《I Live With My Villain Uncle》 CH 1 I¡¯m Aika de Valliot. I have a mysterious power. *** I¡¯ve been on a cushion of thorns for several days. However, it was a cushion that I climbed on myself. ¡°Phew¡­¡± A sigh filled with irritation made my shoulders unconsciously winced. ¡°To think that he told me to take care of this thing, that old man out of his mind.¡± At the confused look which is glaring at me, I turned my head and looked out the window. Even when I avoided his gaze, my cheeks stung. I wish he could stop staring at me. If he¡¯s going to keep looking at me, do it with pretty eyes! I wanted to speak openly like a chimney, yet I only shouted inwardly. Because Mom said this person was the scariest person she had ever known. He was even said to be more fearsome than His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Besides, I¡¯m sitting on the carpet, I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s sitting alone on the soft sofa. He called out to me in a bad manner and snapped his finger. I glanced at him, then turned my head away and pretended not to see him. It was the most timid defiance I could do. Though it¡¯s true, What matters if his face is handsome? His personality is bad! Huwa, Mommm¡­ No, this isn¡¯t the time. Don¡¯t forget why you came here. I showed a smile on my face to try to make the relationship good again, but it quickly collapsed. ¡°Hey, Peanut.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ¡®Peanut¡¯!¡± In the end, I couldn¡¯t stand it and shouted out. ¡°Then Three Heads Tall. Come here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also not ¡®Three Heads Tall¡¯!¡± ¡°Then.¡± Phew, do I really have to say that by words? I looked down at my body. No matter how much one looks at it with hateful eyes, it wasn¡¯t a three heads tall body. Mom said I was the prettiest and coolest in the world! ¡°Four Heads¡­ Tall?¡± Am I not at least four heads tall? I can understand to this extent! Sneer, and I heard a sound ridiculing me. I huffed and turned around, sitting down against him. ¡°Won¡¯t you come when I call you nicely? You¡¯ll regret it if I go there, though?¡± Wow, really. It seemed that the threat he was making wasn¡¯t just a threat. I curled my lips, puffed out my cheeks, and stood up with a look of dissatisfaction. Then I walked in front of him and glared at him with triangular eyes. Even with my head up, I was barely below his waist, yet I didn¡¯t feel intimidated in the slightest. ¡°I have to live with you from now on.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I have no interest in raising children. So live as if you¡¯re dead, huh?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hmph, I don¡¯t have any interest in raising adults either! I hugged the doll and just pouted while looking at it in a sulky way. ¡°Answer.¡± He¡¯s 18 years older than me, and he¡¯s so mean. An adult who was 18 years older was threatening me, who was 18 years younger than him. It¡¯s fierce, how fierce. Phew, but we can¡¯t help but live together. Even if I really want to reach Mom, I can¡¯t do that anymore. ¡°¡­Okay.¡± It was complicated with many thoughts running through my mind, but I calmly answered. ¡°If you know, go and ask for food. Stop fooling around in front of me.¡± ¡°I already ate earlier, though¡­¡± ¡°Eat more. Since you grew up and stopped somewhere.¡± He jumped up from his seat and brushed his hair roughly. Then he tucked his hands in his pockets carelessly and strode past me. ¡°Phew¡­¡± I sat down again. It was as if a storm had raged. We wouldn¡¯t have lived together if it wasn¡¯t for my mother¡¯s will, well. Grandpa likes me much, much more. Without me, he¡¯s meant to be short-lived, yet he treated me like this. He has to press his nose very flat afterwards! I won¡¯t forgive him even if he regrets belatedly and beg for his hands to become his feet. It¡¯s no use begging me to live with him then, hmph! ¡°Tch.¡± So, who that idiot who neglects me is, the family I will share the joys and sorrows with in the future. It was Kassel de Valliot. Mm, I mean, my one and only uncle. *** The Mad Dog of the Valliot. It was about Kassel de Valliot. He sure is also, Kassel de Leguier. The first time I met Uncle was at Mom¡¯s funeral. It was a sudden accident. Mom was a very busy person. She worked more days than rest, and even after giving birth to me, she continued to work in the Imperial Family. There were many days when Mom had already gone to work the moment I woke up in the morning. I never elaborated on what she did, but I knew Mom was the Prime Minister of the Empire. [Prime Minister, here is the report.] [Please lend us a hand, Prime Minister!] I¡¯ve heard Mom¡¯s subordinates call her that quite often. Still, I¡¯ve never hated Mom. I wasn¡¯t even upset. Because Mom is the person who loves me the most in the world, and I love Mom the most in the world. I don¡¯t know who my dad is. Mom didn¡¯t tell me. [Mom, what kind of person is Aika¡¯s dad?] When I asked about Dad one day, Mom just said that Dad is the one who has to do big things. He hadn¡¯t come to see me before, so at least he wouldn¡¯t be a nice person. After that, I didn¡¯t ask Mom for fear of her being sad. Anyway, Mom, who was so busy that she couldn¡¯t open her eyes, left the island for a while as an extension of work one day and went down to the province. I begged Mom to get into her carriage because she would come after 15 days. Originally, I was fine with the maids without Mom and I played well alone, so it didn¡¯t matter even if Mom was away from home for over a week. However, that day, I strangely felt that I had to follow her unconditionally. [Mom! I want to go too.] [Does Aika want to go with Mom too?] [Yeah. I will listen to Mom, I will be quiet, so can you take me?] [Umm¡­] [Only once! Mom, I wish only once!] With Mom¡¯s permission, I went on a trip with Mom for the first time. On our way back home after Mom¡¯s work is safely finished. While Mom was reading a fairy tale book for me in the carriage, we were suddenly attacked and the carriage overturned. [Aika!] I wasn¡¯t seriously hurt because Mom held me breathtakingly tight, but I hit my head and lost consciousness. And when I opened my eyes again, Mom had already left me. Grandpa told me that I was found in the woods nearby, not in the carriage that Mom and I were in. But I can hardly remember right after Mom fed me jewelry. The Imperial Palace said they were investigating the truth about the carriage accident, but there was nothing I could hear. I only heard that the Emperor was very angry. It was like hearing that he had lost his reason. I could guess why His Imperial Majesty the Emperor was angry. Because His Imperial Majesty said that Mom and him were old friends. He was probably upset because he lost an old friend. And Mom is so smart, she does a good job, so that must have been very sad. Mom¡¯s funeral was held with great grandeur. I couldn¡¯t see the people properly because I was crying, but later I heard from Grandpa that almost everyone who worked in the Imperial Palace had been there. And also other nobles. And there I met Uncle for the first time. [Mom¡­?] He has Mom¡¯s red hair, golden eyes, a slightly more prominent chin, and thick lines overall, but his face is so identical with Mom that he can be mistaken for her twin. I just thought Mom was back alive. Instead of crying and mourning like many at her funeral, Uncle looked at Mom¡¯s coffin and people with eyes that seemed like they would kill people. [Mom¡­] I stopped crying and hugged Uncle, who looked just like Mom, and stuck with him for days. Although on the last day, while I was asleep exhausted, Uncle disappeared and wasn¡¯t there. After that first meeting with Uncle, I ended up staying with Grandpa for several months. CH 2 [Where is there an uncle who looks like Mom?] [Aika, that guy is Kassel. He is your only uncle.] [Uncle?] [Yes. Your uncle.] [Then¡­ I want to see Uncle!] I heard it later, but Uncle wasn¡¯t called a mad dog for nothing. In many ways, the whole track record was enormous and terrifyingly splendid. Of course, his character and personality that seemed to be broken somewhere played a part. I heard that there are cases where a family almost disappeared because of Uncle¡¯s anger, and there are cases where a family actually disappeared altogether. Even a man proposed to Mom and nobody had ever seen him since then, nor did they know what happened. Ironically, despite having such a cruel and fiery disposition, he¡¯s said to be among the three most popular men among noble ladies. In addition, Grandpa said that Uncle played a part in increasing the family fortune by smelling money so wonderfully. But the reason I ended up living with this crazy uncle¡­ There are several reasons. The first is because this is Mom¡¯s only sibling. The second is that Grandpa sent me away on condition that Uncle be given the title of marquis. Actually, Uncle said he wouldn¡¯t accept the title of marquis, but Grandpa forcibly handed it over, so he handed me over too. I learned this by eavesdropping on a conversation between Grandpa and Uncle. [If you want to receive the title of marquis, take Aika with you.] [Are you senile, old man? Give me a title or something.] [You jerk! I¡¯m saying this because this could be dangerous for Aika! Are there only one or two guys who are aiming for the family line?!] [¡­] [No matter how crazy you are to others, you will protect your niece well.] That¡¯s why I came to Uncle Kassel de Valliot, Mom¡¯s brother and the only remaining child of the Duke of Valliot. Although now he has been given the title of Marquis and has become Kassel de Leguier. Well, as you can see, Uncle hates me. He seems to hate me very ignorantly. I didn¡¯t really like such an uncle, either. Even so, the last reason why I came to Uncle, even though I purposely begged to let him see my face, is the most important. It¡¯s to save Uncle. Mom gifted me a special power during the carriage accident that day, before I lost consciousness. Mom was bleeding from her head, yet she suddenly forced to feed me a red jewel the size of a pinky fingernail. [Aika, my beloved daughter¡­ I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t protect you until the end.] [Mom, I don¡¯t like this. Hicc. Don¡¯t dieee.] [Aika will now have special eyes. Never be surprised no matter what you see and find out in the future. This will save your precious ones.] [Special, hicc, eyes¡­?] [You can¡¯t tell anyone. It¡¯s a secret that only Mom and Aika know, okay?] I made a promise not to tell anyone and when I woke up, I found out Mom was gone. Even after Mom¡¯s funeral, I didn¡¯t know what she meant. However, from that day on, I began to have dreams that were more vivid than reality, and only when the scene I had seen in my dream appeared in front of me, I knew it. That I have the ability to see the future. It was the ability to detect the dangers of people related to me in advance. It seemed that my power wasn¡¯t limited to bloodlines, as I had also dreamed of the maid working at Grandpa¡¯s house, with whom I¡¯m close to. In addition, later, it wasn¡¯t a dream, but even when I was awake, I suddenly saw something like a fantasy in front of my eyes. It¡¯s very rare, but still. Then, when I got used to the ability and was able to naturally prevent the accidents of the maids¡­ I had that dream. [Uncle! No!] A dream in which Uncle will face his death in an affair more dangerous than Mom¡¯s. The day I gained a special power. Even as I was losing consciousness, I vaguely heard the conversations of strangers. [Find the necklace first. Because the thing in it is important.] [I found it, but it¡¯s empty inside.] [Tsk, she must have taken it somewhere. We avoid them before they come in. You guys should hide and search further.] [Alright.] I don¡¯t know why I can¡¯t remember anything else and only that part remains in my memory, but that voice is still vivid to this day. [You must find it and return.] The necklace Mom cut off and the jewel she urgently fed me. Those people who were looking for something were obviously dangerous people. [Aika, don¡¯t let this special power get exposed. You have to be careful of¡­] If I don¡¯t find them and put them in jail, Uncle will be in danger too. Even if I keep, keep blocking. [Aika, someday I will show you, your uncle. He¡¯s not a¡­ mad dog, he¡¯s like a puppy, but you¡¯ll like it when you see him. Actually, he¡¯s warmer than anyone else.] Mom always said that. Saying that she doesn¡¯t see Uncle very often, but he¡¯s her one and only precious little brother. Even though I don¡¯t know his face, all the toys I used to play with were bought by Uncle. I can¡¯t stand to watch the death of such an uncle. ¡®I¡¯ll protect Uncle, and myself too.¡¯ Because I was Mom¡¯s most precious treasure. I will surely become a healthy and wonderful adult. That¡¯s why, even though I couldn¡¯t protect Mom, I decided to protect Uncle. Because he¡¯s the only one who looks like Mom. So I came in person with a hard time, yet Uncle stubbornly rejected me and treated me like a peanut. Tch, he doesn¡¯t even know my feelings. If Uncle wasn¡¯t Mom¡¯s brother, he wouldn¡¯t even look at me. I wouldn¡¯t like him if he didn¡¯t look like Mom at all. Except for his handsome face, his personality is completely eccentric and different from Mom. ¡°I can¡¯t help it.¡± I, a good seven-year-old, will put up with it. I set the doll down, brushed off my skirt, and stood up. I didn¡¯t want the dress that the sister maids had nicely put on me in the morning to be ruined. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s crumpled.¡± I straightened out the wrinkled dress as much as I could. Even if I¡¯m treated like this, I should stop Uncle from going out today, even if I die. Mom did. One should never underestimate a little spark. No matter how small the fire, if left alone, it would grow out of control and become a huge fire that would swallow everyone. Mom said she could call herself a hero if she saw the embers that would be dangerous and extinguished it. So I decided to be a little hero. When I opened the door and went outside, a maid rushed to me. ¡°Miss, do you need anything?¡± It was Zenda, who took care of me from the first day I came here. She must have been waiting by the door for me to come out. She said she has been working here for over three years and that what she does best is embroidery and sewing. As if to prove her skills, Zenda embroidered a sunflower in full bloom on the left sleeve of my dress. And she knew the character of Uncle very well. Well, not only Zenda, but almost all of the servants here seem to know Uncle¡¯s bad temper. ¡°What about Uncle? Where did he go?¡± I asked, looking up at Zenda, who was kind, unlike Uncle. ¡°The Master? He has gone to get ready to go out. He must have gone to the dressing room.¡± ¡°Then I will go to Uncle.¡± Then Zenda¡¯s expression changed like a dark cloud. She looked full of worry. ¡°Rather than that, it¡¯s snack time, so how about having a snack in your room? I¡¯ll make you a delicious cocoa. It¡¯s presumptuous, but when the Master is busy, it¡¯s better for you not to be around¡­¡± Perhaps you will hear what I said to my uncle again. I laughed bashfully and shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s okay! I have to go quickly before it¡¯s too late.¡± ¡°I understand. I will take you there.¡± When I continued to say I¡¯d go to Uncle, Zenda led me to Uncle¡¯s dressing room with her almost-crying expression. Fearing that Zenda would get scolded, I sent her away and knocked on the tightly closed door. ¡°Uncleeee!¡± As expected, there¡¯s no answer. I know Uncle is here, though? I put my hands together like a trumpet, brought my mouth to the door, and shouted again. ¡°Uncle! Uncle! Uncleeee!¡± Then there was a rather harsh sound from inside, and the door burst open. Meanwhile, the shirtless Uncle looked down at me with a terrifying expression. ¡°I told you not to stand out¡­¡± I passed the grinding sound on my ear and smiled broadly at him. ¡°Uncle! Let¡¯s play house!¡± Uncle, I¡¯m sorry, but you can never go out today. CH 3 Perhaps the most peaceful country on the current continent, the Warford Empire. Warford was called the land of countless blood and bones as it fought countless wars, such as the Continental War and the Ancient Relic War, until the previous emperor settled down. In the difficult-to-reach peace, the four dukes shared the most power after Celedor, the Sun of the Empire, and supported Warford like a pillar. Valliot, Cardier, Deslin, Notium. Among them, the Valliot, which is also my bloodline, was the youngest of the four families. However, there were many honors and titles obtained compared to its short history. This is because Grandpa was the creditor who put the previous emperor on the throne and allowed the current emperor to firmly take his place. And it was also famous for the family that accumulated the most wealth in the shortest amount of time. Excluding the family territories and the land owned by the Imperial Family, more than a third of the capital was owned by Valliot, so it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration. Also, there are two things that Valliot is famous for, one is Mom, who is the most talented one, and the other is Uncle. ¡­Mom is the best! The story of Mom is precious, so I will do it a little later. Uncle is the strongest swordsman in the Empire, and his swordsmanship skills are so good that he¡¯s regarded as a weapon itself. However, he¡¯s evaluated as having more or less of his personality collapsed by pouring all his abilities into his appearance and swordsmanship. He¡¯s even more famous for rumors that even the current emperor is busy appeasing him because of his broken personality. Perhaps it¡¯s no exaggeration to say that the story of Uncle accounts for the largest share of all the Valliot¡¯s rumors. This is what Mom told me. But if you ask me why I¡¯m acting up in front of such an uncle¡­ *** ¡°Uncleeee! No!¡± ¡°Let go.¡± Oops, I heard this grinding sound again. ¡°I said no! Don¡¯t gooo!¡± I clung to his long legs like a cicada and hugged him with my arms and legs. If I do this, he won¡¯t be able to walk because it¡¯s heavy, right? Maybe one of his legs will be crushed. I¡¯m sorry for Uncle, who was in pain, but that was better. Going there now is like going to die, you stupid uncle! ¡°Huh, huh?¡± However, this monster started to walk casually even after carrying me, as if it wasn¡¯t too heavy. I felt like I was about to fall from the reaction, so I bit Uncle¡¯s pants with my mouth. ¡°Dewn¡¯t gew, cem en!¡± (Don¡¯t go, come on!) Then Uncle stood tall. Before long, a low sigh was heard from above the top of my head. Flinch. That low sigh had the power to settle even the surrounding air. The power to freeze my whole body. ¡®I have a lot to say too.¡¯ However, secrets were something that had to be kept with care, even if one was frustrated. It was Mom¡¯s teaching that was deeply engraved in my heart. And above all, it was a precious secret with Mom. Mom is no longer on this earth, but I didn¡¯t want to break my promise. Because now I can¡¯t make secrets with Mom anymore. Because this is my last secret appointment with Mom. ¡°Hey, Peanut.¡± At Uncle¡¯s call, I let go of his pants and raised my head. My arms were tingling and my mouth was moist from saliva. ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®Peanut¡¯!¡± First of all, let¡¯s correct my name. ¡°Come down.¡± ¡°No. If I come down, you¡¯re going to leave.¡± Try rebelling a little. Still hanging on, I quietly wiped the saliva from my mouth on Uncle¡¯s pants. How about it, your pants are dirty, so you can¡¯t go out, can you? Uncle glanced at the saliva on his pants and frowned. ¡°Come down if you know that.¡± ¡°¡­Are you going to throw me if I don¡¯t?¡± And make a pitiful face once. ¡°Phew, I¡¯m going crazy. Why the hell are you picking a fight over everything? I told you to stay out of sight.¡± What does he mean picking a fight? This is all about trying to save Uncle. I wouldn¡¯t even care if Uncle wasn¡¯t from Mom¡¯s blood! It was unfair, but I swallowed it again inside beause I wasn¡¯t a great person to believe that I would say that. ¡°¡­¡± His face, which had been terribly crumpled, straightened as if he had half given up. ¡°You¡¯re wickedly stubborn like your mom.¡± ¡°My mom isn¡¯t stubborn.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t lose a word.¡± ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°Why.¡± That¡¯s a good answer, though. The eyes that looked as if they were going to eat me at any moment were still the same. ¡°Uncleee, I¡¯ll give you all my snacks, don¡¯t go. Hmm?¡± Then Uncle put on a puzzled expression. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s crazy. Were you inspired by the old man?¡± ¡°Inspired? What is that?¡± ¡°Come down before I throw you.¡± I shrank my body involuntarily at the sight of him chewing and speaking word by word. However, I must not give up here. I gave more strength and held on to Uncle¡¯s legs. My fingers were so painful that it felt like they were getting hot. If Uncle keeps doing this, I have no choice but to use that method. If I fail to stop Uncle today, he will be confronted by a member of the Handel family, one of the Valliot¡¯s hostile families. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I told you to come down.¡± No, to put it a little closer, the heir of the Handel family will quarrel with Uncle. After that, my uncle will be in a very bad mood and will beat the heir of the Handel family¡­ Then? Things will get bigger and bigger, him turning the Handel family into a sea of blood. ¡°Uncle, just once. Just once! Aika¡¯s wish!¡± ¡°Come. Down.¡± ¡°¡­Hng.¡± The Handel family was the family that was most displeased with the Prime Minister coming from the Valliot family. In addition, they had a history of arguing for reasons that didn¡¯t work at every regular meeting, which was even more eye-catching for Uncle. After that, many territories in Valliot would be burned down due to family wars. Even now, Uncle was dealing with the people who weren¡¯t on good terms with Valliot one by one. This is because Grandpa, who knew that the carriage accident wasn¡¯t an accident but a raid, asked him to find the mastermind behind it. Although Uncle thinks I don¡¯t know, I overheard all of his conversations with Grandpa at the funeral home when I was just about to fall asleep. I wanted to step in and figure it out, yet I couldn¡¯t help because I hit my head in the carriage accident and I don¡¯t remember most of it. Anyway, if we continue like this, Uncle will eventually die. A fire that I can stop. ¡®In my dream, the Handel family weren¡¯t the ones who killed Mom.¡¯ So I had to stop Uncle somehow. ¡°Uncle, I want to see Mommm¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and let go of my hands as I hung on to his legs. Then I fell down and hit the floor with my buttocks. When the sound of Mom came out of my mouth, Uncle really became quiet as if it was all a lie. At that moment. ¡°Eh?¡± Suddenly, the back of my head was caught. To be precise, my clothes were grabbed violently. Caught like a doll by Uncle, I had to come face to face with his fearsome golden eyes. ¡°Go and look in the mirror then.¡± I shook my head, looking at his slightly angry eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t look very much like Mom. Uncle looks more like her! It¡¯s the same as Mom¡¯s!¡± I laughed bashfully. And I¡¯m not even red-haired like Mom and Uncle! My golden eyes were said to be exactly like Mom¡¯s, as if they were molded, but my hair, unlike hers, was very black. That¡¯s why she always told me I was as pretty as the night sky that my hair couldn¡¯t reach. ¡°Ugh!¡± Uncle, who was staring at me, suddenly roughly brushed off his hair with the other hand. Then he picked me up and headed somewhere. I was afraid that if I said more, he might really throw me through the window of the hallway, so I kept my mouth shut and dangled quietly. Fortunately, Uncle arrived at my room with me. Uncle, who almost threw me to the bed, sat down and glared at me as if he was going to kill me. Ugh, he¡¯s not cold without his clothes on. Afraid that Uncle would run away, I quickly crawled across the bed and grabbed his pants. ¡°Hey, Peanut.¡± CH 4 Ah, I told you I¡¯m not ¡®Peanut¡¯¡­ Why do you keep calling me ¡®Peanut? ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®Peanut¡¯.¡± ¡°Be honest.¡± ¡°Hm, Uncle.¡± It¡¯s natural to answer when asked. I rubbed my butt and sat down right away. Then, as a sign that I would listen to Uncle, I put my hands together and looked at him. ¡°How much did you get from the old man?¡± Uncle always calls Grandpa an old man. That¡¯s why Grandpa keeps calling him a jerk! ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°How much did you agree with the old man for the conspiracy?¡± Uncle¡¯s face was quite serious. Mom often made that face when she was at home looking at the papers late into the night. Except for his short hair, they look exactly the same. ¡°Conspiracy? What is that?¡± What are you talking about? ¡°Did the old man not feed you?¡± ¡°No. I ate five times a day, though? I also ate this much snack.¡± I made the biggest circle I could with both arms. ¡°Does he nag a lot?¡± ¡°Mmmm, no. Grandpa said I was the prettiest.¡± ¡°Did the house servants ignore you?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± The maids even called me a princess. Of course, Uncle¡¯s servants are all good to me. I only wiggled my hands and answered calmly. He let out a few deep sighs as if to cool down. ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem? You can live in that nice fence and be treated like a princess, so why do you keep coming here and turning my insides upside down?¡± Uncle growled, scaring me to the fullest. It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s really not like that. It was unfair that I couldn¡¯t say anything because I kept a secret promise I made with Mom. ¡°Uncle, am I in trouble?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Does Uncle hate me so much?¡± ¡°Hey, who hates you?¡± He got angry again. No, it¡¯s fine to just say it quietly, yet he always gets angry like this. Mom said that people who are angry are more likely to go early, but I was really worried. And he said it¡¯s not like he hates me. ¡°Then you like me?¡± When I asked with my eyes shining, his face wrinkled again. ¡°Are you crazy.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m a little fine with Uncle, though.¡± I dropped my head and murmured. After a while, I heard a soft sigh from above my head. ¡°I¡¯m not your mom. I¡¯ve never had a child, so will I raise you well? That¡¯s why, go back.¡± He said he didn¡¯t hate me, but his tone is the way he wishes I would disappear. I raised my head again and murmured. ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°Look, have you changed your mind? You want me to take you to Grandpa¡¯s house? Go and say with your own mouth that you can¡¯t live here.¡± Uncle asked as if he had been waiting. I firmly shook my head. Uncle, how many times do I have to say this, I wonder. I told you I can¡¯t. ¡°Uncle, I heard that humans are animals of adaptation. I heard that even if it¡¯s difficult at first, if one tries it, people can do anything.¡± My uncle looked puzzled. ¡°Did your mom say that?¡± ¡°Yeah. My mom is very smart.¡± ¡°Were you born to praise your mom.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a praise, it¡¯s true, though¡­¡± My uncle muttered, ¡°Why did you give birth to something like this?¡± It was clear that it was probably a curse to Mom. I scratched my head alone and sighed heavily. I glanced at Uncle and secretly looked at the watch. Anyway, Uncle looks tired, so he won¡¯t go out today, right? And it doesn¡¯t seem like that will happen tomorrow. ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°Why.¡± ¡°I want to see Mom.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I want to see Mom every day, but I can¡¯t see Mom anymore. Grandpa said he couldn¡¯t come. So I want to see Uncle all the time, but can I stay here? I will only interrupt you a little.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you say that you won¡¯t interrupt me, not only a little?¡± ¡°Then Uncle won¡¯t even let me come next to you.¡± Perhaps hitting the mark, he turned his eyes into a 10:10 (clock) shape, glared at me, and then bit his mouth shut. The room was quiet enough to hear the birds chirping outside. I kept silent and looked at him. I didn¡¯t relax my body to catch him quickly if he went out. After a while, Uncle opened his mouth again. ¡°Do as you please.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Uncle ruffled his hair, which was already tangled from scratching earlier. ¡°Do whatever you want. Whether rolling around the house or running around. Instead, if you interfere with my work in every way, you¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you trust people?¡± I believe in what people say, but not in what Uncle says¡­ Still, I¡¯m really glad it came out like that. I decided to put a wedge on it. Mom taught me not to miss a chance if I get one. ¡°Then¡­ Uncle.¡± ¡°What else.¡± I took out the paper I had tucked inside my dress. [Uncle Kassel never throws Aika out Aika Uncle] ¡°Here.¡± After that, I calmly unfolded it, put it down on the bed, and pushed it in all directions with the palm of my hand. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Uncle, stick your finger here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Quick. Hurry up and do it.¡± Uncle¡¯s eyes changed to a somewhat bewildered look. Mom said that an appointment should be clear. She said because the most obvious thing was a document. Mom taught me that what one says can change at any time, so the more important it is, the more it should be recorded. ¡°Hurry!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Actually, there wasn¡¯t much. I prepared it and wrote it clearly, but when I saw it again, it seemed a little crooked. Although I thought I kept it well, it was crumpled from me being hung up by Uncle. I should¡¯ve put it in my pocket. It¡¯s really not a big deal, and since Uncle will change his words again in the future, I¡¯m trying to make an appointment in advance. They said a man shouldn¡¯t change his words twice, but Uncle seems to change his words ten times. Since I had already pressed my finger at Grandpa¡¯s house, it was a promise that would be fulfilled as long as Uncle did it. ¡°Uncle, hurry up.¡± I looked at him persistently. ¡°Ha¡­ You¡¯re really Seria¡¯s daughter.¡± Uncle, who had been staring at the paper, laughed as if it were absurd. ¡°Hm, I¡¯m Mom¡¯s daughter, though?¡± Then Uncle pressed my head with his big hand. It was so strong that I felt like I was about to hit my head on the bed. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t do thaaat!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the size of a rat¡¯s poop.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not rat poop. It¡¯s Aika.¡± ¡°Yeah, you did good.¡± I lifted my head with difficulty and looked at Uncle. His hand was so heavy that if I relaxed even a little, my head would fall on the bed. My head, held in his large hands, seemed like it was about to be crushed. ¡°Uncle, are you not going out today?¡± I looked Uncle in the eyes as pitifully as possible. Like when Mom tells me to only eat two snacks. Because it works very well. ¡°¡­I¡¯m not going out.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I¡¯ll have to get confirmation again. I briskly picked up the paper again and handed it to him. ¡°Then, Uncle, stick your finger here.¡± *** [I want to see Mom.] [¡­] [I want to see Mom every day, but I can¡¯t see Mom anymore. Grandpa said he couldn¡¯t come. So I want to see Uncle all the time, but can I stay here? I will only interrupt you a little.] [Shouldn¡¯t you say that you won¡¯t interrupt me, not only a little?] [Then Uncle won¡¯t even let me come next to you.] This chestnut-sized thing is wickedly smart. Kassel was stunned to see the poorly spelled and crumpled paper. She was pushing this to him as a document. And that¡¯s just his seven-year-old niece. The word was she was seven years old, but her body was small, so she looked five or six years old. It¡¯s not even funny to see her showing off her own fingerprint. ¡°Uncle, stick your finger here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Quick. Hurry up and do it.¡± To put his finger on it meant to stamp his thumb. Her hair hasn¡¯t even dried from blood, yet she¡¯s already handing out a contract. The seven-year-old, who had grown quite a lot of hair and could even be made into a flower headband, had plump cheeks and very thick eyelashes. What a constant chatter of mouth. Is this a bird or a human, he wonders. How on earth did his older sister raise her child? Not long after she was born, she started playing with gold coins, and she grew up very clever. CH 5 ¡°Hurry!¡± ¡°¡­¡± It seemed that the child was growing in a strange direction by herself, perhaps because his older sister was so busy that she had no time to catch her breath. The little peanut-like thing kept crying and falling asleep for two months at the Duke¡¯s Residence, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t pay any attention to her after that. A few days ago, she came here out of the blue, appeared in front of his eyes, and was scratching his nerves. ¡°Uncle, hurry up.¡± He can¡¯t hit that puppy poop. The sight of her crying out of breath with swollen eyes and never letting go of his arms at his sister¡¯s funeral was gone, and I was embarrassed at the same time as I thought that it was fortunate that it had disappeared. Even the servants avoided making eye contact with him, yet her staring straight at him with his sister¡¯s eyes wide open made him stunned. ¡°Uncle, I told you to stick your finger here.¡± Kassel, unable to overcome his niece¡¯s urging, had to call a servant to stamp the documents that didn¡¯t work. He even smeared his hands with red ink because his fingerprint must be included. ¡®How on earth did you educate your child?¡¯ Six years ago, one day, she suddenly disappeared, causing people to go around, and then suddenly brought back her child after two years. The child, whom he thought was a newborn baby, was already a year old. His sister didn¡¯t tell him who the father was, though she was already dead. Even so, she said that she would become a mother who wouldn¡¯t be ashamed of her child¡­ ¡®How could she leave this little thing alone?¡¯ She pretended to be the only one who was smart in the world. ¡°Uncle!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Uncle Kassel!¡± How often a child who was less than half his body called him. ¡°Don¡¯t call me for nothing.¡± His sore ears. ¡°Huuuhh? Why?¡± Her kumquat-like round eyes looked up at him, full of curiosity. It felt like his face was transparently reflected there as she didn¡¯t have any dirt on her even the slightest. That¡¯s why it feels more nerve-wracking. ¡°Just don¡¯t call me more than once a day. Don¡¯t even look for me.¡± Then her round eyes shook as if she was in shock. Yet that was only for a moment. ¡°Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle! Hehe.¡± That child called him quickly and her breath caught up to her chin, then while panting, she also giggled and laughed as if she had never done that. [Kassel, look. Isn¡¯t my daughter really lovely?] [Little Brother, could there be a lovelier creature than my daughter in this world?] [You will find out later when you have children. You won¡¯t be the center of your own life then. Even so, you will want to give it all.] [No, even if you spend just one day with Aika, you will think that way.] [My poor little brother, do you even have a lover?] It¡¯s really¡­ freaking annoying. Kassel jumped up from his seat, unable to contain his emotions. Surprised, he left his niece alone as she was trying to hurriedly wake up to follow him, and Kassel left the room. *** ¡°Ugh, Uncle has a bad personality.¡± I was sitting in a daze on the bed because of Uncle, who had suddenly left. Unlike before, I couldn¡¯t even keep up with the shockingly terrifying aura. But he won¡¯t go out, right? Because he promised. I jumped out of bed, believing that Uncle wouldn¡¯t leave. ¡°¡­Gasp!¡± However, my steps toward the door had to stop after a while. Because my eyes flashed and my vision began to change. This is the second time I have seen the future while being awake, rather than through a dream after falling asleep, so I stopped breathing without realizing it. ¡°No¡­¡± The landscape changed rapidly, as if a picture was drawn by making dots with a brush dipped in paint. And in the middle of that landscape was Uncle. Uncle, with a nervous look on his face, had brought a huge black horse out of the stable and was preparing to mount it. Then, the horse that was running vigorously suddenly collapsed and Uncle fell to the ground. I¡¯ve already blocked it once, yet Uncle is in danger again? ¡°No way!¡± It seems that Uncle isn¡¯t allowed to leave the house at all for today. Otherwise, only Uncle would be in such danger. At least that¡¯s what I thought. I left behind Uncle¡¯s threat not to call him more than once a day and not to look for him, and I went straight to look for him. *** ¡°Uncle, where are you?¡± ¡°Where is Uncle?¡± I inquired and asked servants passing by to find out where he was. They said he was already at the stable. It was too fast for him to be at the stable already. What I just saw was a very near future. Fearing I would be late, I ran like lightning to the stable. Why is Uncle¡¯s place so wide, I wonder Grandpa¡¯s house has three large buildings, but everything could be solved just by staying inside the middle mansion. Even though the structure here wasn¡¯t the same, it was too different. To get from my room¨Cthe guest room, to be exact¨Cto Uncle¡¯s room, I had to cross the middle outer hallway. ¡°Did you see Uncle?¡± I asked everyone I saw. Uncle¡¯s house was very large, and the small buildings were scattered all over the place like stars, that¡¯s why the distance to the stable was considerable. I was out of breath, yet I didn¡¯t stop and ran for a while until I reached the stable. ¡°Uncle¡­ Where are you?¡± The stable was very spacious, allowing five horses to rest comfortably. More than ten pillars the size of a human torso stood to support the roof, and rice straw was piled up to the ceiling inside and outside the stable. The long stable had the front and rear doors open, thus it didn¡¯t even smell bad. I was able to find him sooner than I thought. In the distance, I spotted the stable keeper bringing a horse and putting it in the saddle. Fortunately, Uncle hadn¡¯t ridden the horse yet. ¡°Huft, Uncle!¡± I barely endured my body staggering from the hasty stop as I called out to him loudly. Undoubtedly, his face, the moment he found me at the entrance of the stable, was as distorted as before. ¡°You, I told you not to look for me¡­¡± I ran to him in a hurry and hugged by his long legs. It was so hot that my forehead was sweating after running hard, but I thought that if I didn¡¯t hold on to Uncle, he would stride out on his long legs again. ¡°Uncle, you promised not to go out. Liar!¡± Then he made an absurd face. ¡°I didn¡¯t go out. I said I¡¯d ride a horse at house, who lied.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? Won¡¯t you let me go?¡± ¡°Hnnnngggg.¡± I caught my breath and shook my head while holding Uncle¡¯s leg. Suddenly, something cried out, neeeiigh! I turned my head in surprise. At the end of my gaze, a horse much bigger than Uncle was looking down at me. Flinch. Huh, it¡¯s so big. It was the same as the one I saw in the vision, but it was blacker and grander, perhaps because I saw it too closely. Still, I took a slight step back behind Uncle without letting go of his legs. But why did the horse sit down? Come to think of it, in the fantasy, the horse was in great pain for some reason. ¡®Did it get hurt?¡¯ I hugged Uncle¡¯s leg tightly and stared intently, my eyes running backwards from the horse¡¯s tail to its legs and head. Fortunately, Uncle didn¡¯t pull me apart or throw me. He seemed ready to ride the horse again, whether I hugged him or not. It was clear that he didn¡¯t even hear what I was saying. ¡°Huh?¡± After looking around for a while, I felt that the horse was a little strange. ¡°Why, else.¡± ¡°Uncle, does a horse always hold one foot up?¡± ¡°What a nonsense.¡± The right hind leg, which the horse had gently lifted, was trembling. However, even it almost touched the ground, so if one didn¡¯t look closely, it seemed to be standing tall. It might have been because of its unshakable body with bumpy muscles. Was it because it was in pain? ¡°Horse, is your foot in pain?¡± I let go of Uncle¡¯s leg and slipped forward, reaching for the horse¡¯s foot. However before I could touch it, the horse vigorously cried again and raised its front feet high. It was so big that it was as if a giant horse statue were falling on me. It was a flash. ¡°Miss, be careful!¡± At the same time as the stable keeper¡¯s cry, I was seized with tremendous force. CH 6 My body was lifted up, and in a blink of an eye, I put my face on the nape of Uncle¡¯s neck and hugged him. ¡°Are you crazy?¡± ¡°U-Uncle.¡± ¡°Damn it, you didn¡¯t even know this was dangerous! Is it because you want to be stepped on by a horse?¡± I shook my head violently while being held in Uncle¡¯s arms at the thunderous shout. ¡°N-No. I¡¯m afraid Uncle will get hurt because the horse is in pain¡­¡± In fact, I was so surprised that my heart beat as if it was about to jump out of my body as I was sweating profusely. On the other hand, it was surprising that I was embraced by the most dangerous and terrifying uncle, and that I was surprisingly relieved. ¡°¡­¡± I managed to come to my senses and looked at Uncle again. His face grew even scarier, and it looked as if he would burst out again at any moment. ¡°S-Sorry Uncle.¡± I didn¡¯t know that he could be so angry. It felt like I was scolded by the horse and double scolded by Uncle, thus I was about to shed tears. ¡°Put Gunther in and take a look.¡± Uncle ordered the stable keeper and turned around while holding me. ¡°Yes, Master. Oh my, the Miss must have been very surprised.¡± Looking over Uncle¡¯s shoulder, I could see the stable keeper¡¯s warm expression. I looked at him and nodded briefly enough not to be noticed by Uncle. Come to think of it, I couldn¡¯t even greet the stable keeper. It¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve seen each other, so next time I¡¯ll be sure to thank him. I stayed still and quietly opened my mouth, watching Uncle walking briskly somewhere. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He stopped walking and stood tall. Fearing that I would get scolded again, I pursed my lips. ¡°Look.¡± Uncle suddenly reached out his hand, grabbed my chin tightly, and wiggled it around. ¡°¡­¡± Following his hand, my head swung to the right and left. I-It¡¯s dizzy. ¡°Are you not hurt?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°This is why I won¡¯t take¡­!¡± Uncle grunted instead of shouting and ran fingers through his hair. The golden eyes were so hideous that I quietly lowered them. Uncle started striding again. Still, he only got angry, but there was no mishap such as throwing me away. I held my breath as if I was dead. My heart was still beating fast. ¡®I thought I was being stepped on by a horse. But I saved Uncle!¡¯ *** This bothers me. Kassel thought as he carried Aika. Even though she was afraid of me, she held onto my clothes and didn¡¯t let go. She¡¯s been looking for me all the time for days. I felt my heart beating fast the whole time I was holding her, as if I had even attached a drum to my body. She keeps calling me nonstop. Kassel felt as if his nerves were being scratched. Irritating, cumbersome, annoying. Yeah, to be honest, he didn¡¯t have the confidence to take responsibility. In Kassel¡¯s eyes, the child was just in danger as a candle that was about to go out. It was so small, so weak that even the slightest ripple would sweep it away. Kassel, moreover, was very objective with himself. It wasn¡¯t something someone like me could take responsibility for. And he had too many enemies. Nor was he as sacrificial as his own sister. Didn¡¯t his sister, whose child was her everything, leave first without being able to protect her in the end? Even if he keeps her, it will be ruined if it¡¯s even worse, and it will never have a good effect on her. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m sorry.¡± The sight of her little mouth twitching and apologizing made me nauseous. ¡°Look.¡± Kassel frowned, grabbed the child¡¯s cheek, and checked for any wounds. Fortunately, her white cheeks, puffy like white bread, didn¡¯t seem to have a single scratch. It seemed that he was getting angry again. She was going to cling to the old man and become a flower in the greenhouse, but why would she crawl out of that nice place? Which is the one shorter than a horse¡¯s leg? Did you go crazy because you wanted to die? Kassel held his heart together with a barely exhaled sigh. This is why it¡¯s not fine. It was clear that staying like this any longer would only cause trouble. Is there anything more than two goddamn bastards in the family? ¡®Of course that shouldn¡¯t happen!¡¯ That¡¯s why he will never give her any affection. Kassel intended to get Aika out of his sight as soon as possible. If I do this a few more times, she¡¯ll get tired of me and whine, wanting to go back. Kassel, who quickly went to Aika¡¯s room, put the child on the bed as if he was tossing it. ¡°Ah!¡± Dropped onto the bed like a doll, Aika quickly straightened herself up and held onto the hem of Kassel¡¯s clothes. ¡°¡­It¡¯s spinning.¡± When he threw her on the first day, she was startled and struggled, yet now she stood up like a roly poly. If he goes out like this again, she¡¯ll come after him anyway. She was just like his older sister, down to her stubbornness. No, he thought it was somehow worse. Kassel gave up, grabbed Aika¡¯s back again, moved it to the corner of the bed, and lay down on the wide seat. ¡°U-Uncle¡­?¡± He didn¡¯t respond to the questionable voice, covering his eyes with an arm. ¡°Uncle, are you sleeping?¡±, ¡°Really sleeping?¡±, ¡°Can I lie next to you too?¡±, ¡°Can I sleep next Uncle?¡± Murmurs were heard incessantly, yet Kassel pretended not to listen and closed his eyes. *** Uncle must be sleeping. The bed was big enough for ten of me to lie on, yet it was full because Uncle was lying diagonally. Is he really sleeping? I wanted to press him down, but I didn¡¯t want to get scolded again, so I sat quietly nearby. I sat with half my back against him and sighed deeply. I know. That I was wrong. But the thought of saving Uncle came first. I hope I don¡¯t see more strange fantasies because I¡¯m so tired today. I wasn¡¯t going to take a nap because I didn¡¯t want to dream. ¡°Hnnng.¡± However, there is a problem. I had to protect Uncle so he wouldn¡¯t go outside, but I was so bored to stay alone. Even when Mom went to work, I was always alone. Why am I so bored? Grandpa said I could always be by his side when he was working¡­ He said that if I¡¯m bored, I can wake him up at any time of the day or night¡­ Also, maybe because I was so surprised earlier, my eyes kept closing¡­ Should I just sleep? If I sleep next to Uncle, wouldn¡¯t he know when he wakes up? I looked around and pondered for a long time before a thought struck me and I cautiously got down from the bed. After that, I opened all the drawers in the room and succeeded in finding a suitable string. I grabbed the string and climbed back into bed. And I tried to connect my arm with Uncle with a string. ¡°¡­I-It¡¯s difficult.¡± But tying the knot with one hand was so hard! Reluctantly, I tied him to my feet and, after confirming that I was tied up with him, curled up next to Uncle and lay down. ¡°I¡¯m going to get some sleep now.¡± It was an instant to fall asleep as soon as I lay down. *** The next day didn¡¯t change our relationship. ¡°¡­You don¡¯t go out to play.¡± ¡°Yes! I like it here.¡± It didn¡¯t get a little more friendly, but it didn¡¯t get terribly worse either. ¡°There are many better rooms.¡± ¡°I like the carpet here, Uncle.¡± Even if I didn¡¯t look up, I did it on purpose because I thought there would be a vein somewhere on Uncle¡¯s forehead. Anyway, he¡¯s not working right now. ¡°What are you doing over there. I hear you always played outside at the old man¡¯s house.