Eliz and Mother Green returned to the children, the remaining two children. Blum and Lila seemed to be arguing again, though they immediately fell silent as Eliz and Mother Green approached. Halina and Destin were probably still with the gardeners.

Lila immediately rushed over to Mother Green and hugged her waist. "Are you okay? She didn't do anything to you?" she asked, her eyes misting suspiciously at Eliz, who ignored the child's suspicion. She and Mother Green were done; for now, she would continue acting as the children's nanny.

Eliz looked around and frowned before turning to Blum. "Where's Haidi? Wasn't she supposed to be here with you?" she wondered.

Blum turned and gestured with his hand. Eliz followed the direction he was pointing. A tree? Eliz stared a moment longer before she saw a blue raccoon tail swinging in the tree branches. She looked closer, only to find Haidi sleeping in the tree's low branches. "What? Why..." She fell silent and finally shook her head. Maybe it was some raccoon thing. She didn't understand why Haidi slept in a tree when she had a perfectly comfortable bed.

"I'll be going now. Don't stay in the sun too long, and remember to drink plenty." She turned to the rest of her little captives, nodding to Mother Green, who returned the nod, and Eliz made her way back inside.

She heard Blum calling behind her. "See you later, Lady Elizabeth!" He sounded a little sad. Eliz didn't look back but raised her hand to indicate she had heard him.

She returned to the pleasant coolness of the estate, but it was still relatively early to meet her parents. She thought for a moment before calling for the head butler, who was still acting nervous in front of her. Really? Is that necessary? What had she ever done to him?

"Where's my brother?" asked Eliz.

The old butler bowed. "Young Master Eren is at military headquarters."

Eliz nodded, probably arranging his transfer and also looking for Simon Rudderquill. She hoped he could find him before they left for the Blue Rose estate. In that case, she had only one thing to arrange: to invite Miel to the Festival of Lights.

After making sure the bombs would no longer be a problem, she saw no reason not to go. Plus, she would stay away from the areas where they would explode, just in case. And since Eliz had received another invitation that she had declined, Eliz needed to be seen there with her entourage to prevent any further attempts by them to get close to her. They'd probably find their way back to her somehow, but she planned to block them with all her might.

Eliz turned to the head butler. "Please prepare a communication crystal and link me to the residence of Viscount Hadfield," she requested. The butler bowed and went to prepare the crystal for her.

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POW

Miel stepped back but didn't move his eyes or try to rub the sore jaw where his father had hit him. He could feel the blood in his mouth as he bit the inside of his cheek against his teeth but only swallowed the metallic taste.

Miel stood with a straight face against his father, Viscount Hadfield, who faced him with a furious expression. His father was shorter than Miel and had the same hair color. His hair was already receding a little, and he had a well-kept, short blond beard. However, Viscount's eyes were brown, and though he was thin, he wasn't as well-built as Miel. His stomach was even slowly beginning to round.

In addition, the Viscount also had dark circles under his eyes and sunken cheeks, caused by all the worries that had been piling up on him for some time. Therefore, Miel did not react to his father's violence. It wouldn't be the first time, and while Miel didn't appreciate it, he also couldn't do anything against his father, knowing that it would only take a little for his father to break down completely.

"Are you trying to destroy us completely?" His father asked, his fists shaking.

"No," Miel answered directly, not breaking his gaze on his father.

"Then what are you trying to do? How can you... you've been messing with women for a long time, I know it, and what can I do? You're young and hot-blooded, but getting involved with the Duke's daughter? And with the Duke Von Roseblood's daughter!" Father stopped clenching his hands and ran his fingers through his hair, which he gripped tightly.

"Do you have any idea what political power he has? Now he'll turn his attention on us, and all will be revealed! We will be destroyed!" Father began to pace back and forth.

Miel finally raised his hand and rubbed his jaw. "This is different, Father. This is serious," Miel objected.

His father stopped and glared furiously at his son. "This isn't the first time I've heard that from you, you little bastard!"

Miel shook his head. "But this time, it's real."

"What, are you telling me you've finally decided to settle down? A miracle has happened? Hell froze over, and pigs started flying?" his father laughed bitterly.

