I wake up at the usual time.
　I look next to him and see Tart naked and in my arms.
　He's smiling happily and drooling on his mouth.

''Rougshamaa, my Rougshamaa.''

He has a semi-strong cuddle.
　He rubs his cheeks with a smirk on his sleeping face and occasionally does a frown. It's as if she's claiming them as her own.
　He's quite adept at doing this with his sleeping face.

Tart herself is trying to hide it, but she's a pretty possessive type of girl, and making love to each other seems to have intensified that desire.

''Feng, I don't really like to sleep twice, though.

It's going to be difficult to get out of bed without waking up the tart in any way.
　We have some time before we meet with Duke Roemarng, so let's take a good look at Tart's sleeping face.

◇

Tart wakes up and slowly opens his eyes.

'Good morning................oh, it's so late!　I'm sorry, please arrange for breakfast now.

I jumped out of bed in a hurry and fell down.
　I'm naked and I can see a lot of things.

'Relax. If there's a problem, I'll wake you up. We worked hard late last night, let's take it easy.
Whoa, whoa.

Tart made a strange noise and overheated as it was, with smoke coming out of his face.
　He must have remembered what happened yesterday.
　It was amazing how spoiled Tart was yesterday.
　I thought Tart was erotic, but not to that extent.

'I'm sorry, I lost my mind,'
'Fine. I was relieved that Tart felt comfortable with it. And it's more fun for me to be disturbed by it, too.
'Master Rouges did so much for me yesterday!　Now I'll learn more so that I can fill up on Master Lug!
I can teach you a lot of things if you want to learn but it's not safe to teach yourself.

Tart tried his best to please me in many ways, even though it was his first time, but his knowledge was half-hearted and wrong in places, so it was hard in that sense.
　........I know the culprit.
　It's my mom, anyway.
　She must have blown a lot of stuff up at random. I can see Tart nodding his head as he listens to his mother with a bright red face.

''I'll do my best!

That's the beauty of being a tart.
　I don't think he needs to work so hard, though.

"Put your clothes on before you try. It's hard to keep looking at a tart's body.
Oh, no, no, I'm sorry.

He sits up, hiding his chest with his hands.
　He turns his back to the tart.
　Then I began to hear the sound of the cloth being rubbed.
　They must be wearing the change of clothes they had prepared.

I'm sure you're not the only one who's had a hard time with it.
Well, yeah.
'Then I'll have a morning service for you?　Men, you love that sort of thing, mother-in-law... well, read about it in a book.

Where on earth did he learn that word?
　Also, my mother let the tart call her mother-in-law, and she seems to like him a lot.

I'll get you another time. I'm more than that, I'm hungry. I'll have some breakfast.
Yes, I'm gonna make you a super-delicious one.

Tart got up and left the room after saying that.
　I'm sure he'll prepare something that will help him to be more diligent.

◇

Breakfast is ready and the three of us gather at the table.
　Breakfast was a fluffy omelet with bacon and mushrooms.
　Melted cheese on toast, and vegetable soup.

The omelette is cooked perfectly, and when you pass a knife through it, the half-boiled egg comes out. The choice of ingredients and soup stock is good. It was quite a feast.
　The cheese toast is simple, but it is much better than the cheese that is delivered to the royal castle, so this is much better than any poorly made cheese.
　The vegetable soup is modestly seasoned, and it's a relief to drink it after a lumpy omelet or cheese toast.

'Tart, the omelet is good today,'
We had the right ingredients.
'I liked this omelet too. ─ I like this omelet as well, and I can't wait to try it again. Today's breakfast is even better than usual. It's another form of love.
Oh, no, it's not love.

The tart is embarrassed.

'Dear, I've been meaning to ask you for a while now, why are you tarting up the tart like that?

It is natural for an aristocrat to have more than one wife, but it is something they have to do, and many women are emotionally negative about it.

'There are a number of reasons for this,'

Dia brings the omelet to her mouth and chews it with a squirming motion before resuming the conversation.

'Reason number one, because I consider the tart a friend. I took pity on him when I saw him.
Reason number two?
'It's my duty as a nobleman. It's a wife's duty to help ensure that the blood of the rogue remains intact. The last reason is for the rogue. The Tart will protect the roug until the end, no matter what. That's the kind of boy he is. I just knew that if we loved each other, we would never change that feeling.
I don't, you know, need you to love me.
'Maybe so. But it's not easy to have a crush on someone. You might be okay now, but you might change your mind someday. That's why I wanted you to make love to each other. I needed you to protect me.