¡± I sat right in the middle of Uncle¡¯s office. Holding the drawing paper in one hand and a crayon in the other hand, I drew a large tree and raised my face. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to know, Brat.¡± ¡°Tch.¡± I lowered my head and started drawing the tree again. Soft brown crayons were rolling thickly on the drawing paper. I kept pressing and painting the wooden pillars so that there were no gaps, but I kept feeling the hot gaze. CH 7 I was nervous, so I unknowingly applied a little more force, and the crayon snapped in half. ¡°Ah.¡± Ey, I should draw more carefully. I put the broken crayon halves aside and painted over the rest with a slightly larger piece. Leaves in dark green and even paler green. And since I drew Mom, me, Uncle, and Grandfather, the painting was plausible. Oh, I think I¡¯m pretty good at drawing. Confident, I called Uncle who was sitting on the desk chair in the office. ¡°Uncle, you know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°¡­¡± No, I haven¡¯t even said anything yet. I bit my lip and frowned, then smiled again. Yes, if Uncle says he doesn¡¯t, then he doesn¡¯t! ¡°Uncle, then, you don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I¡­ Hey.¡± Uncle, who had closed his eyes, opened them, annoyed. I didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and held up a large drawing paper that I had worked hard on to Uncle. ¡°Uncle. Should I draw you too? Look at this, I draw very well!¡± ¡°No.¡± At that, I smiled contentedly. Then his face frowned even more. ¡°Why are you smiling when I say no?¡± ¡°Mom said that Uncle is a person whose mind and speech are different, so I could understand you the other way around!¡± ¡°¡­A very mother-daughter pair.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll draw Uncle too!¡± ¡°Do whatever you want.¡± I called Uncle several more times after that, yet he didn¡¯t answer. My family, and then Uncle, and then Mom and I, and then Uncle and I, then my arm hurt and it was no longer fun. Uncle kept closing his eyes, as if I was mistaken for the gaze I felt from time to time. I guess he just closed his eyes without sleeping. I put down my almost worn-out crayons and walked up to Uncle, snooped around. ¡°Is Uncle sleeping?¡± ¡°Hm.¡± ¡°Uncle, if you¡¯re not sleeping, play with me. I finished drawing.¡± I continued to hang around him and doze off. ¡°Uncle is busy, though.¡± Contrary to his casual tone of voice, Uncle crossed his legs across the desk, cupped his hands on his stomach, and closed his eyes. ¡°You weren¡¯t busy until just now.¡± ¡°Suddenly busy.¡± Uncle replied without even opening his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re lying¡­¡± It¡¯s been that way ever since, but it¡¯s ridiculous that he suddenly became busy. Uncle doesn¡¯t even think about looking at the pile of papers next to him! I continued to hold onto him. After a while, Uncle finally responded. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I tugged at his arm as if I was about to jump. ¡°Shall we play corpse?¡± Uncle, who had been motionless with his eyes closed the entire time, asked with one eye open. I approached his face and asked. ¡°How do you do that? Isn¡¯t it¡­ scary?¡± Where is there such a scary name for a game? ¡°No, it¡¯s fun.¡± Uncle grinned. Something fun. If I¡¯m not attracted to those words, I¡¯m not Aika! ¡°How do you do that? I want to. I want to!¡± ¡°The one who is good at pretending to be a corpse wins. Uncle is very generous and will let you first, so go ahead and pretend you¡¯re dead.¡± A game of pretending to be dead, I¡¯ve never played that with Mom. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I thought about what would be a comfortable posture to beat Uncle. ¡°Don¡¯t do it if you don¡¯t want to. One, two, three¡­¡± ¡°No! Uncle, then can I lie down and pretend to be dead? Can I just stay still?¡± I hurriedly interrupted him and ran to the thick, wide carpet to sit down. And I hurriedly put away the drawing papers that I had been working hard on. ¡°Do whatever you feel like. If you don¡¯t move until Uncle calls you, you win. Then I¡¯ll buy you a present.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. You have to stay still and breathe until Uncle calls, understand?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± I was suspicious of him being kind, but I hurriedly lay back, fearing that Uncle would change his mind. My head was facing the ceiling, so I couldn¡¯t see his face. ¡®What gift am I going to ask him for? Shall we have a snack together tomorrow? Shall we go out together and buy flowers? I could ask Grandpa and the three of us to go out to play. I want to do all three of them¡­¡¯ ¡°You have to close your eyes. Start.¡± ¡°Ah, yes!¡± How did he know? I also closed my blinking eyes. How long will it take to beat Uncle? I think at this point, I¡¯ll fall asleep. Even in the most comfortable position, I felt my body itching. But for some reason, it seems that the surroundings are becoming more and more quiet¡­ Squeak, there was the sound of a chair. Fearing that Uncle would find out, I even held my breath. And, how long has it been? Along with a dull sound, Uncle¡¯s footsteps went far away somewhere. *** ¡°Gasp!¡± Mom, I must have fallen asleep! I glanced around and looked at Uncle¡¯s desk. I was lying on the floor, that¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t see Uncle. Yet strangely, I felt like I was left alone in the room. I plucked up a little more courage and moved my head around. ¡°Ah!¡± Uncle isn¡¯t here. He also seemed to have disappeared quite a while ago. He left me behind! Uncle tricked me! When I tried to look after him. ¡°Uncle is really a stupid idiot.¡± I hurriedly brushed off my skirt and stood up. I went to the door and stopped, then I turned around. ¡°Still, I have to give the drawing to Uncle.¡± I came back and collected the papers scattered on the floor, placing them on Uncle¡¯s desk so that they could be seen. And that too, right in the middle between the cup Uncle drank from and the pile of papers. ¡°I will really hate you if you throw them away.¡± With both hands on my waist, I narrowed my eyes and glared at the documents that were taller than me. ¡°¡­Mom, and even Uncle, why do they work so much?¡± It would be nice if all of that was gone. Glancing and fiddling with the papers, I found an envelope next to it that was as full as the papers. There was a mixture of things that Uncle hadn¡¯t opened yet and things that he had already opened and checked. Wouldn¡¯t Uncle¡¯s work be a little less if I helped him? If I read it instead and pass it along, he might like it. Mom liked it when I was by her side, helping her while she was working. Hmm, no. Why don¡¯t we just leave it alone? I mean, Uncle doesn¡¯t know. ¡°Then, just clean up the spilled things¡­¡± ¡°Stop moving.¡± Uncle appeared as I reached out to clean up a few things that popped out. I was frozen as ice in the position where he stretched out his hand. An envelope with Aika written on it caught my eye. Huh? It¡¯s a letter for me. After three seconds of silence, I stopped thinking for a moment and turned my head to look at Uncle sullenly. ¡°Uncle is a liar!¡± ¡°You got me.¡± He strode over, one hand stuck in his trouser pocket, then he picked me up and threw me away from the desk. ¡°Ah, wait¡­!¡± Gosh, there was a letter for me, though! ¡°I was going to let you go because you were my uncle!¡± ¡°Then shall we do it again?¡± ¡°Ah, no. But Uncle is really bad.¡± I hesitantly took one step closer to the desk again. ¡°Then you can go back to the old man¡¯s house. Go say it. Uncle is so bad that you won¡¯t be able to live with him for the rest of your life. Hey, what kind of trouble you¡¯re going to come up with again.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m coming up with any.¡± Shaking my head, I clung to Uncle. Fortunately, he heard, swing, again and didn¡¯t move. ¡°Very much.¡± ¡°Uncle, do you have to read all those letters?¡± ¡°Yeah, so don¡¯t disturb me.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t disturb you.¡± He glared at me for a long time with one eyebrow raised, then turned his head away with a sigh. ¡°Do whatever you want. Instead, Just know that you will be kicked out the moment you interfere.¡± ¡°Alright. But you know, Uncle.¡± ¡°Tch?¡± ¡°Hng, I only want to read the letter I received¡­¡± ¡°Why would you get a letter.¡± ¡°I did! It says Aika over there! It was sent from the Imperial Palace!¡± I reached out and picked up the protruding letter. Uncle¡¯s face became more ferocious. ¡°How do you know it came from the Imperial Palace?¡± ¡°That lion crest! Mom told me. I know all the other family crests well.¡± ¡°You know the crests?¡± ¡°Yeah. And the¡­¡± Knock, knock. ¡°Milord, this is Gerard.¡± CH 8 A polite and urgent voice could be heard from outside. In this house, there are only two people who are close to Uncle and are often together. One of them was Leto, the general manager, and the other was Gerard. Gerard¡¯s face isn¡¯t scary, but I¡¯m afraid of him because he always carries a knife. ¡°Come in. Go to your room.¡± Uncle said to me with a furious look. I was taken aback by the distinctly different voice from before, and I hesitated to ask about the letter. ¡°Ah, yeah¡­¡± Soon after, Gerard came in. I decided to do that later and headed for the door, leaving only a greeting saying, ¡°See you later, Uncle.¡± ¡°Hello Miss, how are you?¡± Gerard stopped and bowed to me on one knee. He had wavy gray hair, round black eyes, the corners of his lips lifted softly in a smile, and a dot under his eye. ¡°Gerard, hello!¡± ¡°If I had known the Miss was here, I would have brought snacks.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. Did you find it?¡± Speaking sharply, Uncle strode up to me, picked me up, and threw me out. ¡°Yes. First one¡­¡± ¡°Send the kid away and tell me.¡± As if that wasn¡¯t enough, he even pushed my butt, telling me to go quickly. I was kicked out at once and came out into the hallway. I looked up at him with a pout. ¡°I-I¡¯m going.¡± ¡°Stay calm in your room.¡± ¡°Uncle, then later, the letter for me¡­¡± Thud. The door closed before I could finish talking. ¡°Ugh.¡± Like a demon. I stared at the tightly closed door, then turned and headed for my room. I will get the letter later. *** ¡°When is Uncle coming back?¡± ¡°He seems to be a little late. How about eating first? The chef said he prepared a lot of savory milk cream sauce dishes that the Miss likes.¡± ¡°It would be nice to eat with Uncle.¡± I sat on the bed, rocking my feet back and forth, muttering. Uncle kicked me out earlier and soon after went out with Gerard. And until evening, he didn¡¯t come back. ¡°If you have dinner, won¡¯t he be back soon?¡± I thought a little and nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll eat first, and after that I can wait for him.¡± ¡°Good idea. Now, shall we go?¡± Zenda leaned over and held out her hand to me. I took Zenda¡¯s hand and headed to the restaurant. And at the end of the hallway, I ran into Uncle who was entering with an unusual momentum. ¡°Oh! Unc¡­¡± He looked just like Uncle, yet strangely, he didn¡¯t seem to be the uncle who used to get annoyed with me. He was much scarier than that, and it felt like all the good vibes he had before had run away. In addition, one of Uncle¡¯s hands had turned a dark red damp somehow. I hate to say it, but I thought I knew why he was nicknamed that way. I was so scared at the moment that I almost took a step backwards. Yet my uncle was faster than me. He disappeared into the hallway on the right, giving off a vicious aura, then Gerard bowed and hurriedly followed him. ¡°¡­Come on. Miss.¡± Zenda led the frozen me back. I stared at the hallway where he disappeared and followed Zenda. And I couldn¡¯t see him until the next day. *** Three days have passed since I was kicked out of Uncle¡¯s office violently During the three days, Uncle was still angry with me a few more times. [Go away, please.] [Aren¡¯t you going?] [Stop following me, come on!] He probably gets angry every time he sees my face. In particular, the day he came back from going out with Gerard, it wasn¡¯t enough that he came back with blood on his hands, and it was so bloody that I almost ran into my room to avoid him without realizing it. In addition, yesterday, after following me around, Uncle even threatened me, asking me if I was a stalker. Was it when my uncle went to the bathroom? Anyway! After almost getting into trouble at the stable, fortunately I haven¡¯t had any other dreams or visions, so I¡¯ve only been hanging around Uncle. Actually, if I had stuck to him at all, he might have really thrown me away. ¡°Zenda, thanks!¡± Zenda wiped my face, which was wet after I washed it, with a soft towel. The first day I came here, Zenda was very nice to me, even though Uncle threatened not to be nice to me in my presence. Even if I was simply thirsty, she never just gave me water. She always checked to see whether it was cold or hot. Zenda seemed to be very afraid of Uncle, to the point of worrying that she didn¡¯t have to obey orders. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± That¡¯s why I love Zenda so much. Her tenderness, her grass-like eyes, and her ripe rice-colored hair braided to one side. Of course, all the other servants are nice too. ¡°Can I go to Uncle?¡± ¡°Are you going¡­ again?¡± Zenda looked at me with an anxious look. Her face quickly turned pale. ¡°Yeah, because Uncle hasn¡¯t eaten breakfast.¡± Mom said that I should have a good breakfast so I can start the day well and not struggle until evening. Zenda stopped me several times as usual, yet in the end she took me to Uncle¡¯s room as usual. ¡°Zenda, thanks!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re scared, you have to run out right away.¡± ¡°Okay, I get it!¡± ¡°If the Master gets angry, be sure to tell him that I¡¯m the one who opened the door without permission, not the Miss.¡± ¡°Huh? That¡¯s a lie, though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay to lie like that.¡± Listening to Zenda¡¯s concerns, I crept into Uncle¡¯s room. Black curtains were drawn on all the windows, that¡¯s why even though the sun had already risen earlier, it was only night here. Fortunately, it was very spacious and there wasn¡¯t much furniture, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about bumping into anything. ¡®It smells good.¡¯ I searched the dimly lit surroundings for something I could step on and climb. Why is Uncle¡¯s bed so high? A few times before, I climbed onto the bed with cushions and footrests, and Uncle must have removed them all, so today the floor was clean. I still can¡¯t give up! I whimpered and succeeded in climbing onto Uncle¡¯s bed for the first time without any support. ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s morning.¡± Then I sat down next to his uncle and called out to him persistently. ¡°Uncle. Uncle?¡± Around the tenth time I called him, suddenly harsh words poured out of Uncle who was sleeping on his stomach, and soon, hideous golden eyes appeared. I smiled bashfully at Uncle. ¡°Good morning, Uncle! Did you have a nice dream?¡± ¡°¡­Haven¡¯t you gone yet.¡± Looking at me who had woken him up, he asked in a hushed voice. ¡°Where?¡± I asked with my eyes wide open. ¡°To the old man¡¯s house.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to Grandpa. Uncle, let¡¯s go eat.¡± ¡°Phew¡­¡± Uncle half-raised himself and scratched his head roughly. Between the blankets, his upper body was exposed as if dozens of rocks and stones were tied together. ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold, Uncle? Why aren¡¯t you wearing clothes? Then you¡¯ll get a stomach ache.¡± ¡°I know, so what.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid Uncle will catch a cold.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not cold because of you. Aren¡¯t you going down?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m going down.¡± Uncle gets angry whenever he sees me. I didn¡¯t even make trouble yesterday or today. Mom, grandpa, servants, and the people at the stores I went to all liked me. I thought it would be nice if Uncle would like me soon too. If I don¡¯t go down, he¡¯s going to get angry again, but if I do, it¡¯s obvious that he¡¯ll sleep again, so I shamelessly roamed around on the bed. ¡°Why did you come here.¡± Uncle asked as he straightened his upper body and picked up a shirt that was loosely scattered on a narrow table. ¡°To have breakfast together!¡± ¡°Eat on your own.¡± He got up and gulped down the water without any care. Then he went to wash up and disappeared somewhere. I sat on the bed, waiting patiently. Even though he said so, Uncle came back, changed his clothes, got ready, and went to the dining room with me by his side. ¡°Uncle, I can walk too.¡± I murmured as I dangled on him. ¡°I¡¯ll eat quickly to get rid of you.¡± ¡°Hng¡­¡± I begged, saying that I would stay next to him if he didn¡¯t eat every day, and he clearly remembered that. But the whole time I was eating in the dining room, Uncle¡¯s perverse gaze didn¡¯t let go of me. I¡¯m saying that he only drank water. After breakfast, my stomach was pounding when Uncle suddenly called me. I ran away with a happy heart, yet somehow the atmosphere became even more heinous. ¡°Get ready to go out.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yeah. Come down when you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Where are we going? Uncle, where are you going?¡± CH 9 Uncle stood up and turned around. ¡°We¡¯re going to visit old man, no, your grandfather¡¯s house.¡± At the surprise-gift like words, I raised my head. I asked on the huge back of Uncle. ¡°Really? Are we going to visit grandpa today?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± We¡¯re going to Grandpa¡¯s. Then you can eat something super delicious! ¡°Okay, Uncle! Ah, then can I bring Grandpa a present? The food I ate this morning is so delicious that I want to bring it to Grandpa.¡± ¡°Take whatever you want.¡± ¡°Really? Uncle, is it really okay?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± What¡¯s wrong with Uncle? I answered quickly before he changed his mind. ¡°Okay! Thanks, Uncle!¡± I took care of the present and thought that I could go and eat my fill and come back, so I nodded quickly and headed to my room. Then I decided to put all my energy into getting ready to go out. Nice! I ran into the room like lightning. ¡°Zenda! Uncle is going to go play with Grandpa!¡± As soon as I entered the room, I looked for Zenda. Then her face somehow turned dark. ¡°Zenda, why? Are you sick?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯ll help you with your hair. Would you like me to tie it to both ends and attach a flower to it?¡± ¡°Yeah! Thanks, Zenda! Give me two flowers.¡± As Zenda walked holding my hand, she smiled since I don¡¯t know when. I also liked her smile, so I laughed out loud. ¡°Do you like it so much?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s good to see Grandpa. Zenda, I¡¯ll bring a lot of delicious food when I come back.¡± Zenda¡¯s face was darker than before, but I thought it was because she was worried about me going with Uncle. *** ¡°Oh, my baby!¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± As soon as I got off the carriage, I was hugged by Grandpa, who was as big as Uncle. Illode de Valiott. The owner of the Valliott family and my only grandfather. When I first saw Grandpa, I was scared. He had the same red hair and golden eyes as Mom, but he was also very tall like a huge mountain, making him look like a very fearsome adult. Perhaps Uncle¡¯s height resembled Grandpa¡¯s. I was afraid of my grandfather, yet he was very nice to me. He always tells me that I¡¯m the best and gives me something delicious every day. As for how cool Grandpa is, I once cried because I was the only one with black hair, yet Grandpa, Uncle, and Mom all had red hair. But the next day, Grandpa showed up with his hair dyed the same black as mine. The dye was a little off, but his dark red hair was similar to mine. ¡°Come on, my baby. What did you do without gaining weight? Did that damn bastard not even feed you?¡± Grandpa¡¯s eyes turned to Uncle behind me. I shook my head left and right. ¡°No! I eat together with Uncle every day. I ate with him this morning too.¡± ¡°Did you? You did really well. Let¡¯s go in.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa! Ah yes, Grandpa. I also brought a present for Grandpa. I had it with Uncle this morning. It¡¯s so delicious!¡± Grandpa chuckled. ¡°Why would you bring something with those little hands. Even the arrival of my baby is a present.¡± ¡°Hehe, the more presents, the better!¡± Still, I always came to Grandpa¡¯s once a month with Mom. I had lived here for over two months before going to Uncle¡¯s, so it was comfortable like another home. I checked behind to make sure Uncle was following me, and went inside with Grandpa. ¡°Thank you. Is my baby sleeping well?¡± ¡°Yes! I sleep well every day. What about Grandpa? Does Grandpa sleep well?¡± ¡°Grandpa missed our sweetheart, so I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Gasp, that can¡¯t be. Grandpa, then take a nap with me later!¡± ¡°Hoho, let¡¯s do it.¡± ¡°If you like her to death, why did you let her go? She needs to always be by your side.¡± ¡°What?¡± Grandpa¡¯s voice, which had only been warm, suddenly became sharper. ¡°Did I say something wrong? It seems that your filthy rhythm is well matched.¡± Uncle rubbed his ears and spoke in a gruff manner. ¡°I sent you away for you to be a human, you bastard! My, my, my golden baby, go eat a lot of delicious food today. I bought a lot of presents.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa!¡± Grandpa yelled loudly, holding my hand as if he had never done so, and passed through the hall to a room with a thick carpet for me to sit and play. It was the room where I used to play every time I came to Grandpa¡¯s. ¡°Whoa¡­¡± On either side of it was a five-story cake tower that was as large as a fountain, and beside it were numerous presents and snacks. ¡°Do you like it?¡± As soon as I entered, my eyes widened at the feast of colorful snacks that greeted me. ¡°Very, very much! Grandpa, can I eat all of this?¡± ¡°Come on, it¡¯s all for my baby, of course.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa! Grandpa, eat together with me. Uncle too!¡± Grandpa stroked my hair. His hand was so warm that I felt better and smiled bashfully. ¡°Grandpa has to talk to your uncle for a while, so we¡¯ll be back soon after you¡¯re eating.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa!¡± *** ¡°I¡¯m full¡­¡± I forgot the existence of Uncle and Grandpa, and filled my stomach with sweet food. The mountain of dessert wasn¡¯t much different from when I first saw it, but my stomach was so bloated that nothing couldn¡¯t go in anymore. ¡°I miss Mom.¡± I thought as I lay curled up on the carpet. Mom only let me eat half a piece of cake a day, but even though she nagged me to brush my teeth right after eating, I missed Mom. I¡¯ll have to see Uncle¡¯s face later. I grabbed the strawberry cupcake in front of me again. ¡°Aika.¡± As if my wish had come true, Grandpa, who had gone out to talk with Uncle a little while ago, returned. ¡°Grandpa! Grandpa, eat this too. But what about Uncle?¡± Yet Uncle was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Aika.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Grandpa took a seat next to me just like I did. He said, stroking my hair gently. ¡°Now let¡¯s not go to Uncle¡¯s and live with this Grandpa. Just like before.¡± ¡°With Grandpa?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s have fun with Grandpa like before.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± I blinked. It¡¯s good, but what do you mean by that? The thought stopped in an instant, and soon my mind started spinning. I opened my eyes wide. It wasn¡¯t good! It sounds like Uncle left me here. Why? ¡°I-I can¡¯t!¡± I was surprised and dropped the cupcake I was eating on the carpet. ¡°Baby! Aika!¡± ¡°Grandpa, wait a minute!¡± Even when my grandfather called, I got up and ran outside. ¡®My legs, run faster!¡¯ I had to catch him before he went away. Uncle had long legs, so he quickly moved away from anywhere. If I¡¯m late, he will really leave me behind. Then he might not really come to see me. As Grandpa said, Uncle really had already come out and was on his way to ride the carriage. ¡°U-Uncle!¡± I went down the stairs quickly. ¡°Ah!¡± However, I must have been in too much of a hurry, leaving one last step before my feet got tangled and I fell flat. ¡°Ah¡­ It hurts.¡± It hurt terribly. I quickly got back up, yet my knee hurt so bad. My jaw hurt and everything else hurt. When I looked at my knee, it was already peeled and blood was seeping out. ¡°¡­¡± I had to brush it off and go to Uncle quickly, yet it was so painful that I couldn¡¯t move my feet. I¡¯m just trying to save Uncle. I just want to be with Uncle. Why does it hurt so much? I guess it¡¯s because of the blood. Gradually, my vision became blurry. CH 10 It was uncomfortable to leave the child he had been with for a few days, but at the same time he felt relieved. Since she¡¯s a child, she¡¯ll be busy eating snacks, then she¡¯ll quickly forget if he disappears. ¡°U-Uncle! Ah!¡± However, Kassel, who was on his way to the carriage, heard a loud sound from behind him and turned around. His face hardened. Aika, who fell right under the stairs, got up on her own. As if she was fine, hung her head down, and brushed her clothes off. She raised her head again, so he thought she would throw out her anger, but she didn¡¯t. ¡°Hicc, cough, hiccc¡­ Hic.¡± Kassel took a deep breath. With Aika holding back her voice, only her tears dripping, she looked at him. Her eyes looked like his, that¡¯s why it felt like he was staring at himself. He had to leave here as soon as possible, yet his feet didn¡¯t move as if they were shackled to the ground. ¡°Why would you cry.¡± What do you pity so much that you¡¯re crying? Still, Aika stood tall with one of her knees peeled, clenching both of her fists and letting her tears flow incessantly. It was as if the faucet had been opened. Her tears fell nonstop to the extent that he wondered what would happen if she got dehydrated. He¡¯d rather her chatter away as usual. Kassel¡¯s neckline, which had become extremely rough, moved greatly. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± ¡°¡­Hicc, cough, Uncle, Uncle abandowned, hicc, me.¡± ¡°Who abandoned you?¡± ¡°Hicc, Unc?hic, Uncle did.¡± Aika¡¯s face contorted once more. Once again, her tears fell. Kassel just stared at her as if he was frozen. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­Hicc.¡± The two stood for a long time, without closing the distance between them. The sound of dripping water from the garden fountain constantly separated them. ¡°I don¡¯t even know anymore.¡± Kassel, muttering resignedly, walked over and lifted the child. Surprised, Aika struggled and pushed him away, yet it was a weak force that didn¡¯t even bother him. ¡°You son of a bitch! Where are you taking her after making the child cry!¡± Duke Valiott shouted and ran out belatedly. He came out in a hurry without a cane. Kassel, holding Aika by his side, headed for the carriage, stopped and turned roughly halfway. ¡°I¡¯m going to raise the child. I wish you a long life.¡± Then he climbed into the carriage and slammed the door, leaving Duke Valiott still. ¡°Hey, you bastard! Put my baby down and go!¡± The voice of Duke Valiott, who was very angry, followed the carriage. *** Sniff, whimper. The inside of the carriage was filled with the sound of Aika¡¯s sobbing. Her face was all wet, her eyes, nose, and even lips were red. She cried miserably like a baby rabbit that has been hit all over by the falling rain. Kassel, who received Aika¡¯s resentful gaze in a small space, wasn¡¯t comfortable either. He couldn¡¯t stand seeing it, that¡¯s why he brought her back, but his future was bleak. In the end, Kassel was about to turn his eyes to the window first, yet the carriage rattled once as it had caught on a rock. Aika¡¯s body, which floated and sank briefly because it was so light, was in danger. Kassel, who had been watching, put his arms around Aika¡¯s armpits and placed her on top of his own legs, wrapping his arms around her as if she were wearing a safety device. Aika gasped in surprise. ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Go calmly.¡± At those words, Aika, who was held in Kassel¡¯s arms, immediately calmed down. However, the hiccup caused the small back of her head to shake. ¡®Such a strawberry smell.¡¯ Kassel frowned. She must have eaten all of the strawberry dessert by herself earlier, Aika¡¯s strawberry sweetness vibrated. The coachman, unaware of the uncomfortable feelings of the two, drove the carriage while singing so excitedly that it could be heard even inside the carriage. *** It wasn¡¯t long after I returned home that it was dinner time. My eyes were swollen like crucian carp, but I returned safely to Uncle¡¯s house. And before getting off the carriage, I received an apology from Uncle. [It was my fault, so stop crying.] It was just a remark, though. Hmph, I have to forgive him just once. Even adults can make mistakes. ¡°You have calmed down more than before. Don¡¯t you feel bitter?¡± Zenda removed the cold towel which was used to steam my eyes. ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± ¡°Miss.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°¡­I apologize.¡± Zenda lowered her head. She said she knew Uncle was going to send her to Grandpa¡¯s house. She was sorry that she couldn¡¯t tell me beforehand, that she couldn¡¯t stop him. ¡°That¡¯s okay. Because I beat Uncle!¡± I smiled with puffy eyes. ¡°Miss.¡± Then Zenda looked at me with a stunned look. ¡°Zenda, but, you know.¡± I lowered my eyes slightly and rubbed my stomach gently. ¡°Yes, Miss.¡± Zenda¡¯s face became a little serious. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± I ate a whole snack at Grandpa¡¯s, yet when I got home, I was hungry. And if I don¡¯t tell Zenda now, I think she¡¯ll continue to feel sad. Zenda, whose eyes were wide, put down the towel and hurriedly rose from her seat. ¡°Ah, meal. Miss, I will prepare it quickly!¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± Zenda asked me to wait just a moment, and she hurriedly got up and disappeared. I waited for her as I thought of the food I wanted to eat the most. Click. ¡°Zenda¡­!¡± The sound of the door opened turned me around. However, instead of Zenda, it was Uncle who brought the food. I didn¡¯t put on a happy face because I was welcoming food, but I was extremely vigilant. Uncle put down a tray full of delicious food on the table and walked towards me. I quickly ran away from Uncle to the middle of the bed, yet he dragged me by clothes. His real power is insanely strong! ¡°Have you done crying?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Instead of answering, I pouted and Uncle tapped my forehead with his finger. ¡°If you¡¯re annoyed, hit me with a punch.¡± ¡°¡­Hmph.¡± Even Uncle has to experience this for him to know. Though he strikes lightly, his strength and weight are considerable! How crude! Someone who was just like Uncle had to hit him on the forehead, but it¡¯s a pity he couldn¡¯t. As I rubbed my forehead and inflated my cheeks, Uncle raised his bent body again. ¡°Eat it. Don¡¯t nag later just because you¡¯re hungry.¡± Then is he going out again, I wonder. Just as I was about to call Uncle, Zenda came in. ¡°Miss, wait a minute. I will prepare it quickly.¡± Zenda quickly turned the table into a delicious restaurant with a lightning-like touch. I waited for a large napkin to be tucked around my neck, then sat down in a chair, and there was an envelope right next to my plate. ¡°This?¡± ¡°Ah, I think the Master left it. The Miss¡¯ name is written on it, so would you like to see it after you finish your meal?¡± While listening to Zenda, I picked up the envelope and quickly found out the identity of the envelope. It was a letter that had come to me sticking out among the piles of letters I saw on Uncle¡¯s desk a few days ago. The seal with the Imperial crest was also intact. ¡°Can I see this first?¡± ¡°Of course. Shall I open it for you?¡± ¡°I want to open it!¡± Zenda only helped me with the part of the seal that was difficult for me to break. Inside came a card much thicker than an envelope. I read one letter after another, but I couldn¡¯t read it until the end and looked at Zenda with surprised eyes. ¡°His Imperial Majesty the Emperor.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°He told me to come to play!¡± ¡°Pardon, pardon meee?¡± ¡°Here!¡± I handed the card to Zenda. Her eyes, which read the same card as mine, turned into surprised rabbit eyes. ¡°My goodness. Really? It was a card to invite the Miss to the Imperial Palace. I heard that the Master is also a close friend of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s also friends with Mom. Ah, but Uncle.¡± I stopped talking and frowned. If I ask Uncle to go with me, he¡¯ll probably ask me not to stick around him again. Or not to bother him. I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d give me a ride. ¡°Zenda.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Is it far from here to the Imperial Palace?¡± Zenda braced her chin with her index finger and pondered. ¡°It will probably take 30 minutes to an hour if you take a carriage. I¡¯ve never been to the Imperial Palace, but I think that¡¯s what I heard.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t hide my disappointment. Then I have to get Uncle¡¯s permission, right? CH 11 ¡°I don¡¯t think Uncle will let me go.¡± My shoulders drooped and I didn¡¯t even think about eating. Zenda bent her back and tilted her head, then she met her eyes with mine. ¡°Then, shall I go and ask a little question?¡± ¡°Zenda¡­? What if you get in trouble?¡± I shook my head. ¡°To be honest, I felt very empty during the half-day without the Miss. I thought it was good because you were going back to a bigger and better place, but I felt really empty. I think I have grown very attached to you for several days without even realizing it.¡± ¡°I like Zenda, too.¡± I felt good as she seemed to think the same way as I did. Zenda put her hands on her legs and made a somewhat grim expression. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t have much strength, I will protect her with all my might. I¡¯ll try to block as many places as possible that the Miss doesn¡¯t want to go to. Wherever you want to go, I will beg him as much as I can.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want Zenda to be scolded.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to tell him well so I don¡¯t get scolded. Would it be alright, then??¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine.¡± It was very reassuring to hear that Zenda was on my side. As that thought struck me, another flashed through my mind. Then if everyone else is on my side¡­? So if Uncle tries to scold me or send me off again, won¡¯t they stop me? What if Chef Grandma, Zenda, and everyone else block him? As I thought about it, a smile spread across my face. ¡°Zenda.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I want to have others on my side, just like Zenda.¡± ¡°Are you trying to convince them so that I won¡¯t get in trouble?¡± Zenda said with a laugh. Her smile grew even wider as I nodded eagerly. ¡°Then leave Gerard to me.¡± ¡°Gerard?¡± ¡°We¡¯re like siblings. It¡¯s not bloody, of course¡­ It¡¯s because we came from the same orphanage.¡± Zenda said that she and Gerard were from the same orphanage, and Gerard was so good at swordsmanship even at a young age that Grandpa, who sponsored the orphanage, took notice and brought him to Valliot. And as soon as he finished his adaptation, Gerard came to pick up Zenda, then when she became an adult, she had nowhere else to go, so she came along without hesitation. After that, Uncle came out to live separately, and Gerard and Zenda came to this mansion together. ¡°Zenda, Gerard¡­¡± (in the raws they actually have the same initial: Jenda and Jerard) ¡°All the children who came in the same year had the same first letter, so sometimes we were mistaken for real siblings.¡± ¡°I see. Zenda, Gerard. It¡¯s for real¡­ Even geranium flowers! Everything is pretty and nice, isn¡¯t it! That¡¯s why Zenda and Gerard are pretty and cool.¡± She paused for a moment, then smiled. ¡°It really is. I didn¡¯t know.¡± Talking to Zenda reminded me of a good way to get everyone on my side. ¡°Zenda, lend me an ear.¡± ¡°Like this?¡± I put my hands together and whispered in her ear. She laughed out loud. ¡°Then now, since we have to do the side-making operation, shall we eat? I think the soup will be cold.¡± With those words, I naturally had a fork and spoon in my hands. *** Kassel was enjoying the peace that had come after a few days. She lived in his house, so he pondered how many days he should sleep with his door hanging. The little thing has such good stamina, she runs around and gasps, and when she¡¯s tired, she collapses, then whenever she wakes up, she¡¯s always back in place. He didn¡¯t even see her today. Thinking that it was a little too much, he quickly erased the thought from his head. There was nothing new about her because she was that kind of brat. He returned from work and walked down the hallway, but the atmosphere in the house was different from usual. The servants seemed to be smiling all the time, yet somehow they were mushy, giving a strong sense of sweetness. The sweet scent that was from that child was flying away around those dark things. ¡®What is this unpleasant feeling?¡¯ However, the reason was soon discovered. Every servant passing by and greeting him had a red flower attached to their left chest. It looked like a brooch made of soft lace fabric, and as if it was quite precious, the servants often stroked the flower and smiled. Today, he couldn¡¯t see his niece, and the attendants were grinning as if they were warmed. Everyone seemed to know the reason, yet he was the only one who didn¡¯t, so it was only natural that his nerves were scratched. It was then. Aika was running from the end of the hallway with small, noisy footsteps. With something red in her hands. Her dark hair tied in pigtails fluttered whenever the child stamped her foot. Of course it was like that. Kassel pressed down on his temple, pretending to be troubled. ¡°Hello, Uncle! Did you get home safely?¡± ¡°I told you to stay calm.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bust! Hello, Gerard. Gerard, this!¡± Aika, who was greeting them, passed Kassel and stood tall in front of Gerard. She took a deep breath and abruptly held out the red flower she was holding in her arms to Gerard. It was a flower made of lace that was found on the servants¡¯ chest as they passed by. The reason was here. Flowers soon bloomed on Gerard¡¯s face as well. ¡°Good day, Miss. Are you giving it to me?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a present! You can put it here. I even prayed to the flowers for Gerard¡¯s good luck!¡± Aika proudly said, patting one side of her chest. ¡°Thank you. I will cherish it.¡± Aika¡¯s face brightened as Gerard bent his knee to greet her in a gesture of loyalty. Eventually, Aika looked up at Kassel. If you¡¯re going to give it, give it quickly and go. Look at it again. Thinking that he would be less whiny if he roughly received it and pretended to put it on, Kassel held out his hand. Then Aika was startled and took a step behind. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m sorry! I won¡¯t disturb you anymore!¡± Then she turned around and disappeared like a bolt. Kassel¡¯s eyebrows rose crookedly, without knowing that they were high in the sky. At most, his outstretched hand was empty. What¡¯s wrong with me? Kassel quickly turned around. It was Gerard, who was nervous about the atmosphere that had suddenly turned bad. Kassel¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°You like it so much?¡± Gerard lowered his head at the disapproving voice. ¡°¡­Yes, I really like?no.¡± At the same time as his honest answer, the surrounding temperature dropped by about 3 degrees. ¡°Yeah. Do it a lot.¡± Kassel quickly disappeared on his way back. ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Actually, Zenda told him to make His Grace feel better today, but it was a big problem. Sensing a bleak future ahead, Gerard scratched the back of his head roughly and hurriedly followed him. After that, the number of servants with red flowers hanging from their chests increased before Kassel¡¯s eyes. By evening, however, Kassel¡¯s chest was empty. After the evening passed quite a while. Aika, who met him at dinner after making the problem, was so innocent as if she didn¡¯t know anything. His expectations, which was only a handful left, were shattered terribly. *** ¡°Whoa, what is this?¡± As soon as I entered the dining room, I noticed a tree towering in the middle of the table. The fries were like winter trees stuck together like snowflakes. ¡°It¡¯s a fried food with root vegetables attached. In return for the flower brooch the Miss gave me. Would you like to try it?¡± Grandma Sophie, the chef, snapped one of the eggplants and held it out to me. ¡°Can I really eat it? If I add fruit to this, I think it will look like a Christmas tree!¡± I put the fried root vegetables Grandma Sophie had handed me to my mouth. Crispy on the outside, crunchy on the inside. The outside was savory and salty like sprinkled salt, yet the inside was warm and sweet. It was an exciting taste that made my nostrils enlarge. ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡± How can it be so delicious even though it¡¯s not meat! ¡°Next time, shall we use fruits and leafy vegetables to make a tree?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s noisy. Sophie, don¡¯t get involved with her.¡± Meanwhile, Uncle entered the dining room. CH 12 ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Nowadays, every day just feels happy.¡± Grandma Sophie took and gave me another fried eggplant after hearing Uncle¡¯s advice. Instead of taking it straight to my mouth, I handed it to Uncle. ¡°Uncle, eat this too. It¡¯s very pretty.¡± ¡°Go sit down.¡± ¡°Yessir.¡± Never mind if you don¡¯t like it. It¡¯s delicious, though. Crunch. ¡°Now, would you like to have a seat too?¡± Zenda tapped the chair I was sitting on. ¡°Yes!¡± I went to my seat with the fried eggplants Grandma Sophie had given me in both hands. ¡°Uncle.¡± I sat down on the chair Zenda pulled out and called him. ¡°¡­¡± He seems to be in a much worse mood than before. Uncle gave off a dark aura from earlier and didn¡¯t even respond properly to my words. Soon after, the trolley was loaded with food. Dishes boasting various tastes and aromas were placed on the table. ¡°Bon appetit. Thank you for making delicious food today!¡± ¡°Oh my, you speak nicely too.¡± Grandma Sophie said she would bring other food, and disappeared. I waited patiently while Zenda poured the dish onto a plate, and as soon as the plate was in front of me, I poked it into my mouth with a fork. The soft potatoes were mashed helplessly in the mouth. ¡°Delicioush! Uncle, eat a lot too!¡± ¡°Speak after you eat it all.¡± ¡°Yesh.¡± I listened carefully to him and played the fork again. ¡°Right, Uncle. Take me to the Imperial Palace.¡± ¡°Why Imperial Palace.¡± I took out the letter that came after coming to the dining room and waved it. ¡°His Imperial Majesty asked me to come and play!¡± ¡°How do you know the Emperor?¡± ¡°I also don¡¯t know¡­? But I know he¡¯s my mom¡¯s friend! It¡¯s just said in the letter for me to come hang out. I¡¯ve never been to the imperial palace, so I will go with Uncle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°¡­Why? Uncle goes there often.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s mean.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°It was bad.¡± ¡°You know it well.¡± After that, I dozed off several times while eating, yet Uncle was stubborn. The operation is a failure. I thought it¡¯d just pass by naturally. According to the atmosphere, he seems to be firmly angry, but I¡¯m not sure. I was full before I knew it. I slapped the plate aside and tapped my stomach. I¡¯ll run straight to my room. ¡°Miss.¡± I turned around and tried to get up, but Zenda suddenly called me. ¡°Huh, huh?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten any grilled vegetables. You also had some leftover roasted green peppers and onions.¡± ¡°Ah. Uh, that¡¯s¡­¡± Zenda stared at me with a smile on her face. I struggled to find an excuse. ¡°Ah, I ate a lot in my dream this morning. So I don¡¯t have to eat any more, today.¡± Zenda and the servants next to her laughed a little as I deliberately pushed my belly out more and rubbed it diligently. ¡°You have to eat evenly to grow taller. Now, look. If you want to grow tall like the Master, you have to do it like that¡­¡± Zenda stopped talking while looking at Uncle¡¯s plate. His plate was no different from mine. He¡¯s so tall and like a rock but he hasn¡¯t eaten any vegetables, right? ¡°Uncle didn¡¯t eat it all either. Then I will grow taller even if I don¡¯t eat it all!¡± I pointed proudly to the two slices of bell peppers and one roasted green onion Uncle had left behind. Uncle is so big that even Zenda, who just said that I should eat evenly, has no choice but to admit it. So I thought it would be okay to stand up like this. ¡°Peanut. Are you and me the same?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ¡®Peanut¡¯!¡± ¡°How can you use a trick when you¡¯re just a little brat? Clean it up completely.¡± Then you¡¯ll get up and go away first, won¡¯t you! Mom used to say these. That Uncle will always be by my side. That even if I¡¯m not sure about others, I can trust Uncle. What is this! Mom is a liar too. I will get revenge someday! I had no choice but to empty the remaining grilled vegetables that Zenda had caught. *** Still unable to get rid of the uncomfortable and irritated feeling he couldn¡¯t figure out, Kassel entered the office. Gerard entered after him. ¡°What is this.¡± In the middle of the desk, a colorful, rainbow-colored box the size of a fist greeted him. Something crumpled and weak in all natural colors seemed to be folded into colored paper. There was only one unfaithful person in this house who could make such a flimsy, trivial, and unsightly thing. ¡°I wonder if the Miss left it¡­?¡± No one in this house would have put something like this on this desk. Gerard, who swallowed the latter words, also looked down at the box with curious eyes. Will that thing be the savior to break this atmosphere or not, he wondered. As Kassel lifted it roughly and shook it, there was a light knocking sound from inside. He didn¡¯t exert much effort, but when he opened the box, which was already half crumpled, a flower brooch made of layers of red and bright yellow lace was revealed. It was similar to the brooch that all the servants, including Gerard next to him, have hanging on their chests. Except for the fact that its size is double to theirs and has two overlapping colors. Ah, also the ugly cardboard box. The expression of Gerard, who had suffered all sorts of grievances over a brooch he had received as a gift from the Miss all day, brightened first. That one, that must be the one. ¡°The Miss must have been late preparing the best present!¡± Kassel, who had been looking down at the box for a while, murmured. ¡°Gosh, who cares? What can be liked about this crap.¡± But why are the corners of your lips slightly raised? Gerard thought to himself and added another word instead. ¡°It¡¯s also much larger. Isn¡¯t the overlapping yellow just like marigolds?¡± He showed his wit to take out the information he heard from Zenda one day. Thanks to that, the corners of Kassel¡¯s lips stretched even more. ¡°With this kind of thing. She gave it to everyone. Ah, come to think of it, did you get the box?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t get it. Wouldn¡¯t the Miss make it only for the person she thought was the most precious and wonderful?¡± Gerard defended Aika with all his might. Kassel fiddled with the flower brooch for a while before he set it down on the side of the desk. ¡°Enough, report.¡± The corners of Kassel¡¯s mouth rose as high as the sky unconsciously, and soon the atmosphere changed. Gerard secretly clenched his fists and cleared his throat before starting to report. ¡°We have finished checking everything, even the fragments of the carriage. Excluding the 38 who were dealt with, 7 are still in pursuit.