Kyle Jane Meinhardt did not hide his displeasure.
"It'll be fine. His Highness Belial's room is close to the garden. I've called a doctor, so I'm sure he'll treat Shu."
"...."
"Are you so worried?"
I didn't expect that the Grand Duke, whose expression rarely changed enough to reveal his mood, would be so agitated.
Sen, who sat beside him, smiled awkwardly.
"His Highness Belial... He doesn't have a very good personality, but he still takes responsibility for what he says."
"Yes."
"So now, tell me why you brought me here, Your Highness."
Kyle's eyes, half-sunken the entire time, stared at Sen.
The two were in the central garden, which was usually used by nobles for chatting. After Belial took Shu away, Kyle, worried about something, had called Sen.
She clasped her hands in her lap and waited for Kyle to speak.
"Belial."
Kyle said in a low voice.
"Do you love him?"
The expressionless man and woman exchanged glances for a moment.
Sen didn't deny, affirm, or even ask back, just waiting for Kyle to continue.
It was as if they had nothing to say, or they didn't want to lie or tell the truth, so they waited for something to give them an answer.
"I let you go in winter. And it was only spring when I heard the news of your engagement."
"...."
"It's a short time to love someone."
She replied with a slight smile.
"It's common for the royal family to marry aristocrats, Your Highness. As Your Highness knows."
"Yes, it's common. But didn't you find your lost name for an arranged marriage?"
The thin smile on Sen's face disappeared. She looked at Kyle, her eyebrows furrowed.
"No, Your Highness. The order has changed. I married in an arranged marriage to find my lost name."
"To avenge the House of Baron Lande?"
"... Yes, His Highness Belial agreed. They just joined hands to get their own revenge. Is that strange?"
Her voice was as sharp as a snap. Sen soon realized that she had spoken in annoyance, so she quietly added, "... I'm sorry, Your Highness."
"Yes, you don't love Belial."
"It's the same with His Highness Belial."
"... I see."
Kyle looked at Sen.
Her brown curls were loosely braided and adorned with a gold-trimmed headdress, and the satin dress she wore looked expensive enough to cost most commoners a few years' worth of food.
When she came to this imperial city, she would have worn only expensive things and eaten delicious food. She wouldn't have had to work as hard as before. No one would have dared to command her.
Whether she came from a servant background or not, she was now the prince's fiancée. This meant that her situation was much better than when she lived in the North.
However, Sen didn't look happy.
Her expression, which had always been lively and vibrant, had subsided gloomily, and she looked around anxiously several times during conversations. Then she sighed and nervously scratched the back of her hand with the tips of her well-groomed fingernails.
"I have seen Baroness Lande."
Kyle said. It was a gentle tone, but the content was not.
Sen's eyes widened.
"... Have you ever met my mother?"
"Yes. I was so young at the time that I didn't know she was Baroness Lande. But now I understand. Why did I think I saw you somewhere?"
It was because Sen resembled his mother. It was so similar that it reminded him of that childhood benefactor whom he couldn't even clearly remember.
She knew nothing about the etiquette and rules of the imperial city, but she was willing to give him warmth and become a shelter to hide from the rain.
The second mother who thought of Kyle Blake as her own child until the end. It was Sen's mother, Baroness Lande.
Kyle said in a calm voice.
"The Baroness looked unhappy. She said she didn't like arranged marriages. The words that she didn't want to marry the emperor were just passing words, but they stayed in my memory for a long time. So I replied, 'Even if you love the emperor, you will be unhappy.'"
"...."
"My mother looked unhappy."
Kyle added calmly.
"Serena is such a position."
"I know."
"No, you don't know. I've never seen that misfortune."
"I don't care if I become unhappy. If only I could get my revenge."
Sen gritted her teeth and replied.
"The Duke of Klein destroyed the House of Baron Lande. He used a ridiculous excuse to set fire to the mansion and kill my parents. Because of that, I became an orphan and wandered the streets. Just because he wanted to make his only daughter an empress, or 'Serena.'"
