Chapter 59

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 59

Chapter Title: Return to the Capital

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Dad let out a snicker too.

"Leblain."

"Yes?"

"Next week, we'll have to attend the banquet, so I'll summon Viscount Dubos and the steward."

"Can't I go too?"

The moment I asked, Ishak, who had been chuckling, immediately shouted,

"No way!"

"Kid, do you have any idea how annoying the capital is?"

I do.

I nodded inwardly but blinked innocently, pretending not to know.

"The temple and the Empress Dowager are already glaring daggers, waiting for you to show up. If you go, they'll swarm like a pack of dogs and drag you off to the central temple."

"Exactly, Leblain. It's better if you stay in the territory."

Even Henri chimed in.

'I'm going to drive a wedge between that temple and the Empress Dowager.'

Above all, I couldn't stay cooped up in the territory forever.

The Duvered family was powerful enough, but if the misfortunes of my future dragged them in, the worst case would be total annihilation.

I needed to grow stronger.

I had to become a power player and make the Duvered family independent, free from the whims of the imperial palace and the temple.

'That's what these five years of preparation are for.'

I was already ready to step out into the world.

I jumped up from my chair and scampered over to Dad.

"Then that means I might have to be apart from you and my brothers."

"What?"

"I know all about it. I overheard the vassals and servants talking. The first year I came, it was a sabbatical year, so we stayed in the territory. But Dad, you're supposed to live in the capital normally."

"......"

"You're forcing yourself to stay in the territory because of me. They said if we keep this up, we'll get pushed out of the center. And that's bad for the Duvered family."

This was the truth.

It was also what worried me the most.

"I want to live in the capital too. With you and my brothers."

"You really are..."

Dad stroked my sullen head as he spoke.

"You worry too much about unnecessary things."

"......"

"All right. We'll attend the banquet. But living in the capital? We need to gauge the situation a bit more first."

"Yay!"

I quickly threw my arms around Dad's neck.

The imperial palace gardens.

At Empress Dowager Marsha Luerge's tea party, elderly noblewomen exchanged greetings.

"Your complexion looks much better."

"Must be because it's been so long since Her Majesty summoned us."

"Your Majesty, please invite us more often. At our age, we can't count on next year. I was so disappointed the winter party was canceled."

The Empress Dowager smiled faintly as she lifted her teacup.

"How could I not know your feelings? I caught a terrible cold from the winter chill and couldn't help it."

"Your Majesty has always been sensitive to the cold. Even in your youth, winters were hard on you."

"At this age, the winters seem to get worse every year."

In the warm, congenial atmosphere, the Empress Dowager clenched her handkerchief tightly.

Her skin rash was unbearably itchy all over her body.

At least it had improved now that spring was near.

In the dead of winter, the rash had climbed from her knees to her face, leaving her trapped in her room.

The temple priest had told the suffering woman,

'Have even more faith. Our god will surely show mercy to Your Majesty.'

'How much more faith do I need?'

The Empress Dowager pressed down the faint tremor at the corner of her mouth with her handkerchief and swallowed a sigh.

"But Lady, your complexion really has improved."

"Maybe it's because my nagging arthritis finally eased up."

"I heard you got a new physician. Is he that effective? Introduce him to me too."

"It's not the physician's credit. It's the medicine."

The woman who spoke chuckled softly, drawing all eyes at the table.

"Is it that youth-restoring elixir by any chance?"

"You know of it too."

"Of course. It's all the rage. I sent a servant to buy some, but they said I had to go myself. Merchants these days are so brazen."

"Don't do that. Go yourself. It really worked for me. My husband, who suffered from toothaches his whole life, saw results."

The other noblewomen nodded in agreement.

"My sister said it worked for her too. Even on her skin..."

At those words, the Empress Dowager's eyes lit up.

"It works on skin conditions too?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. My younger brother had scaly, itchy patches on his lower abdomen for a while, but after taking the youth-restoring elixir, his skin went back to normal."

It sounded just like her own symptoms.

'It might work for me too...'

"Where do they sell it?"

the Empress Dowager asked.

Ahead of the banquet, our family set out for the capital.

"Don't worry about the castle. Go with peace of mind."

As Viscount Dubos bowed to Dad, the steward sidled up to me.

"Always keep the communication stone on you."

"Got it. Oh, and Steward, make sure you eat properly."

I scowled as I said it, and he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I do! Eat properly. Got it?"

"......Yes."

Ever since his wife and son died, no one took care of him, so he often skipped meals.

"But... won't Your Grace tell him about the little one's past?"

At the steward's words, I glanced at Dad and my brothers.

"Load more blankets. If my daughter catches a cold, a couple of heads won't cut it."

