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nAstelle paused for a moment and opened the door by turning the handle as it is.

n-Creak-

nWhen the door opened, the maids who were talking in the room turned around in a hurry.

n“La, Lady.”

nThe maids bent their knees with faces full of frustration and lowered their heads deeply.

nTheor didn’t know what he had just heard but he seemed to feel something was wrong.

nAstelle ordered the white ladies with a calm expression.

n“When you’re done talking, will you prepare to wash the child?”

nThe maids exchanged their eyes with each other and disappeared hastily.

nAs they moved busily, the bathroom was prepared with hot water with warm steam in full bloom.

nAstelle washed Theor in warm water and changed his clothes.

n“Why?”

nAs Theor sensed her anxiety and looked at Astelle’s eyes, Astelle laughed casually and spoke to the child.

nTheor tilted his head, he asked.

n“Aunt Astelle, are you mad?”

n“No.”

nAstelle smiled at Theor, thinking that he was a very ambiguous age at 5 years old.

nHe wasn’t so naive enough to know anything, but he was too young to know all the bad things about the world.

nAstelle tapped Theor’s little nose and turned his attention.

n“After washing, I’ll take out Levin.”

n“Yeah!”

nLevin was Theor’s favorite teddy bear.

nAstellemade it herself from the old brown velvet curtain.

nIt’s been too old and tatter, but Theor still liked Levin the most.

nTheor was innocently delighted at the words of giving Levin.

nThe maids were also relieved by that appearance.

nAstelle took Theor to the bedroom and took out a teddy bear from the pack.

nShe then returned from the bedroom to the connected parlor, leaving Theor in bed where he played with his doll.

nShe looked at the maids standing side by side, Astelle was calm, but she ordered firmly.

n“Go to the butler, say exactly what you said and ask him to send a new maid.”

nThe maids who had listened with a stupid face started to stutter.

n“La, Lady… well, we have that…”

nThe maids belatedly trembled because they were frightened.

nIt seemed like it was okay just before, so they thought she’d just let it go over it.

n“I didn’t punish you right away because I couldn’t show that way in front of a little child.”

nAstelle said calmly in a careless tone.

nOf course, she couldn’t get angry at the maids or beat them in front of the child.

nIt was not good to explain the contents of the gossip one by one to a child who is only 5 years old.

nActually, it’s about the gossip of maids.

nIf she had heard it alone, she could just pretend she didn’t hear it.

nBut this time there was a reason that she could not go over.

n“I don’t care what you’re talking about, but I can’t keep the maids gossiping me where the child can hear it.”

nThe maids fled and went outside.

nReports of these things could result in at least a reduction in salary and relegation, and severe punishment.

nIn the bedroom, Theor kept playing with a fluffy teddy bear.

n“Theor, it’s time to put the medicine.”

nTheor gently raised his face.

nAstelle took out the potion she had in her inner pocket and put it in the Theor’s eyes.

n“Well done, I’ll give you a prize.”

nFrom the small box in the luggage bag, she pulled out a cookie full of sweet buttery scents.

nThe round cookie has a light butter color and a slightly orange color at the end.

nLikewise, she made it before, but she brought it to give it to Theor.

nTheor ran with a doll.

n“Cookies!”

n“It’s before dinner, so just eat two.”

n“Yes.”

nTheor picked up the cookie with his little hand and cut it little by little and ate it.

nAstelle also picked up a cookie for Theor to eat.

nShe felt the sweet taste of the material with a bite.

nThe sweetness relieved the tension a little.

nWhile doing that, suddenly she heard a knocking sound from outside.

nAstelle quickly went to the drawing room.

n“Come in.”

nShe wondered if new maids had already come.

nBut the person who came inside was a middle-aged servant.

n“You are Lady Astelle, are you?”

n“Yes. What’s going on…”

n“Oh, bring it this way.”

nAt the hand of the attendant, other attendants brought large boxes in a row.

nLarge boxes were placed on the floor and the lids opened one by one.

nSeveral dresses came out inside.

