8. The Children Staying Behind

“Father and Mother are going on a trip!?”

“And starting tomorrow!?”

TiaraRose and Aquasteed nodded as they watched their three surprised children—LuciaRose and Stillio looked particularly stunned.

“Yes.”

“We thought it would be nice for the two of us to spend some time alone for a change.”

Nine years have passed since then, and the children have grown. Since they have already graduated from the Academy, there is no issue with them standing on their own.

LuciaRose has been corresponding with Haruka, but no formal marriage proposal has been made yet. TiaraRose feels that it might be time for some progress, but Aquasteed still seems to have his worries.

Stillca and Stillio spend their time leisurely doing what they enjoy. Stillca seems to find joy in magic research and creating magic tools, while Stillio is often found undergoing knight training alongside LuciaRose.

All three have grown quite dependable.

“Lucia is nineteen, and Luca and Rio are seventeen now, right? Aqua and I discussed it and decided we could leave things to you three, provided it’s not for a long period.”

“Indeed. From now on, there will be many instances where you’ll have to make your own judgments. Spending time without us will be a good learning experience for the three of you.”

“…………”

They were speechless at how smoothly things had been decided—or rather, that they had already been decided.

—Was this perhaps a bit too sudden?

TiaraRose opened her mouth, trying to offer some follow-up.

“Oh, I know! I’ll buy some delicious sweets as souvenirs.”

“Mother, we appreciate that, but that’s not the point…”

TiaraRose gave a wry smile at Stillio, who slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

“But it’s true that we believe we can entrust things to you. May we leave Marineforest in your hands?”

When TiaraRose said that, Stillca accepted lightly, saying, “Well, I don’t think it will be a problem.” However, LuciaRose and Stillio looked at Stillca with startled expressions.

“No, no, no, no! Isn’t this way too sudden!?”

“I wonder if we can do it well just by ourselves… well, I suppose Luca will handle things flawlessly.”

LuciaRose and Stillio still seemed anxious, apparently trying to find a way to make TiaraRose and Aquasteed cancel the trip, or at least shorten the duration. To TiaraRose’s eyes, the sight was rather heartwarming.

—I wonder if the Luca and Rio I met back then were around this age, or maybe a bit older.

She was remembering the time she had traveled to the future due to Pearl’s magic rampage. She recalled that in that timeline, TiaraRose and Aquasteed were away on a trip. In other words, their future selves had also entrusted things to their children and traveled as a couple.

Thinking about it that way gave her a mysterious feeling, as if she were connected to that future.

TiaraRose took the hands of LuciaRose, Stillca, and Stillio.

“You three will be fine.”

As TiaraRose smiled, Aquasteed nodded in agreement.

“I believe there will be no problem. You help me with work normally, your judgments are not wrong, and if you have any doubts, you ask immediately. I can leave things to you with peace of mind. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can consult your grandfather or check with others.”

When Aquasteed displayed such an attitude of total trust, LuciaRose and Stillio were at a loss for words. Being trusted so much by their father made them feel they had to live up to those expectations.

LuciaRose clenched her fist and looked straight at Aquasteed.

“I understand. As the First Princess, I shall perform my duties diligently!”

“I… I will also fulfill my role to the best of my ability.”

“Please, take your time and enjoy yourselves.”

Unlike the tense LuciaRose and Stillio, Stillca showed a composed smile.

TiaraRose and Aquasteed intended to see their aptitude as future rulers by entrusting them with work. Though, of course, it was also true that they were simply looking forward to a trip for just the two of them.

“Hey, Luca, Rio. Help me with these documents too!”

“No way, I still have a mountain of my own over here!?”

“Both of you, calm down.”

Two days had passed since TiaraRose and Aquasteed departed. On the desk in Aquasteed’s office, which the three were using, documents were piled high.

At first, they had been processing the paperwork efficiently, but one or two difficult documents had cropped up, taking more time than expected. As a result, a mountain of paperwork had formed.

LuciaRose and Stillio were in a state of chaos, desperately moving their hands to finish today’s quota. Ignoring the two of them, Stillca alone had neatly finished his own portion. However, that didn’t mean he was going to help with the work assigned to LuciaRose and Stillio. He offered encouragement, saying, “Come on, keep at it,” but that was about it.

“Luca, help me with mine!”

