Lucy, this morning, you asked me how your ‘brother’ received permission from Paul to swear his oath to Aria, right?

  It was no wonder that you came to me. There would be no way Paul would talk about it. And your ‘brother’ would not dare to tell you. After all, it was the pride of a man and the blunder of another man.

  It was about half a month after the annual prayer. It appeared that Duke Willow already had an audience with the emperor. For half a month, the imperial faction and the neutral faction were talking about the new treaty among themselves.

  It was an afternoon, after your nap with Aria, that I went to observe your ‘brother’.

  Walking from behind, Paul said to me. “There was a voice call for capital punishment.” Surprisingly, that voice was not Marquise Larose's, but Duke Melbon's. Duke Melbon really wanted to execute Duke Willow. However, it was Marquise Larose who stopped him.

  “I am not surprised.” To this news, I softly replied.

  I was on the balcony watching your ‘brother’ preparing the venue alone. He took it upon himself to prepare for the surprise party for Aria. His body was still covered in bandages. It seemed that Paul had gone too far with him.

  Then Paul took a few more steps and stood beside me. He, too, was looking down at him from the top of the Great Tower. “I already sent them your message.”

  “Am I too lenient to him?” I weakly asked Paul, seeking his approval.

  “It is inevitable.” Yet, he even denied my small sense of relief. It was not my masochistic tendency. At that time, I wanted someone to scold me and tell me I was wrong — I was at fault.

  “Sorry, I should have listened to you.” I could feel that my voice was trembling a lot when I said that.

  “… This is fate.” He replied, still looking down at your ‘brother’.

  “I am nothing but a failure.” I could sense my tears falling as I spoke those words.

  “… Don’t be too hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. As long as you remember it and try not to repeat it, that is enough.” He turned to look at me.

  I, too, turned to look at him. “… I wonder who is the real adult here. Although I am much older than you, I am not as dependable as you.” I could see his gentle eyes looking at me.

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  That was the only time Paul touched my face. That, too, was to wipe my tears. “You are already dependable.”

  “I will take it as your word to comfort me.” After I said that, I turned to look at Andres again. “… That boy, he is trying his best.”

  “Yes.” Paul also followed my gaze.

  “You do not try to stop him?”

  “Reward and punishment should go hand in hand. And I owed him that much.” Paul solemnly said so. His voice told me that he also felt guilty about it.

  Apparently, after that incident with Duke Willow, Paul went to Andres. He took out his frustration on Andres during their spare. As for Andres, he silently accepted it without any complaint.

  By the time Paul came to his senses, Andres was already covered in many wounds.

  It was partly his guilty conscience, and it was also partly how mature your ‘brother’ responded to it; your grandpa acknowledged him as a ‘man’ and allowed him to swear an oath to Aria.

  “… You seemed to lash out at him too much, this time.” It was true; when everyone saw it, they said the same thing.

  It was the guardian knights who rushed to support Andres, and it was Bishop Theo who helped heal him.

  Due to various circumstances, the men decided to conceal it from everyone, especially Aria. That was why your ‘brother’ could not receive proper treatment.

  “I won’t deny it. I went overboard with him this time.” Paul also knew that he was in the wrong, so he readily admitted his mistake. Your ‘brother’ also understood Paul. That was why he just silently took on Paul’s anger.

  “Yet, he did not seem to mind it.” After I said that, I turned to look at Paul again.

  He did not reply to me. Then I could no longer hold it. As I turned my head to look up at him, I asked for a punishment. “Can you lash out at me, too?”

  Upon hearing that, he immediately looked at me.

  Seeing that, I instantly added. “I need to receive the punishment too.”

  Then, with a stern voice, he asked me. “Is it necessary?”

  “It is for my own satisfaction.”

  “…” After I said that, he stared down at me for a long time.

  Then, he finally decided to raise his hand.

  Then, do you happen to know what happened next, Lucy?

  Your grandpa was too much.

  He answered my earnest plea with a flick on the forehead.

  He flicked my forehead.

  “Ouch.” Although it was just a flick, it really hurt. Yet, I could sense that he held back a lot.

  “This is your punishment. Remember this pain. Never repeat the same mistakes.” After he flicked my forehead, he turned back to look at Andres.

  “I am older than you. Stop treating me like a kid.” Seeing him behave like that, I tiptoed and grabbed his shirt in protest.

  “You should behave like one.” I could see him smiling, as if he was enjoying it. It may be my mistake, but I noticed his ear was a bit red.

  Then a thought went through my head. However, when I tried to bite his earlobe, I was stopped by a sound of something falling.

  When I turned to the source of that sound, I saw that you had already knocked down the decoration Andres had put around the garden.

  “… Lucy, I told you to be careful,” He lightly scolded you, who was laughing in triumph. Then he turned to look at the mess you created. “………. Again, we need to redo it.”

  Because of you, Lucy, we had to delay it again, that surprise party.

  I also want to ask you, Lucy. Was it your idea to tear down an intact building to prepare that garden? What was on your mind when you proposed it? How could you convince the Council of Cardinals to accept it?

  Well, the result was much better than we thought. However, you should not go around and tear down new buildings as you please, okay, Lucy?