CH 34

After breakfast, as soon as Cain finished brushing his teeth, he was picked up by his father and tossed into the carriage waiting at the main gates.

Dismaya escorted Mother Elise into the carriage, handed Diana over to her, and then got into the carriage, himself. 

He rapped on the inside of the small carriage window and said, “Let’s go,” and the carriage began slowly moving forward.

Dismaya had not been invited to the tea party. 

Apparently, this was out of consideration for, “not making this a political issue.” This was strictly about a quarrel between two children, and having them bury the hatchet. Their parents were only bringing them to a place where they could have tea time and some social interaction… or so they said.

At first, the Elgrandarks had planned to have Diana stay home, telling the Queen that she hadn’t learned her manners yet, but they were told that it was fine, since the Crown Prince hadn’t fully learned his manners yet, either. The Queen went on to directly invite Diana as well, and so they couldn’t avoid bringing her. They could only pray that Cain wouldn’t act rashly.

“Well, then. Have fun at the tea party. You be good, Cain,” said Dismaya, getting out of the carriage at the Ministry of Justice headquarters. 

Now with three passengers, the carriage continued on to the Queen’s manor on the royal grounds. As Cain, Diana, and Elise got out, the carriage driver said that he would await for their call to leave, and drove off to the stables. 

A servant came to welcome them and showed them to a garden on the roof balcony.

“Welcome, Elise. Thank you for coming,” said the Queen. 

“Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty. The weather is so pleasant today, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it really is. Since the breeze feels so nice, I thought we’d welcome you outside,” said the Queen. 

“That’s a wonderful idea. We are very grateful,” said Elise. 

As the mothers’ greetings and social procedure concluded smoothly, they took a moment to bring their children forward. 

“You first, Arundilano,” said the Queen. 

The Queen gave the Crown Prince a loud clap on the back, and it made him jump. Its momentum caused him to stumble forward a few steps. 

He then took three more steps to stand before Diana, and haltingly started to mumble things like, “Uh,” and, “Um.”

Cain was a little irritated, but he figured that he should wait this out, and stayed right behind Diana, watching the situation. 

“Do you have a tummy ache?” asked Diana. Arundilano was having so much trouble with starting to speak that Diana was getting worried about him. Since they were both four years old, there was no difference in their heights. As she tilted her head down to get a better look at his face, she looked so cute to Cain that he melted with adoration for her as he watched.

“Cain, your face!” said Mother Elise, warning him. Cain stood up straight and put on a serious expression.

How could she blame him? When Diana bent at the waist to get her head low enough to peek at the Crown Prince’s face, she had her hands flicked back for balance, just like a penguin! It was as cute as could be.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

Cain didn’t like that this pose was directed at the Crown Prince, but he did get to see her puffy dress with panniers as she curiously wondered what was wrong. 

He wished he could save this memory in video form. He wanted to show the world and say, “Take a look at how cute my little sister is!” Everyone was sure to love her as much as he did. 

As he was thinking that, Cain kept a straight face and waited for Arundilano to speak. 

He had let his face break down once, but his etiquette teacher, Professor Cyrus, had given him proper training. 

“I’m sorry for knocking you down, the other day,” said the Crown Prince. 

Finally, Arundilano apologized to Diana. Diana had already completely forgotten that such a thing had occurred. She didn’t quite understand what he was talking about, but she grinned at him and said, “You’re welcome!”

Cain didn’t overlook the fact that Arundilano’s cheeks blushed pink. He praised himself for not clicking his tongue at that.

“Your hand must have hurt, right? Are you okay?” asked Arundilano. As he reached for her hand, another hand sprang up from behind her and lightly slapped him away. Cain took a step in front of Diana and stood between her and the Crown Prince. 

“Now, it’s my turn. Crown Prince, Your Highness, I’m very sorry for alarming you the other day,” said Cain, deeply bowing his head. 

Cain could see Arundilano’s shoes before him. Since he didn’t hear any response, he couldn’t raise his head back up. 

The blood’s going to my head. This isn’t very comfortable, thought Cain. 

He could sense someone coming up to Arundilano and whispering something to him. As Cain wondered how long this was going to take, he finally heard a voice. 

“I forgive you. Raise your head,” said Arundilano. 

When Cain got his response and raised his head, he saw that the Queen was standing right behind Arundilano. 

Oh, I get it. He heard my apology but didn’t know how to respond. I’d forgotten that this could happen, thought Cain.

Cain figured that the Queen must have advised the Crown Prince to say that he forgave me. Arundilano was trying his best to put on a dignified face. He pursed his lips tightly and furrowed his brow. 

Cain unconsciously let out a small puff of laughter, and Arundilano gave him a suspicious look. 

“I am grateful that you have accepted my apology,” said Cain. He grinned, and again, Arundilano’s cheeks blushed pink. 

Maybe he likes pretty faces. Diana and I are both pretty, after all, thought Cain.

Since he was still a man in his thirties on the inside, Cain could easily judge his own appearance as if it were someone else’s. 

He knew that many exceptions were often made for attractive guys, so he had no hesitation in deciding to use this newfound advantage of his to aid him in protecting Diana. 

“If we could be friendly with each other from here on out, that would make me very happy,” said Cain. 

“Ah, um, yes. Thank you…” said Arundilano, as a smile broke over his face, like a blooming flower. His face was bright red, now, and it had taken his utmost effort just to get his words out. 

“Well, now that we’ve all made up, let’s have some tea,” said the Queen. She gestured, and everyone made their way to the garden table, which had been set with everything necessary for tea time.