CHAPTER 20

THE ROYAL FAMILY

The next few days after that are filled with the beginning of my studies of magic along with Mom. As she has stated before, she has never tried to force me or to strongly suggest me to learn [Dark] magic. Instead, she focuses on my other affinities, starting with [Ice].

I have a lot of new things to learn. Things that I didn’t bother to learn at all back then. Theories on how magic works, how the whole mental imaging is important, and some basic magic chants. After all, we don’t use the daily language to chant magics. After my magic is stronger, I may be able to learn the chantless magic!

All of them are new to me, so of course I'm excited to learn!

…wait a minute, Mom, I think I’ll also learn the theories you taught me during school!! Though I can’t protest from having an earlier start, it might even get me to special class right from the beginning.

Repeating practices won’t be too bad, right? I can improve my magic further with repeated practices.

And a few days after my magic training (barely) begins...

“Lyra, are you okay with going to the castle tomorrow?” Dad dropped this bomb to me.

“Yes, huh?” I am clearly dumbfounded. I don’t see any reason for me to go to the castle...?

“Well, I heard about Titus’ chat with Cassie the other day but remained silent. However, Titus finally reached out to me and asked that you’d come and play with his son—since that child, he... seems to be dissatisfied with how his mother’s been tending to his little sister more... and caused troubles… Yeah, that is the gist of it,” Dad explained.

Oh...

Ohhhh!!

I totally forgot about that! Teehee~!

This is kind of bad, though.

I wonder if the king really wants me to befriend his son and help in ceasing the prince’s tantrum?

To be honest, I can’t help but think that this is an attempt to introduce me to him and then slowly talk about bethrothing us...?

“Uhh, Dad, is it okay for you to let me play with him?” I asked.

Dad seems to be burdened with the idea of handing me off to another guy... I wonder if that applies if the suitor is a prince?

“Well... while I do not want that prince to be infatuated to my cute Lyra, as it’s so obvious that Lyra is adorable...”

On second thought, Dad, please, stop!! This flattery is too excessive!

[insert a short lecture on why Lyra is cute in Dad’s eyes]

“…But still, I believe that Titus isn’t the kind of person to just decide on an engagement without all sides’ consent and even going as far as to force the engagement, so, I think it’s okay.”

Dad smiled. His trust towards his best friend is as clear as the sky.

...eh wait, it’s raining right now, so the sky isn’t clear!!

“Then, I’m okay with it!” I responded.

I actually am bothered by how I should act in front of him, but he’s still a child, so...

Wait, don’t judge me, I may also be a child, but mentally, I am an adult!

Yup, yup!

Plus, I have had years of my queen education, so I’ll be fine!!

Thus, it is decided that I will be going to Capicastle tomorrow!

And tomorrow comes by so fast!

I am currently riding a carriage, wearing a good dress and my hair in twin-tails, as usual. However, this time, I am going with Dad. It’s Mom’s precious day off, so she should take plenty of rest today~

As we reach the castle, Dad leads me towards the guest--... the what, the throne room?!

The throne room is as luxurious as ever, with the red carpet being there, leading all the way to the golden and red throne. Sitting on top of the honorable seat is this country’s wise king, Titus Rou seo Navarrete. He has one of his hand on the throne seat’s armrest, supporting his head.

Whoops, looks like Dad doesn’t need to report to the maid in the guest room to notify the king, after all. Nobody stopped us on our way, too.

“You’ve kept me waiting, Cyan! Good thing you have Lyra with you!”

“Well, I’m on time, as usual, don’t you worry. And Lyra has never gone back on her words before, so yeah, here she is.”

Now, all eyes are on me, so I decided to graciously bow down before the almighty king—nah wait, the almighty title is only for the God, I guess I have heard of the title of The Almighty God or something...

“It’s my pleasure to be invited by Your Majesty.” I said solemnly.

“Whoa, what a refined manner you have! Hard to imagine that she is your daughter, Cyan.”

“...excuse me, Titus?!”

...you two are really on good terms, aren’t you?

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“Anyway, let’s move to the garden.” The king then stands up and leads us towards the castle’s garden.

As expected, the garden is huge and there are various beautiful plants. Flowers, trees, even the grasses are all looking good, and we can even see some gardeners to take care of them on our way.

