#2

“Oh dear.”

Lupe sounded genuinely sympathetic.

Leonia, on the other hand, merely scratched her philtrum with her pinky and kept a flat expression.

‘Still, that completes the narrative of the rebellion.’

To the public, the recent uprising had been pinned on the Viscount of Olor and his son. But there were too many holes in that theory to pass as convincing.

For instance—how had a mere Viscount mustered so many troops?

To patch such holes, Leonia decided to insert Prince Alis into the plot. With this, the Olor Rebellion could be spun as an attempt to place Prince Alis on the imperial throne.

‘No need to feel sorry for him.’

Even now, the memory made her scoff internally.

‘He was in on it the whole time.’

Prince Alis had known about the rebellion by House Aust and Meridio and acted in place of Consort Usia, who couldn’t move freely.

He had no right to complain about being punished.

So Leonia devised a punishment that Prince Alis would loathe most: she bestowed upon him the title and surname of “Olor,” which he hated more than anything.

But there was another scheme hidden within this.

It was meant to raise the prince’s standing—and help him distance himself from the late emperor’s shadow.

‘His biggest issue is his face.’

Prince Chrisetos resembled the late emperor far too much. The prejudice against appearances was stronger than expected, and many doubted his ability to govern for that reason alone.

His greatest goal was to escape his father’s infamous legacy.

That’s why they used Prince Alis.

Chrisetos had presented himself as a gentle brother who spared Alis’s life and exiled him instead, granting a hollow noble title as punishment.

By deliberately assigning him the surname “Olor,” it publicly reinforced that Alis was culpable in the rebellion, and also made it clear that the crown prince was no pushover.

After all, the future emperor couldn’t afford to seem soft.

“...Good luck.”

So the North wouldn’t need to get involved again.

Leonia ended her brief encouragement flatly and returned the letter to its envelope.

“About the compensation payments—”

And just like that, as if she’d never offered support at all, Leonia handed the letter over to Lupe. He quickly skimmed the contents.

“The Imperial Court says they’ll be sending someone.”

“They said they’d contact us separately, so we’ll wait for that.”

“Then we’ll have the damage reports prepared in advance.”

“Oh dear, just thinking about it makes my shoulders tense and my head throb...”

“I’ll mark psychological damages as top priority.”

Lupe quickly sorted his tasks in his head.

Leonia finally understood why Ferio was so generous with Lupe. He was just that competent—so competent that his occasional sass could be overlooked.

‘This is how it works,’

‘This is why boss-secretary stories are so popular.’

Once again, Leonia felt vindicated for shipping Ferio and Lupe together as a child.

“Would you like to take a break?”

Just as Leonia’s delusions started flapping their pervy wings again, Lupe’s voice reached her ears.

“You’ve been working for quite a while.”

“Oh, have I...?”

Leonia glanced at her wristwatch and was startled. Far more time had passed than she realized. Lunch was right around the corner.

“Then I guess I’ll rest a bit!”

“Thank you for your hard work this morning.”

“Good job, Mister Lupe!”

Leonia stretched as she walked down the hallway after leaving the office.

“Uuuugh!”

Every time she stretched her stiff body, a groan slipped out.

Maybe office work just wasn’t for her. Maybe she should go back to finishing that doujin she abandoned in another world. With random thoughts swirling in her head, Leonia made her way toward Ferio’s bedroom.

‘I wonder if Mom’s still in there?’

Her hand paused just before she pushed the door open.

That morning, when she’d stopped by to check on him, Ferio had been clinging to Varia like a bear. No matter how much Varia squirmed, he wouldn’t budge.

“......”

Leonia hesitated, then knocked.

“Dad? Mom?”

Just in case, she called out to them.

As expected—

“W-Wait! Just give us a sec!”

“Count to ten before coming in!”

Varia’s flustered voice. Ferio’s unbothered one.

“...Forget it.”

Keep doing whatever you were doing.

The little beast shook her head and turned away.

‘It’s decided.’

Leonia firmed her resolve.

‘I’ll raise Muscle myself.’

This household was clearly not a suitable environment for a child to grow up in.

***

The chaos in the capital now felt like little more than a prelude.

Back in the North, the Voreoti family was finally enjoying a stretch of peaceful, happy days—as if being compensated for all their recent hardships.

They barely even remembered what had happened in the capital.

Sure, Leonia would occasionally mutter blasphemous curses out the window at the Northern Mountains, but overall, things were good.

As happiness grew, so did Varia’s belly.

“Woooow...”

One lazy afternoon—

“He’s really growing.”

In a cozy living room warmed by a crackling fireplace, Leonia admired Varia’s belly. It had noticeably rounded since their time in the capital.

“This little brat, saying annoying things.”

Ferio clicked his tongue softly.

Recently, the beastly father and daughter had been constantly hovering near Varia, eager to touch her belly or talk to it. As «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» a result, Varia hadn’t had a moment to herself.

“Hi, Muscle?”

Leonia’s tone was a bit awkward as she greeted the unborn baby.

“...Yeah. Hey, Muscle.”

Ferio’s voice, in contrast, sounded resigned.

