By Zephyria 
Hestia acted as if she had been inside me and come out.
“I don’t know this well either. I didn’t want to touch upon the Empress Dowager’s sensitive matters, and it’s something that Rubel also avoided and ignored. I doubt anyone else would be able to get more answers than this.”
“⋯Hmm.”
“However, I can secretly look into it for you from now on. Junior Michael, you will soon become the undisputed highest authority in this Empire, so I want to get on your good side in advance.”
“Hmm.”
Hestia no longer used her fan. She looked me straight in the eye and spoke each word with a direct tone.
It was certainly easier to understand when her intentions were clear.
“Then, may I say what I wanted to say now?”
“Yes. Please do.”
“First, I’m sorry.”
“⋯Hmm?”
“For saying strange things to Poplar. To make an excuse, I was so flustered at the time that I didn’t know what to do. His Majesty also sent an urgent telegram, so I just said anything as an excuse… and it turned out that way.”
Ah.
Poplar had misunderstood the situation between Hestia and me. It was such a ridiculous thing that I had completely forgotten about it.
“Until the first class, Poplar Kiadris… was it true that she didn’t know about the relationship between me and Ruben?”
“Poplar Yeldidus.”
“⋯Right, that, Young Lady Poplar.”
“⋯Yes. She’s been a bit out of touch with outside gossip lately, and she hasn’t been out much, so at first. It wasn’t until she came to me and yelled that I realized how it must have sounded. Still, I swear, I didn’t mean that I was in a romantic relationship with Junior Michael. My true intentions were elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere?”
“She needs to understand that people can get close without becoming lovers.”
“⋯Hmm?”
What she meant was this.
Hestia Yeldidus, as the First Prince’s fiancée, had taken notice of Poplar from the time they were compared.
She seemed pitiful, acting proud yet fragile enough to burst if poked. Hestia was bothered by how everyone who approached her seemed to be wary of taking something away from her. And it was cute that the only thing she guarded so fiercely was her pride.
What Hestia felt for Poplar was a lighter emotion than love.
She simply wanted to protect her.
“She thinks she’s the most beautiful in the world. Everything she eats, sees, hears, and sleeps is strictly bound by rules, but these are rules she set for herself, not imposed by others. She gathers only what she finds most pleasing and beautiful and keeps it within herself. No matter how precious or good something is, if it’s not beautiful in her eyes, she discards it without hesitation.”
“⋯.”
“So she believes she is the most beautiful and elegant. Honestly, I think so too. I wanted to protect that. Because she was so enviable and beautiful.”
“⋯Enviable?”
Hestia Yeldidus was the legitimate daughter of Yeldidus.
She possessed tens of times more than Poplar Kiadris, an illegitimate child.
“Poplar’s biological father, despite being pointed at, clings to Duke Kiadris and struggles to survive, doesn’t he? Trying to protect that child somehow, even as a bodyguard who couldn’t even become a Baron.”
“⋯.”
“I know. Duke Kiadris committed adultery, and Poplar’s father, who fell for her power and beauty despite knowing everything, was bound to be a bastard. Still, I… I guess I needed something like that.”
“⋯Something like that?”
“Someone who is entirely on my side, my family.”
⋯Hestia Yeldidus’s father cherished his nephew more than his daughter. Her mother disappeared after their divorce. Hestia, who was eleven at the time, remembered all their actions. Even now, after condemning her father and taking his place.
“Did you tell her this yourself?”
“Of course!”
“What did she reply?”
“⋯She answered rather… roughly…”
“Go on.”
“She said she didn’t know how she ended up with such a crazy woman…”
“⋯.”
I only wanted to learn etiquette lessons, but somehow I got caught between them.
Hestia Yeldidus, sitting with a look of utter injustice, had a pitiable and forlorn expression, but the more I looked, the more I was dumbfounded. I had no intention of being fooled.
“⋯So, what is it you want from me?”
“In my opinion, Poplar doesn’t understand that I… can cherish her in ways other than romantic feelings. Of course! Of course, I’d prefer a closer relationship than just friends, though.”
“⋯.”
“But that it wasn’t about wanting that kind of thing… I want her to believe that. It’s not easy, so I want to make her another friend.”
I have no idea what Poplar Kiadris did to make both women act like this.
No, I didn’t need to know. My answer was already decided.
“⋯Well, no, it seems a bit strange from my perspective too.”
“Yes?”
“What you want is a good family, but there’s usually only one way for people of the same age, born separately, to become family.”
“Yes?”
“Marriage.”
“Yes?”
