I sat Regen on the seat next to Aedis.

When Regen saw the Bche De Nol*, which was made to look like a real log, his eyes sparkled.

Why are you leaving all of a sudden? Is there any special reason?

I am not going on a trip alone, were leaving for an inspection.

You just said it was a trip?

I cut a piece of Bche De Nol diagonally and gave it to Regen.

If you say it like that, isnt it like the trip father took to the capital to see you? Why didnt you go inspect back then?

Thats different.

How is it different?

Its without you

Without me, what?

Aedis noticed that I was teasing.

Youre quick-witted.

Sarah came in and put down a teacup.

I looked at Aedis, who then turned his head and looked at Regen.

Regen was eating the log-shaped cake I gave him when his face suddenly became flushed as if it had been colored with crayons.

Whathe was fine just before.

My lord? Are you feeling sick?

When I spoke in a surprised voice Regen, who had also been dumbfounded, widened his eyes.

Uh, no?

I blinked.

At that same moment, Regens complexion turned back to normal, looking healthy as usual.

His cheeks were neither pale nor excessively flushed, they just had a subtle blush.

.Did I see wrong?

I waited a few more seconds, but Regens face never became as red as someone suffering from a high fever in the desert again.

I gave Regen, whod bit the fork in his mouth and tilted his head, a sorry look.

It looked like you had gotten a feverI guess I was mistaken.

.

It seemed like Aediss eyes suddenly turned cold.

But since Regen asked a question right then, I didnt see it properly.

Gra-Grand Duchess, I heard that youre going to be doing an inspection soon. When are you leaving?

The letter sent to the vassals will arrive about the day after tomorrow, so I think well depart the day after that.

It was written in the form of a letter but worded like a declaration of war. It stated that if they didnt behave properly, they should be prepared to return their land and be stripped of their title, but detailed explanations were omitted.

Please be careful.

Regen said in a weak voice.

Regens gaze then shifted towards Aedis.

Well, do you want to come with us, my lord?

No, Im okay! My brother is also here in the castle

Regen, who refuted quickly, leaned back and looked at me and Aedis.

I want to stay with him. I mean, he doesnt want to see me, but.

Regen still, after all, prioritizes Gilbert.

Wont you be bored? I heard that my lord has never gone far outside the castle. It would be nice to go together.

Regen shook his head.

I dont think I can.

If I push him a bit more I could persuade him and take him away with us, but that wasnt a good idea.

I knew it would turn out like this and thought about how to deal with it.

Okay, I understand my Lords will. Then, can I ask you for one favor?

Ah, yes! Anything!

I stretched out my arms.

Raven.

Kaak!

A crow, that looked like a small ball and had puffed up black feathers, flew straight at me.

Regen opened his small lips.

Cute.

Regen said that, but he was the cute one, not the crow.

As you can see, Raven is very small and fragile so I cant take him. So, my wish is that my Lord takes care of him while I am away. But it might be a little difficult. Raven isnt a bird that requires a lot of effort, but he gets lonely easily. So you have to talk to him often to make him happy.

Poor thing.

Regen followed my lead. The twinkling of my eyes showed signs of working this time.

I was happy to emphasize.

Yes, its not easy, so I want to leave it to my lord.

Please leave it to me! Ill do well! Ill take good care of him!

It was an enthusiastic reaction. As soon as he saw Raven, he said that he was cute and that he liked him, but he was also excited by the fact that I left something for him.

The child of a nursery school sponsored by the capital was disgusted when he was treated like a child when he was the same age as Regen.

When he was eight, he said he was all grown up. He said he knew everything.

So I asked him if he knew about the theory of relativity, and the sponsorship almost ended.

Yeah, he was very, very upset.

He wouldnt answer me, but how could he ignore my smart self, the one who has the nickname genius?

Fortunately, I was happy to make a bookstore in the nursery and replace all the wallpaper with new ones

Later, the director wrote me a letter and told me that the child could not hold back his laughter, and I felt such a deep sense of betrayal. They just used me, an innocent adult, like that.