Dia finishes her omelet.

'It's not fair to ask this now, but let me ask you. ...If it weren't for those three reasons, wouldn't Dea have wanted me and Tart to make love to each other?
Of course I do. I'm the only one you need to love.

Dia answers immediately.
　I'm speechless.

'But hey, those three reasons I just mentioned. I like Tart as a friend and I want him to be happy and I want to make sure he has blood on his hands. I want someone to risk their life to protect the rogue. When you put it all together, it's more than just me wanting you to love me. I supported the tart knowingly. Oh, tart, do you have any dessert?
Oh, yes. Today's dessert is orange gelée.
Oh, yeah, give me some. Give me some. Give me some more.
I'll be right back.

The tart disappears into the kitchen.

'Feng, Roug. Don't make me say this. It's pretty embarrassing to put into words.
Thanks.
You're welcome. Good luck this afternoon. It looks like I'm not allowed to follow you, and I'll wish you well as you develop your magic.
Do that. Let's take a different route home. I have a route home that goes through some of the best sights for a date.
That's great. I'm looking forward to our date.

Dia and I laugh at each other.
　I can't stop giving Dia a hard time.
　I have to give her something back too.
　Yeah, I really thought so.

◇

In the afternoon, I went out with my tart.
　My clothes are a special dress for a holy knight, and Tart's is a servant's uniform.

.........This formal dress is well tailored and made of good material, but it's not for battle, so its defensive strength is unsatisfactory, there's no space to hide a dark weapon, and above all, it's made to look good, so it's hard to move.
　I wouldn't want to wear it if I could, but even if I were to appear before royalty, I have no other choice.
　In the future, there will be more opportunities to wear this, and I'll try to make something that looks the same but can withstand battle.

''Has that rogue-sama ever met Duke Romalung before?
Not directly. But I know what kind of person he is. He's incredibly talented and incredibly loyal.

I know what kind of man he is because I've seen his requests to Touahade.
　Calculating, prepared, and overwhelmingly loyal to his country.

All of his previous requests for assassinations have been in the interest of the Kingdom of Arvan.
　And some of them were assassinations that benefited the Duke of Romalung while also benefiting the Kingdom of Arvan.
　If you put out a little bit of ulterior motive and devise a way to give instructions, you can benefit to the extent that you can be excused. Such a case.

But the Duke of Romalung does not do so. He works only with the interests of the country in mind.
　That doesn't just mean an innocent aristocrat who doesn't profit at all.
　If it's a measure that maximizes the country's best interests and results in the Duke of Romalung benefiting as well, he will do so. On the other hand, if it is in the best interests of the country, he would not hesitate to make a move that would put him at a disadvantage.
　Yes, he only cares about "maximizing" the national interest.
　He is capable of maximizing the national interest, and above all, he is notable for his overwhelming loyalty to his country.
　This is the image we have of him.

He's a great guy.
Yeah, that's why I'm scared.

I don't even care about my own disadvantage and push forward.
　In other words, if Touahade and I are detrimental to the country, we'll cut them down immediately.
　It's dangerous. However, it's easy to understand.
　Because it's rational, if it's detrimental to the country, we'll be the enemy, and as long as it doesn't happen, we can trust them to be our allies.

'You've got it. 'I didn't know there were gardens in the castle.'
I knew it was coming, but I didn't think I'd get in.

We had come to a garden in the royal castle.
　The Arvan Garden, named after the country, is said to be a peach of a place.
　A place that the country professes to be the most beautiful place in the world.

The flowers of each season are collected and arranged to combine several kinds of flowers to show their best beauty, and artworks and jewels are used sparingly to enhance the flowers.
　Even the interior design is changed to harmonize with the flowers as the seasons change.

The most beautiful and most luxurious space in the world.
　Hence, only a very limited amount of access is allowed.

As soon as Tart walked in, he was speechless.
　He's so beautiful, he's lost to his soul.
　I'm the same way.
　I wish I could have brought Dia. I'm sure she would have loved to see this place.

"Holy knight, come this way.

