***T/N: OUR ONEGAI MUSCLE HAS BEEN ANSWERED, YOU GUYS!!!! LOOKS WHO’S BACK!!!!!!!

It’s all thanks to @TMurdock, who has earnestly searched for all the chapters for us!!!!!! Truly a Muscle godsent, that guy is…

NOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROSPER, MY GLORIOUS MUSCLE CULT!!!

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“U, uuu, uuu, as I’ve said, Stila-chan is an angel!”

Said the Duke of Radphen as he bit his lips so strongly, they looked like they would bleed, while looking towards the heaven.

Ally’s thought alternated between, ‘Exactly! He understands Stila well!’ and, ‘Isn’t he a little too excited?’ What if he was the type of person who couldn’t control his excitement at the sight of a little girl?!

I wonder if the reason he became Stila’s guardian was because of the harassment from the King, his half-brother, Aghail, displayed towards her…

Ally casually moved to a position where she could rescue Stila at any given moment.

Despite so, the Duke of Radphen suddenly showed a serious face and looked straight at Stila. Even though she was ten-years-old, she was short. Therefore, Duke Radphen knelt down.

“Forgive me, Stila-chan… you must’ve been anxious about Uncle… Uncle and Stila’s dad aren’t close to each other… I am truly sorry, I should’ve rescued you from the palace sooner…”

“My Father…”

As Stila enjoyed a candy ball, her mouth formed such words. Listening to her, Ally experienced severe pain in her chest—she involuntarily clutched her chest.

Her former best friends gently approached her from behind—Marylin from the right and Carol from the left. Both of them put their hands on Ally’s back.

“You see, in Uncle’s house, yeah? There’re no children. That’s why Stila’s dad felt sorry for uncle, and allowed me to be your guardian. uncle’s wife wants to be Stila’s mother, she’s quite enthusiastic about it.”

“Mother…”

“She’s a very kind person. She inherited the blood of the royal family in the neighboring kingdom, Elbert. She’s a princess, just like you, Stila-chan.”

It was obvious to Ally how much the Duke of Radphen was mincing his words. The Duke of Radphen’s relationship with the King was akin to a dog and a monkey—there was bad blood between them.

The Duke of Radphen must had been considerate enough to not badmouth Stila’s father in her presence.

That alone was enough of a reason for Ally to trust the Duke of Radphen.

“This person is actually similar to you, Ally. In fact, he lambasts the King and the Queen a lot, cursing at them using foul language. The actual reason he was able to become Stila’s guardian isn’t because he just appealed to the law, but also because he used all of his connections.”

Abel’s voice was transmitted directly into Ally’s brain.

Despite the campfire and lanterns being lit, the sky was already dark. As such, it was easy to lose sight of Abel in the darkness.

“Stila-chan is still ten-years-old, therefore you needn’t give your answer immediately. If someday you were to decide to become my daughter, this uncle would be immensely happy. Thus, in the future, instead of becoming a princess, you would become a duchess.”

“Stila becoming a duchess… She’s the same age as Jean, as such, wouldn’t Ally be truly relieved if she joined the Duke of Radphen’s House? You could try to set up Jean as their son-in-law in the future.”

“There’s also the fact that Jean is the legitimate son of a baron family… However, let’s not be too hasty, otherwise we’d be counting chickens before they hatch.”

Ally smiled involuntarily at Takkun’s remark. Takkun, who had become a brooch, had just visited Ally’s little brother whom was hospitalized for treatment in the royal capital. As of the moment, Jean was being treated with healing magic. It seemed that Jean had successfully won Takkun’s heart.

“However, this may also be a good opportunity for Lady Stila… the mother of the Duke of Radphen, although she may be a concubine, she still hailed from a duke’s family. In addition, Duke Radphen’s wife is of the royal family of the neighboring kingdom. No matter how much King Aghail wants to eliminate the Duke of Radphen, it’s an impossible feat to achieve.”

Although the Kingdom of Orlandia upheld a monogamous marital system, when the former king (which was Maximilian’s grandfather) was a prince, a political marriage had been arranged to maintain harmony with other kingdoms.

The marriage itself was sudden and the daughter of the Duke of Radphen—whom was originally intended to become the future queen—was forced to step aside and become a mere concubine. Thus, a princess from another kingdom became the queen.

In the first place, the Royal Family of Orlandia only had small numbers of male descendants. Other than King Aghail, his little brother the Duke of Radphen, and Crown Prince Maximilian, there were only a few people with thin royal blood to inherit the throne. Moreover, only men could inherit the throne.

In her previous nine lives, the Duke of Radphen and Maximilian were distant towards each other exactly because of that reason. However, in her current life, their relationship seemed to have taken a different turn.

“Becoming a duchess… Stila is still not sure about that… but I like Uncle’s body, which is big and similar to my older brother… umm… can I hug you?”

Stila mumbled so.

The Duke of Radphen—or more like, everyone present, was shot through their hearts—

“—guwwaaah!!!”

“O, of course! C’mere!”

The moment the Duke Radphen spread his arms, Stila jumped into his chest without hesitation or fear.

“Wow! Uncle’s muscles are amazing~!”

“Haha, hahahahaha, right, right!? At first, I just wanted to make fun of your older brother, but I end up supporting him and the others! Not only did their muscle training seem like a lot of fun, they also looked adorable—that’s how I eventually started doing it myself!”

“Ah.” Ally sighed in grievance—‘adorable’? Surely, that couldn’t be.

Fortunately, Stila was busy being lifted up high, she couldn’t hear Ally.

“But, it is as I thought… in my current life, the relationship between Maximilian and Duke Radphen is amazingly good… to be precise, they have amazing muscle connection…”

If he were to manage to garner a strong sense of sympathy from his kingdom, and also be favored by the Duke of Radphen—whom was supported by many aristocrats, Maximilian’s position as the crown prince would basically be unwavering. …Even if his appearance was beyond man.

“By the way, uncle, my beloved Ally is about to debut in the noble society, soon. So, I want you to protect Ally from anyone who might bully her.”

After enjoying being lifted high, Stila raised her cheeks and tilted her head.

“Uhooooo—!! So cuteeeee—!! Of course, Stila’s servant, the baroness, your uncle will absolutely protect her—!!”

Despite being touched by the kind words of her benevolent Master, Ally rushed forward to stop them.

But, before that could happen, she heard Maximilian’s agreement—

“—why, that’s a good idea.”

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***T/N: Maaaaan, I miss reading this series so much, I now understand what they meant by “love deepens due to separation”…

Disclaimer: The links to previous and next chapter is always added later by my editor slash boss, therefore please be understanding why the link isn’t working right away.

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