In the office devoid of his father, Darphy, who was momentarily stunned, collected himself and stood up from his chair.
「H-hold on, please wait. Father!」
Darphy who watched as Dante leave the room happy about his retirement, chased after him upon regaining himself.
Retirement? Change of heads? What is Father saying? Darphy was followed Dante while still trying to fully untangle his thoughts.
The document handed by Prime Minister Balza was a document for a change of head to be submitted to the House of Lords? Eh, me? Succeeding the territory?
Darphy couldn’t wrap his head around the unexpected development.
「Minimal clothing and underwear should be fine. Wait, maybe I should bring Freesia’s ou
When Darphy caught up to Dante and entered his parents’ bedroom, there he found his father muttering to himself as he packed.
「Don’t what’s the matter me! What do you mean by change of heads!?」
「Even if you ask me, that’s really all there is to it.」 Google seaʀᴄh 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁
Contrary to Darphy’s agitation, Dante’s calm response only exasperated Darphy even more.
「No way, the reason you are abandoning this territory isn’t because you want to be by Sister’s child’s side, is it?」
「Darphy, it’s not sister’s child. Address her properly as Etoile.」
「No, that’s not the problem!」
「Don’t yell, Darphy. You’ll go bald.」
「I will not go bald!」
Where did his strict, taciturn, father go? Ever since his grandson was born, he became a totally different jolly person, and that left Darphy confused, frustrated, and irritated, an utter mess of emotions.
「Darphy, His Excellency the Prime Minister has shown forethought and taken measures to smoothen the succession of the House to ensure Freesia’s and my presence in the Sanctuary to increase the connections our nation has with the Sanctuary. This was their decision. It can not be overturned.」
「M-my position in the order is……」
「Hmm, of course, you’re leaving it, are you not?」
Darphy fell to his knees in despair at surging developments and change of head after his return.
「Don’t worry, Darphy. I won’t leave for the Sanctuary tomorrow or the next day. You can learn from me about the territory until I do.」
「……when do you plan on departing?」
「Hmm, I would like to leave within ten days at most.」
「Two days or ten days, that’s not much of a difference! At the very least, watch over me until I am capable of managing the territory by myself!」
Even though Dante returned just today, he said he would leave for the Sanctuary again within ten days at most, so expectably, Darphy couldn’t agree with this. ℝ
「I’m saying it’s impossible.」
「No, you have a responsibility as the head of the family, Father……」
「You are the head of the family already, Darphy.」
「Well, that may be so, but Father, it is you who developed this land. You must have some attachment towards it, are you not worried whether I would be able to manage it well?」
「Worried? My worry at this moment is whether or not Etoile has already forgotten my face!」
「It is impossible for a child who was just barely born would remember your face, Father!」
What a foolish remark from a doting grandfather. Every foolish remark Dante yelled, Darphy returned with his own yell.
「Fufu, listen, Darphy. You’re looking down on your own niece. Etoile is a prodigy. Surely she remember her gramp’s face.」
Because he was an Elf, Dante looked young, but witnessing him happily call himself “gramps” truly made Darphy wonder if his father really was a different person.
How Darphy saw his father ever since he was young was serious and taciturn. If anything, he thought his father was a humorless man.
His mother Freesia was a calm and graceful mother, but when his sister disappeared after the war, she rarely smiled. Ever since Sophia returned to their territory with a human male, she returned to being the calm and graceful mother, but Dante was still a serious and ordinary lord of a small territory.
「I should send Sanctuary wine I brought with me to Lord Balza, His Majesty, and the Knight Commander as a souvenir. I’m sure they would be pleased. Ah, right! I should buy hair accessories for Etoile.」
「……I believe hair ornaments are too early for babies.」
All Darphy could do was make quips as Dante hummed happily as he packed.
It’s a matter of succession for the Chevalier family, but if the Prime Minister and Knight Commandeer acknowledge it and the current head of the family wanted it, there was nothing that Darphy could do.
And so, Darphy was forced to agree.
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