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0% I almost gasped as soon as I put the small cut piece of steak in my mouth. Even someone like me, with my modest palate, could immediately tell it tasted exceptional. My previous meals at the mansion hadn’t been bad, but today’s dishes were all outstanding.

“You’ve got a good chef.”

I quickly swallowed the steak at Father’s words, who was dining across from me.

“He’s a great chef who gets better every day.”

“I envy you. If he wasn’t working for you, I’d have recruited him myself.”

Father nodded with satisfaction and cut another piece of steak. It seemed that the chef had an awakening after hearing that Father would be joining me and Penelia for dinner.

He must have been quite surprised.

From the chef’s perspective, Penelia and I were expected diners, but he probably never imagined Father would come. In fact, the number of times Father had visited my personal mansion could be counted on one hand.

But now that the awkwardness between us had significantly eased, his visits were no longer unusual. He even came of his own accord this time, not because Penelia forcibly brought him. I’d likely be welcoming Father to the mansion frequently from now on.

I sipped my wine while thinking of a gift for the chef who would have to continue to work hard in the future. Was it just my imagination, or did the wine taste better than usual, too?

“Whew, his skills are indeed good. He’d make a good match for our family’s chef.”

I glanced towards the cheerful voice. In fact, Father wasn’t the only surprise guest who caused the chef to awaken.

“It’s sad to hear that from someone who’s practically banned from going back to his own territory.”

“Do you have to put it that way?”

I couldn’t help but smile after seeing the former Count Horfeld mumble sadly at Father’s blunt words.

Father was already resting with the former Count Horfeld when I returned to the mansion after having a drink at those guys’ graves. It wasn’t strange that they’d spend time together given their friendship, but I did find it a bit strange that he’d choose my home rather than his after the war.

“This guy’s condition for joining the war was to not fight directly, but Zenobia found out. So, she told him not to bother coming home.”

“Oh no.”

I understood as soon as I heard the reason. He was just a father being punished for worrying his daughter.

So what could I do? He wasn’t some stranger, but a fellow soldier who’d just been kicked out by his tearful daughter. Offering him a temporary place to stay was the least I could do. It wasn’t a big problem anyway since he said he’d go to the Krasius family’s mansion with Father after dinner.

...Should I make a hideout for myself, too?

And seeing the former Count Horfeld’s situation, I couldn’t ignore the vague glimpse of my future.

I’d receive an even harsher punishment than him if it was discovered that I fought directly. I had six people to scold me, after all.

Damn it.

Just the thought was enough to make my tears well up.

***I moved to the garden after seeing off Father and the former Count Horfeld once dinner was over.

“Master!”

“Welcome, Executive Manager.”

The servants and the Masked Unit welcomed me when I headed towards where smoke was rising, a lavish barbecue set up. With so many people, the garden was naturally the best place to accommodate everyone.

It was somewhat odd to see meat being grilled in the middle of a noble mansion’s garden, but I suppose that was fine as long as everyone’s mouths and stomachs were happy.

“Master! Unnie! Come eat with us since you’re here!”

Everyone greeted me cheerfully, and even Yuris, who seemed glued to the grill, came running. Behind her was Sophia, who was hurriedly following while struggling to balance the plates hurriedly handed to her by Yuris. It looked extremely precarious—

“Uwah!”

“Nyeek!”

Before I could finish the thought, she really fell. Worse, the plates flew from her hands like projectiles and smacked right into the back of Yuris’s head.

“Yuris! Sophia!”

Penelia, who had been warmly watching the two maids who were like younger sisters to her, panicked and ran over at the sudden chaos.

Thankfully, Sophia had landed on the grass and seemed unhurt, but—

Is her head okay?

Seeing Yuris lying face-down and flailing in the grass, I instinctively reached for my communication crystal. Considering how the plate hit that tiny head, a big wound must have formed.

“What kind of commotion is this in front of our master? You got hurt because you were running around carelessly.”

Though Penelia’s words were scolding, her expression and gestures were full of worry. The way she helped Sophia up and carefully inspected Yuris’s hair for any bleeding looked more like a worried mother than a sister.

And as the commotion caused by the two maids drew attention, gazes started to turn our way. Rather than irritation at the disruption, their eyes showed real concern for the two mascots of the mansion.

“...Just a bump.”

Just as I sent a message to the Magic Tower to request a healing mage, Penelia, who had been checking for a while, sighed in relief and spoke. Thankfully, even though she got hit hard enough to shatter the plate, Yuris had escaped with just a bump.

Our little Yuris was tougher than I thought. Actually, I knew she was strong—but I didn’t know her head was this tough, too.

