Hope (3)
"Is there any discomfort in your body?"
"No."
"Tell me right away if you're uncomfortable."
"Hehe, don't worry too much. I'll protect our prince."
Phoebe stroked her belly.
Inside it, the fruit of love between Phoebe and Reed had settled for 5 months.
The reason other employees couldn't easily enter was because of her pregnancy.
She, who had dragon blood flowing in her, had hormones several times stronger than normal.
She mercilessly emitted a killing intent towards those who invaded her nest.
Since it was an instinct coming from the unconscious realm, it was difficult for Phoebe to restrain herself.
The exception was that Phoebe was gentle towards her family.
"Are Rosen and Anna here?"
"I don't know about the young ladies~."
"......"
Phoebe seemed to be skilled at lying, but it was clearly visible.
Reed glanced down.
Something was wriggling under Phoebe's wide skirt.
When he lifted the skirt, it was as expected.
A pair of blue-haired twin girls were hiding inside.
"Kyah! A pervert flipping skirts!"
"Pervert!"
"What are you two calling your dad a pervert for? Come out from under Aunt Phoebe's skirt right now."
Reed grabbed the girls' heads, and they obediently came out and got their heads grabbed again.
Rosen Adeleheights and Anna Adeleheights.
Twin daughters born to Dolores, they were 4 years old this year.
"Why did you hide?"
"We just wanted to hide!"
"We definitely didn't hide because we didn't want to see the tutor."
"Anna!"
"Oops! Pretend you didn't hear that! Got it?"
Anna tried to cover her mouth belatedly, but it was already too late.
Reed was no fool, so he had already guessed it.
"Your dislike for the tutor means you didn't do your homework, right?"
"We, we did our homework!"
"Of course, of course!"
"Really? Are you sure you each did it on your own without sharing answers?"
"Yes......"
"......Yes......"
As Reed pressed them, Rosen and Anna averted their eyes sneakily.
It wasn't Reed who dropped the bomb, but Phoebe.
"Young ladies~, what did Aunt Phoebe say would happen if you lied?"
As Phoebe smiled and exuded a chilling aura, Rosen and Anna gasped and screamed.
"I hate it! I don't want to fly!"
"Sniff, I'm sorry! I won't lie anymore!"
Rosen and Anna began to beg Phoebe.
Phoebe was more considerate than anyone else, but she was strict about rules.
"I'd like to make you fly, but there's no time for that today."
"Oh, right, it's the young lady's graduation day!"
"Graduation?"
"Are we graduating?"
"But what's graduation?"
"I don't know!"
Hearing Rosen and Anna's back-and-forth, Reed laughed and answered.
"Not you two, it's your older sister's graduation day."
"Ah! Sister Rosaria!"
"Are we going to see Sister Rosaria?!"
"Yes. We'll also visit your mother."
"We're going to see mom too!!"
"Yay!"
Rosen and Anna were happier than going on an outing.
Phoebe tried to get up from the rocking chair.
"Then I'll get ready too......"
"Where do you think a pregnant woman is going?"
"It's the glorious moment of Miss Rosaria's graduation, and I can't miss it......"
"Stay home and take care of yourself. Moving around unnecessarily is not good."
"But, um?!"
As Reed kissed Phoebe, her eyes widened like moons.
Reed pushed her back down into the rocking chair.
Phoebe, who was about to move, leaned back in the rocking chair again.
"Let's meet at dinner, okay?"
"Yes, have a good time~."
Phoebe couldn't hide her excitement and giggled.
"Wow, they kissed."
"Aunt Phoebe's face turned red~."
As Rosen and Anna began to tease, Phoebe hid her face.
Reed took the two to the servant and prepared to go out.
He dressed up the two troublemakers and boarded the sky carriage.
***
Escolleia Academy.
It was a prestigious academy that every child of a mage family wanted to attend.
Thanks to Dolores' enthusiasm for learning, Rosen and Anna were already familiar with Escolleia.
Reed moved to the auditorium.
Many graduates were seated near the stage, and each grade was seated in their respective positions.
"Look over there. Isn't that Reed Adeleheights Roton?"
"The pioneer of magical engineering who revived the Silence Tower, Reed Adeleheights Roton?"
The murmuring voices tickled Reed's ears.
It felt strange to be recognized by someone after coming down from the Silence Tower.
However, it wasn't all good news.
"Can't be satisfied with just one woman, can he?"
"He's got the Ice Queen and a half-dragon tightly in his grasp."
"I heard he even bewitched the Queen of Hupper Kingdom and the former owner of the Black Sky Tower."
"The rumors say he's a total womanizer......"
The rumors multiplied and distorted, and he gained a notorious image in other places.
Though he wanted to go on stage and explain himself, Reed pretended not to know.
"Oh, Reed, you came?"
Before the ceremony began, someone recognized Reed and approached him.
It was Anton Eclipsys, the dean of Escolleia Academy.
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
"Hehe, my apprentice's two daughters are here with you! Come here."
Anton Eclipsys hugged Rosen and Anna with a happy face.
