# 65
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She blinked and looked at the maid.
There was no annoyance or hesitation in her eyes.
When I saw that it only contained worry, remorse and a slight feeling of guilt, I slowly nodded.
“Yes, the doctor said I can move now.”
“I'm really happy.”
The maid who said that smiled awkwardly and turned around to let me pass.
I also slowly passed through the hallway with a strange expression on my face.
Although I had been somewhat expecting this since the room had been moved, the attitude of the staff working in the Capital Palace had obviously changed.
The maids who cleaned my room or brought me meals treated me with great care, and although the food served was in the manner of a patient, it was prepared with care, balanced nutrition, and taste.
Although the favoritism was obvious and undeserved treatment was given to a single maid, no one showed dissatisfied eyes or angry attitude as before.
It would be more accurate to say that none of the users I disliked were visible.
'Am I an easy person?'
Although they didn't harass me directly, they were people who knew me but pretended not to know what happened to me and ignored me.
Now that they were giving me an apologetic face, I felt relieved.
'If that's the case, he's no different from the brat that Loeb mentioned.'
I could see before my eyes a face shaking its head and asking: Why are you still like this even though I taught you not to trust people easily? Apparently being next to the friendly Duchess made me feel vulnerable as well.
'Hmm? However, it is still good. …’
It doesn't look bad.
I still think Bianca is the most wonderful person in the world, but I also wanted to emulate the Duchess's sweet, warm side.
“Kyo, kyoh! Well, it doesn’t matter if you want to be like me.”
I pressed my flushed cheek with the back of my hand and walked up the stairs with light steps.
* * *
“Why did you ask for my presence like that?”
Lucio looked at the Duke and Duchess, Aline and Diana huddled together and looked puzzled.
“Is this what you wanted to talk about last time?”
“Sit down first.”
The Duke, looking a little nervous, cleared his throat briefly and asked suddenly.
“By the way, Lucio, when will you be returning to the academy? You said you’ll be here for a while, but you’ll be staying longer than expected.”
“...I'll almost be back, preparations for the festival are in full swing now, so it's no problem if I don't go.”
“Ah, is it already festival season?”
“Haaa.”
Lucio took a moment to catch his breath and then spoke.
“If you have time, you can come to this Academy Festival, and it would be fun to watch if you bring Allen and Diana as well.”
“...yeah?”
The Duchess, who didn't know she was talking to herf, asked in confusion as Lucio looked at her and waited for an answer.
“Is this okay?”
"naturally."
The Duchess smiled brightly at the immediate response.
When the Duke saw this, he suddenly spoke.
“I'm busy so I can't go.”
"I know."
This time too, the Duke frowned at the immediate answer.
The Duchess smiled slightly when she looked at that.
Entry to the Imperial Academy was strictly restricted except for students and faculty, except in special cases, so there was no need to visit it outside of the festival period.
Given Lucio's personality, I didn't think he would be very happy about his family coming, so I thought I could take a look around the academy during the graduation ceremony, but I was surprised and grateful that he asked me to come first.
The Duchess felt very sorry when the thought occurred to her that perhaps Lucio wanted to communicate with them and his younger brothers, but was unable to do so because they were in the Duchy.
“Cho, hummoom.”
At that, the Duke gave me a look that seemed to wonder how long he could indulge in emotion.
The Duchess asked, and only then did she remember why she had invited all the siblings today.
“Do you want to do that, or do you want me to do that?”
"you tell me."
Since I was discussing with him to ask for his opinion and not to force him, I thought it would be better for my soft wife to speak instead of my harsh f.
The Duchess seemed to think so too, so she nodded and spoke carefully.
“Lucio, Allen, Diana we have something important to tell you, related to our family.”
“Please speak.”
"What is it?"
Not only Lucio and Allen, but even Diana blinked and showed interest.
The Duchess swallowed nervously and opened her mouth.
“You all know Leah is a good and kind girl, right?”
“Hmph! It seems a bit stupid, but okay...”
“Allen.”
When the Duke stopped him lightly, Allen frowned with his lips.
The Duke shook his head lightly as he looked at Allen, who was two years older than Leia but looked much younger.
The Duchess continued talking again.
