Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy

979 – A Crazy New Year’s Eve – 4

The scroll, which he did not want to look at or touch, ended up in Mar’s hands.

“What a wonderful sentence. The North, the sword, magic. It contains all the characteristics of a sword.”

“I have nothing to do with magic.”

“You are the Duke of Servette. Then you should give me the staff as well.”

He stared at the sentence with a dry chuckle at my timid complaint.

Unlike me, who was overwhelmed by the extravagant gift of a personal coat of arms, Mar was delighted that I had received the coat of arms. He said, “What an honor it is.”

“When His Majesty bestowed a title on Karl, it was tantamount to declaring that even though Karl was acting as his deputy, he would be treated no different from a duke. It was also pressuring other nobles to respect Karl.”

“Wouldn’t you be respected even without this?”

“Haha, that’s true. But that’s the authority of an adult, the authority of an inspector general. His authority as Duke Servette’s proxy is unknown. He might be confused by Sister Trixie’s absence, and might question the uncommon proxy system. Of course, if it’s Karl, he’ll be able to overcome the doubts, but it’s better to go smoothly, right?”

I nodded bitterly, thinking that it was a logically perfect statement.

That’s right. The Emperor granted me the personal emblem that only a Duke can have? This means that the Emperor, of all people, has recognized my authority. He has declared to the Empire and the Continent that he will treat me like a Duke, even though I am labeled as a Deputy.

If anyone were to question, ‘Is it okay for an outsider, not even a wizard, to serve as the commander of Servet?’, they would immediately face the Emperor.

‘Thank you, but.’

Honestly, if you were to consider whether awarding a sentence is beneficial or detrimental to me, it is definitely beneficial. There is no time more chaotic than the time right after the retirement of a predecessor and the ascension of a successor, but that confusion can be resolved without a hitch.

Moreover, even though there is a precedent for the first Duke of Servet, Duke Sulgeom, to establish a deputy, it is only a very small number of precedents. Therefore, the awarding of the Emperor’s coat of arms is inevitably one of the elements that fills in the lack of legitimacy.

The remaining factors are that he is the husband of the previous duke and the biological father of the successor duke. If it weren’t for those two factors, who would have dared to become the acting duke?

“Then the sword. This scroll, can I keep it?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s okay. But why is that?”

“I’m going to try embroidering with this.”

I flinched at the shy smile and awkward answer.

“embroidery?”

“It’s Karl’s personal emblem. I think it would look good if you embroidered it on a handkerchief.”

This time I felt my pupils fluctuate.

It’s ugly enough to just roll up a roll, but you want me to just stuff it into a handkerchief and carry it around? Every time I need to lightly wipe my hands, I have to see that ugly sentence?

“Fortunately, since Tricky is retiring in mid-February, I can make it carefully. If I hurry a little, I can even make it in late January.”

After saying that, he rolled up the dry scroll again and showed a bright and warm smile like the sun.

“I’ll definitely finish it by Karl’s birthday. I had a lot of trouble deciding what to give him as a gift next year, so this turned out great!”

“…Yeah, I’ll look forward to it.”

It was such a bright and loving pledge that I couldn’t resist.

My birthday is at the end of January. My husband received a personal seal and I have a dream to make an embroidered handkerchief by then. As a husband, how can I stop this cute dream? Who can refuse this gift?

Just as there was no choice in Nureongi’s gift, there was no choice in Mar’s gift either.

“Ah. For the time being, you can’t show it to the employees. Understand?”

“Of course. Don’t worry, I’ll make it secretly in my room.”

If it was Eri, I would have been worried, but Maru assured me. Surprisingly, I didn’t have even the slightest bit of worry.

‘Let’s think positively.’

Finally, I calmed down and carefully hugged Mar, who was still smiling.

Don’t be upset or bitter. After all, it’s a personal seal that you received, and it’s a seal that will be with you for the 20 to 30 years that you’ll be serving as the Duke’s deputy. So wouldn’t it be better to get used to it and become familiar with it in advance?

If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. From today on, this sentence is not just a picture, it’s part of my authority.

“Ka, Karl! Even the kids are watching─”

“They just left. They’re not the type of people to stay in one place for too long.”

The kids who were around Mar and I have long since moved to another room. They are so active that they are busy playing in this room and that room for a while. They might be wandering the hallway looking for another room right now.

“So what if you look at it that way? If dad and mom get along well, the kids like it too.”

When I hug my wives, my children also run over to me, asking to be hugged too.

Even though Mardo knew that, he made excuses about being a child. It was a little cute, but also annoying. How dare he use excuses about being a child to try to escape my embrace.

‘Children are never a hindrance.’

Rather, it is closer to an existence that makes the love of a couple stand out even more. Because we shared love, such cute children came into the world.

