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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Petra Fever
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"Ahh! I almost had it!"
"This round's my win."
"Miss! You just touched that stone!"
The clacking of pebbles rolling everywhere mingled with cheerful laughter.
Spurred on by Max's antics, the hesitant onlookers had thrown themselves into the Petra game, one after another.
Max had long since fled the scene, so there were no more troublemakers. The atmosphere had turned warm and lively in an instant.
I got swept up in the mood too, showing off my old skills from back in the day and racking up points effortlessly.
Akid murmured softly, watching me with curiosity.
"You play like you've done this a lot."
"Oh, I just pick things up quickly, no matter what it is."
I winced inwardly and made an awkward excuse. I'd gotten too carried away without realizing it.
I deliberately fumbled a stone to pass my turn, and Akid spoke up.
"Did the maids teach you?"
"Yep. They were keeping this fun game all to themselves."
I shot Hanna a glare, and she pouted innocently, her lips flapping silently.
Akid chuckled at the sight.
"It's nice seeing you so close with the maids."
"I want to get that close with you too, Akid."
Like, sharing a bed, for instance.
I flashed a bright smile, hiding my naughty thoughts.
Right now, we slept in separate rooms, so I had no idea what Akid did once he went back to his.
How wonderful would it be to start every morning gazing at his sleepy face?
Just seeing that would be all the nourishment I needed—no supplements required.
Akid's eyes widened, as if my words had caught him off guard.
Like he never expected the conversation to turn back to him so suddenly. I grinned and said,
"I want to get even closer to you than we are now."
Honestly, our distance felt less like husband and wife and more like childhood friends.
Truth be told, I had plenty of gripes about our separate sleeping arrangements.
I mean, we'd been married for over a year—how had we never shared a bed even once?
Of course, it was probably out of consideration for the young Grand Duke Heir and his consort, but this was seriously inconvenient.
"I see..."
Akid bowed his head, his expression inscrutable. His ears seemed a little red, too.
That adorable look stirred a sadistic urge to tease him more, but surely that wasn't weird of me.
We were deep into our Petra session when conversations broke out everywhere, naturally steering toward the festival events.
"I hear they're doing the seed-sowing event this time too. Have you been?"
"I went right at the opening. The sky lanterns filled with seeds floating up there were so pretty."
"Oh my! They send the seeds up into the sky?"
"Isn't it amazing? I never knew planting seeds could be that fun."
Just then, talk of the seed lanterns came up, and I barely kept myself from jumping up in excitement.
'Mother chose my idea after all.'
The reactions had seemed lukewarm, so I thought it might get scrapped, but they'd made it happen.
I couldn't go myself, but I felt proud anyway, my lips curving up uncontrollably.
"They say they use magic stones to guide the seeds. There are even lanterns that plant them right into the cleared land."
"As expected from Delus with all those magic stone mines—the event's on another level."
"And that's not all. Think of the manpower to make those magic tools. The artificers in Hadellus must be pretty skilled."
They turned it into an artifact?
I was newly impressed by Elena's resourcefulness in turning my rough idea into a proper festival item.
To be fair, I'd only provided the concept; she and the retainers had done all the real work.
'Wind control must be tricky, so they made it into a magic tool that flies freely even in the sky.'
With time so short, designing and crafting something like that meant Hadellus Castle had some impressive... money-making slaves—no, loyal retainers.
'Looks like it helped more than I thought. I want to see it for myself.'
Half thrilled, half wistful, I munched on a snack.
It was a big event, so the magic-bloomed Delus flowers must be everywhere.
I was eavesdropping on the young ladies' chatter, swinging my feet excitedly under the table, when Akid leaned in to whisper,
"Do you want to go too, Roena?"
He must've overheard from the next table and mistaken my thrilled expression for longing. A date invite was tempting, but I didn't want to rush into danger.
My life goal was to soak in the sight of Akid's face healthily until the end.
