FMY 12

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh!”

Early in the morning, Serge woke up screaming in his bed.

“Gasp, gasp, huff….”

Then he began to pant heavily. His soaking wet brown hair and pajamas showed just how much he had suffered from the nightmare.

‘That… that crazy bastard…!’

Prince Raphael, wearing a straw hat, had suddenly appeared in Serge’s dream. In the ridiculous getup of a strangely familiar red vest and blue shorts, he had cheerfully extended a hand to Serge and shouted.

<You, become my companion!>

A crazy bastard…. Does that crazy bastard think he’s some kind of pirate king…?

It even felt like he could hear an auditory hallucination of someone shouting, “Gomu gomu!” Serge shivered, recalling Prince Raphael from his nightmare, who had perfectly resembled a character embarking on an adventure to find companions.

He had chased Serge so fiercely in the dream, shouting for him to become a companion in his great cause…. Damn it… To escape that, he had spent the entire time in his dream screaming and running away. He had run away so strenuously that he had actually sweated buckets.

“Hoo….”

Serge finally calmed his ragged breathing and straightened his back. He then slowly lifted his body, which had been buried deep in the bedding, placed his feet on the marble floor, and stood up straight.

It was foolish. He admitted it. He had been so very foolish.

After judging the second prince by his outward appearance alone, he had been too rash in his conviction and had set the wrong bait. Not knowing that he himself would be the one to bite that bait hard and end up dangling from the fishing line.

To make the mistake of judging him based only on the image he had of him from their school days…. He must still not have properly adapted to this life he had returned to.

Serge went to the still-dark window and parted the curtains. Then he stared straight ahead at the edge of the distant city, which was faintly beginning to brighten.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked forcefully on the door of Lord Arthur’s bedroom.

“Come in.”

At his permission, the room filled with the sound of bustling clothes and the cheerful voice of a middle-aged woman.

“Oh my, our dependable young master is already awake!”

Mrs. Suzanne Rolland, as quick as ever, entered the room and began to throw open the curtains covering the windows.

Swoosh! The heavy fabrics were swept to both sides at once by a strong force, creating a lighthearted sound. It was astonishing how nimbly she moved, despite her rather plump physique compared to others. Every time Serge saw her, the woman who had cared for him since he was a baby, he could not help but be amazed.

“Goodness, my young master. Why are you so drenched in sweat? And what are all these marks?”

“Ah….”

Before Serge could even manage a reply, the woman rummaged through her skirts, pulled out the large pure cotton handkerchief she always carried, and began to wipe his face. The way she so naturally sat him back down on the bed, held his head firmly with one arm, and wiped away his sweat was completely unchanged from when he was a child, and for some reason, his heart felt a little touched. Her warm, soft fingers were also just the same.

“Suzanne….”

“You must have had a nightmare…. My poor young master.”

Mrs. Rolland was the nanny who had raised him herself, in place of his frail mother, the Duchess of Arthur.

Even though Serge was now a grown young man over 20 years old, she always treated him like a child, which he was rather fond of. For him, who had always been crushed by the burden of being the eldest son of the ducal family and had grown up without receiving affectionate love in the rigid atmosphere of the household, she was the only person he could lean on with a comfortable heart.

Somehow, it felt like it had been quite a while since he had received such tender care after returning to this life, so Serge comfortably entrusted his face to Mrs. Rolland’s touch.

“Still, I really like seeing you smile so much these days.”

“I…. I’ve been smiling a lot?”

“Of course! Although… I must admit, there was a bit of a sinister side to it.”

Serge flinched. It was just as one would expect from the person who had raised him herself.

“I will tell the maids to bring in the wash water now. You must wash up properly and hurry and get ready.”

“Did I have something to do today…?”

“Heavens, young master…. It is nice that you have become so handsome after cutting the hair that covered your entire face, but it seems you have been so busy with public and private matters lately that you are a bit out of it. To think you have forgotten even today’s schedule!”