“Yu-Yuris, are you okay? I’m sorry, it’s all because of me...”

“I’m fine! It hurt a little, but like unnie said, it’s just a bump!”

Yuris answered with a giggle to Sophia’s words, whose eyes were brimming with tears.

It was heartwarming to see, though knowing that Yuris herself caused Sophia’s fall by piling dishes onto her made the whole situation somewhat ironic. Talk about instant karma.

“If you’re both alright, apologize to Master. Making a fuss in front of him right after he returned from the north is rude.”

At those words, Yuris and Sophia, who had been comforting each other, hurriedly bowed their heads.

No one had been seriously hurt so I honestly didn’t mind at all, but I couldn’t open my mouth when I saw Penelia’s stern expression. I couldn’t interfere with a big sister properly disciplining her younger siblings.

“I’m sorry, Master. We haven’t seen you in a while, but... we haven’t seen unnie in a while either, so we were too excited...”

“I-I’m sorry, too. You just got back, but we caused such a mess...”

Penelia’s expression softened at their sincere apologies. That’s right. Teaching them how to apologize was important when disciplining children.

And so, I patted their heads. If you had received an apology from a kid, giving them forgiveness and comfort was just as important.

“It’s fine as long as you’re not hurt. But still, get it checked when the mage comes later. I just called for one.”

“Hehe, it’s okay. It’s just a bump.”

I shook my head at Yuris, who was smiling sheepishly. It might look like just a bump, but who knew if there was a fracture in the bone or a problem with the brain? Even minor impacts to the head needed to be checked thoroughly.

Besides, I’d found these girls starving and raised them myself. I’d never be able to hold my head up again if one of them ended up dying from being hit by a plate during a party. It would go down in history as a textbook case of a noble’s mistreatment of his servants.

“Get it checked since I called. It’s rude to cancel it after calling.”

At my firm request, Yuris finally nodded. She should have done that from the start.

“These children must have missed Penelia a lot. Well, it’s natural since they sleep together when Penelia stays at the mansion.”

The butler, confirming that the situation ended warmly, smiled and spoke, trying to smooth over the commotion as a sign of their affection for Penelia.

But, sleeping together? I didn’t know about that. Were there times when Penelia came to the mansion while I was away?

“What a pity, since Penelia is sleeping with me tonight.”

When I said that while smiling, silence suddenly fell.

The butler’s smile froze, and the eyes of the servants and the Masked Unit, which had been gradually withdrawing, snapped back to us.

...Ah.

I only realized that they could be misunderstood after the words left my mouth. We weren’t much different from a married couple except for the marriage part, so I just meant we’d sleep together in that sense. I absolutely wasn’t implying anything beyond that.

But as I carefully turned my gaze, I saw Penelia with a red face, her mouth opening and closing silently.

This was my karma. I spoke carelessly and ended up stirring up Penelia’s feelings.

***Every day was like hell since baby left for the North. I was worried the war might drag on for years or that something might happen to him. I couldn’t even sleep properly because of such worries.

What kept me going through those hellish days was my status as both a Duchess and Master of the Magic Tower.

As a top official and the highest authority over war mages, I had access to reports from the expeditionary force.

While I couldn’t access all information, I could grasp the general situation.

For example, that the northern tribes were less united than expected; the war would likely end swiftly, and casualties were relatively minor—

Or that baby fought directly.

How cold-hearted.

I sighed deeply again. In truth, I’d been prepared for the possibility that he might fight. After all, if His Majesty himself appointed him as an inspector, then it must have been with the possibility of him fighting in mind.

But the head and heart were sometimes at odds, and this was exactly one of those times.

Putting yourself in danger like that...

I understood that he initially joined the frontlines to save his father, but what I couldn’t accept was him volunteering to lead the charge against that self-proclaimed Khan, and then getting dragged into single combat through the enemy’s trickery.

Still, if, just if, baby had revealed such facts himself and apologized, I might have forgiven him. Unexpected things happen in war, after all.

But he hid it until the end.

Today, I received a message from baby when the victory ceremony was held in the capital. He asked how I’d been, comforted me saying he was safe, and shared the happy news that he’d come to the Academy soon.

But sadly, there was no mention of him standing on the frontlines.

It was disappointing. Lovers shouldn’t keep secrets. If he was eventually going to be found out anyway, it would’ve been better to come clean from the start.

...Maybe he’s ready to face the consequences.

So, I tried to steel my heart. If what he truly wanted was to be confronted rather than confess, then I’d oblige.

...Of course, I should hug him first and praise him for making it home safely once he arrived at the Academy. No matter how disappointed I was, it couldn’t outweigh my joy at seeing him again.