¡± ¡°None of them have spoken yet.¡± ¡°Yes. Except for those who were tortured, everyone committed suicide.¡± ¡°Suicide, as if they had been waiting. That¡¯s not even funny. Find more.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And¡­ hm, what is it. If you¡¯re not busy, go to Peanut and tell her to get ready to go to the Imperial Palace tomorrow. If she¡¯s late, I¡¯ll drop it and go.¡± Gerard blinked in surprise. The topic change was so quick that it almost came as a surprise. ¡°You¡¯re going to the Imperial Palace tomorrow? All of a sudden? What about the overdue work?¡± ¡°What do you mean all of a sudden? I was originally going to. I put it off because I was lazy.¡± ¡°¡­Ah, yeas¡­¡± Gerard slurred his words and pulled out the wrinkles on his forehead. ¡°What are you doing? If you¡¯re done watching me, move quickly.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be right back!¡± ¡°When you¡¯re done, do your thing now. There is no need to be back.¡± ¡°Yay, thank you!¡± Gerard, who was even allowed to leave in an instant, quickly left the office, wondering if he would change his words. *** Uncle, who seemed like he wouldn¡¯t take me to the Imperial Palace, told me to prepare to go to the Imperial Palace through Gerard yesterday night. Fearing that Uncle would change his words, I had been begging Zenda to prepare in advance since then. The next morning. As soon as breakfast was over, I packed the letter and handfuls of candy into the round little yellow bag Zenda had prepared and I finished preparing. And when Uncle called, I ran straight to his room. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m here! It¡¯s so pretty, isn¡¯t it!¡± As soon as I opened the door and entered the room, I said, ¡°tada!¡± and showed off my dress. Although Uncle didn¡¯t even look this way, I even turned around. Nevertheless, Uncle, who didn¡¯t look up, had his legs slightly bent even though he was sitting on the end of the table. ¡°Are you going to a party?¡± Ah, he obviously didn¡¯t see it, though! ¡°No. But I want to wear the prettiest thing. There are beads here too. Pearl!¡± I showed the beads tightly studded with a pale yellow lace dress. How is it, how is it? Very pretty, right? ¡°Why is the bib that color.¡± CH 13 Flinch. I puffed out my cheeks, realizing that he was pointing at my light blue collar. ¡°It¡¯s not a bib, it¡¯s a collar. This represents the sky. The dress is flowers, and the socks are originally grass, but there is no green, that¡¯s why Zenda wants to do it with the grass that hit the eye.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care¡­ Then why are your shoes black?¡± Phew, Uncle. You don¡¯t know that either. You don¡¯t have the slightest bit of fashion sense. His face crumpled, yet I concentrated on explaining. ¡°Uncle, you don¡¯t even know that? It¡¯s soil. There must be soil for grass and flowers to grow.¡± ¡°So your hair is dark clouds?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Shocked by those words, I stopped walking towards him. ¡­H-How can you say such harsh words? ¡°Go back and ask Zenda to dress you in a decent way.¡± To think that he said, ¡®in a decent way¡¯. It¡¯s so pretty, though! I stamped my foot in anger. ¡°I-I¡¯m going to wear this. I heard that as long as I bring a handkerchief and a nice bag, I can wear whatever I want.¡± ¡°Yeah. Do as you please.¡± Still, Uncle, who seemed uninterested, pointed at me with his finger, telling me to come closer. ¡°Uncle, did you see the present I gave you yesterday?¡± ¡°Did I see it, I wonder.¡± ¡°Huh? I asked Leto to put it on the desk, didn¡¯t you see it?¡± ¡°Not sure, I think I saw it.¡± He couldn¡¯t even show it, so I stamped my feet and said urgently, fearing that he might have lost it. ¡°Look for it later, okay? I told Leto to put it in the middle of your desk, though? It¡¯s a square box like this, but it has blue, purple, and yellow colors.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Although his tone is snarky, today Uncle was really cool. It was similar to the uniform Mom wore every day to work, but there was more to it. As I approached Uncle, he put something around my neck. ¡°Uncle, but what is this?¡± I opened my eyes wide and looked at him. What he gave me before going on a picnic to the Imperial Palace was a necklace. However, the necklace was strange. Something was written on an elongated rectangular gold plate that was almost the size of my two palms. [Kassel de Leguier] It said so loudly. What the hell is this. It wasn¡¯t even my name. ¡°¡­It¡¯s your uncle¡¯s name.¡± And why is the necklace so big? I doubted it, yet Uncle rather tapped the necklace with his name on it with his finger and showed a satisfied expression. ¡°If it¡¯s a bastard with eyes in the Empire, there¡¯s no way they won¡¯t know my name.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go running around like a puppy¡¯s poop just because you put this on. Show this to anyone who dares to jump at you. Don¡¯t make trouble.¡± I held the flat, square-shaped pendant and looked back and forth between Uncle and the pendant. It¡¯s like a dog name tag¡­ ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s embarrassing.¡± I¡¯m not even a dog, so why are you asking me to wear something like this? I wore pretty clothes at best, but I guess all people could only see a shiny gold necklace. ¡°You just go out and cause trouble, bothering people.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t cause any trouble. Can I take it off then?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Hnggg.¡± ¡°Go to your room and get ready. let go.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all ready.¡± ¡°Then follow Gerard and go to the carriage first.¡± ¡°¡­Am I really going to do this?¡± For real? I don¡¯t want this, though. I prepared everything with pretty clothes, but what is this? I tried to persuade him somehow, yet I kept my mouth shut because Uncle would put a bigger one on my back. Still, a necklace is better than a gold turtle! I was forced to wear a large gold necklace and reluctantly headed for the carriage. Every time I walk, it seems to make a rattling sound. It felt like everyone was looking at me, as well as Zenda, who was supposed to go with me. She said that I would ride the carriage and share a lot of fun stories with Uncle, and that she would follow me. I like riding the carriage with Zenda, yet somehow she was afraid of riding in the same carriage with Uncle. Soon after, Uncle got on and the carriage started. The carriage, which had been moving slowly through the garden, sped up as soon as it got on the road. Fresh green leaves quickly brushed past us. The sun was also high, and it seemed that even with the windows closed, I could smell the sunlight and the smell of grass. I reached out my hand to catch the white cumulus clouds that were eagerly following us through the window. ¡°Does Uncle work in the imperial palace like Mom?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Mom went to the Imperial Palace every day, though.¡± ¡°Because she was the Prime Minister.¡± I suddenly became curious. What happened to the place after Mom was gone? ¡°Then who will do Mom¡¯s job now?¡± ¡°The old man is in charge temporarily.¡± I jerked my head away from the window. ¡°Grandpa?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Then isn¡¯t Grandpa busy too? Grandpa asked me to come and he would play with me anytime. Come to think of it, there were times when Grandpa wasn¡¯t there when I woke up in the morning, but he would still show up after a while if I looked for him. Grandpa seems to be someone who can work faster than Mom. ¡°Then can I see Grandpa today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you will.¡± After hearing that, I wished the carriage would run faster. #2. I Made a Friend. Pretty and Kind! We arrived at the Imperial Palace, which was gold and white everywhere. Uncle got off first and I jumped off the carriage before he could even drop me off. The large necklace jingled against the buttons. Uncle opened his axe eyes for an instant, but I escaped with a, hehe laugh. Then, holding on to the hem of Uncle¡¯s clothes, I opened my mouth wide and tried to capture the palace at a glance. ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s very big here. Isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Then follow me well.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I grabbed his clothes and followed him eagerly. Uncle has long legs, that¡¯s why if I don¡¯t follow him quickly, I¡¯ll miss him instantly, yet today he was strangely slow. The golden necklace sparkled in the sunlight. Because of this, people passing by seemed to stare at me once in a while. ¡°Uncle, it seems like everyone is looking at me.¡± ¡°A walking peanut must seem strange.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s because of the necklace, though?¡± ¡°If you go quietly, no one will look at you.¡± I pouted at those words. ¡°Uncle, why are some people wearing white and others wearing black?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because each of their workplaces is different. Well, to put it simply, departments that meet a lot of outsiders, no, people, wear white clothes. The ones who do physical labor a lot are wearing a dark green uniform.¡± Instead of Uncle, Gerard kindly informed me. ¡°Ah, Mom wore black. Like Uncle, the gold rope runs like this. Ah, and she wore white sometimes too!¡± ¡°Yes. Most of the people who work in the Emperor¡¯s Palace wear black. She probably wore white to events or large gatherings.¡± ¡°I see. It¡¯s interesting. Is there a yellow one too?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I don¡¯t know about that. Will they wear it at events? When I find out later, I will be sure to tell you.¡± ¡°Thanks, Gerard!¡± Uncle walked through the halls of the palace and had several conversations with people in black uniforms. After a while, he entered the large door following the guide to come inside. ¡°Uncle, where are we?¡± ¡°This is where you wait before your audience with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. I will be waiting here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting here too, Miss.¡± ¡°Zenda too?¡± ¡°Yes, the nice people inside will take care of you. Miss, see you later.¡± Uncle told me that originally, we could go in together, but today, he asked me to see him separately. ¡°Yeah, then see you later!¡± When Uncle and I went somewhere alone, another short hallway came out. I grabbed the tip of Uncle¡¯s little finger and asked. ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s difficult to meet His Imperial Majesty. Isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because your legs are short.¡± ¡°T-They¡¯re not.¡± As if on an adventure, we passed through corridors and several spaces, and finally arrived at the meeting place. Various snacks and food were already prepared on the table. Even though it was indoors, there were many flowers and a large harp and musical instruments on one side. The person who escorted us said that His Imperial Majesty was still taking care of business and that he would be a bit late. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor was just like Mom, who was always busy. At Uncle¡¯s urging not to get into trouble, I walked around cautiously. By the time I looked around, the door that had been firmly closed opened. ¡°Even though I set aside time in the morning, I was delayed. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± It¡¯s His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. CH 14 ¡°I¡¯m greeting Your Imperial Majesty.¡± Uncle got up first and greeted him. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to see you in private, Marquis.¡± ¡°As you know, I¡¯m busy.¡± I grabbed the hem of my dress, put one leg slightly behind me, and bowed. ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, hello! I¡¯m Aika de Valiott!¡± And I raised my head. ¡°¡­So you¡¯re Aika.¡± The Emperor bent down on one knee and met my gaze. The clothes worn by the Emperor were more splendid than any clothes I had seen while passing through the Imperial Palace. Winchester Gaia Selledor. Mom told me I must know the name of His Imperial Majesty, the Sun of the Empire, that¡¯s why I memorized it. His purple eyes, which were said to be the symbol of the Imperial Family, were bright and mysterious. Curiously, his black night sky-like hair was the same color as mine. Mom said it was the prettiest color in the world. The Emperor stared at me with that posture for a long time. And only after a longer period of time did he ask, as if he was spitting out something with difficulty. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can I hug you?¡± I nodded my head without hesitation. ¡°Sure!¡± Because it was such an easy thing. Contrary to my thoughts, however, the Emperor hesitated with his arms open. It wasn¡¯t until I took a step closer that very large arms covered me. I felt a small trembling along with a low, long sigh, as if he was holding my breath and then exhaling it. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know you were this big¡­ I¡¯ve been looking forward to the day I can meet you so much. Thank you for coming.¡± I was held there for several minutes as if time had stopped. But how long do we have to stay like this? Unable to bear the wait, I raised my head and opened my mouth. ¡°Your Imperial Majesty the Emperor?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He hurriedly removed me from his chest like a frightened person. Even then, the Emperor shuddered like a man in the cold. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°How nice of you.¡± The Emperor was smiling softly, yet he had a strange expression on his face. It had a lot of emotions, but it was such a sharp face on which I couldn¡¯t tell what kind of emotion it had. I quietly blinked. ¡°¡­Are you really Mom¡¯s friend?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m close to Seria, and also Kassel.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Even as I nodded, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off the black hair that shimmered in front of my nose. The Emperor¡¯s eyes went down my chin. ¡°Your necklace is cute.¡± It was because of the large necklace. I felt like my face was burning up. ¡°U-Uncle told me to.¡± ¡°How very nice.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± With a belated thought, I rummaged through my bag and took out a brooch. ¡°This is a gift.¡± ¡°¡­For me?¡± The Emperor¡¯s eyes doubled in size in an instant. I held out my two hands and carefully placed the brooch on it. ¡°Yes, thank you for inviting me. I made this!¡± Then, his eyes widened like crescent moons. ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s the most special gift I¡¯ve ever received. I¡¯ll keep it carefully.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Should we eat something delicious now?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you will like.¡± The Emperor rose from his seat and waved his hand at someone. After a while, drinks and snacks were set, much more than there are now on the table. I passed the time sitting next to Uncle and talking to the Emperor. He smiled more than I had imagined, was warmer, and seemed more curious about me. For example, the food I like to eat, my favorite color, my favorite things, and the things I like to do the most. ¡°I think I know why it¡¯s hard to see your face. Even if someone like me is with Aika, it won¡¯t be a waste of time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating.¡± ¡°Uncle doesn¡¯t play well with me.¡± At this time, I wanted to tell him Uncle¡¯s atrocities. He was higher than Grandpa and Mom, so it¡¯s good to tell him at times like this. The Emperor laughed again as Uncle twitched his eyebrows. ¡°Kassel doesn¡¯t play well with me either. He has a lot of excuses for being busy.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, really. So I hope Aika will visit often and play with me.¡± ¡°Can I really come again?¡± ¡°Of course. You can come whenever you want to. Then your uncle will take you. If you put your mind to it, you can know all about my schedule. Right, Kassel?¡± ¡°Why are you involving me there? How annoying.¡± ¡°Oho, what you just said to me is so rude.¡± ¡°I was talking to a close friend.¡± The Emperor smiled kindly, and Uncle pressed his temples with a bewildered face. ¡°Then, Your Imperial Majesty the Emperor and I will be friends now?¡± The Emperor raised his eyebrows and nodded his head as I did. ¡°Sure. If your uncle bothers you in the future, you can tell me.¡± Gasp, such a good thing! I was so happy that I was about to run around, but I noticed Uncle and motioned to the Emperor to lend an ear. ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± I whispered to the Emperor, who leaned towards me, cupped his hand in his ear. ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, if Uncle is harassing you, you can tell me. We¡¯re friends, you know.¡± Then he burst into laughter again. ¡°Hey, what did you say?¡± Uncle, who looked like he had all the complaints about the world from earlier, asked. I turned my eyes and shrugged my shoulders. ¡°N-Nothing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret between us. Right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I quickly nodded my head. And seeing the Emperor like that, I thought that it would be nice if he could share only half of his personality with my Uncle. ¡°Ah, right. Solar, bring me some of that.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± A dark green bobbed hair sister, who was neatly buttoned up to the top of her neck, bowed and quickly brought out a small box. The Emperor took it and handed it to me. ¡°Now, this is the gift I was going to give you.¡± It was a box covered in velvet cloth. ¡°What is this?¡± When the Emperor opened the lid, a long silver key was revealed. ¡°It¡¯s the key to the Imperial Family¡¯s Ancient Book room (¹Å•øÊÒ).¡± ¡°What is the Ancient Book?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very old book. It tells us the wisdom we didn¡¯t know and holds many things.¡± ¡°Whoa, really?¡± ¡°I¡¯m finally giving you the gift because Seria asked me, she said Aika is so smart that she will really need it.¡± I paused as I took out the key from the box. Mom? ¡°Mom did?¡± I looked back and forth between Uncle and His Majesty the Emperor. Uncle nodded his head as if he was fine, not angry as he usually does. ¡°She said if it¡¯s Aika, maybe you¡¯ll find something special in it that only you can know.¡± ¡°Did Mom¡­ really?¡± ¡°Yeah. You can come and see it anytime if you¡¯re curious. Other than this, you can ask me for anything. From now on.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± A gift Mom asked for. A gift from Mom. I hugged the key with both hands and held it to my chest. For some reason, I seemed to feel Mom¡¯s warmth. I hugged it for a while and bowed my head when the key got warm. Ah, geez, I should thank him. ¡°Thank you!¡± I put the key back in the box and gave it to Uncle. ¡°Uncle, have this.¡± Even if Uncle was a bit picky, he was the only one I could trust. ¡°And now you¡¯re bossy.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s gone, we¡¯ll have a big problem.¡± ¡°Sir Russphe has arrived.¡± I heard a man who seemed to be the Emperor¡¯s subordinate speak quietly in his ear. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s here. Tell him to come in. Just as my nephew entered the palace, I thought he could become friends with Aika, that¡¯s why I called him here.¡± And a little later, a boy who seemed to be my age came in with the subordinate who had left quickly. ¡°I¡¯m greeting Your Imperial Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.¡± The Emperor rose from his seat as if to welcome him. The boy bowed down and greeted him with a clear voice, then took a few more steps this way. ¡°Russphe, welcome.¡± His hair, which covered half of his eyebrows, was a very light silver. ¡®It¡¯s like moonlight. How pretty.¡¯ The tip was slightly curled, so it seemed to be fluffy and soft to touch. And the purple eyes, a symbol of the imperial lineage, felt like a new look with sharp eyes. The boy who was approaching me stopped walking as if he was startled when his eyes met mine. The eyes, which felt coy, quickly became round and pretty eyes. Why is he looking at me like that? Is there something on my face? CH 15 I hurriedly rubbed my cheeks. ¡°Now, come here and greet each other. It¡¯s my nephew, Russphe. This is Aika, the niece of Marquis Leguier. Since you¡¯re both 7 years old, I think you can be good friends.¡± I stretched out my hand without hesitation. ¡°Hello, nice to meet you! I¡¯m Aika.¡± Then the boy hurriedly hid behind the Emperor and hesitated. I held out my hand and waited quietly. The boy squirmed and after a long time, he grabbed my hand. ¡°¡­I¡¯m Russphe.¡± Russphe¡¯s ears turned bright red as I squeezed his hand with joy at the thought of having a friend. ¡°Who did you come with? I came with my uncle. It¡¯s very spacious here.¡± ¡°I-I came alone. Ah, with the attendant.¡± I heard that Russphe was the same age as me, yet he came often enough to go to the Imperial Palace alone. ¡°You¡®re so cool.¡± ¡°¡­Not really.¡± Somehow, this time Russphe¡¯s face seemed to be all red. He¡¯s a very shy kid. I should treat him a little more kindly. I smiled with the brightest expression I could make. ¡°I was worried because Russphe was very shy, but Aika greeted him first, how grateful I am.¡± ¡°She¡¯s the kind of brat who greets even passing butterflies.¡± Next to me, Uncle helped me with his arms crossed. I glared at Uncle. What¡¯s wrong with saying hello to the butterflies! ¡°Your Imperial Majesty. Now you really have to go see the government affairs.¡± At the words of the attendant, the Emperor let out a low sigh. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get up soon.¡± Blinking my eyes, I looked up at the Emperor with a dark expression. ¡°Your Majesty, do you not want to work?¡± A warm light penetrated the face of the Emperor again. ¡°Well, sometimes I don¡¯t. It¡¯s all the more so because Aika came to see me today too.¡± ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°How?¡± As before, I raised my hands and gestured to him to lend his ears. The Emperor smiled again and leaned over to me. I whispered a little. ¡°You can pretend to have a stomach ache when you don¡¯t want to. They¡¯ll tell you to go to bed and lie down.¡± ¡°Stomach?¡± The question came back with a small laugh. I whispered in a quieter voice. ¡°Yes, you shouldn¡¯t do it every day, but if you don¡¯t want to work, you can do it. It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°That sounds like a really good way. I¡¯ll try to use it when I really don¡¯t want to work.¡± The Emperor¡¯s voice diminished as well. I nodded and even put on a small tip. ¡°But you have to say that it hurts just a little bit. If you say you¡¯re in a lot of pain, they will tell you to take medicine.¡± ¡°Haha! I¡¯ll make sure to remember that. Just a little bit, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. This is also a secret.¡± ¡°Alright, this is a secret. We already have a second secret.¡± ¡°What are you two whispering about?¡± Hearing Uncle¡¯s voice, I stepped back and pretended not to know. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything!¡± When he glanced at the Emperor, the Emperor winked with one eye. I wanted to follow along, but my eyes were closed so I couldn¡¯t see anything in front of me. ¡°The garden connected to this place is safe, so play as much as you like. Kassel, I¡¯m sorry, but I need you to take care of the children. See you at our next regular meeting.¡± Uncle nodded. The Emperor was really getting up and preparing to leave. Yet instead of leaving right away, he bent down on one knee and took my hands, just like when he first entered. Holding his hands, I stared blankly at the Emperor. ¡°Aika.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get sick, don¡¯t get hurt, and if you have any concerns, you can visit me anytime. Understand?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I nodded vigorously. ¡°I hope you always smile like that. See you next time, Aika.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Imperial Majesty the Emperor, do your best! See you next time!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Before long, the Emperor left with his subordinates, leaving me, Uncle, and Russphe. ¡°Two Peanuts, I¡¯ll be watching you here, so don¡¯t make any accidents nearby and go play.¡± Uncle sat cross-legged and went to the garden and flicked his fingers in amazement. There was a lot of annoying scolding. ¡°Is Uncle not going? I¡¯m not familiar with this place.¡± ¡°You just have to play in front of me.¡± ¡°I want to do a lot of sightseeing¡­¡± I want to see here and theeeeere too. Even when I sent a pitiful look at him, Uncle was unmoved. He was really bad. However, someone gently grabbed my hand from the side and pulled me. I turned my head and saw Russphe¡¯s hand. ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± ¡°Ah, Russphe!¡± His face turned red again. ¡°I-I will tell you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, I come here often.¡± I smiled wide with joy. ¡°Wow, thanks! Russphe is really kind. Then let¡¯s go over there and play, and take a look!¡± Instead of answering, he nodded quietly. I secretly stuck out my tongue at Uncle and followed Russphe in a hurry. As soon as he opened the large transparent glass door leading to the garden, the smell of flowers was enough to tickle my nose. Russphe and I wandered non stop along the wide garden path. There were also many adults in the garden in dresses or robes. There are no tall flowers or trees in the garden here, that¡¯s why you can see far away even if you step out a little. ¡°Whoa. It¡¯s my favorite yellow flower. Come over here, Russphe!¡± I squatted down in front of the yellow flowers that bloomed, stretching their necks to get the sunlight. And without taking my eyes off of them, I called Russphe with my hand. ¡°Russphe, do you like flowers?¡± ¡°¡­I never thought I liked it, but today¡­ place¡­ to see.¡± Russphe, who was crouching next to me, murmured softly. ¡°Hm? You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°N-No. I like flowers too.¡± ¡°Really? Then we like the same thing, don¡¯t we!¡± Russphe nodded eagerly. ¡°Huh? Look at this!¡± I found small purple flowers hiding in the corner of a pile of bright yellow flowers. Mom said I shouldn¡¯t pick flowers, but I wanted to let Russphe know. I picked one of the three little purple flowers and showed it to Ruspe. ¡°Look at this, it¡¯s the same color as your eyes.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yeah. Even though it also has the same color as His Imperial Majesty¡¯s eyes. Shall I show you something more amazing?¡± Then Russphe gave me a small nod with a curious face. I made a small hole with my fingernail in the stem just behind the flower. Then I rolled the stem into a circle and carefully inserted the tip into it. I handed out the finished purple ring to Russphe. ¡°Now, it¡¯s a present!¡± Receiving it with both hands, Russphe placed the flower in his palm, at a loss for what to do. I picked up the flower ring again and put it on Russphe¡¯s second finger. ¡°This is how you do it. Isn¡¯t it pretty?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Russphe stared at the flower ring on his finger for a long time. Chill. I was about to touch the yellow petals again, but I felt a sudden sting. Although I was startled and looked around, there was nothing. I got up abruptly and called for Russphe, who was still unable to take his eyes off the flower ring. ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡± Flinch. But for some reason, the more I walked around the garden, the more I suddenly felt a strange feeling. It was like a cold chill, and it felt like it had seeped in when I was suddenly trying to see the future. Is it just me? Russphe seemed unconcerned. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked him just in case. ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± I guess I¡¯m the only one who feels that way. Flinch. As I took a step further, the strange chill gradually turned into a feeling of fear. Involuntarily, I felt as if my feet were being pushed forward step by step. ¡°Ah.¡± A chill like frost, and even a sting in my buzzing ears made me tremble without realizing it. Even then, it didn¡¯t go away, so I stopped walking and hugged my body with both arms. What¡¯s wrong with me? I was overcome with a strange feeling that if I let go of my focus, I would be unknowingly possessed and go somewhere. ¡°¡­ka.¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°Aika, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Russphe looked at me and asked. I turned hastily in contemplation. I can¡¯t. I have to go home. All I could think about was that I had to go to Uncle as soon as possible. ¡°Russphe, I¡¯m sorry! I have to go to Uncle!¡± CH 16 And I ran as fast as I could to where Uncle was. I came to a farther place than I thought and my heart sank. Coincidentally, or perhaps he was looking at us, Uncle had already come out of the room and was coming this way. ¡°Uncle!¡± I ran harder and hugged him. At the same time, I felt a solid sense of stability. Before long, Uncle¡¯s heavy hand rested on my head. ¡°Why. Did that Peanut hit you?¡± I hugged Uncle¡¯s thighs and shook my head. ¡°N-No.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°L-Let¡¯s go home now.¡± Let¡¯s go quickly, please? I looked up at him with desperate eyes. ¡°Tsk.¡± I winced at the sound of Uncle¡¯s tongue clicking and tried to loosen my arms, but my body flashed. In the blink of an eye, I was hugged, and uncle¡¯s gaze became equal with mine. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re troublesome. Are we going right away?¡± It sounds like we¡¯re going home. I nodded broadly, then paused and shook my head. ¡°Can I just greet Russphe before we leave?¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°There.¡± Uncle strode in the direction I was reaching for. But on the other side, Russphe was hurriedly running towards me. ¡°Russphe?¡± I got off Uncle¡¯s body and looked at Russphe, who had stopped in front of me. Then he caught his breath and he pulled something out at me. These were the three yellow flowers I saw while crouching with him earlier. The stems were jagged and crushed arbitrarily, probably because they were ripped off a little too hard. ¡°Are you giving it to me?¡± ¡°I want to give you a present too.¡± Saying that, Russphe¡¯s face was the reddest I¡¯d ever seen. It seemed like he ran too fast. His silky silver hair was more puffy than before. Uncle snorted, saying, ¡°Brat things.¡± But I ignored it and accepted the flowers. It¡¯s like proof that Russphe accepted me as a friend. ¡°Thank you! I guess I should go home now. It was really fun today.¡± ¡°Hmm, then goodbye.¡± At Russphe¡¯s shy greeting, I waved my hand and went to Uncle, but then I turned back. ¡°Hey, Russphe. Do you come here often?¡± ¡°Yeah. Why?¡± ¡°We¡¯re friends now. Let¡¯s play more next time!¡± ¡°Next time¡­?¡± Ruspe¡¯s face brightened as if a light was shone on it. ¡°Yeah, next time. Then bye, for real!¡± As I finally turned around, I felt a force pulling me from behind. ¡°Huh?¡± Turning around, Russphe was pulling my clothes. It was the first time he had acted first as he was shy when I spoke to him all day. He was just like when he ran earlier. ¡°W-When are you coming back?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s when¡­¡± I don¡¯t know. However, Russphe was staring at her too closely for me to say I don¡¯t know. Maybe because his eyes were pretty, he even seemed eager to shine brightly. ¡°Ah, uh¡­ T-Ten nights of sleep!¡± ¡°Ten nights?¡± I glanced at Uncle and nodded. If he doesn¡¯t like it, he¡¯ll just say no. I quickly rummaged through my bag and pulled out a handful of candy. When I handed it out to Russphe, he made a puzzled face and spread his hands. I stopped putting the candy on his hands. No, I need to give him all. I even took off the remaining candies and handed it all to Russphe. ¡°Yeah, this is a gift too. I¡¯ll sleep ten nights and come back. Let¡¯s meet again and play next time, just us.¡± Russphe took the candies with his hands folded just like when he received a flower ring earlier and muttered, ¡°Ten nights¡­¡± The flower ring I made was still on his second finger. He eventually nodded again. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Then, goodbye, really!¡± I hung around Uncle¡¯s neck as if I was riding on him again, holding the flower Russphe gave me and waving it loudly. ¡°¡­See you again, Aika.¡± As we strode away, Russphe¡¯s small, shy voice was vaguely heard. *** ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s time to go back.¡± As soon as the backs of Aika and Marquis Leguier disappeared, Russphe¡¯s attendant, Kamaye, approached just in time. Maybe Marquis Leguier gave him some candy as a snack? Russphe nodded at Kamaye¡¯s words, yet he took one step at a time, worried that the candies in his hands might fall. ¡°I¡¯ll hold it for you.¡± Kamaye held out his hands to get the candies. Russphe shook his head instead of handing out those candies. ¡°I¡¯ll hold it.¡± Not only did he say that, he was also afraid that it would be taken away, so he pushed it closer to his body. As Kamaye watched Russphe¡¯s unsteady gait, he couldn¡¯t help but question him. ¡°By the way, where did you get so much candy?¡± Russphe doesn¡¯t like sweets very much. Even when he pushed sweet and colorful candies and chocolates right in front of his nose, he always just stared at those and avoided them. There were many times when he refused to eat warm cocoa or sweet cakes that those of his age enjoyed eating. Moreover, he was picky, so most of the time he left snacks that Kamaye had brought. Occasionally, the only things I put in my mouth were tea that was too light for his age and biscuits that weren¡¯t sweet. Even more, when he was asked, ¡°Is it delicious?¡±, he would give it to Kamaye to eat. Yet he doesn¡¯t even let him touch it? And it¡¯s candies? That¡¯s why, he¡¯s just curious. Now, the colorful candies piled up in Russphe¡¯s palm looked foreign to the eyes of Kamaye, who watched him closely. ¡°Somebody gave me a present¡­ A friend.¡± Kamaye¡¯s eyes widened slightly when he realized that the friend was Lady Valiott. ¡°So these are the candies that Lady Valiott gave you as a gift.¡± ¡°Yeah. Ah, Kamaye. I think I will need a pretty glass bottle when we get home.¡± Seeing him walking stealthily, concentrating on whether even one of the candies would fall, Kamaye seemed to know why he needed the glass bottle. Moreover, to think that the Young Master, who rarely expresses anything, would look like that. Kamaye recalled the girl he had seen from afar earlier. Her cheeks were soft and immaculate like peaches, her eyes were big, and her shiny, black hair was tied in two pigtails, making her look like a pretty baby rabbit. How well her colorful, brightly colored clothes fit her. She stood out, and his eyes couldn¡¯t help but gaze at her. Even among His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Marquis Leguier, who were said to be the best men of the time, Lady Valiott stood out in particular. ¡®Young Master Russphe also¡­¡¯ ¡°As soon as I get back, I¡¯ll get you the prettiest glass bottle.¡± Kamaye walked behind Russphe with a happy heart. ¡°Hm, a ribbon too. Maybe yellow would be nice.¡± Saying that, Russphe¡¯s cheeks turned red again. *** As soon as I got home, I was relieved to be out of harm¡¯s way. I changed my mind and went back to see Grandpa, but I heard that he had already entered a meeting with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and wouldn¡¯t be able to see me. So I had no choice but to come home. But what was that strange feeling? There was nothing suspicious nearby¡­ ¡°Ah, I saw a big tower and a willow tree covering it.¡± Anyway, it was really weird. I thought I might be seeing a dangerous scene again, yet the vision didn¡¯t come to me all the way home in the carriage. So I had no choice but to ask more questions. ¡°Miss, the bath water is ready. Shall we go?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah!¡± I couldn¡¯t get out of the scary thoughts for such a long time, and I was able to get out of it only after Zenda came in. Then, until evening, while Zenda was busy, I spent time lying in bed. I put the key to the Imperial Ancient Book room that I received as a gift today. ¡°Next time I go there, I must stop by the Ancient Book room.¡± I wondered if it might be a place Mom often went to. The flower Russphe gave me was a bit wilted, that¡¯s why Zenda put it in a vase. She even said that after a few days, she would dry it up nicely and put it in a book. Then the face of the Emperor came to my mind, followed by his black hair. ¡°That¡¯s right. He has the same hair color as mine.¡± A little question slowly crept into bloom. CH 17 I lay in bed and wrote down my thoughts on the drawing paper in my head. A person like the night sky that I dare not reach. A precious friend of Mom. The same black hair as mine. [Don¡¯t get sick, don¡¯t get hurt, and if you have any concerns, you can visit me anytime. Understand?] [I hope you always smile like that. See you next time, Aika.] ¡­A person who is too good for me. ¡°Gasp.¡± I rolled over and fell flat. No way. *** ¡°Where did Uncle go?¡± I couldn¡¯t contain my curiosity and came out. Then, I wandered through the hallways, looking for Uncle everywhere. At the end of the hallway, I saw a familiar brown-haired, green-eyed man. It was Leto who managed this large mansion on behalf of Uncle. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that Leto was the most neat person here. Even though he¡¯s always busy, his clothes are clean and wrinkle-free every time I see him. ¡°Leto!¡± ¡°Miss, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Did you see Uncle?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in the office now.¡± Leto kindly gave me the answer I wanted. ¡°Then is Uncle working now?¡± ¡°Yes, maybe. Do you have something urgent to do?¡± ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s not it. There is something I want to ask him.¡± Leto seemed to think for a moment, then turned to Uncle¡¯s office. ¡°I can¡¯t do it, but the Miss will be fine. I will take you there.¡± ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t Leto busy?¡± ¡°I always have the time to pick the Miss up.¡± Leto grinned and held out his white gloved hand. ¡°I like Leto, Leto is kind, just like Zenda.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard a compliment about me being kind.¡± I held Leto¡¯s hand and headed for Uncle¡¯s office with more confidence. But the moment Leto knocked on the door, I hid behind him. ¡°Master, the cute Miss Aika has come to visit.¡± ¡°What cute.¡± I hid behind Leto and listened to Uncle¡¯s grunts. But it seems that he¡¯s not in a bad mood, though! Originally, he would have kicked me out before even entering, saying, ¡°Send her back.¡± ¡°You may go in, Miss.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± Leto, who opened the door and even greeted me, told me to have a good time and went back on his way. I made an imaginary line under the door and jumped in. ¡°¡­¡± Great, no interest so far! No problem! I mustered up a little more courage and put my hands behind me, moving closer to Uncle. Then I hung around until Uncle reacted. ¡°Why again? If you have something to say, do it quickly.¡± He flipped through the papers without looking at me. ¡°Uncle, I have something to ask you.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°You know. Is His Imperial Majesty the Emperor married?¡± Uncle, who was just signing with a pen, looked up. His face asked, ¡°I¡¯m busy to death, but are you calling that a question?¡± ¡°Why are you curious about whether he¡¯s married or not?¡± ¡°I-I might be wondering! Starting today, I decided to become friends with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor.¡± ¡°Gosh, your reason is also brilliant.¡± I didn¡¯t care about Uncle¡¯s face that said I was full of energy, and asked. ¡°Huh? Tell me, Uncle. Is he married or not?¡± Unknowingly, his eyes returned to the papers. I guess he thought it was a pointless question. ¡°He¡¯s not.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not? Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. I answered, so don¡¯t bother me and leave.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t he?¡± Uncle finally opened his ax eyes. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going?¡± I hurriedly ran and used the door frame as a shield to half-hide myself and held on steadfastly. ¡°If only Uncle would tell me that!¡± ¡°I guess there was no one with whom he did it.¡± ¡°Is it because there¡¯s a fateful love? Like in a fairy tale?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I guess so.¡± ¡°Ah, Uncleeee! Then who is that fateful love? If¡­¡± Grit. ¡°Niece. Why should I even know the Emperor¡¯s love story?¡± Uncle growled, his eyebrows twitching and his face boiling with fever. It seems that the sound just came out of Uncle¡¯s mouth. While doing so, he smiled and looked like a reaper from hell. A red warning light came on above his head. ¡°I-I got it¡­¡± First of all, retreat. Judging by the look on his face, it seemed that if I did any more, I would be kicked out to the stable, not even the guest room. I looked at Uncle and stepped back. In fact, I tried to go in one more time, yet as soon as I put my toe in again as if I was dipping it in water, I heard a ¡°sssssp¡± sound and failed. ¡°Tch, Uncle won¡¯t even tell me when you¡¯re friends with His Imperial Majesty.¡± I brushed off my dress and came out into the hallway. ¡°¡­¡± Ah, I¡¯m so curious, I can¡¯t do this. I put my feet on the floor again and quietly took a step back. However, the moment I grabbed the door frame of the office with my hand, I met Uncle¡¯s big eyes. I failed miserably again. Well, it¡¯s okay. I just have to wait for the next opportunity. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not going back because I¡¯m afraid of Uncle, you know? *** ¡°What are you preparing, Uncle?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wearing pretty clothes now. Can¡¯t I go too?¡± A few days passed after that. I took a few chances and asked Uncle about the Emperor, but I was being rejected each time. Just because Uncle didn¡¯t tell me, it wasn¡¯t that there was no way to find out. Grandpa is there and everything else is, well. But today, something is a little different! I thought he¡¯d be home when the sun went down, yet Uncle had changed into pretty clothes, as if he was going out. Where is he going? It was clear he wasn¡¯t going to sleep at least. ¡°Follow me if you know where I¡¯m going.¡± ¡°Hmmm, I don¡¯t know! Where Uncle goes.¡± I¡¯m harmless! I appealed and laughed, yet Uncle pushed my forehead with his index finger. ¡°What. You brat try to follow every step. After dinner, go to sleep.¡± ¡°Tell me where you¡¯re going.¡± I almost sat down, grabbed the hem of Uncle¡¯s clothes and clung to him tenaciously. Clinging on him is my specialty, well. Yesterday, he secretly went somewhere during the day! I endured it because, fortunately, I didn¡¯t see the scary future where Uncle went wrong, but if it wasn¡¯t for that, it would have been a really big deal. And how boring it is when Uncle leaves. ¡°I said you don¡¯t have to know.¡± He growled again. I pursed my lips and let go of my hand. It sounds like he¡¯s more angry than usual. Is he forcing himself to go even if he doesn¡¯t want to? If I said I would follow him any further, I would really get scolded. Then¡­ ¡°Got it, Uncle! Have a nice trip.¡± I jumped up from my seat. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Zenda says good children go to bed early. So Uncle, enjoy your trip!¡± As I waved my hand, Uncle looked at me suspiciously. Either I told him that I would follow him or I wanted him to enjoy his trip, he looked at me that way! ¡°Stay calm at home.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Try to make trouble and see.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. Uncle, did you see me making one?¡± Looking up at him with an impudent face, Uncle¡¯s eyebrows wriggled like earthworms. ¡°Anyway, stay calm.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Even Uncle too, geez. I told you I never make trouble. *** A gloomy night. Kassel took a reluctant step and climbed into the carriage. He leaned back roughly and rubbed his hand between his brows, which were distorted with a mixture of annoyance and fatigue. ¡°We¡¯re leaving right now, Milord.¡± Kassel nodded and Gerard closed the carriage door. Ah, he should have gone to the room to check her and come back. At this time, she would be sleeping as if she had passed out anyway, but if he goes and wakes her up, he¡¯ll be the only one in trouble. Even if there¡¯s anything dangerous in the corners of the house, well, how dangerous is it? Rather, it was strange for him to be concerned. Soon the carriage began to move slowly, rolling its wheels. Kassel closed his eyes, thinking he was going to sleep until he arrived. Kassel wasn¡¯t a fan of banquets. It¡¯s because he¡¯s bothered by things that stick to him, and he¡¯s never seen a good one. Therefore, there are a few cases where Kassel attends banquets. In case it¡¯s held at the Imperial Palace. In case he¡¯s called or it¡¯s hosted by an elderly noble. In case of business expansion or when it¡¯s time to look at the trends of nobles. Lastly, in case there¡¯s any tough bastard. Usually, it was filtered for the first, second, and third reasons. Today is the second reason. It was the first banquet Valiott held and attended since Seria¡¯s death. ¡°¡­¡± In an instant, Kassel raised his eyes sharply again. ¡°Come out.¡± CH 18 There was no one in the carriage except Kassel. Kassel¡¯s face grew colder, and a troublesome sigh poured out. ¡°Peanut, come out.¡± There was still no one in the carriage. Only the rolling sound of carriage wheels and Kassel¡¯s voice linger. At that moment, with a rustle, a small wriggle appeared in the darkness under the opposite chair. Before long. ¡°¡­Wuaah!¡± Breathing heavily as if she had just been pulled out of the water, Aika stuck her head out from under the chair on the other side. The place where Aika went and hid was a space that could only fit a few small items. She was hiding in the cloth that covered the luggages. What should he do to that brat, really. How the hell did she get into that narrow gap? At the same time as his backbone ached, he met golden eyes that sparkled round. It pissed him off even more because it¡¯s the same eye color as his. ¡°Hehe, Uncle¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°H-How did you know?¡± Aika crouched out and sat with her knees on the ground, unable to stand up and turning her eyes, trying to get out of the situation. Perhaps she was determined to follow him, she was wearing a dress with ribbons all over it instead of pajamas. There were piles of dust all over the clothes she was wearing as she was hiding under the chair. She wasn¡¯t a good child who went to bed early, but disappeared to do this cunning thing. ¡°When did you get on?¡± Aika didn¡¯t reply. The sound of her little brain rolling could be heard all the way here. As he glared at her for a long time, Aika bit her mouth, wondering if she could do that. ¡°I-I just came out to greet Uncle, but¡­ Uncle came out late.¡± ¡°So you swiftly got on?¡± Aika¡¯s big eyes turned once more. His eyes could see that little brain was in constant motion. It was clear to anyone that she was determined to hide. She couldn¡¯t even think about it, but when he didn¡¯t come out, she must have decided to get on. That¡¯s what she came up with at best. She¡¯s not even a duckling that just hatched from an egg. Why is she following him around like this day and night? It would have been exhausting for him to get angry and kick her out, but it was crazy because she stayed with him all day laughing, hehe, like a goldfish the moment he turned around. He thought she would be like that inside the house, yet now she came out. What if he was going to a dangerous place, huh? Anyway, she¡¯s fearless. When he heard from his older sister, she said that she was a strong niece who listens well and stays at home alone. Where on earth is that? Seriously, what should he do with this little chestnut tree? Even if he puts her in a safe enclosure, she crazily jumps out and clings to him like a curious kitten. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Damn it, my head. Whether it was because of the rattling carriage or this mischievous niece, Kassel felt a strong headache and pressed his temples. He then tugged on a rope in the carriage. ¡°Yes, Milord!¡± At the same time, Gerard, who was sitting in the driver¡¯s seat with the coachman, stopped the carriage. Then Gerard hurriedly opened the carriage door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong¡­ Huh, Miss?¡± Gerard¡¯s eyes widened. Obviously, Kassel should be alone in the carriage, yet there was another rabbit-like figure. ¡°Gerard, helloowwwww¡­¡± The condition of the Miss, who didn¡¯t forget to greet him while keeping a close eye on Kassel, didn¡¯t look very good. No, to be precise, it¡¯s the atmosphere inside the carriage. ¡°Miss, why, no, how are you here?¡± ¡°Hmm, so I wanted to follow Uncle, then¡­¡± Aika continued to glance at Kassel as she brushed the dust off her clothes. ¡°You take her home and come back.¡± ¡°Waaaah, you can¡¯t!¡± Aika clung to Kassel. ¡°Who can¡¯t. You ain¡¯t getting down right away?¡± ¡°Uncle, can you take me too? Uncle is wearing pretty clothes, so it¡¯s not dangerous.¡± ¡°The moment you go there, it¡¯ll be a battlefield. Get down quickly.¡± ¡°Only for once!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be once every time, get off quickly.¡± ¡°Uh, uh¡­¡± Gerard stood between Kassel and Aika, unable to do anything about it. Aika held onto Kassel¡¯s pants, trying hard not to get down. Her eyes flashed brightly, ¡°Gerard, help me!¡± yet it was hard to refuse the request coldly. ¡°¡­Can¡¯t the Miss go with you today?¡± At that, Kassel rolled his eyes. ¡°Now you¡¯re talking nonsense?¡± ¡°I apologize. But this banquet is also where His Grace the Duke of Valiott is coming¡­¡± Kassel¡¯s eyes at Gerard were filled with vicious swear words. ¡°I apologize¡­¡± Gerard lowered his head and secretly winked at Aika. A bright smile spread across Aika¡¯s lips as she sat awkwardly on the ground and pricked up her ears. ¡°Grandpa?¡± Aika¡¯s voice popped out. At the same time, Aika hugged Kassel¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯m going to see Grandpa! Uncle, hm? I will be very quiet!¡± ¡°Haa.¡± He was stunned by the obvious strategy. Why is the old man there? That Gerard must have been taken aback by his niece¡¯s cuteness. He can¡¯t just throw both of them away. It was noticeable that Aika was twitching her hand and trying to get a chance to grab his. She seemed to think of holding his hand as a meaning of permission. He doesn¡¯t know why or what the law is, but she always seemed to have her own firm standards. If he drops off and comes back, he will be late. He¡¯s not sure he¡¯ll go alone even if he dies. I¡¯m dying of old age. ¡°Close the door.¡± Kassel finally raised the white flag. ¡°Wow!¡± Aika raised her hand and rejoiced while jumping. Gerard smiled and shouted, ¡°Yes, I understand! Milord!¡±, courageously closed the carriage door. As the carriage departed, Aika, who judged that there was no threat of her returning home, clung even closer to Kassel. ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re the best! Awesome! The best in Warford! The best in the world!¡± ¡°Sit up straight, my ears hurt.¡± Even so, Kassel didn¡¯t let go of the hands that were hugging him tightly without letting go. Aika, who was in high spirits, sang a song with incomprehensible lyrics. Something about canary, something about yellow flowers. Something about yellow cats, and something about white butterflies. Kassel glanced down at Aika and saw the dust still on her head. As he raised his hand to brush them off, Aika jerked her head. ¡°What, why.¡± ¡°Uncle, what were you going to do?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of it.¡± At the same time, he pretended not to care and carefully brushed the dust off Aika¡¯s head and shoulders. ¡°But, Uncle, where are we going?¡± She then became the perfect companion now that she had been allowed. What a nonsense. ¡°Wherever we¡¯re going. You can¡¯t get off the carriage.¡± ¡°Gasp, I don¡¯t want to!¡± ¡°How dare you talk back. Who told you to follow me?¡± Aika¡¯s cheeks swelled in an instant. ¡°This is all for Uncle, though?¡± If you can¡¯t talk. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s not talk.¡± Kassel eventually gave up on stopping his niece. #3. Uncle May Have Actually Been On My Side ¡°Wow, it¡¯s shiny!¡± Countless lanterns lit up the building. As if a bunch of stars were collected and scattered on the building. Uncle said that this is also Grandpa¡¯s. In fact, I¡¯ve been curious all this time. Where did Mom go while being dressed up so prettily even though she said it was a nuisance! When I asked where she was going, Mom always said, ¡°Aika, this is an extension of work. Haa.¡± I couldn¡¯t keep up because I chose not to interrupt when Mom said she was working. That¡¯s why I always wondered, as I decided to protect Uncle. Achieve that lofty goal! Solve my doubts too! That¡¯s how I tried to follow him, but if I had known it was such a cool place, I would have followed Mom right away. Didn¡¯t Gerard say this is where the banquet is held? I grabbed Uncle¡¯s clothes as he strode inside and followed him. ¡°Uncle, did Grandpa come first?¡± ¡°How would I know.¡± The more I passed through the corridors and entered the fancy banquet hall, the closer I got to Uncle. I didn¡¯t know because I had hardly ever left the house, but I realized something odd. Just like in the Imperial Palace, every time I passed by, people¡¯s eyes were all on me. CH 19 No one said a word, but their eyes were constantly following us. ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s Marquis Leguier, right?¡± ¡°I was wondering if he would come when Duke Valliot came in¡­ Such a candy to my eyes. Shall we greet him later?¡± ¡°By the way, who is the kid next to him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know? Why is that?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± A whispering voice came from somewhere. I eagerly stretched my legs and followed Uncle. ¡°Stay here a minute.¡± The place Uncle took me to was a place where I could avoid people¡¯s eyes a little. It was a separate space on one side of the banquet hall. There was a table where people could sit and chat under a dome-shaped canopy. Although it was open in the form of an arch-shaped door in all directions, it was a structure where you could sit with your eyes closed at any time. ¡°Huh? Uncle, where are you going?¡± ¡°I have something to do for a while, so stay here. Gerard, look after her.¡± ¡°Yes, Milord.¡± After saying that briefly, Uncle took a sharp look around and then went somewhere. Left alone with Gerard, I held the hand that he extended. ¡°Is Uncle busy here too?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s always like that.¡± ¡°I thought we came to eat something delicious.¡± ¡°If you stay here for a while, I will bring you something for you to eat.¡± ¡°Bring Gerard¡¯s too!¡± Then Gerard grinned and hurried to the nearby food table. There was nothing near. It was just a few steps away from the reach of an outstretched hand, and Gerard turned his back for a moment. I dangled my legs that couldn¡¯t reach the floor and looked around. ¡°It¡¯s so pretty.¡± Everyone was wearing colorful dresses and suits, then had conversations. Of course, wherever I looked, Uncle was the coolest. People spread their fans and shook them like peacock tails. They laughed and kissed the other¡¯s glove. And also the ball! Mommmm! I saw it and turned my head away. Gerard brought a plate full of delicious food in an instant. I asked, holding the fork Gerard was handed to me. ¡°Gerard, you know.¡± ¡°Yes, Miss.¡± ¡°Does Uncle have a girlfriend? Just like those kissing people over there!¡± ¡°Pardon? A girlfriend?¡± Gerard asked as if he had never heard of it. ¡°Yeah!¡± After thinking about it, he shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any while I¡¯m being his aide. Probably not, even in the future¡­¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid, his temper¡­ Ahem, he¡¯s so busy that he doesn¡¯t even have time to date.¡± ¡°Hmmm, I see.¡± I think I just heard the word ¡®temper¡¯, but I¡¯m mistaken, right? I continued to look at the fruits and jellies Gerard had brought to my mouth. The people who work here are all strangers, but they are all kind and friendly. It didn¡¯t take long for Uncle to return. ¡°Peanut, get up.¡± ¡°Where are we going? Uncle, this is so delicious. Do you want to eat, too? The taste is sparkling!¡± ¡°You eat a lot.¡± Uncle, who went away, suddenly sat down beside me. At this time, I diligently forked with the intention of putting all the snacks on the plate into my stomach. ¡°¡­Did I starve you?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spit it out, eat it.¡± ¡°Mmph, new spith owt! (no spit out!)¡± I emptied all the milk that Zenda gave me before I came, but I eat with all my might because I need strength to protect my uncle. Well, even if I told Uncle, he wouldn¡¯t know. ¡°But where are we going? What about Grandpa?¡± ¡°To see Grandpa.¡± ¡°Really?¡± You should¡¯ve told me earlier! I dropped the fork and jumped off the seat. Then I pulled Uncle. ¡°I ate it all, Uncle. Let us go!¡± Although Uncle looked at me with an absurd face, I shamelessly urged him. *** ¡°Grandpa!¡± Aika let go of Kassel¡¯s clothes, which she was holding onto like a lifeline, and then, like a lightning bolt, ran towards Duke Valliot. Kassel, who had put his hands roughly in his pockets, stopped walking and put on a bewildered expression. His eyebrows furrowed in displeasure. Goodness. ¡°Your tongue is cut in half.¡± (i take it as aika speaks differently depends on who she¡¯s talking to¡­? perhaps) The corners of Kassel¡¯s mouth twisted as hard as eyebrows. You didn¡¯t do that to me. ¡°My baby. Our princess. How did you come here? Isn¡¯t it time for you to go to bed?¡± ¡°I came with Uncle. He said Grandpa was coming!¡± ¡°How did you know that this old man wants to see our Aika?¡± ¡°I left Grandpa the other day. I was very, very sad.¡± ¡°Ah, was our princess like that? It¡¯s all because of him. There is nothing wrong with you.¡± Oochie-coochie coo. It¡¯s a tearful family reunion every time. Even his beard, which he had grown with dignity, had been trimmed neatly every day since he first met Aika. He did it because Aika might not like it. Duke Valliot, carrying Aika, walked over to Kassel, who was standing crookedly. ¡°Did you meet them?¡± Kassel lightly nodded his head. ¡°Yes, well.¡± ¡°Say that you will make it right. As long as you bring the right to establish the academy, all we have to do is build the site. If it doesn¡¯t work, just clean it up and take it away.¡± The Valliot family was currently trying to obtain the founding rights for the creation of an academy. Unlike the direction of funds that had been recklessly collected until now, the establishment and operation of an academy was a business that required money to be poured. The reason for establishing such an academy was definitely for Aika. [It¡¯s the academy my baby will attend, I can¡¯t send her just anywhere.] Aika still has a long way to go to an academy, but Duke Valliot thought there was no better time than now. Coincidentally, the oldest academy in the capital was closed last year, leaving the right to establish an academy floating in the air. The right to establish a new academy belonged to the president of the academy, which was still closed. The plan for the day was to bring it in front of Valliot before it fell into someone else¡¯s hands. Money is money that rots, so the next job was easy once I got rid of all the other competitors. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t many competitors even if they brought the right to establish the academy because the establishment of the academy cost more money than income. ¡°How annoying¡­ Why don¡¯t you just take over where there is one?¡± Kassel said dully. ¡°No. I can¡¯t send her to that rotten academy, can I? First of all, we have to get the right to establish it and make it prestigious before Aika goes to school as soon as possible.¡± He said he had no one to trust, and eventually established a long-term plan to establish an academy then align the chairman and faculty. The word ¡®rotten¡¯ is true, but there were already three places called prestigious academies in the capital. From the academy where the talented people of Warford, including the current emperor, have been produced, to the academy with excellent faculty and good facilities, to the academy that is the second oldest after the academy that was closed this time. However, all of them didn¡¯t satisfy the eyes of Duke Valliot. ¡°Grandpa, am I going to school?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go later when our princess is a bit older. Until then, this grandfather will make it very pretty.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The logic was that even one brick from the place in which my baby won¡¯t get sick should be new even if it¡¯s in the eyes. In fact, Valliot has the shortest history among Warford¡¯s major families, so no matter how big they are, they are somewhat lacking in being called a prestigious family. No one could touch them recklessly, yet nor did they respect them. Because that remained like a weakness, he was afraid that it would become a stumbling block later when Aika grew up. Duke Valliot was thinking of eliminating that weakness as well. ¡°By the way, Grandpa, what do you do when you go to school?¡± ¡°You can read books, ride horses, and learn fun things.¡± ¡°Can I do everything?¡± ¡°Of course. Our Aika can also draw pictures that you like.¡± Now that Valliot is on the move, it¡¯s only a matter of time before the new academy stands tall as well. The real problem is that Kassel has to do it all. Bringing in famous professors is as easy as eating soup. In the past, the Valliot did whatever it took to stand tall at Warford. It was common for them to see blood by pressing with force. It¡¯s for this reason that until now, Valliot has been called notorious. However, since Aika was born, they have been using gentlemanly methods in their own way. Anyway, it was all Kassel¡¯s job to go through that high school. The Peanut with the crinkly eyes, whether she knew it or not, was clinging to her grandfather with a huge grin on her face. That brat, really. Who¡¯s doing the hard work, though. CH 20 ¡°Hey, Peanut.¡± Kassel saw Aika and snapped his finger, telling her to come down. ¡°Grandpa, Uncle keeps calling me Peanut.¡± ¡°Ho.¡± Aika whispered to Duke Valliot, thinking it was time to do that. ¡°It¡¯s all because our Aika is pretty. Kassel, when you¡¯re done, go bring Aika back. She must be sleepy, we can¡¯t keep her in this noisy place.¡± ¡°I will, anyway. Peanut, come down.¡± It was then. Aika looked troubled for a moment, then she suddenly had a twinkle in her eyes. It was unusual for her to glance at Kassel. ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m going to the Imperial Palace next week.¡± ¡°The Imperial Palace?¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯m going to go out to play and make friends. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor also asked me to come.¡± ¡°Oho, I see. Then, make sure to go see this old man.¡± Then Aika excitedly spread her arms and swayed. ¡°My friend¡¯s name is Russphe. He¡¯s nice and kind, and knows the way to the palace. He even brought me flowers!¡± ¡°Flowers too? What a nice guy.¡± ¡°Russphe says he comes to the Imperial Palace alone. He¡¯s such a great friend. His eyes are pretty too.¡± ¡°Russphe? Could he be the little fellow from Calpodia?¡± Duke Valliot¡¯s eyes turned to Kassel. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Ricardo Willow Calpodia, head of the Marquis of Calpodia, was the younger brother of the current emperor, Winchester Gaia Selledor. He was also a member of Selledor, who had the right to inherit the throne. And the only child of the Marquis of Calpodia is Russphe Winteriche Calpodia. Ruspe was the favorite niece of the current emperor, Winchester Gaia Selledor, who insisted on being unmarried, even though he was still young. As another heir to the throne, he was also marked as the next successor of the Emperor. He resembled the Emperor more than the Emperor¡¯s brother, the Marquis of Calpodia, also had a clear figure and mind. The flaw was that his temper was weak. By the way¡­ Kassel raised his eyebrows and glared at Aika crookedly. Aika was startled, hurriedly put her arms around Duke Valliot¡¯s neck. She then stuck out her tongue cutely, as if she thought she was safe. Fearing that she wouldn¡¯t be taken to the Imperial Palace, she used all sorts of methods. ¡°He¡¯s not bad. Tell me when you¡¯re coming. Make sure Aika doesn¡¯t catch a cold.¡± ¡°It¡¯s midsummer soon.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that summer colds are worse?¡± Yes, yes, what can I say. Kassel gave up, rubbing the nape of his neck. No matter what I said, he wasn¡¯t on my side here. *** Goal achieved! As promised with Russphe, I was able to go to the Imperial Palace. Although Uncle¡¯s eyes were fierce, Uncle was afraid of Grandpa! At the banquet hall, Grandpa was the most popular person. Even though the space he used to talk with Uncle was far from the center of the banquet hall, people wanted to come and talk to him from time to time. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t help but greet Grandpa and follow Uncle. ¡°Uncle, let¡¯s look around more before we go!¡± ¡°Who told you to be friendly with me.¡± I looked up and saw Uncle¡¯s grim face. I pretended not to notice and widened my eyes. ¡°Hmmmm?¡± ¡°What are you blinking your eyes at? You betrayed me.¡± ¡°No! No! I won¡¯t betray Uncle.¡± I grabbed Uncle¡¯s hand before he could go. ¡°¡­Hehe.¡± ¡°Go ahead and tell me, what?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a betrayal, it¡¯s an operation!¡­ It is.¡± Right? Even after shouting, I averted my eyes because somewhere in my conscience stung. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± I closed my eyes tightly, thinking that he was giving me a fist. However, even after waiting for it, I felt nothing on my head. ¡°Tsk.¡± I flinched at the sound of annoyed tongue clicking and looked up, yet Uncle¡¯s gaze was elsewhere. Is it not me? Uncle didn¡¯t let go of my hand. ¡°There is someone I can hardly see at the banquet halls.¡± A man about the same age as Grandpa approached us. He wasn¡¯t very old, but his hair was much whiter than Grandpa¡¯s. He had gray hair swept neatly over his forehead and had auburn eyes in eyes with no double eyelids. His lips were pulled up as far as he could in a smile, yet his eyes weren¡¯t smiling. Brown eyes and white hair. Also, like Grandpa, he carried a cane. On the cane, I could see trees crossing each other on a hexagonal background like a turtle shell. Ah, where was that? That crest¡­ ¡­ I¡¯m sure Mom told me! ¡®Ro, Rondo?!¡¯ I heard it from Mom before. I like to draw, so I always boasted to Mom about the pictures I drew. Then, the day I drew the crest of the Duke of Valliot and showed it to Mom. Mom was astounded and she taught me to draw all the family crests of the Empire, from easy to difficult ones. And Mom explained the family crest every time I drew it. Most of the words were difficult, but it was still a very fun time. Enough for me to memorize everything! Rondo was among them. [Mom, is this really Rondo? Ugly turtle!] [Haha, why is it ugly?] [Because I have to be careful!] I drew four legs, a head, and a tail just like a real turtle, and Mom laughed. I heard that Rondo is close with the Deslin family! [But Aika, Deslin and Rondo have snake eyes, so you should never be friends with them. For now¡­ it will be difficult, but remember that.] [Yeah¡­!] Although Rondo is a marquis family, it can¡¯t be seen recklessly as its power is similar to that of the duchy. I heard that they maintained a brotherly relationship with Deslin, one of the dukes, for a very long time, so it could be regarded as Deslin¡¯s power, but maybe¡­? Also, I heard that Deslin was the most powerful family during the reign of the previous emperor, and that the number of vassals was large as it was an old family. I remembered Mom telling me with a sigh that it would only make me tired if I bumped into them because they were very picky. That¡¯s why, I memorized it like that. [Watch out for turtles and snakes!] [My Aika is so smart. Our pretty daughter.] It was the first time I saw that face, yet strangely, I had heard that voice somewhere. ¡°Is there any reason not to?¡± That grandfather flinched at Uncle¡¯s low voice and his eyebrows quivered. I was a little startled by the lower-than-usual voice. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just me, but it felt like Uncle was capturing the surrounding atmosphere with one voice. Is it because I betrayed Uncle? ¡°¡­That can¡¯t be. I meant that it was fortunate that His Grace the Duke of Valliot and Marquis Leguier were in good health even though you had gone through a great deal. You even hold a banquet like this.¡± Then, a smirk from Uncle¡¯s mouth. There seemed to be a drop of cold air. ¡°Why, are you afraid that your plans will be disrupted because of your expectations? Should I have rotted in a closet for a year?¡± ¡°W-What kind of plan. Apparently, the Marquis has a big misunderstanding. I was very worried because it was such a shocking thing. Could this child be the Prime Minister¡¯s daughter? I only heard that rumor¡­¡± As he blurted out the end of his words, the gray-haired grandfather¡¯s eyes turned downward. The destination of that gaze was me. The reddish brown eyes seemed strangely cold. Originally, the color of wood should be warm. I flinched involuntarily and quickly hid behind Uncle. I was scared for nothing, so I grabbed my uncle¡¯s leg and looked up at him. At the same time, Uncle¡¯s head turned towards me. Is he scolding me for bothering him? I thought so, yet Uncle suddenly picked me up. At the same time, my body floated. Surprised, I quickly wrapped my arms around Uncle¡¯s neck. ¡°If you spit out anything more, you¡¯ll get in trouble.¡± Uncle¡¯s voice grew colder than before. CH 21 ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be careful. I¡¯m curious, that¡¯s why I don¡¯t know. It didn¡¯t mean much, don¡¯t get me wrong.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Fighting with the Marquis is like fighting against the Valliot, how can I do that? I just wanted to say hello, yet today doesn¡¯t seem like the right day.¡± Grandpa Turtle broke out in a cold sweat and left, saying he had to go first because he had something else to do. He still had a smile on his face, but it was a very awkward smile. It seemed that he had avoided Uncle¡¯s unusual momentum first. When Grandpa Turtle disappeared, so did Uncle¡¯s ferocity. ¡°Uncle, I think I¡¯ve heard that grandfather¡¯s voice somewhere.¡± I put my arms around Uncle¡¯s neck and muttered as I dangled. ¡°Where have you heard that guy¡¯s voice? You never came here.¡± ¡°Really. It¡¯s the voice I really have heard¡­ Where did I hear that?¡± ¡°You must have mistaken it for the old man¡¯s voice.¡± ¡°No, Grandpa¡¯s voice is thicker and cooler! Where did I really hear¡­¡± Although they may sound similar, each person¡¯s voice is different. Is it really subtly different? I said it several times, yet Uncle didn¡¯t believe me. ¡°Uncle, but be careful with snakes and turtles.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Does Uncle know? Mom told me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± I looked around quickly passing by, but my eyes quickly caught on. Some looked very happy, others terrified. No matter what Uncle and I did, their eyes gathered. I decided to hold on as I had a strong shield. . Even though it¡¯s full of strangers, there¡¯s a lot of delicious food and the sound of the music is good. Come to think of it, none of my peers were there. ¡°Uncle, are we going home now? Aren¡¯t my friends here?¡± ¡°What friend.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Russphe here?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t listen to me, he won¡¯t come.¡± Tch. I pouted. Uncle didn¡¯t even go to the middle of the banquet hall, yet the older sisters said hello from all over the place. But Uncle never looked at them face to face and greeted them back. As if there was nothing in front of us in the first place, he was just going through his own path. I wanted to say hello instead, but Uncle was too quick for me to do that either. ¡°OH my, Marquis. hello?¡± As we whipped around the corner of her hallway, a pretty older sister with yellow hair curled up appeared in front of us with her fan fluttering. There were dimples on both cheeks, and the tips of the eyelashes were long like new tails. ¡°¡­¡± Uncle passed that sister. ¡°Oho, no can do.¡± As if she was used to it, the pretty sister quickly bent her body and blocked our way. It was very fast. ¡°Today, the young ladies were especially noisy, so I came to see it, and it¡¯s true. It¡¯s been a long time since you took a precious step, but it¡¯s not like you¡¯re already on the way home, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°My goodness, where is there a person who comes only to see business at a banquet held to play? Today, His Grace the Duke even provided expensive alcohol.¡± A sigh filled with annoyance escaped through Uncle¡¯s teeth. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I was trying not to bother you too much.¡± Even when they approached Uncle, the moment his eyes became sharp, they all flinched and left, yet this time, this sister was different. I looked back and forth at Uncle with curious eyes, but then my eyes met Pretty Sister¡¯s. Pretty Sister, like she was trying to seduce, smiled softly and held out the fan to me. I reached out as if I was possessed, but Uncle stopped me. At the same time, the fan also swept away. ¡°I came to your spot to give you the information you need. You would probably regret it greatly if you kicked me out today, though?¡± Then she winked at me, not at Uncle. Although I also tried winking in a hurry to reciprocate, my sight only went black. (fyi fyi she ends up blinking, not winking) ¡°Pfft. Ah, how cute.¡± I was embarrassed and buried my face in the nape of Uncle¡¯s neck. ¡°Gerard, take good care of her. I¡¯ll quickly be back.¡± ¡°Yes, Milord.¡± But is Uncle, whom I thought was on my side, handing me over to Gerard? ¡°Uncle is going?¡± Before Uncle went far, I grabbed his clothes and he pressed my head. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, so stay calm.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± At the same time, I took Gerard¡¯s outstretched hand. Pretty Sister followed Uncle while fluttering the fan once more, as if she was greeting me. Gerard said Uncle didn¡¯t have a girlfriend, though. Still, maybe¡­? ¡°Gerard.¡± I flicked my hand and asked Gerard to bring his ear closer. Gerard bowed deeply on his back. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Is that sister Uncle¡¯s friend? Girlfriend? She¡¯s very pretty. She has yellow hair and is wearing a yellow dress!¡± Then Gerard burst into laughter. ¡°Absolutely not.¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s not. What they want is the same, they just go in the same direction. Shall we sit at that secluded table over there?¡± ¡°Um¡­ The fountain over there!¡± Instead of where Gerard pointed, I pointed to the outdoor area connected to the terrace. Compared to the central hall, it was more secluded and there were many small glowing lanterns, that¡¯s why when I saw it earlier, I wanted to go there. To be honest, even my gestures drew attention, so I had a desire to avoid them. ¡°Yes. Now it¡¯s not cold at all at night, so it should be fine.¡± ¡°Wow, Gerard! Can I climb the fountain?¡± The dripping water glistened from the lanterns hung above it. ¡°If you do so, Miss¡¯ clothes and hair will be wet, so no can do. How about the table next to it?¡± And if you go up to the fountain, I will die by Milord¡¯s hands. Gerard added, stopping me. I can¡¯t do that. I brushed off my dress and sat down on the chair Gerard had brought me to. It was a place where I could see the fountain from the front. I looked at the large fountain where the water glistened as if possessed. It wasn¡¯t wet, but it felt cool enough that I could feel the water splashing on my face. It would be fun to dive into that water. I stretched out my hand out of regret and got hit by the water droplets bouncing from the fountain. Then I turned my head around and suddenly there were many people outside the terrace. There was also a group of people glancing in this direction. I think it¡¯s been a while, but Uncle isn¡¯t coming. Uncle said he¡¯d be back soon, what a liar. Maybe it¡¯s because I finished eating earlier, I think I¡¯m all digested, and I¡¯ve seen all the fountains. Mmm! ¡°Uncle must be busy.¡± ¡°It seems so. He will be back soon, so can we go to the carriage first?¡± ¡°Mmm, no. I¡¯ll wait here, Gerard, can I eat that too?¡± People were carrying cakes taller than me into the banquet hall. I saw a grandfather wearing a chef¡¯s hat like Grandma Sophie. Everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to it, and exclamations poured out here and there. The cake was white, that¡¯s why it looked like a wedding dress was walking into the hall. ¡°That big cake?¡± ¡°Yeah! When I was a kid, I wanted to get buried in a huge cake like that and eat it.¡± Then Gerard¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Pfft, how young were you?¡± ¡°Five years old? No. I must be four years old!¡± ¡°¡­That was a very long time ago. I¡¯ll bring some. Ah, by the way. Mmm, if I had known this was going to happen, I would have brought Zenda.¡± Gerard tried to move but hesitated. ¡°I¡¯ll stay right here!¡± Fortunately, a servant attending a banquet was passing nearby. ¡°Then I will ask that attendant instead. I¡¯m sorry, Miss.¡± ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s nothing!¡± Gerard was back in less than a minute. As I swayed my feet next to Gerard, I swelled with anticipation for the sweet cake. There was a loud exclamation along with the sound of applause from inside. Seems like they¡¯re cutting the cake! Laughter broke out again. Before long, the servant brought a large cake. ¡°I was a little late because there was a cake cutting ceremony. But you said the Little Princess would eat it, so I asked for the prettiest top.¡± The cake was topped with all sorts of fruit. There were also pastel colored chocolate beads. It looked like Zenda would scold me for eating it at night, but there was even a candle stuck on the cake. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± I also greeted the servant, following Gerard. The servant was surprised and smiled. ¡°No! It¡¯s what I have to do. Have a good time then.¡± The servant nodded and walked away, then I quickly grabbed my fork. ¡°Gerard, here.¡± CH 22 I scooped out the pink chocolate beads and fruit part with a fork, holding it out to Gerard. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°This is the most delicious part, quick!¡± I made a fuss about it falling. Then Gerard reluctantly opened his mouth and ate the cake. ¡°Is it delicious?¡± ¡°Yes, try it too, Miss.¡± I smiled contentedly and popped the fork full cake into my mouth. ¡°It¡¯s really delicious¡­¡± The pure white cream tasted like peaches. No. It also seemed to taste a bit like oranges. It tasted like several fruits. Huh? Come to think of it, it tasted similar to the cake Grandma Sophie made. Although Grandma Sophie¡¯s cake is much, much better. That was when I ate half the cake. As if the music had changed, the sound of the music disappeared and the musicians could be seen busily moving. But then. ¡°Is she an illegitimate child?¡± While the music stopped, I heard something I hadn¡¯t heard before. ¡°Ah, so¡­¡± ¡°I heard the Marquis was taking her with him earlier. I mean that kid.¡± ¡°Is he taking care of her for a while?¡± ¡°An illegitimate child¡­¡± ¡°The Prime Minister was single. So, she must have kept it hidden until now. I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s exposing herself now.¡± ¡°Is the Marquis thinking of welcoming her?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s Marquis Leguier, he can accept at least one flaw like that.¡± I naturally turned my head in the direction from which I heard the sound, and I saw two men and two women gathered behind the fountain looking at me. He looked a bit older than or similar to Uncle. Even though it was further outside than me, the bright light inside the banquet hall was shining brightly on people¡¯s faces. Are they talking about me? Mom¡­ hid me? Weird. Mom was always proud of me. ¡°Lie.¡± Everything these adults said was a lie. ¡°I wonder if they¡¯re thinking of making her the successor¡­¡± ¡°I guess not. If it¡¯s the successor, it was already announced.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. She must have lived out of Valliot. Still, His Grace the Duke of Valliot, isn¡¯t a person who doesn¡¯t care even for his family, right?¡± ¡°It must have been a bit of a blow. To think that the Prime Minister of the country has such a big flaw.¡± ¡°Maybe the child threw a tantrum?¡± My heart was pounding. ¡°Ah, maybe so. Just look at her. That¡¯s why the Marquis had no choice but to¡­¡± ¡°Still, isn¡¯t it a good direction that the Marquis doesn¡¯t hate children?¡± ¡°Oh my, fufu, what are you thinking?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not sure what people¡¯s businesses are.¡± I was bewildered and looked up at Gerard, but his face was fierce. He seemed to have heard something. After all, Gerard might have better ears than I do! ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°No, Gerard!¡± I shouted in surprise and hurriedly grabbed Gerard¡¯s hand. ¡°Miss.¡± ¡°If I get into trouble, Uncle will scold me.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t Miss¡¯ trouble. They didn¡¯t know the weight of their words and spoke recklessly.¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± ¡°They deserve to be held accountable. No matter how much they drank, they dare not even know the subject.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. All of that isn¡¯t true. It¡¯s a lie.¡± I looked up at Gerard with straight eyes. People didn¡¯t even think about stopping the conversation, and they even laughed while drinking bubbling liquor in succession. They¡¯re bad people to make fun of other people¡¯s stories like that. Although I shook my head and looked at Gerard, he was looking at me with his eyes wide. ¡°Miss.¡± ¡°Mom said she was proud of me the most in the world.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re right, Miss.¡± I looked at the people again, but those who had been talking about me were hiding their mouths with pale faces. I shrugged my shoulders wondering what was wrong with them. ¡°I¡¯m really fine. Sssh, it¡¯s a secret to Uncle, you know?¡± ¡°What secret.¡± ¡°Gasp.¡± It¡¯s Uncle Startled, I jerked my head upward. I dropped the fork at the same time. For a moment, I had the illusion that Uncle¡¯s red hair was on fire. Because his expression was so scary. W-When did he come? I didn¡¯t even know that Uncle came behind me when I held on to Gerard. Perhaps he heard that? Did he? Because Gerard was looking at me with his back turned, he must have noticed it too late, and his body stiffened. ¡°Bring the brat and stay in the carriage.¡± Grit. There was a grinding, or rather breaking, noise coming from Uncle¡¯s mouth. Gerard shut his mouth. I tried to hold on to Uncle, but I gave up when I saw Gerard shaking his head. It won¡¯t be a big deal, right? As I said before, Uncle¡¯s nickname is¡­ The Mad Dog. *** Rosina, who was in a good mood while drinking champagne like water, was having a fun banquet with her friends. A cake made by the most famous patissier in the capital was brought into the middle of the banquet hall. It was the work of a patissier with such a reputation that even the Emperor had to ask politely before they stepped into the Imperial Palace. Rosina¡¯s eyes sparkled. She heard that Evosophie Bakery is also run by the Valliot. Marquis Kassel de Leguier. And he will inherit all of Valiott. In fact, he has a reputation for being resourceful enough to say that it was Marquis Leguire, not Duke Valliot, who raised the Valliot family. What¡¯s more wonderful than that? The corner of Rosina¡¯s mouth went up when she remembered Kassel. He was an enchanting sculpture itself just by looking at it. As soon as she saw Kassel at her debut tangent a few years ago, she fell in love with him at first sight. Since then, she has had a crush on him for close to 10 years. [Who is that handsome man¡­?] [Do you mean Kassel de Valliot? He¡¯s the eldest son of the Valliot family. He¡¯s also the younger brother of Young Duchess Valliot.] Most of the young ladies present that day probably felt the same way as she did. Right now, she was almost in a state of giving up, but she was just thinking whether an opportunity would arrive. She wished she could speak to him properly. Out of hundreds of greetings so far, she only remembered being greeted once. Still, there were some young ladies who were told not to bother or were hurt by Kassel¡¯s cold treatment and cried. However, she had never been told that. One day, he specially accepted a glass of champagne that she gave. [Excuse me¡­ Would you like some of this?] [What is it?] [It¡¯s champagne. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be t-thirsty.] [It¡¯s all annoying¡­] [If you accept it, I won¡¯t disturb you again!] After that, he even greeted her with his eyes sometimes¡­ And if she looked at it more broadly, the business of her family was related to Valliot. Although she was sure they could get closer, it wasn¡¯t easy. If she got married to Marquis Leguier, would the wedding cake be made by that patissier? She was thinking of greeting Marquis Leguier, who was hard to see at the banquets, however. Today, he brought a child and carried her around. To think that the great Kassel de Leguier was with a child. She wondered if there was anything in this world that didn¡¯t suit him that much, but when she faced it, Kassel was nonetheless very cool. The child was talking non-stop and chattering as if she had no idea. Kassel frowned but accepted everything and hugged the child tightly. To think that Kassel, the cold-hearted to everyone Kassel, was sweet. It was the first time that she was so excited. She didn¡¯t know that a man with a fiery nature could have such a side. He is so kind to a child who isn¡¯t even his own, what about his own children? On the one hand, she felt bad. That child was definitely the daughter of the well-known Prime Minister. She kept it hidden and never showed her to anyone. Apparently, no one even knew who her husband was. In fact, none of the central nobles came forward as her husband. It¡¯s not uncommon for noble couples to adopt or introduce an illegitimate child, yet she didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Hng¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t leave such a stain on her life. If she were to marry him, it would mean that she would have to take care of the girl. Thinking so made her very uncomfortable. The child was laughing without notice as she ate the cake. ¡°This is the most delicious part, quick!¡± Even the act of passing the cake with a fork to her escort was vulgar. How is she so different? Even if she wasn¡¯t sure about the deceased Prime Minister, her real father was obviously a noble in a corner of the province who didn¡¯t even have a crest or someone who didn¡¯t even know the basics. ¡°Even though the Marquis is fiery, he doesn¡¯t have such flaws. This is why the basics are so important. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± He shouldn¡¯t have a child like that. CH 23 Rosina made a lot of noise to dispel her displeasure. Until Celie, who was next to her, patted her on the side. She had already drunk five more glasses of champagne, thus she didn¡¯t immediately notice that the Marquis Leguier was approaching. How far did he hear? She felt a momentary chill as if ice water had been poured over her. The heat of the drink, which had just risen to the top of her head, slammed her to the floor with acceleration. ¡°Bring the brat and stay in the carriage.¡± Kassel approached Rosina as the man who seemed to be an escort took the child away from the sound of a drop of cold air. There was obviously nothing in Kassel¡¯s hand, yet in Rosina¡¯s eyes, there was an illusion that he was holding a cigar or a nice weapon. The guys who were with Rosina and Celie shook their legs. Tsk, Rosina was annoyed. You¡¯re all guys too, so why are you shaking that much? Even the height difference between them was so noticeable that they looked up at Kassel obliquely, giving an unsightly look. She thought it was okay as when they drank champagne together. As she met Kassel¡¯s face closely, Rosina realized that she had been greatly mistaken. However, Kassel in front of her looked angry in anyone¡¯s sight. ¡®What should I do? He didn¡¯t hear everything, did he?¡¯ Even though she was afraid of him, she raised the corner of her lips and smiled, thinking that at least she was a close friend of his, so she would have to deal with it somehow. Wouldn¡¯t it be okay if she apologized? Even in view of their friendship¡­ Ah, he laughs. Kassel let out a short laugh, as if he, who faced the four of them, was dumbfounded. ¡°Just keep talking about me.¡± Rosina¡¯s smiling face was quickly shattered. ¡°Pardon?¡± What did she hear just now? Rosina blinked her eyes. ¡°All the snouts that were chattering excitedly are suddenly quiet, why.¡± ¡°H-How could you say such vulgar words¡­¡± Rosina unknowingly covered her mouth, losing all strength in her body. It was the first time she had heard such words in her life. She had heard that the Marquis Leguier was unstoppable, yet she never imagined that she would hear it herself. ¡°Is it okay to put my baby in your snout?¡± (baby, child, similar to that) Even though she knew it wasn¡¯t true when he said ¡®my baby¡¯, Rosina was startled. ¡°No, I never said it with bad intentions. W-Why would I do something to displease the Marquis? I was just worried because the Lady was still young¡­ I was still trying to stop it, but¡­¡± Rosina was terrified. She didn¡¯t even know what she was talking about. Facing him as close as she had been in her mind for a long time, he was a very cool man. No, even saying he was cool wasn¡¯t enough. As he was the man who taught her what a splendid face was just by looking at his. However, she was afraid of the ferocious force, and her heart was pounding so that it seemed like it would stop at any moment. ¡°You¡¯re worried.¡± ¡°Yes, I was just worried¡­¡± Everything about the Marquis Leguier was perfect. Except for his fiery personality¡­ ¡°Because you feel sorry for my baby? Or is it because the jerk you raised is anxious?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was busy keeping an eye on each other. The people who were gathered around them also held their breath and began to watch that spot. ¡°You should be able to answer well.¡± Rosina¡¯s face turned pale as white as a sheet of paper at the meaningful words he uttered without a filter. It seemed he wouldn¡¯t listen no matter what she said. It wasn¡¯t the appearance of him, who listened to whatever the child said lazily. Was it just an illusion? ¡°I-I think there is a misunderstanding, I never meant to say that¡­¡± ¡°I apologize. I really didn¡¯t mean that.¡± ¡°I apologize if I offended you.¡± Everyone rushed to apologize. Kassel gritted his teeth as he glared at them who lowered their heads. Even if he listened to the end of it, he could figure out what the conversation was going on at once. What¡¯s wrong with my baby, then what? Kassel, whose blood had already started to boil upside down, was so enraged he was about to go blind. However, Kassel didn¡¯t even feel it was worth talking about as they looked like they were about to pee. Just like leftovers. His chin went up crookedly He had the appearance of being arrogant, yet it suited him very well. Kassel looked at them as if he was chewing on the four trembling faces one by one. Rosina Green, Celie Ritz, James Bolden, Tommy Dimito. Kassel despised backstabbing, so he tended to memorize people from families that had anything to do with the business. Like either the head of the household or the successor. At least considering the fact that they had attended this banquet and that they were faces he had seen at least once, it meant that they weren¡¯t even noble families stuck in a remote corner of the country. Ah, although nobody knows what the future holds. ¡°You will have to take care of your wallet well from now on. You need to get at least one dress out before there¡¯s a hole in it.¡± His bloody, smiling face was like a reaper. After those words, Kassel left the seat without leaving any regrets. ¡°Hicc!¡± As the overwhelming energy disappeared, Tommy hiccupped. Rosina, who belatedly came to her senses after staring blankly at him walking away, hurriedly followed him. ¡°E-Excuse me, Marquis! W-What on earth are you talking about¡­!¡± But after a while, she stopped walking. It was because the rapidly disappearing figure and her voice overlapped. It was just a threat, yet a chill ran down her spine. ¡°H-He seems to be very angry¡­ W-Will we be okay?¡± Celie soon followed Rosina. ¡°It¡¯s a small slip of the tongue. We didn¡¯t say anything, it¡¯ll be fine. Even if the Marquis has a fiery temper, he won¡¯t cause problems like this.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s a relief¡­¡± Why do I feel chill like being hit by frost? Rosina stood fidgeting with an anxious expression on her face, then turned her body around. *** I followed Gerard out of the banquet hall first. However, I couldn¡¯t go to the carriage, that¡¯s why I waited for Uncle in the hallway at the entrance to the banquet hall. Perhaps, he¡¯s not beating people up, is he? I had never seen anything like that. But Uncle¡¯s face was really scary. I only thought that Uncle shouldn¡¯t be in danger, but I didn¡¯t think that he would endanger others. Oh, isn¡¯t that more dangerous? Yet I don¡¯t think I can stop him now. As soon as I remembered Uncle¡¯s expression earlier, my body trembled. It was then. With blazing momentum, Uncle passed me and headed for the carriage. I was going to follow, but Uncle¡¯s aura was so fierce that I hesitated without even realizing it. Uncle, who had been moving away quickly on his long legs, suddenly turned around. ¡°Short legs, you ain¡¯t quickly coming?¡± He stretched out his hand as if telling me to come quickly. ¡°I-I¡¯m coming now!¡± I ran quickly, fearing that Uncle would change his mind. And as if it was a goal, I arrived in Uncle¡¯s arms. I burst out laughing without even realizing it. As the tension disappeared only after Uncle called. I guess he¡¯s not very angry with me. Gerard kept saying sorry to Uncle instead of me. I stopped Gerard. ¡°I told you to protect the child. Tsk. I thought you knew how to go and slap them in the head.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take any punishment.¡± ¡°Peanut, what did you do well that made you smile? If you heard such a thing, wouldn¡¯t you have to hit them in the head with a fork or kick them?¡± ¡­Uncle, I¡¯m not so eccentric like you. But it seemed like I was going to get scolded for saying that. ¡°Hehe, because I like Uncle.¡± Then he stood tall and raised his eyebrows crookedly. In an instant, the fire-like aura was extinguished. ¡°Only words?¡± Seeing Uncle¡¯s suspicious look, I shook my head. ¡°Noooo. With all my heart, really! I like Uncle the most.¡± Yet Uncle looked at me disgustingly and, instead of hugging me, tried to take me by my side. ¡°U-Uaakh A-Aika d-d-dying¡­¡± I deliberately acted as if I was being rude while being tucked into Uncle¡¯s side. In fact, my side hurt a little. Then Uncle walked away and stopped. After a lot of hard work, I succeeded in being embraced by Uncle again. ¡°And Uncle, I¡¯m really fine.¡± ¡°Fine you say, what¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Mom said so.