Miel moved his eyes away so his father wouldn't see him roll his eyes. But he couldn't blame him for his doubts. His father had tried to marry him off several times for financial reasons. Miel had sabotaged it masterfully. The ones he couldn't gently dissuade, he drove away by rougher means. All he had to do was act like a bastard and get caught with other women. Repeatedly. His supposed future wives couldn't stand his behavior.

Eventually, the father gave up his efforts because Miel's reputation was so bad that no father who respected his daughter would have given her to a lecher like Miel.

He looked at his father again. "As you say. I decided to settle down. Lady Elizabeth is the savior of my rotten soul," Miel insisted, not even lying. He believed Eliz would keep her word; his family would be secure and healed once she did. And he would be free. He thought about traveling to the East.

Miel had to smile at the thought. The idea of Eliz cursing him amused him. He stopped smiling quickly when his father's fist hit his other cheek. He wasn't quite ready this time, so he grunted in pain and grabbed his cheek. He frowned at his father, who was still in his furious mood.

"Stop smirking like that! This is serious, don't you realize that? If it's true... if you mess this up...again..." Father raged.

Miel groaned. "Yes, yes. We will be destroyed. I know! Father, you can calm down. You don't have to worry this time." He tried to convince his father.

His father stared at him momentarily before dropping his hands, and his shoulders slumped wearily. "Good. I'll trust you one last time. Last time, Miel!" He turned away from Miel and slowly went to sit down. Miel watched his father's sad figure slump in his chair and put his head in his hands, slowly approaching him.

"Miel." His father addressed him again. "If... if things go wrong. Grab your brother and anything of value you can find and go somewhere far away. Sometimes it's better to leave things broken and start over than to fix them."

Miel looked at his father and closed his eyes for a moment. Moments like these reminded him why he did everything in the first place. His father might be a wreck now, but he had once been a good father to him. Miel thought that even if he didn't have a younger brother to take care of, he probably wouldn't have abandoned his father anyway.

He opened his eyes to say something to encourage his father, but the sound of tinkling interrupted him. The Viscount looked up and quickly stood up, walking over to the table and pulling a communication crystal from a drawer on a small tripod.

His father touched the crystal. "Hadfield residence. Viscount Hadfield speaking," he said, his body radiating nervous energy. In their family's state, every incoming call and visitor was cause for a minor nervous breakdown.

"Lady Elizabeth Von Roseblood would like to speak to young Master Hadfield," the older man's voice announced.

Miel's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his father gave him a quick look.

"Yes, he's available right away," he replied, stepping back to allow Miel to walk over to the crystal.

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"Eliz?" He spoke.

There was silence for a moment before he heard Elizabeth's voice. "Miel. We're going to the Festival of Lights tomorrow. Come pick me up like a proper escort."

Miel had to smile. No request, no invitation; she simply announced it to him. "My dear, I hadn't even hoped you would grace me with your presence. My heart exults with joy," he touched his heart, and his father stared at him, stunned.

Eliz, on the other side, was momentarily silent. "Ugh... sorry, my love... I've been busy making preparations to leave for Blue Rose Estate. But now... I'm all yours."

Miel stifled a laugh in his chest and could almost see Eliz squirm uncomfortably as she struggled to get the sweet talk out of her. "Wonderful, my dear. You don't know how happy you've made me. And just hearing your sweet voice made the rest of the day better. I'm sure I can now expect beautiful dreams of our love."

".... Just come pick me up tomorrow at ten in the morning. See you then." The crystal went dark as the call ended.

Miel grinned and then startled as suddenly his father clamped his hands on his shoulders and turned him sharply toward him. Staring closely into his son's face, Miel could count the veins in his whites.

"Miel! You can't screw this up!"

Miel smiled confidently. "It won't happen, Father."

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Eliz sighed as she ended the call. How was it possible that Miel could say such sweet crap even at a distance? It caught her off guard a bit, so she was floundering. It was better not to linger on the conversation, so she kept it bare minimum.

She shook her head and went to the library to find a kingdom map. The library was empty as usual, so she took the largest table and spread out the map of the Silk Kingdom on it. She focused on the west and quickly found a mountain named Dragon Teeth.

