Fortunately, Leciel knew how to read. Although the characters looked unfamiliar, their meaning naturally came to her mind.

‘That’s a relief.’

If she hadn’t known, she would have had to learn anew, which would have been a hassle. Hadn’t she already spent a full 16 years studying in Korea?

She didn’t want to study again after being transmigrated to another world.

Come to think of it, there was no need to confirm this now. Hadn’t she written a temporary contract with Kael before?

Back then, she had read the contract thoroughly.

If she hadn’t known the characters, she wouldn’t have been able to read the contents of the contract in the first place.

‘I can be quite a fool.’

Forgetting that she could read and wondering if she could was silly.

That thought was brief.

‘Still, reading is fun.’

The contents of the book were boring beyond measure, but since it had been a while since she last read, it felt quite enjoyable.

As a result, Leciel ended up reading the book more attentively than she had intended, originally just wanting to check if she could read the characters.

Carren watched her with an intrigued expression.

Seeing Leciel read so seriously, it seemed she indeed knew the characters.

However, it was strange. An uneducated child shouldn’t have known how to read.

Moreover, she didn’t seem to have received formal education.

And the book’s content was difficult for a child, yet Leciel read without any sign of struggle.

She occasionally sparkled with interest, as if she found the book’s contents fascinating.

‘I never thought she was stupid, but…’

It was surprising to see her understand and accept a book even adults found challenging.

She was indeed a mysterious child.

Although she showed the innocent and childish side appropriate for her age, she also occasionally displayed a maturity that was not childlike.

This contrast piqued Carren’s interest more and more.

It made him want to know her more, and on a rare occasion, do a favor for her.

‘It might not be so bad to have such a younger sibling.’

Previously, Carren had no particular interest in having a sibling, but now it was different.

‘But what should I do?’

Waiting for her to finish the book without knowing how long it would take seemed unwise.

However, he didn’t want to disturb her while she was deeply engrossed in reading.

Carren knew all too well how annoying it was to be interrupted while concentrating.

After a brief hesitation, Carren decided to wait until Leciel finished reading, as he had nothing else to do.

How much time had passed like that?

It was dinner time, and Kael came looking for Carren and Leciel since they were nowhere to be seen.

A maid mentioned seeing them last in this room, so Kael came to check and couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

The two were engaged in a heated debate, unaware of his presence.

The topic of their debate was a phrase: <An unjust law is still a law>.

Seeing these adorable children, whom he had thought of as merely young, debating so seriously was quite endearing.

Their arguments were so well-constructed that it was hard to believe they came from children.

Anyone overhearing their conversation would have thought it was a scholarly debate.

As Kael marveled, their debate continued.

“A law is made by a person, right? As long as a person is imperfect, the laws they make will have flaws. If we must follow it simply because it’s a law, then it becomes a weapon for some and a shackle for the innocent.”

“You’re right. But if we don’t follow unjust laws, then what’s the point of having laws? They would lose their meaning and function as laws.”

“Laws exist for people. If a law no longer serves people but harms them, then its reason for existence is gone.”

“But laws are necessary.”

Laws were the minimum standards and lines that people should abide by.

If we disregarded laws just because they didn’t function perfectly, it would render the laws meaningless and plunge the world into chaotic disorder.

“I agree with that. But I still can’t help but question unjust laws. We should correct what is wrong. Instead of blindly following unjust laws, shouldn’t we strive to amend them properly?”

“We can’t possibly amend every problematic law.”

Moreover, there was no guarantee that amended laws would be correct. Nothing could be perfect.

Constantly amending laws would eventually lead to confusion, leaving people unsure of what to follow, causing disorder.

“Of course, that’s a job in itself. But we can’t just leave something wrong unattended, can we?”

“Sometimes, the sacrifice of a few is necessary for the greater good.”

For the large framework of <law>, some unjust laws might need to be tolerated.

It was better to have some unjust laws than for the entire legal system to collapse, as laws maintained societal order.

“Sacrifice should not be part of the greater good.”

“Nothing can be achieved without sacrifice.”

It would be ideal if everything could be perfect, but sometimes sacrifice was unavoidable.

“The greater good should benefit everyone, not just the majority. Otherwise, we will keep sacrificing the minority for the majority.”

Over time, the so-called greater good would lose its power, and the accumulation of sacrifices would cause further problems.

Moreover, the majority were not always right.

“Alright, let’s stop here.”

Seeing no end in sight to their debate, Kael finally intervened.

