* * *

[The Duke of Ambrosia has applied for a long, long vacation. He declared that he would take a break for a whole year, after stabilizing the Crombell Empire, personally purging those who had dabbed in dark magic, and resolving all the resulting issues. He was the only one who had made such a significant contribution to the Emperor’s ascension. 

For him to leave the political world for such a long period was, in essence, an expression of support for the still-unstable imperial family. The nobles who had rallied around him would scatter, and none of them had the same level of legitimacy as the Duke of Ambrosia. Ultimately, they would have no choice but to watch as the imperial power slowly became more stable.

There were rumors that the Emperor had cried and begged the Duke to stay, but whether this was true or not remained unknown. The only person who knew the truth was, perhaps, the Duke of Ambrosia himself, who was about to embark on his long vacation.] 

“That’s what it says here.” 

Sarah said, smiling as she put down the newspaper. Ethan, who had been checking the final documents, narrowed his eyes and replied.

“I don’t understand why everyone’s so interested in it. I said I want a family vacation, but why does everyone have to make a big deal about it?”

He sighed deeply as he signed the last page of the document. Sarah, trying to comfort him, draped her arm over Ethan’s shoulder and gave him a light hug from behind.

“It’s the fate of popular people. You’ll just have to handle it with grace.”

“Hah, it’s exhausting.”

Ethan shook his head playfully and leaned against Sarah, who laughed brightly. The excitement for the vacation was palpable between the two of them. Veron and Ronda watched the scene with warm smiles, but Jade was not as thrilled.

“By the way, My Lord, aren’t you packing? You’ve got a year’s worth of stuff to pack, you know!” 

Jade, frantically pacing, looked at them, his eyes wide. The idea of traveling with just the three of them, without any attendants, did sound simpler than the usual noble journeys, but still, it was a whole year. The thought that they would only take money with them left Jade feeling anxious.

“Young Master Claude is packing non-stop, from the moment he wakes up until he falls asleep! How are you two just sitting there, doing nothing?!”

“Am I sitting here doing nothing?” 

Ethan waved the papers he had been reviewing as if to say he was indeed doing something important. Given that he had to finish these documents the morning of their vacation, Jade realized he might be wrong to question him.

“You haven’t packed anything! Not even a single thing! Is everyone just planning to buy everything along the way? What about snacks for the journey? Shouldn’t we bring something for the road? And I’m sure Young Master Claude would get bored on the trip, we need to bring some toys or something for the carriage!”

“We’re not taking a carriage.”

“Excuse me?”

Jade gaped at him as though he hadn’t heard right. Was he saying they weren’t going to travel by carriage? Did that mean they were going to walk? Or ride horses all across the Empire? Jade, wondering if he had misunderstood, glanced around.

“……”

“……”

The butler, the head maid, and the other servants exchanged glances, silently communicating, they really had no idea what was going on.

“My Lord, do you have any plans?” 

“Well, of course I do. I’ve been thinking about where we’ll go, what Claude will like, what we’ll show him, what we’ll eat……” 

“Then how will you travel?” 

Ethan sighed deeply as if tired of explaining something so obvious.

“The great archmage will handle that.”

Sarah made a peace sign and grinned.

“And we won’t need to carry anything with us. If we need something, we’ll just get it like this……”

Sarah snapped her fingers, and a small magic circle appeared in the air. She reached into it as if searching for something, then pulled out random items.

“We’ve got a picnic blanket here, books to read to Claude, his favorite stuffed animal, a dress for walking, and some snacks……”

Sarah casually pulled various items out of the magic circle. Beyond it, Jade could see glimpses of Sarah’s dressing room, Claude’s playroom, and even the Ambrosia kitchen, passing by in a blur.

“If we need anything, we can just pull it out from the mansion anytime.”

“……”

“……”

Jade looked on, stunned, as Sarah continued to rummage through the magical portal, casually pulling out items.

