“By the way, I got a letter from Jamie. Soon the monster breeding season is approaching, so he’s getting ready. He must have sent in case I was worried. Oh, and he sent greetings to Your Highness the Empress.”
At the Duke’s words, Sienna asked, shining her eyes.
“Did he say anything else?”
“There was nothing else.”
“Really? Perhaps something about Marquise Methena…”
“None.”
Sienna looked disappointed.
Five years ago, Jamie seemed to have an interest in Marie. Moreover, he postponed his marriage because he had her in mind, so Sienna wished both of them a happy ending.
Five years later, however, there seemed to be no progress in their relationship. There was no news of their marriage even now.
If Marie was not interested in Jamie at all, Sienna would make Jamie give up on her, but the Duke of Waters said that if you watch them when they’re together, there was a strong chemistry between them. Even if they didn’t get married, they almost seem like a married couple.
Nevertheless, the two were still unable to get married. Marie seemed to be full of worries and fears about remarriage.
Sienna was worried that Jamie might end up being single forever, or that the Waters family would be cut off; but Duke Waters, the owner of the house, was not very involved.
<ul>
You can’t force them to marry if they don’t want to. At the same time, I don’t want Jamie to get married to someone he doesn’t like. I’m not going to die soon, and Jamie’s young – there’s still time, so don’t worry too much. Even if Jamie is old and alone, that’s too bad. The Waters will adopt a decent individual to succeed in the family. It’s okay because the name of Waters has been continued through will, not necessarily a bloodline.
</ul>
Sienna could no longer insist strongly on Jamie’s marriage at what her father once said.
But she had some idea why Marie didn’t accept Jamie’s heart, so she wanted to push him. Marie’s family was destroyed, and her only brother was a fugitive. Of course, he was doing well in the Holy Empire, but he was wanted in Leipsden.
Moreover, Marie has experience in marriage. She must be thinking that she has more flaws than she can cover with her castle and title, so it was clear that she considers herself not good enough to marry Jamie.
Sienna was frustrated. She wanted to meet Marie in person and tell her to do as she pleases without caring about the surroundings.
“It’ll be hard for me to meet Marquise Methena, right? I resent being far away from Heidel.”
“You want to go to Heidel?”
At Carl’s words, Sienna nodded. She wanted to meet Marie and also wanted to see her hometown of Heidel.
“It’s been so long since I left Heidel that I feel like I’m going to completely forget about it. Now I can’t tell whether the snow is white, black, cold, or hot.”
Carl swept her back. Sienna looked up at Carl and said with a weak smile.
“I’m just saying it. I guess it’s because I’ve become more comfortable with living these days. In the past, I didn’t think I was that lonely because my mind was so complicated, but I feel so comfortable these days. That’s why this wide castle feels small. Even if there’s a forest and a lake in the castle.”
Carl consoled Sienna by pulling her to his side.
“Even if it’s a big castle, you can look around every side in a day or two. No wonder it’s frustrating if you think you can’t get out of here.”
Carl understood Sienna’s mind.
“But I’m sorry to hear that you felt lonely. It’s because I didn’t care about you.”
It was Sienna who was embarrassed by Carl’s apology.
“No, I’m just saying. You don’t have to be sorry for me.”
“It’s my fault if you had any such feelings. I’ll try to cut back on my work and make more time with you.”
At Carl’s words, Sienna secretly glanced at Hain. Sienna felt sorry for having such a conversation in front of Hain, who was having a hard time seeing her husband’s face.
In addition, Carl’s reduction of work meant he would hand over his work to officials of the administration as well as Pavenik. Sienna had an uneasy feeling that what Hain was worried about would become a reality because of her. Because of Sienna’s meaningless bickering, it seemed not long before Anna would see her father, Pavenik, and shout, “it’s a thief!”
‘I hope Hain will not ask for divorce because of me…’
Whether or not Carl felt Sienna’s anxious feelings, he buried his nose in her head and said, “I’ll love you tonight, so you don’t feel lonely at all,” making Sienna feel more embarrassed.
[Warm season]
It was one day after the children turned eight. Sienna and Hain sat side by side watching the children.
Now Hain was not a chief maid. Although she did not hold any special post, she was treated as a friend to the empress. Like Mrs. Kitroll, who taught manners to Sienna, Hain was a helper to the imperial family.
Sometimes wise noble wives assisted the empress in the imperial palace, which was considered the highest honorary position a woman could obtain.
It was made possible when Chancellor Pavenik rose from Baron to Count in recognition of his contribution to the construction of the northern roads and waterways. To be the empress’ adviser, a woman had to be at least a countess – Hain was able to meet the conditions.
At least Hain’s role in the imperial family hasn’t changed much. She stayed with her child at Sienna’s side even before she became the empress’ advisor.
