Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 170 Patriarch, the only way is to repay him with your body.
"This stewed lamb smells delicious! Come to Ita, have some more."

"Oh, okay, sure."

Ita belatedly accepted the bowl of mutton soup handed to him by Yumilia, placed it in front of him, and then stood there blankly, not knowing how to drink it.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit awkward. Itafrica, Caesar, and the other two were unsure of what to say, while Yumilia seemed oblivious, happily enjoying this rare family reunion dinner.

Although I just used the excuse that "Ita accidentally tripped and fell, and I was comforting her," only Yumilia would probably believe it. She kept saying things like "How could you be so careless?" while carefully helping Ita put on her dress.
But in comparison, Freya definitely thought about things more deeply, like the complicated relationship between the two younger relatives.
"Um... Caesar, are you alright?" Freya asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Well, it's nothing serious. The bandages will be removed in a few days," Caesar replied.

"Oh, then you should probably head back to school soon too, right?"

"Yes, we'll go to school as usual tomorrow."

"That's it"

The conversation became dry again.

Just as they were wondering what to say, Yumilia asked curiously, "Ita, what's wrong? You're wobbling around like that, is the chair uncomfortable?"

"I, um..." Ita blushed. It couldn't really be said that the two of them were playing a game of drumming together among the players.
"No, it's nothing,"

Ita endured the pain and sat up a little straighter.

Yumilia tilted her head, somewhat puzzled, then looked at Caesar.

"Caesar, your face is so red. Are you feeling unwell?"

"Ahem, I... I'm full, I'm going back to my room now." Caesar coughed twice, put down his chopsticks, and said somewhat awkwardly.

“I…I also remembered that I have some things to tell Doruvan, so I’ll leave for a while.” Ita couldn’t help but stand up, and before she could ask anything else, she ran out the door.

"Sigh, what's going on? It's rare for everyone to get together for a meal," Yumilia pouted and said unhappily.

Freya smiled helplessly and said to Yumilia, "After all, the children have grown up and reached an age where they have their own things to do."

At night, Caesar was studying under the dim light of his desk lamp when the door opened and Ita, dressed in her pajamas, walked in.

"Am I disturbing you, Caesar?" she asked.

"Thankfully, I'm done here too." Caesar put away his notebook and looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you," Ita said.

She came in, and when she reached the bedside, she slowly lowered herself down and sat on the bed, but even so, her face showed an expression of pain.

Caesar looked at her with amusement and chuckled, saying, "Want to do it again next time?"

"Well"

Ita turned her head away embarrassedly: "I don't want to."

Caesar sighed and said, "Actually, Ita, do you know? When I hit you, the force was mutual, meaning that when I hit you, it also hurt me."

"Caesar, your attempt to educate me with this is so outdated," Ita muttered.

“No, what I mean is, next time you make a mistake, I’ll use the prop so I won’t feel the pain,” Caesar said seriously.

Looking at Ita's blank expression, he couldn't help but laugh and reached out to pinch her cute cheek.

“Just kidding. If you hadn’t insisted this time, I wouldn’t have had the heart to hit you,” he said.

"He was so into the fight, yet he said those kinds of things," Ita whispered.

"Moreover, spanking is not a good form of punishment; it can cause physical and psychological harm to children," Caesar said.

Ita tilted his head and asked, "Caesar, have you ever been spanked before?"

This question stumped Caesar. He remained silent for a moment, then turned away.

"Do you have one?" Ita asked, even more curiously, seeing his reaction.

"Alright, alright, just this once," Caesar said, waving his hand as if unwilling to elaborate further.

"just one time?"

"Just once," "When were you?"

"She was a little over two years old. It's normal for a child to be so young and not understand things at that age."

"Why did Yumilia hit you?" Ita asked.

“Itah,” Caesar turned to her and said earnestly, “Everyone makes mistakes, but as long as they can be corrected, they don’t matter. The past is the past, and we should focus on tomorrow.”

Ita opened his mouth, thinking that Caesar probably didn't want to continue the topic.

However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out how Caesar was spanked by Yumilia. It was probably a secret that would never be known.

But this Caesar she knew so intimately had even more secrets than she had imagined, for example...
"Caesar, how did you become a favorite of the Holy Emperor?" Ita asked.

“This?” Caesar looked up at the ceiling.

"Maybe I was just lucky. When I was little, there was a reclusive old sorcerer living next door, and I learned magic from him first."

“An old man near my home.” Ita felt this answer was a bit unfair, but she didn’t say anything.

"Later, when I grew up, I met a favorite of His Majesty by chance. He introduced me to him. Perhaps it was because of my high talent that His Majesty decided to cultivate me well, which is why I have my current position."

His explanation was vague, but to be honest, there was no need for too much detailed explanation between him and Ita; trust would fill any gaps in the explanation.

Ita lowered her head. In truth, she didn't care what Caesar's situation was with the Holy Yuan Emperor. All she knew was that from childhood to adulthood, this boy's love for her was absolutely genuine, untainted by any self-interest. He was Caesar who loved her, family, and that was enough.

She had no interest in his other identity.

But
“But then, Caesar, won’t you have to do dangerous things all the time?” Ita said in a low voice.

Serving under that emperor would certainly have meant facing missions many times more dangerous than this one. Could Caesar have returned safely every time?

“Aren’t you the same? Ita, we’re practically colleagues now,” Caesar said.

Ita pursed her lips.

To be honest, from childhood to adulthood, it seems that Caesar has been the one who has taken care of her. Starting from the time he took her home when she was five years old, this is the third time he has saved her and the Frederick family.

Each instance of assistance was enough to change the fate of the family. According to the rules, such achievements would be enough to make him the family's elder.

But Caesar never asked her for anything in return, as if it were all a matter of course.

“Caesar, you have helped me so many times, but I have nothing to repay you with,” Ita said.

Caesar looked at her with amusement: "So what do you want in return for me?"

I, Ita, remained silent.
In terms of rewards, there might not be much to offer. Caesar's actions cannot be measured by material conditions, and he could certainly obtain much more from the Holy Emperor in the form of magic or power.
What else can the Frederick family offer?

Only the head of the family remained.

"May I repay Caesar with myself?"

Ita looked at Caesar, but could not bring herself to say the words that were so shameful.

"What's wrong, Ita? Why are you suddenly acting like a fool?" Caesar asked, looking at her dazed expression.

Ita quickly turned his head away.

"nothing,"

Caesar let out a long sigh and patted her head: "As long as you're okay, that's the best reward for me. Don't think about anything else, okay?"

"Ah."

Ita enjoyed the caress, and a smile curved her lips.

“Caesar, shall we do something pleasant tonight?” she asked softly.

Seeing the change in Caesar's expression, she quickly added, "Yes, it's treatment, it's that!"

"Xue Lai hasn't recovered yet, so please wait a bit." Caesar's expression relaxed somewhat.

"Oh," Ita said, lowering her head in disappointment.

(End of this chapter)