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°She said people who curse others for no reason are people with hell inside them.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°They feel so sick and hellish that they think they have to harm others. Their stomachs are noisy and twisted, you know? She said that. So let us just let them off the hook!¡± ¡°What do you mean letting them off the hook.¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re cooler!¡± The sound of air escaping came from Uncle¡¯s mouth. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re good.¡± ¡°Uncle, have you liked me a little better now?¡± ¡°Why all of a sudden?¡± ¡°You just complimented me.¡± Then Uncle looked at me with bewildered eyes. W-Why¡­ Why are you looking at me like that, though. CH 24 ¡°Let¡¯s not talk.¡± Uncle took his eyes off me again and strode to the carriage. ¡°Mom didn¡¯t hide me¡­ I guess she didn¡¯t go around and brag about me a lot.¡± I belatedly complained of resentment. I thought she was going to spread rumors around the neighborhood that I was her pretty daughter. Saying ¡°My pretty daughter!!¡± and kissing me 100 times every morning before going to work. ¡°Then you should have lashed out at your mom back then. Telling her to brag.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mom was busy.¡± Tsk, Uncle clicked his tongue again. ¡°Why do you keep saying you¡¯re fine when you¡¯re this small. You can just do it, can¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Mom said she had many things to protect. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t complain. Because Mom had a hard time.¡± ¡°Then why are you doing this to me?¡± ¡°Because I will protect Uncle!¡± I pulled away from Uncle, clenched my fists, and pounded my chest. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s not talk.¡± ¡°I will open the door.¡± Gerard hurriedly opened the carriage door and Uncle put me in. I quietly climbed onto the chair and crawled inside. Eventually, Uncle got on and the carriage door closed. ¡°Ah! I left the cake earlier.¡± I remembered it only when I looked out the window later. However, the carriage had already started and I had to lick my lips in regret. That¡¯s how the first outing to the banquet hall with Uncle came to an end. #4. The Way We Get To Know Each Other Little By Little After that happened, the weekend had passed and the next weekend was ahead. On the night I went to the ballroom, Zenda, who was waiting outside, was surprised to see me. Zenda told Uncle that it was all her responsibility, yet fortunately, Uncle didn¡¯t believe it. (zenda is trying to take the blame because aika sneaks out) Still, after that day, I felt a little closer to Uncle. Because when I asked Uncle to have breakfast together in the morning, he woke up without any further annoyance. Of course, I still have to call Uncle over ten times. I also made an appointment to go to the Imperial Palace. Even on the weekend! It¡¯s tomorrow. It¡¯s all thanks to Grandpa¡¯s hard work! Grandpa is the best! Grandpa said he would speak directly to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, so I was counting on that day. I¡¯ve never seen anything strange. However¡­ ¡°Peanut. Give Uncle a bite.¡± I opened my mouth wide and tried to put the ice cream into my mouth, but hesitated. Today was the day I could play next to Uncle after a long time. I was sitting next to Uncle who was at work, humming a song I read in a book yesterday and eating ice cream that Zenda brought me. Uncle, who was stretching the documents, spoke to me at once. ¡­He wants a bite? ¡°A bite?¡± I asked with a suspicious look. Grandma Sophie baked cone-shaped crispy cones and put the ice cream especially high. It was the first time I had seen it, but everyone said it was sold like this outside. The cake I ate at the banquet hall the other day had a strangely fruity taste and was as delicious as the one Grandma Sophie made, so she made it even more delicious. ¡°Mm. A bite.¡± Is it because of the mood? Uncle¡¯s eyes seem to have turned into some kind of sly shape. When I asked him to eat ice cream together earlier, he said he wouldn¡¯t eat it. ¡°You really have to take a bite.¡± ¡°Why would Uncle lie to you?¡± I looked at Uncle and the ice cream alternately, thinking about it. However, since he¡¯s my uncle, I have to give it to him. Because it was only a bite. After thinking about it, I handed out ice cream to Uncle. ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± Yet suddenly, Uncle¡¯s mouth opened like a hippo¡¯s. ¡°U-Uncle!¡± Although I called urgently, the ice cream had already gone into Uncle¡¯s mouth. Like getting sucked into a cave, just hap¡­ When I saw the ice cream that disappeared in an instant and only snacks remained, I looked at it with devastated eyes. This reality is unbelievable. ¡°A-A-A-A bite, a bite¡­ You said a bite.¡± It makes no sense. It wasn¡¯t wrong. Uncle said and took a bite. But you didn¡¯t tell me you would eat this much! ¡°It¡¯s worth eating.¡± Uncle, who ate it neatly without getting a single drop of ice cream on his lips, was relaxed. ¡°How, how can you¡­¡± He was truly a man without blood or tears. The way he grinned and said it was worth eating was like a devil. It was really bad. I twitched my butt and pulled away from Uncle. Because I have to show that the distance of our hearts has become this far. Even so, it didn¡¯t have much effect because I was originally far from Uncle¡¯s chair. And instead of the ice cream that vanished in vain, I used my front teeth to save and eat the crispy corn underneath. Even if there was hardly any ice cream inside. It was empty, like my heart that had just been pierced. I was sad as I had been careful lately because my front teeth seemed to be weakening. I had a nightmare because Zenda said my front teeth might fall out soon. ¡°Are you upset? If it¡¯s not enough, you can have more.¡± I glared at such Uncle. ¡°It tastes different! And I¡¯m not upset.¡± ¡°What is different? It¡¯s spreading the same thing. Ask Sophie one more time.¡± ¡°Different! The first one is the best, but Uncle ate it all! Not the second! The vibes don¡¯t match! Uncle knows nothing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re upset. Is it too much of a waste for Uncle to eat?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not upset, I¡¯m angry! And Uncle lied. You should only eat a small bite, not a lot.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. My picky niece. What, should I spit something back?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wanna. I don¡¯t eat anything that goes into Uncle¡¯s mouth. What if I get as nasty as Uncle? And you swallowed it in one gulp.¡± ¡°Hey, what¡¯s nasty about me?¡± ¡°Nasty. Nasty Uncle.¡± I turned my back to the pack and sat down to eat the corn crumbs. This is delicious too, but it would be even more delicious if I eat it with ice cream. Uncle tapped me on the back. I pretended not to know and only ate the corn crumbs. He pricked me on the back again. It was itchy, but I purposely shook my body and didn¡¯t look back to show my anger. ¡°Then what? What should I do?¡± What should I do, he said? To think that Uncle said something like that. I glanced at the ceiling to see if there was a hole in it, turning my head to look at Uncle. Before I knew it, his large torso was leaning towards me. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°Looking at you.¡± ¡°¡­Nasty Uncle.¡± ¡°What do you want me to do, though¡± At those words, I turned my butt back and headed for Uncle. ¡°Uncle, then let¡¯s go to the market today.¡± At once, he frowned. ¡°Why would you go to that filthy place? If you have something to buy, order it.¡± ¡°No. The flower shop I used to go to with Mom!¡± At those words, Uncle erased his expression. ¡°Flower shop, where?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know which way to go there¡­ But when we go to the market, I¡¯ll know! There¡¯s a place I always stopped by when Mom went to buy flowers. It¡¯s on the market. Let¡¯s buy some flowers and bring them to Grandpa tomorrow.¡± Uncle looked at me for a long time and then messed with my hair. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Have you lived your whole life being deceived?¡± Instead of answering, I stared at Uncle and blinked my eyes. The scammer who deceives me the most in my entire life¡­ Uncle, with his conscience pricked, told me to eat more ice cream and put his hands in his pockets, leaving the room. And it wasn¡¯t long before he came back. His one hand was disrespectfully in the pocket. His other hand was holding a tray of ice cream. ¡°Enough?¡± It was served in a concave bowl rather than a cone. ¡°Well¡­ A little.¡± Though unfortunate, I stuck the cone I was eating into the ice cream and scoop it with a spoon. Instead of sitting in a chair, Uncle stood and roughly put the papers in one place. Suddenly, the seal Uncle used to put on documents and letters caught my eye. ¡°Ah!¡± I put a spoon in my mouth and took out a piece of paper from the pocket I had attached to the side of my dress. It was a pouch made by Zenda as she said I had to carry it everyday. ¡°Uncwew, stamp iwt hewe twoo.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you taking out the spoon?¡± Tch. I put down the spoon and spoke again. ¡°Uncle, stamp it here too.¡± I unfolded the paper again, putting it on Uncle¡¯s desk and pointed. [Uncle Kassel never throws Aika out Aika Uncle] ¡°What is that.¡± ¡°Uncle can stamp your finger here.¡± ¡°What is that.¡± Uncle was clearly watching, yet he kept pretending not to know. I even listened to Uncle and showed it to him. ¡°It¡¯s an empty spot.¡± ¡°You know it can¡¯t be used anywhere?¡± CH 25 ¡°Not anywhere. An important¡­ important¡­ important¡­ Ah! It¡¯s an important document!¡± Suddenly I couldn¡¯t remember the words, so I almost got into trouble. As we were arguing for a while, someone knocked on the door. ¡°Milord, this is Leto.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± Uncle was warning me not to think about stamping, but Leto came in. However, he has some kind of uncomfortable gaze. ¡°A guest has come.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have any appointments today. Send them back.¡± Uncle waved his hands roughly without giving the slightest second thought. ¡°It¡¯s the daughter of the Green family. She¡¯s crying at the entrance asking to see you just once¡­¡± ¡°Why do you make me say it twice?¡± Uncle¡¯s voice grew cold. ¡°¡­I apologize. I will send her back.¡± ¡°She must be crying in the carriage, anyway. She¡¯s not even falling out and crying on the ground, yet it¡¯s a huge fuss. Just send her back.¡± ¡°Yes, I will send her back right away.¡± Leto nodded and left again. I ate the ice cream with a spoon again. The bottom was almost visible. ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°Market.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Market.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hurriedly. I sat down, reaching out and tugged at the hem of Uncle¡¯s clothes. ¡°Since I ate it all, let¡¯s go to the flower shop. I will give it to Grandpa and also Russphe.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we go tomorrow?¡± Uncle gave off an annoying gesture. Knowing that I¡¯m going to the Imperial Palace tomorrow! ¡°Nasty Uncle¡­ Scammer Uncle¡­ Evil Uncle¡­ Wicked Uncle¡­ Ice Cream Pig Uncle¡­ Hippo Uncle¡­ Liar Uncle¡­¡± I murmured, scratching the ice cream bowl with my spoon again. Then Uncle raised a white flag saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go, just go.¡± I grinned and got down from the chair. *** I politely accepted Zenda¡¯s dressing up for the outing. I waited with my arms outstretched, yet she put on a gold plate necklace saying that it was the last one. It was a gold necklace with my name written on it that Uncle had put around my neck the other day. No, why does it seem bigger than last time? ¡°Now, that¡¯s all done. I¡¯ll just look at the ribbon one more time.¡± ¡°Zenda, can we not do this? I hate name tags.¡± Then Zenda made a troubled face. ¡°It¡¯s just a necklace, though? And if we don¡¯t do that, you¡¯ll really get in trouble. He said you must put it on when you go out.¡± ¡°Other people stare at me when I do this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not because of the name tag, it¡¯s because Miss is cute.¡± ¡°Zenda just said it was the necklace.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Zenda laughed bashfully, but it was too late. At her earnest request, I had to get into the carriage with a gold plate jingling around my neck. Uncle was dressed very lightly, a shirt and black trousers. But he was so cool. ¡°You know, Uncle. If you make this into a small name tag¡­¡± ¡°Get off?¡± ¡°N-No!¡± Uncle is really too much. He threatens me every day. I leaned on Zenda in relief only after the carriage door closed. After passing through the garden and leaving the main gate, there was another carriage at the entrance of the main gate. A woman was standing in front of the carriage. I knew she was wearing a dress, but I couldn¡¯t see her face very well. Yet it blocked the front when our carriage came out, whether it was dangerous or not. The carriage, which hadn¡¯t yet accelerated, came to a halt. I widened my eyes. A woman ran to the side of the carriage. ¡°Marquis! This is Rosina Green. I¡¯m here to meet you! I want to apologize!¡± It was a half-crying voice. Perhaps because the carriage was high, all I could see was a wide-brimmed black hat with a flower on it. Huh, this voice? I think I heard it at a banquet hall. Uncle pulled the rope and the carriage moved aside, then the wheels started rolling again. They said to avoid something outside, and I heard a loud voice as if she had been caught by the front gate guard. ¡°Uncle, that person keeps calling¡­¡± Uncle didn¡¯t even look at the window, as if he wasn¡¯t particularly impressed. ¡°Learn it right now. How to dispose of garbage.¡± I didn¡¯t know what that meant, so I looked at Zenda and she covered my ears with both of her hands. ¡°Master. It¡¯s presumptuous, but please use more refined words for the Miss. As long as you trust me and leave her in my care, I will prevent you from harming her.¡± Her voice had been significantly reduced by my ears covered, yet I still heard everything. Zenda is cool! And I decided to keep in my head the ¡®garbage disposal method¡¯ that Uncle showed me. Ignore if the carriage is blocked. I¡¯ll have to ask Uncle later. When Zenda lowered her hands from my ears again, Uncle sighed, saying that raising a kid is so hard. At the same time, a cry followed from the outside asking to meet again. The carriage left the woman and headed for the market relentlessly. But can it really be like this? Uncle really didn¡¯t pay the slightest attention, so I soon lost interest too. *** By the time I forgot what was in front of the front gate to look at the scenery through the window, the carriage stopped in front of the carriage depot near the entrance to the market. Uncle got off first, and he immediately grabbed me by both of my armpits, then the market came into view at a glance. A delicious smell wafted into my nostrils. ¡°Whoa, Uncle, look over there!¡± I saw a person carrying a mountain of balloon-sized bread like a mountain in a cart and walking almost as if they were running. The bread on top was being moved while staggering and holding on even though it looked like it was about to collapse. It was like a stunt. ¡°You said you were going to the flower shop.¡± Uncle reminded me of the reason I came to the market. As soon as I nodded, I turned to the side. Wait. If we go to the flower shop right now, I think we would just buy flowers and go home right away, though? Perhaps Uncle would remain like that. Even at the banquet hall, he really came only to do business! Mom didn¡¯t come out often, but there was one flower shop she went to. We also bought flowers and went straight home, so I know exactly how to get to the flower shop from here, but¡­! I wanted to visit the market. Just like when I came with Mom, I didn¡¯t want to go back after just buying flowers. Now that I¡¯m seven years old, I want to see the bigger world. It¡¯s about time, yes, yes. It was also true that the words I heard at the banquet hall that Mom raised me while hiding me stayed in my mind. Why did Mom hide me? I never hid. I¡¯m really curious, but if I ask, Uncle will be angry again for getting reminded of what happened that day, so I¡¯ll have to keep my mouth shut. Yet that thought didn¡¯t last long. ¡°Don¡¯t run your tiny brain, take the lead. We¡¯re just going to buy flowers.¡± It was because Uncle looked at me crookedly and threatened me. Pretending to go to a flower shop and snorting where to go first, I had no choice but to cool down. In fact, I wonder if Uncle has the ability to look into my head. If not, how can he block everything I think! ¡°Uncleeee.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°Market¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been to the market before¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t come up with a good way to convince him. This can¡¯t be. I groaned and looked up at Uncle with a teary face. He twitched his eyebrows twice and let out a deep sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s go, just go.¡± Uncle¡¯s clumsy permission fell. Excitedly, I dragged Uncle into the market. *** He shouldn¡¯t have lost to the gloomy eyes. He should have noticed when Aika¡¯s eyes brightened. Kassel swallowed deeply and touched his forehead. ¡°Hello!¡± ¡°Oh, hello. Little Miss! To think that I¡¯m greeting a noble lady.¡± ¡°Mister, have a good day! Your hat is really cool!¡± ¡°Hm, hmmm? Good day! Your clothes are really dazzling!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± This is because she began to make eye contact and greet every merchant whom they passed by. If she pretended to be closer here, she would even introduce herself. And, not knowing what was dangerous, she was putting a small snack in her mouth, which was offered by a merchant who greeted her. ¡°Would you like to try this, Little Miss?¡± Kassel was right behind her, keeping her safe, so if they wanted to live their lives to the rightful, they wouldn¡¯t give her anything dangerous. ¡°Thank you! Wow, so delicious! I think it¡¯s the most delicious thing in the world!¡± ¡°Whew, you speak beautifully too. Maybe it¡¯s because you look like your dad, you really look like a doll! Gasp, t-that guy is. Hiiiik.¡± The faces of the merchants who saw Aika¡¯s gold plate name tag belatedly turned pale. CH 26 The store owners who knew Kassel¡¯s face because they ran slightly bigger stores loved Aika, yet they couldn¡¯t say anything about Kassel. Otherwise, they were very fond of Aika. Even the one thing that made them nervous when they saw the name tag. She even shouted over and over again when people scrambled all over the place, ¡°Excuse me-! I¡¯ll be passing by for a bit! Thank you!¡± but her bones all hurt. It was the first time Aika had gone out for such a long time, but it was also the first for Kassel to go out so crudely. Then Aika stopped at a large store. It was a store that sold toys and dolls. Another flash of light flashed in her eyes and she headed towards the store as if she was possessed. ¡°U-Uncle, I¡¯ll just take a look!¡± Aika took the lead, not wanting to be refused. Seeing that expression, Kassel wanted to tease her again, but he remained silent, thinking that it would be much more efficient to spend the time in the store. As her short legs have good stamina and already circulated more than half of the market. She will follow him on her own, so even if he told her to go with Zenda, she would hold his hand and not let go. Seria once said, children disappear in an instant and must be watched at all times. Aika grabbed Kassel¡¯s fingers first, as if she snatched it right away when he let go even for a second. He didn¡¯t seem to have anything to lose. There was also a larger toy store in the downtown area, but since it was her first time, he thought it would be okay to take a tour of the small store. But how come she¡¯s acting like she¡¯s never seen a toy before when she started babbling, he wonders. Didn¡¯t she get one from her mom? Now I can¡¯t even ask if you got all the toys I gave you. ¡°Take a look, then.¡± ¡°Thanks, Uncle!¡± As soon as permission was granted from Kassel, Aika let go of his fingers and went into the store like lightning. ¡°Hello! Can I see the doll?¡± He saw her putting her hands together and bowing loudly. ¡°¡­I¡¯m at a loss with her greeting spirit.¡± Kassel shook his head and followed in. Aika¡¯s decision to just take a look didn¡¯t last long. She hesitated in front of a doll that looked like her, then gestured. ¡°Uncle, I want this.¡± Perhaps she remembered her words to just take a look, her voice was weak. ¡°You said you¡¯d just take a look.¡± Then, in an instant, a dark cloud forms over her face. Kassel held back the corners of her lips from rising. ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you, so can¡¯t you buy it for me?¡± ¡°When did you listen to me?¡± ¡°I meant to listen to you from now on! Uncle has a lot of money.¡± ¡°Uncle is a beggar. You can just make money and buy it.¡± Kassel didn¡¯t readily agree, crookedly crossing his arms. It¡¯s time to roll her little brain and tumble her feet. ¡°Y-You¡¯re lying! And I, I¡­ can¡¯t work yet, though? If Uncle buys it for me, I will pay it back later when I grow up!¡± ¡°Then buy it when you grow up.¡± Aika¡¯s eyes shook like an earthquake as he shrugged leisurely. Then she raised her hands and folded her fingers one by one to count something. She folded one hand, then as she crossed the sixth finger on the other side, she looked up again. ¡°What if that thing disappears when I grow up?¡± ¡°Then there is nothing you can do.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± ¡°Then we can make the same thing at that time.¡± Aika¡¯s eyes widened again. Now it¡¯s time for her special move to come out. The all-round special move, old man. ¡°I want it now, Uncle. Uncle has a lot of money. Grandpa said I could tell Uncle anything I wanted!¡± ¡°That¡¯s something Uncle doesn¡¯t know.¡± At those words, Aika¡¯s round eyes pouted. Whoa, that¡¯s too picky. Uncle. It was written all over her face. Her cheeks were swollen with dissatisfaction, but because she wanted something, she couldn¡¯t even show a pout. Zenda and Gerard laughed inwardly when they saw her timidly fiddling with the hair of the doll. She was even choosing the most ridiculous among the dolls. Among those many dolls. It wasn¡¯t a dog, nor a bear, nor a cat, but its fur was white. Does that one also think wearing a necklace is the same as me? Anyway, her taste was strange for once. The owner, who was worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to raise sales, smiled brightly and pretended not to know when Gerard secretly said something. The only person in the store who didn¡¯t notice was Aika. *** We really didn¡¯t buy it! I left the store in vain. It was a little doll! Such a tiny doll, though! Of course, there are hundreds of dolls in the house, but none of them look exactly like that one. I have slept hugging each of the other dolls, so it was time for a new one. It was perfect, though! Uncle didn¡¯t buy me anything, saying he had no money. Liar. I¡¯ll just ask him to exchange it for the necklace. I shouldn¡¯t have said I was just taking a look when I first entered. I should¡¯ve said I would pick just one item. I should¡¯ve listened to him yesterday. No, if I hadn¡¯t followed him to the banquet hall¡­ No, before that¡­ I gave up after biting his tail. Although I tried begging Uncle again, it didn¡¯t work at all. I instinctively knew too. He will never buy it for me this time. I had no choice but to give up and head to the flower shop. But Gerard was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen him since we left the toy store. ¡°What about Gerard?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll figure it out.¡± ¡°What if he gets lost?¡± ¡°Is he you?¡± ¡°He will follow us soon, Miss.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I left my disappointment behind and went to the flower shop. Hmm¡­ But where did we need to go from here? Because I only went to the flower shop each time, it was the first time I went after looking around the market like this. It seemed like I would have to go back to the carriage rental to find my way. However, it seemed that if I did that, Uncle would jump into the carriage and leave right away. Clearly like that. I held Uncle¡¯s hand tightly and set out to find a similar distance as possible. After wandering around a few times, I found the flower shop I always go to. ¡°Uncle, over there!¡± I pointed to a flower shop with a small sign in the distance. ¡°Go ahead and buy it.¡± Uncle pushed me and said. ¡°Is Uncle not going? I always bought flowers with Mom there. There¡¯s a very nice and pretty sister.¡± ¡°I told you earlier. It¡¯s annoying, so hurry up and buy it. Zenda, take the kid and buy it on your own.¡± Eventually, instead of Uncle, I joined hands with Zenda and headed to the flower shop. ¡°I wanted to go with Uncle.¡± ¡°He must be tired. We¡¯ll quickly buy it and go back.¡± ¡°Mm! Although I wanted to tell Uncle about that flower shop, I can¡¯t.¡± Next time, we really need to come here without stopping anywhere else. I took Zenda¡¯s hand and went to the flower shop. ¡°Welcome, uh, Aika¡­? How¡­¡± ¡°Hello, Sister!¡± I greeted Pretty Sister whom I hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. I heard that a carriage accident was the trigger for Mom to get to know this flower shop sister. Mom said that on her way home from work late, Sister, who was coming out of the alley, bumped into the carriage. She was fortunately not seriously injured, but Mom provided treatment and lodging, she said, knowing that Sister had just moved up to the capital and had no place to stay. Since then, as they continued to be close, Mom provided Sister with her shop, and Mom stubbornly insisted on her running a flower shop here despite Sister¡¯s decline. In fact, I haven¡¯t seen Sister more than ten times in total, but every time I come, she welcomes me. She always gave me one of the prettiest flowers that bloomed that day. Sister, who spotted me, approached me, putting down the flowers and gardening shears. Sitting on her knees in front of me, the flower shop sister stared at me for a long time. ¡°¡­Aika. How have you been?¡± Somehow, it looked like she was about to cry. I guess I know why Sister was making that face. Because Sister was also close with Mom. CH 27 ¡°Yes¡­ What about Sister?¡± But Sister took off her gloves and hugged me tightly. ¡°I¡¯ve been well. That¡¯s a relief. I¡¯ve missed Aika so much. Thanks for coming back¡­¡± Then she gently patted my back. Tears welled up on Sister¡¯s face as she looked back. The flower shop sister had a brief conversation with Zenda and held my hand again. ¡°I will show you the flowers.¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯m giving them to three people tomorrow. They need to be very pretty flowers. And today I have someone to give presents to, my uncle! Ah, and I have to give it to Gerard too. Even Zenda!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, Miss.¡± ¡°Haha, a present for your uncle? Alright, I got it. I¡¯ll pick the freshest and prettiest flowers for you.¡± After a while, I brought flowers for Uncle and Gerard, and Zenda brought one flower I picked out and another bouquet for tomorrow. Then Sister held out a single rose to me. ¡°This is a gift for Aika. Then come and visit me again next time, Aika.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± I nodded and hurried out to go to Uncle. In the distance, I saw a tall figure standing with his hands in his pockets. Uncle was talking about something with Gerard, who appeared before I knew it. I quickly ran. ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Yep! Uncle, this is yours!¡± And popped out the biggest sunflower to Uncle. It was the largest one in the flower shop. ¡°What. To eat?¡± ¡°No! It¡¯s a gift for Uncle, why would you eat it? Keep it by your side when Uncle is working.¡± Then Uncle received the flower sourly. ¡°This is my money, anyway.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Although I had nothing to say, I glared at him with my cheeks inflated in displeasure. Uncle is really mean to me. Then he picked me up. I hurriedly handed out a flower to Gerard as well. ¡°Such a temper. Can we go now?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°You thought well, Peanut.¡± ¡°I told you I¡¯m not ¡®Peanut¡¯?¡± ¡°If you feel unfair, grow up.¡± I tugged at Uncle¡¯s hair, who was so obnoxious, as he timidly strode towards the carriage. Uncle didn¡¯t seem to feel much of a blow, though! *** The next day. I asked Zenda ahead of time yesterday, and got up two hours early. Because it was the day I finally promised to meet Russphe at the Imperial Palace. After breakfast, we hurriedly prepared to go to the Imperial Palace. I brought flowers for Russphe. I also brought flowers for Grandpa. I also brought flowers for the Emperor. I brought candies and handkerchiefs. And I¡¯ll make sure Uncle brings the key. ¡°Ah, Zenda, you know.¡± ¡°Yes, Miss.¡± ¡°What happened to the sister who came here yesterday? Did it go well?¡± Come to think of it, when I returned home, there was no one at the front door. ¡°Yes, I think so. It¡¯s no big deal, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something bad? That sister came to the banquet hall yesterday, right? Her voice was like the one I heard there, though.¡± I told the truth. Because I¡¯m going to get scolded anyway! Zenda opened her eyes wide. ¡°Did you remember that?¡± ¡°Yep. If I had gone with Zenda, you would have seen her face.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I think she¡¯s really one of the people you saw.¡± I jerked my head away. ¡°W-Why is she here?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not sure if I can tell you¡­¡± ¡°Please tell me!¡± Then Zenda reluctantly opened her mouth. ¡°They made a big mistake to you, Miss.¡± ¡°Uuumm¡­ It was fine, though.¡± ¡°Absolutely not. That¡¯s why the shops and stores run by Valliot and Leguier have blocked the entry of the four families.¡± ¡°Why¡­?¡± ¡°Because they made a mistake. They said that perhaps, the family of the one who visited yesterday was also included.¡± I heard that all young ladies who were eligible to attend the banquet in the capital rushed to order dresses from the stores owned by Uncle and Grandpa. Even they have the best jewelry and shoes. ¡°Is that such a big deal?¡± Enough for her to come here? ¡°In the case of young ladies who are sensitive to fashion, they can even make reservations with extra charges. Yet she¡¯s even blocked from entering the stores.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Furthermore, it seems that all businesses that had any connection with the four families, including the Green family, were withdrawn. I heard that if they keep going like this because they can¡¯t get enough money, they might end up in debt.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. Maybe it¡¯s the reason she came here to ask for forgiveness. That¡¯s why people are afraid of Valliot.¡± No, you¡¯re telling me things have gotten this big? ¡°Because of me¡­?¡± Zenda added to my question. ¡°No, they¡¯re paying the price they deserve for their wrongdoing, not because of the Miss. That¡¯s why, please don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Then what if people all hate and avoid us?¡± ¡°There is no need to worry at all, as there¡¯s a line of families who want to fill the new vacant positions and do business together.¡± ¡°How does Zenda know so well?¡± ¡°I heard it from Gerard yesterday.¡± ¡°¡­¡± [Learn it right now. How to dispose of garbage.] Suddenly, Uncle¡¯s soft words echoed in my ears. How to dispose of garbage¡­ I don¡¯t know if everyone understood it correctly, and I think it¡¯s scary, but I decided to keep it as Uncle said. It could be a way to protect Grandpa and my family. And also. And also¡­ And also! ¡°Whoooooaaaaaaaaaaa!¡± After breakfast, Zenda took me to the room where all the toys and dolls I had seen at the toy store the previous day had been moved. ¡°Zenda, look at this!¡± ¡°Fufu, do you like it that much?¡± ¡°Yes! They¡¯re all new!¡± I sat down in the middle and turned my eyes everywhere. It really was all there. I took a look at each one of them at the toy store yesterday. ¡°¡­¡± No. Everything but one. Except for the doll I picked out. I searched hard through the pile of toys, yet there was no doll I had chosen. ¡°¡­Doll.¡± Why isn¡¯t it here? Everything I saw yesterday is here, though? I trusted Uncle, though. As expected, Uncle can¡¯t be trusted. This can¡¯t be. It¡¯s time to send a letter to Grandpa asking him to buy the doll. I stared at Zenda, unable to hide my dejection, with my shoulders drooping. She burst into laughter. ¡°Zenda, why¡­?¡± Zenda, is this funny? I¡¯m frustrated, you know! It¡¯s good, but not enough. Oddly enough, out of so many toys, I was drawn to it. It¡¯s neither a puppy nor a polar bear, but a chubby white fur doll with black eyes. No other decorations, just a metal button dangling as a necklace, below the neck, exactly like my name tag! On the button was a large claw shaped like a tiger¡¯s claw. ¡°How about going to the Master?¡± ¡°Uncle?¡± ¡°Yes, maybe he knows where the doll is.¡± ¡°Gasp.¡± At that, I jumped up and went out to find Uncle. I actually trusted Uncle. Originally, the only person I could trust was Uncle. Hearing that Uncle was on the first floor, I rushed down the stairs. He was sitting leisurely on the sofa in the hall on the first floor. Holding the doll I longed for. Panting, I went to my uncle and stretched out my hand. ¡°Uncle, give it to me!¡± But Uncle raised the hand holding the doll. Then he grinned obnoxiously. ¡°Take it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± You know I can¡¯t take it even if you told me to! As if climbing a mountain, I stepped on Uncle¡¯s thighs, which were like rocks. He said, ¡°Ugh.¡± and made a short, painful noise. ¡°Hey, is your uncle a street? That you can step on like that?¡± At the same time, I caught the doll. Oh, got it. Fortunately, it came into my hands in vain enough that I didn¡¯t have to use any force. ¡°Hihi.¡± ¡°You like it that much?¡± ¡°Yep, I like it best in the world.¡± After holding the doll in my arms, I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. Yeah, this was it! ¡°Alright, so come down.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I grabbed hold of Uncle¡¯s clothes as if I was ripping off his clothes to keep my balance so that I could get back down to the floor, but my body staggered for a moment. ¡°Be careful.¡± A firm hand touched my back. It was then. ¡°Ah.¡± Again. Regardless of my will, my eyes became hazy. Not in front of Uncle! I thought it was quiet for a few days, but I never got used to this phenomenon no matter how many times I went through it. Although I¡¯ve been so comfortable for a few days! Mom said it was our secret, but this was never my will. What should I do when my eyes change at will? Mom didn¡¯t tell me this. No, she couldn¡¯t. How should I deal with this situation? I was so scared to have this ability. Like, what if I can¡¯t escape this illusion? The only possibility now is to go to the Ancient Book room with the key Mom gave me. Mom said I could see them. Maybe it¡¯s just my thoughts. ¡°Peanuts, hey, Aika¡­¡± Uncle called my name, but his voice became distant. CH 28 A different scenery unfolded with the feeling that I was alone. A man was looking for someone. It was a moonlit night, his face contorted with anger and he was wearing a black gentleman¡¯s hat. He had brown hair, and the ends of his hair stood out. And his left hand was bandaged. For an instant, the man¡¯s eyes lit up. At the same time, the view suddenly changed and I saw a black carriage. ¡®Gasp¡­!¡¯ I was taken aback at that moment. Because it was a carriage I knew. It was Grandpa¡¯s carriage. If the crest of the Selledor family is a lion, then Valliot¡¯s is a sword and a wolf. And Leguier family¡¯s was similar to Valliot¡¯s, but it looked like the claw marks of a sharp beast were engraved on the sword. It¡¯s not Uncle¡¯s carriage because it has a wolf¡¯s mane. ¡®Grandpa? Not Uncle?¡¯ Grandpa got out of the carriage. At that moment, someone broke through the escorts and attacked him. Fortunately, the escort driver saved him, but Grandpa injured his arm and the escort driver injured his face. All in all, it¡¯s a dangerous scene again. Although the man was later caught and knelt on his knees, the fact that it happened was dangerous. Who is this bad guy and why did he attack Grandpa? These fragmentary visions seen while I¡¯m awake, not in dreams, always showed what was going to happen that exact day¡­ It¡¯s tonight! ¡°Aika.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Uncle¡¯s low voice pierced my ears. It was similar to when I heard a loud sound while covering my ears. As I heard the sound again, my vision began to blur and sink. I was relieved. Because I noticed that the illusion was crumbling. I don¡¯t have to be locked up. The once collapsed field of vision quickly changed to the original sight. I blinked my eyes to come to my senses, but Uncle¡¯s face looked serious. ¡°Peanut.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± ¡°Aika.¡± ¡°Why? Uncle.¡± I answered casually. Was it originally the time for the ability to end? Or did Uncle call me and take me out of there? I was suddenly curious. ¡°What are you. What¡¯s wrong with your face?¡± ¡°What¡­ is?¡± ¡°Why are you suddenly staring into space? Are you sick? You¡¯re staying at home?¡± Uncle asked while pressing my cheek with the palm of his hand. His touch was rough, but I was surprised by his voice, which was kinder than usual. But still, this can¡¯t be! I promised Russphe that we would meet after 10 nights. ¡°No!¡± I shook my head. I¡¯m glad, though. Uncle didn¡¯t notice my secret. My heart was still beating and my whole body was numb enough to feel like I wanted to hide somewhere, but I pretended not to know and stood with my feet on the floor. ¡°Hey, Peanut. Don¡¯t whine that you¡¯re sick later when you go, tell me now.¡± Uncle¡¯s voice changed back to that of the blackmailer. ¡°No, I¡¯m not sick¡­ Uncle, let¡¯s go to the Imperial Palace quickly.¡± To tell Grandpa. I swallowed the words behind my back and forced Uncle to stand up. *** Oh my God. There¡¯s a problem. Apparently, today was the day I was supposed to come to the Imperial Palace, but both His Imperial Majesty and Grandpa were busy with work, so we couldn¡¯t meet. I couldn¡¯t even deliver the bouquet and had no choice but to look at Uncle in vain. ¡°Why are you making that face? Just ask them to hand over a bouquet of flowers.¡± ¡°I have to see Grandpa on my own instead of handing it over!¡± ¡°He¡¯s busy.¡± ¡°But¡­ What about later?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about later. What are you, aren¡¯t you meeting White Peanut?¡± ¡°I¡¯m meeting him! But there is something I must tell Grandpa¡­ Can I really see him later? I really need to.¡± I was going to ask Uncle instead, but somehow it seemed like he would only say half of what I wanted to say. Only the information needed! As I clench my fists and look up at Uncle, a murmur flowed out from Uncle¡¯s mouth, saying, ¡°Ugh, that stubborn shit.¡± ¡°I know, so go meet White Peanut.¡± After arguing with Uncle for a long time, I managed to get a promise that he would make sure I could meet Grandpa. Then I met Russphe again at the place where Uncle took me. ¡°Russphe!¡± I quickly ran and stopped in front of him. ¡°Aika, hello.¡± ¡°Hi! how have you been?¡± Today, Russphe came wearing prettier clothes than last time. His hair was as fluffy and soft as the day we first met, and he was wearing a white shirt also a yellow bow tie. ¡°Mm, I¡¯ve been fine. Aika, what about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing great! Let¡¯s really have fun today. This is a gift for you!¡± I gave him a huge bouquet of flowers. Then Russphe¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A gift¡­ for me?¡± ¡°Yep! Aren¡¯t they very pretty?¡± The flowers the flower shop sister picked yesterday didn¡¯t wither at all. Zenda told me that it was because she sprinkled something on it so that it wouldn¡¯t wither, but I heard it once and forgot about it. While Russphe was entrusting the bouquet to someone else, Uncle handed me the key. ¡°Stay in Gerard and Zenda¡¯s plain sight. Not all places in the Palace is safe.¡± Uncle turned around. I tugged at his clothes. ¡°Uncle, where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll seek my work for a while while I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°If Uncle is late, can I go to the Ancient Book room first?¡± ¡°Do whatever you please.¡± ¡°Okay! You have to let me meet Grandpa, you know?¡± ¡°I told you I got it.¡± Uncle ordered Gerard something, then he disappeared. I put the key in the pocket Zenda made for me. I¡¯ll have to ask Russphe to go to the Ancient Book room with me later. I was thinking about that, but this time, Russphe received the box from an escort and handed it to me. ¡°Aika, here.¡± Suddenly, his face turned red. ¡°Are you giving me this? A gift?¡± Then he shyly nodded. I gave out the bouquet as it was, yet what Russphe gave me was a beautifully wrapped gift with a ribbon attached. A yellow box with a yellow ribbon. The box size was also large. I got the whole store as a gift from Uncle today, and I never thought I would receive another gift! Although that power was expressed at will, it¡¯s safe to say that it was the best day except for that. ¡°Russphe, can I open this now?¡± I snorted and asked. ¡°Yeah, you can.¡± At the same time as Russphe¡¯s answer, I supported the box on my stomach, held it firmly with one hand, and untied the ribbon. Holding the untied ribbon in my mouth, I carefully opened the box. At that moment, my mouth fell open and the ribbon fell to the floor. ¡°Ah, ribbon!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pick it up, Miss.¡± ¡°Zenda, thanks! Whoa, it¡¯s a bunny.¡± To be precise, they were pink bunny slippers. It also had round rabbit eyes and soft ears. I¡¯ve seen a lot of separate stuffed animals, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen slippers in the shape of animals. It would be nice to wear in the cold winter. No! I felt like I could wear them in my room right now. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen something like this, Russphe! It¡¯s really pretty!¡± He looked at me and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a relief. I saw it at the store and you¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Nothing. Thanks for the gift too, the flowers.¡± Russphe¡¯s cheeks and ears turned red. Just like a bunny. ¡°Mm! Now let¡¯s play.¡± I securely entrusted the box of slippers to Zenda. Then, I took Russphe¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s play under the tree over there. The biggest tree!¡± Russphe and I sat on a mat Zenda spread under the biggest tree in the Imperial Palace. And while we were having fun, strangely, the people working at the Imperial Palace brought us an entire table full of sweets. There were people whom I had seen the last time I met His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. We played by catching handkerchiefs and drew pictures. ¡°Russphe, let¡¯s measure our height.¡± ¡°Height?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have to be tall so Uncle doesn¡¯t call me ¡®Peanut¡¯. Turn around and stand here.¡± I stood with my back to the tree with Russphe. I stretched out my hand and measured the height between Russphe and me. ¡°Zenda, measure us now!¡± ¡°Yes, you two need to stay still.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± I held my breath and waited for Zenda. ¡°You may move now.¡± At those words, I hurriedly pulled away and turned around. Zenda was marking the tree with her finger instead of drawing a line. ¡°Is this my height?¡± ¡°Yes, Miss. This is Sir Russphe¡¯s.¡± ¡°We¡¯re almost the same, aren¡¯t we!¡± Then Russphe met my eyes and smiled bashfully. ¡°Aika is a little taller.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± Zenda¡¯s finger on my height was one inch higher. Huh? So am I not the smallest, right? But why am I ¡®Peanut¡¯? I had to think for a while. Come to think of it, Mom was tall. Uncle was also tall, so I wondered if I was growing up late. ¡°Then next time Russphe should be taller, right?¡± ¡°Mm, that¡¯s right.¡± We measured our height and were playing frantically again when someone approached us. I thought it was Grandpa Turtle I saw at the banquet for a moment, but fortunately it wasn¡¯t. It was an old man with hair the color of dark green leaves. His curled mustache stood out. ¡°To think that a guy who will rise to a big position in the future is playing so comfortably. I told you never to waste your time.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I apologize. Because today¡­ it¡¯s my day off.¡± Russphe spoke in a hesitant voice. Why is Russphe apologizing? CH 29 ¡°Day off?¡± Mister Green asked, cleared his throat, and looked around. Then, as if to warn him, he said to Russphe. ¡°A guy who might become a crown prince in the future has such a private time? Shouldn¡¯t words come out if you read one more book and train your swordsmanship during this time? Goodness, you¡¯re this vulnerable.¡± Zenda, Gerard, the palace servants who remained next to us, and even Russphe¡¯s attendant bowed their heads to greet the uncle. Who is that? I opened my eyes wide and looked up. Dark green hair and blue eyes. And the crest on his uniform was a vine. Vine? The crest on the shield with the vines spinning around is said to be the family of the Duke of Notium. So, is that man the Duke of Notium? He wasn¡¯t a bad person, then? Just as Valliot followed the Emperor, Notium was similarly said to be on the Emperor¡¯s side. I heard he was from the maternal side of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. In any case, it was said their blood was connected to the Imperial Family. So, of course, they¡¯re in agreement with the Duke of Valliot, who succeeded in making His Imperial Majesty the Emperor himself, but before that, their power wasn¡¯t so strong. They said that it was a much older family than the Valliot, and that the Duke was a wise man. I remembered Mom teaching me crests and saying that the Duke of Notium had a lot to admire. I don¡¯t think so, not at all. But still, why would he say something to Russphe? I saw him get scared and step back. Russphe did nothing wrong, but he lowered his head as if he had done something wrong. My friend was scared. I opened my arms wide and blocked him in front of Russphe. ¡°Don¡¯t bully Russphe, Mister!¡± Then Mister Mustache raised his eyebrows. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Aika. Aika de Valliot! Then who is Mister Mustache?¡± ¡°Valliot? You¡¯re Aika de Valliot?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I lifted my chin, still protecting Russphe. I couldn¡¯t see how others were doing. If I lose the eye contact battle, I lose the fight. So I couldn¡¯t see anything else because I was staring at Mister Green Vine Mustache. ¡°Haha. Have you given up on hiding now? Turns out you¡¯re aggressive, brat. My name is Gale. Didn¡¯t your grandfather tell you to be polite when you see an adult?¡± ¡°He did.¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t look very good now.¡± ¡°But the person who bullies a child is a bad person.¡± Actually, that¡¯s what Mom said. Because Grandpa is Mom¡¯s father! I decided to think so. ¡°This Mister has never bullied you, though?¡± ¡°You just scared Russphe. You told him he can¡¯t play.¡± ¡°That was a natural thing to say. He had to become a very big person in the future, that¡¯s why I gave the advice, because he shouldn¡¯t have the slightest flaw. He might be a crown prince, we don¡¯t know.¡± Hmph, I snorted. What if it¡¯s a crown prince? Is it that great? Russphe was trembling in fear and lowering his head. ¡°My grandpa said that children only need to play and be healthy. Right, Zenda.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± The Mister jerked his head to the side with his mustache flying. ¡°Be sure to tell the Marquis not to neglect the kid¡¯s education.