“It’s peaceful and nice. I guess I should have taught art from the beginning. I’m sorry to say this, but I couldn’t stand the horn of your Royal Highness.”
Sienna also said disgustedly at Hain’s words.
“I agree. I regretted letting Leah hold the horn. I still feel deaf when I think about that time.”
“Me too…”
Sienna and Hain paid great attention to the royal children’s education. In order to ensure that the children, who would take care of the country in the future, were not only focused on one area, they tried to teach humanities such as history and philosophy as well as other things.
Recently, the Reich of Leipsden has become very stable politically and diplomatically. Looking at history, Sienna paid particular attention to art education, in accordance with Hain’s advice that during these times the economy was supposed to revive, and art culture was to blossom.
A month ago, when the children took a music class, Sienna asked each of them to choose a musical instrument they wanted, and Leah chose a big horn.
The horn, a brass instrument, was famous for being tricky to play, even after the fact that it was a preferred musical instrument for men. It was not a suitable instrument for an eight-year-old girl to play. So, Sienna recommended other instruments, but Leah insisted on the horn until the end.
Eventually, Sienna said, “You can make a sound with a horn, you can learn it.” Of course, she said it thinking Leah wouldn’t be able to blow the horn, but that was a mistake.
What she overlooked was that Leah’s lung capacity should not be thought to be the same as that of a normal child. Leah easily made a sound and acquired the horn as an instrument she would learn.
Being able to make sounds didn’t mean playing well. Playing a musical instrument isn’t just about lung capacity. Leah couldn’t play the horn and just blew it.
Sienna and Hain learned that one could make such a sharp and loud sound with the horn, a supposedly gentle and soft instrument, even though they didn’t want to.
Moreover, Leah was a very persistent child. “I have to blow the horn until I play it properly,” she said, adding, “I have to blow it for hours a day.” People around her had to be tortured.
Therefore, Sienna decided to focus on art education, not music education.
Unlike the music class where they had to keep listening to the dissonance of Leah’s loud horn, Sharillo’s sharp violin, and Hain’s daughter Anna’s clarinet, art education was very peaceful.
The living room was filled with the smell of heavy pigments. The artist, who teaches art to children, used opaque paint made by melting the pigment with tempera or egg yolk, so the smell of oil was slightly mixed with a fishy smell. But she did not hate the smell that irritates the tip of her nose. Moreover, the sound of brush strokes on and off the canvas was better than the sound of a horn.
Sienna leaned deeply on the sofa. She felt peaceful at this moment that she could fall asleep right away.
“I thought art classes wouldn’t suit the princess’ character, but she seems to enjoy it more than I thought when I see how focused she is.”
“I know. She tends to get tired quickly unless it requires physical strength…”
Sharillo and Leah had very different personalities even though they were born on the same day.
Sharillo had a serious character. He hardly showed much joy or anger. A child often expresses great emotion at small things, but he was not like a normal eight-year-old child, but rather, he was more like an 80-year-old man.
That did not mean that his academic ability was sluggish. No matter what he was taught, he learned more easily than others and showed greater achievement than the amount of effort he put into.
At first, Sienna was worried that there might be a problem with his personality. But Carl consoled her, saying that because Carl himself was like Sharillo when he was young, it doesn’t mean there’s a problem.
Now Sienna realized that Sharillo was a cautious person who doesn’t express his feelings more than others. When she sees the subtle changes in his facial expression, she realizes that her son looks just like Carl.
Leah was the exact opposite of Sharillo. If Sharillo condenses energy inside, Leah releases all her energy to the outside world.
When she was younger, she liked to imitate knights with wooden sticks, watching interestingly as they fought or as Carl fought with her maternal grandfather – now she ran with the knights every morning.
Despite Sienna’s opposition, Leah wielded a stick wherever she was, saying, “I haven’t learned swordsmanship properly yet, but if you don’t teach me, I’ll learn it on my own.” She left no room decorations intact.
Sienna was seriously considering Hain’s advice that it would be better to let her release a lot of energy.
It would be better if Leah showed interest elsewhere than swordsmanship, but her interests and talents were extremely one-sided. She showed exceptional talents in areas that require physical abilities, but at everything else, she was bad.
The same was true of history, literature, and politics, not to mention musical talent. It wasn’t that she was intellectually retarded, but she didn’t make an effort to learn. She showed great interest only in military science and the history of war while hating to study. In case of classes she was not interested in, she was often unable to sit still, playing pranks or moving her body around to break things.
Sienna was relieved that Lea was calmly painting at the artist’s instruction today. She looked at Leah looking at the canvas with a concentrated face, then said to Hain.
“I’m so glad Leah is working hard today. Does art suit her aptitude?”
“I guess so. The princess seems to enjoy it. Looking at how her brush strokes are relentless, she’s probably talented at it. The more talented you are, the less hesitant you are.”