That is because the one who made today’s schedule was the me of the past…. Serge could not bring himself to protest and swallowed his words. Without a moment to notice his expression, she, who was once again bustling about giving instructions to the maids, gave him the short answer.

“You were scheduled to observe the twins’ lesson today!”

Oh, right! My younger siblings…!

“…And that is why the War of the Lilies is important, my lord. Because the fight between these two families, who used the white lily and the black lily as their respective family crests, became the catalyst for the shift of power from the Charles dynasty to the current royal family of Blanche, the Bourbon dynasty, during the Hundred Years’ War.”

The voice of the private tutor, Sir Renault, was leaking through the crack of the door to the Arthur family’s study. Serge stood quietly in the hallway, listening carefully so as not to disturb his younger siblings’ history lesson.

“The Charles dynasty is also our family’s ancestor, right?”

“That’s right, I saw it on the family tree.”

At the eight-year-old siblings’ questions, the teacher cleared his throat with a humph, humph.

“My lord, my lady. The greatness of the Arthur ducal family is not simply because it descends from the Charles dynasty. It is because of the history and legitimacy that have been passed down from even longer ago.”

The teacher’s voice was full of confidence. He fixed his eyes on a part of the history book while simultaneously unrolling a scroll with a large map drawn on it.

“Do you see the Arthur family’s domain here? This vast estate that encompasses even Champenoux, the most fertile and wealthy city in the south.”

The teacher’s hand pointed to the map, and the small heads of the siblings with dark brown hair gathered closely in that direction.

“Since you two were born and raised in the grand mansion here in Anserre, the capital of Blanche, it might not feel quite real to you yet. Just how wealthy this domain is, and how much influence it holds within the Kingdom of Blanche.”

“I heard it is a strategic hub for trade.”

“Of course, trade has been one of the main factors that allowed the domain to become wealthy over the past few hundred years. But the Arthur domain actually developed much earlier than that. Perhaps this year or next, the Duke may take you two on a tour of the domain, and if you go see it for yourselves, you will realize it. How developed its commerce is, and how fertile the land is for farming.”

The private tutor, said to be a genius from a baronial family in the Champenoux region himself, certainly seemed to have outstanding pride in the domain.

“Going back to the beginning, if you look at the domain here, it borders the southern kingdoms of the continent. This is where it begins. In other words, you need to look not at the Middle Ages, but further back to antiquity, starting from the Carolingian dynasty. The legitimacy of the Arthur family comes directly from this dynasty. This is the first beginning, the foundation, and the root.”

“Is the Carolingian dynasty completely unrelated to the current Bourbon dynasty?”

“As is the case with all dynasties on the continent, it is not completely unrelated. Are not the dynasties of this continent intertwined and connected through marriage alliances over a period of more than a thousand years? However, if we are talking about the legitimacy passed down from antiquity, the ducal family of Arthur has inherited that blood more strongly than the Bourbon dynasty. Of course, it has now become a glory of the past, remaining only in history. But the influence that its name still carries cannot be ignored. And was that all? This dynasty, which continues from Carolingian in the name of Charles, also shares its roots with the Catholic Church, as it began and was passed down from the ancient L’homme Empire, the birthplace of the early church. That is why the Arthur family has maintained a very close relationship with the Papal States since ancient times.”

Of course, such a relationship was also possible because of the efforts of the successive dukes. The teacher added an explanation, tapping a small slate with a piece of chalk. The private tutor’s explanation, which even brought up the Catholic Church that held a tight grip on the continent, was tantamount to proving the source of the powerful authority possessed by the Arthur family.

In other words, he had just summarized the explanation of the historically clearly proven legitimacy, wealth, and immense power of the Arthur family.

Serge organized the things the teacher had just explained in his head and nodded his head without realizing it. His teaching was accurate.

‘Carolingian… Charles, and the Papal States. And also capital and influence.’