She did a little math; they could make it in three or four days if she only took a small entourage and one carriage. She had to sigh unhappily. So she would have to postpone her departure. Even if she hurried, she couldn't make it in a week. Fortunately, if all goes well, the departure will only be delayed by two or three days. That wasn't so bad.

Eliz spent some time planning the route and taking notes. An hour later, she finished and set out to find the head butler again. She needed to give him the list and have him prepare everything for her departure the day after the Festival of Lights. She planned to practice mana control the rest of the time until her fateful meeting with her parents.

Early dinner came earlier than Eliz would have liked. She felt nervous, perhaps less nervous than when she met Fraril. And he's something of a yakuza boss at that! And now she was feeling the same way about meeting her parents. That was not good.

She took a deep breath and went to the small dining room where her parents were already waiting for her. Without Eren. Bad. Bad. That isn't good. Despite her apprehension, Eliz walked confidently to the dining table, where two pairs of eyes stared at her.

"Mother. Father. Good evening," she greeted them and went to take her seat, but her father held up his hand, so she stopped and looked at him.

Her father stood, and her mother mimicked him. "You have some explaining to do, young lady," he said sternly.

Eliz looked at the set table and then at her father. Why did she feel like she would be sent to bed without dinner if Eliz didn't play this right?

"Yes?" Eliz asked, and her father frowned even more.

"Don't play ignorant, Elizabeth Von Roseblood! You know very well what I'm talking about!" Her father raised his voice, and Eliz inwardly shuddered. Okay, this wasn't the best tactic.

"Who is this stranger you brought into our house? Dirty mercenaries? With a dark reputation and a bunch of street kids? What were you thinking?" Her mother spoke up as well.

Eliz looked from one to the other. She was forgetting. Elizabeth's parents were relatively benevolent towards her, but they wouldn't put up with everything either. They were still noblemen involved in politics and had to maintain their reputations. Eliz quickly forgot that because they barely interfered with her plans. She didn't know about their attitude towards the lower class. She knew they didn't openly despise them like others, but that was about it.

Eliz thought for a moment about what to say and then composed herself. She decided to be as honest as possible.

"Those mercenaries aren't dirty. They are my protectors. That's why I hired them," she began.

"We have enough soldiers of our own, Elizabeth. There's no need for you to hire any with questionable reputations," her father interrupted her angrily.

Eliz glared at him. "I picked them out of hundreds of others. Naturally, I understand your doubts about them, but do you doubt my ability to make decisions, too?" she asked him.

Her father hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "You are young and inexperienced, Elizabeth. You do not yet know right from wrong."

Eliz's eyebrows twitched. There's that ingrained notion of a parent's child being an adult but still seeing him as a child.

"Yet you agreed to let me take care of Blue Rose estate matters. So I can handle this task, but I cannot ensure my safety?" she retorted.

Father hesitated again, so Mother spoke up. "Stop it, Elizabeth. I understand what you're trying to do. We don't doubt you can handle this, but gauging human nature is another matter. It wouldn't be the first or last time in history that one's protectors stabbed the one they're supposed to protect in the back. And you've chosen the very mercenaries who are famous for it." She eyed Eliz sharply.

"Have you vetted them?" she checked with Eliz, but she was pretty sure.

"Naturally. Their customers didn't have a good word for them. Insults, violence, threats. Two even ended up seriously injured." Her father clenched his fists as he listed their transgressions.

"Still, no deaths," Eliz pointed out, folding her arms across her chest. "So don't you think there's a little more to these stories than they say?"

"Maybe. But why take the risk? You have plenty of capable fighters here. If you wanted personal security, all you had to do was say so, and a willing knight would be assigned to you." Duke waved his hand dismissively.

"And would he listen to me?" Eliz asked curiously.

Both father and mother furrowed their brows in confusion. "Of course, he would," Mother said.

"And whose orders would he obey more likely? Mine or father's?" Eliz asked next.

Mother looked at Eliz curiously. "Your father, naturally."

Now Eliz raised her eyebrows significantly at them and said nothing. Her father shook his head. "Is that what you were going for? You wanted someone who would only listen to you? For what? Are you planning on rebelling against me?"

