HCYPBTKIRWO Chapter 26

“It’s a snake’s leg.”

Where do snakes have legs? I looked at Mr. Harold again in amazement and tilted my head.

“I got it by accident while wandering the whole empire in search of rare materials when I was young. It is a rare item that only appears once in a hundred years.”

The moment I heard those words, my mouth widened even more.

“Hey, you are giving me something that precious?”

“I am a cook. Who would order snake leg stew? I had no use for it, so I just put it in a chest.”

“It would make a good profit if sold though…”

“I don’t need money as much as Miss Hazel, haha.”

Mr. Harold burst out laughing and added.

“Miss Hazel is a witch, so I’m giving it to you because I think it can be useful.”

Then, taking a deep breath of relief, Mr. Harold put his hat back on and took a step back.

"Hey, it's late. I’ll take my leave."

I said goodbye and shouted at Mr. Harold as he walked away.

“Tomorrow we can cook together in the kitchen.”

He nodded his head, said he would be waiting, and disappeared over the corner.

He had a light smile on his face. Maybe I have the same face now.

I have a long way to go before everyone believes in me. However, there is hope that it will be possible to move forward one step at a time.

***

(3rd person pov)

"Bye bye."

"Goodbye!"

Elliott looked at the children who saw him off in front of the mansion with a complicated mind.

‘What’s so different?’

It was so different from usual.

Luna poured out venomous comments asking if he's going again, and Luca said words of encouragement. It was originally a traditional ceremony for them to cry.

It was heartbreaking to see that and he felt sorry for the children, so there were times when he left without saying a word while they were sleeping.

Then it took another long time to come back and relieve the sad children.

It was like that last time, but they misunderstood that he threw them away and it led to them running away, so he decided to say goodbye this time...

'But why today?'

The children are smiling and waving like never before.

Obviously, this was a desirable situation, but why was it reassuring but also disappointing? His heart felt complicated when he even thought that his younger siblings had grown so much in just a few days.

The children did not know that Elliott was going to subjugate monsters. They only thought he was going to inspect the eastern border on the orders of the emperor.

He just never wanted the children who lost their parents to be terrified of losing their only blood.

So whenever he went out, he said various safe things as an excuse.

“Buy a present!”

As Luna ran around him, Elliott was in trouble. Was there anything he could bring as a souvenir from the monster subjugation?

'A monster horn?'

Hmm… It's not a souvenir, it's a loot.

Seeing his sister squeal, Luca's eyes twinkled as if he had a good idea, so he jumped and hung on Elliott's leg.

"Brother! Brother!"

"Huh? Do you want me to buy you a present too?"

“No…”

Luca twisted his body and sighed. And as his thumb was about to enter his mouth, Elliott took his tiny hand and brought himself to Luca’s eye level.

By observing the witch for the past few days, he had been following the behavior he had seen from her with the children.

“Then?”

“Come here…”

"Yes?"

"Let's play again."

The moment Luca whispered in his ear in a trembling voice, Elliott almost shed tears in front of hundreds of knights. However, he had to hold himself back as he couldn’t let others see that.

"Yes."

He felt himself choking up, barely squeezing his voice out. From the time the children ran away from home to this moment, there was something he had felt deeply: he had forgotten something as important to him as making sure his dear brother and sister were living safe and upright.

Elliott kissed their foreheads and vowed. When he returns from his subjugation, as the witch says, he will spend more time with these children.

Let the children feel loved.

***

(1st person pov)

As the guards and maids she ran into in her hallway were polite, Luna nodded her head to greet them. Her smile and nod was noble and relaxed like a swan gliding over the water.

“Oh my, it’s good to see you, Grand Princess, today.”

As she spoke with honorifics, Luna gracefully moved her steps calmly and spoke to me.

“No matter how hungry I am, the head of the Grand Duke can’t run around in ignorance.”

Luna has been immersed in the game of 'The Head of the Dukedom' these days.

This was thanks to what she had done a few days ago when she saw the duke off.

“Your Excellency.”

