Twins.
The first time he'd seen his birth record was after the funeral of the previous Duke of Temnes. His father had personally revealed the office's secrets to Kaian.
*"Touch here. Isn't there a hook?"*
*"Yes."*
*"Try to pull it with force."*
He'd even placed Kaian's hand on the family head's desk and let him try opening the hidden space. It had been an education accounting for the fact that the secrets and treasures the family head should know and possess might not be properly inherited.
However, his father hadn't yet shown his successor, Kaian, what was inside when the desk opened in the floor with a heavy sound.
The bodies of a Duke and his wife who'd suddenly fallen ill were brought from the capital city, and Kaian—who'd held a funeral at his estate—buried them in the catacombs.
His father's vassal, Baron Colon, had bowed to him and pledged his loyalty.
*"My Lord, from now on, you are my Master. I pledge to serve you faithfully."*
And just as Kaian had been taught, he'd checked each item belonging to the family and made them his own.
Although he'd been pretending to be calm that day, he'd been awkward and overwhelmed by unfamiliar things. He'd never thought his parents would leave his side like this.
What he'd vaguely imagined was being much older—about thirty years old when the elderly Duke retired and passed on his title.
Anyway, as soon as he'd become family head, he'd opened the secret space, and there had been a letter his father left behind, just in case.
Kaian was the type of person who could control his emotions thoroughly, but when he'd heard his parents' urgent news, tears that hadn't come before had welled up in the corners of his eyes.
He'd wiped them roughly with his sleeve and checked one by one whether the items written in the letter were properly contained.
Among them, placed deepest, was this birth record. A letter in a separate thick envelope had been inserted into the page where the previous Duke left his records.
In it were written family secrets and thoughts about them that hadn't yet been told to young children. Just by reading his letters, Kaian had been able to fully understand his father's thoughts.
But when his eyes had fallen on his birth record, he'd been instantly dumbfounded.
*Twins?*
Twins. That was all his birth record said. Unlike other children, there was no record of appearance or where anyone was sent.
This was very different from the practice of carefully tracking where children grew up and recording it for future purposes under the evil practice of distinguishing successors based on bloodline.
*Probably because he was thinking of getting rid of this hideous thing.*
Even as he'd thought about it, it sometimes occurred to him that there was someone out there with whom he shared his blood.
Now that the moment had come when his wife would have a child and he might become a father, he felt somewhat sad.
What on earth was a person thinking who would abandon his own child? Since he'd grown up as an only child, the previous Duke of Temnes must have done something to the child who hadn't become heir.
*Brother, how are you? Please rest in peace.*
---
Flowers bloomed all year round in the famous Hanging Garden of the royal castle. Although it was December winter, the short and simple winter flowers were often pleasing to the eye.
The Grand Duke of Luxen, who'd come to celebrate Valquiterre's birthday on the King's Birthday, had stayed in the castle for nearly a month.
The Grand Duke, sitting with his grown children at a rich and splendid tea table that seemed to have been imbued with a royal courtier's soul, was enjoying tea with Bianque and Valquiterre with a gentle smile on his face.
Bianque looked at Grand Duke Luxen with a hopeful expression.
"I wish Father wouldn't return to the principality."
"Then who will rule over the principality's people?"
"Can't it be done by one of Father's nephews?"
Grand Duke Luxen's eyes were full of affection for the whiny, immature Princess.
"Now that I think about it, Bianque, you're already twenty-three. When Her Majesty Silvia was your age..."
"Yes, she'd given birth to Valquiterre."
Bianque narrowed her eyes at the nagging urge to marry, which she'd heard a hundred times before.
"My brother is more of a problem than me. If Valquiterre takes a Queen, I'll get married next month."
"Bianque."
However, she flinched when Valquiterre called her name in a low voice, her spirit deflating.
Valquiterre showed no leniency even though she was his younger sister. Bianque had been only sixteen years old when her mother, Queen Silvia, died.
However, rather than comforting her or consoling her sadness, her father had scolded her and told her she shouldn't let her royal pride as a Princess be undermined.
Before that, Valquiterre—only two years older than her—used to play with her. But from then on, Bianque had started having difficulty with her older brother.
It wasn't simply feeling distant because he was King. She was sure it wasn't for that reason, but it was hard to explain the feeling of this wall being erected between them.
In the end, she made her excuse, looking at her brother's eyes.
"Does it make sense that the Oberon royal family has no heirs yet?"
Feeling sorry for his daughter, who'd been dispirited after only being called by her name once, the father eventually intervened.
"If a Crown Prince is born into the royal family, yes—I guess I'll have to hand over my throne and come to Oberon to take care of my grandchild."
"Really? Brother, think about it carefully."