He had finally accepted that “Muscle” was the official prenatal nickname. With the two most powerful people in the house insisting on it, there wasn’t much he could do.

His only consolation was that maybe, thanks to the nickname, the baby would grow up strong and healthy.

And honestly, the name had started to sound kinda cute.

“Don’t make things hard for Mom, okay?”

“Yeah, don’t make it hard for her!”

Leonia echoed Ferio’s words. Ferio patted his daughter’s head.

“But Mom, aren’t you having morning sickness?”

“Hmm...”

Varia placed her hand on her belly and thought carefully.

“Not really?”

She couldn’t recall anything she’d truly call morning sickness.

“I guess I lost my appetite for a bit while we were in the capital. Maybe that was it.”

“Wow, you’re so lucky, Mom!”

Leonia was overjoyed that her mom had it easy. She promptly praised the baby in her belly.

“Aww, our little Muscle!”

She puckered her lips and planted kisses all over the bump. Ferio stared at her, dumbfounded, before chuckling. Varia smiled too.

“Leo’s birthday is coming up.”

Varia said gently.

Leonia grinned wide.

“What are you going to get me? What’s my present?”

“You greedy little thing hasn’t changed a bit.”

“Well, that’s because you raised me this way, Dad.”

“You never lose a single word, do you?”

Ferio shot her a sidelong glance as she continued her shamelessness.

But the truth was, Ferio and Varia had already picked out her birthday present. Her designated gift room was already filled with surprise items they’d snuck in over the past few weeks.

And Leonia knew it.

“Is there anything you want in particular?”

Varia tucked a loose strand of Leonia’s hair behind her ear and asked.

“Well then...!”

Just as Leonia’s eyes widened and she was about to speak—

“No.”

Ferio cut her off. Leonia glared daggers at him.

“Listen first before you say no!”

“You were going to ask to see the princess.”

Leonia flinched in shock.

“Wait—can you read minds?!”

“You poor, transparent girl.”

Ferio curled his lips in smug victory. Leonia was already in the palm of his hand.

“Over my dead body.”

“That line was supposed to be limited to tight training clothes!”

“No dating. No marriage.”

“Then what if I throw some fireplace soot instead of dirt in your eye?”

“Absolutely not!”

Their peaceful family afternoon ended with Varia scrambling to stop Leonia from actually heading for the fireplace.

And a few days later—

“Happy birthday!”

“Happy birthday, Young Lady!”

“Happy birthday to you!”

Leonia turned fourteen amid a grand celebration.

“Happy birthday.”

“We’re so grateful you were born.”

Ferio and Varia each kissed her on the cheek with love. Leonia blushed fiercely and covered her face with both hands.

When she lowered them, the happiest child in the world smiled back.

Leonia received heartfelt congratulations from so many people.

And with that, she firmly secured her place as Voreoti’s heir.

Before the entire northern aristocracy, Ferio officially declared Leonia the next Duke. Varia also referred to her unborn child as “Leonia’s younger sibling,” “the second,” making it clear the baby posed no threat to Leonia’s succession.

Even the hardcore noble families of the North celebrated Leonia’s birthday while bowing in respect to their future ruler.

Even Marquis Pardus, a member of the pro-Emperor faction, bowed deeply.

With that, the North recognized Leonia as the next Duke of Voreoti.

“I was so happy...” 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

It was a night too wonderful to sleep.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep tonight.”

Lying in bed, Leonia kicked up her blankets. The fluttering cloth mirrored her fluttering heart.

“Did you enjoy it?”

Varia gently brushed Leonia’s bangs aside. Ferio, sitting beside them, was smiling with pride.

The two of them were fulfilling their daughter’s birthday wish to stay by her side until she fell asleep.

“...I was happy. So happy.”

Leonia beamed, then her voice trailed off.

“But it felt a little empty without Bboompbboomi.”

“It felt so refreshing without her, actually.”

“Ferio.”

Varia shot him a glare. Her heart ached every time she remembered how Leonia kept glancing at the banquet hall doors.

“It’s late. Go to sleep.”

Ferio remained unshaken.

“You grow better when you sleep early.”

He tucked the blankets snugly around her. Leonia pouted and ruffled them just to be difficult. Ferio, however, raised them again to her neck.

“Well, tomorrow is Lupi’s birthday!”

The day after Leonia’s birthday was Lupi’s.

Even before he was born, the little wolf cub had been fated to become Leonia’s secretary. She had already prepared an amazing birthday gift for him.

“Today was really the happiest.”

Leonia whispered.

“But from now on, I’ll be even happier.”

The little beast knew better than anyone that greater happiness was coming.

‘So it’s time to prepare.’

Next year, Leonia would enroll in the Academy. She would live in the capital for several years, away from her family—and away from her yet-to-be-born sibling.

“That’s why I made a decision!”

Leonia declared boldly, trying to stay awake.

“Leo, aren’t you going to sleep yet?”

Ferio grumbled.

“Dad! Mom!”

Leonia made an official announcement.

“I’m going to name the baby!”

“Yeah, no.”

Ferio instantly rejected it.

“...Pfft.”

The once-spirited little beast fell asleep, utterly deflated.