Oren returned home faster than ever before to see Dien.
As he was about to step through the door, his gaze stopped at the walnut tree standing in the middle of the yard.
“I thought the gardener was going to cut it down today?”
Oren approached the gardener, who was trimming small branches in the corner, and asked, “Didn’t you say you were cutting the tree down today?”
The gardener’s response to Oren’s question was unexpected.
“Ah! Baron! That is… Young Lord Dien told me not to cut down the walnut tree. He asked me to just trim the side branches instead.”
“That boy said that?”
“Yes. He said it was a tree more important than anything else to the Baron and himself. He said he didn’t need a training ground, so I must never touch it.”
“Is that so?”
Oren let out a hollow laugh at his words. ‘When did Dien realize how much I treasure this walnut tree?’
Just then, Dien appeared by Oren’s side.
“You’re home early?”
“I am.”
Dien and Oren smiled at each other. After a brief silence, Oren was the first to speak.
“…You went there.”
“Yes… I went last night.”
As he thought! The flowers left at Kanae’s grave had been placed there by Dien. To think that young Dien remembered the flowers Kanae loved… Oren was pleasantly shocked.
“Didn’t you say you were practicing your swordsmanship last night?”
“Hahaha… well.”
Dien scratched his head awkwardly, stealing a glance at Oren.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Actually, since you didn’t mention the anniversary, Father… I thought you might have forgotten it.”
“Then you could have been the one to mention the anniversary was approaching.”
Dien hesitated for a moment at Oren’s words, still gauging his father’s reaction.
“Because it’s a sad day. I was hesitant to speak, fearing my words might touch your painful memories again.”
This time, Oren could say nothing in response to Dien’s words.
‘When did he grow up so much…?’
His consideration for his father was remarkable. Moreover, he had perfectly tidied the grave, something he had never been taught. He had done it so well that Oren didn’t even need to lift a finger.
“Then why didn’t you cut down the walnut tree? I told the gardener to clear it out.”
“It’s a tree filled with memories of Mother. I can think of her when I look at it, so I didn’t want it cut down.”
“Did you really think that?”
“Yes.”
Oren bit his lip at Dien’s words. Why had he assumed he was the only one who remembered Kanae? For a while, Oren looked at Dien in silence.
“Father,” Dien called out in a low voice. “I will visit Mother often so she won’t be lonely. So please, leave the grave visits to me from now on.”
“No. There’s no need for that.”
“Father. To be honest, last night… I actually hoped you had forgotten Mother’s anniversary.”
“Why did you think that?” Oren frowned at Dien’s words.
“I only want you to be happy while thinking of Mother. I hate seeing you struggle with longing. I didn’t mention the anniversary because… I didn’t want to see you look sad.”
Had his longing for Kanae been that obvious even to Dien? Oren froze in place, unable to offer any rebuttal.
“So I’ve been thinking… I’d like you to make a new start, Father.”
“Ahem… I’ll take care of it.”
A new start. It was something he hadn’t even imagined. Oren cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable at Dien’s suggestion. Seeing him momentarily speechless from the surprise, Dien deliberately put on a stern, playful expression.
“Then I’ll take care of my own business as well.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m not going to get married either. When your son tries to set the mood and talk to you, you should at least pretend to consider it!”
At the sight of Dien acting that way, a smile finally bloomed on Oren’s lips.
“What? You rascal! A man needs to get married and start a family to find stability…”
“I told you I’d take care of it.”
“Now look here! You brat!”
“I won’t do it! Where would I go and leave you alone, Father? Just live with me for the rest of your life!”
“Dien.”
Oren raised his voice as if to scold him. However, his lips were curling upward. Oren couldn’t hide his twitching smile at Dien’s cute rebellion.
“Look at you, all grown up and talking back to your father!”
“Didn’t you know I was all grown up?”
“Oh, this won’t do. I’ll have to pick up the switch for the first time in a while today!”
Oren tried to grab Dien, but the boy quickly dodged his hand. Thus began a game of tag. The two ran around the yard for a long time. Eventually, Oren was the first to tire, and he plopped down on the spot, gasping for breath.
“…I’ll think about remarriage.”
Oren grinned at Dien, who had approached his side.
“Geez. This is something… I don’t know what to tell the Chancellor…”
As Oren lay down with a worried expression, Dien lay down beside him.
“The Chancellor? Did something happen between you two?”
“No. You don’t need to know.”
Oren smiled while soaking in the warm sunlight. He had promised to discuss a marriage alliance with Persian, but he wasn’t ready to let his precious son go just yet.
***
Dien’s face was full of energy as he headed to his office after entering the Royal Castle.
As soon as Dien’s face came into view, Vance rushed toward him. Before Dien could even sit down, Vance hurriedly started speaking.
“Young Lord, regarding the long-term construction project, I’m currently drafting a plan for the winter season. We write one every year, but I have a nagging feeling I might have missed something… I have to submit it for approval this morning, so I came looking for you in a hurry.”
“Let me check it for a moment.”
Vance spoke his business without even a brief greeting. Dien was now accustomed to Vance’s frantic nature. It was a frequent occurrence for him to seek Dien’s opinion first thing in the morning. Receiving the draft from Vance, Dien looked through it carefully.
