Chapter 183

unedited

What did he hear that made him so happy?

Maya, who received my curious glance, opened his mouth.

“My father is ing back.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Early this morning, he contacted the munication desk. Good luck.”

Maya put on a dreamy happy expression.

He then murmured in a jubilant voice.

“Father will be happy to see the Duke’s territory e back to normal.”

It was as Maya said.

Exactly the next morning, the place became noisy, and when I came out, I was greeted by a man I had never met for the first time.

I was taken aback for a moment, but the man looked exactly like Maya.

It seems that this is Maya’s father, Duchess Tuitte.

“Oh, Lady is the benefactor of the Duke’s territory that Maya spoke of…… !”

What? A benefactor?

Before I could even feel startled at the unfamiliar words, Maya suddenly popped out from my side.

“Yes, that’s right. Father. It’s all thanks to Lady Emir for finding this parchment.”

“Oh, oh…….”

“Oh, and my other friends helped too.”

When Maya said it, the other children shrugged like me or turned their gaze elsewhere.

It was probably because they got shy.

Duke Tuitte seemed to want to repay us, but I refused to accept anything.

‘It wasn’t something I was doing to get a reward. I was just trying to find a way to make Maya happy.’

Of course, the other people in the Duke’s residence, including the Duke, didn’t seem to think so.

Thanks to the hospitality of the people at the Duke’s residence, I almost felt like royalty.

Even a few days later, when I was packing my belongings right before I left, I found out that they were secretly trying to load packages of gold and silver on the carriage.

“I’m really fine, Young Duke! You don’t have to give it to me!”

“…… Ummm, but my father and I were sorry for sending you back empty-handed like this.”

Maya gently avoided my gaze and scratched his cheek.

Then he asked again as if he had remembered something.

“Then how about the pottery? Like the cup you liked last time. There are many more beautiful and good things in our house.”

You can take it all.

As a joke, Maya laughed as he said that.

‘Uh, pottery?’

My heart fluttered for a moment, but I didn’t bother answering.

But Maya seemed to have noticed my inner feelings.

“Huh? Please. Please let me repay you with something.”

“…… Yes, I understand.”

He begged so much, so I was sorry that I pretended not to know and refused until the end.

Finally, I pretended I couldn’t and picked up a few pieces of pottery I liked.

Afterwards we returned to the capital.

Of course, Maya was excluded.

Maya said that he would like to spend a little more time with his father in the Duke’s castle after a long time.

After spending more than four days in Duchy Tuitte, when I returned to the capital, the foundation day holiday was almost over.

But it was never wasted time.

Most of all, Maya’s problem, which I had been worried about the whole time, was solved.

But again, I had a little worry.

‘What if Maya says he doesn’t want to go to kindergarten anymore?’

It was because I remembered what Maya had said a while ago.

He said he left his hometown for a while and came here because of the cold.

‘Not that I have dealt with the cold…… There is no reason for him to be in the Imperial Capital anymore.’

Perhaps Maya’s father also wants Maya to return to the territory and live there.

‘…… That’s a pity’

We had a much shorter time together than the other children, but it seemed that we had a lot of affection for them in the meantime.

It made me sad to think that Maya wouldn’t be in kindergarten anymore.

* * *

However, after the foundation day, when I came back to kindergarten, there was Maya.

“How are you, Emir? Good morning!”

He even greeted me good morning with a broad smile!

No matter where I look, it wasn’t like he was going to quit kindergarten any time soon.

“Young, Young Duke Maya?”

I was depressed for two days and preparing to say goodbye(?) to Maya, but I stuttered in embarrassment.

Maya looked at me, puzzled.

“What’s the matter? What happened?”

“No, nothing.”

I realized that what I had been thinking about for days was an incredibly useless imagination, and I felt ashamed.

I answered in a low voice, like a crawling ant.

“…… Actually, I thought that Young Duke might not be going to kindergarten anymore.”

“What? Why?”

Maya rolled his eyes.

Was it an odd thing to hear?

“…… The Duke’s territory is now warm again.”

My words seemed to remind Maya of something.

“Well, actually, you are a bit right.”

“Yes?”

Not totally right, but a little right.

What does that mean?

“My father told me how about returning to the Duke’s territory again. Of course I refused.”

Maya looked at me and smiled.

“If I stay in the territory, I won’t be able to see Emir and my other friends.”

“…… !”

“So, I will continue to go to kindergarten. With all of you.”

Then I was relieved.

“That’s a relief, great!”

* * *