as a top-secret area.â
âŠWas that so?
I felt a bit embarrassed since I had previously taken a thorough tour through the tower.
While we were conversingâŠ
The ladies spotted the three warriors standing in the distance and gasped in surprise.
âThere, there!â
âThe three warriorsâŠ!â
âWhat should we do? I canât believe we get to see the three warriors together!â
Even when they had only seen Siegfried from a distance before, they were amazed as if they would faint.
Now that they were able to see all three warriors at once, their reaction was beyond imagination.
However, unfortunately, Siegfried, Kirios, and Caesar were somewhat reserved and aloof.
Among them, Caesar was relatively good at handling children, but he didnât seem eager to come here and greet them.
âHmm.â
I glanced sideways at the ladies.
âI think Iâd also be a bit scared to come anywhere near those excited ladiesâŠâŠâ
I quickly changed the subject, hoping to calm the ladies down.
âThis forest is under the control of the Magic Tower. Weâve already tidied up the forest to make sure nothing dangerous or uncomfortable happens, so donât worry about that.â
Then one of the ladies asked me cautiously.
âSo, is it safe to say that this forest is managed byâŠâŠ the Lord of the Tower himself?â
âHuh? Oh, well⊠I suppose so?â
Caught off guard, I unintentionally replied.
Upon hearing that, the ladies went into a frenzy once again.
âOh, really?â
âThe Lord of the Magic Tower manages this forest too!â
âThatâs amazing!â
Kirios, who was standing far away, suddenly turned his head and looked over in our direction.
I discreetly avoided his gaze.
Second Dad, Iâm sorryâŠâŠ.
While the ladies were enthusiastically discussing the three heroes for a while, they looked at me with admiration.
âItâs great that youâve opened up the area around the tower, but to top it all off, thereâs even an illusion magicâŠâŠ.â
âThe Lord of the Magic Tower must really care about you!â
âJust the fact that my second dad takes such good care of me is enough to be grateful.â
I flashed a bashful smile and intentionally let slip the title âSecond Dadâ.
The ladiesâ eyes widened in surprise.
âExcuse me, but does the Princess call the Lord of the Tower her dad as well?â
âOh.â
At that question, I shyly replied, faking an embarrassed expression.
âIâm sorry, it must have stuck in my mouth what I usually call him.â
âI seeâŠâ
The lady who nodded her head asked again.
âSo, do you have a first dad and a third dad?â
âAh, the Duke of Orleans is my first dad, and the High Priest Cesar is my third.â
ââŠâŠI see.â
Although they were still young and naive, they were all heirs of noble families.
So, by now, the ladies would have caught on.
Not only Siegfried, who officially adopted me, but also Kirios and Caesar allowed me to call them dad.
They cherished me.
With an innocent smile, unaware of anything, I busily calculated in my mind.
âAt least theyâve realized theyâd be in trouble if they mess with me.â
The ladies wanted to be on friendly terms with me, and I wanted to be on friendly terms with them.
âBut you never know, right?â
I have the opportunity to emphasize the close relationship between me and my dads. Thinking that, I intended to firmly drive the nail in.
And then.
âHey, what is going on?â
There were three people who arrived late.
Countess Ghiberti, young Lady Ghiberti, and the former Duke of Orleans.
Lord Norcourt had a fairly calm expression, but the Ghiberti family looked around with bewildered faces.
âWhy has the weather suddenly turned so sunny?â
Unlike the former duke, the Ghiberti family looked like soaked rats.
Their expensive dresses were in complete disarray.
I clicked my tongue as I stared at the muddy hem.
You know, itâs a bit of a pain to walk around in a dress in the rain.
âWait, a dress?â
I furrowed my eyebrows for a moment. It was because I felt something uncomfortable from Countess Ghibertiâs attire.
âI informed them about the dress code in advance, right?â
I glanced at the other ladies.
It seemed that I had communicated the information properly. Apparently so, because the other ladies had all dressed appropriately and worn comfortable clothing. So even though it was raining, they didnât get too wet.
But unlike the other ladies, the Ladyâs attire was extravagantâŠâŠ.
âIs thatâŠâŠ considered a hunting outfit?â
Typical womenâs hunting attire consists of a jacket, shirt, and a skirt that reaches the ankles.
Well, occasionally there are people like me who wear pants.
To ensure ease of movement, the decorations are kept as minimal as possible.
However, the dress Lady Ghiberti was wearing could hardly be called hunting attire; it was more like a party dress.
With voluminous pleats and dangling ribbon decorations, even expensive lace on the sleeves.
It seemed like she was determined to impress me with expensive attire, even if it was a hunting outfit.
âIsnât the dress code for today casual wear?â
âThat seems a littleâŠâŠ impolite.â
The ladies whispered amongst themselves as they realized something was amiss.
However, I didnât express any particular dissatisfaction.
âHmm, sheâs going to be pretty uncomfortable today in that outfit.â
That was truly all I could bring myself to think about regarding the Ghibertis.
Anyway, although I didnât particularly like the attire of the Giberti family, I was very pleased with Lord Norcourtâs presence.
âJust a moment, Iâll greet Lord Norcourt and come back.â
After seeking permission from the ladies, I hurriedly went over to where he was.
âWelcome!â
âYes, good morning.â
The first person to greet me was the former duke.
âThis can be interpreted as a good sign, canât it?â
I smiled brightly.
âYes, good morning! Did Lord Norcourt have a comfortable rest last night?â
âIt was decent. How about you?â
âI slept well too!â
As I answered cheerfully, Lord Norcourtâs face softened slightly.
At the same time, an awkward greeting was heard.
âHello, Father.â
ââŠâŠ.â
Lord Norcourt glanced behind me.
Siegfried had silently approached from behind.
Lord Norcourt nodded and replied.
âYes, Siegfried.â
The two powerful men looked at each other in mutual silence.