#Chapter 18. Alento Territory

Ariel sat at her desk early in the morning.

She spread out a map and checked Alento territory while sighing.

The only answer she got back from the butler was that Damian would speak directly, but in other words, it also meant Damian wouldn’t say anything about Ariel bringing up this topic.

With Damian’s personality, he would think the territory he had given her had already left his hands.

He would think that doing whatever she wanted with it was the owner Ariel’s decision first.

Ariel, who sighed, turned her steps.

She heard that yesterday too he came in late at dawn and spent the night in the study.

While being busy with trading ship work, he also had to finish ducal residence affairs, and since the imperial family was trying to put Damian forward as part of the imperialist faction, there would have been a lot of work.

Thinking he would surely be sleeping, Ariel quietly opened the door without knocking.

These days, when talking with Lucy, she often thought about Damian.

White lies.

Perhaps Damian was also telling her white lies…… such thoughts.

But she thought she would rather be told the truth at times like this.

If she was told the truth, her heart wouldn’t be this difficult like now.

She wanted to question whether the lies Damian was telling now weren’t lies for Ariel but lies for himself.

“Hah……”

Ariel, who completely opened the study door, sighed briefly upon seeing Damian.

Damian, lying on the sofa with his arm covering his eyes, was fast asleep like the dead.

On the table, materials and books were spread out in heaps, and whether he had fallen asleep while working, he was still wearing the same clothes he had gone out in yesterday.

Seeing him sleeping on the sofa uncomfortably without even changing clothes, just roughly rolling up his sleeves, made Ariel’s heart uncomfortable again.

He had returned from only fighting wars for a long period, but even within the Empire, not being able to rest comfortably and always being overwhelmed by work was life as the Duke of Zenova.

Opposite to Ariel trying not to give Lucy the life of a lady, Damian was someone who had lived to fulfill the life of a duke.

She always felt it, but because he made such sacrifices, the Empire’s citizens as well as Ariel and Lucy could enjoy comfortable lives.

When looking back at that uncomfortable truth and the unpeaceful household, even Ariel often couldn’t grasp how to resolve it.

Seeing things like this made Ariel feel that her thoughts were just groundless worries.

Such a person wouldn’t tell lies for me. Surely there must be other reasons he can’t tell me.

“Damian, don’t sleep uncomfortably and go inside.”

Ariel, who tapped Damian’s arm, woke him up.

Sleeping crumpled on the sofa surely wouldn’t feel like he had slept.

Today was also a day when Ariel had to go to the imperial palace early with Lucy, so she didn’t have time to take care of him.

“Damian……”

Ariel lowered Damian’s arm that was covering his eyes and woke him again.

“Go to bed and lie down comfortably.”

It was when she was about to wake Damian one more time for the last time.

Damian, who had just woken from sleep, met Ariel’s eyes. Looking at Ariel like that, he smiled and stretched his arm toward Ariel’s face.

“Ariel.”

A sunken but endlessly gentle voice and blue eyes that seemed to ripple warmly.

Ariel, who caught Damian’s hand stroking her cheek, stopped there.

She leaned her cheek against his hand through her gently closed eyes.

Damian’s hand, hard and full of calluses.

Even in one hand, she could feel his life that contained nothing but war and the position of duke.

She gradually felt the strength leaving Damian’s hand that Ariel was leaning against.

Whether he had briefly seen Ariel in his sleep and smiled, he fell asleep again.

Ariel, who tightly held Damian’s hand that had lost strength for no reason, opened her eyes that had been closed.

“……”

Right. If he did his best in life as a duke, then Ariel had to be faithful to the household as a duchess.

Not only Lucy, but the subjects she had to protect included her husband Damian as well.

For Damian’s sake, for our Lucy’s sake.

Ariel intended to tell white lies.

It seemed she would have to find out the things Damian was hiding one by one.

What on earth he was doing such things for.

*

On the day of the tea party with the empress, with all attendees gathered, a knock was heard in the imperial palace’s reception room.

Knock knock.

What entered through the door along with the knock was Crown Prince Eden.

Despite being eight years old, the crown prince who entered with disciplined steps approached the ladies’ table.

Jessica and Ariel stood up in turn, and Lucy and Derek also rose from their seats.

“We greet Your Highness the Crown Prince of the Empire.”

Eden, wearing a pure white uniform, bowed his head in response to the greeting.

“I heard you had come to the imperial palace, so I stopped by to greet you. I hope I haven’t disturbed your time with Mother.”