¡± Russphe¡¯s attendant lowered his head and said. Come to think of it, when we all met and introduced ourselves earlier, he said his name was Kamaye, right? ¡°Yes, Young Duke. In the meantime, he has been devoting himself to his studies without missing a day. Today, he set aside time for a special appointment, but he didn¡¯t neglect his studies. I will definitely pass on what you said.¡± (as we all know he¡¯s certainly not ¡®young¡¯, the phrase ¡®young duke¡¯ actually means the successor of the current duke. so he¡¯s going to be the next duke yada yada) Then the Mister with a mustache sticking out like a gloomy green vine made a disgruntled face. ¡°Valliot brat, you, too, should work hard. Learn that you shouldn¡¯t play together without thinking even if you¡¯re friends.¡± ¡°Russphe is seven years old, just like me! They said I could study later. If not, I will ask His Imperial Majesty the Emperor!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°His Imperial Majesty the Emperor!¡± I¡¯m also friends with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor is the highest-ranking person in Warford, so if I ask him, he¡¯ll scold Mister Mustache too. Thinking to myself, I swelled my chest even more. Mom told me that the Notium family was fine, yet it wasn¡¯t. Where is there a law to bully a child! ¡°And we¡¯ll have fun and later grow up to be much better and cooler people than you!¡± ¡°No, well, to this extent. Even the temperament and hair are the same as Valliot¡­¡± ¡°You seem to have spoken harshly, Young Duke. Take that word away. Otherwise, I have no choice but to report to my master.¡± Gerard intervened. Then Mister Green Vine Mustache made a puzzled expression. ¡°Ha, yeah. Pretend that it didn¡¯t exist. Tsk, if only His Imperial Majesty was married, there would be no problem. Anyway, don¡¯t waste this precious time.¡± In the end, pushed by our momentum, the Mister muttered something and left. ¡°Russphe is my friend! You bad mister.¡± I put my hands on my waist and snorted vigorously. Suddenly, someone hugged me tightly from behind. ¡°Russphe?¡± When I looked behind in surprise, Russphe was hugging me. ¡°Aika, thanks.¡± I didn¡¯t know why Russphe was doing this. However, I heard that this wasn¡¯t the first time Mister Mustache has nagged at him. And it wasn¡¯t the Duke of Notium that Mom said! It was added that the Duke of Notium was about to abdicate and was going to pass on the title, so it was the Young Duke who was almost pretending to be the Duke of Notium. That means he hasn¡¯t been the Duke of Notium yet. After it was decided that he was taking over the title, he became very interested in Russphe. Russphe was also afraid of him because he would come over from time to time and nag him as if he kept an eye on him. I understood after listening to Kamaye and Zenda talking next to me. Heh, that Mister Nothing, to my friend. He¡¯s all dead! I turned around and grabbed Russphe¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the ancient library. Have fun there and become a better person than that Mister Mustache from earlier.¡± Then Russphe nodded, his head dropping. I came to the ancient library with Russphe. Thanks to Uncle¡¯s advance notice, as soon as I said I wanted to go to the ancient library, Kamaye took us there as if he had promised. I took the key from my pocket. ¡®A place Mom wanted to show me.¡¯ I heard that it was only possible to enter with the permission of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. I gulped, staring at the locked lock. Then, with Gerard¡¯s help, I lifted myself on tiptoe and opened the lock with the key. Eventually, Gerard pushed with my hand, and the large door opened with a loud, heavy sound. Gerard guarded the outside, then Kamaye and Zenda decided to explore the ancient library with us. ¡°Miss, as you know, you should treat books with care. If there¡¯s a book you would like to read, we will bring it out.¡± Kamaye bent his knees and met my gaze. I nodded and started exploring the ancient library with Russphe. The windows in the old bookshelf weren¡¯t large, but lanterns were lit at regular intervals. There, the road split into eight branches, and bookshelves stood tall like a huge wall. And instead of continuing all the way to the end of the wall on the other side, the bookshelf was broken in the middle, leaving a hole in the center. The light was coming down in a straight line through the small window at the top, so I felt a sense of mystery. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s go over there.¡± I pointed to the center as if possessed. Hearing the sound of Russphe¡¯s footsteps following me, we headed toward the center, examining the old books on the bookshelves one by one. There were some letters I could read, but most were full of unknown letters. It was different from what I thought. I don¡¯t know anything, how can I find that something Mom left here? ¡°Russphe, I¡¯ll look here first. You can read what you want to read!¡± ¡°I want to read what you read.¡± ¡°Huh? Alright. Then I¡¯ll pick out a book for you!¡± ¡°Mm.¡± CH 30 I turned around the bookshelf that was cut off in the middle and looked at the bottom of the bookshelf on the other side. As I was looking at them one by one like a walking duck, there was no book on the bottom shelf. That¡¯s why I can move right to where Russphe is, where we just came from. The compartments on each bookshelf were so large and high that it seemed that if I crouched down, I could pass through the space. I knelt on the floor and crawled slowly through the space, hoping to startle Russphe. It¡¯s so easy, though? ¡°Russphe!¡± I gave Russphe a small cry. And when I poked my head out, Russphe wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Where is he? Russphe, are you behind?¡± I crawled back out again. I was planning to surprise him, but Russphe must have followed me back. However, when I got up and looked, Russphe wasn¡¯t there either. ¡°Huhhhh?¡± I ran again and looked around the bookshelf to find Russphe. ¡°Russphe?¡± I went over to the bookshelf next to it one by one, yet he wasn¡¯t there either. Where did Russphe suddenly go? Also, I could hear the voices of Kamaye and Zenda earlier, but now it was strangely quiet. *** Meanwhile, Russphe sat quietly and waited for Aika, just as she said. She said she was going to pick up a book, but there was no news from her even after a while. ¡°Aika?¡± Russphe stood up again, turned around the bookshelves, and poked his head out. But Aika wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Where is she?¡± Russphe decided to sit quietly again in the place where Aika told him to wait because he didn¡¯t know if Aika would come back while he was looking for her. Then, he pondered over what had happened earlier. Russphe has been highly anticipated since the moment he could remember. He didn¡¯t know why. People from his family just agreed that umless something big happened to his father, he would take over as crown prince. Father told them not to be in a hurry, but not the rest of the family. They always wanted Russphe to be the best, and they tolerated no flaws. [How about having Russphe registered as the adopted son of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor?] Russphe also knew the meaning of the word ¡®registered¡¯. It was a word he saw in a book he studied a while ago. He didn¡¯t mean to listen, but he happened to hear it unintentionally while walking down the hallway. So should he be more flawless than he is now? Will he cease to be the child of Father and Mother? All this time, Russphe had grown up not knowing what he liked. There was no time for that. Even if he tried to like something, he had to be wary, and he had to be criticized if his hobbies or actions didn¡¯t match the expectations. If he chose late, they said he was prudent and frustrating. If he learned not to hurt the other person, they said he was timid. They said he was just being prudent and careful, but anything else was wrong. As a result, he even hated his own personality. ¡°Aika¡­¡± The only thing Russphe liked. It was going to the Imperial Palace. Because he has His Imperial Majesty the Emperor by his side at all times, and he can be free, albeit briefly. However, it was when he heard that if he went too often, he could end up in people¡¯s mouths, so he decided to cut back. [Russphe, welcome. Now, come here and greet each other.] He was called by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, and there was a very, very pretty child there. Her black hair was sparkling like the night sky. Her cheeks looked like balls of pure white snow, but there was also a pink part, thus she looked like a doll. Her name is Aika de Valliot. She was said to be the nephew of her uncle, Marquis Leguier, a friend of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. Marquis Leguier was also a person whom Russphe respected. Because he isn¡¯t afraid of anything and is a strong man. He had the idea that he would like to be like Marquis Kassel de Leguier when he grows up later. [Hello, nice to meet you! I¡¯m Aika.] [¡­I¡¯m Russphe.] [Who did you come with? I came with my uncle. It¡¯s very spacious here.] [I-I came alone. Ah, with the attendant.] Then Aika¡¯s eyes widened. He thought she had a pretty voice. She sounded like a canary singing. [You¡®re so cool.] [¡­Not really.] Is that something that¡¯s supposed to be called ¡®cool¡¯? If he said he was going to the Imperial Palace, they would tell him to do this again, do that, thus he only came with Kamaye. But when he heard the pretty girl called him ¡®cool¡¯, he was quite proud. [Hey, Russphe. Do you come here often?] [Yeah. Why?] [We¡¯re friends now. Let¡¯s play more next time!] [Next time¡­?] [Yeah, next time. Then bye, for real!] He couldn¡¯t even ask Aika if she could be his friend, yet she became one. For the first time in forever, he felt that he wanted to be someone¡¯s friend, but it was already decided. He wondered if he could do that, but he had already slept for 10 nights and they even promised to meet again. They were close enough for him to receive all the candies in the bag. That day, Russphe kept the candies in a small bottle decorated with a ribbon that Kamaye had found for him and he hadn¡¯t taken them out yet. And today, when we met again, Aika protected me. Although he was the adult I hated the most and didn¡¯t want to meet. [Don¡¯t bully Russphe, Mister!] [Russphe is my friend! You bad mister.] At that voice, he looked at Aika, and her back was shining brightly. Rainbow light. No, a prettier light than that. Because she was emitting the prettiest light in the world, Russphe unknowingly hugged Aika tightly like a doll. [Russphe?] [Aika, thanks.] For being kind, for being great. And for protecting me from someone I hate. Also for being friends with me. So, Russphe decided that he, too, would become the greatest and best friend to Aika. For the first time, he has something he wants to do on his own. ¡­But why isn¡¯t Aika coming? Russphe eventually got up from his seat again. I must go find my friend Aika. #5. Exploring the Ancient Library of the Imperial Palace! The Chosen One, Awaken the Power Is Russphe trying to trick me, just like me? I sneakily looked through all eight bookshelves, but couldn¡¯t find Russphe anywhere. And Zenda and Kamaye were nowhere to be seen. The door was still closed, though¡­? I was terrified. I hurried toward the door. I don¡¯t know what kind of joke was played, but this was a bit scary. I was about to run to the door when a little rabbit suddenly appeared in front of me. ¡°¡­Rabbit?¡± But it wasn¡¯t just a rabbit, its body was translucent, so the other side was showing through. What on earth is that? The rabbit was running through the bookshelves as if it were nothing. I stopped, mesmerized, to watch the rabbit running around the bookshelves. ¡°I guess I¡¯m just seeing an illusion. What is that?¡± Then the rabbit jumped up, stopped, and stared at me. Before long, he jumped at me once. Startled, I took a step back. No matter how cute it was, it could actually be a terrifying ghost. There¡¯s no way such thing as a translucent rabbit could exist. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Gasp¡­¡± It looked at me and asked who I am? Did that strange rabbit just say that? No doubt, it must be a ghost. ¡°W-Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking. Who are you? How did you get in?¡± ¡°You are¡­ Who? Why is the rabbit transparent?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even be transparent? I asked who are you?¡± ¡°Are you a ghost? Tell me first.¡± ¡°I asked you first.¡± ¡°If you want to know someone¡¯s name, you have to say it first before asking.¡± I had a long fight with the rabbit. Thinking that the rabbit must be a ghost, I didn¡¯t say my name until the end. The rabbit didn¡¯t even respond to my answer. What kind of rabbit is that? With each jump of the rabbit, I took a backward step. Before I knew it, my back bumped into a bookshelf full of books. The rabbit reached my feet. My body got hot and I broke out in a cold sweat. Am I suddenly falling asleep and dreaming? What if it¡¯s like a monster that came out of a dream? I had no idea what to do with that little mouth with thorny teeth. Sniff, sniff. The rabbit that really came right in front of me put it on my foot and sniffed it. In an instant, its drooping ears pricked up. ¡°Do you know Seria?¡± Seria? It¡¯s my mom¡¯s name. CH 31 ¡°Do you know Mom?¡± ¡°Mom?¡± The rabbit pricked up its ears. With each blink, the rabbit became more transparent and then came back. ¡°Seria is your mom?¡± ¡°Yep! How do you know my mom?¡± Is something special Mom mentioned back then this rabbit? ¡°Seria is my friend. Then you¡¯re my friend too.¡± To think that a rabbit ghost is Mom¡¯s friend. ¡°Mom¡¯s friend¡­ Are you a ghost?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, though?¡± Then, suddenly, the rabbit quickly ran away somewhere. I just stared at it, and the rabbit stopped. ¡°Follow me.¡± I followed the rabbit across the bookshelves like a maze. I¡¯m not going to go to a strange place again, am I? Certainly there was no Zenda, no Kamaye, no Russphe here. It was just me and this strange rabbit. I don¡¯t know how it happened. It was only after running out of breath that I reached the other end. On the other side of the old bookshelf, at the far end from the entrance I entered, there was a huge mural. I think it¡¯s a painting of gods¡­ The rabbit went right into the mural. I hurriedly tried to get in, yet I hit a hard wall and failed. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± I tried hitting the head first, but to no avail. After a while, the rabbit popped out again. ¡°¡­Aren¡¯t you coming?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t go in. How do you get in here?¡± The rabbit tilted its head and went back inside. I stared at the mural in vain. Mom¡¯s friend is weird. This time the rabbit came out with something in its mouth instead. It was a stone slab the size of my two palms combined. ¡°Take this.¡± The rabbit spoke well even while holding the slate in its mouth. I took the slab with both hands. ¡°¡­What is it?¡± ¡°Me.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°No, not you, me.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The rabbit looked at me quietly. I had no choice but to look at the slate that the rabbit held out. The stone slab was carved with a rabbit holding a bat and striking something. ¡°You say this one in here is you?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± It seemed that it was boasting that it was now depicted on a stone slate. ¡°It¡¯s so cool. I saw it well.¡± I held out the stone slab again and smiled. ¡°¡­Seria did well on her own, though.¡± The rabbit had no expression, but his trembling voice was transmitted as it was. I was curious about something more than the slate. ¡°Was my mom here too?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°Often? I came through the small aisle in the bookshelf. Did Mom come that way too?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Because I met Seria inside here.¡± Hearing its words, I swallowed. ¡°Then, Rabbit. About what my mom¡¯s ability is¡­ You know that?¡± On the day Mom had an accident, she fed me a red jewel and made secret promises to me, but Mom never told me about her abilities. She only said I would have special eyes. But I thought that Mom might have had the same ability to see the future as I did. Could it be that she had other abilities than mine? So what ability did Mom have? ¡°Of course.¡± The rabbit gave me the answer I wanted. I knelt down and crawled closer to the rabbit. ¡°Really? What ability is it?¡± The rabbit said, ¡°Ahem.¡± And it told me what it knew. Mom¡¯s abilities were truly special. First, she could hear what birds were conveying. This is Mom¡¯s first ability, it said, she found a stone statue in the shape of a bird and awakened her powers directly here. And with her powers, which she obtained from a spider-shaped brooch, I heard, she could even briefly bind a person¡¯s feet. It¡¯s really brief, but even an ability to avoid rain. ¡°Why did Mom have that ability?¡± ¡°Seria is the one who wakes us up. She¡¯s a very special person.¡± ¡°The one who wakes you up?¡± ¡°Yep. She made me wake up from that slate. Maybe the other guys too¡­?¡± ¡°This?¡± As I pointed to the stone slab, the rabbit twitched its ears. ¡°Mmhm. I¡¯ve been sleeping there for a long time. Only those with special powers can wake us up. Then, in return, we lend that person abilities that will help them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lending me your powers?¡± ¡°Yeah. But we can¡¯t get caught by the hunter first. We should only wake up to someone special. If we get caught by the hunter, we will never be free.¡± My curiosity was being resolved, but the rabbit¡¯s words brought another curiosity. Someone special? Hunter? The rabbit¡¯s words sounded like riddles. Mom is a special person, and there seems to be another hunter, but the rabbit said that the hunter is dangerous. The hunter¡­ When the carriage accident happened, my memories were scattered, but there was a voice that came to my mind vaguely. Could it be they? Are they also bad people? ¡°Seria told me that someone dear to Seria would come here one day. I guess that was you. Because you smell like Seria.¡± Smells like Mom! The rabbit said I smelled like Mom. I was very happy about that. ¡°That¡¯s right. Mom said I was the most precious thing in the world.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t know you were this young.¡± ¡°Ah¡­?¡± ¡°Even while doing that.¡± ¡°Even that?¡± As I didn¡¯t understand what it meant, the rabbit gave a short sigh and said. ¡°You say you don¡¯t know anything, but you already have some of Seria¡¯s treasures.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°But it would be better for you to figure it out for yourself later than for me to tell you. If you want to awaken the strongest, you¡¯d better learn it yourself.¡± Like a rabbit consoling me, it put out its little forepaw and rested its chin on mine. ¡°And if I force myself to tell you something, it could go wrong.¡± I bent down flat to meet the rabbit. ¡°Could you explain slowly again? I don¡¯t know anything about Mom¡¯s abilities. Also tell me how you met Mom. Hm?¡± Then the rabbit stared at me. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was seeing me fully as I only saw black eyes, but it just felt that way. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, if you want. Then you should listen carefully, you know?¡± ¡°Yep, got it.¡± I opened my eyes to mean that I would concentrate. ¡°We are souls belonging to ancient artifacts. I wasn¡¯t originally like this, but over a very long time, I changed into the image engraved on the stone slab.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re supposed to look like?¡± ¡°Yep. We were messengers and representatives of God, and we were originally just like you. It¡¯s been so long that I can¡¯t quite remember it now.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± God¡¯s representative, God¡¯s messenger. I had only been to the temple once with Mom. She said that there are people who pray every day, and there are people who visit occasionally like us. The priests there called themselves messengers of God, but it seems that such a thing existed a long time ago. ¡°Seria is the one who wakes us up and brings back our memories.¡± ¡°Mom¡­¡± ¡°Then we will stay by her side and be Seria¡¯s strength. And when Seria sends us away, we become free.¡± The rabbit said that there are many beings like it everywhere in the world. There are those who haven¡¯t yet awakened, and those who have already awakened and found freedom. It explained that special beings like Mom don¡¯t appear often and rarely, so they must be lucky to regain their original memories and abilities. A special friend who appears only a few times in a millennium. The rabbit called such beings the seekers, or ingator, or indagatrix. ¡°By the way, following Seria, you have the ability.¡± ¡°I see. So, do you have any other friends besides me?¡± ¡°Yes. However, it¡¯s very rare that the seekers meet each other. If we meet each other, we can share our abilities, but instead, we have less power than when we first got it, so we don¡¯t really try to find each other.¡± The rabbit said it was worried because I realized the strength when I was too young that I shouldn¡¯t have realized it until I was an adult. Ah, and rabbit-like beings are called ancient artifacts or treasures. ¡°What about the hunter?¡± CH 32 ¡°Predator!¡± At the mention of the hunter, the rabbit raised its ears and became wary. ¡°Hunters are very bad. They can find us like Seria, but they can¡¯t set us free. According to the natural order, they should let us go, yet they are greedy and won¡¯t let us go.¡± ¡°Gasp! What if that happens?¡± ¡°Of course It¡¯s a big deal. Instead of coexisting with us, they forcibly annihilate and steal only our abilities to accumulate wealth from generation to generation. And try to harm a special being. They think you¡¯re a hindrance.¡± Just by listening to the rabbit, I could tell they were bad. ¡°Did those people hurt Mom?¡± The rabbit then shook its head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I know Seria is no longer in this world.¡± For some reason, the rabbit¡¯s voice sank. I also drooped my shoulders. We just stared at the floor and for a long time we were locked in memories of each other and Mom. No. Mom said I shouldn¡¯t cry. I have to be strong no matter what. I raised my head. ¡°But you said you were going to go. Why are you staying?¡± ¡°Because I couldn¡¯t say goodbye to Seria.¡± ¡°Then¡­ You can¡¯t disappear forever?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not right. When the seeker disappears, we are free after a period of time. But I decided to stay because Seria asked for something.¡± I don¡¯t understand everything, but I thought I knew about seekers and hunters. The two are similar yet different. I asked the rabbit. ¡°I think I have the power to see the future. Maybe this is also¡­ your abilities?¡± ¡°Did you see the snake¡¯s eyes?¡± ¡°Snake eyes?¡± ¡°Serpens! Of those awakened by Seria, Serpens is the only one who can see the future. It had the form of a snake and one of its eyes was red.¡± The rabbit lifted his front paws and straightened his body. ¡°It¡¯s a necklace, right? Seria found it and cherished it.¡± I nodded my head off. ¡°That¡¯s right! Mom took a red jewel from her necklace.¡± I don¡¯t know if the necklace she pulled out at that time was exactly a snake¡¯s. ¡°I told Seria that she must awaken that power. But Seria seems to have given it to you. I told Seria that she would be safer with that. Where is it now?¡± Where that is¡­ ¡°I ate it¡­¡± ¡°You ate it?¡± ¡°Yeah, Mom gave it to me, so I gulped it.¡± Then the bunny muttered something, ¡°You forcibly pulled out the power.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t that painful?¡± I replied that I didn¡¯t know anything after the accident. When I said I couldn¡¯t remember everything, the rabbit¡¯s ears drooped even more. ¡°I see¡­ Serpens¡¯ ability is a very rare one among us. It followed the Most High of the Gods. Unlike me who belonged to the slate, it was a jewel. You have awakened its power.¡± Suddenly, the rabbit came out, bumped its nose, jumped up, and came into my arms. As soon as it touched my wet nose, I was startled and sat down with my butt on the back. The rabbit pressed its little paws near my heart. I was a little surprised, but it was so light that it wasn¡¯t difficult at all. ¡°But you can only use my abilities. Serpens is inside you, yet you haven¡¯t woken up properly. This way, you won¡¯t be able to use your power properly.¡± At those words, I poured out, recalling the unfair past. ¡°That¡¯s right! Suddenly I see the future, even though I didn¡¯t want to. At that time, I can¡¯t do what I please. My mom told me to keep it a secret, but that keeps happening, so I don¡¯t think I can keep it.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s wake it up now.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Well, even if we don¡¯t immediately recognize the seeker, when they¡¯re around, we¡¯ll be drawn to it and come to our senses. Then we will call the seeker anxiously on our own.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°But for those who haven¡¯t awakened on their own, the seeker has to find out and call us by name. Otherwise, we have no choice but to wait for the next seeker to find us.¡± The rabbit leaned into my arms and continued talking. ¡°It¡¯s really waiting for fate. Until we meet a very aggressive seeker.¡± ¡°Fate¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that its name was Serpens?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already in you and you know its name, so now all you have to do is call it by its name. It¡¯s the easiest way.¡± ¡°Can I just call it?¡± ¡°Concentrate all your thoughts in one place. And remember the jewel you ate. and earnestly call. Until your call is answered.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. I¡¯ll try slowly one more time later. Can I just do what you said?¡± ¡°Later? Now!¡± ¡°N-Now?¡± ¡°Right now!¡± The rabbit, which sprang up, pushed its face closer. The rabbit¡¯s pea-like eyes shone fiercely. I was puzzled. No, at least I have to prepare my heart, you know?! ¡°Scary. What if it suddenly goes wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already wrong anyway!¡± *** Meanwhile, the imperial palace turned upside down in silence. Inside the ancient library, Aika disappeared like dust. After looking around the bookshelves for a long time, Russphe couldn¡¯t find Aika, so he informed Kamaye and Zenda, and Zenda immediately informed Gerard. ¡°No matter how much I search, I can¡¯t find her.¡± ¡°Gerard, what should we do? She really isn¡¯t there.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t come out. I will go in and find her.¡± The four of them joined forces to search the ancient library again, yet Aika disappeared as if she had really evaporated. Naturally, this fact reached Kassel, Duke Valliot, and even the Emperor. However, since several important meetings were underway on the agenda of raising a new prime minister, first of all, servants and knights were sent to thoroughly search the inside of the ancient library. No matter how large the ancient library was, it was a room inside the Imperial Palace. More than ten people entered the space, searched through all the old books, and searched for picture frames, chairs, and other places where even ants couldn¡¯t hide, yet Aika didn¡¯t come out. And all this was done quietly and thoroughly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not even here!¡± ¡°There is nowhere else to hide.¡± The ancient library didn¡¯t even have a secret passage that could be easily found in the Imperial Palace. It was literally a place that was blocked off on all sides except for the entrance, and it made no sense that even with so many people put in, they couldn¡¯t find her. As soon as the meeting was over, Kassel immediately went that way to the ancient library and received the report, his eyes widened. When the chaos erupted to the point that Gerard couldn¡¯t stop it, the Emperor who came belatedly looked at the situation unfolding in front of him and made a stunned expression. It was absolutely devastating. Although the knights were moved to the outside of the building so that the news wouldn¡¯t go out, those who had come to the inside to stop him were all gone. ¡°¡­Y-Your Imperial Majesty. I apologize. The Marquis is too stubborn.¡± Belatedly, one of the knights straightened his body and corrected his posture. What the heck happened, the knight had a torn side of his eye and a dent on one of his armored shoulders. He must have been thrown out while trying to stop Kassel. The Marquis was trying to get all the books in the ancient room, so they tried to stop him for the purpose of protection, and it happened like this, he said. ¡°I-I apologize.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. Take a rest first.¡± Winchester pressed his forehead and headed inward. As he moved a little closer, in the distance, the maid who had been tending to Aika was on her knees begging forgiveness. ¡°Sir, please calm down. I¡¯ve sent someone to the garden, so we¡¯ll find her soon. Just calm down a bit¡­¡± ¡°You ain¡¯t getting out of my way?¡± Bang?! Before Winchester could even enter the ancient library, a knight flew in and crashed into the door of the ancient library. The knight crouched over and groaned. All of the fallen knights were said to be the best in the Empire. They were gathered to form the Imperial Palace Knights, so their skills aside, their basic physical condition was extraordinary. Tossing them around was a truly formidable and monstrous force. It seemed that Gerard had already given up stopping him. Winchester lifted his hand to summon the still intact knights. ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out, so drive all people away.¡± ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, it¡¯s too dangerous right now¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t anyone stopping him now? Keep your mouth closed so that it doesn¡¯t leak outside as much as possible, and drive people away. You¡¯re forbidden to enter this way.¡± ¡°¡­I will take your order.¡± After all the people of the Marquis¡¯ residence were driven away,Winchester went inside. Valuable old books were scattered on the floor, making a mess. He rubbed his brow. It was bitter in his mouth because these were the books he had managed more thoroughly than anything else. However, this time, he was also at fault. Maybe he should have been a little more careful. He raised his head with guilt, wondering if he had given the key too hastily after seeing the child who had grown so much that he didn¡¯t recognize her. ¡°Kassel.¡± As soon as Winchester put his hand on Kassel¡¯s shoulder, he was thrown away with a thud. ¡°Move.¡± ¡°Kassel.¡± Kassel sighed without looking up. The moment Winchester was caught off guard, Kassel grabbed him by the collar and pushed him hard against the wall. Thud! Hitting the wall with a sound, Winchester groaned briefly. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can kill you.¡± CH 33 The voice he gave out as he gritted his teeth was terribly rough and low. The half-turned, ferocious golden eyes looked not like a person, but that of a wild beast. That means he was on the verge of losing his temper. Winchester did his best to calm him down. ¡°I think I was too hasty. I apologize for that, I¡¯m sorry. I promise to find Aika safe in the Emperor¡¯s name. So please calm down and wait.¡± ¡°If you hadn¡¯t given her something like that in the first place, there wouldn¡¯t have been a problem, Winchester Gaia Selledor.¡± ¡°It was Seria¡¯s request. I promised not to be involved in anything that happens here. All Seria asked me to do was to believe in her and wait.¡± They were close friends for a long time, but after ascending to the throne, he still maintained the courtesy of being the Emperor. Winchester was also a bit uneasy about the present Kassel. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You know. That I can¡¯t refuse.¡± As Winchester leaned the back of his head against the wall, Kassel spat out. ¡°What would you leave the kid to know. She¡¯s a big kid who doesn¡¯t know anything and only looks at her mom. The kid who barely survived Seria¡¯s death. Do you know what she means to me?¡± ¡°Seria certainly said so. She¡¯ll be safe no matter what happens in here. I believe in that. Seria would never talk nonsense.¡± ¡°Stop talking bullshit and find her before I burn them all down.¡± ¡°Aika is precious to me too. I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to find her out today. So calm down. If you make more fuss than now, words will leak out. That¡¯s something you don¡¯t want either.¡± Winchester looked straight into Kassel¡¯s eyes and continued. ¡°Aika will be very surprised if she sees you now.¡± A silence of moment. Eventually Kassel loosened his grab around Winchester¡¯s collar, and only then did Winchester sigh in relief and rubbed his neck. Later, the pain felt as if his spine had been crushed. Kassel clicked his tongue as Winchester stumbled. ¡°What kind of emperor you are with that damn body of yours.¡± Winchester felt unfair. Other than that guy, there was no one who could stand on top of him in terms of skills. ¡°Crazy bastard. You¡¯re as strong as a monster, not that I¡¯m weak.¡± ¡°Find her.¡± ¡°¡­Alright.¡± Winchester, who barely reassured Kassel, did his best to find Aika by moving in an orderly manner. Yet she, Aika, didn¡¯t show up until late at night. The anxious Kassel finally stood up. *** I was taken aback. To think that it said it¡¯s already wrong. To think that I have to do it now. ¡°It¡¯s even scarier if you say that.¡± Still, the rabbit was reckless. ¡°You ate Serpens¡¯ eye. A huge power is crouching inside you right now! It will be very frustrated!¡± ¡°B-But it hasn¡¯t said it¡¯s frustrated yet?¡± ¡°Because it can¡¯t talk right now! And breaking the seal is good for you too. Then you can talk to Serpens too. Like me!¡± I heard it wouldn¡¯t matter as long as I didn¡¯t destroy ancient relics like itself and only awakened the spirit. But I had already gulped down the jewel and scared it by saying that it didn¡¯t do much, but it was never a good thing. Isn¡¯t it okay if there¡¯s no big deal? Yet when the rabbit scared me, I became anxious. Uh, and I can talk to snakes? ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t like talking to snakes. I¡¯m afraid of snakes.¡± I had seen a snake passing through the garden before. It was so long and frightening that I was so startled that I couldn¡¯t even scream and froze on the spot. ¡°Since Serpens is insignificant and not scary at all, let¡¯s solve it quickly. Seria said that helping you is my job.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Are you not going home?¡± ¡°Home? I have to.¡± I tried to get myself up. Yet the rabbit didn¡¯t come down from me and said. ¡°If I leave now, it seems like a lot of time has passed.¡± ¡°A lot of time has passed?¡± ¡°Yep. Every time Seria came in here, she said she had to go soon. She said that even if she stayed for a while, it would be dinner soon.¡± ¡°What? Why would you say that now!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t ask. So hurry up and go.¡± The rabbit grumbled and came down to the floor. I hurriedly got up and prepared to leave. I don¡¯t even remember how long I was here. Even if I didn¡¯t know it, if I counted the time I listened to the explanation, I could see that much more time had passed than a brief moment. ¡°I was scolded when I got into trouble. Ugh, Uncle will kill me.¡± If what the rabbit said is true, Russphe might be looking for me too. He asked me to hang out with him, yet it was our first time playing as friends and I ended up ruining everything. ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­¡± Russphe would be sad. ¡°Rabbit, what should I do to get out?¡± ¡°As you came in earlier.¡± ¡°Huh? When I went into the hole earlier, I didn¡¯t come out. I¡¯ve done it a few times.¡± ¡°I opened it, so you can go out now. Are you really going now?¡± I hurriedly nodded and said. ¡°Yep. A friend is waiting for me. Zenda, Gerard, and Uncle will be waiting.¡± ¡°I see. Goodbye!¡± The rabbit turned around without hesitation. Because of the fur, the round rump and tail were visible. ¡°Ah¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t walk a few steps and finally stopped. I came back hesitantly and touched the rabbit¡¯s little tail. ¡°Are you angry?¡± ¡°Not quite there yet!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not among the friends you said!¡± Instead of answering, I just opened my mouth. Ah, right. Earlier, I said that since the rabbit is Mom¡¯s friend, I, as Mom¡¯s daughter, is also its friend¡­ I went back and looked at the hole, then at the rabbit. Anyway¡­ If to awaken the power, is it better to be now? As the rabbit said? ¡°Doesn¡¯t it hurt?¡± The rabbit then spun around and nodded vigorously at me. ¡°Will it end quickly?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Help me. I sat down again and asked the rabbit. ¡°Great.¡± The rabbit replied that it would, putting its paw on my leg as if it had always done that. I gathered my heart and caught my breath. They¡¯ll wait outside, so I¡¯ll hurry up and go. ¡°What if I don¡¯t wake you up? What if I say I won¡¯t use my power?¡± The rabbit flapped its ears once. ¡°Then there is nothing I can do. I¡¯ll have to wait for another seeker to find it. But that¡¯s not possible, you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not?¡± ¡°It¡¯s instinct. You will continue to be drawn to us. that you would like to help us. It¡¯s fate.¡± ¡°¡­Fate?¡± ¡°Mmhm. And the power we give you will help you, not hurt you. You punish someone who bullies you, you know? We might even get rid of the predator. So please adapt.¡± ¡°But are you alone here?¡± ¡°Yep. I¡¯m a guide. Seria wants me to do that.¡± ¡°A guide?¡± ¡°Yep. Seria said she had to wake up to everything alone. The seeker before Seria probably should have been like that too. So it was very difficult and uncomfortable. That¡¯s why they made me a guide.¡± As expected of my mom. My mom is the smartest and coolest person in the world. ¡°To keep you informed and to let other seekers know. Even if I disappear, another messenger of God can stay here!¡± ¡°¡­Is that okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what Seria said, well, whatever. So are you ready? You said you had to go quickly?¡± ¡°Yeah, to some extent.¡± Then the rabbit suddenly snapped its right unfolded. ¡°Look at my feet and focus. Thinking this is a snake.¡± ¡°Small and soft.¡± I fiddled with the rabbit¡¯s feet as if possessed. Even though it was translucent, it was easy to touch. ¡°Don¡¯t touch, focus.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Concentrate and close your eyes. Sing ¡®Serpens¡¯ in your mouth and in your heart at the same time. Until it responds.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°Do it first. Then it comes naturally. If you can¡¯t concentrate, you¡¯ll be late, so be aware. It¡¯s not my fault.¡± ¡°Ah, got it.¡± I stared at the jelly on the rabbit¡¯s foot and immediately closed my eyes. Small jellies floated in front of my eyes. ¡°¡­Serpens.¡± I didn¡¯t feel anything. ¡°Serpens.¡± ¡°More eagerly!¡± I heard the rabbit¡¯s voice. ¡°Serpens¡­!¡± I called out its name several times, concentrating. The rabbit said, ¡°It¡¯s hard because you¡¯re too young.¡± I focused even more on muttering. My body tickled, and the desire to do something else welled up. I held back and called Serpens over and over again. It was then. Drop. CH 34 Suddenly there was a loud sound of water dripping. It seemed as if a single drop of water would make this sound if it dripped into a quiet lake where nothing could be heard. I didn¡¯t hear it in my ears, I thought it was somewhere in my head. Drop. Drop. Drop. The more I sang ¡®Serpens¡¯, the more frequent the sound of dripping water in my head. And then, swoosh?I had the illusion that it was raining. The whole area was filled with the sound of rain, and the rabbit¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t be heard. It was like being in the middle of a dark forest in the pouring rain. I instinctively thought it was now. The feeling that I entered directly into my heart. There was no other explanation than this. Answer me, Serpens! ¡°Serpens!¡± I shouted out its name with all my heart and soul. Drop. The loud sound of rain stopped. It was then. ¡°Are you there-ing?¡± A voice broke out in the stillness where the sound of rain had stopped. My whole body felt cold as if I had suddenly been hit by a shower. ¡°Gasp.¡± At that moment, I opened my eyes in surprise. There was a rabbit in front of me. I looked around. ¡°I heard a sound.¡± ¡°I know, it¡¯s awakened.¡± The rabbit was looking somewhere behind me. ¡°Where?¡± But when I turned around, I couldn¡¯t see anything. I felt as if I was seeing an invisible ghost. It was a very high-pitched male voice. ¡°I can¡¯t see it.¡± ¡°It hid behind you.¡± ¡°Behind me? why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s usually very shy. It¡¯s glancing at you.¡± At that, I furrowed my eyebrows. ¡°Then it¡¯s no different from being inside me.¡± ¡°Not like that. You said that being able to see the future at will is scary and uncomfortable.¡± ¡°It is, but¡­¡± ¡°The more you get to know it, the more you¡¯ll be able to see it whenever you want, maybe.¡± At the same time, the rabbit said that Serpens would show up when it wanted to be friendly with me. I thought I¡¯d be able to see right away. Somehow, the steam cooled down. Ah, this wasn¡¯t the time. ¡°I really have to go now.¡± If there¡¯s a problem, I¡¯d better come back here. Or maybe Uncle will be really mad. ¡°Alright.¡± The rabbit came after me as I went through the entrance. ¡°Rabbit, what is your name?¡± I asked one last time before leaving. It was a series of surprises, so we haven¡¯t even asked each other¡¯s names yet. I can¡¯t not know its name when I said we¡¯re friends! ¡°Lepus.¡± ¡°Lepus?¡± ¡°Yes, Lepus.¡± I checked again and nodded my head. ¡°I¡¯m Aika. Aika de Valliot.¡± ¡°Aika. Seria, Aika. I will remember.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll come play again. Bye, my friend Lepus! See you again.¡± And I pushed myself into the hole in the bookshelf where the book was empty. After Aika left. As usual, Lepus ran around the old bookshelf as if flying. ¡°Nanana, friend. Friend! Nanana?Aika is my friend!¡± While singing cheerfully. *** ¡°Gasp, it¡¯s really night.¡± As soon as I crouched down, I could see the moonlight coming down from the top window and the lanterns all over the old bookshelf. It was clearly different from daylight. I had a hunch that something really big had happened. What the rabbit said was true. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been there for less than 30 minutes, yet it¡¯s already night. It was also very late at night. ¡®What about Grandpa? Did Grandpa go back already?¡¯ I have to tell Grandpa that something dangerous is going on tonight! I hurriedly got up from my spot when I heard a commotion outside. There was a buzz, then it became quiet, then it became noisy again. I was terrified. It seemed like it was all because of me. The keen senses in my body were telling me so. ¡°What should I do.¡± I was frightened and my eyes widened. I think they¡¯re going to be very angry. Still, it was scary to stay here. When I was carefully going around the corner, thinking I had to get out and go to Uncle. It was quiet outside and the sound of footsteps could be heard. The sound gradually got closer to me and stopped. I grabbed one side of the bookshelf and stuck my head out. Along with a sigh full of frustration, I saw the back of someone standing crookedly with one hand running through his hair roughly. That too, a very familiar, tall male adult. I recognized it at once. ¡°¡­Uncle?¡± At the same time, I met the eyes of Uncle, who turned around quickly. Unknowingly, my body trembled. I-I think Uncle just got a bolt of lightning in his eyes. I hurriedly took a backward step, but I couldn¡¯t even take two steps and Uncle grabbed both of my armpits. ¡°U-Uncle! I¡¯m sorry¡­, gasp!¡± In an instant, my body flopped and I was gripped tightly. In the blink of an eye, I was in the big arms of Uncle. The back of my head was pressed by a large hand, and my body almost collapsed. Even so, Uncle¡¯s cool and comforting smell miraculously loosened my stiff body. I felt relieved as if I would soon fall asleep. ¡°Mmph, can¡¯t breathe¡­¡± Haa, I heard Uncle¡¯s voice with a low sigh. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Uncle¡¯s voice in my ears sank to the floor. I froze again. For the first time, I thought that voices might have color. It was a very, very dark voice. I couldn¡¯t see his face, so it felt lower and darker. Oh my God. Uncle is really angry. But what should I say? ¡°Me, me, here.¡± I groaned and opened my mouth with difficulty. ¡°Here, where.¡± ¡°I-I went in between the bookshelves¡­¡± The weight that was pressing on the back of my head disappeared. As I raised my head like a spring, I met the eyes of my terrifying uncle. Hic. I hiccupped spontaneously. ¡°You went in there?¡± Uncle¡¯s gaze turned in the direction I pointed. I nodded vigorously. ¡°I¡¯ve been here ten more times.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, though¡­¡± Uncle doesn¡¯t believe me. However, I thought he wouldn¡¯t believe the story that I came out to another ancient library even though I went there. When Uncle saw it, it was just an open space, enough to see the bookshelf on the other side. ¡°¡­¡± Uncle¡¯s eyes ran all over my body. I thought I was going to get scolded, so my hands and toes were curled up for no reason, but our eyes met again. What should I do. I thought I would get scolded even more if I said I met a talking rabbit. Because there are no rabbits here. So should I say it was just a dream? Then I was able to keep my promise to Mom. ¡°I-I think¡­ I slept here. A rabbit came out of my dream¡­¡± I managed to turn my head and point to the space again. ¡°¡­¡± Uncle¡¯s eyes grew even more ferocious. ¡°Uncle, I¡­¡± I was afraid to look at Uncle, so I glanced at him. Uncle, who hadn¡¯t responded to my words, suddenly turned around. ¡°From now on, don¡¯t come to the Imperial Palace.¡± Then he headed straight out of the ancient library. ¡°T-That can¡¯t be!¡± I held onto Uncle¡¯s shoulders and said urgently. He stood tall again. And it was then that he put me down. As soon as my feet touched the floor, I awkwardly supported myself and looked up at Uncle. ¡°Tell me straight. Where have you been?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Unable to answer the question, I stared at the fingertips of Uncle, who put his back on me. Each second seemed to pass very slowly. ¡°Where have you been¡­,¡± ¡°Uncle, I was wrong.¡± I closed my eyes tightly. It was so scary. I shouldn¡¯t tell him it¡¯s a secret, but I think Uncle will get angry and leave me behind. I was confused about what to do. ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I shut my mouth again. Tears came pouring out. ¡°Aika de Valliot.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°If you keep doing that, Uncle will get angry.¡± ¡°N-No¡­¡± Aren¡¯t you angry now? I¡¯m scared to death, though¡­? Instead of answering, I grabbed Uncle¡¯s pants. As I just stared at Uncle who was combing his hair roughly, he urged me to speak quickly with his eyes. ¡°I won¡¯t do that again¡­¡± Regardless of my will, tears came out once again. I quickly wiped away my tears. I held onto the hem of Uncle¡¯s clothes and kept wiping away the tears, yet belatedly, I heard a noise from outside again. Although I could hear many footsteps, only one, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, appeared. ¡°Aika!¡± CH 35 As soon as His Imperial Majesty the Emperor saw us, he quickly approached us. In an instant, he knelt down in front of my nose and on one knee, making eye contact with me. I was startled and grabbed Uncle¡¯s clothes even tighter. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I nodded my head before answering. ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Are you hurt anywhere? Your uncle was very worried.¡± ¡°I made a mistake, Your Imperial Majesty the Emperor¡­ Uncle.¡± I glanced at Uncle. He wasn¡¯t even looking at me. ¡°Are you really okay?