To the Ducal Capital

The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed, ate breakfast in the dining hall, and finished preparing to leave. Perhaps because I had spoken with Richard-sama yesterday, I wasn't nearly as nervous when I saw Morgan-san as I had been the day before.

Then it was time to depart.

"Thank you very much for visiting our town. We pray for your safe travels."

"Ah, thank you for your hospitality. We plan to stop here again on our way back, so please be ready for us. One more person will be joining us then, so have the other two guest rooms prepared by that time."

When Richard-sama said that, Morgan-san stiffened slightly, but a smile soon returned, followed by a bow.

"Understood. We look forward to your return."

With that, we got into the carriage and set out for the territorial capital once again.

How was Morgan-san going to prepare two more guest rooms? Furniture was generally custom-made, and furniture used by the ducal family was expensive. If it had been sold, there wouldn't be enough money or time.

...Well, it wasn't my problem. I had no reason to worry about Morgan-san.

The rest of the journey went very smoothly.

The magistrate at the residence where we stayed on the second day was gentle and mild-mannered, and had even prepared a guest room for me. There was no hint of contempt for commoners, so I was able to rest comfortably.

I wish all nobles were this gentle, or were good people like everyone in the Townsend ducal family. But people like Morgan-san made up more than half of all nobles, didn't they?

If that was the case, there would be a lot of noble children like that at the Royal School. That was incredibly depressing...

I wanted to live quietly for a year. I would be staying at the ducal estate, but maybe I wouldn't stand out too much if I walked to the Royal School alone? Going in a ducal carriage would attract far too much attention.

...But I had promised to support the ducal family's faction, so did I have to show that I had the ducal family's backing? Ugh! I'd stand out like crazy and probably attract all sorts of troublesome people.

In that case, maybe I should become friends with Lucien-sama, whom I was about to meet, and have him deal with any troublesome people for me.

All right! I'll do my best to become friends with him.

Just as I made that resolution, it seemed that we had arrived at the territorial capital.

"Leon-kun, we've arrived at the territorial capital. We'll be traveling along the main street by carriage now, so take a look at the town."

"Yes."

I had grown tired of seeing the same scenery, so I opened the window I had kept closed. We must have only just entered the territorial capital, because there were only a few houses scattered around.

After we continued on for a while, we approached an area where the houses were packed closely together. Wow! It might be just as prosperous as the Royal Capital. I suppose that's to be expected from the capital of a ducal territory.

At first, many people walked by in somewhat shabby clothes, like the people in the district where my house was in the Royal Capital. But their clothes gradually became more splendid. This seemed to be a district where merchants who did business with nobles had gathered.

After we passed through that area, a magnificent ducal residence came into view before us.

Amazing!! The residence was no different from the one in the Royal Capital in terms of its size and splendor, but the grounds were absolutely enormous. I had thought the grounds of the Royal Capital residence were unnecessarily large, but these were at least twice the size.

Since this was the capital of their own territory, I suppose they could secure as much land as they wanted. The gardeners must have had a difficult time, though...

We proceeded through the grounds by carriage and stopped in front of the residence. A young man and woman, a boy about my age, and another boy who looked about two years old stood in front of the residence. A long line of servants stood behind them.

Those people were probably the current ducal family.

We got out of the carriage and met the current ducal family.

"Father, Mother, Frederick, and Leon, you must be tired after your long journey. Welcome."

"Christophe, it's been a long time. I'm glad to see that Sophia-sama and Lucien are both well. And is that your new child?"

"Yes. His name is Albert. He's my second son, and he just turned three."

He was only three? He was such a cute little boy, with brown hair and golden eyes.

"Albert, greet your grandfather."

"Grandfather, it's nice to meet you. I'm Albert."

Albert-sama greeted him in slightly halting words and gave a little bow. He must have practiced a great deal. Perhaps he was happy that he had managed to give his greeting properly, because he flashed a bright smile afterward.

So cute! What is this child? He's just adorable. I had expected a boy around this age to be a little cheeky, but perhaps because he was being educated as a noble, he was well-behaved. He didn't seem particularly shy, either, and was looking at us with great interest.

I wanted a little brother like him!!

As I inwardly writhed with delight, Richard-sama and the others seemed to feel the same way. Everyone's faces had gone completely slack with affection.

Richard-sama, you've lost every bit of your dignity.

Richard-sama stayed that way for a while, but then suddenly came to his senses, gave an exaggerated cough, and spoke to Albert-sama.

"Albert, if anything troubles you, come and tell me. And if there's anything you want, be sure to tell me right away."

Richard-sama, weren't you supposed to be preserving your dignity? He initially tried to look stern, but he quickly turned into a grandfather gazing fondly at his adorable grandson.

He was a typical doting grandfather, offering to buy the boy anything he wanted. Albert-sama didn't seem to understand, though, and tilted his head slightly.

Seeing that, Christophe-sama gave a wry smile.

"Father, please don't buy Albert anything he wants. We can't have him growing up spoiled."

"Well, you're right... In that case, if he needs something, I'll buy it."

Richard-sama really did want to buy him something, no matter what. Not only Christophe-sama, but Sophia-sama and Lucien-sama were smiling wryly as well.

"Then I'll let you know if there's anything he needs."

"Ah, please do."

"And you must be Leon. I am Christophe Townsend, the current head of the Townsend ducal family. This is my wife, Sophia, my eldest son, Lucien, and my second son, Albert."

Christophe-sama turned toward me and introduced himself and his family. He had brown hair and golden eyes, and looked like a kind person.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Christophe-sama, Sophia-sama, Lucien-sama, and Albert-sama. My name is Leon."

"I am Sophia, Christophe's wife."

"I'm Lucien, the eldest son."

"I'm Albert."

Sophia-sama was a slender, beautiful woman with blue hair and blue eyes. Lucien-sama had blue hair and golden eyes, and despite being only nine, he already had a strong, capable-looking face. He seemed like a reliable, capable person. Albert-sama was simply adorable.

"Now that we've finished introducing ourselves, let's go inside. Father, Mother, please come in."

Richard-sama and the others followed Christophe-sama into the residence, so I followed behind them. I felt so uncomfortable, like I was the only outsider at a family gathering!

I brought up the rear, feeling rather self-conscious.

After walking for a while, we arrived at a very spacious reception room. There were two large sofas with a table between them, and each one could easily seat about six people.

Christophe-sama's family sat on one sofa, while we sat on the other.

I hesitated slightly, wondering whether I was really allowed to sit there, but Christophe-sama told me, "Leon, sit down as well," so I took a seat on the sofa.

Sigh... I'm nervous. I discreetly wiped the sweat slowly gathering on my palms against my trousers.