(Orlax Pov)
"As she said, Grand Duke, she must bear the consequences of her actions. I shall now announce your punishnt."
Armanthur and Catherine looked into each other's eyes in silence, preparing to endure whatever punishnt was coming.
"From now on, Catherine Zephyrius will be responsible for raising my daughter, Sera, and taking care of all her needs. This decision will remain in effect until Sera reaches the age of eighteen."
I saw the shock appear on Armanthur's face, his wife, and their son Daniel as they listened to my words. They all turned toward in astonishnt.
"Uh, Your Majesty, are you sure this is the punishnt?"
Armanthur asked, unsure if he had heard correctly.
"Yes. Do you want another punishnt, Grand Duke?"
"No, no, I just thought the punishnt would be a bit harsher."
"Oh? And why did you think that?"
I leaned back on the sofa, looking at Armanthur, who was now standing and staring at .
"I told you, Grand Duke, you do not know , so do not assu things on your own again."
I reminded Armanthur of what had happened two weeks ago when I had asked him to observe to understand what kind of person I was.
I turned my gaze to Catherine, who was silent and still looking at the ground, until she suddenly spoke.
"Why? Did I not put her life in danger? And now you want to raise her? I do not understand."
Catherine lifted her head and looked at with an expression I had never seen on her before—curiosity.
"First, because I have no experience in raising children, and since you are already the mother of two well-behaved children, I found you to be the most suitable to take care of Sera."
"Second, the idea of spreading information about Sera to put her in danger is a good one, but—excuse my bluntness—it is also a ridiculous idea."
"Ridiculous? Why?"
Alice, who was standing behind , spoke with curiosity, and I turned my head toward her, seeing her smiling knowingly.
"Well, with —one of the strongest people in the world—as Sera's guardian and her father's protector, who would dare lay a finger on her?"
"Tsk, arrogant."
I ignored Alice's side remarks and turned my gaze to Catherine, who blushed, now realizing how foolish her plan had been.
"And also, I was going to announce Sera's existence to the world anyway, but by doing so yourself, you rely accelerated the process."
"What? You were going to announce her existence? Does that an...?"
"Yes. I never intended for her to live her entire life in a small room. In the end, she will grow up and long for the outside world. By using the identity of the First Princess of the Tirshtain Empire as a shield, her safety would be ensured."
I finished speaking and got ready to leave, but before exiting, I looked at Armanthur, who was standing, preparing to bid farewell.
"Grand Duke, I was laughing earlier when you knelt down. I an, seriously, even if I were to punish Catherine for her actions, at worst, I would have imprisoned her for a short period and asked you to bail her out."
Armanthur almost stumbled upon hearing my words, and I noticed his ears turning red with embarrassnt.
"Uh, Your Majesty, when it cos to family, I cannot control myself."
"Yes, yes, justify it with that excuse. Goodbye."
After hearing Alice, Catherine, and Daniel laughing at Armanthur's awkward mont, I smiled slightly.
I headed to the living room, picked up the sleeping Sera—her stomach bloated from the amount of food she had eaten—and left the palace.
As usual, Alex greeted , opened the car door, and we set off back to the palace.
I placed Sera on the bed and went to the Emperor's office.
Upon entering, my face twitched slightly as I heard my phone ringing. I took it out and answered the call.
"Hello, Your Majesty, did you like the gift in your office, Kiki?"
Hearing Armanthur's mischievous laughter, I turned my gaze toward the desk full of papers and docunts.
'Is this your revenge for what happened earlier? So childish.'
"Hello, Grand Duke. Yes, I liked it very much, but I am waiting for your arrival so you can start working on your backlog as the Emperor's assistant."
"Since when did I beco the Emperor's assistant?"
Armanthur asked, confused as he listened to my words, feeling sothing suspicious.
"Since now. Co on, I am waiting for you in my office. You have a lot of work to do. You have thirty minutes—if you are not here by then, you will be punished."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
I heard Armanthur's voice, almost sounding like crying, before closing the phone, feeling quite pleased.
'Hehehe, you want to drown alone? In your dreams.'
I sat at the desk and started browsing the docunts one by one. After ten minutes, I let one slip from my hand and sighed.
"I don't understand a single word of this."
Half of the docunts I had read were requests for various projects I had no idea about, alongside partnership proposals from other nations.
There were also invitations from councils outside the empire for the selection of representatives.
While I was imrsed in the docunts, Armanthur entered the office, his arms hanging, head lowered.
"Welco, Assistant Emperor. Why such low spirits when heading to work? Co, sit down—we have a lot to do."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Armanthur responded in a monotonous voice and sat at the desk to my right.
Imdiately, I used control magic and moved half of the docunts to his desk.
I began reviewing them slowly, asking Armanthur if there was anything I didn't understand.
I picked up one of the party invitations that caught my interest and read it carefully.
[A birthday invitation for the head of the Elin family, Martin Elin.]
'Hmm, House Elin.'
This ssage piqued my interest because it was from House Elin, which the heroine, Rianna, belonged to.
"Oh, House Elin. They are a barony in the northern part of the empire—not a great place to visit due to the heavy snow there."
"Do you know them, Grand Duke?"
"Yes, they have always produced strong swordsn, and the founder of their family was a Grandmaster-level swordsman. That is why they are quite famous in the empire."
'Oh, Grandmaster? That wasn't ntioned in the ga. Looks like I'll be taking a trip there.'
I took out my phone and sent a ssage to Lira, asking her to co to the office.
After a few minutes, Lira entered, carrying a tray with tea and so light snacks.
"Hello, Lira. I need you to give this letter to Alex and have it sent to Baron Elin's estate."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
Lira bowed slightly and left the room. Armanthur turned toward , looking sowhat puzzled.
"You rejected invitations from the duchies and chose to attend a small baron's party instead. Why?"
"No reason. I have a feeling I'll find sothing interesting there."
Armanthur sighed and returned to his work while I pondered what I would do a week from now in House Elin.
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