nThe first thing that came out was a gorgeous blue evening dress with a luxurious gloss.

nThese almonds-like decorated on the chest, were dazzling.

nThere was also an outing clothes made of ash green velvet.

nIt wasn’t just dark green, it was a pale ash green mixed with gray like a forest covered in autumn fog.

nThe most gorgeous thing was the sky blue silk dress.

nIt was light and soft silk, and it was a bright blue color reminiscent of a clear sky.

nThe bodice of the chest part was embroidered with a floral pattern with a purple thread, and the rich skirt was split in half in the middle, and there was a soft white tuck that flowed naturally like a wave on the inside.

nAll of them were luxurious enough to wear them out in the capital’s social world.

nThere was a jewel in the box that opened afterwards.

nA necklace of small diamonds and a wavy sapphire earring.

nEarrings lined with light pink rose crystals like petals and necklaces with cut emeralds and small diamonds.

nThere was also a headdress made of light green crystal.

nIt was full of brilliant jewels, but Astelle frowned instead of being moved.

n‘I thought they were new maids.’

nThis was an unexpected situation again.

nThe attendant, who brought the dress and jewelry, smiled and bowed his head to Astelle.

n“This is a gift from His Majesty the Emperor to Lady Astelle.”

nOf course, there will be no one except the emperor to send something like this.

nIt wasn’t surprising at all.

n“I don’t need it. Take it back.”

n“……?”

nAstelle repeated her refusal once again to the embarrassing attendant.

n“Thank you, but please tell His Majesty that I can’t get anything like this.”

n“His… His Majesty invited Lady Astelle to dinner, and it is His Majesty’s command to change into one of these clothes and attend the dinner.”

n‘This is the invitation I hate to go.’

nAstelle politely bent her knees and bowed her head.

n“It’s an honor, but I can’t leave my seat because I need to take care of the child.”

nShe talked so far, then stood up again, looking straight at the servant, and ended her words.

n“Please tell His Majesty like this. “

nThe servant was enchanted and stood blankly.

nSurely he never thought he would be rejected in this way.

nHe stuttered and asked.

n“Oh, to say that you take care of a child…”

n“I have to watch the child eat because he is still young.”

n“If you just leave it to the maids…”

n“It hasn’t been a day since I’ve been here, and I just asked for the maids to change, and the new maids haven’t come yet. I don’t have time to explain the child’s diet or habits.”

nHearing the reasons that Astelle listed again and again, the servant lost his words.

nIn front of the adolescent who couldn’t speak properly because he was so embarrassed, Astelle refused firmly.

n“Thank you for inviting me, but I can’t dare to attend His Majesty’s dinner table because the child is still young.”

n* * *

n“That’s good news.”

nKaizen looked at the documents in Velian’s voice and raised his head.

n“The Duke of Reston is finally doing something suspicious. He can’t sit quietly and die.”

nAfter the great nobles lost the political battle and most of them disappeared, Duke Reston has lived while being careful to breathe.

nNo matter how careful he was, he couldn’t find anything to catch.

nThe other Dukes somehow seized the opportunity and ruined it, but the Duke of Reston has not yet been eliminated.

nEven though he was an enemy, the carefulness was admirable.

nWell, it didn’t matter though.

nThe Duke lost his power anyway.

nIn the end, he seems to have changed his mind to reverse the situation by doing something like this slowly declining.

nIn the report Vellian received, several details of the Duke’s suspicious movement were detailed.

nKaizen replied without taking his eyes off the document.

n“I have to buy some time.”

n“Yes that’s right. The longer Your Majesty empties the capital, the harder he will dig his grave.”

nKaizen was thinking of getting rid of the last Duke that was left at this time, but he heard a knock outside.

nThe servant, who had been ordered by the emperor, returned and delivered the results to Vellian.

nVellian, who received the report from the beginning, returned to the office again with a complex and subtle expression.

n“This is bad news.”

nKaizen was still reading the papers at his desk.

nVellian looked at his master with a slightly strange feeling.

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