“I haven’t told Mother yet. I thought showing her right now would be too much of a shock.”

　　“I suppose so. It would be hard to believe something like this.”

　　Medique shook his head. Even the Empress probably wouldn’t be pleased if the Crown Prince suddenly brought an illegitimate child before her.

Oblivious to Medique’s thoughts, Ludeon quietly looked down at Luana.

　　“Still, wouldn’t it be better to tell her?”

　　“I don’t know…”

　　Ludeon trailed off. Others might not have noticed, but as her son, Ludeon knew his mother had taken more of an interest in Luana than anyone realized.

　　She was probably remembering her child. Closing his eyes, Ludeon thought of the younger sibling who had died before ever drawing breath.

　　“What about her growth? Isn’t she far too small for her age?”

　　When Ludeon fell silent, Adan spoke up carefully. He remembered that even his own younger sister, sickly enough to spend most of her time at the estate, had been bigger than the Princess was now.

　　Medique answered Adan’s question casually.

　　“She’s a bit small for a four- or five-year-old, but nothing to worry about.”

　　“What?”

　　Ludeon narrowed his eyes at Medique’s words. He was getting thoroughly sick of Medique’s nonsense.

　　“She’s eight. How can a doctor judge a patient’s condition without even knowing her age?”

　　“Pardon? Eight?”

　　Medique stared at Ludeon, his eyes wide with shock. Seeing that Ludeon was not joking, Medique turned to Maria and Adan.

　　When Adan nodded quietly, the color drained from Medique’s face.

　　“She looks four or five no matter how you look at it… Are you certain she is eight?”

　　If that was true, he needed to reconsider what he had said. At eight, this wasn’t merely slow growth. She was far too small for her age.

　　Wait, eight?

　　Looking down at Luana with a grave expression, Medique suddenly flinched. If the girl was eight, then just how old had His Highness been when he fathered her?

Medique had already decided Luana was the Crown Prince’s daughter, but now the timeline made no sense at all.

　　“Then who is her mother? Wouldn’t Your Highness have been ten?”

　　“Why are you suddenly asking who her mother is? And what does my age at the time have to do with anything?”

　　“Pardon…?”

　　Medique found Ludeon’s response hard to process. Had the Crown Prince had a lover for that long? Was that well known? As Medique tried to untangle his chaotic thoughts, Adan finally spoke up from behind him, unable to watch any longer.

　　“Medique. You’re misunderstanding.”

　　“What do you mean, Adan? Misunderstanding?”

　　Medique tilted his head at Adan’s words. He couldn’t see what there was to misunderstand about a situation like this.

　　“This is Her Highness, Princess Luana. She is His Highness’s younger sister, not his daughter.”

　　“You’ve already named her—wait, what? Her Highness? Princess… Luana?”

　　Medique blinked at the name, which sounded vaguely familiar.

　　Medique gasped. “Are you saying this child is Lady Liliana’s daughter?”

　　Medique stared at Ludeon in shock. Seeing his reaction, Ludeon felt utterly baffled.

　　“What? Then what on earth have you been thinking this whole time?”

　　“Well… that is… I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

　　Medique gave an awkward laugh. If he admitted he’d thought she was the Crown Prince’s daughter, Ludeon would tear into him.

　　But even without saying it aloud, there was no hiding what he’d been thinking by then.

　　When Medique shut his mouth, Ludeon scowled. Piecing together Adan’s words and assessing the situation, Ludeon glared at Medique.

　　He couldn’t understand how anyone could mistake an eight-year-old for the daughter of a man who had barely reached adulthood.

　　“Unbelievable.”

　　Ludeon clicked his tongue, looking at Medique with exasperation.

　　“Please, Medique. Use your brain. How old do you think I am to have a child this big?”

　　Medique winced under Ludeon’s glare, but he felt he had a valid point.

　　“She still looks four or five to me. If I had known she was eight, I wouldn’t have made such a mistake in the first place. This isn’t my fault; it’s the fault of whoever raised the child like this.”

　　“Right. About that. Are you absolutely certain it’s malnutrition? Can you guarantee she hasn’t just missed a meal or two, but has been severely underfed for a long time?”

　　“You don’t even need to be a doctor to see it. Her frame is noticeably smaller than anyone her age.”

　　“I’m asking because it makes no sense. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know how much money Mother sends to Liliana? When Liliana said the child would have difficulty managing money and asked to receive it on her behalf, Mother even sent that woman a separate sum for the girl’s share.”

