Chapter 09 …

How to Live as the Favorite of the Constellations 

The Circumstances of Adults (4)

‘The Duke’s expression……’

The Duke’s once stern and rigid expression was gradually softening.

As if holding the most precious treasure in the world, his hands gently patted the child’s body with extreme care, and his gaze was as warm as sunlight.

His eyes seemed to be looking at himself—or perhaps at other children he might have once held like this.

Clap.

Arvian unconsciously reached out and placed his hand on the Duke’s cheek. The Duke did not push the child’s hand away and instead smiled warmly.

It seemed clear that, without him knowing, the Inosilene Duke household must have eaten something spoiled together.

‘Honestly. This makes it impossible to hate them.’

He still didn’t know whether Kaelus was truly being mistreated or not, but at least he understood that the Duke wasn’t a bad person.

If Kaelus and the Duke ever fought later, he felt he would at least be able to listen to the Duke’s side too.

Arvian smiled.

“Kyah. Aah! Uuuung!”

“Oh my. Arvian seems excited. As expected, he recognizes his grandfather, doesn’t he?”

“Hmph…… even beasts recognize their bloodline. Something like this is only natural.”

Clap clap clap!

Arvian laughed brightly and repeatedly touched the Duke’s cheek.

The Duke watched Arvian’s smiling face with satisfaction, then cleared his throat and called Kaelus.

“Kaelus.”

“Yes? What is it?”

Kaelus, who had been smiling foolishly while watching Arvian, looked up in confusion.

The Duke hesitated for a moment, awkwardly scratching his cheek before continuing.

“I am sorry. We were originally supposed to come to the Count’s estate a few weeks ago, were we not?”

“That’s right. If Grandfather hadn’t suddenly run off to some meeting, I would’ve had a lot of fun with Arvian back then.”

“Hmph.”

“And I probably wouldn’t have run away from home either. Am I wrong?”

Though bold words, the Duke could not refute them.

No matter the reason, he had been the one to break his promise with Kaelus.

Unable to bear listening any longer, the Count stood up and sternly called Kaelus.

“Kaelus. No matter what, that is no way to speak to your grandfather.”

“Why do you always scold only me?”

Kaelus grumbled, but even Arvian could not take his side this time.

Calling the Duke someone who “ran off” was a bit too much.

“Hmph. Anyway, as an apology, I plan to stay here a bit longer. What do you think, Kaelus?”

“Here?”

“Yes. It means you can play with Arvian for a few more days.”

“How much longer?”

“About two weeks, I think. I cleared my schedule before coming here. I felt I may have been neglecting you lately.”

Arvian’s eyes widened.

‘Two weeks is huge.’

When he turned, Kaelus had a very serious expression.

Apparently, the Duke’s proposed duration was far too short. His furrowed brows were full of dissatisfaction.

But for the Duke, time was precious.

Taking out two weeks to spend with his grandchildren was not something easy at all.

‘Big brother! Let’s just accept this!’

Arvian wanted to shout that, but Kaelus firmly shook his head.

“No.”

However, what followed was completely unexpected.

“Two weeks is too long.”

“……Huh? Huh?”

Too long?

Arvian blinked in confusion.

“If I leave for two weeks, the ones suffering will be the aides. They already look exhausted these days… Ah, did you overwork them just to make time?”

“……That is…”

“Wow. Grandfather, you must be going to live a very long life. You’ve probably heard every insult already. You should thank me later.”

“……”

“Anyway, two days is enough. I can’t miss more classes. If I fall behind, it’ll be hard to catch up.”

The Countess, flustered, cautiously asked.

“Kael. Didn’t you come home because you wanted to play with Arvian? And also because studying at the Duke’s residence was difficult?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

As the adults’ expressions stiffened slightly, Kaelus spoke as if it were obvious.

“Playing with Arvian and studying being hard are completely separate things!”

Kaelus hugged Arvian tightly, now in the Duke’s arms, his eyes burning with determination.

“I do want to play, but I’ve never hated studying. I need to learn a lot to become the heir.”

As an older brother, I have only one duty.

To protect my younger brother!

But Kaelus already understood that desire alone was not enough.

To protect someone precious, strength was necessary. Strength so overwhelming that no one could even think of touching him or his brother.