After finishing the warm greeting with a hug, Reed went through a formal handshake.
"I heard you stepped down from the dean's position."
"Yes, starting next year, she will take over."
"She seems to have a lot of responsibilities. I'm both worried and happy for her."
"It's always like that at first. She's experienced leading the Tower of Wallin, so it won't be too hard."
"That's right. She managed to raise these two troublemakers, so that level of difficulty shouldn't be a problem."
"We're not troublemakers!"
"Ugh!"
As Rosen and Anna protested, Reed hugged them by their sides.
"Go and enjoy yourselves. This old man needs to go back to his room."
"Yes, please rest."
Anton left, and the lights in the auditorium dimmed slightly.
The graduation ceremony was beginning.
"Today, mom will be up there. Focus your eyes and watch."
"Squint!"
"Squint!"
Rosen and Anna squinted their eyes, looking up at the stage.
Soon, a young woman with hair color identical to the twins' appeared.
The genius of Escolleia Academy and the direct disciple of the dean.
Now a genius mage who has taken the position of dean.
Rosen and Anna's mother and Reed's wife.
Dolores Adeleheights.
She stood up solemnly.
"I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of you attending the graduation ceremony."
* * *
Dream big tl dot com
***
Everyone focused on Dolores' speech.
Even if it was an inspiration to magicians, it sounded like nagging to Rosen and Anna, so they just dozed off.
"Now, we will have the oath recital of the valedictorian, who is also my direct disciple."
Was it finally that time?
Dolores stepped back, and someone went up on stage.
Rosen and Anna knew the face of the valedictorian.
"It's Yuria!"
Yuria.
The red-haired genius mage stood on stage.
"Yuria is the valedictorian."
"Yes, it seems so."
Rosen spoke, and Reed answered, but he was puzzled inside.
'Shouldn't Rosaria be on stage according to the plan?'
Maybe others wouldn't know, but Reed had already heard from Dolores.
He couldn't forget it because of the 30-minute bragging.
Rosaria narrowly became the valedictorian.
He couldn't forget since Dolores bragged about it excitedly.
Reed observed Yuria.
She was smiling, but he could feel emptiness in it.
With many eyes watching, she must be trying hard to manage her expression.
Following the representative oath, the graduation certificate award ceremony began.
Dolores personally congratulated each person and handed them their graduation certificates.
The graduation ceremony ended without a hitch.
Reed held Rosen and Anna's hands and moved to meet Dolores.
That's when it happened.
"Lord Adeleheights!"
The voice he heard on stage grabbed Reed.
It was Yuria.
She rushed to Reed without even taking off her graduation gown.
"It's Yuria!"
"Hello!"
"Rosen, Anna, long time no see."
The girl, who had been pretentious and had high self-esteem, was nowhere to be found, and she smiled like a mature woman.
She had a close relationship with the two children, as she often came to play at their house during vacations.
"Is there a reason for the valedictorian to look for an unworthy man like me?"
"Heh, please don't call me that."
Her face showed her wounded pride.
She knew that she wasn't originally the valedictorian.
That's why she felt empty during the valedictorian speech.
"Did Rosaria go home?"
"No?"
"Didn't she go home? Then where on earth......"
Yuria's face turned bright red.
"Ughhhhh...!! Why do I have to give the representative oath...! Stupid, dumb Rosaria!"
Yuria bit her lip and swallowed her anger.
"Since you ranked first, shouldn't you just be happy? It's an opportunity to raise the status of the Imperial Workshop mage......"
"I can't do that! Rosaria is my rival! This result! This wasn't the result I wanted!!"
"I see."
Yuria felt humiliated by this situation.
She was not the type to only value results.
Yuria was the type of person who needed to thoroughly defeat others with her skills to be satisfied.
Her competitive spirit hadn't changed.
"I apologize. I made a mistake in front of you, my lord. It's my fault for overhearing that conversation."
"What conversation?"
"Rosaria said this the day before the graduation ceremony. 'I've done everything I need to do, so now it's time to do what I want!'"
"Really?"
"Who would have known that doing what she wanted meant skipping the graduation ceremony and leaving? So I thought maybe she went home. But if she's not at home, where did she go......"
To do what she wanted...
Although Yuria thought it was complicated, Reed knew it was simpler than she thought.
"She must have gone on an adventure."
"An adventure? With her grades, everyone would be desperate to take her in."
"She's always dreamed of being a hero, hasn't she?"
"......Is she still dreaming that stupid dream?"
"Well, I guess so."
A hero and a princess.
It was a dream everyone had at least once.
However, it was too childish and verbose for a mature woman to have after going through adolescence.
Reed shrugged in response.
Yuria looked incredulous.
Unable to bear it, Yuria hit her head with her fist, blaming herself.
"I lost to such a fool! Ugh! Yuria, you idiot!"
"Haha..."
"Cough, I made another mistake... Anyway, it's truly an honor to see you like this."
"It's fine. You don't know how happy I am to have a good friend for our daughter."
"Ugh, I'm not her friend..."
Yuria blushed and denied it.
Despite her denial, Reed had already seen too much.
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