"...."
"I know. My mother was happy because she didn't become Serena, and that's why I was born. But that doesn't mean that my family's unjust deaths didn't happen!"
Sen's eyes were watery. She spoke each word distinctly.
"I'm going to make you pay the price. That would be a different path from the one His Highness chose."
"... Yes."
Kyle stopped talking and nodded.
He wanted to convey that revenge isn't everything. This is because he realized that revenge does not make one happy.
But that is his own realization.
Everyone lives in different ways, and the standard of happiness is also different. And there was something he had to do, even though he knew he couldn't be happy.
If she had chosen to do so, Kyle would not have had the right to stop her.
"Your mother was a good person. She was the only one in the city who treated me warmly."
"...."
"I can't express in words what a blessing it was."
"... I see."
"I can't stop you, though."
Kyle hesitated, then continued.
"... At the very least, I hope you are happy."
Sen turned her head to look ahead, having looked at Kyle all along. As if holding back the tears that were about to fall, she suppressed her emotions and then tried her best to laugh.
"I will. So, I hope Your Highness will be happy too."
"Sen."
She jumped to her feet. Sen smiled and said to Kyle.
"Your Highness. What are your plans after that?"
"I tried to look around the outside of the castle for a while. I was looking into something."
"Then can I play with Cashew Nuts all this time?"
"Yes. Take it easy. If you still have time, can you take a look at Shu?"
"Are you worried that he is injured a lot?"
Instead of answering, a faint smile returned. Sen frowned and smiled.
"Your Highness. I have a question."
"Tell me."
"Do you like Shu?"
*
Sen walked to his room, leaving Kyle behind him. In his hand, he held a bag of Cashew Nuts that Kyle had handed him.
The last time she saw Cashew Nuts, he had gained a lot of weight, so she had swung him and left the North, but the Cashew Nuts in Kyle's front pocket the other day was definitely thinner than he was back then.
Did he control his weight?
If so, she should give them some snacks.
However, when she saw him holding a walnut with his small paws and nibbling it eagerly, she didn't know if he would say that it was enough. He's a gluttonous guy like Shu, so he'll definitely ask for more.
Sen walked lightly into Kyle's room. She lit up the dark space and had the maids open the hamster house she had prepared... She felt something strange.
"Huh?"
The lock was fastened. Cashew Nuts had escaped from the hamster's house before, so she had asked him to prepare more thoroughly to prevent it from happening this time.
She even heard that they had built a hamster house with particular care, but it didn't make sense for the little Cashew Nuts to leave the house alone.
"Cashew Nuts. Where are you?"
It certainly didn't make sense, but the ridiculous thing was unfolding in front of Sen's eyes.
Sen put his hand deep into the sawdust. She looked at the swings, slides, and hiding places, and she also picked up food and water bowls.
However, she didn't feel any signs of him in the hamster house.
There were no Cashew Nuts.
Hamster house, anywhere.
Sen casually placed his snack bag and walked down the hall at a brisk pace. He had to tell Kyle right away. No, once you tell Belial, close all the doors and windows of the castle and call the wizard to search...
"Wizard!"
Just in time, she saw the wizard of the Yellow City not far away. He was the most skilled wizard in the capital.
In the castle, it was forbidden to raise your voice or walk fast, but she didn't care about any of that now.
Sen grabbed the hem of his dress and hurriedly moved. Even if he was punished later, he was more desperate and precious now.
Maybe it was because she felt affection for him during that brief time in the North. The thought that the Cashew Nuts would be kicked and hurt by someone else sent chills down her spine.
"What, Sen?"
Then, a familiar voice came from the opposite hallway. Sen reflexively turned his head to identify the owner of the voice.
"Shu!"
Joy and nervousness came in at once. Speaking of which, Shu was a mathematician. If so, he must know more about Cashew Nuts than I do.
She stopped in front of Shu. He shouted in a desperate voice without even having time to catch his breath.
"Cashew Nuts are gone!"