…

‘Is it time to aim for the third one now?’

Couple’s love, child. When these two keywords are combined, a new keyword suddenly comes to mind.

Several months have passed since Julia was born. She can’t walk yet, but she’s grown enough to crawl.

Then… wouldn’t it be okay to start preparing for the third child? Fine’s child will be born next year, so shouldn’t there be a child of the same age as that child? It would be lonely if there were only an older and younger child without a child of the same age.

‘I already felt very sorry towards Pedi and Mary.’

Pedi, now 5, and Mary, now 2. The two children in our family who do not have siblings of the same age.

I already have two sore fingers, I can’t increase that to three. This tragedy must end in two.

‘The third one will be pretty and red-haired, just like Mar.’

There’s no specific basis for this, but I had a feeling that since Pedi, who had black hair and black eyes, and Julia, who had black hair and green eyes, were born, the next child would be a red-haired, green-eyed child.

If my intuition is right, the first father-in-law will be delirious. The little baby inherited the red hair that is the symbol of Valenti, and even has emerald eyes like Mar? He is the one who sucks and bites the Pedi that is thickly soaked in my blood, so he will faint while standing.

Especially if you’re born a girl, you’re at risk of having a heart attack. If you’re born a girl with green eyes, you’re just a mini-mature girl.

‘good.’

Third, let’s go. Unlike the yellow sun, I’m not a bad father.

And I can’t stand the mini-marine either.

The new year has arrived. The year that was filled with many events, starting with the retirement of my first father-in-law, has finally come to an end.

‘I hope this year brings a comfortable year.’

Even though I thought it was a futile wish, I walked towards the palace while praying in my heart.

Everyone has the freedom to pray, no matter how vain the prayer may be.

“It’s amazing every time I come here. I’ve only passed through one door, but it feels like I’ve entered another world.”

While I was praying to Enen and the eternal blue sky, Constantina, in a medley, I turned my head at the voice filled with admiration.

Then, Lize was seen looking around the palace with curious eyes.

“Is it strange?”

“Yes! You can see snow removal everywhere, but inside the palace, it’s not like there’s any snow removal… It’s as if only this place has escaped the winter!”

I smiled faintly at the sight of Lize nodding her head repeatedly.

It is not a wrong statement. The palace is a noble place where the emperor and the royal family reside. Because it is such a place, it is a place where thorough management is carried out in various aspects─ but at some point, preparations for elements such as rain, snow, and wind became more thorough.

Even the strong winds that would uproot trees become a breeze once they enter the palace, heavy rain falls just enough to moisten the ground, and snow melts quickly with the click of a button. The warm air is a bonus.

A perfect environment created by installing magic circles. It is clear that magic circles were not installed like this during the current emperor’s reign, but the reason it was transformed into a magic palace during the current emperor’s reign is simple.

“When! When!”

– Woof!

– Woof woof!

‘oh.’

At that moment, the Crown Princess came running from afar, escorted by maids and giant rice cakes.

The princess running towards you is the starting point of the magic palace. The emperor’s love for the princess led to great changes in the palace.

To be exact, the play environment inside the palace cannot beat our mansion even if we wake up from death, so it is because of the strange competitiveness to protect the crown princess through external factors.

‘He’s really great.’

It’s truly amazing. If he had simply installed a magic circle inside a building, it would be understandable, but he installed a magic circle throughout the entire palace. I can’t even imagine how much money, manpower, and time must have been invested.

To be honest, I think the Minister of Finance said, “We don’t have money” because of the budget for the palace renovation, but surprisingly, it was not done with the national treasury, but only with the imperial funds. Then it’s ambiguous to criticize him. He decorated his own house with his own money.

“Timebu! Timemo! Come on in!”

“Yes, Your Majesty. How have you been?”

“Yeah! I’m doing well!”

The Crown Princess giggled and flapped her arms at my greeting.

I’m glad you seem to be doing quite well. It’s been getting colder lately, and Veronica was just born, so the Crown Princess hasn’t been visiting the mansion much. I was worried that you might be bored because of that.

‘Are we now somewhat self-sufficient?’

In the palace, there is not only the Crown Princess, but also the First Prince Carolus and the Second Princess Caroline. The Empress has a future Second Prince or Third Princess in her arms.

Now, there are two younger siblings who can have fun playing with the Crown Princess even within the palace. If you include the animal farm run by the situation, there are quite a few things to do.

‘Not bad.’

Now that I understand the objective play environment of the palace, I feel at ease. Now, I no longer have to whine about being bored when the Crown Princess can’t come to our house.

“Come on! Come on! Daddy’s coming!”

‘ah.’

However, my mind, which had been at ease, became uncomfortable for another reason.

That kid has been bothering me since I came to the palace.