Bianque wanted to be liked, but she rarely had someone who would do so. Her older brother Valquiterre was cold-hearted, and her older cousin Kaian lived too far away.
Valquiterre had said he'd be pleased if she went abroad, so she'd gone to the Duchy of Luxen and spent about a month with her father before returning.
This time, for the first time in many years, the Grand Duke had returned with her to attend his son's birthday celebration, and they'd spent the entire time together in the royal castle. The past two months had been as enjoyable as a dream for Bianque—except for her father's nagging that she should get married.
"Bianque."
She flinched when Valquiterre called her name, as if he had no intention of confronting the subject.
"Go with Father when he leaves for the Duchy of Luxen. You can stay for a month or two, however you like."
"Really? Is that all right?"
Bianque was so happy she jumped to her feet. She'd thought she was going to be scolded about her attitude and dignity, but then he'd suddenly given her permission to travel.
She was very satisfied with her life in the Duchy of Luxen. Here she was a royal Princess, and there she was the Grand Duke's daughter, so she was above princesses. Wherever she was—a Princess by birth—her life was glamorous and she was the center of social circles.
But here in Oberon she had a frightening older brother, and in the Duchy of Luxen she had a doting but lenient father, so how could playing in the Duchy not be fun?
She spoke hastily, fearing Valquiterre might change his mind.
"I'll be leaving tomorrow. I need to pack my bags right away. I'll see you later at dinner."
Bianque kissed Grand Duke Luxen on the cheek and disappeared from the Hanging Gardens.
Once she was gone, the garden finally became quiet.
"Are you chasing your younger sister away for saying something you don't want to hear?"
"It's not like that. I'm giving her special permission because she likes being around Father."
"Then I'll tell you ten times to find a good partner, so you can chase me away too."
Hearing Grand Duke Luxen's words, Valquiterre ended up frowning slightly. Seeing him like that, the Grand Duke burst out laughing.
"Are you saying that, Father? The time we spend together like this is precious to me."
Before the Queen had passed away, Valquiterre would also come to the principality to spend vacations with Bianque. At that time, there'd been many young ladies from noble families thrilled by the sight of the beautiful Crown Prince who seemed to have descended from heaven, looking forward to romance.
In Grand Duke Luxen's eyes, it seemed Valquiterre had a hard time opening his heart to anyone. So he felt very sorry about that.
In those exciting times, the Grand Duke of Luxen had first met Princess Silvia at the late King Hobart's Birthday Ball. That day, he'd proposed to the Princess. It had been a time in his life when he'd been able to harbor such passion.
Grand Duke Luxen thought that because Valquiterre had ascended to the throne of Oberon—which had taken over the Ita continent's hegemony at a young age—he'd had no peace of mind. After ascending to the throne, he'd gone to war for five years.
Moreover, the Duchy of Luxen wasn't very close, so it took more than ten days by carriage from the capital.
The Grand Duke considered his spouse to be like a beacon of light in his life. So, having taken the noblewoman named Queen Silvia as his companion, he thought that even though she'd passed away, she was still with him. This was because whenever he was troubled, it was the Queen's words and actions during her lifetime that led him to find answers.
For the Grand Duke of Luxen, it had been a marriage that could be tolerated even as a strange type of family where the couple were heads of a duchy and kingdom respectively, and only had time to spend together for about a month a year. He'd never for a moment regretted that choice.
It would be wonderful for Valquiterre to have such a wonderful woman as his Queen. Taking responsibility for wife and children didn't mean placing an additional burden on his shoulders, but rather increasing his sources of strength.
He felt frustrated that Valquiterre wasn't thinking about taking a wife because he was too burdened by the King's responsibilities.
"I have no intention of getting married. I worked hard to obtain portraits of wealthy women in the principality. They even learned Oberon royal etiquette with interest."
Grand Duke Luxen had gone out of his way to find his son a bride. There were difficulties for nobles in the Kingdom of Oberon due to the distance, but if that wasn't an issue, he was trying to find a mate for Valquiterre even within the principality, the Grand Duchy.
"It's not that I don't want to get married. I too must soon take a Queen. I hope to hold the ceremony as early as next year."
"What? You mean next year?"
It was December now, so it wouldn't be long until next year. If he even had a specific time in mind, didn't that mean he had a woman in mind?
"Is there a woman you've fallen in love with?"
"Yes, that's right."
When Valquiterre answered obediently, Grand Duke Luxen was surprised.
"Which family is the lady from? Since I'm already in Oberon, it would be nice if I could meet her in person."
"It's difficult to introduce you yet."
He smiled at Grand Duke Luxen as if to reassure him.
"I'm sure you'll like her."
---