# 69
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* * *
Since Aline and Diana were very excited in the morning, we arrived in front of the main building early, even before the Duchess had finished preparations.
It was time to greet the coachman who was waiting in advance, Tice, who was in charge of the escort, and Jack, who was once again dressed as an apprentice knight and assisting in the escort.
“Wow, what are you doing?”
Allen asked with a surprised face.
I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at the fat pockets I was wearing.
“This is the salary I have saved so far.”
Feeling a little embarrassed, I raised my chin and patted my pocket proudly.
Even though all I've been doing lately is relaxing things like playing with Diana and reading books in the library, I'm still very happy.
At that time, Allen asked with wide eyes.
“What are you going to buy?”
". … Yes?"
I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he was mocking me by saying something silly, but Allen's eyes were truly filled with sincerity.
However, he was wondering if he was completely oblivious, and when he saw Tice stifling a laugh, he said: “…Maybe a house?” He tilted his head.
I cried, clutching my pockets full of coins.
I felt very sad for Allen, who had no sense of money.
But how many noble professors like Allen have raised money like this?
Moreover, I was soon relieved that there was enough money in the safe in my name at the Capital Bank to buy land or a house.
“I worked hard to save my salary, but it's not much.”
"Yes? But why did you bring all that?"
“Young Master, as you continued to sing, this is your first time in the capital, when I heard about it, there were a lot of shops and stalls in front of the academy, so I will bring some snacks and buy what I want.”
For example, the thing that will become the basis of my plan.
“Oh...I have no money, what should I do?”
Allen's eyes, who were very excited by my words, drooped downward.
I almost burst out laughing at the face filled with genuine concern.
Even if I chose anything, the escorts behind me would pay for it, so worrying was uess.
“I don’t have any money, so what should I do...”
Even Diana, who was listening to the conversation next to us, looked tearful.
It was then that Diana was willing to tell me that I could buy her as many snacks as she wanted with the money I had saved.
“Well, it won't work if you don't have the money.”
The Duke appeared with the Duchess, who had finished preparing.
“I went out as much as I could, but wouldn't it be sad if I couldn't buy what I wanted to eat?”
So what should I do?
When the Duke looked at him with a questioning look, Diana and Aline quickly ran in front of him and extended their hands.
"please !"
“Dad, money!”
The Duke burst out laughing when he saw his children praising him proudly as if they had come to retrieve something he had left behind, but then he pulled out a bag that appeared to have been prepared in advance.
“Now, it's pocket money.”
"amazing !"
“Kya!”
The sight of Allen and Diana jumping up and down in turns was so innocent that I couldn't help but laugh.
then.
“Here Leah, this is your pocket money.”
The Duchess gave me a bag the same color as Diana's.
"royal?"
While I was blinking in embarrassment, the Duchess put the bag in my hand and said:
“Of course, are you sure I didn’t leave you anything?”
“But...I have money.”
“I know, but this is money I earned through hard work, and this is pocket money.”
I was speechless and stared blankly at the pocket in my hand.
It was the first allowance I ever received in my life.
The guild executives also liked me very much and bought me many delicious things, but they never gave me pocket money like this.
“Tice, you're a first-time father, so you didn't even think about preparing for something like this, right?”
The Duke looked at Tice, who was at a loss as to what to do when the word “pocket money” was mentioned, and triumphantly gave Jack a pocket as well.
Jack said: “I'm not going there to have fun...” After hesitating, he suddenly seemed to think of something, so he took the bag and nodded his thanks to me.
Tice's face was colored with real-time f-destruction and frustration.
“Okay, let's go now.”
The Duchess invited the children to join her in the carriage.
When I saw that, I secretly smiled.
In fact, we were out early, but the Duchess was out early too.
Although she didn't speak for several days like Aline, she also seemed to be looking forward to the trip to see Lucio.
I was about to get into the carriage, and I felt my heart beating for some reason.
“Please be careful.”
The Duke, who had been watching Aline and Diana enter the carriage, gave me one last look and said.
As expected, the Duke seemed to think I was more trustworthy than Allen, the eldest of them all.
I smiled widely and said: Yes! I answered.
