‘Wasn’t Yuria unilaterally jealous of Lilika?’

Feeling a little upset, he recalled the gift he had bought her this time.

He always used to buy gifts when he left the capital, where the mansion was located, and went to other provinces.
Thinking about it, even though he had always carefully selected gifts for Lilika, he stopped bringing Yuria gifts at some point.

‘It’s not like I didn’t bring her in the first place… I couldn’t do much because Yuria always said she didn’t like them.’

Duke Primrose recalled Yuria’s past reactions to receiving a gift.

‘She never wore the dress even when I gave it to her with much trouble. Even the flowers that you can’t find in the capital; she said they were withering and barely looked at them.’

On the other hand, Lilika even made the flowers she received as gifts into coronets, and when she received the dress, she changed into it right away and made him happy.
In the memory of Duke Primrose, Lilika was always smiling, while Yuria was always taciturn and dissatisfied.

“Father… The flowers I received were withering…”

Even if the dress he had given Yuria, which was the same as Lilika’s, had a design that didn’t suit her at all.
Even if the flowers Yuria received were drooping weakly.
She should understand that much.
Even if they were the same age, Lilika was an illegitimate child who had grown up with great wounds.
Wasn’t she different from Yuria, who was properly educated and enjoyed only good things in the castle?

“The servants may not be able to keep the flowers properly. Doesn’t the eldest daughter of the Primrose duchy understand that much?”
“B-but, I also…”
“Yuria, it seems like you can’t be satisfied with anything I give you. I won’t buy anything for you from now on!”

After that, Yuria looked at Lilika with envy as she received the gifts, but at some point, her expression disappeared.
Although it bothered him when she expressed her dissatisfaction, he started feeling uncomfortable because her blank expression seemed to only blame him.
After that, he gave Lilika the gifts in secret.

Even after going to his province this time, he did not naturally think of bringing Yuria a gift.
However… After hearing about the series of events, he was slightly concerned with Yuria.

‘She was a child when she was jealous of Lilika, so her feelings may have changed. Besides, how sad must she be after being humiliated like that by her biological brother.’

Maybe the reason why Yuria used to torment Lilika in the past…
Perhaps it was because Jiksen openly favored Lilika.

‘Even though Yuria’s fiancé was courting Lilika, he only looked after Lilika. Tsk.’

Duke Primrose clicked his tongue as he thought of his son’s immature temper.
He was a man who was supposed to be a duke in the future, but he was a son who only caused disappointment rather than getting better as time went by.

‘I should look after Yuria, too.’

And so, Duke Primrose neatly blamed his son for Yuria’s deviant behavior so far.

“Butler, I need to buy Yuria a present this time.”
“A present for… Young Lady Yuria?”
“Why, do you also think it’s funny? That’s right. I think it’s been a while since I bought her something.”

Duke Primrose hesitated, then asked the butler,

“Yuria seems to have some discretions now, and since she has been through some difficulties lately, it’s also meant to give her a sense of comfort. Haha. Do you think I’m going out of my way for nothing?”

The butler shook his head and answered immediately,

“No, I’m sure Young Lady Yuria will appreciate it too.”
“Yes, I hope so. Contact the craftsman who was entrusted with Lilika’s necklace. I’ll give him an additional fee, so tell him to please meet the schedule as much as possible.”
“I understand. But we already got something for Young Lady Lilika. I’m worried if there is a suitable gem for Young Lady Yuria.”

Duke Primrose answered right away without hesitation.

“So, I need to use the family’s jewel.”

The butler, who had kept silent at the duke’s words, opened his eyes wide.

***

Craftsmen who are entrusted with the jewelry of a duchy are never relaxed.
This was because it was important not only to have the right skills, but also to build trust in crafting expensive jewelry.

But Duke Primrose was excited to give her a gift, and he spared no money.
If there was something that money didn’t solve, it was because it wasn’t enough money.
Because of this, Duke Primrose was able to call his two daughters according to the schedule he had decided to give them the gifts.

“Lilika, this is a gift I bought while visiting the Ezebe province. It’s a specialty of that place.”

He smiled and handed the gift to Lilika first, who was sitting close to him.