“Hmm… Since falling object protection nets or safety shelves run the risk of collapsing when it snows, it would be better to remove them. The provision of snow removal materials seems sufficient, and for the embankment work, pore water might freeze and cause the ground to expand, so I think you just need to add a instruction to work with a gradient above the standard.”
Once again, Dien instantly pointed out things Vance hadn’t considered. It was a clean, perfect solution. Dien smiled brightly and handed the documents back to Vance.
“Wow… truly. Young Lord, you are…”
As always, Vance let out a series of endless exclamations toward Dien.
“I find myself relying on you more and more. At this rate, I won’t be able to do any work without you, will I?”
“Hahaha, that couldn’t possibly happen. You are very capable, Aide!”
In fact, Vance wasn’t the only aide seeking Dien’s opinion. Most of the aides in the Chancellor’s Office recognized Dien’s ability, and they came to see him every day to ask for his views.
Sometimes, it created a spectacle where aides would be lined up with documents on Dien’s way into the castle.
‘Things that are difficult for me seem like nothing to Young Lord Dien.’
Because Dien gave answers that exceeded expectations every time the aides asked, he was always incredibly popular.
“I see you haven’t been able to make it into your office today either!”
Persian, who was heading to his office, burst into a boisterous laugh upon seeing Dien and Vance.
“I feel like Aide Vance is in front of my office every single day!”
Since Dien was often caught by the aides and delayed from entering the office, Persian had been keeping an eye on the situation.
“Hahaha. Good morning, Chancellor!” Vance greeted with a loud, cheeky voice in response to Persian’s joke. He maintained a bold attitude even under Persian’s watchful gaze.
“Aide Vance! My aides, who should be experts in their duties, keep asking a young lord who is still in successor training for help with their work. What do you think about this situation? From my perspective, it’s nothing short of deplorable!”
Vance stood up straight, startled by Persian’s words. His eyes darted around for a moment before he scratched his cheek and let out a hollow laugh.
“Hahaha, Chancellor… You, of all people, know the Young Lord’s capabilities best… Hahaha… I’ll be going now. Have a nice day!”
Vance laughed awkwardly and hurried away. In the past, he would have been breaking out in a cold sweat at Persian’s words, but as Persian gradually became more mellow, the aides often laughed off his remarks as jokes.
“Was Aide Vance always that sly?”
“It seems more and more officials are becoming comfortable around you, Chancellor.”
“Is this… a good thing?”
“Hahaha, there’s no better welfare for a subordinate official than a comfortable superior. And if you weren’t a good superior, your subordinates wouldn’t try to treat you comfortably. Don’t you feel your popularity rising among the aides lately?”
Just as Dien said, Persian could feel the loyalty of the officials increasing these days.
The biggest reason was that he had started personally taking care of the officials’ birthdays. Thanks to his growing popularity, he received warm welcomes from officials wherever he went in the Royal Castle.
“Hahaha, it’s all thanks to you…”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing, let’s go in!”
Dien raised an eyebrow, not quite catching what Persian meant, but Persian just smiled silently and opened the door to the office.
***
“It looks like Kuma of the Kandebara Merchant Group will likely be sentenced to a simple fine.”
“As expected.”
As usual, Persian brought up a casual topic first.
“You expected it?”
“Yes, I thought it would turn out roughly like that.”
Dien had also been hearing the news regarding the Kandebara Merchant Group through rumors.
The rumor was that the final judgment had been passed to the Enopoy Council. Since he guessed that the Enopoy elders and the Kandebara Merchant Group had a close relationship, it was easy to anticipate that a light punishment would be handed down.
“These things happen often when working, so try not to take it to heart.”
He spoke in a firm tone, but Persian’s eyes were carefully watching Dien’s reaction. Since Dien was the one who had uncovered the corruption of the Kandebara Merchant Group, Persian was worried he might be dissatisfied with the ruling.
However, Dien’s expression didn’t change at all.
“I don’t mind it in the least.”
“I see.”
Persian gave a small laugh, realizing his worry had been unnecessary. With Dien’s level of maturity, it was only natural that he wouldn’t be shaken by such a thing.
“Oh, right!” Persian continued, clapping his hands as if he had just remembered something. “You! Did you enter the thesis contest?”
“Hahaha. How did you know?”
“I heard it from a Secretary in the Department of Education! He reported it because a familiar name caught his eye. Hahaha, you really are amazing!”
“No matter what I do, it reaches your ears, Chancellor… This is starting to feel a bit burdensome!”
“Hahaha, shouldn’t I know what’s going on with my close associate? But it’s a bit of a shame… The papers have already been passed to the kingdom’s scholars… If it’s not too late, should I ask them to take a favorable look at your thesis?”
“No, please don’t do that!”
“Hahaha, alright! I understand.”
Hasman, the head of the Academy, had personally come to apologize to Dien not long ago. At the same time, he hadn’t held back his praise, saying it was a magnificent thesis the likes of which were rarely seen these days. He had given this praise in front of all the Academy students, which had made Dien quite embarrassed.
Rumors had already spread among the students of the noble Academy. He was already receiving chilly stares from students who weren’t pleased with his participation.
‘It’s already judging day.’
He had heard from Professor Helena that the thesis had been submitted. He also heard that a student from the noble Academy participating was drawing quite a bit of attention.
While he was lost in thought about the thesis, Dien felt Persian’s gaze fixed on him.
‘What is it?’
It was the expression Persian always made whenever he had something he absolutely had to say to Dien.
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