* * *
A carriage carrying children left the palace.
The Duke watched the carriage drive away and returned to his office to prepare for the next vassal meeting.
He was reading the documents as usual.
〈Lucio seems to think Leia is special.〉
Suddenly I remembered what my wife said a few days ago.
He gave a puzzled look as if to ask what he was talking about, and his wife explained what happened at the time, saying that she was surprised to see Lucio treating Leia right before he left for the academy.
〈I've never seen Lucio be so nice to someone.〉
〈Well, he knows that his family is precious too, even though he couldn't accept her as his younger sister, he was grateful that she took care of Diana, Leia is quite special to us.〉
〈That's true.〉
But the Duchess laughed softly, saying that it was surprising that it was Lucio, and not anyone else.
〈By the way, what happened to what you decided to find out?〉
At the next words, the Duke's face darkened.
With his attempt to adopt Leah having failed some time ago, he has been looking for a new adoption place to place her.
Because Leah was still young, she thought she needed a guardian to help her move around and not settle in one place.
Of course, he wanted it to be a strong fence, but since that was becoming difficult, the Duke wanted to somehow create a family that could take root.
But it wasn't really a miracle.
Because I planned to keep Leia by Diana's side, I needed to find someone who was within the boundaries of the Duchy of Elad, wasn't greedy, had a good nature, and above all, would truly care for Leia and accept her as family.
Not long ago, when Tice hinted that he wanted to adopt Jack and Leah, he brought them back to ask the kids first.
When I heard that Leah was rejected, I suddenly regretted what I loved.
Of course, I still didn't want to see Leah calling Tice, not me, Daddy and acting like a good daughter, but Tice was a trustworthy man.
After finally remembering his wife's similarly distressed face, the Duke decided that he should check again to see if any of his childless followers were okay at the meeting that would take place soon after.
* * *
The atmosphere inside the carriage heading to the academy was better than ever.
Allen and Diana, who were excited to go out for the first time in a while, laughed and chatted nonstop, and the street scene quickly passing outside the window embodied the lively atmosphere of a green summer.
“So, when we go to the academy, let's ask Askal to show us the magic of the rainbow. I made a lot of bubbles when I was young, and it was no joke!”
At this time, I blinked my eyes as I listened to Allen's words with a flushed face.
She remembered the conversation Prince Nicholas had with Allen the last time when he visited the palace.
“Excuse me, are you in any way referring to Archduke Askarti Belos?”
“Oh?”
“I think the old master said that last time.”
While I was talking, my eyes suddenly opened.
Isn't the young Archduke Pylos the heir to the powerful Duchy of Pylos, and a man who was famous for his good looks in the past with Lucio?
“He is also the grandson of Marquis Diabelle, who protects the borders of the empire!”
〈Grandpa, are you okay?〉
〈It's okay, thank you〉
At that time, a memory I had forgotten suddenly came to mind.
Among the nobles I met, Marquis Diabelle was one of the few nobles who did not look down on commoners and treated them like people.
In my past life, I had an unexpected relationship with Marquis Diabelle, and in this life, with Bianca, and for some reason, I was happy to hear the name of someone related to them.
When she asked with sparkling eyes, the smile on Aelin's face, who had been speaking excitedly just a moment ago, gradually disappeared.
“Oh....now that I think about it, Askal...”
Allen suddenly became serious, pursed his lips and looked worried.
I tilted my head and asked why, but Allen kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything until we arrived at the academy.
* * *
"amazing !"
Diana jumped out of the cart and screamed with wide eyes.
She also looked at the high-walled academy with new eyes.
Although it was clearly the same place she remembered before, the impression was completely different.
Fragments of sunlight fell through the beautiful leaves of the trees, and the streets were full of energy and laughter, with carriages crowded together and countless people passing by.
It was so beautiful that I couldn't believe this was the place I ran away to die on a rainy day.
“Hmm, I think we came too early.”
The Duchess looked at the clock tower near the academy's main entrance and looked embarrassed.
“I thought it would be crowded because there were a lot of people.”
Because we left so early, it seems we arrived much earlier than promised with Lucio.
At first, I decided to wait in front of Lucio until he came out.