Then surprisingly, it was quickly decided that Chris would come to the castle as the Prince’s study partner.

  However, she will only come on days when Felicia has to come to the castle. Felicia isn’t exactly involved in political affairs yet. Angelique has only just begun to teach her about this. Moreover, she was still in her last year of the academy, so she had a lot of things to do before her graduation in March.

  Therefore, there are days when Felicia won’t come to the castle, and on those days, Chris won’t come either.

  In that case, I thought it would be fine for the head of the Remington House to bring her along like Otou-sama does with me, but she won’t bring Chris for inexpressible reasons like it’s a pain to commute back and forth and she’ll get in the way at lunch.

  So, I thought for a moment that we could stay together at lunchtime like in kindergarten or a nursery school, but both Nico and I both look forward to having lunch with our families, and we should treat this time preciously.

  Then, Felicia was excited that she could come to teach us etiquette once a week even though she was busy, but a different person arrived at the beginning of the week.

  Nico and I both had our mouths agape.

  “Let’s throw candy at them.”


  “Marcus-dono, candies are dangerous for babies,” Odds-sensei calmly pointed this out, and I closed my open mouth.

  “Marw-niisya…… Marw.”


  “Your name is Lei, right? You could have just called me Mark-niisama.”


  I was a little troubled since Nii-sama would make a big fuss if he found out.

  “I’m sure Luke told you that he’s your only Nii-sama.” Mark raised the corner of his mouth, weirdly.

  “Marcus-dono,” Nico recovered from his surprise and greeted Mark properly.

  “Your Highness Nicolas. I haven’t seen you since Lei’s debut.”


  “I thought Felicia would be coming today.”


  “Lei thoo.”


  I was curious about what it was like to study etiquette. Come to think of it, Chris isn’t here today, so Felicia wouldn’t be at the castle either.

  “Ah, Felicia’s coming too, but I’ll also be coming every week. Didn’t you hear about this?”


  Nope. Nico and I looked at Odds-sensei.

  “I did hear about this, but I didn’t know when you’ll be coming or what you’ll be teaching, so I thought I would tell them once everything’s decided,” Odds-sensei said helplessly. He probably came on a whim since it was only talked about and it wasn’t official.

  What a troublesome person.

  But, he’s welcome to come.

  “Whath, ah, what are you theaching?”


  I jumped up and down.

  “Lei, calm down. I’m sure it’ll be something interesting.”


  Nico put pressure on me while trying to calm me down. I think I did it unconsciously though……

  “Oh my, expectations are heavy. Why do you think I came in the morning?”


  Now that I think about it, Nii-sama comes after lunch, and it’s annoying how I fall asleep after eating. Our expectations swelled up even more when we heard the word ‘morning’.

  Unlike Nico and I who were happy, Mark looked a little trouble, and he looked at Odds-sensei who had a complicated expression on his face.

  “Don’t worry. I got permission from His Highness Lambert. I got it some time ago, but I thought I should come here quickly.”


  “But, you have to study, and I don’t think it’s safe.”


  “I have my guards with me, and this is inside of the castle.”


  That was when Odds-sensei backed down. Mark looked towards us and smiled playfully.

  “Today, I’ll take you around the castle.”


  We opened our mouths wide again. A tour of the castle? Oh yeah, I always go straight to Nico, so I only saw the long corridor once. Nico’s eyes were sparkling too.

  “Let’s go!”


  “Go!

  This is a trip.

  “Nathawie.”


  “Lei-sama, that’s good.”


  “Are thhere shweethsh?”


  “Sweets? Ah, I brought some with me just in case, but are these alright?”


  Natalie rummaged in her bag and took out a small package. This smell is my favourite sponge cake. I glanced at Nico.

  “Of course, I have more.”


  “Thanwsh Nathawie.”


  I was relieved and put the small package into my pocket. I’m glad that she has some for Nico too. The stuffed rug dragon that I carry around with me as a lucky charm is currently next to my pillow and accompanies me to sleep. That was why I put the sponge cake into a different pocket.

  “Ai. Leth’sh go.”


  “Lei, you……”


  “W-well, it’s fine. Don’t tell me……”


  The corner of Mark’s mouth raised.

  “We don’t need a maid or Odds-sensei. We just need guards.”


  If someone from the Four Marquises says so, then they have no choice but to obey. Odds-sensei and Natalie reluctantly obeyed him. I had a guard with me, and so did Nico. Of course, it’s Hans.

  “It’s a bit far, but do your best.”


  We went down to the first floor from the library and entered the corridor leading to the castle. The corridor was different from the one I had used when I first came to the castle. When we entered the castle, there was a wide passage and a curve. There were beautiful paintings on the wall, but I was interested in the intricate patterns on the wall, so I looked around restlessly while walking; then Mark picked me up.

  “We’ll be walking around the castle once a week from now on, so we’ll rush this time.”


  “We’re exploring every week?”


  Nico’s eyes are sparkling.

  “Yeah. There’s nothing wrong with knowing the castle where you live. You can study at the academy, so I don’t get why they make a two and three-year-old study every day.”


  I recalled Mark’s Otou-sama. He was a kind Oji-sama who told me to call him Har-ojisama, but he looked stern and seemed like he would be strict with home discipline, so it felt strange for Mark to say something like that.

  “Marw, did you shthudy when you were withthwe?” (Mark, did you study when you were little?)

  “Well, just a bit. But it was really just a bit, and all I did was play in the garden until I turned five.”


  “You wiwe running.”


  I nodded meekly.

  “You don’t do it, Lei?”


  “I do!”


  It’s unconvincing when I’m held. We continued right through numerous complex passages, and I gradually lost track of where we were.

  “It’s surprisingly far.”


  “Because the castle is big.” Mark said carefreely, then, “Ah, we’re here,” he said before trying to open the door.

  “Marcus-dono,” however, Hans quietly interrupted him. Marcus ignored him and touched the doorknob. However, Hans stopped him in a powerful voice, “Marcus-dono!”


  “What?”


  “Where are you taking Lei-sama?”


  Oh my, he didn’t mention Nico.