After saying goodbye, I grabbed the Archduke and secretly asked him to talk. Hearing my whisper, he hesitated, then replied with a questionable look.

“Luna is still young.”

"I'm not really asking you to give her the power of the head of state. But you could appoint her only as the honorary head of state."

"Why?"

“Then, won't Her Highness be a little more dignified while the duke is away? And she will feel proud that you believe in her.”

The day before, while observing Luna playing with the duke, I realized something.

“Luna likes to be formal and receive her duties like an adult. You saw her last night.”

She must have particularly liked the way he spoke, as if she was dealing with knights, when the winner of the match was decided at the table. Because she followed his tone the whole time she played.

“If I appointed her as head of state, would she try to lift the limit of one piece of chocolate a week?”

"I'll take care of it myself. Come on."

Eventually, the Duke accepted my request. He knelt in front of Luna, grabbed her shoulder, and spoke in a solemn voice.

"Princess Lunabelle Blaine."

"Huh?"

Luna seemed quite surprised when her surname and title were suddenly called together. Her hand, which was playing with Luca, stopped suddenly and her eyes became round like candy.

"In my absence, you are the head of the duchy. It is in your hands to protect the family, so please don't forget your responsibility and keep the honor of the family, and as a head of the family, set an example for the prince and the employees."

Luna's playful eyes turned serious at that moment.

It's cliche to say, "please don't make any trouble and set an example for your brother." However, it was good words to listen to as long as the nagging was well spoken.

Luna gladly accepted the order of the Duke, as if swallowing the bitter medicine coated with sweet sugar.

So, of course, as soon as the duke left, she tried to immediately remove the rule, "one piece of chocolate a week!".

"Oh, dear... The head of the duchy must not be tempted by chocolate."

"But...”

Sir Daniel, who was watching from the side, kicked his tongue and helped me.

"The first step of the new head of the family is to control personal greed… I'm disappointed, Your Highness."

The words made Luna’s eyes shake.

"Sir Daniel is right. Then if the people outside or the employees bribe you with chocolates, the head will listen to everything."

"Sigh...that the head of the duchy is an easy person to fall for a piece of chocolate…”

"No! I’m not easy to fall for chocolate!"

Luna shouted with an angry face, and raised her chin with her arms folded tightly.

"In a world full of conspiracies and tricks...”

Where did you learn how to say that?

"To protect the duchy, I must act like the head."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Wow! You're so cool, Your Highness!"

"Of course!"

It was a moment of relief that Luna's abuse of power was prevented safely.

"Well, then, in commemoration of becoming the head of the family, I'll give everyone a piece of chocolate."

"All of us?"

As expected, seeing her smile, everyone received a piece of chocolate, including herself and Luca.

Oh, you’re too smart!

Eventually, I had to give them a piece of chocolate that day.

Still, the effect of giving her an honorary position was good. It has greatly reduced the number of times they go around alone or do unexpected things against the rules.

However, when she made a harsh remark, it was not effective at all. For she would say "shouldn't I say the right words and the right time?" sarcastically.

I said it was a bad and unpleasant habit to be sarcastic...

This, in any case, was the duke's fault. When he gets back, I'll have to have a serious talk about the duke's linguistic habits.

As lunch time approached, we headed to my room.

“Wow!”

As I opened the closet door, the children ran into the hut excitedly. Lady and Daisy, who were taking a nap in the living room, raised their heads in surprise.

"Doggy, hello!"

After watching it in the morning, the children hugged Lady and Daisy as if they had not seen each other for over a day.

“Meow.”

Luna already rummaged through the cupboard looking for her lunch for Daisy.

Sir Daniel, who had been standing in front of the closet with a dissatisfied face, followed and closed the door, and Luna shouted.

"Oh, Sir Daniel!"

“Yes, Your Majesty the Princess.”

“What kind of absurd thing is it to sneak into a closet because a lady’s room isn’t enough?”

As Luna teased him, Sir Daniel's long sigh could be heard crossed the hut.

Note: Advance release are stopped for once this uploads to chapter 31 it'll be dropped.