BGDBP 29

Chapter 29

Chris scanned the fussy couple, the gloomy girl clinging to them, and the man looking at him with sparkling eyes, and clenched his teeth. Ugh!
“Could it be… they used me as some kind of tourist transport?”
“No, definitely not!”
Waz quickly denied it.
“I just thought I’d introduce this young man, Jojo. But to introduce him, I had to introduce his parents first, and then his parents made a fuss about not leaving their daughter alone…”
Waz had also been flustered by the long line of family members piling up.
“Anyway… who are these people?”
Chris asked with a sigh. Just then, Jojo bowed his head to Chris and said:
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Jojo of Ceres.”

After finishing his greeting, Jojo raised his head and gave a small smile. Pianie’s eyes lit up.
This guy seems about my age…

His face was confident and unwrinkled, without any hint of arrogance. His orange hair and striking golden eyes were fascinating. And above all—
[Handsome! Face passes!]
When Pianie boldly exclaimed this, Jojo’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He quickly composed himself, so no one could read his expression, but Chris felt an odd sense of irritation.
Why do I suddenly feel so gross? I felt annoyed when they first appeared, but now it’s somehow worse.

Then Johannes twisted his frowning face slightly and asked:
“Jojo of Ceres?”

Pianie’s eyes sparkled.
Ceres… that’s a name I remember from world history studies.

Ceres: a tiny country where ten ethnic groups led by ten families live in harmony across the sea. Its small territory meant it wasn’t very powerful and often suffered diplomatically, but its fertile land ensured a strong domestic market.

Few people from this country could use the name “Ceres” to describe themselves instead of their family name.

Johannes asked seriously:
“Are you royalty of Ceres?”
“Yes.”

Jojo’s father, who had been holding his wife’s hand and squealing with delight, adjusted his mustache and spoke. His proud gaze somehow seemed a bit cheesy.
“You must be meeting us for the first time, Duke Hespia. I am Pu of the 8th House of Ceres.”

Jojo’s father, Pu, extended his hand. Chris didn’t even glance at it.
“……?”
What? Could someone be this rude?

Hmph.
Pu looked around with a pitiful expression, as if asking, “He’s too harsh, right?”

But no one seemed offended by Chris’s rudeness—not even the family.

Hmph hmph.

Pu pouted briefly but then noticed something in Chris’s hand and beamed.
“So you were holding something!”

Ah, so he couldn’t shake my hand! He wasn’t ignoring me after all!
“Haha. Is that a doll? Do you like dolls?”
“…….”
“Our daughter likes dolls very much too.”

Indeed, the bag Chéché held was adorned with numerous dolls, especially ones resembling red pandas.
“She still acts like a baby, always looking for her dolls. She probably still thinks storks bring babies! Haha!”

Chéché’s face turned red. Act like a baby my foot! She knew exactly how clingy she was. As soon as she became an adult, she had bought all the rare red-stickered editions of novels she couldn’t read before, and Pu would have fainted had he seen how often she read them.

Meanwhile, Pianie, watching Chéché and her daughter, thought of her own parents.
I’m also a daughter loved like that by my parents…

Pianie’s parents’ fussing was even more intense than Pu’s.
…I miss them.

Whether it was her gloomy thought or not, Chris now had a grimmer expression than before.
“Anyway, why did someone of Ceres royalty visit the Loroa Empire without any notice?”

Pu was flustered.

The Duke of Hespia’s reputation was well-known even across the sea. The Loroa Empire was indisputably the strongest nation, and he was the only duke, chosen by gods excluding Akxia and monsters. He deserved respect, but Pu was royalty too, and Ceres wasn’t an unknown country.

Quite a distinguished guest, right? Why is he being spoken to like he’s under interrogation?

As he thought this, tears welled up in Pu’s eyes. He wanted to cry but couldn’t in front of his family.
“Humph.”

Pu cleared his throat.
“We often take quiet family trips like this. As you know, we are not ordinary people. If we don’t conceal our status, a quiet trip becomes impossible, and we’d have to be treated like state guests while engaging in important political discussions.”

Pu went on at length, implying, “See how great we are?”

Chris scowled.
“So… you’re saying you entered the country clandestinely?”

Pu trembled like a mouse before a cat.
“No, not clandestinely. We just used a ‘different’ status to enter. You know, everyone does that secretly.”

Pianie’s jaw dropped.
What? Really? Everyone lives like that? Then why even have laws?

Chris, thinking the same, said coldly:
“You’re telling me everyone lives like sneaky little mice?”
“Huh?”

Pu calmly expressed his shock.
“Where did you go through immigration?”
“T-Tahe, sir.”
“This is insane. Should have beaten the southerners even more.”

The vein on Chris’s jaw stood out sharply. Everyone in the room trembled under his gaze, but only Pianie, held in his hand, remained calm.
Hmm. His hand is firm yet warm… why is that?

Pianie felt almost drowsy from the comfort of it.

Then Pu, proudly showing a walnut hidden in his chin, said:
“Please don’t be too angry. Even the Emperor of the Loroa Empire has visited Ceres in this way! He enjoyed himself so much that the banana peels he left piled up like a mountain!”

Pu expected Chris to back down hearing this. After all, even the emperor had done it, so how could a duke be criticized…
“Is that true?”

Chris’s red eyes blazed. Pu, frightened, hiccuped.
“Hiccup!”

Chris frowned coldly.
“The Emperor of the Empire sneaks abroad like that? I protect this empire day and night…!”

Chris’s veins seemed to bulge all over, but the hand holding Pianie remained calm and cozy.
“An emperor’s child… must be eliminated quickly. For my remaining life, that child must be dealt with.”

Pu was shocked by this sudden declaration of rebellion.

The Hespia household, used to such situations, remained relatively calm.
“I understand your feelings, but please calm down. The doll will be frightened.”

Dion said.
“The doll?”

The Jojo family, along with Johannes and the others, stared wide-eyed at Pianie, smiling subtly in Chris’s hand.
Everyone is looking at me.

She had always been in the spotlight but did not want this kind of attention.
I feel a little miserable.

Pianie slumped a bit, but Dion’s clever remark helped defuse Chris’s anger.
“Haa… so? Anyway, why did you come looking for me?”

Pu, holding his wife and daughter, trembled.
“Our son wanted to learn from the Duke…”

“What are you talking about? I don’t teach anyone.”

Chris frowned. From a short distance, Jojo awkwardly smiled while observing the strange situation.
“I have no intention of troubling you. I only wish for the chance to serve you as a knight of the Duke’s household.”

Chris scanned Jojo, then glared at Waz.
“To bring a knight and immediately start playing employment broker… impressive, Waz.”
“I-It’s not like that.”

“Then what? Did this guy have amazing skills you didn’t want to miss? Or were you intimidated by his background and brought him here?”

As Chris said, the reason Waz brought Jojo was ultimately that Jojo was Ceres royalty. As the son of the 8th House, barring accidents, he would likely be the next king.

I thought rejecting such a heavyweight was too much for me. But that’s not all. Honestly, his skill is enough to be active in the knights…

Just as Waz was about to confess his thoughts to Chris, Jojo spoke up.
“Duke, he has done nothing wrong. He only fulfilled my request.”

Everyone except Chris thought:
“Him?”

The thirty-three-year-old man rubbed his face, his feelings mixed and complicated.