Chapter 26
Continental Year 761, March 3rd (Wednesday)
Muriela was enjoying tea time in Queen Elodia’s garden.
A 150ml cup of green freshness sat before her.
The warm morning sunlight, the fragrant aroma of flowers, and the cheerful chirping of birds surrounded them.
Seated around the table were Kasper, Adeline, Elodia, and Kaelen.
For Solinor, this was the first full gathering he had experienced since returning to this world.
Until now, Kaelen had always been absent due to various circumstances.
Naturally, everyone’s attention gravitated toward Kaelen.
The group fired a barrage of questions at the red-haired prince!
Kasper launched the first strike.
“Brother Kaelen! Why has it been so long since you came here?”
However, Adeline intercepted this powerful shot.
“I told you before! He couldn’t come because his mother scolded him. Did you already forget?”
Not content with deflecting her younger brother’s attack, Adeline attempted to ask her own question—
“Kaelen, your expression seems much softer than before. Has something good happened?”
Only to have her trusted mother shoot her down as well.
“Oh, nothing special. Lately, Brother Alfred hasn’t been picking fights with me, and my mother hasn’t been scolding me as much either.”
“Really? Could it be that Queen Francesca has had a change of heart?”
The First Queen, Francesca, was infamous for her insatiable thirst for power and harsh demeanor, even toward her own children.
“Well, I think it’s because Brother Alfred has secured his position as the Crown Prince. Maybe she feels less insecure now. Honestly, I think it’s funny. Even if he becomes king, I doubt it’ll benefit her much since brother doesn’t like her anyway.”
Queen Elodia smiled wryly, unsure of how to respond.
Taking advantage of the moment, Adeline interjected.
“But Brother, what about Mrs Irina—”
“Adeline, you should address her as Queen Irina.”
“Anyway, do her kids still pick fights with you? Sister Katrina and Brother Brandon, I mean.”
“Yeah, last year they even left scratch marks on your face! But lately, I haven’t seen them in the garden at all,” Kasper added.
His comment inadvertently poked at Queen Elodia.
“Kasper, what do you mean by wandering around the garden?”
Kasper froze on the spot.
Adeline, Muriela—who had been tapping her teacup with a spoon—and the servants, who had been turning a blind eye to the children’s antics, all froze as well.
The three kids had ventured out into the garden multiple times since their encounter with Alfred.
The servants, who had discreetly kept the queen in the dark, were now caught in their tracks.
Thanks to their frequent expeditions, their makeshift hand signals had significantly improved.
Kasper quickly sent an emergency escape signal to his siblings.
Adeline and Muriela instinctively stood up, but Queen Elodia’s gentle voice stopped them in their tracks.
“Children, where are you going in such a hurry?”
Solinor quickly racked his brain for a convincing excuse.
“I, um, really need to use the restroom.”
“…Muriela, have you been paying attention during your etiquette lessons?”
The remark backfired.
Instead of defusing the situation, it handed Queen Elodia another point of concern.
An attempt to remove a problem had only added another one!
“Adeline, what did I tell you about wandering in the garden?”
“…You told us not to go to areas where the other queens reside.”
“Good. At least you remember.”
“Gien, Aileen, Shari.”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Were you aware that the children were wandering around unchecked?”
Even though the servants had no excuse for their negligence, they still had to answer. After all, they wouldn’t actually be executed for this, right? That authority rested solely with the King.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Meanwhile, the children were in shock that their secret explorations had been discovered. Adeline’s carefully crafted hand signals erupted with intensity.
‘Unbelievable!’
Queen Elodia continued her interrogation.
“Hmm… So, why didn’t you stop them? Was there a particular reason?”
“Well, Your Majesty, the sight of the young princes and princesses exploring was just so endearing that we couldn’t help ourselves… But we will make sure to monitor them more carefully from now on.”
Courageously stepping forward, Gien, the sole male servant among them, responded on behalf of the others.