As we continue to walk around, we finally come across an elegant yet simple set of round table and white chairs. Sitting on one of the chairs is a gentle-looking woman with her crimson long and straight hair. Her light purple eyes are looking at us gently. In her arms, she is cradling a little baby.

“You’re finally here! And you must be Lyra?” She says, as she glances at me.

“Uhm...,” I am not sure how to respond... I don't recognize her, but I assume she is...?

“Ah right, let me introduce you two first,” the king stepped in and took out a chair.

“But first, please sit down here, as you’re our honored guest, little girl,” the king extended his hand towards the white chair.

“Let me help you with that, Lyra,” Dad swoops me away and places me on the chair.

Yeah, the chair is quite hard for me to reach... for now.

“Fufu, you’re such a pampering parent, huh, Cyan? That’s kinda unexpected,” the crimson-haired woman says.

...Wait, unexpected?! Dad?!

I think the traits of an oyabaka is clearly observable in him... no?

What was Dad like before he became a father, and what did the others think of him??

“Well, my children are my treasure, after all!” Dad answered.

Following after me, the two men also sit down.

“So, this is Alrescha Lyra Hartmann, Cyan’s beloved daughter. And Lyra, the lady here is my wife—in other words, the queen. You might have heard her name, but she is Shaula Schafer,” the king introduces his beloved wife.

“Nice to meet you, Lyra,” the queen smiles warmly at me.

So, the one who finally married the crown prince from my era as Reinst is the daughter of the Viscount Schafer’s family from the Western Riviera? Her social status in the noble society is not that high, so I can imagine the kind of riot it caused when their bethrothal was decided...

Besides, I wonder what lead to her being the queen? I don’t mean to brag, but as Reinst, I was the #1 candidate, and the ones in the top 10 candidate ranking were anyone but her. She rarely showed up and her appearance changed a lot as a queen, I didn't recognize her at all, even when she was from Western Riviera like my past self.

Sigh, I wonder if my curiosity is abnormal...

It seems that I get curious way too often and too easily.

“Oh, and this baby here is my daughter. Her name is Leticia Dorothea seo Navarrete. Just call her Leti,” she positions herself so I can see the baby.

The baby is looking back at me hazily, she looks like she’s about to fall asleep any time soon.

Her green eyes are the same as the king’s, while her hair is crimson just like her mother.

“She’s so cute!” I thoughtlessly exclaimed. But she is indeed adorable. Her puffy cheeks and her tiny hands are so captivating, I want to touch them... but I try my best to refrain from it, as it may cause her to be alert and fail to sleep.

“Fufu, thanks for the compliment,” the queen says, and then she cradles Leticia back.

“Hmmm, so you like kids, Lyra?” Dad is intrigued by my captivation to Leticia.

“What, planning to have another kid?” Titus elbowed Dad.

“Nah, hmm, I wonder,” Dad starts to think.

Uh, oh... errr... I wouldn’t want to have a younger sibling just for my amusement’s sake...? Or rather, Dad, please... don’t think about it here... ...at least go and discuss it with Mom instead of wondering alone...

“Ahaha! As for me, I think these two are already enough... A lot of things are happening in this country, and imagine it combined with the chaos ensued due to me having too many kids, ahaha!! That son of mine is already causing a lot of confusion to me and Shaula... But well, good luck if you want another kid, Cyan!” The king says.

Hmmm?

So, the king decides to only have one woman, this time, as well?

Actually, having more than one woman is the special right of a noble, as it is clearly demonstrated with the case of my old family— and that right is even more so for the ruler of this country.

But I don’t know why, for one reason or another, it has been a while since the king decided to take on concubines. The number of the concubines the kings had decreased per generation. Wonder why?

Also... in case of a female noble or female ruler... Hmmm, it’s rare to have them, but... I think they can have more than one partner too, albeit it’s rarer to see. Well, female head of family is rare to see in the first place as surnames are passed via males.

However, most of the nobles are now having only one partner—with the most I can remember having three partners... That is because the society has started to view marriage as something more sacred with monogamous concept, and that creating a harem seems to be frowned upon as time goes on.