　　Everyone knew Liliana had collected Luana’s full budget since the year the girl was born. It had seemed odd that Liliana left her son’s budget alone while demanding control of her daughter’s, but everyone had assumed there were simply more things to take care of with a young girl. No one had imagined she was pocketing the money meant for Luana.

　　“She must have embezzled it,” Adan concluded, as if reading Ludeon’s mind.

　　“So she dotes on her son, but treats her daughter as if she never even gave birth to her?”

　　“She likely diverted all the support meant for the Princess’s Palace and spent it on the prince. Come to think of it, the amount spent on him was rather excessive.”

　　At Adan’s words, Ludeon ran a hand through his hair, unable to hide his frustration. Now he understood where the money had come from to summon famous foreign knights and Academy professors to the Imperial Palace almost daily. He had heard that she recently brought in a renowned knight from the Kingdom of Tria as well; she had truly been throwing money around like water.

　　“What should we do?”

　　“What do you mean, what should we do?”

　　“Should I contact the concubine as you mentioned earlier? To tell her to take her daughter back?”

　　Ludeon glared at Adan’s knowing smirk. Adan knew perfectly well how he would answer, which made the question all the more irritating.

　　“Forget it. How could I send a child like this back there?”

　　Ludeon waved his hand dismissively.

　　“Then we need someone to care for her first… Though a nanny is out of the question, isn’t it?”

　　“Yes. Her Majesty would find out immediately.”

　　“I’d prefer Mother not hear about this for at least a few days.”

　　As Ludeon fell into thought, Maria raised her hand hesitantly.

　　“Then may I look after Her Highness until then?”

　　“What?”

　　Ludeon’s eyes widened. Medique was also watching carefully, clearly surprised by the suggestion.

　　Only Adan looked at Maria with a calm expression.

　　“But Maria, you…”

　　“I won’t neglect my duties at the Crown Prince’s Palace.”

　　“That’s not what I mean.”

　　Maria was the maid Ludeon trusted most. As his personal maid who managed the Crown Prince’s Palace alongside Vincent, the chamberlain, no one was better suited to maintaining secrecy.

　　But considering Maria’s circumstances, making such a request felt uncomfortable.

　　“Maria will do a wonderful job,” Adan spoke up, taking her side. Looking back and forth between the two, Ludeon eventually nodded.

　　“I’ll leave it to you, Maria.”

　　Maria smiled brightly and nodded.

After a brief hesitation, Ludeon added, “If it becomes at all uncomfortable, tell me immediately. And Adan, have Vincent look into her situation. I need to know what state her palace is in for her to be wandering around looking like this.”

　　“Yes, Your Highness.”

　　Seeing Ludeon begin to care for Luana, Adan smiled mischievously. Ludeon didn’t like that look, but he deliberately ignored it. Reacting would only deepen the smirk on Adan’s face.

　　“When… would be the best time to tell Mother?”

　　“Wouldn’t it be better to assess the situation first?”

　　“Right. That would be best.”

　　The anniversary of her child’s death had been only a few days ago.

　　Ludeon swallowed the rest of his sentence. Yet the heavy mood and unfinished words made it clear what he had intended to say.

　　He sighed quietly, thinking of how deeply his mother still grieved after all these years.

　　“Perhaps it might even do Her Majesty some good. Please don’t worry too much yet.”

　　“Indeed… It might mean less of Her Majesty’s attention going to Miss Charte.”

　　“Stop talking about that girl.”

　　Ludeon ran a hand through his hair.

　　It was obvious that Countess Charte and her daughter were harboring ambitions of their own, yet his mother continued to look on them favorably.

　　“They’ll be good for each other. I’m certain of it.”

　　“We shall see…”

　　Ludeon gazed for a long while at Luana, who had yet to open her eyes.

* * *

　　“I’m hungry…” Luana mumbled in her sleep.

She hadn’t eaten properly in days, and she was too hungry even to open her eyes. And…

　　It’s soft.

　　The plush pillow and blanket felt wonderful against her.

　　Wait, what?

　　Sleep vanished instantly.

　　Nothing in her room felt anything like this. Her bedding was rough and dirty. Something this comfortable couldn’t possibly belong there.

　　Luana bolted upright.

　　Where… is this?

　　It was a room she had never seen before. Although the layout was similar to her own, this room was decorated so beautifully that comparing the two felt like an insult to this place.

　　She looked around cautiously.

　　Even after checking slowly once more, it was truly a place she had never seen before. There was no way a room this beautiful could exist in her palace.

　　Liliana would never give me a place like this.

　　Luana drew in a breath, scanning her surroundings.