“That won’t be necessary. Just let them go as they please from now on, but ensure they inform me beforehand. Of course, you must follow them closely and make sure they don’t engage in anything dangerous. Understood?”
She had just given the instructions out loud.
“I’ve always known nothing serious would happen, but I stopped them just in case. If the children are so eager to explore, then it would be cruel of me to stop them entirely.”
Queen Elodia turned back toward the children.
“Kasper, Adeline, Muriela.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Yes.”
“You heard me, right? From now on, inform me before you wander the gardens. Don’t trouble the servants unnecessarily. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The children, however, were left in an existential crisis by the conversation. So their “secret explorations” weren’t secret after all—they were just regular explorations! Then what would it take to make something truly theirs, a secret known only to them?
With the situation diffused, the conversation resumed.
“Uh, what were we talking about earlier?”
“Sister Adeline, you were talking about Katrina and Brandon earlier.”
Solinor quickly assisted Adeline. He wanted to gather more information about his other grandchildren, who seemed to number at least two more based on the conversation.
But hearing that Kaelen’s face had been scratched? Dear grandchildren, can’t you play nicely?
“Sister Katrina is seriously awful. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. I wasn’t doing anything, but she charged at me, screaming. I couldn’t fight back, so I just defended myself. But afterward, I found scratch marks on my face.”
What? One of my granddaughters is like that?
From his time practicing swordsmanship with Kaelen, Solinor had seen firsthand how kind and pure-hearted he was. He found it hard to believe that anyone would attack such a gentle soul.
“Oh dear, Katrina must have lost her temper again… Kaelen, you did well to hold back. I’m proud of you.”
“It wasn’t anything, really. A healer’s spell cleared it up in no time. There was barely any blood.”
Queen Elodia was moved by his response.
“No, what you did was admirable. Do you know how many people in this world are willing to risk their lives over trivial matters?”
While Solinor also admired Kaelen’s composure, he couldn’t help but be curious.
“So, Brother Kaelen, why did sister Katrina attack you?”
“I don’t know. It wasn’t a big deal. I was practicing swordsmanship in the garden when Brandon and Katrina came by. They started laughing at me when I stumbled.”
Ah, so he was trying out my old techniques. That’s not unusual. Even Adeline laughed when you fell before.
“At first, I tried to ignore them. But after about five minutes, they just stayed there, whispering and pointing at me. Eventually, I got mad and walked up to them. I asked, ‘Hey, what makes you so much better?’”
Could this kid be any more saintly? Solinor couldn’t help but marvel at his grandson’s patience.
“Then Brandon, looking scared, started backing away and ended up tripping. That’s when Katrina noona suddenly lunged at me. Even now, I can’t believe it.”
“What happened after that?”
Kasper asked, prompting Kaelen to sip his tea before answering.
“What else? We went to the healer. Sister Katrina left crying, leaning on Brandon for support. I haven’t seen either of them in over two months since.”
Hmm. To Solinor, it was clear that these two grandchildren had serious personality issues. Alfred had seemed cold, but at least he wasn’t the type to lash out physically.
It’s not just Eldric—I’ll have to straighten out the grandchildren as well. Looks like this old man might have to bring out some tough love.
For royalty, character matters far more than competence. Even with lacking abilities, a person of integrity will attract talent. Conversely, someone with exceptional skills but poor character will only gather sycophants and schemers.
Those in leadership can never allow themselves to be ruled by their emotions—
“Muriela, about what I mentioned earlier.”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“I’ve held back because I’m not your biological mother, but after seeing you today, I can’t let this go. If we don’t correct this now, you’ll embarrass yourself in public someday. Starting next week, you’ll take etiquette lessons with Adeline. I’ll attend the classes myself to supervise.”
“Mom, nooo!”
Caught in the crossfire of a bomb aimed at Muriela, Adeline let out a pained wail.
Solinor could only sink into despair.
—
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