"Milady, you said that I will be teaching the kid?"
"Yes"
"How are you so sure that I will be?"
"The fact that you brought him to somewhere close to your house means that you care a lot about children. Surely, you would be alright with that"
The dead eyes on his face were replaced with a soft and sincere ones. Eyes that looked relieved from a heavy burden.
He must have thought I was going to do something horrible to Uziel.
"Who will be guarding you in the meantime, milady?"
"I will be staying in the mansion for at least two months. Uziel is a smart kid so he will be able to adapt and learn the things he need for now within that time. I will tell you about further details in the near future. I hope you are okay with that"
"Of course I am"
He's suddenly motivated.
Does being an only child made him this desperate for a little brother?
We got back before father and mother returned which was a good thing.
...
The next day, I received a reply to my request that was sent to the royal palace.
'Being the daughter of a duke sure is handy at times like this'.
The letter states that the doors of the royal palace are open for me to go to anytime I want to have an audience not only with the crown prince but also to the king.
"You want me to go with you to the royal palace?"
"Yes. Surely my fiancé would be fine with that, right?"
"....Of course! Why wouldn't I be. Hahaha"
Before going to the royal palace I decided to pay Dereck a visit and drag him to the royal palace along with me.
"Why are we doing this again?"
"Because I said so. Which is why you are going to shut your mouth if you want to be with my brother"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Brother Roman was appointed as the one who will lead the delegation that will go to the empire. And I am planning to make sure that you will be a part of that delegation. Do you understand?"
"....Yes. I am starting to see what you want me to do"
"Good"
Before entering the royal grounds, the head maid of the palace led us to the office room of the king where the king and the crown prince is waiting for us.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Your majesty, Lady Diana Emond and Sir Dereck Deltan has arrived"
"Let them in"
We entered the room and saw the king for the first time.
"It is an honor to meet you your majesty"
We said as we bowed.
"Sit"
He looks younger than his actually age. I can't believe that someone who has the face of a guy in his late thirties would already be above his fifties.
"So, what was the thing you wanted to talk to me about that you would use your father's seal?"
In contrary to Kainston's reaction when he and I met previously, the king was without a doubt serious right now, proving how much power the seal my father holds.
"I would like to request your majesty to add Dereck Deltan as a part of the delegation that will be sent to the empire of Vanifi"
Both Kainston, Dereck and the commander of the royal guards who is acting as the king's bodyguard were doing their best so that their poker face would remain from the words I said.
"There is no reason for me to add him to the delegation though"
"And that is exactly why I am requesting you to do so"
"Ahahaha!"
The king burst into laughter.
"As expected from Albert's children. You are quite daring yourself just like your brothers. It somewhat reminds me of your father when we were younger"
Kainston and Dereck let out a sigh as the king continues to laugh.
"Your majesty, please treat this seriously. This conversation involves the people who will participate to the yearly conference held in the empire, so please be more serious about it"
"I know, I was just surprised to see our friend's daughter to be like this"
So these two along with the former duke of Deltan were father's close friends, huh.
"Ahem, going back to what we were talking about. Though my impression of you has gone up, I still need a valid reason why you want me to send the current duke of Deltan's brother to the empire"
"Your majesty, if I may, I proposed to Lady Dianna because I fell at first sight. I want to prove my actions by being sent to the empire as a part of the delegation"
"You want to prove your love by leaving your betrothed behind?"
"I want to prove it through merit and hard work"
"Alright"
Just like that?
"In one condition though"
"And that is?"
"I will be the one who will named your child in the future"
"I accept" I said.
"That is good. You two can go now. As you can see I still have things to do"
"I shall see you two out" Kainston said.
...
"What was that about?"
"Yeah, explain"
The two were demanding answers regarding to my last words to the king.
I then explain to them why I agreed to the king's condition.
The king said that he would be the one to named 'our' kid in the future. Basically, he was saying that he will be the one to name the kid from me and Dereck. However, that is impossible.
Why?
Because we don't even like each other in that way. Therefore the king's condition was meaningless from the beginning.
"Do you two get what I am trying to say right now"
"Yes"
Kainston raised his hand.
"What do you mean by not liking each other?"
Oh, right. This guy doesn't know about our real relationship.