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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: A Sudden Proposal
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The butler approached the countess, who looked like a soulless doll, and offered some comfort.
“My Lady, the Youngest Master is a remarkable genius in other areas. Please do not worry too much.”
The butler praised Claude's other talents, insisting he wasn't a complete fool, but Countess Continell was already furious.
“Butler. The princess may be cute, but isn't this a bit much?”
Dumbfounded and embarrassed, Countess Continell buried her face in her hands.
The butler recalled a past incident.
Was it five years ago?
The Youngest Master, who was confined to the house by His Majesty's order, had stolen his identification and declared he would become Princess Jusielia's slave.
At the time, the princess had refused, and the Emperor had forgiven him, but My Lady had been livid.
She had ordered that no one ever be told that embarrassing boy was her son.
The count and his brothers had to get on their knees and beg to stop her from actually removing him from the family registry.
‘My Lady is a fearsome woman.’
And the Youngest Master, who could still make such a woman foam at the mouth, was quite something himself.
“Mother! I heard Princess Jusie's voice for the first time yesterday!”
The countess deliberately gave a curt reply to her excited youngest son.
“Is that so.”
“She summoned me to the palace today, so I'll get to see her in her human form!”
“Yes, I heard. They say she is very pretty.”
“Yes! They say she has fur and stripes. And that she's all bumpy—she must be really beautiful, right?”
“……What on earth are you talking about?”
Unlike the excited Claude, Countess Continell replied nonchalantly before frowning.
But she decided not to engage with him seriously.
A serious conversation with her youngest son about the Penterin princess would drag on endlessly.
‘Sigh.’
Ever since that incident, her son had been far too fond of Princess Jusielia.
It was likely nothing more than admiration, but this was excessive.
Suddenly, all her resentment turned toward Luke Jetar, in the Regent's office at the Imperial Palace.
Her older brother was still strange.
‘I hear he's still obsessed with the princess, doing suspicious things like keeping some kind of journal on her. He and his nephew even look exactly alike! Why did my brother's eccentric genes have to pass down to my youngest!’
Melissa pressed her throbbing temples.
But she couldn't say any more.
Her youngest son, entering Stella Palace for the first time in a while, looked genuinely happy.
Claude no longer found much joy even in meeting his uncle.
He only seemed truly alive when he was meeting Princess Jusielia or doing something related to her.
As a mother, that worried Melissa Continell.
Princess Jusielia was not a citizen of the Rilberg Empire.
‘What will you do if the princess returns to her homeland, my son?’
“Well, I'm off!”
Claude left the room with a bright smile, and the room itself was a mess, as if a bomb had gone off from him trying on all his clothes.
The maids and servants, accustomed to this happening every time he went to Stella Palace, calmly began to tidy up the clothes.
Countess Continell was both dumbfounded and embarrassed.
She ordered the maids and servants to be given dessert and a silver coin as a special bonus.
It was a regular occurrence, but now she was genuinely worried.
The princess, who had been a beastman, was now said to be human.
Claude had said the princess had fur and stripes, and was bumpy.
But that was likely a lie the princess had fabricated about her appearance to tease Claude.
She was probably a dazzlingly beautiful girl with flawless skin, just as her informant had told her.
She would surely grow up to be an incredibly noble and stunning beauty.
For now, Claude simply found the princess cute and enjoyed playing with her.
But could her son's feelings truly stop at simple friendship and admiration?
Even with young children, you never knew how their hearts might change.
Perhaps she should stop them from meeting.
If not that, then maybe…
She spent the entire day lecturing at the academy, filled with worries, concerns, and anxieties.
Upon returning home, Countess Continell was taking a short rest.
As the sun was setting.
Her youngest son, Claude, who had gone to Stella Palace, returned home looking half dazed.
She had expected him to return chattering away about something.
Seeing her youngest son's unusual reaction, Countess Continell's heart sank.
“Claude? What is it?”
“……Mother.”
Claude, who had been in a daze, snapped out of it.
And Claude, who had somehow grown taller than his mother, looked down at her and spoke clearly.
“I don't think this will do.”
“What won't?”
Melissa Continell had a bad feeling.
“I want to be the princess's husband. I need to start preparing to immigrate to the Penterin Empire.”
“……What?”
Melissa Continell couldn't believe her ears.
“Her what-band?”
“Hus-band!”
Countess Continell turned away and covered her face with both hands.
She wanted to slap that mouth, which spoke so seriously yet so brightly.
“Immigrate?”
To his mother's question, asked with a calm smile, Claude nodded eagerly like a panting puppy.
A vein of fury popped on the visibly tense countess's forehead.
Right, my son.
It's been a while since you caused trouble that made my heart race.
I knew I was feeling anxious for a reason.
The countess, suddenly alarmed, grabbed Claude by the collar and shook him.
“You didn't actually propose to the princess and come back, did you?”
The princess is only eight years old.
But Claude nodded as if it were the most obvious thing, and for the first time in a while, the countess's blood pressure shot up, and she collapsed, clutching the back of her neck.
“Aah! Madam! My Lady!”
“When I die…… bury this brat Claude with me.”
The servants supported the countess, who had collapsed in a fit of rage, and urgently checked on her.
Claude sighed and skillfully cast a healing spell on his mother.
His mother was dumbfounded by him, but Claude, having returned from meeting Jusie, was serious.
She looked exactly the same as when she was a White Tiger.
She was young, but he felt it was destiny. A simple relationship like friendship was not enough.
Claude, who now blushed just thinking of Jusie, began to carefully make his plans.
According to his informant, Jusie would return to the Penterin Empire in at least three years.
First, find a legitimate way to follow her.
And then, a way to become the princess's husband!
For the first time in a long while, life returned to the eyes of Claude Continell, who had always been listless without a goal, and they began to sparkle.
***
Stella Palace.
With over fifty celestial constellations beautifully engraved on its arched ceiling, this palace was Jusielia's favorite place.
The gardens were beautiful during the day, and at night, the constellations on the ceiling shimmered softly in various colors, powered by magical engineering.
Today, too, after dinner, Jusielia walked with her attendants, admiring the beautiful constellations on the ceiling, before sitting down on the outdoor terrace.
It was a peaceful spring.
Gazing blankly at the spring blossoms and the various flowers in the garden beds, Jusielia suddenly let out a sigh.
“Hey.”
As Jusielia spoke, her attendants looked at the young princess.
“Don't you all think Claude has lost his mind?”
As Jusielia took a sip of her cocoa and quietly set the cup on the table, Uni's lips twitched.
“Um, well, that's…”
“Ah, Your Highness.”
“Kyah, kyahahahah!”
“Ahahahahaha.”
Only Sophie didn't know what to do, while Uni and Xaviet couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing one after another.
Jusielia, who had asked in all seriousness, was annoyed by Uni and Xaviet's excessive laughter, so she glared at them before gulping down her cocoa.
Seeing her suddenly down the hot drink, a startled Sophie came over and took the cup from her.
“Oh, Your Highness. It's so hot.”
“Hmph, Sophie.”
Jusielia acted childishly with Sophie, the only one who looked after her, and nuzzled her head against her soft embrace.
“Kyahahahahahah!”
“Ahahahahaha!”
But even then, Uni and Xaviet's uncouth laughter showed no signs of stopping.
Jusielia, who had been leaning against Sophie with a stiff expression, stood up, crossed her arms, and spoke sternly.
“That's enough laughing.”
“Pfft, ye-yes.”
“Mph, yes! I'll compose myself.”