“Mine too!”

Stillca received passionate pleas from the two, but he dodged them with a smile.

“I can’t. This is your work, so it wouldn’t mean anything if I did it for you. …Well, if you really, really need help, I might consider it?”

At Stillca’s perfectly composed words, LuciaRose puffed out her cheeks in a pout.

“It’s fine! I can do this much by myself!”

<It’s easy for the Princess!>

“Right, Grimo!?”

LuciaRose sat back down at the desk and began working vigorously. Seeing that, Stillio also shrugged and resumed his paperwork.

Evening passed, dinner time passed, and it was late at night by the time they finally managed to finish today’s quota. They had honestly consulted others regarding things they didn’t understand and found clues to the solutions. For things that were truly beyond them, they planned to ask for instructions after Aquasteed returned.

“Good work, you two.”

Stillca brought over some fruit for the exhausted LuciaRose and Stillio, who were slumped over the desk.

“You’re the only one who finished early. …Haa. I didn’t get any time for training again today.”

“Me neither. I’ve been staring at documents since morning. I couldn’t join the training at all.”

For the two athletic types, doing paperwork from morning until night was apparently quite painful. Stillca, being more of an intellectual type, was perfectly fine with it.

“But it’s still going to be a while before Mother and Father come back, right?”

“The destination is the neighboring Lapis Lazuli, but even just the travel takes some distance. It’s Mother’s home, so I want them to take their time.”

“You’re right.”

LuciaRose and Stillio snacked on the fruit while talking about how TiaraRose and the others might be doing.

“Ah, this is delicious. Marineforest strawberries really are the best.”

“I know. This sweet and sour taste is great. I think the strawberries on the cakes Mother bakes are the most delicious.”

“I agree.”

The conversation of the exhausted LuciaRose and Stillio centered on sweets. They talked about wanting to eat sweets made by TiaraRose, or wondering if the candy fairies would come and serve delicious treats.

Noticing Stillca watching them with a smiling face, Stillio spoke up. “By the way…”

“Do you think Mother and the others really just went on a trip?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

LuciaRose was the first to react to Stillio’s words.

“Is there some other meaning to it?”

“I don’t know myself, but… even if we help out with work normally, going on a trip starting ‘tomorrow’ without enough notice is a bit harsh, isn’t it? So I thought there might be some intention behind it.”

“True.”

LuciaRose nodded at Stillio’s words. It was hard to imagine the efficient TiaraRose and Aquasteed going on a trip suddenly without any preparation. They weren’t the type of people to do such things as a joke. If there was some intention behind it, that felt more plausible.

LuciaRose turned her gaze to Stillca and asked for an answer. “Luca is better at this sort of thing. Hey, what do you think?”

Stillca prefaced his thoughts by saying, “Well, for example,” and then spoke.

“They might want to see who is suited to be the next King.”

“Eh!? What do you mean?”

“Lucia, do you want to be the next King of Marineforest?”

Unlike his previous smiling face, Stillca’s eyes were now serious, making LuciaRose’s heart skip a beat. However, her answer seemed to be decided, and she looked straight back at Stillca.

“——I want to be a Knight-King.”

Stillca and Stillio gasped at LuciaRose’s serious tone, which was different from her usual one.

“That means…”

“Yes. I have… thought about wanting to be a King. After reading the story of August the Knight-King, I became a total fan.”

The Knight-King August that LuciaRose referred to was the story The Adventures of August the Knight-King. it is particularly popular among young ladies and has many fans in this country. An adventure story she read as a child. To LuciaRose, who couldn’t leave the Royal Castle to go on adventures, it was a thrilling tale.

“A knight and a King. Don’t you think it’s wonderful?”

She had reread it so many times that even Grimoire, who had recommended it, was exasperated. Recalling those times, a smile escaped LuciaRose.

“But, it’s no good.”

LuciaRose slumped her eyebrows and looked at Stillca and Stillio.

“Because if I become King, I’ll have to fight this mountain of paperwork, right? That seems a bit impossible for me.”

Hearing that, Stillca chuckled.

“You don’t have to be that honest.”

“Well, I can’t help it! It would be just right for Luca or Rio to become King, and I’ll support them. As a knight, I’ll protect my cute younger brothers.”

Saying that, LuciaRose laughed with a mischievous face.

End of 218