Chapter 155
* * *
When I returned from the palace, my father was coming out of the mansion.
Since my bags were already packed, there was nothing more for me to prepare.
I ran up to my father.
“Are we leaving now?”
“Yes.”
Father smiled and ruffled my hair.
Behind him, my uncle was there to see us off.
With a face full of gratitude, my uncle said to my father,
“Thanks to you, we overcame a great crisis. Thank you, Daymond.”
Father just nodded slightly without any words of humility.
‘He really is cool.’
Once we got into the carriage together, Father glanced at my hands.
He seemed curious about what I was holding.
“What is that?”
“The Empress Dowager gave it to me. She said to enjoy these until the real gift arrives.”
What I held were the treats the ladies-in-waiting had eagerly fed me.
Cakes and cookies from the palace pâtissier.
They gave them to me, saying they didn’t want to send me off empty-handed.
While these treats were delicious, I was more interested in the real gift.
‘I wonder what she’ll send me?’
My heart raced.
The anticipation is always the best part of a gift.
“What do you mean by the real gift?”
Since everything happened so quickly, I didn’t have time to explain to my father.
‘He would feel left out if he didn’t know what even Grandpa knows.’
I quickly explained what had transpired between me and the Empress Dowager, omitting the part about me deliberately obtaining the painting to approach her.
Father nodded.
“Maybe you’re as lucky as people say. Well done. Your grandfather will be pleased.”
I thought to myself as I looked at my naive father.
‘Dad, there are no coincidences. Everything is inevitable.’
* * *
The next day, at the ducal mansion.
Of all days, the day after returning from the capital was an exam day.
Rather than eating the desserts I received from the Empress Dowager’s palace alone, I shared them with the nearby children.
The children savored each bite, marveling at the taste.
“What is this? It’s so delicious…!”
“I thought our castle’s pâtissier was the best. I didn’t know such a new world existed!”
Seeing the children so happy made me feel proud too.
While the kids were engrossed in eating the desserts, I slipped away.
‘With the bait set, they won’t notice I’m gone for a while.’
I went to the back garden to check on something.
‘Good.’
After confirming, I nodded and returned to the children.
As expected, none of them noticed I had slipped away.
They were all too absorbed in the desserts, each bite eliciting exclamations of delight.
‘Is it really that good?’
I probably should have accepted more when they offered.
* * *
Everyone gathered at the training ground for the exam.
It was a practical training session in the advanced education room.
Riantine sighed heavily with a gloomy face.
She always lost to the direct descendants in practical training due to her lack of a proper blessing.
On the other hand, Deianira was thriving.
Deianira’s blessing was <Herculean Strength>.
In close combat, anyone could have their skull crushed by Deianira.
However, Deianira… was not good at studying. At all.
Beeeeep!
The whistle blew, and the match began.
It was Balzac versus Geoffrey.
Boom!
Crash!
Balzac, with his physical strength blessing, attacked Geoffrey with a bored expression.
‘Hmm, this one is a no-brainer.’
In the blink of an eye, Balzac defeated Geoffrey.
“Ah! I’m bleeding, I’m bleeding!”
Geoffrey screamed, pointing at his wound with his finger.
‘Oh dear.’
He was barely injured, but he was making a huge fuss.
‘What a baby.’
To get that little injury from a match with Balzac, he must have gone easy on him.
You’d get more hurt just from tripping.
As Geoffrey continued to make a fuss, his attendant came and carried him away.
‘Who’s next against Balzac?’
It wasn’t Joshua, that’s for sure.
Joshua didn’t participate in practical training at the training ground.
Joshua’s blessing was <Compression>.
<Compression> was an area-of-effect ability that compressed the surrounding space, inevitably destroying the training ground whenever he used it.
Since he couldn’t participate in practical training, he was exempt.
As I wondered who was next, my name was called.
“Next is Lady Loreina and Lady Erylotte!”
Loreina, who was on the opposite side, smirked.
She was smiling, but it was definitely not a positive smile.
Understandable.
‘She’s Geoffrey’s older sister, after all.’
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