“Father?”

“Uncle?”

It was only then that Carren and Leciel noticed Kael’s presence and turned their gaze toward him.

“What’s important now is dinner for growing children.”

“Is it already… that late?”

Carren, who had lost track of time while debating with Leciel, looked somewhat bewildered.

“Yes. Dinner time has long passed.”

They were already more than 30 minutes late for the scheduled mealtime.

“Ah.”

“Let’s go eat first.”

“Understood.”

Although he honestly wanted to continue the interrupted debate more than he wanted to eat, Carren nodded obediently.

He didn’t mind skipping a meal herself, but he knew that the little kid couldn’t afford to.

Already small and frail, missing even one meal might cause her to faint.

To avoid rumors that the Duke’s household was starving their guests, Leciel had to eat every meal and gain some weight.

“It seems you were having quite a bit of fun.”

Seeing the regret on Carren’s face, Kael laughed lightly.

“It’s been a while since I met someone I could really talk to.”

Initially, he hadn’t intended to take the debate so seriously. Leciel’s comments after finishing the book had been somewhat irritating, but he had decided to let it go since she was just a child.

He had only made an offhand remark, which had led to their current situation.

The debate that started unexpectedly had turned out to be so interesting that he lost track of time.

‘… is she really only 10?’

Leciel was raising logical and reasonable points that were far beyond what a 10-year-old should be thinking about.

“But it’s fun.”

Engaging in a debate like this with someone was enjoyable.

Especially since coming to the villa with his father, he had felt the lack of someone to have meaningful conversations with.

In that context, finding a debate partner was something Carren welcomed.

Even though his opponent was two years younger than him, what mattered in a debate was not age but the ability to present logical arguments and sound evidence.

Considering how many people older than him didn’t even know the basics of debating, Leciel was a rare gem found in the sand.

“Having someone you can communicate with is a good thing.”

Kael smiled contentedly, hoping that this would lead to Carren and Leciel becoming closer.

“I found it quite enjoyable too.”

Leciel was genuinely happy just to have someone to talk to and spend time with.

Before leaving the forest of monsters with Kael, she couldn’t even have imagined such a thing.

“And it’s a draw. Since we didn’t reach a conclusion, the debate is a tie.”

“I’ll remember that. Who knows what will happen next time.”

Carren, who was reluctant to end it after just one round, promised another debate.

For Carren, what mattered was not winning the debate but the debate itself.

‘… I’m looking forward to it.’

His eyes sparkled with anticipation of the next debate; a sentiment Kael noticed with a small smile.

This aspect of his was more like his wife than himself.

Unlike him, who disliked pointless debates, his wife enjoyed discussing and debating what she knew with others.

She had often lamented that he didn’t become her debate partner.

In that sense, Leciel was the perfect match for his son.

It seemed Leciel also enjoyed debating, so they could have a loving married life filled with debates.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, Leciel had a brief teatime with Kael. She had something to say.

“I didn’t expect the little one to invite me for tea.”

Kael recalled how Leciel had grabbed him and said, “Uncle, if you have time, let’s have tea,” with a beaming expression.

It was such a bold proposal that it was almost heart-meltingly cute.

“I just have something to say.”

“If you want to become my daughter, I need to think about that.”

Today had only made Kael more convinced that Leciel would be the perfect daughter-in-law.

“I had already put that on hold myself.”

“Ah.”

Kael gave a mischievous look as if to ask when that had happened.

“I think your son isn’t mean because he takes after you, but because he’s your son.”

Although, to be honest, Carren didn’t seem that bad so far.

“Is there a difference?”

“Yes, there is. The former is a matter of genetics, the latter is about you specifically.”

“Hmm?”

“What I mean is, if I had a father like you, I’d probably become mean out of spite.”

“Where can you find a father as kind as me?”

Kael shrugged with a shameless look.

Leciel made an exasperated face, wondering if he was serious, but decided to let it slide.

“So, what do you want to say?”

Thinking that couples tend to resemble each other, Kael asked, feeling that Leciel’s ability to ignore what she didn’t want to hear was becoming like Carren.

“It’s nothing much. I think we need to sort out the titles.”

“I didn’t think you’d care about that now.”

Even after learning his true identity, Leciel had continued to call him mister, so Kael thought she’d keep doing that.

Not that it mattered, so he hadn’t said anything.

“Well, I thought about it and realized it’s not right to keep calling you mister when you’re the Grand Duke.”