Thank you, my lord. I can rest assured now. I will be very happy if youre the first to welcome me when I return.

Ill definitely do that! Ill run and get first place!

Regen answered without hesitation. Well, at least he wont run away until then.

I smiled widely at Regen.

If anything happens to my lord, Ill come back immediately.

Of course, I wasnt just saying that, I meant it.

***

That night, I went to see Regen under the pretext of reading him a fairy tale book.

Regen seemed to think he was too old to fall asleep while listening to me read, but he wasnt able to say no because of my eye attacks.

I was thinking of putting Regen to sleep every night until I left.

I wont be able to see him in the next two weeks, so I have to meet with him as many times as possible before then.

Sarah strongly recommended doing so too.

But unfortunately, Aedis had to leave.

Regen was too excited to sleep whenever Aedis was by his side.

Three cats were camping out in the hallway where Regens room was located.

The black and white cat was Maximus, the cheese-colored tabby was Carolina, and the white one was Isabel.

But there was something small and black between the cats.

The cats constantly swatted with their paws trying to catch the flapping Raven.

Arrrr!

Meoooow!

Kak! Kak! Kak!

I wanted to believe Id heard wrong.

I snatched the bird that was fighting cats and knocked on the door.

My Lord, its Maevia.

The door opened quickly as if hed been waiting. Regen looked at me and pretended to be happy.

Grand Duchess! I was waiting!

Im not too late

I smiled lightly but paused as I entered.

Next to Regens pillow was a small box.

Inside was the black diamond that I had given him and it was covered in a silk handkerchief.

Seeing my eyes shaking violently, Regen explained.

Oh, I like laying it down like this.

R-really?

As an indescribable emotion coursed through me, Regen noticed Raven in my grasp and his eyes became wide.

Raven! Where have you been?

It was fighting cats in the hallway.

I muttered in a low voice before handing over Raven to Regen.

In front of Regen, you have to use correct and kind words, okay?

Kak

That wasnt an answer I understood.

Shall I send you over to Aedis?

Kaak! Kaak!

.I didnt understand how it was okay to hate your master so much, but Aedis didnt say anything so I just handed him over to Regen.

I missed you, Raven!

I quickly stood in front of the bookshelf to hide my trembling expression. I should focus on reading fairy tales.

I pulled out the Northern Fairy Tale Collection that I had seen before.

Huh.?

Why is the cover like this?

It was more shocking than Regen laying the black diamond next to his pillow.

Isnt this a fairy tale book for young children?

The title also says a collection of fairy tales?

So why is there so much blood on the cover?!

I switched between looking at the back of the book and the cover of the book.

The cover was of a huge beast threatening terrified children.

..Thats why the book was so colorful, it was showing the blood of people and beasts.

-What did you do wrong?

Recalling the question Regen had asked, I swallowed hard and turned the pages.

The book, which was a collection of old northern legends compiled into a fairy tale story, completely betrayed my expectations.

There were no stories in which the villain who had been harassing the princess or the prince, fell for his own tricks and was punished severely.

No emotion, no lessons. It was cruel from start to finish.

There was a story of an orphan boy who died from being stoned by people and revived as a monster.

A story of a giant spirit who lures people with gold and gems and burns them to death.

A story of cats turning into monsters on the night of a full moon

I did something similar to the villain in that book. So Im being punished.

I looked at the maid to confirm.

No, she said I didnt go too far! Theyre really all bad endings!

A resentful freak that tore people to death, giant spirits that burned people to death, cats transforming into monsters that bite people to kill them

The illustrations were really graphic. It was something that an eight-year-old should never see.

The problem is that Regen seems to have read it several times, but

I closed the book firmly and looked back at Regen.

* * *

E/N: *Buche de Noel The French name for a traditional Christmas cake shaped like a log, its like a swiss roll made of flourless chocolate cake and chocolate whipped cream.