Eliz sighed, wishing she could sit down. This arguing was rather tiring, and today would be another stressful day.

"Of course not, father. I just wanted to be in control of my safety. Having family guards is like always having your eyes on my back. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to be on a romantic date and always feel like you're looking over my shoulder?" Eliz turned her head away dramatically.

She heard her father gasp. "It's only right, Elizabeth! You can't trust men!"

"It's so embarrassing, Dad!" Eliz protested, and her mother put her palm to her forehead, seeing that suddenly the whole conversation had taken a completely different direction.

"As your father, I must protect your purity!" objected the father, puffing out his chest.

"In that case, you will never see any grandchildren from me, and I shall die a shriveled virgin," Eliz said darkly.

The father was immediately gloomy again and then looked despairingly at his wife.

She sighed. "Elizabeth, stop tormenting your father."

Eliz shrugged. "I'm just telling you how things are. Talk to them if you have any doubts about the people I hired. We might as well have a little tournament against our knights so you can see they are more than capable of protecting me. You should make up your mind before you listen to the talk of others."

His parents squinted momentarily and communicated in the couple's language, that is, with their eyes only. Finally, the father nodded. "All right. We'll do that. But if we still don't like them, you'll have to get rid of them."

Eliz pursed her lips and stared at her father. "Fine, but only if you're really objective. If I find you haven't judged them fairly, the deal falls through, and I get to keep them despite your disapproval."

Her father narrowed his eyes, as Eliz suspected. That was probably what he was planning. "All right. I'll be there, dear. It will be fair," Mother said reassuringly.

She turned to her mother, and the mother put Eliz at ease. A mother can be objective.

"Now, what about the children? Why are they here?" the mother continued.

Eliz smiled slowly. "I kidnapped them," she said.

Her parents were stunned into silence for a moment. "Explain it, Elizabeth. And no jokes," her father warned, becoming serious again.

"They're street children. I've seen how a sneaky gang uses those poor kids to steal, and they haven't treated them well," Eliz told a little truth and a little lie.

"That doesn't sound like what the kids said," Mother said, raising an eyebrow at her story.

Eliz felt a little scared inside. Had she already talked to them? "The children don't even know they've been mistreated if they don't know anything else," Eliz defended herself quickly.

"They said you ambushed their gang and beat them up," her mother continued, and Eliz smiled weakly as she felt her father's burning gaze. She'd bet anything that Lila was telling everyone what an injustice had happened to them.

"Eliz, plenty of children in the world are the same. This isn't exactly like you," her mother continued.

Eliz sighed heavily. "What do I know? Maybe my maternal instincts are kicking in? I just suddenly felt the need to rescue them from the misery they were living in."

"Just like that?" Mother wondered.

Eliz glanced at her and saw that she was doubtful about what she was saying. She spread her hands in a clueless gesture. "I don't know what else to tell you. I just wanted to do it. Where's the problem? They're nobody's children. You don't have to worry about them; I'll get things done myself. I'll take them with me to the Blue Rose Estate anyway. I'll have them trained as servants or something."

"You don't even know?" Father sighed and shook his head.

"I just really didn't plan this whole thing. But now that I've rescued them, I will take responsibility for them. So you don't have to worry about that," Eliz insisted.

Father and Mother looked at each other again before nodding. "All right. Have it your way, then. But if anything happens, as their guardian, you're responsible," Father said, and Eliz quickly nodded.

"Naturally," Eliz agreed and then looked from one to the other for a moment before both parents sat back down, and Eliz sat back down, relieved. Was it finally over?

Her father clapped, and the door opened; the servants began to bring in the food.

"Now, Eliz, you're going to the Festival of Lights too, right?" Mother asked.

Eliz nodded, then paused. "Are you going too?" she asked slowly.

The mother smiled and looked at her husband. "Of course. Like every year. It's our day off to spend together as husband and wife."

Father smiled and nodded before looking at Eliz, and his eyes twinkled again. "And you're going with Hadfield, right?"

Eliz stared at her father momentarily before quickly turning to her mother. "Mother! You have to watch Father so he doesn't follow us!"

Her mother smiled cheerfully. "Hoho. I can't promise you anything."

"Ugh...." Eliz groaned.