“So, we don’t need any attendants. If we need something, we can just do this……”

Sarah stretched the magic circle, elongating it until it was large enough for a person to pass through. A glowing portal appeared in front of Jade, mirroring the one Sarah had just used.

“You can use this to come through any time.”

Sarah grabbed Jade’s arm and pulled him through. In an instant, Jade found himself standing right in front of Sarah as if he had moved in the blink of an eye. He blinked in surprise, his voice coming out dazed.

“Lady Sarah.”

“Yes?”

“Could…… could we do this for our family’s trip too?” 

Before he could finish his sentence, Veron and Ronda appeared out of nowhere, and quickly covered his mouth. Jade’s words were never completed.

“I’m sorry.” 

“We’re taking him with us.”

“Mmmph!”

The two of them forcibly dragged a struggling Jade away. Sarah watched the scene, laughing brightly, and said.

“It’s really not that hard. If anyone else wants to go on a trip, just let me know. I can send you anywhere in three seconds.”

“……!”

“……!”

Veron and Ronda froze in shock, and in the brief moment that they let go of Jade’s arms, he hastily asked.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. As long as you’re part of the Ambrosia family, I can send anyone, no one excluded.”

Jade placed his hands over his mouth, overwhelmed with emotion.

“The benefits of being with the Ambrosia family are insane……”

Before Jade could get any further into his praise, Sarah lightly waved him off.

“Let’s get going first, then we’ll figure out who wants to go where next when we come back.”

Sarah let go of Ethan’s hand since he had finished signing the last document. It was time to leave.

“Well then, we’re off! See you all in a year!”

“Take care of the mansion.”

With a brief farewell, the two disappeared in an instant from the office. The next time they appeared, they were in Claude’s room.

“May, May! Should we take this too?”

“Of course.”

“And this one, too……!” 

Claude, who had been busy packing, didn’t even notice Sarah and Ethan had arrived. He was so excited about packing that he started stuffing everything into the bag Sarah had given him, including things he hadn’t even thought about.

“Mo, Mom!” 

Claude suddenly noticed Sarah and rushed over to her, tossing the bag he had been clutching so dearly and throwing himself into her arms.

“You don’t even see your dad.”

Ethan muttered playfully in mock offense. Claude grinned and reached out his arms to Ethan too.

“Daaaaad!”

“Hah.”

Normally, Claude would call Sarah ‘mom’ and keep things casual and friendly, and Ethan would be overwhelmed with envy whenever he saw that. Claude had been practicing using the term ‘dad’ to ease Ethan’s mind in this awkward way, and it was working like a charm.

“We’re about to leave now. Claude, where did you say you wanted to go first?” 

Sarah asked, smiling.

Claude answered as if waiting for the question.

“The Fairy Forest! I heard that spirits live there!”

“Fufu, then let’s build a little cabin in the forest and invite the spirits to play with us. How does that sound?”

“Yay! That sounds awesome!”

Claude clapped his hands in excitement. This was the first time he was going on a trip with both of his parents, and from the moment he understood that Sarah and Ethan had put so much effort into making this time special for him, he had decided to enjoy every moment of it to the fullest.

“The highest mountain range in the Empire, the Angelds, makes you feel like you’re in the clouds. Sarah has trained a flying horse for you to ride. That will be fun too.”

“And the magicians at the Magic Tower are eager to meet you. They’ve got all kinds of presents for you, too. Let’s go pick out the best ones. I’ll show you the lab where I used to work. Belluna’s there too; she’ll be so happy to see you.”

“Oh, and I’ve bought a small coastal town just for you. There’s a pod of dolphins there! We’ll go swimming all day long.”

“By the way, if we swim a little further into the sea, you know the mermaid kingdom is there, right? I’m actually on good terms with them. Don’t worry, I’ve developed a spell that lets you breathe underwater. We’ll go have fun together.”

Listening to all these ideas, it was hard to imagine anything more exciting.