“Oh my, what are you going to give me, Father? Of course, I’m most grateful that you think of me first, even if you go somewhere else!”
“Haha, you rascal. I hope you keep smiling like that every time I give you a gift.”

Lilika unwrapped the package she had received.
There was a topaz necklace that matched Lilika’s aquamarine hair.
Lilika smiled at the sensible gift from Duke Primrose.

‘As expected, I am the child most loved by my father.’

The heir of the duchy was Jiksen.
Since he was the firstborn and had the blessing of the sword, she didn’t have much greed for that position. There was also a bigger thing for Lilika to aim for.

In addition, Lilika was the flower of the Primrose duchy.
The duke’s most beloved child.
If one knew who the duchy’s power came from, they would never be able to ignore Lilika.

‘With this, even the maids will see me differently.’

How dare they leave her and say something like they are loyal to Yuria?
She had recently felt that her father cared less about her, but no one would be able to say that if they saw this.

“But… Why did you call Sister Yuria?”

Yuria wondered about that, too.

‘I made a fuss when I was a kid, so I don’t think he called me here to congratulate Lilika on her gift.’

She didn’t know why she had been called to this place either.
She had vaguely assumed that he had been giving gifts to Lilika all this time, but today, she only confirmed that it was real.
She was a little puzzled that there was nothing else she could know.

‘Lilika seems to be conscious of me and wants to deliberately show off her affectionate relationship with my father…’

It was already long since she had been provoked by the father and daughter’s warm appearance.
Why would she crave the love of a man who had poisoned her in her past life?
She might have been a little bothered in the past, but now she was just calm.

“I called Yuria to give her a gift too.”
“Give me a gift?”
“Wow, Sister too?”

She didn’t particularly want to receive a gift from Duke Primrose.
Seeing Lilika’s reaction, which came out a little belatedly, she just hoped a little that her gift wasn’t as bad as hers.

Of course, Duke Primrose hadn’t been giving Yuria gifts, so she didn’t think he would give her anything this time either.
She was old enough not to be affected by that anymore.
It was no problem to not receive gifts that would be openly compared due to Lilika’s scheming.

‘Thanks to the resting area, the hearts of the employees and knights have become firm. Being discriminated against would only deepen their pity towards me.’

Reflecting on that fact, Yuria took into her hands the gift she had received from her father for the first time in nearly a decade.

“Thank you. It’s been a while since I got a gift.”

She didn’t particularly say that to express her dissatisfaction with Duke Primrose. It was just a calm reply to an unthinkable situation.
Duke Primrose flinched at those words, but Yuria could not see it as she unwrapped the gift in her hand.

“Oh?”

And Yuria unconsciously looked at the present in front of her, alternating with the one Lilika had received.
Neither rejoicing nor grieving greatly. It was a reaction that you couldn’t guess what she was thinking.

“Sister, what did you receive to have that reaction?”
“You don’t like it, Yuria?”
“Uh… That’s not it. It’s because you gave me an unexpected gift.”

Yuria blinked at the ruby necklace in her hand.

“… I think it’ll look good on me. I like it. Thank you, Father.”

It was a simple sincerity that came out of her mouth honestly, without being conscious of Lilika.
It seemed like it would go well with her silver hair and skin color without looking awkward.

“Yes, I thought of you and left it to the craftsman.”

Duke Primrose nodded happily.
The jewel was different, but it was a necklace with a similar design, left to the same craftsman.

‘Even though I left it to the same craftsman and the design is similar, the necklace is different because I chose a jewel that suited each of them.’

Like this, it was clear that both Yuria and Lilika would like it.

Seeing the necklace, Lilika’s face crumpled.

‘What is this…?’

Lilika knew that what she had received was topaz, a specialty of the Ezebe province.
It wasn’t a problem to give it to her because of that. On the contrary, it must have been that he cared about her.

But the problem was that what he gave Yuria was a ruby necklace!
If it was just a ruby, of course, a topaz, which was Ezebe’s specialty, would be better. It was proof that Duke Primrose cared.
But… It wasn’t just a ruby. It was the family’s most famous ‘Ruby of Radietta’.

‘You could buy a castle with just that necklace!’

——