“Then, your Majesty. I shall excuse myself.”

“I shall excuse myself too, your Majesty.”

“Yeah. I have put you through trouble. Take your time and relax now……”

I was thankful to the Empress’s talk, that lasted until morning.

I tried to ignore the numbness, as I dragged my feet to my room.

The prince was in the same situation as he came along.

“Father-in-law, could you use your healing magic on me too…….”

“Don’t behave like a spoiled brat. What will you do if you can’t withstand something like this by yourself!? It seems that you need some education.”

Seriously, if it were my master, he would’ve suddenly attacked him with offensive magic.

I am kind, so I won’t do that.

The prince kept silent as I placed a special bracelet on his arm.

“Err, father-in-law? This is……..”

“It’s all right. It’s a special bracelet I received from my master. It helps you store magical power. It’s a magical tool that inflicts pain if you don’t maintain your magical power above a certain level. Use it without reservation.”

I heard the prince’s happy voice, as I hurried to my room.

Become strong, son-in-law-dono.

Because I took the prince with me, who was walking like he was a newly born deer cub, it took a lot of time to get to my room, but we finally arrived.

“Welcome back, master. This person is?”

“Yeah, he’s my son-in-law…… Prince Mars.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Suu, the steward of the Duke’s Household.”

“I’m Mars. I’ll be counting on you.”

Suu quickly lifted her skirt a little and bowed her head.

The prince was trembling.

“For now, prepare some tea for us. Ask Bea to come here too.”

“As you wish.”

I sat on the sofa as I watched Suu cheerfully making the preparations.

The prince was desperate to cope with the situation as he stood there.

“Son-in-law-dono, there are only relatives here. You can relax.”

“Yes. But ……..”

The prince sent a glance at Suu.

Well, he might feel a bit uneasy.

“I told you. There are only relatives here. I’m asking just to make sure, but do you hold something against kemonobito?”

“No, I’m not an advocate of race discrimination. I also have nothing against kemonobito. I’m sorry for this misunderstanding.”

He said and lowered his head.

That’s good. It appears that he might not need an education after all.

“There’s no problem then. This is a good opportunity…..so I’ll give you this, Suu. She is my trusty steward, so when I’m not around, you must treat her like my representative. Do you understand, prince?”

What I gave to Suu was the dagger I received from the Emperor when he invested me with my court rank.

The proof of being a noble……Normally, this is something you would never give to others.

“Eh!? Master, this is!”

“She’s your representative!?”

They were both astonished, in different ways, that is.

Suu was shocked for being recognized as the Duke’s Household’s number 2.

The prince was startled by the word ‘representative’ for some reason.

“Why are you even surprised!? I value the excellent people around me. I do not care even a bit about race and gender. And I don’t discriminate among the people who devote themselves to me. I’ll keep counting on you, all right?”

“Yes, yes! As long as I have this life……No, even in the afterlife I’ll always be loyal to you.”

She somehow frightened me with her last words, but I ignored it.

I’m used to these weird moods from Albert, after all.

“I see……So this is father-in-law’s faithful retainer. The Emperor will make use of this too.”

Maybe the senses in his feet came back to him, since the prince became more chatty.

“You should find yourself a trusted retainer too! There are limits to what you can do by yourself. You still have some time, so you have to do your best.”

“Yes, I will never forget these words!”

Yes, I …….said something rather good.

Satisfied with myself, I drank some tea, when Bea entered the room.

“Zest-sama, welcome back.”

“Ah, Bea. Did you enjoy the reunion with mother-in-law?”

Bea sat next to me and I stroked her belly.

For some reason, the prince was glaring at Bea.

“Mother-in-law Beatrice, my name is Mars. I never expected that my mother-in-law will be such a peerless beauty…….Should I feel delighted that we became family, or should I resent the unbearable misfortune? Your sublime hair is like the dusk and…….”

“Son-in-law-dono, that’s such an energetic greeting. Do you want to die?”

He knelt in front of Bea, as he greeted her ecstatically, and I caught hold of his head.

“Albert!!”

“Yes sir!”

Albert was waiting on standby outside the room. Seemingly delighted, he entered after he heard his name.

Did he sympathize with the prince or something?

“Albert, son-in-law-dono wishes to train. Make sure to be a suitable partner for him. I’ll be joining you later as well.”

“Yes sir! I’ll teach him plentifully in the Duke’s Household’s style.”

We both grinned, but the unexpected happened.

“Zest-sama.”

Bea smiled sweetly.

The prince showed a huge smile as well, covering his entire face.

“A shameless person who would try to seduce his mother-in-law needs a thorough education. I will contact my mother as well.”

And so, it was decided that the stupid prince needed some education.

He seems to be weak against women.

While we still have time, we’ll firmly educate him.

3 hours passed since the prince’s screams started to be heard from the training ground…..

Albert would beat him senseless, then I would heal him, and then Albert would beat him senseless again.

It all became like a festival when the black knights and the maids’ unit joined us too.

However, the light in the prince’s eyes was starting to fade.

Should I end it?

When I was about to say it, she joined us as well.

“Foster father, where is the idiot who dared to sweat talk my foster mother!?”

The completely armed Tsubaki thoroughly trained the prince…..

Tsubaki…….wasn’t very lady-like, when she hit her fiancé with a gauntlet.

“Oh my, this looks like fun. Toto-chan, let’s join them too.”

(Waaaai! Since Dad is here, we can also get serious!)

The scariest of them all, ended up joining the training.

I pressed my hands together in prayer, as I employed all my healing magic…….