I am guided by a servant.
　........Incidentally, this servant is the daughter of a certain marquis.
　To step in here, even a servant is required to have rank.

In Tart's case, she is a squire of a holy knight, and based on her achievements in defeating the Kabushi demon race, she has managed to be allowed to do so.
　We are led to a gazebo in a garden - a covered, wall-less place in a park or other place with desks and chairs.
　So we are going to enjoy tea and talk while admiring the flowers there.
　There are two prior guests.

'Princess Farina, the Duke of Romalung, the Holy Knight and his retinue are here.

I step forward with the tart, and the tart holds back behind me.
　Then, the two guests ahead of me.
　A girl in her mid-teens with peach-colored hair, a mysterious hair that only manifests itself in the royal family, and a man in his thirties with hair that looks as if it's too glaring to be gold and has melted gold itself, turn to me.
　Both of them are too beautiful to be inhuman.
　And that's as it should be. The royal family and the dukes of Romalung were created that way.

''I am pleased to meet you for the first time. The son of Baron Touahade, the current Touahade. My name is Lugue Touahade.

He kneels down and leans his head back to greet them.
　He's not yet the head of the baronial family, but he's already been replaced as an assassin.

'Please look up, sir.'

As he said, he looked up.

'Well, how pretty she is. I didn't even notice it from a distance at the party.
Don't be brave, kid. 'I'm glad you're here, Roug,' he said. Kian has told me about you. I hear it's one of the best Towahade stories ever written. I don't know if I should be happy or sad about your being made a holy knight.
"I will try to destroy the demons as soon as possible and fulfill my duties as a Touahade.
That's promising. Take your seats, dear. I had my best tea prepared for the occasion.

Once seated, a servant pours the tea.

The smell was familiar.

'What do you think?　I love this scent. It makes me feel so relieved.
'Me too. It's not like my work is going anywhere without it. Hey, what's wrong?　Do you not like this scent?
No, I like it. It's the tea you started working with at Orna.

I sell tea that has been formulated to my liking to get the most work done, and I sell it in Orna.
　Of course I like it.

Did you know about this, Master Lug? I love Orna. The makeup, the sweets, the tea, everything is great. Ta-da, it's a platinum membership card.

Platinum membership is a service that allows you to pay a high membership fee to regularly receive products that are a notch above those in stores.
　Orna is an extremely popular store, and the products disappear as soon as they are in the store, so the platinum membership, which provides a stable supply of products, even if it's more expensive, is very popular, and the slots there are filled with a flood of applications.

I knew that Princess Farina was a member. And that Duke Romalung's wife and daughter are also members.
　But to me........is it a coincidence that you served this tea to the Orna representative, Irg Balor?

''Princess Farina is also a fan of it? What a coincidence. In my case, my mother is a member, so I naturally fell in love with Orna's products.''
We seem to be on the same page. Oh, by the way, we're having a presentation of Orna's new work in the capital. I've requested that it be held at the last minute. The representative, Mr. Irg Balor, won't be there, but the vice-president, a woman named Maha will be there. I was very surprised. To think that a girl my age is the vice-president of Orna. I can't wait to see what she's like.

A peach-colored girl stares at me with a smile as pretty as a flower.
　I also know about the presentation of the new products in the royal capital.
　Orna's production is currently not able to keep up with orders, and there's no point in adding new customers anymore. He didn't want to devote resources to an event to develop those new customers.

He tried to decline the offer, but pressure from above made him decide to hold the event.
　I remember Maha complaining about how busy she was and how she didn't want to waste more work.
　Was it this girl's suggestion?
　He served Orna's tea and talked about Maha coming to King's Landing next.
　...Is that what this is all about?

''Princess Farina, it's time to end the chit-chat and get down to business. Your rogue is looking at you in disgust.
'I'm sorry, Uncle. I was inadvertently looking at Mr. Lugue. Well, I'd better get to the point. Gosh, not as a holy knight, but as an assassin nobleman, I have a request for you. I want you to kill my brother. I can't do that anymore. The Countess Grunfeldt has turned him into a puppet, and he's a danger to this country. I don't think it's going to be able to be repaired, so please get rid of it.

She remained with her flowery, dainty smile.
　In exactly the same tone as when she had praised Orna's tea earlier, as if making small talk, she uttered a request to kill her brother.