“I thought a lot about this incident, how Leah was hurt and bullied because she was a commoner orphan.”
“That was unfair!”
“Yes, just like you said, Allen, but there's no guarantee that something similar won't happen again when Leia gets out.”
"with what?"
“Yes, from now on, we will make sure that such a thing will never happen within the Duchy.”
The Duchess was late.
Allen jumped, who seemed to not understand for a moment.
“Are you going to fire her?”
“No, that's not all, Leah might want to leave.”
"prattle !"
Allen shouted excitedly.
“A little girl like her wouldn't last a day if I went out! And with how well I treated her and Diana, why would she want to leave?”
Allen thought that could never happen.
However, remembering Leia's words that they could leave at any time, the Duke and Lucio had no choice but to remain silent.
“You don't know what Leah is thinking.”
The Duchess asked softly, calming the excited Allen.
“So, what will it be like to welcome Leah into our family?”
“That means...”
“I want to officially adopt Leia, so I want to pass on the last name Elad and make her a member of the Duke family so she can live proudly without anyone looking down on her.”
The person who answered Lucio's question is the Duke of Elad.
He spoke more firmly than ever and remembered the first time he met Leia.
At first, I thought she was a child with a mysterious presence and not really noticeable.
But the moment she went missing, I kept worrying, maybe because she was the child I met.
She was such a cute baby that when I saw him, I felt like I wanted to take care of her even more.
The Duke thought of Leia, who was always busy playing with Diana, but when my wife and I appeared, she quietly retreated to the wall and looked at them.
Maybe because he grew up so quickly, but it was natural for him to be envious and jealous of Diana who was enjoying and enjoying everything, but it was heartbreaking to see him calmly accept the situation.
“So at first, I simply tried to be a shepherd...”
After what happened a few days ago, the moment I found out that Leah insisted on working as a maid with the intention of leaving at any time, I couldn't leave her alone anymore.
I wanted to become a real protector for a child who had not yet received proper protection from adults.
Then my wife said.
〈Can't we be Leah's parents?〉
The moment the Duchess mentioned the adoption, the Duke realized that he had wanted to do this ever since he decided to take the baby from Dar es Salaam.
Since I am not the biological parent, you may not be able to fill the child's empty heart to the end, but if you can be a strong fence that you can trust and rest comfortably, that is enough.
After thinking for a while, the Duke looked at his children's faces to see their reactions.
Lucio was expressionless as always, and Allen looked puzzled, perhaps surprised.
And Diana...
“What is adoption?”
He tilted his head and opened his eyes wide.
“Leia will become Diana's real sister.”
"Really my sister? Are you still Diana's sister?"
The Duke burst out laughing, tilting his head as if he did not understand what the Duchess was saying.
“Our Diana really loves Leia.”
"Yes! I love her!"
The Duke smiled happily when he saw Diana raising her hands in the air, saying that she loved him as much as heaven and earth.
“I think Diana would agree.”
The Duke looked at Lucio and Aline as if all that was left was your answer.
“If you all agree, Leia will become your younger sister.”
“Ah…little sister?”
Allen scratched his head as if he was completely embarrassed by this situation.
It was then.
“I don't like it.”
“...huh?”
“I oppose the adoption of this child.”
The Duke, taken aback by the unexpected opposition, was uncharacteristically speechless and closed his eyes.
The Duchess, who was seeing it, asked instead.
“What is the reason?”
“I only have one sister, Diana.”
Allen, who blinked at Lucio's words, also raised his hand.
"Me too! Diana is enough to be my little sister!"
The Duke felt embarrassed when the atmosphere suddenly changed and he was about to say something.
“Yes, if that is your will, there is nothing we can do.”
The Duchess spoke to her husband, and settled the situation as if she wanted to stop the Duke.
“It's something you can't force, it's something you accept as a family, but if one person objects, you can never have a good relationship.”
"but !"
The Duke, who was about to refute, appeared frustrated, but kept his mouth shut in the end.
Because there was nothing wrong with what my wife said.
Since they hadn't asked Leia in the first place, it was fortunate that the matter had been decided at this point.
However, it was true that he felt a little dissatisfied, so the Duke secretly stared at Lucio.