The most contributing factor to that is how having many spouses and children would complicate the whole family situation and there is that famous heir competition!!! That situation sounds awfully familiar, right?

But with how thing goes, I don’t know about the nobles having hidden lovers, though it is VERY possible, haha!

That is my recollection of my moral and etiquette education back then... The founder of this country only had a woman, while he clearly had the chance to establish a harem... especially during old times when the nobles having many concubines were normal things.

It would be interesting to know what was in his mind during those time, but sadly he didn’t write any of his own epic journey. Almost all of the documents we have about the hero’s journey were written by others, so who knows how accurate they are? They might be accurate for the main gist of the events, but not about the trivial things.

“And where is that son of yours, anyway? Studying, I pressume?” Dad asked, and his voice brought me back to reality.

“Nah, well... he has never tried to ditch his classes and such... But when Leti was born, he started to ditch his classes and even pulled many pranks. We have scolded him many times but he kept repeating it. Normally, he will be studying or reading some books during his spare time, but who knows?” The king shrugged his shoulders and sighed. His expression is really troubled.

He might as well be playing hide and seeks right now with the maids! And by hide and seeks, I guess it’s a one-sided hide and seeks. The possible scenario is that the prince hides himself after running away from a class or after pulling a prank, and then the maids are frantically searching for him. Yep.

“Worry not, the maids usually will find him even if he’s doing other things... eventually... they should be escorting him here any time soon,” the king frowns a bit.

Well, certainly he has made the king quite bothered by it. But then again, a child should act childish, so it is natural... The king and the queen can impose a harsh punishment, but they don’t seem to be the kind of people to resort to that.

While waiting for the little prince to show up, the conversation is going on. I finally can establish that the prince was an obedient child before his little sister is born.

The queen and the king have advised him many times, and after that he would be obedient again... but that didn’t come out long, and he’d start to be mischievous again. The cycle repeated again and again.

So, the king thinks it’d be wise to let him play with kids his age, so he can reduce his desire to seek the adults’ attention. It will be a good thing too if he can start forging friendships.

However, the real problem starts here. There have been attempts to introduce him to the maids or workers’ children, but the prince expressed his boredom to them. The befriending missions have failed so far, and the prince is still being as mischievous as ever.

That is why, I was called as the king’s last try, or so I heard. And it’s also because I am the daughter of His Majesty’s best friend.

If this doesn’t work to calm the prince down, then the king will consider to give the prince a harsher punishment.

Which he hates to think about, judging from his expression when he’s telling all that.

Which also means I have quite a big burden on my shoulders...?

Not long after that, the maids suddenly come with their exhausted expressions.

“Sorry for being late, Your Majesty. We are finally here.” The most senior-looking maid bowed curtly and moved aside to show a sullen little boy.

His feature is exactly the same as his little sister—scarlet hair and green eyes.

The little prince glances over at us before he throws his face aside again.

“Thanks for the hard work. You are all dismissed, you must have been tired,” the king responded.

“Thanks for putting up with our son,” the queen added.

“N, no, it’s out duty, after all!” The maid responded in a panic, and then along with her friends, they excused themselves.

Now, the ones left here are the royal family, Dad, and me.

“Luca, won’t you sit down?” The queen asked, gesturing him to a seat next to her.

“Hmpfh,” the young boy reluctantly obeyed his mother, but I can tell that he is quite happy.

“Lyra, let me introduce you. This is my son, Lucius Aideen seo Navarrete. Luca, this is the daughter of the Hartmann Duke, her name is Alrescha Lyra Hartmann. Since you two are at the same age, I hope you two can be good friends,” the king introduced us.

The prince—Lucius-sama only throws a quick glance at me before he continues to look disinterested.

Hmm, this will be quite a challenge.

After a short conversation, the adults now want to discuss some serious matters, so Lucius-sama and I are dismissed. I can sense that Lucius-sama is slightly disappointed.

The queen wanted to call on the maids but Lucius-sama told her not to.

“Follow me, then,” he said as he quickly walked away in front of me.

Not even waiting for me to follow him.

Not even glancing at me again to make sure I’m following him.

Do your best, me!!

Don’t incur the wrath of the royal family, Lyra!!!