"You're kidding, right? Add more cushions—cushions! The kid's butt will get sore!"

"Is this all the clothes you packed for Leblain? Either you've lost your will to live without me or you've gone mad. One or the other."

The steward, peering at the family with cloudy eyes, nodded.

"If they knew the past, all hell would break loose."

I shivered at the thought of Dad and my brothers setting the temple ablaze.

And the temple would just sit there?

"If they declare war on the temple, the whole Duvered family dies..."

"You must keep it absolutely secret."

I nodded.

We boarded the carriage amid farewells from the Duvered retainers.

It took two days to reach the capital.

Compared to the ten days it took for my first trip to the Duvered lands via the imperial palace's magic carriage, this was incredibly fast.

When I stepped out of the carriage, my mouth fell open.

An endless garden.

Immaculately tended garden trees.

The mansion was the largest and grandest building I'd seen in the capital.

Three structures connected in a gabled form soared toward the sky.

Countless servants stood in two neat rows along the path to the mansion, bowing deeply.

"Welcome home, Master."

"Welcome home, Master."

Startled by their resounding voices, I clung to Dad's arm.

Then, a man in a tailcoat with neatly combed-back hair stepped forward from the servants.

"Welcome, Little One."

I peeked out shyly from behind Dad's arm, and he smiled gently.

"I'm Henderson. It's an honor to meet you, Little One."

"I'm Leblain..."

"You're even more adorable than I imagined. Everyone in the mansion has been looking forward to your arrival."

Dad picked me up and said,

"Where's Javellin?"

Javellin was Dad's half-sister, my step-aunt.

One of the two survivors of the past fratricidal strife in the Duvered family.

She now managed the branch Ariuju family and oversaw the capital mansion.

"She went to a party."

"If Auntie's at a party, she won't be back for four days or so."

Ishak grumbled, and the butler Henderson smiled faintly.

We entered the mansion together. The interior was even more opulent than the exterior.

Dad and my brothers headed straight to the study, knight order, and such for business, while I followed Henderson to see my room.

"Here we are, Little One's room."

'Jackpot!'

It wasn't as big as my room at the castle, but it had a parlor, dressing room, bedroom, study, and bathroom—all luxuriously appointed.

It felt more like a room made for a little girl than the one at the castle.

I dashed to the sofa, bounced on it with my bottom, and hugged a cushion.

Lea, who had come with me, chuckled and asked, "Do you like it?"

"So-oo much."

"I'm glad."

"But Lea, your clothes are different today."

She usually wore a maid uniform, but today she had on armor and a black cloak symbolizing her knighthood in the Duvered order.

"While we're in the capital, I'll be your escort knight."

"Wow!"

"You like it that much?"

"Lea, you look so cool."

"I'm happy."

As Lea and I chatted away, the butler brought someone over.

A girl with vivid red hair, green eyes, and charming freckles on her nose. She looked about fifteen.

"I'm Laura. I've been assigned as your personal maid."

She was cheerful and bright. Lea whispered, "She's Linda's cousin."

'Ah.'

The other servants came to greet me too.

From maids to butlers, at least fifty in all. After receiving their greetings, I asked the most important question.

"So, how many crimes have you all committed in your past lives?"

The entire staff stood before Theodor Duvered, who had returned to the mansion after five years, steeling their shoulders against the instinctive tension.

Whether from nearly a year on the battlefield or the natural gravitas of his mid-thirties, Theodor exuded an aura of seasoned authority.

The young masters flanking him had grown beyond recognition. The sharper their features grew to resemble their father, the more chilling their gazes—like those of killers.

The duke glanced over the kneeling knights, and beside them, the clerks, administrators, and other staff standing at attention.

The milder clerks swallowed dryly under his piercing gaze.

The moment they arrived in the capital, the duke had summoned everyone—from the mansion guards to the Duvered intelligence division, the pride of the family.

Gathering all these people meant something serious was afoot.

A territory war with another house?

Or had the council finally stirred up trouble?

Finally, the duke spoke.

"If Leblain gets a hangnail, it's on you."

Those who didn't understand rolled their eyes rapidly.

A code?

An idiom?

'What does that mean?'

As they puzzled over it, the young masters beside him spoke up.

"If the kid... Leblain has trouble sleeping, it's on you."

"If even a single hair on that girl's head is harmed, don't think you'll die easy."

......Pardon?

A baffled clerk blinked up at the duke and young masters atop the platform.

The duke's low voice fell over the heads of the bewildered crowd.

"Deploy the entire capital force for Leblain's protection. Stab any male who approaches first, then check his identity."

Thus began the capital stay that would later be known as the Overprotective Dad Uproar.