I thought she was stating the obvious in a roundabout way.
I started that way too. Ruben was cute and lovely. Whenever the strong and upright Ruben showed me a weak side, I felt pity and my gaze lingered. Seeing the one who knew and had so much bustling around to check on his surroundings made my chest swell. I lost sleep worrying that the one destined for a high position might get hurt.
Yes, I wanted to protect him.
I wanted Ruben to know that he was the most lovely, elegant, and precious being in this world. The feeling of my heart burning every time the child shed a single tear, and the exhilarating joy of having the whole world when the child smiled brightly, was a kind of emotion that was hard to understand without experiencing it.
Did I want to get intimate with Ruben from the start? No. I thought it was enough if that tender and kind child could rest in my arms even for a moment.
My greed, which grew without end, only reached its peak after the child had fully matured.
Therefore, if I have to take sides, I will side with Poplar.
“Even if Young Lady Poplar is poor at interpersonal relationships, she’s been frequenting high society for a while, hasn’t she? How could she not know how to make good friends? She’s putting the easiest and most familiar method last when she says she wants to become family, not just friends, so it’s bound to seem strange.”
“But I was trying to save her from the Duke Kiadris family…”
“If you were even ten years older than Young Lady Poplar, or even five, perhaps. Since Young Lady Poplar is older, what would she call you after being adopted?”
“⋯.”
“Mother? That’s not possible. She doesn’t seem like she wants to hear that either.”
“⋯That’s…”
“If you want to be close friends, there’s no need to share a surname. You can just be friends. If you’re not satisfied with just being close friends, then you should look for other solutions.”
“⋯.”
“You told her to find a good partner. Then why are you insisting that Young Lady Poplar’s surname is Yeldidus? How do you know who she will marry?”
“⋯.”
“From my perspective, you are also pushing your feelings onto one party. If the other party doesn’t want to be adopted, listen to what they have to say carefully.”
“⋯.”
“There were many ways she could have run away, but seeing as Young Lady Poplar is living with the Yeldidus family without much resistance, it’s not that she’s angry because she dislikes you.”
“⋯.”
“If you want to protect her, you must protect even that pride of hers.”
While I was speaking, Hestia, who had been nervously picking at her fingertips, finally lifted her head.
I waited for her to look me in the face before continuing.
“First, I understand your request. From my perspective, Young Lady Poplar doesn’t seem like a bad person. I think we could have become friends even without your request.”
“⋯.”
“I will also take good care of her. So, you should also think carefully on your own and have a proper conversation.”
“⋯Yes. I will.”
There was nothing more to say.
I removed the Aura Barrier that had surrounded her and me.
Then, the breathing of Michael and Asdel could be heard clearly. The children were quiet without a word, but Hestia’s eyelids twitched slightly, noticing that I had removed the soundproofing magic.
The woman quickly composed herself and spoke in her usual cheerful and lively tone.
“Thank you for the good advice. Then, I hope you have a fun time with your younger siblings.”
“Yes. I will.”
“I’ll contact you if I find out anything more about what you mentioned. If you have anything you want to tell me first, you can tell any attendant at the Imperial Palace to send a telegram to Duke Yeldidus, and the message will be delivered. I have no intention of meeting you while avoiding Rubel’s gaze.”
“Hmm.”
I felt the same. I nodded easily.
“Then, please take care, Junior.”
“Yes. Please go home safely.”
In the end, none of the four of us touched the refreshments.
On the way out, Asdel clung to my arm, acting spoiled.
“What on earth were you talking about with Duke Yeldidus earlier?”
“It’s nothing. I just had some questions about social circles.”
“Not that. What did the Duke ask you to do?”
“Hmm… He said someone he knows doesn’t have friends, so he asked me to be their friend.”
“⋯You? A man?”
“No, a woman.”
“Really?”
“Indeed. Truly…”
I couldn’t tell if the feelings Hestia harbored were those of a mother wanting to meddle in a child’s friendships, or the feelings of a child wanting to show off something good to others.
Perhaps she had grown up with a broader and more open perspective, having been raised among Spirits. Still, at her age, should she be bothering others with her own desires?
Regardless, I had more important things to do.
“Brother, what time will you be back today?”
“I should be back before six. But there’s still time to buy you guys a meal, so let’s go eat something together.”
“Great! Then let’s eat roasted whole pig. There’s a place I always go to after watching a play in the capital. I remembered it because I thought you and Asdel would like it too.”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
I had so many questions about how Michael and Asdel had been living lately, whether they had many friends, and what they were learning. We were having a wonderful time with endless topics to discuss.