¡± His Imperial Majesty examined me thoroughly and asked again. I nodded my head broadly to answer more clearly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m okay.¡± Only then did His Imperial Majesty the Emperor put his hands on my forehead. ¡°I¡¯m so glad, that¡¯s a relief. You were safe. I¡¯m sorry. It was too short a thought.¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s okay!¡± I soothed the Emperor, who looked as if he would cry at any moment. But even then Uncle was still angry, so I hesitantly cast a helping eye at the Emperor. Interestingly, the Emperor immediately understood my meaning and nodded. ¡°Kassel, you found Aika, so bring her back first. Your time to sniff and snoop has ended.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I met the Emperor¡¯s eyes again. Sniff? I don¡¯t know what he was talking about, yet Uncle¡¯s expression subtly changed. It seemed that there was a story that adults knew and I didn¡¯t. ¡°Even Aika would have been very surprised. If you¡¯re angry, even she can¡¯t handle it, and Aika will be horrified. It¡¯s my fault for not telling you about today. So don¡¯t be angry with Aika. If she¡¯s safe, then enough, okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Right, Aika?¡± As I looked at Uncle and the Emperor alternately with anxious eyes, the Emperor smiled softly at me. So I nodded too. Before long, the Emperor stood up and patted Uncle on the shoulder. ¡°The Duke is waiting outside, so go back first. I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡± I just watched and waited for Uncle¡¯s answer. It was then. Uncle¡¯s hand, which was on his back, reached out to me. A large palm was pointed towards the sky. I arbitrarily thought that was Uncle¡¯s signal, then hurriedly reached out and grabbed his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go home, huh?¡± With a terrifying threat, my waist was grabbed and my body was lifted. I nodded 20 times, hugging Uncle¡¯s neck tightly. As I turned my head quickly, the Emperor was smiling brightly. Then I can rest assured¡­ right? I finally felt a little more at ease. ¡°I will make sure that what happened today doesn¡¯t leak out. Hurry up, go.¡± I greeted the distant Emperor by nodding my head. As soon as I came out, I saw Grandpa, Russphe, Zenda, Gerard, and Kamaye. It was a moment when I was completely relieved even though the future was waiting for me to be scolded. ¡°My baby. My baby, come here.¡± Grandpa reached out his hands to me. I looked at Uncle again. As soon as Uncle¡¯s hand loosened, I moved on to Grandpa. ¡°Grandpa¡­¡± ¡°Come on, my baby. Are you okay? Are you not hurt? Wherever you want to go, you have to talk and go, you lil¡¯ kid. Huh? You melt all this Grandpa¡¯s liver. Why is your stomach so skinny! Are you really okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ Grandpa. I¡¯m fine, really.¡± I felt the gentle hand of Grandpa patting my back. ¡°If you¡¯re not hurt, then it¡¯s fine. As long as you¡¯re safe.¡± Grandpa hugged me and started heading somewhere. Russphe was seen standing behind Kamaye belatedly. ¡®Russphe¡­¡¯ The round eyes were full of my worries. I waved my hand at Russphe quietly and timidly. Then Russphe¡¯s face lit up and she waved his hand in the same way. I was about to wave my hand again, but I met Uncle¡¯s eyes. I couldn¡¯t even greet him anymore and buried my face in Grandpa¡¯s shoulder as if to hide. ¡°G-Grandpa.¡± ¡°Yes, sweetie. Come on, let¡¯s go home.¡± On this day, Grandpa came to Uncle¡¯s house to spend the night and left. Thanks to that, I didn¡¯t have to worry about Grandpa being in danger. The assailant didn¡¯t hurt Grandpa and Grandpa¡¯s escort. ¡®Who is the man with the bandage on his left hand and the assailant who attacked Grandpa?¡¯ In any case, it was fortunate that nothing big happened to Grandpa. Even when I got home, I was scolded by Uncle, but thanks to Grandpa who stopped him, I was able to get scolded only a little bit. However, for the time being, I couldn¡¯t avoid the punishment of being banned from going to the Imperial Palace. And that night. I dreamed that I was curled up by a black snake and rolled across the bed, howling in fear. *** The next day came. ¡°What about Grandpa?¡± ¡°He left early in the morning.¡± ¡°In the morning?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s busy with work¡­ He asked me to tell you to eat a good breakfast and have a good day when Miss wakes up.¡± ¡°I wanted to have breakfast together, but it¡¯s too bad. What about Uncle?¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to work now, should you wash up and eat first?¡± Zenda said, grabbing a warm towel. I nodded helplessly and closed my eyes while Zenda wiped my face. After that, I didn¡¯t see Uncle until daylight. It seemed that the relationship between Uncle and I have become worse off than when we first met because of yesterday. Yesterday after being scolded, I came to my room right away and couldn¡¯t reconcile with Uncle properly. In the morning, I woke up late because of a nightmare wrapped around me by a snake, so I couldn¡¯t eat with him. After that, I couldn¡¯t visit him because I was afraid. But when I thought about it, it was a bit embarrassing. It¡¯s wrong to keep it a secret, but I never went in because I wanted to. I meant to play with Russphe. And I ran into a little problem. ¡°¡­Cold.¡± I crouched down as I walked down the hallway looking for Uncle with my new doll. Yesterday Lepus said I wouldn¡¯t be sick, but since that night, I¡¯ve been cold and hot over and over again. When I woke up in the morning, I told Zenda that I had a fever, yet the doctor she brought in said there was nothing wrong. Then I was cold again and the doctor came again and said nothing was wrong. The doctor said it was a potion that made me healthy, so I took a strawberry-flavored potion, yet it was of no use at all. He just said it was because I was surprised yesterday. It¡¯s really cold and hot¡­ Although I called out the snake several times, it didn¡¯t even pretend to hear. It just felt like something was creeping behind my back, and a ghost would cling to me, and then it would disappear. When I call its name, it doesn¡¯t even think about answering. ¡°I was trying to find Uncle, though¡­¡± It got hot again and then cold as if the temperature had dropped suddenly. I trembled and crouched down a bit more. I don¡¯t have time to be doing this. I kept thinking of the rabbit¡¯s words that the hunters could come to harm me, the seeker. What if they come to harm me? And I had to figure out if the hunters had really hurt Mom. Protect Grandpa and also Uncle. To uncover that secret, I need to become healthier and grow up. If I grow up soon. If I get stronger soon. I should have eaten more breakfast. Today, I left none of the roasted vegetables, but it was lacking. I thought that it would be nice if time passed quickly and I became a strong and big adult like Uncle. ¡°Have you decided to become a beggar now?¡± I jerked my head up. I saw Uncle with a crooked expression. Uncle! When did he come? ¡°Uncle.¡± I jumped up from my seat. I looked at my uncle and said, ¡°Hee?¡± with an awkward smile that showed all my teeth, then his expression became even more crooked. ¡°What¡¯s with that pretty smile. Why are you coming out of the room again?¡± ¡°T-To go to Uncle.¡± As I twisted my body and said, Uncle passed me and started walking again. I often followed him in case I missed him. Uncle, who had been moving away in an instant, slowed down. ¡°Uncle, where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going somewhere where there are no kids who won¡¯t listen.¡± He was obviously referring to me. ¡°If I listen to you carefully?¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t believe it.¡± Now he¡¯s slow enough that I can get ahead. ¡°I¡¯m really going to listen! I will listen to everything Uncle says.¡± Uncle stopped walking. ¡°Only talk?¡± ¡°Really!¡± I quietly moved one step closer to Uncle. I reached out to grab his clothes, yet my body floated instead. ¡°If you stretch out your hand, who will hug you? You even listen to me badly. Huh?¡± ¡°No, I¡­¡± ?didn¡¯t ask for a hug, though. CH 36 But this one was better. I hugged Uncle¡¯s neck before he changed his mind. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m cold, but I¡¯m hot.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Cold, but it¡¯s hot¡­ But the doctor said I¡¯m not sick.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t listen. Why are you whining after taking medicine in the morning?¡± ¡°Gasp, Uncle, how did you know I took medicine?¡± ¡°I know because it¡¯s written on your forehead. It¡¯s written here in a big way.¡± Uncle put his big hand on my forehead and hit it with his index finger. It was a little shocking, but I smiled and said ¡°Hee?¡± again. ¡°This is to make up for laughter. Does it disappear like that again, or it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°¡­It doesn¡¯t disappear.¡± ¡°Were you wrong, or weren¡¯t you.¡± ¡°I-I was wrong. But where is Uncle going?¡± It was clear that we were close again. So I summoned up the courage to ask. Uncle didn¡¯t even answer, he passed down the hallway and headed for my room. ¡°My room?¡± Then he threw me down on the bed. This much was fine now. I jumped up after rolling a lap around the burrow. Uncle, whom I thought would leave immediately, lay down on my bed. ¡°Uncle, aren¡¯t you going anywhere?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was always busy so even though I asked to take a nap together with him, he said he didn¡¯t want to and told me to sleep. Uncle put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes without saying a word. I gently pulled my butt and sat close to Uncle. ¡°Uncle, Russphe¡­¡± ¡°I said no.¡± ¡°Not thaaat! Can I write a letter to Russphe? I want to write a letter saying I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t play with him yesterday.¡± ¡°You can tell Zenda about that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that Uncle is next to me!¡± ¡°Do whatever you want.¡± I nodded and sat down next to him, but it got hot again. I flapped and ripped off my clothes, then got cold again and spread out on the bed. Apparently, Serpens had a bad personality like Uncle. Otherwise, it couldn¡¯t have bothered me like this. I have to keep feeling as if I¡¯m going back and forth like sitting in front of a stove on a summer day and falling into ice water on a winter day. I lay down on my stomach and sighed, but Uncle and I met eyes. ¡°Peanut, yesterday, you¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Nevermind. It¡¯s nothing. And from next week, I will assign you a teacher, so study.¡± With a sound like thunder, I dragged Uncle¡¯s clothes. Could it be that he came to me to tell me this? ¡°Teacher? Why? Mom taught me every day.¡± I¡¯ve never had a teacher. It was always Mom who taught me something, even when she was busy. ¡°Originally, at your age, you need everything, peanuts. So don¡¯t make a mistake and learn calmly.¡± ¡°Hnnnng, Uncle.¡± However, regarding a teacher, something came to my mind. No, actually, I wanted to ask this before, but I couldn¡¯t hold back. I guess I¡¯ll have to ask now. ¡°Why.¡± ¡°When can we go home?¡± ¡°What home.¡± ¡°The house where Mom and I lived.¡± After the accident, I never returned home. I stayed at Grandpa¡¯s house and then at Uncle¡¯s house. I haven¡¯t been to the place where Mom and I lived. Although Grandpa said he would let me go very later, he didn¡¯t say when. So I put up with it, but I wanted to go there again. For I thought maybe there might be a friend like Lepus in my house. Mom and I liked to play hide-and-seek or treasure hunt at home, but I also wondered if there might be treasures I couldn¡¯t find. Uncle opened his eyes again before I knew it and just stared blankly at me. ¡°Later.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you when it¡¯s safer.¡± I thought he would say no unconditionally, and I jumped up at the unexpected words. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°Sure, then when Uncle goes, you know,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put up with strange conditions.¡± ¡°Tch.¡± Uncle is so smart. I licked my lips with regret. ¡°Why would I eat this raw every time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not, though! If you listen to me, I¡¯ll kiss you on the cheek, Uncle!¡± I ambitiously put out the secret that I had been saving. As long as Mom had this one shot, I could do anything. It worked for Grandpa too. So there¡¯s no way it wouldn¡¯t work for Uncle. ¡°What does this have to do with kisses? And will you only kiss me?¡± Huh? ¡°Only¡­?¡± I looked at my uncle with a shocked face. ¡°Do you know how expensive it is to move your uncle once?¡± I glanced at the lying Uncle. I had never heard of such a thing. ¡°You¡¯re lying. Mom said my kiss is worth a million gold. My kisses are very expensive, you know? And I¡¯m giving that to Uncle for free, you know?¡± ¡°Niece.¡± ¡°Yes, Uncle.¡± I answered triumphantly and gallantly. Then Uncle laughed as if it were funny. ¡°The value of money doesn¡¯t fall that easily.¡± I opened my mouth. What is that supposed to mean? My kiss is worse than a million gold right now? ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ll say this again, but my kiss is a million gold.¡± Uncle snorted and tapped the tip of my nose with his index finger. ¡°Alright. If you do it twice, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Then, with his index finger, he tapped both of his cheeks once more. Like, once here and once there. Instead of a kiss, I rolled my eyes at Uncle and crossed my arms. ¡°Then it¡¯s 2 million gold.¡± ¡°Hey, is your uncle worse than that?¡± ¡°Uncle. You said that the value of money doesn¡¯t fall that easily. I only did it once a day to Mom.¡± Uncle raised his eyes slightly as if surprised. Then he covered my face with his big hand. ¡°¡­You learn incredibly fast.¡± This is what it feels like to win! The snort tickled the bottom of my nose. ¡°Hihi.¡± Uncle glanced at me through his hand. ¡°So you¡¯re not going to do it?¡± Then, he turned his head so that his cheek could be seen. Inevitably, I decided to give Uncle an expensive kiss worth a million gold. I stooped flat. Muah, muah?muah! I felt better, so I did it three times. ¡°Why three times?¡± ¡°This is a gift from me to Uncle.¡± It was a celebration of becoming friends again. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because you made trouble.¡± ¡°No. That¡­ I did it to protect Uncle and Grandpa, but¡­ It just didn¡¯t go well.¡± ¡°Are you saying that just a snot will protect me?¡± Uncle snorted. ¡°Where is there a snot this big!¡± ¡°In your nose. It¡¯s still there.¡± Startled, I tried to stick my finger in my nose, then I glared at Uncle. Ah, really. Uncle kept laughing at whatever was funny. ¡°Peanut.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Come here.¡± Uncle supported his head with one hand, laid on his side, and patted the seat next to him. It was at most two or three spans away from where I was sitting. ¡°I¡¯m next to Uncle, though?¡± ¡°Take a nap. You said it¡¯s cold then hot. You¡¯ll get better if you do.¡± Blinking in surprise, I propped up the bed with both hands, bent my knees, and stared at Uncle. Even the doctor didn¡¯t believe me. Even Zenda, who touched my forehead, said it would get better in a little while. And to think that Uncle told me to take a nap, it was a word that didn¡¯t go well with him. ¡°Is Uncle taking a nap too?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Really? Can you not work today?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Uncle has a bit of a bad personality, but he has a scent similar to Mom¡¯s. I didn¡¯t want Uncle to change his words, so I hurriedly slipped into his open arms. I curled up on his chest and looked up at him. ¡°It¡¯s my first time taking a nap with Uncle. Uncle, should I sing you a lullaby?¡± ¡°This uncle wants to use his ears for a long time, though.¡± ¡°¡­I won¡¯t.¡± Then Uncle burst into laughter that made my heart jump. ¡°Try it.¡± ¡°Then the lullaby costs 5 million gold. Understand, Uncle?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other scammer like you. You put me greatly in debt.¡± I giggled, closed my eyes, and sang the lullaby Mom had sung to me. CH 37 That evening. I woke up after a long nap and wrote a letter of apology to Russphe as soon as I ate dinner. At dinner, I asked Uncle subtly if it would be okay to go out with Russphe, yet I was ruthlessly refused. We reconciled, but if he said no, then I couldn¡¯t. I was sad. Instead, he said it was okay for him to come over, so I wrote in the letter asking if Russphe could come over to see me. ¡°Do you want to come to my house to play? Playing with handkerchiefs like before¡­ Gasp, you can¡¯t look at it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not looking, though? I only heard what you said.¡± ¡°Gasp.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pretend I don¡¯t know that too, Miss.¡± Zenda covered her ears. ¡°¡­No. Zenda can look at it all.¡± ¡°Should I talk to Sophie to make a cake that day?¡± ¡°Can we do something like that?¡± ¡°Of course. A little bit of cream would be fine.¡± ¡°Do it! I should write that down too.¡± And the repetition of being cold and hot really disappeared after sleeping just like Uncle said. Even so, Serpens hadn¡¯t shown up yet. It would be great if Serpens would come out soon and I stop seeing the future all of a sudden. Still, since the pain got better, I decided to wait a little longer. ¡°It¡¯s done! Zenda, put this in an envelope!¡± ¡°Yes, Miss.¡± I put the sealed envelope on the tray Zenda held out and waited for the day Russphe would come to play. #6. I Found Out My Friend¡¯s Secret! A few days passed. Finally, the day that I had been waiting for Russphe to come to play. However¡­ ¡°Russphe?¡± ¡°Hello, Aika. Thank you for your invitation. This is a gift.¡± Russphe held out another gift to me. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been invited by my friend, so I brought cookies.¡± I looked at Russphe¡¯s hair as I took the wrapped cookie. ¡°Thanks. But your hair¡­¡± His hair, which was soft and fluffy like cotton candy, was parted in a 2:8 ratio. And around his neck was a large yellow bow tie. As I stared blankly at him, Russphe blushed at him. ¡°Is my hair wei¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s very pretty!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ thanks.¡± Russphe¡¯s face grew redder. I pulled Russphe¡¯s hand. ¡°Today, let¡¯s do something fun. We will write letters, grab handkerchiefs, and make cakes. And we¡¯re going to play in my room too! There are so many dolls, so we can play a lot.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do it all.¡± ¡°Miss, shall I bring refreshments to your room?¡± ¡°Yeah, a lot! Thanks, Zenda.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I smiled broadly and took Russphe up to my room. ¡°This is Uncle¡¯s room. That¡¯s my room. And after Uncle¡¯s room, there is a room with lots of clothes, and I wear clothes every day there!¡± I wanted to tell my first-time friend about the places I like. Soon we arrived at my room. ¡°This is my room!¡± ¡°Aika¡¯s room is pretty.¡± ¡°Hehe, Zenda decorated it beautifully. Let¡¯s go in quickly.¡± I weakly pushed Russphe¡¯s back with both hands and said. Russphe entered first, followed by something cold, running down my neck from behind. ¡°Hiiiik.¡± I felt itchy and goosebumps at the same time and stopped. ¡°Aika, what¡¯s wrong?¡± After entering the room, Russphe turned around. I was startled and shook my head. ¡°N-Nothing.¡± Lepus said that only special eyes could see them, but just in case, nobody knows. I reassured Russphe and reached out behind my back. Nothing was caught on my back, but I knew this feeling. Serpens! Why did you suddenly move behind my back after pretending not to know? I almost screamed in front of Russphe. I have so many questions to ask, but when on earth will it show up? I tell it every night that it can come out now, yet it doesn¡¯t even pretend to listen! Three days ago, I didn¡¯t deliberately call, find, or ask it to come out. I was also fuming. It clearly was trying to annoy me. Touching my back as if brushing off dust, I guided Russphe to the chair as if I had always done that, and I also sat across from him. ¡°I brought refreshments for the Princess and the Prince.¡± I waited with my legs dangling, and soon Zenda came with a bunch of delicious food. The moment I got excited and tried to grab a fork. Sssss? Again, the feeling of a cold snake passed behind my back. I was so appalled that I jumped up from the spot. At the same time, Zenda and Russphe¡¯s eyes were fixed on me. ¡°¡­¡± Agh, how frustrating! ¡°¡­Nope.¡± But even if I told them, no one would know. I pouted, sat down again, and grabbed my fork. Today, I absolutely must see the appearance of Serpens, I must! With that in mind, I picked up the cookie with one hand and bit it. At that moment, my eyes widened without realizing it. Anger flew away. ¡°It¡¯s delicious! Hurry up, Russphe, eat it too!¡± I put it down, picked up a new cookie and handed it to Russphe. Then, Russphe¡¯s face turned red. ¡°Thanks.¡± After receiving the cookie I offered, Russphe took a bite as well, and his eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯s so delicious!¡± Nod, nod. Russphe¡¯s reaction made me more proud. Everything Grandma Sophie makes is delicious! We ate snacks and lay on the carpet, drawing and folding origami using the paper and crayons Zenda brought. Russphe was also good at drawing. It was amazing that there was even a separate art teacher for him. I thought I could draw whatever I wanted, but that wasn¡¯t all. For the tree Russphe drew, he used four colors of green and two colors of brown. On the other hand, I ended up with one green and one brown. Also, after drawing and folding origami, we made a dessert cake to eat with Grandma Sophie. That was the most fun ¡°Russphe, look at this!¡± After applying the white cream, I called Russphe. ¡°Huh? Aika, your face¡­¡± As soon as Russphe turned his head towards me, he burst out laughing, pfft. ¡°Try it too!¡± I applied the cream directly to his nose and cheeks, smiling broadly. As I dabbed the cream on Russphe¡¯s nose, his eyes widened and he dabbed the cream with his finger. It was a war then. We put down the spatula we used to apply the cream on and were busy putting the cream on our palms and smearing it on each other¡¯s faces. We already lost interest in the cake. My hair was damp and the sweet scent of cream vibrated in my nose. ¡°My goodness!¡± At the shrill cry, both I and Russphe froze. Turning my head around, Grandma Sophie, who had brought fruit for the cake, was staring at us in amazement. ¡°Hee.¡± As I ate half of the sweet cream and spread the other half on my face, Grandma Sophie smiled and burst into laughter. Russphe¡¯s hair was just as damp as mine. ¡°Phew, I can¡¯t do this. You¡¯re covered in cream. Our princess and prince are troublemakers!¡± ¡°Grandma Sophie, try it too! It¡¯s fun!¡± ¡°Oh my!¡± Even Zenda, who arrived late, was surprised to see us. For a moment, I thought, ah, I¡¯m gonna get scolded. ¡°Gasp, we¡¯re in trouble.¡± Just as expected. Zenda made a stern expression. ¡°Miiiss!¡± In the end, we were caught by Zenda and had to clean the cream off our bodies. ¡°What about Russphe?¡± ¡°He¡¯s washing in the next room. A servant is helping him. This should be erased¡­ Miss, you need to close your eyes.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t it come off?¡± I closed my eyes tightly and asked Zenda, who lathered the cream off my hair. ¡°It will come off, but I¡¯m worried that the smell of the cream will remain.¡± ¡°I love the smell of cream!¡± After spraying water and squinting, Zenda glared. I laughed bashfully at Zenda. Then Zenda looked at me and smiled as if she had given up. ¡°My tomboy Miss. If your eyes are sore, you have to tell me.¡± ¡°Hihi, yes. I¡¯ll do a little bit next time.¡± I closed my eyes again and quietly entrusted my body to Zenda. Russphe had also returned clean. When I came back from washing, Russphe said that he would have been in trouble if he hadn¡¯t brought his own clothes. In the end, though, Kamaye also laughed at the two of us who were washed clean. I was bored playing outside alone, so I always played inside, but when Russphe came, I wanted to play in the garden too. Perhaps because of the warm water, my energy was up and my body was itching. ¡°Shall we play outside now?¡± CH 38 Catching tails, passing handkerchiefs, and just jumping around! ¡°Yeah, fine.¡± Upon Russphe¡¯s happy answer, I took his hand and went out into the garden. *** ¡°I heard something interesting happened at the Imperial Palace not too long ago?¡± ¡°What was the fuss about?¡± ¡°It looks like that mad dog turned the palace upside down again. What the country is going to be like. He¡¯s been strangely calm these days.¡± Smoke filled the room like fog. The bearded man who sucked his pipe loudly burst into laughter. ¡°I was wondering if someone wasn¡¯t a mad dog.¡± Ragia de Deslin. Deslin, a family that had been greatly trusted by the previous emperors and had been with the history of Warford. He was the man who stood at the pinnacle of this gathering, the one who wanted more than anyone else to bring down House Valliot. With Kassel de Leguier poking around like a valiant action leader, there was no easy day for him. ¡°What the hell happened to him?¡± ¡°Does it seem like he has touched an imperial maid? He didn¡¯t seem to be interested in women, so I guess it wasn¡¯t like that?¡± ¡°If it was just that, would there be any words out? If he had rather enjoyed women¡¯s colors, we would¡¯ve easily communicated with him.¡± The meeting was about ten people. They were men from aristocratic families, including Deslin. The main members of the group were the Duke of Deslin, the Marquis of Rondo, the Count of Menivera, and the Viscount of Lahodo. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what caused it because His Imperial Majesty kept his mouth shut, but there was a lot of talk about someone disappearing from within the palace.¡± ¡°Someone disappeared inside the Imperial Palace. Did a mess grow with just that?¡± ¡°There must have been another reason.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°A kid.¡± All kinds of speculation followed, and Ragia de Deslin chanted. At the same time, the men¡¯s eyes turned to Ragia. ¡°A kid?¡± ¡°You mean the kid with black hair?¡± Rondo asked with a puzzled face. ¡°Don¡¯t the Duke of Deslin and the Marquis of Rondo know?¡± Magi Lahodo sighed on the sofa and pulled his neck. The shiny eyes were busy looking here and there quickly. ¡°If the Mad Dog of Valliot moves, what is it about other than his family? There was a face I hadn¡¯t seen before in the banquet hall. He was carrying around a girl who looked like 5 or 6 years old.¡± ¡°A girl, at that?¡± ¡°I thought my eyeballs would be plucked out after I gave her a glance. So I wondered if what happened in the Imperial Palace was related to that child.¡± ¡°What, what is it? Don¡¯t just let it be known between the two of you, please tell me.¡± Magi urged Rondo¡¯s words even more. Ragia then dumped the pipe ashes into the ashtray. ¡°The deceased Prime Minister¡¯s child out of wedlock.¡± Everyone has a surprised face in the thick smoke. As they continued to solve their guesses and questions, all the eyes of the meeting were on the Duke of Ragia. Ragia smiled. A thick cloud of smoke escaped from his mouth. Everyone quickly turned their eyes, unable to utter an answer out of their mouths. They were busy watching as if they wanted someone to speak for them. The moment Ragia opened his mouth again, the surroundings were greatly agitated like waves crashing. ¡°A girl with black hair and golden eyes who has been hiding for 7 years. Don¡¯t you smell something?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Ho..¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± It was like the eyes of an animal that caught its prey. ¡°No, so you¡¯re saying the rumors were true?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it wasn¡¯t true!¡± The surroundings were buzzing again. But her black hair and golden eyes. It looked like a mixture of the two. It¡¯s been hidden for 7 years. So Rondo was also suspicious about that. In fact, when seen up close, the child looked exactly like the face of the deceased Prime Minister, yet somehow the Emperor¡¯s face seemed to be visible as well. In addition, in the Valliot family, from the head of the family to the brother of the head of the family and the children, there is no one who doesn¡¯t have red hair. However, since the child who appeared to be the granddaughter had black hair, they couldn¡¯t help but to be more suspicious. The noisy hall soon turned into a sharp atmosphere. ¡°Does Calpodia know about this?¡± Ricardo Willow Calpodia. A family of the only brother of the Emperor and also a strong supporter. In addition, since the son of the Marquis of Calpodia was being talked about as the next heir to the throne, of course, if he knew this fact, he would be sensitive to it. What if the child who suddenly appeared as they expected was the Emperor¡¯s only bloodline? Will the Marquis of Calfodia, who has a close relationship with the Valliot family, see his son¡¯s next throne taken away? He had already yielded the throne once, but it was questionable whether he would be able to see his son being pushed out. If the Imperial Family kept quiet and hid the child, as in the story just mentioned, that child might already be on the scale. ¡°If they do well¡­¡± Magi Rahodo gave a fishy laugh. The original problem arises from small cracks. It¡¯s much more effective to touch young than adult prey. Will the wind of blood blow that they want? Everyone had greedy eyes and exchanged glances for a long time as if they were raising stakes for each other. Valliot, who put him on the throne. And Calpodia, his own brother. Who will the Emperor save? *** ¡°Russphe, come here!¡± I knelt down and tucked my body through the low garden trees and called for Russphe. As I pushed my hips out of the narrow space like a dog hole, I saw a small lake. Next to it stood a tall tree much taller than an adult. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been here with Uncle, but there are still many places I haven¡¯t been to. I haven¡¯t been to the outbuildings, and I saw this lake for the first time today. Uncle hid this good place and only knew about it himself. Then this morning, he threatened us even though I and Russphe didn¡¯t break anything in the house. Like a ferocious uncle. I pointed to a lake with a large tree holding Russphe¡¯s hand, who belatedly followed me and crawled out to his knees late. ¡°There¡¯s a lake over there? Let¡¯s go over there and play.¡± ¡°Mm, okay.¡± Fortunately, Ruspe agreed to everything. As we got closer to the lake, something moved in the water. ¡°It¡¯s a fish!¡± Even though I thought there was nothing! We knelt down and watched the fish near the shore. When I splashed the water with my fingertips, the fish miraculously flocked to this side. I mustered up a little more courage and plunged my wrists into the water. ¡°It¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Mm. Does Aika like fish?¡± ¡°Me? Um, I don¡¯t know. I like seeing them. What about you?¡± ¡°So do i.¡± ¡°But I think I¡¯ll get scolded if I look at it any more.¡± Russphe also nodded, removing his hand from the water. Now, don¡¯t do anything dangerous. As I stood up and turned around, the pocket I had attached to my dress fell out. It really was a, huh? moment. ¡°No!¡± In the blink of an eye, the pouch fell into the water. I was startled, so I lay down and stretched out my hand to the lake. ¡°Aika, it¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°Ah, wait!¡± Russphe pulled my clothes from behind. There¡¯s a contract I wrote with Uncle over there, and it¡¯s important! The bag floated above the water, but I couldn¡¯t reach it. ¡°Ah¡­¡± I knelt down and looked at the bag floating in the water with a lost face. ¡°I also put the bracelet Zenda made for me there¡­ What should I do.¡± ¡°Is it important?¡± Russphe looked at me and asked hastily. I looked sad and nodded. ¡°There, I have something Uncle promised me and a pretty bracelet. I have some candies to share with you¡­¡± In the meantime, the pocket moved a little farther away. Oh, no! ¡°I have to tell Zenda. Or even Leto!¡± I could only think of Zenda and Leto as adults to ask for help right now. Since Zenda and Leto are big adults, I wonder if they will find a way to get it out. But Zenda told me not to do anything dangerous. I kept looking at the lake and stamped my feet. ¡°Aika.¡± Then Russphe touched me and called. For some reason, his voice was hoarse. ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Close your eyes.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Suddenly he told me to close my eyes? ¡°Close your eyes and count to 10.¡± CH 39 ¡°What kind of accident did you have?¡± A voice like thunder urged Rosina. ¡°¡­I apologize, Father.¡± Rosina bit her lip. From the day after she made a mistake at the banquet hall, her family was upset. Her mother, who had gone out in the morning, had returned without being able to do fitting for her dresses. She said she was rejected from the entrance with a shameful expression and her face flushed red. However, that was nothing. The fact that none of her dresses, accessories, or shoes could be fitted in the right place was only the base, and her father¡¯s business started to go wrong right away. However the rumor spread, as word spread that the Green Count family itself was in jeopardy, then other nobles secretly started to turn away. Some people were anxious and abandoned their investment plans or came to get their already invested money back. Even the only thing that went wrong was the relationship with the Valliot family, yet rumors spread that he was hated by the Emperor. Originally, the Count¡¯s family wouldn¡¯t collapse like this, but Count Green was a greedy man. He wanted to imitate and catch up with the Valliots, who quickly increased their funds and expanded their influence. As a result, he raised a lot more funds than his own, and voices of concern grew. Still, he was confident. He was able to join hands with the Valliot family, which he had dreamed of. However, the moment the longed-for dream came true, the funds that had been circulating so far were frozen, and even the business that had been involved with the Valliot family was reluctantly withdrawn. Count Green couldn¡¯t come to his senses. It was only later that he realized that his daughter, who had kept her mouth shut, was the one who made it happen. ¡°Apologize? You know you¡¯re sorry, yet you¡¯re making that kind of problem? Huh? What can you do! You¡¯ve made up your mind to ruin the family! I told you to please, watch your mouth and don¡¯t make fun of me!¡± Rosina wasn¡¯t an openly mischievous child, but she did occasionally embarrass herself by slipping her tongue. That¡¯s why he had told her to be careful repeatedly, yet she ended up having a major accident. Of all things! She touched Marquis Leguier, who shouldn¡¯t be touched, this doom was inevitable. In the first place, Marquis Leguier was reassuring if he had him on his side, but if he had him as an enemy, he was more troublesome than anyone else. Since a few years ago, the Count Green had grown quite a bit as they drew along the Valliot family, and it was as if they scored a goal in an instant. And a few months ago, he started a new business and was offering to recoup the huge investment funded by Marquis Leguier. As soon as they truly recovered, the Green Count family might disappear without a trace. He maintained trust with other families with the belief that he was doing solid business with the Valliot family, and he couldn¡¯t bring it down. But how could he appease someone he couldn¡¯t communicate with? ¡°There are even rumors that our family is ruined! They even ask me to refund their investment money like crazy! What are you going to do with this? Huh? What can you do!!¡± How to do this. What to do with this. A deep sigh escaped Count Green¡¯s lips. Rosina bowed her head, her face already red and swollen from being hit on the cheek. She heard that the Viscount Ritz, Celie¡¯s family, was also getting quite annoyed now. Perhaps the families of the two lords who were together with them won¡¯t be safe either. She couldn¡¯t visit them in person, but they wouldn¡¯t be fine either if she was like this. ¡°I-I will properly ask for forgiveness from Marquis Leguier and return.¡± ¡°Tsk. So wouldn¡¯t this kind of thing have happened if you had gone quietly when I told you to get married? Tell him I¡¯ll give him compensation, go ahead! If you can¡¯t solve this problem, don¡¯t call me father again!¡± Bang! In the end, Count Green, unable to hold back his anger, threw the vase against the wall and went outside. Looking at the horribly broken pieces of the vase, Rosina tightly closed her eyes. It wasn¡¯t the time to build up her ego. *** ¡°One, twooo, threeee, fouuur, fiveee¡­¡± I listened intently to Russphe¡¯s words to count slowly to 10 with my eyes tightly closed. I don¡¯t know why. I just did it because Russphe told me to. The pouch is important, but Russphe¡¯s request is also important. I¡¯ll just count to 10 like this and go call Zenda. I counted the numbers while moving my hips in the same posture as before. ¡°Six, seveeeen, eight, nineeee?ten!¡± My heart was in a hurry, that¡¯s why the ¡®ten¡¯ was a little quicker. ¡°You can, haa, open your eyes.¡± I opened my eyes at the sound of Russphe¡¯s breathless voice. And I was surprised. ¡°H-How?¡± Russphe held a pouch in his hand. Sweat dangling from my forehead. ¡°I¡­ caught it.¡± ¡°Russphe did?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± How did this happen? It was obviously far enough out of Russphe¡¯s reach, yet he brought the pouch while I was counting only to 10. ¡°Come on, take it. Shall I tie it up?¡± I shook my head and accepted the pouch Russphe held out. Surprised, I fiddled with the pouch, but to my surprise, there was no water at all. ¡°How did you do it?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Did Russphe grab it while I was counting to 10?¡± ¡°Ah¡­, yeah.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous! I can ask Zenda, though.¡± Russphe was almost in trouble. ¡°No, I did it with a branch.¡± ¡°With a branch?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± But there wasn¡¯t a single tree branch to be seen around us. The men who work in the garden clean it up every day, so there aren¡¯t many fallen leaves. And there was a tree, but it was too big for our height to reach. Or did Russphe drop it into the water while trying to get the pouch? I quickly agreed and looked at Russphe. ¡°Then why are you sweating so much?¡± I quickly tied the pouch Russphe had saved me to my dress. Then I took a handkerchief from my other pocket and held it to Russphe¡¯s forehead. I pressed it down and wiped Russphe¡¯s sweat. As I¡¯m so grateful for him saving this pouch. ¡°It¡¯s hot¡­ yeah.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do this. You¡¯re in danger!¡± ¡°We¡¯re friends. You said that a friend is a person who helps you when you are in trouble.¡± ¡°But not for anything dangerous.¡± I refuted Russphe¡¯s words. I really appreciated Russphe for saving the pouch, but if I had known Russphe was pulling it out himself, I would have told him to never do it. ¡°Are you mad?¡± Russphe looked at me and asked. ¡°Hm? I¡¯m not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± At that, I gasped and grabbed Russphe. ¡°Why are you sorry! I was worried that you might be in danger. Because I don¡¯t want my friend to be in danger!¡± Russphe turned his eyes and opened his mouth. ¡°Actually, Aika¡­ you know.¡± ¡°Mm, hm.¡± ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t do it with a branch.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Uh, about that¡­¡± Russphe stayed still, unable to speak for a long time. ¡°Are you sick somewhere?¡± Somehow, I also sweat strangely. Russphe shook his head from side to side. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. If I tell you, can Aika keep it a secret?¡± What is it? First of all, I nodded my head. I¡¯m good at keeping Mom¡¯s secrets. ¡°Yes, I will keep it a secret! What is it?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone.¡± ¡°Yep. What¡­ is it?¡± ¡°Are you really not going to tell anyone?¡± At those words, I knelt down, clenched my fists, and listened to Russphe. At the same time, he also knelt down and sat down. ¡°Yep!¡± Russphe checked the surroundings several times before opening his mouth. ¡°Actually¡­¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± ¡°I used magic.¡± ¡°Huh? Magic?¡± As Russphe whispered, my voice diminished as well. We were now almost at each other¡¯s heads. ¡°Mm, magic.¡± Magic? ¡°Whoa! Isn¡¯t that only in books?¡± Russphe hurriedly put his finger to his lips. I covered my mouth with both hands. Uaakh?I should speak with a lesser volume! ¡°Kamaye says that very occasionally there are people who can use magic.¡± ¡°Is that Russphe?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess so. I magically pulled out the pouch. It¡¯s not dangerous at all, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± ¡°Whoa¡­ With magic?¡± ¡°Yeah. Actually, I didn¡¯t use the branches, I¡¯m sorry for lying.¡± I shook my head. Magic, he said! ¡°No. That¡¯s so cool! But why should you hide it?¡± At those words, Russphe hesitated and couldn¡¯t speak easily. ¡°I just thought it would be a bother.¡± ¡°What¡¯s bothering you?¡± ¡°That¡­¡± CH 40 Russphe couldn¡¯t speak easily again. The sight suddenly reminded me of what Mom once said. [No matter how precious a person is to you, sometimes there are secrets you want to hide, Aika.] [Why?] [It could be a dangerous secret. Maybe you have to protect someone important to you?] [Why?] [Our ¡®why¡¯ princess. Don¡¯t do that, and when that happens, you have to pretend you don¡¯t know. Understand?] [Whyyyy?] [Princess! Mom is speaking, but will you keep doing this?] [Kyaha! It tickles!] A secret to protect a loved one. Instead of listening to Russphe, I raised my right hand and covered my lips with my index finger. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me! I¡¯ll keep it a secret.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yep. It¡¯s a secret Russphe told me, so I¡¯ll keep it. I will never tell anyone, not even Uncle. It¡¯s a promise between Russphe and I.¡± Then, Russphe¡¯s expression brightened a lot. Instead, he said he would tell me later, so I replied with a nod. ¡°Miss! Where are you??¡± I heard Zenda¡¯s voice. ¡°Gasp, we have to go. I¡¯m here, Zenda!¡± I grabbed Russphe¡¯s hand and quickly ran to where Zenda was. Thankfully, Zenda couldn¡¯t figure out that I had dropped my pouch in the lake. Because Russphe took it out! So I didn¡¯t even get scolded. I whispered as we followed Zenda, holding his hand. ¡°Then do you secretly use it?¡± ¡°Yes, sometimes.¡± ¡°How do you do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m learning little by little from books. By drawing or memorizing magic circles¡­¡± ¡°Ooooh, that¡¯s so cool.¡± ¡°N-Not that cooll.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s very cool. you have to be careful not to get caught.¡± ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°If Aika is in danger, I can use it¡­ anytime. For you.¡± Saying that, Russphe¡¯s eyes looked strangely firm. ¡°Thanks. Can you show me later?¡± ¡°Later?¡± ¡°Yep. When Russphe uses magic.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll practice and show it to Aika.¡± After knowing Russphe¡¯s secret, I wanted to share my secret too. But this is a secret from Mom. ¡°Russphe, should I tell you a secret too?¡± ¡°Aika¡¯s secret?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± And I opened my mouth, saying, ¡°Ah?¡± and showed it to Russphe. ¡°I have a wiggling front tooth here. Actually, even a lower tooth is a bit strange.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Actually, Zenda knows that the front tooth is shaking, but only you know that the lower tooth is strange. Zenda said we had to pull this out later. But I didn¡¯t tell me about the lower tooth yet because I didn¡¯t want to pull it out. It¡¯s an absolute secret!¡± Then, Russphe¡¯s face subtly changed. Seeing my determined expression, Russphe nodded and smiled. ¡°I will keep it a secret.¡± ¡°What do you two talk about so much fun?¡± I raised my head and saw Zenda looking at us behind me. ¡°Gasp. About¡­ when we were playing in the garden earlier!¡± I quickly found an excuse and smiled bashfully. Beside me Russphe also nodded. ¡°Did you have that much fun?¡± ¡°Yep! Very, very much.¡± Zenda took us to a room and brought us water to wash our hands with. ¡°Now, since we have to eat dinner a little later, wash your hands thoroughly and play in your room.¡± ¡°Yeeees.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You answer well.¡± While Zenda was gone, we made eye contact and smiled like we had promised. ¡°Then, is it as difficult as before when using magic?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I wrote that too hastily. If I write it little by little, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I see. I thought magic was only used by magicians in children¡¯s books! I will make sure to keep it a secret.¡± Russphe just smiled. In fact, I heard it was very difficult to meet magicians. Mom said that there were only three people in the Imperial Palace, and that they were dispatched from a place called the Magic Tower, and that even His Imperial Majesty the Emperor was having a hard time. Magicians are very rare and have wonderful abilities, so they¡¯re treated with great respect, they said. But to think that Russphe is such a cool magician. I don¡¯t know why Russphe hides such a wonderful fact, but I decided to wait a little longer for him to tell me someday. Before dinner, we also drew and played while lying on the carpet. Russphe and I lay down on our backs, and I saw Uncle standing upside down with his arms crossed, leaning his long body crookedly against the door. ¡°Uncle!¡± I jumped up and ran to Uncle. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± ¡°When did you come?¡± ¡°Three thousand years ago.¡± ¡°Lie! Uncle, Russphe is here to play.¡± ¡°Hello, Marquis Leguier.¡± Russphe from behind me greeted Uncle softly. Uncle stared at Russphe and raised the corners of his lips. Then, with a rough hand, he tousled Russphe¡¯s hair as he pleased. ¡°Mmhm. You¡¯re Gentleman Peanut today. Is this parting the latest fashion?¡± ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t bother Russphe.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, though. Go have fun and don¡¯t be like your uncle and grow up. Peanuts, what about meal.¡± I grabbed one of Uncle¡¯s legs and stretched out. ¡°I¡¯m having dinner. Uncle, let¡¯s eat too! Grandma Sophie said she cooked something delicious. Zenda told me we just need to wait a bit.¡± ¡°Uncle is busy.¡± ¡°Then you don¡¯t eat dinner? Russphe will eat it too!¡± ¡°Uncle is all grown up so I don¡¯t have to eat. You two short legs, play without making trouble.¡± ¡°Where are you going Uncle?¡± ¡°Go back to work. Don¡¯t leave the vegetables out for dinner.¡± ¡°Ugh. Even Uncle doesn¡¯t eat!¡± I liked Uncle until just now, but suddenly I hated him. Uncle held my nose so it wouldn¡¯t hurt and shook it. ¡°If it¡¯s unfair, grow up. I¡¯ll be back soon, so just play. I came to watch because I was wondering if you made any trouble.¡± Even so, Uncle¡¯s large hand landed on my forehead briefly. Like checking my temperature. ¡°Mmm. You have to come quickly, Uncle!¡± Then, just like he did with Russphe, he messed up my hair and left. ¡°Ugh, really.¡± I tidied up my hair and stood by the door, watching Uncle walk away. I thought he came home after finishing his work, but I guess he has to go out again. Anyway, adults are too busy. ¡°Now, shall we go to dinner?¡± Zenda came not long after Uncle left. ¡°Zenda! Uncle came a while ago.¡± ¡°I was actually on my way to greet him. Now, shall we go?¡± Zenda held out her hands. I took Zenda¡¯s left hand and Russphe¡¯s right hand and headed towards the dining room. ¡°Oooh~ Our cream princess and prince are here.¡± Grandma Sophie came out with a silver dome and said. These were the words she said to us, who were fighting the Cream War earlier. Grandma Sophie opened the circular dome and a large roast chicken came out. ¡°Whoaa! I will eat well!