“I will become the Duke and protect Arvian!”

Kaelus smiled brightly, baring his teeth proudly.

And so, two days passed.

Kaelus spent the remaining time fully with Arvian and then left the Count’s estate.

After that, Kaelus and the Duke visited the Count’s estate regularly.

Due to the Duke’s schedule, it was only once every three months, but Kaelus seemed satisfied and often praised his grandfather for keeping his promises.

Thus, time passed until Kaelus had visited the Count’s estate about sixteen more times.

“Arvian, are you tired?”

“Mm… haaah. No, I’m fine, Mother.”

“You can sleep a little more since everything is ready. You’ll arrive at the Imperial Capital when you wake up.”

The Countess gently stroked Arvian’s eyelids and face.

Under her warm and gentle touch, Arvian’s sleepy eyes slowly closed halfway.

It was the day before Arvian’s fifth birthday.

This time, the Count and Countess were traveling with Arvian to the Duke’s residence.

In his past life, over a hundred years ago, travel had been extremely difficult.

Outside cities and territories, monsters attacked humans.

Not only civilians but even renowned mercenaries had to prepare extensively when traveling.

Because of this, demon subjugations and military operations were frequently disrupted.

Although nations tried various methods to solve this problem on a continental scale, demon interference made it difficult.

In other words, it was an era where living and dying in the same place was normal.

“Wow……”

But not anymore.

People now freely moved between territories.

Just like Kaelus once traveled alone from the Duke’s residence to the Count’s estate, even children could travel if they wished.

‘I had heard about it, but……’

Arvian pressed his face against the carriage window, eyes sparkling.

Everything outside was fascinating.

Most impressive of all were the endless carriages lined up in front of the Imperial Capital gate, where carriages from all over the empire passed inspection one by one before entering.

Arvian turned to the Countess.

“There are so many carriages. Is today a special day?”

“Hm? No. On festival or national holidays, there are even more. This is actually considered a quiet day.”

“Quiet? Even with this many lined up?”

Arvian had once imagined the world after the Demon King disappeared.

But even he did not expect such change within just a century.

Humanity, after killing the Demon King, had finally broken free from thousands of years of stagnation and begun to leap forward.

‘What about other places?’

Had the rest of the continent changed like this too?

‘I want to see it myself.’

He wanted to confirm with his own eyes how much the world had changed—and what results the countless lives he had once given had created.

“Mother, Father. I have a request.”

After staring outside for a while, Arvian turned to his parents.

They seemed to already guess what he was going to say.

“Alright. What is your request?”

“Of course we’ll listen.”

The Count closed the book he was reading and placed it aside.

“Could we walk to the Duke’s residence? I want to see the Imperial Capital. And I also want to buy gifts for my brother and Grandfather.”

“Gifts?”

“Yes. They always brought gifts whenever they came to the Count’s estate, so I feel it would be rude to arrive empty-handed.”

“E-Empty-handed…… well, yes, that’s true…”

The Countess smiled awkwardly while sweating slightly, glancing sideways at the Count.

The Count wasn’t much different.

They were pleased by Arvian’s thoughtfulness, but it wasn’t quite what they had expected.

‘It would’ve been better if he wanted toys or something from the capital.’

‘He’s polite… but maybe he should be a bit more childish.’

Arvian was unusually mature for his age.

He had never once thrown a tantrum.

From a very young age, he always spoke politely, carefully, and logically—he always “persuaded” others to get what he wanted.

“Would that be difficult?”

“Hmm…”

As their hesitation grew, Arvian tilted his head.

For some reason, this made the parents feel both proud and slightly disappointed.

‘Would he cry if we said it’s dangerous?’

The Countess shook her head immediately.

No. Arvian would probably apologize for suggesting something unreasonable.

He would never insist again.

Unlike other children who would throw tantrums in toy stores until they got what they wanted, Arvian was the opposite.

Too well-behaved.

Too reasonable.

“Then shall we walk together and take a look? Let’s pick out gifts that will surprise Grandfather and your brother.”

“Yes! What does Grandfather like?”

“If it’s a gift from Arvian, I’m sure he’ll love anything.”

Arvian smiled brightly.

And that smile made him look exactly like a child his age.

The couple smiled back and gently patted his head.