"No. With Delus flowers everywhere, it'd be a nightmare."
"You don't have to go all the way there."
Akid grinned, like he knew exactly what worried me.
I gave him a puzzled look, and he added gently,
"I know a spot where you can watch the seed lanterns launch from afar."
"Oh."
"Just viewing from a distance—wouldn't that be fine?"
Akid looked anxious, like he feared I'd say no.
Our relationship had improved a bit, but he still eyed me warily, scared of rejection.
Of course, that was just him not knowing me well—a needless worry.
I'd roll across the floor with glee if he told me to cartwheel back to my room, shame be damned.
"If you don't want to..."
"No, I'd love to!"
I grabbed his hand before he could back out, nodding eagerly.
"Let's go. With you, Akid."
"I heard you bought up a ton of gems all of a sudden—thought you were taking up beaded crafts or something. Turns out you sent those weird souvenirs to the party venue."
At lunch, the Hadellus Grand Duke eyed me oddly as he spoke. I swallowed a spoonful of lemon sorbet dessert and replied,
"They're not weird souvenirs. It's a game called Petra."
"Petra?"
"It's popular among commoners. Really fun."
"Strange. Commoners can't afford gems."
Demian tilted his head, looking baffled.
No wonder—he'd never lived as one. I glanced at him and said,
"Usually, they use cut wood scraps or small stones."
"Games with stones? Impressive."
Demian muttered skeptically, and Elena chimed in.
"The response has been great. Gems make them perfect gifts too."
"Is that so? Hmm, you made some pretty sensible souvenirs, then."
Demian looked at me with surprise at Elena's words.
It felt odd, like he was thinking, "Oh, because Elena says it's fine."
"Didn't think you'd put that much effort into gifts for others."
"What, you think I only care about what goes in my mouth?"
"Well, don't you?"
Excuse me, Father. What am I supposed to do with that reaction?
I shot the Hadellus Grand Duke a gloomy look as he casually struck at my pride.
Fair enough—Roena had only been known for extravagance, never gifting anyone.
So he'd jump to luxury spending at the mention of gems. As I pouted silently, Demian said,
"If you're doing it, do it bigger. The castle's not short on gems. Smaller scale than I expected."
He apparently thought I'd skimped to save on gems.
I pulled out the Petra set from my pocket and scattered the pieces on the table, picking them up.
"What are you doing?"
"Watch closely. This size is easy for a kid like me to handle."
Who do you take me for, a miser?
I glared as if to say, "Get my deep intent now?" Demian blinked, then burst out laughing.
"True, those tiny hands couldn't even grip five gems at once."
He rolled the Petra pieces in his palm with interest.
Listening to the clacking, he glanced at Elena, who flatly declared with a straight face,
"I'm not playing."
"Really?"
The Grand Duke smacked his lips in disappointment and turned to me.
"How do you play?"
"Well..."
I was about to eagerly explain the rules when my eyes flicked to Akid beside me.
Akid was just quietly listening to the exchange between me and his parents. I tugged his arm.
"Akid will show you."
"Me?"
Akid looked startled, and the Grand Duke's lips twitched in sync. Father and son, still awkward, just eyed each other.
'Yeah. This father-son duo barely talks.'
I yanked Akid toward the Grand Duke with a big grin.
"How about we team up—you and me versus Father and Mother?"
"You two against us?"
The Grand Duke scoffed, and Elena tried to bow out: "I said I'm not playing."
'Oh ho. Playing hard to get, huh?'
But I knew exactly how to rope them in. I muttered with a smug look,
"What, are you two scared of losing?"
"..."
"I guess dodging a match against kids is smarter. Hehe."
My sly jab at their pride hit home first with the Grand Duke.
"Let's do it. A bet."
Elena followed, grabbing Petra pieces.
"Don't cry later."
"Yay, this'll be fun!"
As I giggled and explained the rules, their eyes gleamed with unbridled competitive fire.
'Who knew they were such easy marks.'
