Inside the Duke's Estate, Eros, who was subduing Undine with one hand, suddenly felt a vibration coming from the mark in his mind that belonged to Natalia. The vibrations were exactly five times—neither more nor less.
The corners of Eros's mouth curled up slightly. Now he could be certain: the one who had usurped Cynthia's divine seat was indeed one of those nine traitors.
Seeing that Eros seemed to be daydreaming, Undine, who was currently held down with one hand, lit up her beautiful eyes. Holding nothing back, she immediately gathered all her strength to break free.
Like a massive wild black boar that knew it was about to be slaughtered for the holidays, she began flailing around desperately.
Distracted by her commotion, Eros snapped back to reality and sat right back down, directly suppressing Undine once more.
Looking at Undine, who was held down and rendered utterly immobile, Eros wore a triumphant smirk.
"Bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh~"
"Holy crap, are you a dog?!"
Watching the two before her whose antics were growing increasingly out of hand, Estelle tapped on the table in front of her.
Noticing the signs of Estelle getting somewhat annoyed, Eros immediately let go and sat obediently to one side.
With flushed cheeks, Undine gave a soft hmph and began smoothing out her rumpled dress.
After adjusting her dress, Undine dove straight into Estelle's embrace, pointing aggrievedly at her long legs:
"Look at him, look at him! This was my favorite pair of stockings, and he ripped them like this."
Estelle let out a soft sigh, her beautiful face revealing a trace of helplessness at this pair of mischievous troublemakers.
To the side, Eros curled his lip and said, "You were clearly the one who picked a fight with me first. You're so bad at it, yet you love to play."
Hearing this, Undine instantly lifted her head from Estelle's chest and glared fiercely at Eros.
Eros gave a slight hmph and said, "Not playing with you anymore!"
Saying this, Eros stood up from the sofa and left the living room.
Watching Eros's retreating back, Undine pouted, then rubbed her face against Estelle's chest once more.
"Mom! When will I ever grow as large as you?"
Hearing these words, a blush crept onto Estelle's pretty face. She reached out and patted her daughter's bottom in her arms, saying in annoyance:
"What nonsense are you talking about? Which lady acts like you?"
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Undine hummed, completely unfazed, and reached out with both hands to weigh the assets before her, speaking in a somewhat dejected tone:
"How on earth did Mom grow these?"
"No respect for your elders!" Estelle reached out and slapped away her daughter's mischievous hands.
"Hmph hmph!" Undine continued to wriggle into Estelle's embrace, joining her mother in reading the literature book in front of them.
Having left the living room, Eros returned to his bedroom. Upon stepping inside, he saw Isabella instructing her daughter in occult knowledge.
Seeing Eros enter, Isabella and Angelica hurriedly paused what they were doing and stepped forward to greet him.
Eros walked over to his bed and lay down, saying to Isabella and Angelica beside him:
"There's no need to be so formal in private. Relax a bit—you two carry on, ignore me."
Angelica looked over at her mother. Isabella gave a nod, and then walked back over to continue instructing her daughter.
Since there was nothing to attend to today, Eros stayed at home without going out.
In the afternoon, however, the estate received an invitation to a banquet—a banquet hosted by Grand Duchess Catherine, inviting Duke North's family to attend.
Eros checked the time of the banquet: tomorrow evening at seven o'clock.
After keeping this in mind, Eros casually asked just to strike up a conversation:
"Estelle, do you know when it will start snowing in Intil?"
Estelle recalled for a moment before saying, "In my memory, snow in Intil usually doesn't arrive until December. It's only November right now, so snowing is still quite a ways off."
Eros let out an "oh," then continued to ask: "Then do you think we should return to the family for Resurrection Day this year?"
Estelle smiled softly: "Homesick?"
Eros chuckled: "Wherever you all are, that's home."
A faint, fond smile bloomed in Estelle's beautiful eyes: "Look at your sweet tongue!"
To the side, Undine suddenly raised her head and said, "Mom, let's go shopping outside! Staying at home is so boring~"
Estelle thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll need to change into another outfit first."
Eros tried to take this opportunity to slip away, only to have his arm grabbed firmly by Undine:
"You're coming with us to help carry our things."
"Aren't there servants for that?" Eros was somewhat reluctant.
"No, I want you!" Undine acted spoiled.
"I'm not going!" Eros remained unmoved.
"Come on~ Come on~ My good little brother, good Eros~ Please~ come along~"
Undine continued to act spoiled.
Eros's breathing hitched slightly, and he spoke in a somewhat strained tone: "I'm not..."
"If you go, I'll let you rip them again next time..."
"Oh, my goodness! Mom, why aren't you ready yet? My patience is running out~"
Eros didn't answer Undine's words, but instead began urging directly.
Seeing this scene, Undine's pretty face turned red as she muttered:
"What a bad little brother!"
Originally, Estelle had planned to try on a few more outfits to see which one was more suitable for going out today, but she couldn't stand someone outside constantly rushing her.
Thus, she simply threw on an outfit at random and headed out the door.
Stepping into the outgoing carriage, Estelle eyed Eros in front of her with a suspicious expression and said:
"Usually, don't you hate accompanying us shopping the most?"
"Why are you so enthusiastic today?"
Eros refuted: "Not at all! I'm the most enthusiastic about shopping—available whenever called upon."
Estelle continued to gaze at Eros before her. Eros let out a dry cough and said:
"Mainly because staying at home today was boring too!"
Estelle nodded; that barely counted as a reason.
Soon, the carriage reached the most prosperous street in the inner city. The moment they stepped off the carriage, Undine pulled Eros and ran excitedly toward a clothing store.
Left with no choice, Eros had no option but to follow behind Undine.
After following Undine through various high-end clothing shops on this street for two hours, a massive pile of gift boxes had accumulated in Eros's arms.
Originally, all those stores offered home delivery services, but Undine insisted on Eros carrying them. Having no choice, he could only follow behind Undine lugging these large and small bags.
It was precisely as they stepped into the next store's doorway that a noisy clamor suddenly reached Eros's ears. The sound grew louder and louder, sounding as if it were coming from beyond the city walls.
Did something happen over in the outer city?