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*Sigh.*

Noah, who had finally started to relax and stopped trying to torment me, was now being a bit sulky. I thought it would be best to play along with his mood so he wouldn’t get all worked up again and start bothering me out of jealousy like before.

“I sat here so I could see your face better, Noah!”

“!”

As I innocently exclaimed this, as if that had been my intention all along, Noah’s face lit up.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, that makes sense. What’s the point of sitting next to someone? When you’re eating, you don’t even notice who’s sitting beside you.”

*Uh… but your dad is going to sit next to you…*

I laughed awkwardly at the absurdity of it, just as the doors to the banquet hall opened, and the young duke entered with Axel. Although they entered together, the two weren’t engaging in conversation or exchanging glances. It seemed they had simply arrived at the entrance at the same time by coincidence, rather than coming together intentionally.

“Father!”

Noah rushed toward his father, wagging his imaginary tail like an excited puppy. Gallio Elpinard, the young duke, gently patted his son’s head as Noah clung to his leg, then looked over at me, who was already seated. His gaze was sharp, unmistakably like that of the Duke of Elpinard’s son.

I awkwardly rose from my seat and greeted him politely.

“Hello.”

My pronunciation was a mess again, just like when I first met the Duke, due to my nerves. Gallio didn’t acknowledge my greeting, instead looking me up and down critically. 

Feeling slightly uneasy under his somewhat disapproving gaze, I recalled from Reshia’s memories that Gallio had never particularly liked me.

*The young duke never cared for me.*

While he never stooped to the level of openly tormenting a child, as a grown adult, he treated me as if I didn’t exist—like someone who was invisible within the estate. 

In hindsight, Noah’s wariness and bullying of me were largely influenced by his father. After all, children often emulate their parents.

“Father?”

Noah tugged at Gallio’s pants, seemingly puzzled as to why his father hadn’t acknowledged my greeting.

“Yes, let’s go sit down.”

Gallio smiled down at his son and led him to their seats, completely ignoring my greeting.

*Well… I wasn’t expecting much anyway.*

That’s just the kind of person he was.

Noticing how his father was cold toward me, Noah began to glance at me nervously as he took his seat. The father and son, sitting side by side, looked very much alike, yet their auras were entirely different.

*I never realized it before…*

Even though Gallio had the same facial features as the other members of the Elpinard family, his overall appearance gave off a particularly unfavorable impression. If I had to put it into words, it would be something like, “The kind of person who ruins the family business by trying to do things he doesn’t understand.”

It felt like my legendary intuition was sending me a warning.

Is everything going to be okay? The future of Elpinard…

A young duke with a face like that…

As I stared at Gallio with a critical eye, a hand suddenly appeared from behind and lifted me up effortlessly. It was Axel. Without even looking at me properly, he casually picked me up and set me down on the chair. 

Seeing this, Gallio frowned.

“Axel, I’ve been hearing rumors that you’ve been associating with commoners lately. It seems those weren’t just baseless rumors.”

Commoner.

That’s how Gallio referred to me.

“That’s your problem. You always mingle with commoners. First, you brought shame to the family by protecting a black mage who killed his master and fled, and now this…”

Gallio clicked his tongue in disapproval. Axel, seemingly accustomed to such remarks from Gallio, responded indifferently.

“Can you say the same thing in front of the Duke, who invited this child to the dinner?”

“!”

“If it’s something you wouldn’t say in front of someone, then it’s best not to say it at all.”

Axel’s words made Gallio’s face flush red with anger.

“Are you really going to defend a commoner and speak to your elder brother like that…?”

Just as Gallio was about to explode in anger, the doors to the banquet hall opened, and the Duke entered. The icy, arrogant demeanor Gallio had displayed moments earlier vanished, and he immediately stood up from his seat.

“Father, you’re here.”

“There’s no need to get up. Sit down.”

The Duke waved his hand dismissively, stopping us from rising, and took the seat of honor at the head of the table. The seating arrangement had the Duke in the center, with Axel and me on his left, and Gallio and Noah on his right.

Noah’s mother should have been here too…

Noah’s mother was currently in Baron Zaren’s territory, one of the Duke’s fiefs, supposedly recuperating. In reality, it was more of a separation than a true recovery. Due to the complicated and strained relationship between Gallio and his wife, they couldn’t divorce, so they were living separately. 

As a result, Noah spent half of the year at the Elpinard estate with his father and the other half at Baron Zaren’s territory with his mother. Currently, it was his time to stay at the Elpinard estate.

“It’s late, so let’s begin the meal,” the Duke said, and at his signal, the courses began to be served. 

The meal started with appetizers, followed by soup and bread, fish dishes, and then meat courses. Gallio dominated the conversation, discussing the current state of the territory and emphasizing how much he was contributing to the family. I quickly lost interest and focused on the food in front of me instead.

The dishes were excellent, but for a four-year-old, the lengthy meal was overwhelming. By the time the meat course was served, I was already full, and my attention had waned to the point where I was merely poking at the meat with my fork.

“Ahem.”

Gallio, who had been watching me, cleared his throat disapprovingly. He didn’t say anything, but it was obvious from his expression that he was thinking, Of course, a commoner can’t even appreciate a proper dinner.

But instead of caring about Gallio’s disapproving gaze, my attention was drawn to the dish he was eating.

This dish is different from mine…

It wasn’t a completely different dish—the ingredients were the same—but the meat on my plate was smaller and more tender compared to what was on everyone else’s plates. As I looked around, I noticed that the others, including Gallio, had dishes that looked identical to each other.

So, I was the only one who had been served a different dish…

I blinked in confusion, trying to make sense of it, when suddenly the Duke placed his utensils down with a sharp *clink*. In noble etiquette, one never makes a sound with their utensils during a meal, so it was clear the Duke had done it intentionally to draw attention. It was a sign of his displeasure.

“I arranged this dinner today because there’s something I need to address,” the Duke began, his gaze fixed squarely on Gallio, even though he was speaking to everyone.

“Someone has been disrupting the order of this household. Spreading words I never said, stirring people up, trying to blind my eyes and ears.”

Gallio flinched, clearly unnerved by the Duke’s words.

“If such things continue after today, I won’t be so lenient as to simply offer quiet warnings. I am neither overly indulgent with my bloodline nor will I turn a blind eye to those who are not.”

The Duke’s piercing gaze remained on Gallio for a few moments longer before it shifted to me. I instinctively tensed, wondering if I had done something to deserve a reprimand.

But the words that came out of the Duke’s mouth were completely unexpected.

“How’s the food?”

“Huh?”

“Is the food alright for you? I gave specific instructions to make it less taxing since you’re still recovering.”

“Oh…!”

Only then did I realize why my dish had been different from everyone else’s. It was the Duke’s consideration for me.

“Yes, it’s good. Thank you,” I quickly bowed my head in gratitude.

As I did, I noticed Gallio’s face turning completely pale. Axel, on the other hand, was smirking at his brother’s discomfort, while Noah was glancing at his father with a confused look that seemed to ask, What is going on here?

“Alright, let’s continue with our meal,” the Duke said, and the dinner that had paused for a moment resumed once more.