Ligrin immediately relayed the news to the Duke.
"My Lord, I am told that preparations for the family dinner are almost finished. It seems we can proceed without any issues."
There was a special rule in Rodbel: when one of its members returned from a long journey, the whole family gathered together for dinner.
Rodbel was originally a knightly family, so it became a tradition to rejoice and dine together when a member returned safely from an expedition.
Therefore, at least for the family dinner, all Rodbels had to eat together. Of course...
'Except for Miss Lucia.'
There had been many family dinners so far, but Lucia had always been excluded.
No one paid attention to Lucia's existence.
Ligrin was the same, but...
'I should ask the chef to share some food.'
This time was different.
Ligrin was definitely concerned about Lucia.
'No, it would be better to ask them to make something new. It might not be bad to enjoy dinner together, just the two of us.'
He was short on free time, but he could probably spare an hour or two if he tried.
Of course, he would have to work even harder, but that wasn't a problem.
He had also reduced some of his original workload by taking on Lucia's lessons.
The original Ligrin wouldn't have gone that far, but there was an unexpected variable.
That was... Lucia's lessons were too much fun.
Ligrin, who also taught other children, didn't have high expectations at first.
But Lucia's lessons were special.
Like a sponge absorbing water, she absorbed everything he taught without missing a thing.
Moreover, her comprehension and application skills were exceptional. If he taught her one principle, she immediately grasped ten derived concepts.
She also had the insight to see through his hidden intentions, and above all, she had an extraordinary passion for the lessons.
Watching Lucia grow day by day, he was soon working hard to teach her more and more.
He found that moment of immersion, which he had never been aware of, both amazing and very enjoyable.
There was something else that had changed while teaching Lucia.
'Should I call Commander Lixus when I have time? Miss Lucia seems to like him.'
His relationship with Aen Lixus had also grown closer.
It was inevitable, as they had to meet often to coordinate Lucia's lessons.
Sharing how much Lucia had improved in each other's classes, and sometimes working together to plan joint lessons, had created a considerable sense of intimacy.
'Ah. No, it's better not to call him.'
But Ligrin soon changed his mind.
It was true that he had become closer to Aen, but...
'Miss Lucia likes Commander Lixus to an unusual degree.'
When the three of them were together, Ligrin felt a strange sense of alienation.
It wasn't that Lucia and Aen were deliberately excluding him.
Rather, they were the same as usual.
...That usual was the problem.
Lucia's eyes were full of trust and affection towards Aen.
Aen's eyes were the same when he looked at Lucia.
There was a strong bond between the two of them that no one else could break.
When she looked at him with a different look than when she looked at Aen, he couldn't help but shrink.
It was an emotion Ligrin had never felt in his life.
'...Two is better.'
It was when Ligrin made that decision.
"I see."
Ligrin quickly came to his senses at the sudden voice and looked at the Duke.
He was already staring at Ligrin.
'This is bad.'
Ligrin realized his mistake belatedly.
He had been too deeply immersed in Lucia's thoughts.
'Pull yourself together.'
Quickly erasing Lucia from his mind, he parted his lips.
"Shall I inform Miss Miracle and Young Master Bansis to attend the family dinner?"
The Duke nodded at Ligrin's question.
"Yes, I will go and inform them right away."
It was a hastily prepared family dinner, and it would take time to get dressed, so he had to inform them in advance.
It would be perfect to stop by Lucia's room on the way and suggest having a simple dinner in her room, or something like that.
Of course...
'Saying "dinner" would make her not happy, so I should pretend it's a meeting for class.'
Having grasped Lucia's tendencies to some extent, he even prepared words to lure Lucia out.
"Then."
He had to hurry now to visit Lucia's room.
He nodded lightly to Estio and was about to leave the office when...
"...Wait."
"Yes?"
Ligrin looked back with a puzzled expression.
However, the Duke did not say what he wanted right away, and uncharacteristically hesitated.
What was he going to say that made him look like that?
The longer the silence lasted, the more anxious Ligrin became, but he did not show it at all on the outside.
After a long time, he parted his lips.
"Tell that child as well."
But it was difficult to understand the content right away.
Tell that child as well.
Who is that child? What am I supposed to tell them?
Then, a person suddenly flashed through his mind.
Could it be...
"...Are you talking about Miss Lucia?"
Twitch.
Estio's shoulder twitched slightly at Ligrin's question.
The Duke nodded slowly and added.
"Tell the head maid to select people to help that child dress up."
"......"
Ligrin doubted his ears once again.
'Even mobilizing the maids?'
Of course, it was true that one had to be dressed appropriately for the occasion to attend the family dinner.
But Lucia also had a maid.
Although only one, it shouldn't be a big problem to dress up a young girl.
But to issue an order to select people to dress Lucia up...
If the target was Miracle, he would have understood, but because it was Lucia, he couldn't understand what he was thinking.
But...
"Yes."
Such things were not important at all.
Even if he gave more strange and suspicious orders, understanding was not necessary to carry out those orders.
However...
It was a little disappointing.
It would have been nice to face each other while eating and teach her dining etiquette and basic manners.
'It can't be helped.'
He had no choice but to aim for the next opportunity.
"Then I will be on my way."
Ligrin left the office immediately and carried out the Duke's orders one by one.
He turned his steps after seeing the selected maids rushing towards Lucia's room.
It was then.
"Head Butler!"
Someone rushed to Ligrin urgently.
It was the gardener, Chels.
"What's the matter?"
Ligrin asked, breathing heavily, and held out something.
"I found it lying in the corner of the garden, and I thought I should show it to you, Head Butler."
And what he held out was a shattered little bird statue.
On the outside, it looked like an ordinary bird statue, but purple shone near the chest.
"This is......"
Ligrin's eyes gradually widened as he recognized it at once.
But as if nothing had happened, he said with a calm smile.
"It's just an ordinary bird statue."
"Yes? Is that so? I brought it because something was shining and it looked unusual... It looks like someone threw it away."
The gardener scratched his head awkwardly.
"I'm sorry for holding you up when you're busy."
"It's okay. Give it to me. I'll dispose of it on my way."
"No. I will-"
"Give it to me."
"......"
Ligrin was still being gentle.
However, an overwhelming pressure that could not be ignored was emanating from him.
"Ah, yes..."
The gardener, startled, handed the broken bird statue to Ligrin.
Ligrin looked at the bird statue in his hand for a moment, then smiled gently and said.
"Thank you for your hard work. Come to think of it, I heard you've been suffering from overwork lately."
"Yes?"
The gardener's eyes widened.
Suffering from overwork? Who?
He reflexively looked out the window.
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