It was just as he had said. The nobility of Arthur and the legitimacy of the ancient dynasty were different from the legitimacy of Blanche, which the current Bourbon dynasty claimed, based on the people who had traditionally lived on this land, that is, the indigenous people. In fact, in the Middle Ages, a few hundred years before the royal bloodlines carrying the name ‘de Blanche’ strengthened the kingdom’s authority, it was the Arthur family that had held more power and stronger influence than the dynasty.

‘Since the name of Arthur occupies the top of the pyramid of the current great noble families of Blanche like this, it is only natural for Prince Raphael to covet it as his backing.’

There was a distinct difference from the other ducal families in the kingdom.

If one could have the Duke of Arthur as their backer, there would be more than one or two people who would say they could mine diamonds from the beach. That is how many among the great nobles of Blanche would rush in, claiming they could do even such absurd things.

But to marry the eldest son of such a family? No, if they were to even get engaged, as the second prince said, how high would his authority soar.

‘No matter how persecuted he is by the royal family, he would have more than enough power to overturn the Crown Prince’s faction in a single stroke.’

Knowing that, the Crown Prince must have ultimately accepted the Duke’s request to be Serge’s partner for his birthday ball. Serge listened in on the teacher’s history lesson for his siblings and reflected on the conversation about an alliance he had with Raphael yesterday.

Having the ducal family of Arthur as a backer was like the best cheat code a prince could have.

‘He probably will not give up easily.’

Even more so if he recalled what a tenacious fencing athlete he had been. He had not won all those trophies for nothing, after all. It must have been possible because he had an excellent body, mind, and a tenacious competitive spirit.

In that case, would joining hands with the second prince, Raphael, be beneficial for him as well….

Serge had not yet been able to reach a clear conclusion.

“Hyung!”

“Oppa!”

Just then, the twin siblings, who had just finished their lesson, shouted with joy and jumped into Serge’s arms. His face instantly broke into a disarmed expression as he cried out.

“Julien! Yvonne!”

They were children with dark brown hair, just like Serge. The only difference was that unlike Serge, who had dark green eyes like the Duchess, they had deep, chocolate-colored eyes like the Duke. As dominant alphas, both had large, striking features, making them handsome and pretty, and like young children, they also exuded a charming, adorable atmosphere.

Serge hugged and lifted his younger siblings, whom he was seeing for what felt like a truly long time. He showered their faces with affectionate bisous, pouring out his love for the twins. Because they were the beings he cherished and loved most in this world. To the point where it was unbelievable that he had not sought them out immediately after realizing he had regressed to his past life.

“My little darlings. Did you enjoy your history lesson?”

It was truly an affection like that which a parent would pour out for their child. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that the twins, who were born when Serge was 15, were raised on his back. The siblings also followed their older brother Serge like a mother, in place of the maternal figure who had passed away right after they were born.

It was a natural state of affairs, as he was the one who had smothered them with profound love and raised them close, in place of their father, the Duke of Arthur, who was rather blunt with his children.

“Hyung, why haven’t you come to see us so much lately?”

The twins’ voices were full of disappointment.

“Oppa, I think the mansion is too big. You got lost in this mansion that is as big as a palace and could not find us, right? Is that right?”

Yvonne said, wrapping her arms around her big brother Serge’s neck with her wiggling fingers. Julien also clung to Serge’s long legs and rubbed his cheek against them. The warmth of a small, pale hand clinging with all its might. His heart grew warm on its own.

This absolute trust, not even considering for a moment that he might have neglected them because he was busy…. From his nanny, Mrs. Suzanne Rolland, in the morning to his twin siblings now, Serge felt a sense of guilt, thinking that he had somehow kept forgetting the precious things in this world, and at the same time, his heart was touched to meet those who still loved him unchangingly.

Yes. Since he had returned anyway, he should cherish these people even more in the time he had left, he resolved to himself.

“Let us spend more time together from now on.”

The only alphas he loved. Serge looked at his siblings, who, unlike him, were born with dominant traits, and smiled with pride. Was it not such a relief that he had younger siblings who would brilliantly lead the family after their father?