(From Blue''s Perspective)


    I thought I would not break down in front of him and would be able to move on quickly. But I was wrong. It was not easy to forget.


    Dem''s words yesterday surprised me. He had been very considerate and stated that we would have a child in the future and that he would try to love it. He even promised it to me. I wished he would keep his word.


    This morning, I was nning to go to the magic tower. I needed to speak with Luc about something important. Perita was going to apany me. I had already told Dem about it the night before. He never stopped me from going to see Luc. Perhaps it was because Luc was our friend and he trusted him a lot, though he never admitted it.


    Dem and I usually talked about private stuff in front of only a few people like Perita, Ruby, and the beta Kenzo other than Luc. But they were not supposed to ask any more than that. And when I went to Luc, Perita always heard us talking about dark mages and ck mana. But she never could question it and never tell anyone about that. They were supposed to be punished if the word leaked from them.


    So, I could always take Perita with me. It was a good thing because Dem could not possibly apany me all the time.


    "Your Highness, are you ready to go?"


    "Why are you in such a hurry? I am painting Her Highness''s nails. It will take a while," Ruby barked.


    Just as I expected, she was giggling a lot when she came into my room yesterday in the evening. But when she noticed that I was in a bad mood, she stopped quickly. She always seemed to know what happened to me. So, she was the one who couldfort me in the most urate way.


    She was in a bad mood today. It was mostly because I had cried a lotst night and refused to tell her why this morning. She already knew it, but she wanted to hear it from me.


    Even though Ruby had done everything she could to reduce the puffiness, my eyes were still a little puffy. She gently pressed a towel soaked in cold water under and around my eyes, then ced cucumber slices on my eyes. I told her that it would not help much, yet she did it. She even massaged the area around my eyes.


    However, the puffiness did not go awaypletely, and anyone who looked at me closely would notice that I had cried. Because of my mood, I could not even meet Mother, Evelyn, Merrick, and Ava.


    Dem told them that I was sick. Though they did not mind, I still wanted to meet them as soon as possible. Well, Evelyn tried to sneak into my room to meet me because Dem was not letting her. But she got caught by Dem.


    "Why do you have to paint Her Highness''s nails right now? Her Highness is not going to a party," Perita grumbled.


    "... You won''t understand," Ruby muttered under her breath. "By the way, Your Highness, Lady Ava cried to meet you this morning."


    "What? Really?"


    "Yes, and His Highness told her something as well, so she cried even more."


    "I think he tried to calm her down, but it backfired," I mumbled. "Then change of n- I will meet Ava first, then I will go to Luc."


    I loved Ava a lot. She was such a cute little girl. She was smarter than her age and also liked me a lot. So, it was great to hang out with her.


    "I heard Lady Evelyn will be staying here for a month this time. Then Lady Evelyn and Lord Merrick will go to travel again. I am not sure if they will take Lady Ava with them as well," Ruby said.


    "I will keep Ava with me. Dem said they will listen and like it as well if I want Ava to stay with me. Then they will be able to enjoy their journey to the fullest. And besides, Ava likes to stay with me as well. It won''t be a problem," I said. "...


    Well, isn''t Sapphire sleeping for a bit too long? She has not budged for a while..."


    I nced at Sapphire. She had been tired these days a lot and kept sleeping almost all the time. I wondered if she was alright.


    "Perita, can you bring Sapphire to me?"


    "But she hates me, Your Highness," Perita said.


    "She is sleeping. She won''t know..."


    Perita carried Sapphire to me with care. I examined her while holding her in my arms. She opened her eyes slightly, but she still appeared tired. She snuggled back into my arms and closed her eyes once more.


    "What''s wrong with her? She doesn''t have a fever or something, right?" I mumbled.


    "Should I take her to Doctor Bernard?" Ruby asked.


    Doctor Bernard was in charge of the health of the Imperial Pce''s horses. In a nutshell, he was a veterinarian. He was a veterinarian in one word. I had not met him yet, just heard of him.


    "I will take her there. Luc is probably sleeping now. He likes to sleep in the morning. I will just go to him after a few hours then," I said.


    "Then Your Highness has a busy day ahead of you today. You will first meet Lady Ava, then take Sapphire to Doctor Bernard, and finally to the magical tower. Your Highness is also scheduled to dine with Her Highness, the former Queen. Your Highness also is supposed to have tea with Lady Evelyn in the afternoon. In the evening. Your Highness will take care of the remaining documents in the evening.


    Then you have a dinner reservation with His Highness at the well-known Moonlight Diner. Oh my goodness, there are so many things to do..."


    "Haha, don''t worry. It won''t be that hard," Iughed and Ruby sighed.


    I had already finished my swordsmanship practice. So, it was out of the to-do list. I had gone to practice at five in the morning and practiced for three hours. It was tiring to wake up that early in the morning. But I was determined to do it.


    Dem was worried that I was pushing myself too hard. But I managed to convince him in the end. He was the one who woke me up this morning.


    Dem practiced with his soldiers in the morning and alone in the evening. We never crossed paths unless I went there to watch him. I never went to watch him in the morning because he was surrounded by soldiers. But sometimes, I would go to watch him in the evening.


    After Ruby was finished with the nails on my left hand, I waited a bit for the paint to dry. The paint dried pretty quickly. It was perhaps because of the ingredients used to make it.


    I ced the formal coat over my shoulders. It was a ck coat with golden patterns. The same type of coat Demetrius wore as well.


    I left for Ava''s room with Sapphire in my arms. Sapphire was wearing a ck dress with golden patterns as well, matching my outfit. I had got them made by my personal tailor. Sapphire even had a small ck and gold bow on her head.


    "Your Highness takes care of the cat as if she is a child," Perita muttered.


    "I know, right?" I chuckled.


    Ava''s room was on the first floor. I made my way to her room. Her nanny was walking around the room with a sulky expression.


    "Your Highness!" she almost jumped up in surprise. "I didn''t expect..."


    "I havee to meet Ava," I said. "Is she in there?"


    "... Uh... Lady Ava is actually not eating anything..."


    "Why? What happened?" I asked.


    "Well, it''s just... Lady Ava wanted to meet Your Highness, but His Highness said that you were sick. His voice was a bit harsh, so Lady Ava cried... Now she is hiding under the nket and is refusing to eat anything. Her breakfast is still in her room..."


    "Ah, I see... I will go talk to her then," I said.


    "Alright, Your Highness," she bowed and opened the door for me.


    "I told you I won''t eat anything! I don''t want anything, nanny! Don''t force me...!" Ava yelled in her high-pitched voice from under her nket.


    "It''s not..."


    I motioned her nanny not to say anything. I slowly made my way to her bed and sat down beside her.


    "I told you I don''t want to...," she yelled, tossing her nket away from her face.. The moment she met me there instead of her nanny, she stopped midway.


    Her eyes were swollen and red. It was clear that she had cried for a long time. It broke my heart to see such a sweet child make that face.