“Not at all. It’s an honor to meet Your Highness the Crown Prince like this.”

When Ariel showed courtesy in response to the crown prince’s greeting, the empress naturally continued the conversation.

“That’s right. How could that be, Crown Prince. I was just about to call for you anyway. Come here. These are the children of the ladies who came today.”

With the empress’s introduction, Lucy curtsied. At that sight, Eden’s face stiffened with a start.

Eden, whose face reddened slightly, swallowed his saliva and stared at Lucy intently.

Even when Derek greeted him from the side, his glancing gaze remained on Lucy.

Ariel had no intention of raising Lucy as the crown princess, but she thought there was no need to worry too much about the relationship between Eden and Lucy from such an early age.

They could become childhood friends, and she thought it was fine for them to fully experience such tender emotions.

“By any chance…… does Miss Lucy like gardens?”

Eden, whose ears had turned red, extended his hand to Lucy.

When Ariel unconsciously covered her mouth saying “Oh my,” the empress watched Eden and Lucy with a proud face.

“Yes, I like them.”

Lucy smiled shyly and took Eden’s hand.

Ariel screamed silently while capturing that sight in her eyes.

Then Eden, who had an “oh” moment, also invited Derek who was standing beside them.

“I heard Derek is the same age as me, would you like to go to the garden together?”

Derek looked at Jessica with a slightly hesitant face.

When Jessica quickly nodded, Derek also nodded to Eden.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ariel watched the backs of the children moving to the garden together.

The ribbon of Lucy’s dress that she had put on her today fluttered and moved in waves along with her blonde hair.

Lucy also seemed to like Eden fortunately.

“Fortunately, it seems the three will play well together.”

Ariel said while following the children’s backs with her eyes.

The empress also nodded slightly while gripping the teacup placed on the table.

“By the way, I heard His Highness the Crown Prince is now learning swordsmanship in earnest.”

At Ariel’s admiration, Jessica quickly brought up a connection between the crown prince and Derek.

“Yes, that’s right. Derek seems to be learning swordsmanship too.”

“How wonderful! Derek is also very interested in swordsmanship, so if he gets along with His Highness the Crown Prince today, they might maintain a good relationship since their interests overlap.”

“That would be nice. By the way, I heard you were going on a family trip, have you decided where to go?”

“A family trip?”

Jessica showed a puzzled expression as soon as she heard that story.

At Jessica’s question, Ariel rather widened her eyes.

“When you came to the ducal residence that time, I’m sure I mentioned it……”

“Oh, no. I did hear it, but when my husband got injured……”

“Ah…… you must not have heard about it. Unfortunately, I declined that proposal. We had decided to go on a family trip.”

At Ariel’s words, Jessica’s mouth fell open.

Then she looked at the empress in front of her and quickly smiled brightly, erasing her expression.

“So where did you decide to go? I haven’t been on a trip in a long time, so I get excited just hearing about it.”

When the empress asked Ariel casually, Ariel bowed her head shyly.

“Ah…… actually, we’re going to Alento territory.”

At the mention of Alento territory, the empress’s face brightened.

“I see! You’re going to the area granted to the duke this time. Oh, my. I made a mistake. It’s the duchess’s territory now, isn’t it.”

“Yes…… I’m just grateful that Your Majesty the Empress and His Majesty the Emperor congratulated me.”

At Ariel’s words, Jessica, who had another question, tilted her head.

“What do you mean by the duchess’s territory?”

“Ah…… this time, after suppressing the rebellion, Damian gave me the Alento territory that he received from His Majesty the Emperor as my personal property.”

“……What?”

Jessica’s voice became a bit louder.

Ariel responded to Jessica’s reaction with a gentle smile and then shifted her gaze to the empress.

“Even so, it was something His Majesty the Emperor granted to Damian, so I feel ashamed to receive it as personal property like this, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“No. There’s no need for that. I also received something when His Majesty the Emperor was crown prince.”

Jessica’s face could be seen gradually hardening.

Ariel continued the conversation regardless of whether Jessica’s face hardened or not.

“In gratitude for the permission, when we arrive at Alento territory this time, I’m thinking of installing a statue of His Majesty the Emperor and Your Majesty the Empress. Would that be alright?”

“It’s your personal territory, but a statue. It’s fine, so do as you wish.”

“Thank you for the permission.”

“Haha. I can’t match your eloquence. Yes. If that’s what you want, you may do so.”