YOWV~30

~Chapter 30~

“Cough!”

The first one to open the dining room door was Lucas, who looked around cautiously before sitting down.

In his hands was a gift box as big as his own body.

“This should make Dandelion really happy, right?”

Then—

“…What is that?”

Calypse, who entered the dining room second, frowned at the gift package in his son’s hands.

“It’s a gift for Dandelion. What about you, Dad?”

But Calypse wasn’t the only one frowning.

Lucas cautiously placed his own gift box on the table while watching the small box in his father’s hand.

Judging by the size, his own gift was clearly superior.

As the silent tension between the two men intensified—

“Whose birthday is it today?”

Knox, who had finished tidying up Calypse’s work and followed him late, asked.

“No.”

“It’s not.”

At their answers, Knox quietly stood beside Calypse.

“….”

Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly slid a hidden gift box onto the table.

Calypse looked disgusted.

“What are you doing again?”

“It means I’m joining the war.”

Bang—

Lucas slammed the table with his fist as a warning.

“Why is even Knox doing this? If you act like this, Dandelion’s reaction will be divided!”

“People can earn reactions by their own skills. Surely you’re not lacking confidence, Young Master?”

At Knox’s question, Lucas crossed his arms and snorted while turning his head away.

“What can you do even if you give a gift? You’ll probably just give a coloring book with monsters drawn in it.”

“Oh, I actually prepared that too.”

Knox adjusted his monocle.

“As a bonus.”

“!”

Bonus.

They hadn’t expected that.

“….”

Struck by the strategist’s unexpected move, the two men fell silent with shocked faces.

Before Aisha arrived, the dining room, sunk in silence, began to feel a cold breeze.

A short while later.

“So what is all this?”

Aisha asked nervously as she entered the dining room.

“Open it.”

“Dandelion, you can take off that scarf now, right?”

“It’s a gift, Young Lady.”

All three men answered competitively as they pushed their gifts toward the table where Aisha sat.

Blinking her big eyes, Aisha carefully opened the box and asked, halfway through.

“…You know tomorrow is the candidate exam day, right?”

Then, Calypse and Lucas, who had been staring blankly at her, smiled slightly.

Only Knox, whose monocle flashed, nodded.

Thus, the sudden gift party was over.

“Don’t you have to prepare anything since tomorrow is the candidate exam?”

Munch, munch.

Just in case, I asked, but Lucas and the uncle were unusually calm.

“I fought monsters day and night for five years. No matter what monster comes, I’ll pass the exam.”

Lucas, who had stabbed a steak with his fork, chewed the meat leisurely.

‘Come to think of it, that’s true.’

His words were credible.

The ability Lucas had shown at Aili’s circus arena was combat power that could not be learned through training alone.

“Well, if it’s you, you’ll pass for sure, brother.”

“K, khm! Of course!”

At my words, Lucas, whose face had turned gradient red, boasted loudly.

“And I’ve known I had to take the heir test since I could speak! The test might be meaningless now since I don’t have an older brother….”

“What do you mean?”

Then Calypse, who had been eating quietly, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

“I mean, since there’s no brother, I’ll be the only one taking the heir test, right?”

At Lucas’ question, question marks appeared on the others’ faces.

Knox’s eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation.

“Did you not tell him?”

“Oh. I’ve been busy lately. I have no idea what’s going on.”

Calypse frowned slightly at Knox’s scolding and sighed.

‘You had time to buy my gift, but not time to talk about something important, uncle.’

I narrowed my eyes following Knox’s, but didn’t say it aloud.

It was true that the uncle was busy.

After finding Lucas at the circus arena.

He had been handling the cleanup of the circus grounds while simultaneously taking care of Lucas’ room assignment and the details related to the heir test.

If the Duchess had been present, she would have handled Lucas’ room arrangement and the training arena setup for the heir test.

‘But since the Duchess is gone, uncle has to do everything alone.’

Moreover, Calypse, who had lived alone for five years, suddenly had me and Lucas brought in.

He must be overwhelmed.

“Lucas.”

After taking a sip of water, uncle spoke.

“The heir test will proceed as scheduled. Of course, practically speaking, you are the only candidate. Aisha is a direct descendant, but she has no ability.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“A capability user appeared in the collateral branch.”

“…What?”

Lucas’ eyes widened as he ate his steak.

It was clearly the first time he had heard such news.

Naturally, since uncle hadn’t told him.

Unlike Lucas, uncle had an indifferent expression.

“Whatever people say, you are the only direct descendant, and the only heir candidate. That’s why I didn’t bother telling you. But since we can’t let an ability user go to waste, we’ll still conduct a ceremonial test.”

“Ah, well… okay.”

Lucas shrugged.

“But since another ability user appeared, it will help a lot in guarding the ice wall. By the way, which family did they come from?”

“Marquis Lilis’ family.”

“….”

The smoothly flowing conversation stopped at that moment.

Lucas, who seemed about to continue speaking, closed his mouth.

“…Brother?”

When I turned my head, hearing the conversation, Lucas, who had stopped even moving his fork, was staring only at the steak as if lost in thought.

I tilted my upper body slightly to check him.

Lucas’ complexion looked a little bad when seen up close.

It was like someone who couldn’t breathe properly.

“The,”

Actually speaking slightly hesitantly, Lucas lowered his voice.

“The heir test… isn’t it a bit strange to have people from the collateral branch take it at the same place and time?”

Then he said something unexpected.

Suddenly changing the topic like this?

Feeling slightly puzzled, I stayed silent and listened to the two men’s conversation.

“It’s fine. Since you’re an ability user, you’ll meet them sometimes anyway. It would be good to get acquainted tomorrow.”

“Uh, um… Then, since it’s just the test, I can return right after my own test ends, right?”

“No problem. If you’re not curious, you can see the collateral branch’s face later.”

“Great!”

At that, Lucas’ face brightened a little.

“But the Marquis’ family will probably come to watch your test.”

At uncle’s words, Lucas became dark again.

“Dad.”

“What is it?”

“If so, how about postponing the heir test?”

At that question, my and Knox’s eyes widened slightly.

It was an absurd suggestion. The Crost family had already postponed the heir test for several years after losing all of its children.

Calypse frowned and asked in a slightly raised voice.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, since I’m the only heir now anyway. There’s no one else taking the test, so delaying it a little shouldn’t matter, right?”

“The test has been postponed since several years ago. If we delay it further, the family heads will rebel.”

Feeling somewhat frustrated, Lucas said bluntly,

“Dad is a duke, right?”

“So what?”

“If you just order them to postpone the test, shouldn’t the family heads just say yes?”

At his increasingly unreasonable words, Calypse shot him a warning look.

“Lucas.”

“What?”

“You know that’s nonsense. Don’t throw tantrums in moderation.”

“Anyway, I’m the only heir candidate. If I want to change the date, why can’t I?”

Calypse sighed and muttered,

“…If your dream is to be a tyrant, it’s better to postpone the heir test forever.”

“Tyrant?”

At that, Lucas let out a dumbfounded laugh.

Then—

“Until a few days ago, I was locked inside a cage! I just want to rest a little, and a duke can’t even do that?!”

Crash—!

He overturned the steak plate he had been eating and ran out of the dining room before Calypse could even stand up.

“…?”

Wait a minute.

What is going on here.