¡± Even though I ate snacks earlier, as soon as I saw the dinner table, my belly rumbled. I hadn¡¯t been that hungry until recently, which was surprising. Me and Russphe brought a large piece of chicken Grandma Sophie had spread to our plates in our mouth. ¡°Delicious!¡± But as the small cubes of carrots and vegetables piled up on the edges, I broke out in a cold sweat. There seemed to be an unusually large amount of vegetables today. Although I really want to eat only chicken, Grandma Sophie said that it¡¯s delicious to eat evenly, and she kept piling up a mountain of vegetables next to it. I wonder if Uncle knew in advance that there would be a lot of vegetables today! Looking for opportunities not to eat, I picked out only the meat and stuffed it into my mouth. ¡°Miss, you should eat evenly.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m going to eat it later!¡± Zenda turned her eyes and looked at me suspiciously. I subtly hid carrots and broccoli under the crispy chicken skin that I hadn¡¯t eaten yet. I ate little by little, but as I got fuller, the vegetables kept piling up on my plate. I was getting more and more anxious. Alright, I¡¯m going to eat all the meat deliciously and kill the veggies in one shot. It was then. Russphe, who was watching my plate, suddenly pecked my carrots and broccoli with a fork. Then he put it in his mouth. ¡°Russ¡­¡± I was startled and tried to call out to Russphe, but Zenda turned around again and I closed my mouth. ¡°Yes? Miss, did you call me?¡± ¡°I-I didn¡¯t!¡± Zenda turned around to tidy up the dishes. I opened my eyes wide and looked back and forth between Russphe and Zenda. What is happening now? ¡°Aika, you don¡¯t like this either?¡± CH 41 Russphe, who gobbled up the carrots and broccoli in an instant, whispered and pointed to the grilled onions. I nodded my head as if possessed, and Russphe dipped the onion this time. Russphe¡¯s cheeks immediately became full. Munch, munch. Russphe¡¯s brows furrowed for a moment, then straightened. ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°D-Delicious?¡± Nod, nod. In the blink of an eye, the vegetables on my plate disappeared. Russphe ate all my vegetables! ¡°Russphe, do you like vegetables?¡± How can you be so brave? ¡°Mmm. Kinda. Can you eat potatoes?¡± Russphe pointed his fork at my potato. I nodded, and Russphe smiled and started eating the chicken again. I blinked several times before following Russphe and stuffing the chicken and potatoes into my mouth. ¡°Oh my.¡± Zenda looked at my plate and let out a gasp. ¡°You¡¯re eating well like this¡­ Look, Miss. Eating meat and vegetables together is so delicious, right?¡± Zenda¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Ah, yes! D-Delicious.¡± Russphe was just concentrating on eating his own food, as if it had always been like that. Thanks to that, I didn¡¯t have to eat grilled vegetables until I was full. *** ¡°Goodbye, Russphe¡­¡± It was time for Russphe to go. It was really fun, but hearing that he was going made me feel depressed. ¡°I really had fun today, Aika.¡± ¡°Me too! Let¡¯s play like this again. Can I go to your house?¡± ¡°Yeah, whenever. Thank you for today.¡± Russphe nodded to Zenda as well. ¡°Thank you for having fun with the Miss, Sir Russphe.¡± Eventually, the carriage carrying Russphe left. I raised my arms and waved until the carriage pulled out of the garden gate. ¡°Did you have fun today?¡± ¡°Yep! I want to play with Russphe again. When will Uncle come back?¡± ¡°Won¡¯t he be back soon? Let us go in too, Miss. I will prepare warm bath water for you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± So I took a clean bath and returned to my room, hugged the doll I named Lulu and lay down. These days, I fall asleep hugging this doll every day. Oddly enough, hugging this doll made me feel at ease. I was going to wait for Uncle some more, but Zenda said he might be a little late. ¡°When His Grace returns, I will make sure to tell him that the Miss waited for him a long time before falling asleep.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I was rolling around and jumping around so much today that I felt like the bed was pulling me even though I was lying down. ¡°Miss, have a nice dream.¡± After seeing Zenda kissing my forehead, I fell asleep. *** ¡°Umm.¡± I woke up feeling strangely itchy and cold. It was midnight when I woke up rubbing my eyes. ¡°¡­Is Uncle here?¡± Zenda left a soft sleep lamp on so that I could see the room dimly. I slipped my toes under the bed, holding the doll by one side. ¡°I¡¯m going to see if Uncle is here.¡± Now that I¡¯m awake, I¡¯m going to say goodbye to Uncle before going to sleep. I was about to go down with the intention of sleeping there if Uncle was sleeping, yet at that moment, I felt something pulling me from behind. Why do I feel the pull when I¡¯m the only one in the room? I stiffened. Then my sleepiness ran away. I never had the courage to look back. Mom, it must be a ghost! Should¡­ Should I run away? I held onto the doll with one hand and kept my mouth shut, intending to run straight to the door. One, two, three¡­! ¡°Hap!¡± I put my bare feet on the floor as hard as I could, but I couldn¡¯t budge from the pulling force from behind. Cold sweat broke out. The moment when I gave strength to the tips of my toes with one single thought that I must go to Uncle unconditionally. Suddenly, I felt a cold feeling creeping up my back. I was startled and struggled, but I saw a black snake in front of me. Red eyes! ¡°Hello-ing.¡± ¡°Hiyaaaak!¡± The black snake¡¯s body was dangling from the back of my neck. Even in the dark, I could see the snake wiggling its bright red tongue. ¡°Mom!¡± I turned over on my back and, using both arms and legs, ran like lightning onto the bed. ¡°Calm down-ing.¡± ¡°M-Mom. U-Uncle!¡± ¡°It¡¯s me-ing.¡± ¡°Huwaaa, what is this. This one.¡± Tears welled up as it used a strange tone and dragged me with strong force. ¡°I¡¯m Serpens, you called me.¡± At that, my movements stopped. Its voice got thicker all of a sudden? And who? Serpens? ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Serpens-ing.¡± I slowly turned my head with a creak. The snake had come down from me before I knew it, coiled itself around, and was staring at me with only its head in the air. Come to think of it¡­ ¡®Its eyes are just like the jewel Mom fed me!¡¯ One of its eyes resembled Serpens¡¯ scales, black as obsidian, and the other eye was ruby red. ¡°Y-You¡¯re Serpens?¡± ¡°Right-ing.¡± Now that I¡¯ve come to my senses, I screamed softly. ¡°Why would you come out now!¡± ¡°I kept butting in since earlier-ing.¡± Butting in? The only thing Serpens did was getting me creepy because it kept walking around with a cold body behind me when I was playing with Russphe earlier. While holding the doll tightly, I was wary of Serpens. ¡°You kept interrupting me earlier!¡± ¡°Are you mad-ing? It¡¯s because the two of you looked like you had fun playing-ing.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry-ing.¡± When Serpens apologized, my heart melted away. Knowing that it was Serpens, the fear quickly disappeared. ¡°W-Why did you come out so late? I called you when I met Lepus. I¡¯ve waited so long.¡± Then Serpens swayed its body from side to side as if it was dancing. ¡°I needed to prepare my mind-ing.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Why would it take so long to prepare its mind. I¡¯ve been hot, cold, sick and went through it all. I was about to give up because it was difficult, but Serpens is finally ready. Lepus said Serpens was shy, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be this much. I slowly straightened my posture and sat down in front of Serpens. As I stretched out my hand, Serpens licked my fingertips once. ¡°It¡¯s cold.¡± Is a snake¡¯s tongue really this cold? It was as if it had brought some ice. Suddenly, I remembered the day I had succeeded in calling Serpens. The day I had a dream that I was wrapped around a black snake. ¡°I had a dream about you.¡± ¡°Dream-ing?¡± ¡°Mm. In my dream, you just rolled me up on the bed!¡± Then Serpens drew an ¡®S¡¯ in the air and fluttered. ¡°That¡¯s not a dream, though-ing.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I did turn around you at night. Were you awake?¡± You said it wasn¡¯t a dream? I was very scared, you know? ¡°W-Why did you do that?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re cute-ing.¡± Involuntarily, my mouth opened and my eyebrows furrowed. ¡°How scared I was back then.¡± ¡°People say babies like to play, so I thought you would like it-ing.¡± While grunting, I looked at Serpens carefully. Even though the view wasn¡¯t perfect due to the dark water surface, each of its scales shone clearly like a jewel. Serpens¡¯ body was smaller than expected. I thought it would be as big as the snake I saw in the book for it was a representative of God and was in the necklace, an ancient relic, for a long time. However, its length was only a little longer than that if I stretched my arms out on both sides. Its torso was like a piece of rope the size of two adult fingers put together and smooth as if it were oiled. If I look closely, there are sharp points on the sides of its head. Perhaps because of that, it looked like it had pointed ears standing on either side of its head. But what¡¯s with that tone in the end of its words? It was to the point where my ears kept ringing with -ing, -ing, -ing. ¡°Why do you keep adding ¡®-ing¡¯ at the end of your words?¡± ¡°Such a thing exists-ing.¡± ¡°You let out a deep voice earlier, though.¡± Even now it seemed that it was raising its voice on purpose. As if it has OCD. ¡°Such a thing exists-ing.¡± CH 42 Though it was suspicious, I gave up because I didn¡¯t think it would tell me. That wasn¡¯t the point. ¡°Then you won¡¯t hide anymore?¡± ¡°Yep-ing. I¡¯ll say hello formally-ing. I¡¯m Serpens-ing.¡± After talking so far, it would stick its tail out at me and wag it like a rattlesnake to greet me. I lightly grabbed the tip of the Serpens tail and shook it. It¡¯s the same with Lepus, it was also somehow strange. ¡°I¡¯m Aika. Aika de Valliot. Your ability is to see the future, right?¡± ¡°Did you hear that from Lepus?¡± ¡°Yep. And I¡¯ve seen the future myself.¡± Serpens said yes and that it would help me in the future and help me build my abilities. Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t seen the future since Serpens woke up. I wanted to check on the man who attacked Grandpa that day, but I was worried because I hadn¡¯t seen anything since. I wonder if I don¡¯t see any dangerous things, and on the other hand, I wonder if I can¡¯t see them because Grandpa is safe. I was worried and relieved more than a dozen times a day. ¡°You knoooow, Serpens.¡± ¡°Yep-ing.¡± ¡°So, now that you are here, can I see the future whenever I want?¡± ¡°If you grow up diligently, you can see the future of the person you want in more detail and accurately-ing. But you know it¡¯s a dangerous future, don¡¯t you-ing?¡± ¡°Yeah, because it¡¯s always been like that. Can you stop me from seeing it on my own?¡± The future I see has always been anxious and scary scenes. Dangerous things that can lead to someone close to me getting hurt, being attacked by someone, or escalate into bigger problems. ¡°You have to work a lot. This Serpens will help you.¡± It was a relief. In fact, I thought it would be good to solve it alone. I was surprised every time my eyes suddenly changed. Serpens came up to me before I knew it and wrapped itself around my arm and rode up. In an instant, Serpens wrapped its body around my shoulder, and its eyes met mine. Strangely, although it was a snake, I wasn¡¯t scared at all. He felt rather friendly, which made me laugh. ¡°I have to inform Lepus as well. To do that, I have to go to the Imperial Palace¡­¡± Thinking of that made me shudder at the thought of Uncle¡¯s fearsome face. I-I¡¯ll go to the imperial palace later then. ¡°Before that, shouldn¡¯t you go back to sleep-ing? Children need to sleep-ing.¡± I already woke up from sleep. Looking at the clock, now accustomed to the darkness, it was pointing to 1 o¡¯clock at dawn. ¡°Tch?you woke me up.¡± Then Serpens turned its head away pretending not to know. I closed my eyes thinly at the subject who got close to me and raised its head, then the red eyes disappeared and appeared over and over. But Serpens was right. Instead of going to visit Uncle with a pillow and doll, I lay back on the bed and covered myself with the blanket. Serpens coiled up next to my head and settled down. ¡°Still, I was really curious about you, so thanks for coming out.¡± I said to Serpens while holding the doll. My eyes, which had been puffy until just now, were fading as soon as they touched the pillow. I fell asleep while listening to Serpens¡¯ voice telling me to sleep well, saying that this won¡¯t happen anymore. *** From the next day, Serpens no longer hid as promised. Still, fortunately, it was invisible to anyone else. If I suddenly bring a black snake around, Zenda and everyone else will be surprised. ¡°But can¡¯t Uncle see you?¡± ¡°Why-ing?¡± ¡°My uncle has mixed blood with Mom, who has mixed blood with me. Because we¡¯re family.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter-ing.¡± ¡°Really? Then I¡¯m glad.¡± I was worried that as soon as Uncle saw Serpens, he would grab him by the neck and throw it out of the house, but it was a relief. Perhaps, if it¡¯s Uncle, he would really do that. It was obvious that he would be angry at me for picking up something like this. However, Serpens had something strange. It was sure that it was invisible to others, yet whenever I greeted the servants, it hid behind my back and waited for them to pass by. Despite its small size and terrifying face, it was really shy. Ding, ding, ding, ding. The clock chimed 1 o¡¯clock. ¡°Serpens, if I have class later at 2 o¡¯clock, you must not come out. Got it?¡± Today, as Uncle told me, a teacher will come to teach me at 2 o¡¯clock. It was really my first time learning something from someone else, so I had no idea what to do. When I was learning from Mom, she would lay down and hold me in her arms. Had I known this, I would have asked Russphe a little yesterday. Russphe had been learning this and that from the teachers for a long time before me. Can I just sit quietly in a chair? I heard that other friends get together and study. It was the first time I had ever learned anything like this. I know now that Mom did it to protect me. At 2 o¡¯clock,, I waited quietly in the drawing room where Zenda told me to wait. I heard that the Imperial language teacher who was coming today kept time like a knife. Zenda said that if I¡¯m late, I should be prepared in advance because the teacher is strict enough not to give me an education that day. I was very scared, but the teacher didn¡¯t come even after 2 o¡¯clock. ¡°Humm.¡± This is a room where guests come, so it felt very calm. It was all made of wood and leather with a peculiar smell. Low tables, soft brown leather sofas, brown wooden furniture and dark wallpaper. ¡°Why isn¡¯t the teacher coming?¡± Hng. I practiced greetings a lot, though. I waited and waited, drawing the subtle patterns on the wallpaper with my eyes. I also wore a very pretty red dress today. At 2.30 o¡¯clock, Zenda came in. ¡°Zenda! What about the teacher?¡± ¡°Miss, it seems that the teacher in charge of education today had a small accident. The teacher sent someone saying that they might not be able to come today.¡± ¡°Then can¡¯t I meet the teacher today?¡± ¡°Yes, Miss. I¡¯m sorry for the long wait.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Wouldn¡¯t it be really difficult if the teacher who keeps the time like a knife didn¡¯t come? ¡°Would you like to play origami with me today instead?¡± The teacher who was supposed to come today even said they wouldn¡¯t be here until next week. It doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t study, but¡­ Could it be that the teacher is seriously injured? If it was someone I knew, I could have seen it in advance and blocked it. I asked Zenda again, but was told the teacher wasn¡¯t hurt, only that it was some personal circumstances. ¡°Mm, I want to do origami.¡± Reassuringly, I held Zenda¡¯s hand. *** Uncle didn¡¯t show up until almost night again today. ¡°Uncleeee!¡± Run, run, run. I ran down the hallway and landed in Uncle¡¯s arms. ¡°Ugh, Uncle thinks Uncle¡¯s bone is broken.¡± Uncle held me with one arm and sighed. I didn¡¯t even hit his chest, but he was holding me with one hand. ¡°Tch, it¡¯s not, though.¡± As I rolled my eyes proudly, Uncle smiled and tapped my cheek with his index finger. ¡°What did you do today.¡± ¡°Origami with Zenda.¡± ¡°What about the class.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t attend it because the teacher couldn¡¯t come today.¡± Uncle, who was walking down the hallway, stopped. ¡°¡­They said they couldn¡¯t come?¡± ¡°Mm, they said they¡¯d come at 2 o¡¯clock, but the teacher didn¡¯t come. The teacher will come next week.¡± The words, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of that,¡± came out of Uncle¡¯s mouth. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Well, I can find out.¡± ¡°Where did Uncle go?¡± ¡°A brat doesn¡¯t have to know.¡± I pulled Uncle¡¯s ear all the way. ¡°Whyyyy! Even though I told you.¡± ¡°Indeed, your personality. To the Imperial Palace.¡± Imperial Palace? ¡°Gasp. Uncle, then take me with you¡­!¡± ¡°Tch?¡± Geez¡­ As soon as I told him to take me with him, Uncle widened his eyes. ¡°Imperial Palaaaceeee¡­¡± ¡°If you want to hang upside down from a window, talk about the Imperial Palace.¡± ¡°I really won¡¯t get into any trouble!¡± ¡°You want me to hang you now?¡± ¡°Noooo.¡± He¡¯s really mean. While Uncle can go to the Imperial Palace as he pleases, he says I can¡¯t every time I ask to. I guess I¡¯ll have to wait for the next opportunity. Uncle threw me down on the bed in my room and I got up with a familiar roll. Now, I have the ability to roll freely even if Uncle throws me in the air. ¡°Sleep, now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bedtime yet, though?¡± ¡°Sleep anyway. Aren¡¯t your legs short because you don¡¯t sleep. Uncle has a hard time every time I need to search for you.¡± ¡°Nooooo! Zenda said that I will grow up very much later because I resemble Uncle. Mom is tall too!¡± ¡°Seria and I slept when the sun went down when we were your age. Uncle will find out about your teacher, so go to sleep.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep¡­¡± Either way, Uncle made sure the windows were locked and even drew the curtains meticulously. I slipped out of bed again and snuggled up next to him. ¡°Why again.¡± He¡¯s busy everyday. He disappears in the morning and comes back at night. Even when he¡¯s at home, he¡¯s stuck in his office. Even though I was sad, I wasn¡¯t usually sad. I grabbed one of Uncle¡¯s thighs as if hugging him and poked him in the face. ¡°Uncle, play with me.¡± Suddenly, large hands came into my armpits and my body floated. Heave-ho, Uncle sat down on the bed holding me. ¡°What do you want to play.¡± ¡°Are you going to play?¡± ¡°No. I will only listen.¡± ¡°Hmph¡± I just hit my head on Uncle¡¯s chest. Regardless, he chuckled. Still, Uncle really didn¡¯t go and listened to me for a long time in my room. CH 43 Another two days passed. Except for the Imperial language teacher who couldn¡¯t come that day, I was able to meet all other teachers on the promised date and time. Etiquette teacher, Viscountess Lemonica, history teacher, Coyle Veneta, and math teacher, Professor Jean. And my art teacher, Professor Rebecca. Anyway, both yesterday and today, we just greeted each other and introduced each other for almost 30 minutes. My Imperial language teacher told Zenda that she wouldn¡¯t be able to leave her mansion for the time being. It seemed like something big had happened. So I changed to a completely different teacher, and I even heard that she would be coming in a few days. Therefore¡­ ¡°Are you ready-ing?¡± ¡°Mm, I¡¯m ready!¡± Looking at Serpens dangling from one shoulder, I burned my will with anticipation. Today is the day for me to finally train my skills! Serpens naturally became my supervisor. ¡°What did I say-ing? What is the most important thing-ing?¡± I nodded and reviewed what Serpens had taught me. ¡°Don¡¯t care about other people. Put myself first, and don¡¯t take a keen interest in just one person in particular.¡± ¡°Why must you do that-ing?¡± ¡°Else the field of thought will narrow and I can¡¯t see any danger other than that person¡¯s.¡± ¡°What else was there-ing?¡± ¡°When I¡¯m in danger, I can¡¯t recognize the danger myself, so really big things can happen.¡± ¡°And again?¡± ¡°My ability only when absolutely necessary. I must know that I can¡¯t save everyone, and give up what I can¡¯t save myself. Otherwise, it could be very disastrous.¡± ¡°Good-ing.¡± I wandered through the hallways, looking around to decide on my goal. ¡°You have to read the energy well first-ing.¡± The reason why I saw the future on my own was because Serpens couldn¡¯t wake up, but it said it was because I couldn¡¯t read the energy. Before seeing the future, there is always a premonition, yet I couldn¡¯t catch it and I used to see the future at my own pace belatedly. ¡°Energy¡­¡± Regardless of the importance, I couldn¡¯t see the future I wanted to see, and I saw the future of someone close to me all because of that. So, in order to read the future of the person I want to save and the future of the person I want to find out, I have to awaken myself from reading the energy. Serpens said that if this didn¡¯t go right, I might not be able to see if something happened to Uncle right away. I might not see the real danger and end up only seeing, say, his leg slightly sprained while one of the servants near him was emptying the trash can. ¡®I have to protect Uncle.¡¯ I clenched my fists. Serpens said that its ability would become useless, and it told me to practice and practice diligently so that my ability wouldn¡¯t become a trash. Then, later, it told me that I can grow my power enough to see the future whenever I want to see only the people I want. I don¡¯t know when that will be. ¡°Mmm.¡± I squinted my eyes and checked every passing servant. ¡°It¡¯s all the same.¡± ¡°Look carefully-ing. My eyes can see it-ing.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s because you have that ability itself. But why can¡¯t I see it?¡± Ah. Even my tone became strange as it kept whispering in my ears. ¡°Miss, good afternoon.¡± After walking around the hallway for a while, Leto greeted me warmly and approached me from the other side. ¡°Leto!¡± ¡°What are you doing here? Are you looking for something fun to do?¡± ¡°Mmm, that¡¯s not iiit. Where is Leto going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to put the report on the desk in the office because the work the Master ordered is finished.¡± Wearing white gloves, Leto showed me the straight papers. I don¡¯t know what it is, but words such as budget and total amount were written among the densely written letters. ¡°Huh? My name is also written here.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a budget for you. It¡¯s still hard for you, isn¡¯t it?¡± Seeing that there were an unusually large number of zeros next to my name, I sighed. ¡°I know this too. Uncle says he¡¯s losing his life because of me. That¡¯s why there are a lot of zeros, right?¡± Leto¡¯s eyes widened, and he burst into laughter. ¡°Pffft¡­ cough. The Master has been mischievous. You can rest assured that that kind of thing will never happen. Shall I show you more?¡± ¡°Mmm, no. It¡¯s fin¡­¡± I stopped talking and blinked my eyes. Huh? A red wave arose around Leto, just like red water was draining. I could see it darkening and then brightening, as if sensing danger. Startled, I looked up at Leto¡¯s face. I-I see that? #7. My Age Is 7 Years Old, the World Is Not Easy That quick? Serpens clearly already knew Leto¡¯s future. Otherwise¡­ But then, what to do next? I blinked and looked at Leto, but Serpens tapped my cheek with its cold nose. ¡°Now, do you see it-ing?¡± Ah, w-w-wait! Right now won¡¯t do, though?! It was hard to see such fantasies in front of Uncle, but I couldn¡¯t do that in front of Leto either. This isn¡¯t helping! ¡­Or so I thought, but nothing has changed in front of my eyes. Huh? Why hasn¡¯t it change Beside me, Serpens whispered softly that Leto was still there and told me to let him go. ¡°You don¡¯t have to show me! Leto, thanks!¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s nothing. See you then.¡± Leto nodded and passed me. ¡°Now, look at the back-ing.¡± As Serpens said, I turned around and saw Leto¡¯s back. It was then. Again, like the last time, the vision began to change, procrastinating to see the illusion. However, instead of completely changing, Leto¡¯s walking image faded and visions began to appear. It was an accident happening when Leto was on his way home from work. Someone wearing a mask was chasing Leto. He felt just like the man who was going to attack Grandpa. That wasn¡¯t the only problem. The trail continued to Leto¡¯s house. Leto entered the house and only noticed it belatedly, but the view changed once more. The next day. Maybe his arm was broken, Leto had a thick bandage on one of his arms. His face was bruised and hurt everywhere. And the illusion disappeared from my sight. ¡°Gasp¡­!¡± Mom said so. There are many dangerous people targeting the Valliot family, so we should be twice as careful as others. There are many people who are jealous, so she said that I should never show off what I have unless they¡¯re someone trustworthy. But the future I¡¯d just seen wasn¡¯t the first time. Perhaps there were more before then. There must have been a lot of people hurt, and there must have been people who blocked it well even if I couldn¡¯t see it. However, Leto will get hurt if I leave the future I saw alone. If he doesn¡¯t get hurt, there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll appear in my fantasy. ¡°No!¡± I ran and grabbed Leto¡¯s clothes. ¡°M-Miss?¡± ¡°Leto, are you going home today?¡± Then Leto said to me with a puzzled face. ¡°Yes, I suppose so? I have a room here too, but I¡¯ve been busy with work lately, so I¡¯ve been away for a long time. I¡¯m going to stay for the holiday and weekend.¡± ¡°Y-You can¡¯t, though¡­ C-Can¡¯t you not go, Leto?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Leto chuckled. ¡°Perhaps in case you miss me? When I come, I will buy you delicious cookies that you will like.¡± ¡°No. You don¡¯t have to buy it. Can¡¯t you just not go? Leto¡¯s house is in danger today. Can¡¯t you go with Gerard tomorrow?¡± I tightened my grip on Leto¡¯s clothes. ¡°Ah, is it because you¡¯re worried that I might be in danger when I go home from work at night? It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll take a good look around so that you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± ¡°No¡­ Leto, then you don¡¯t have to do that, t-take a lot of escort knights with you. You really can¡¯t, today.¡± How can I tell him the reason? It seemed that this reckless attitude would only work with Uncle, but not with Leto. And for no reason at all, he might be suspicious. Even Uncle won¡¯t listen unless I persuade him. I quickly shook my head to see if there was anything useful among the things I had seen recently. A grunt sound came out. At that moment, my mind flashed. ¡®Ah, the newspaper I saw today.¡¯ CH 44 I read the newspaper every day with Mom. I think it¡¯s been since I was maybe 3 years old? Or 4 years old. Mom hid me safely in our house and showed me the world through the newspaper instead. Even if I hadn¡¯t been there myself, I knew what was happening in the Warfordia commercial district, the capital of Warford, and which stores in the commercial district sold the best. I also knew how the slums worked and what the biggest incidents and accidents of the day were. When she was here, Mom read to me every day, but when I came to Grandpa¡¯s and Uncle¡¯s, I read it myself or Zenda often read it to me. And I read it yesterday, and today too. I clearly saw that it was written in the newspaper that petty thieves are rampant these days, so lock the door! I guess I¡¯ll have to use that one first. ¡°They say that there are a lot of petty thieves these days, so they secretly chase people home and steal things from inside the house. And there were people who were injured. They say it¡¯s very, very dangerous!¡± ¡°I understand. I will make sure to be careful on the way.¡± Leto nodded with a pleasant smile and was about to go again. Nonono! It¡¯s not that! ¡°Letooooo!¡± ¡°Y-Yes? Miss?¡± ¡°I¡¯m nervous, Leto. I really wish Leto was here today. Can¡¯t you tell Uncle that you¡¯re off from tomorrow? I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll even give you my favorite chocolate!¡± Only then did Leto make a troubled face. I stared at him stubbornly and pulled Leto¡¯s clothes even tighter. If Uncle was here, he would have taken me and scolded me, but now I¡¯m the boss! ¡°Miss.¡± ¡°Hm? Will you not go?¡± After a while, Leto nodded. ¡°Yes. Then today, as the Miss said, it¡¯s dangerous, so I won¡¯t go. Shall I take you to your room?¡± Leto must have seen me as a very young kid, I didn¡¯t readily believe what Leto was saying. I already had a history of being beaten by Uncle many times, you know. He will calm me down and disappear like dust when he gets off work in a little while. It¡¯s obvious. First of all, I smiled and nodded. ¡°Yeah, Leto take me there!¡± From the side, I heard Serpens mutter, ¡°You¡¯re so cunning-ing.¡± *** Mission! Have Leto sleep in the mansion. Leto picked me up and went back to work. There is still a long way before Leto gets off work, but I need to create a job to keep his feet tied. ¡°Let¡¯s start with something. What do you think would be good?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be scolded before then-ing? Seeing from the side, your uncle is pretty scary-ing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not that I get scolded only once or twice, I get scolded every day.¡± ¡°¡­You seem to be stronger than I thought-ing.¡± ¡°Think about it. Five hours left.¡± ¡°What does he do-ing?¡± ¡°Um, he does everything. He takes care of the servant brothers and the maid sisters, and does some documents and gives them to Uncle. What else¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s the document-ing.¡± ¡°Huh? Document?¡± Ah! Those documents earlier! He said he¡¯d bring it to Uncle. ¡°Uncle hasn¡¯t come in yet. Let¡¯s hurry!¡± After waiting just a little longer, I decided to raid Uncle¡¯s office. First of all, Leto was going to leave the papers first, and then he would come later. ¡°Ser, then you mean that I can see it comfortably like today if I¡¯m with you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Serpens-ing.¡± ¡°I know, it¡¯s a nickname. We¡¯re friends now.¡± ¡°Friends?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re friends because we¡¯re always together. Do you hate it?¡± ¡°No-ing.¡± Actually, I wanted to call it like this a few days ago. Serpens is a long word. ¡°Okay, Ser. Should I focus on someone when the red wavelength is like before?¡± ¡°Mm, practice like that first-ing. The more dangerous it is, the darker the color or the more dangerous color it can be, so check carefully-ing. But.¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s black, pretend you don¡¯t know-ing. Because you¡¯re still young-ing.¡± ¡°Black? Is that the most dangerous?¡± ¡°Mmhm. So, you should never step out-ing.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s dangerous, how can I pretend not to know? Leto, who was red, also had an injured arm?¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t-ing.¡± ¡°Then black means people get hurt more!¡± At that moment, Serpens hit my forehead with its mouth. ¡°It hurts!¡± ¡°Pretend you don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t you think it could be more dangerous for you?¡± Ser¡¯s voice instantly lowered and it sternly urged me on. I flinched and opened my eyes wide in surprise. ¡°S-Ser?¡± ¡°Whew, so-ing¡­ I¡¯d rather find someone stronger and solve it. You can never do-ing.¡± Serpens¡¯ voice came back, but it still scared me. Somehow, it told me not to even think about looking at the black light in the future. It¡¯s good to save people, but I shouldn¡¯t act to the point of putting myself in danger. I reluctantly said yes. Otherwise, I don¡¯t think Serpens will help me. But, but¡­ What if Uncle has black light? What if Grandpa has black light? What should I do then? I couldn¡¯t lose a precious family member like Mom again. ¡°But I can¡¯t help but to see it right away that day?¡± ¡°Because you still lack the ability. It will get better.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a relief then.¡± According to Serpens, the more I practice, the more I try, the more accurate the concept of time will become. If I run out of time, it will become increasingly difficult to rescue them. Ah, but not this time. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I almost missed the good timing while talking to Ser. I hurried to Uncle¡¯s office. ¡°Until here, it¡¯s clear.¡± I stopped at every corner of the hallway, pricked up my ears, and activated the radar. And the next corner. ¡°It¡¯s clear-ing.¡± The moment I turned the next corner. ¡°Huaaaak.¡± I was startled and hid myself. I saw Leto¡¯s back. He must have left some papers in Uncle¡¯s office some time ago. He was definitely holding the papers earlier, yet now he was empty-handed. Great, now is my chance. I quickly jumped on my heels and ran along the path Leto had passed. Quietly and quickly! It wasn¡¯t difficult to get into Uncle¡¯s office. ¡°Here it is!¡± As expected, on the desk were the documents that Leto had earlier. Hmm. Uncle will have to come and see this in the evening, right? These days Uncle often goes outside for work, so everyone was busy reporting in the evening. ¡°Tear it up-ing.¡± Serpens encouraged me from the side. ¡°T-Tear it up?¡± ¡°Yep-ing, tear it up-ing.¡± ¡°¡­¡± If I tear it, it will surely disappear, but for some reason I don¡¯t think I should. However, it seemed that Leto would be very surprised and sad if I just got rid of it altogether. ¡°Let¡¯s just take it.¡± I made a decision. ¡°If you get caught-ing. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll tear it up-ing.¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t have to get caught!¡± It seems like there¡¯s a bit of an extreme side to it. I opened the collar of my dress and tucked the papers into it. When I smoothed it out with my hands, my chest hardened as if I was wearing armor. ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡± Because no one can come in and find out. I just slipped out and ran out of the hallway. And ran straight into my room. ¡°W-Where should I put it?¡± It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve done such a bad thing. My heart is beating so fast that it¡¯s about to break through the papers. Serpens, who was dangling on my shoulder, turned around its head. ¡°That drawer?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s something Zenda sees very often. That won¡¯t do.¡± ¡°Then what about under that table?¡± ¡°¡­I have nothing to attach.¡± ¡°How about the bed?¡± ¡°Bed? S-Shall I do that?¡± The maid sisters touch it when they tidy up the futon at night, but before that, they don¡¯t touch it often. Besides, if I lay there, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll touch it any more. Alright, it¡¯s set to bed! I quickly took off my slippers and climbed onto the bed and lifted the covers. Then I quickly opened my clothes and took out the papers again. I lifted another shallow pad placed between the bed sheet and the duvet, put the documents in it, and covered the duvet. ¡°Uuuum. I can hear it.¡± From the outside, it seemed good, but when I touched the part where the papers were laid, they kept crumpling. I looked around again, but I couldn¡¯t find a better place. ¡°No one will lie down on this, right?¡± ¡°I think it will be okay if you don¡¯t lie down.¡± ¡°¡­Good. Let¡¯s pretend we don¡¯t know!¡± Now I just have to hold out until night. I lay down on the table to rest for a while, then a thought came to my mind and I got up again. ¡°Ah, let¡¯s bring that too!¡± ¡°Bring what-ing?¡± ¡°Newspaper! They keep collecting it and using it as a firelight. We have to go to the dining room!¡± There was no time to rest. CH 45 At last, evening. Uncle returned and soon it was people¡¯s report time. I wandered around Uncle¡¯s office. The surroundings were more cluttered than usual. Because Uncle was desperate for Leto. I, the cause of the reason, had my conscience pricked and my heart thumped. ¡°I definitely put it here. Jane, did you miss it while cleaning? It was a document about the budget.¡± ¡°I clean the desk after His Lordship has finished everything, so I never touch it before nightfall.¡± ¡°No, where on earth did that go? I¡¯m sure I left it here, though?!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t do things right.¡± ¡°No, Your Lordship, I really¡­¡± ¡°I must have said that I had to go down to the manor, so you had to finish it today. Why, it¡¯s too boring for you these days? So you¡¯re making problems too?¡± ¡°N-No! Absolutely not!¡± I quietly avoided the spot. I thought that was all it took to save Leto, but when I saw that Uncle was scolding him, I felt sorry and couldn¡¯t look any longer. ¡®Sorry, Leto.¡¯ I avoided the spot for a while. Then I went back to my room and brought out a bunch of newspapers I had put together earlier. Fortunately, the dining room was full of newspapers, so I was able to get a 15-day supply of newspapers. Among them, I only collected and cut out bad things like theft. Mom used to organize it nicely in some kind of a big book. Apparently, I couldn¡¯t do that, so I cut out only what I needed, gathered them together, rolled them up, and tied them with a string. Then I went back to Uncle¡¯s office and crossed the scene where Leto was being scolded. I need to stop Leto from getting further scolded. ¡°Uncle, look at this!¡± I turned my back on Leto and interrupted Uncle. ¡°Peanut, Uncle is working, so get out.¡± While scolding¡­ ¡°Uncle, just look at this! I made this!¡± ¡°Hey.¡± Then he glared at me like he was going to chew me up and glared at me. I flinched, but it wouldn¡¯t be Aika if I stopped like this! ¡°Hm? Uncle, uncle, look at this. Just look at this. I collected them!¡± Then Uncle, who was standing, holding his waist, let out a deep sigh. It was the moment when his anger toward Leto subsided. ¡°Huh, go and do it again. You can leave after I see it in the morning.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, I understand. I will rewrite it right away and upload it.¡± Leto nodded with a gloomy face and left. All-night work is confirmed. Leto, sorry. I apologized inwardly and handed the bundle of newspapers to Uncle. ¡°This!¡± ¡°Is Uncle a trash can?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not trash, you know.¡± When I pouted, Uncle leaned against the desk and accepted the bundle. As soon as he untied the hard-tied string, I pointed with my finger. ¡°Uncle, there seem to be a lot of dangerous things these days. It¡¯s scary.¡± He fumbled through the stack of newspapers I had cut out. ¡°You asked for newspapers every morning, and then you were collecting these?¡± ¡°Gasp. How does Uncle know that? Zenda brought them to me.¡± ¡°Is there anything I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Just read it. Look at that, Uncle.¡± ¡°So don¡¯t think about going out and just stay at home. Huh? Don¡¯t say you¡¯re going to the Imperial Palace unnecessarily.¡± ¡°Forever?¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± ¡°Nonsense! We just need to get rid of the bad people.¡± ¡°That is easy to say.¡± Uncle seemed not to be interested in it, so he threw the bundle of newspapers I had been working hard on on the desk. ¡°Did you look at it closely?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read everything.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve read it all. They say they go into empty houses, steal things, and injure people. Can¡¯t we tell the mister police to catch all the bad guys?¡± I grabbed his clothes and shook them, and only then did Uncle turn his head back to me. ¡°Okay, so don¡¯t worry about these things and go have a snack and do something like drawing. Do you want to grow old before you even get off your short legs?¡± ¡°Old? Why?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t your mom say that if you care about these things from a young age, you¡¯ll lose all your hair and grow old fast?¡± ¡°All of this is what Mom taught me, though.¡± ¡°Tsk, anyway. Ah, and.¡± uncle put his big hand on my head. I pouted. Uncle is clearly not interested either. ¡°Peanut, you¡¯ll go to Grandpa¡¯s from tomorrow. I¡¯ll send your teachers there too, so you¡¯ll be studying there.¡± ¡°Grandpa¡¯s? Why?¡± ¡°Uncle has to do some work at the territory, so you¡¯re being loved there for about a week.¡± ¡°The territory? Are you going to Cartiers?¡± Cartiers is the area where the Duchy of Valliot and the March of Leguier are located. I have never been there yet because I was always with Mom, but I heard that Grandpa and Uncle are in the capital for a certain period of the year and then go back to the territory. In addition, there is a direct flight to Ponta, the huge island of Warford, in the March of Leguier, and I heard it¡¯s very cool. ¡°Mm. I won¡¯t take you, don¡¯t pester me.¡± As I grabbed Uncle¡¯s sleeve to take him with me right away, I puffed up my cheek. He smiled and patted my cheek. ¡°A puffer fish?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that, take me with you, Uncle.¡± ¡°How far does it go? This time is a big no. I¡¯ll be back soon, eat your favorite strawberry at Grandpa¡¯s.¡± Although I begged a few more times, this time Uncle was too stubborn. He even threatened to take me in the winter if I listened carefully this time. If it¡¯s a week, well¡­ I decided to wait calmly for this time as he said he would bring a magic tool that I could use to contact him at any time. ¡­But it¡¯s too long. *** Morning, that day. Leto had to work to the point of straining his eyes to fill out a new document that had disappeared like a ghost. Of course he couldn¡¯t even go home. Even after he came back after being scolded by his master and searched the room thoroughly, the papers were gone. Deciding that it would be better to do it again while he was searching for it, Leto couldn¡¯t even get out of work and had to do the same thing twice for hours. The good news is that, thanks to having already done it once, the budget planning that took weeks for him to go around the mansion was completed in just a few hours. Still, it was already past three in the morning. Leto straightened and stretched his body. He thought he could close his eyes before 4 o¡¯clock if he finished after a cup of tea. ¡°I guess I can close my eyes for a while, report back in the morning, and then go home.¡± Leto got up from his seat to get the tea and opened the door. As he stepped into the hallway, something hit his toe and poured out. Leto tilted his head. ¡®¡­Candies?¡¯ Why is this here? Why is it the snacks that the Miss eats? Leto bent his knees and picked up one of the shiny things on the floor. As expected, it was candies. What he struck with his foot was a round glass bottle slightly larger than a grown man¡¯s fist. The glass bottle tipped over, spilling out the candies and chocolates it contained. As it was completely unexpected, a question mark appeared above Leto¡¯s head. ¡°Why is this here?¡± Even if the maids occasionally handed over snacks, they were usually given along with a confession, so Leto politely declined. He tended to prepare and eat snacks or tea himself, and that was comfortable. The other attendants know that he feels burdened with receiving something, so they don¡¯t bother preparing something like this, but¡­ It¡¯s not even Christmas, such a cute gift. ¡°Ah.¡± A memory crept into Leto¡¯s mind. It was something that happened today. [Leto, are you going home today?] [Yes, I suppose so? I have a room here too, but I¡¯ve been busy with work lately, so I¡¯ve been away for a long time. I¡¯m going to stay for the holiday and weekend.] [Y-You can¡¯t, though¡­ C-Can¡¯t you not go, Leto?] It¡¯s not hard to see Miss Aika in the hallway every day. Probably at least twice a day, or five times at most. Although noble children of the age of the Miss tend to make groups with friends of different ages and learn to meet, the Miss is a little different. CH 46 [Perhaps in case you miss me? When I come, I will buy you delicious cookies that you will like.] [No. You don¡¯t have to buy it. Can¡¯t you just not go? Leto¡¯s house is in danger today. Can¡¯t you go with Gerard tomorrow?] [Ah, is it because you¡¯re worried that I might be in danger when I go home from work at night? It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll take a good look around so that you don¡¯t have to worry.] [No¡­ Leto, then you don¡¯t have to do that, t-take a lot of escort knights with you. You really can¡¯t, today.] Even though she was a little girl, her heart was quite dignified, so there was usually a reason for her actions. That¡¯s why the Miss¡¯ behavior today was even more suspicious. [They say that there are a lot of petty thieves these days, so they secretly chase people home and steal things from inside the house. And there were people who were injured. They say it¡¯s very, very dangerous!] The Miss is the kind to understand if you explain the reason even if she begs, though. [Letooooo!] She even held him and cried. He thought the Miss was really strange today. [I¡¯m nervous, Leto. I really wish Leto was here today. Can¡¯t you tell Uncle that you¡¯re off from tomorrow? I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll even give you my favorite chocolate!] Rustle. He put all the candies and chocolates that were spilled out in a glass bottle. Did she know that he worked late and left these things behind? Just a moment ago, fatigue hit his back and it seemed like he was going to collapse at any moment, yet he felt that the fatigue was slowly relieving. How kind of her. Leto smiled, grabbed the glass bottle, entered the room, and placed it on the desk. Then he headed to the dining room to get the tea. He hummed as if he was barely tired. *** Early the next morning, Leto put the papers on Kassel¡¯s office desk. It will never disappear like dust like yesterday. He would come back after a while, but as he left the room, he looked back for no reason and checked the papers again and again. Although it wasn¡¯t difficult for him, he didn¡¯t want to stay up all night again. And an hour later. Leto successfully completed the report. Unlike yesterday¡¯s documents that disappeared savagely, today they were intact and passed safely without any criticism. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Are you planning to go down today?¡± Kassel, who had been stretching with his eyes and mouth yesterday, didn¡¯t say anything about whether he was satisfied this time. ¡°I¡¯ll send the kid off and go down tomorrow. Hold on to it again and fret.¡± ¡°Because the Miss likes you very much.¡± ¡°Stop talking nonsense and just get off work.¡± ¡°I understand, see you tomorrow then.¡± ¡°Relax as you rest.¡± He was already depressed because a holiday had disappeared, but Leto smiled brightly after hearing that. He overturns everything if you make a mistake or he doesn¡¯t like it, but the Master who usually takes care of him like this. Yesterday, as usual, there were no mistakes, so at least it was over at that level. ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you when I return, Your Lordship! Please have a rest.¡± Leto hurriedly left the office, fearing that he would change his words. Then he simply changed his clothes and left the mansion greeted by the servants. After boarding the carriage on the way home, Leto belatedly closed his eyes. He reached into his inside pocket and took out a candy with a rustle. He had taken a few out of the glass bottle and brought them back. He popped one into his mouth, then folded the plastic bag four times and put it in his inner pocket. Beneath it was a dagger that he had brought with him just in case. No matter how young the Miss who said that, he remembered how anxious she was. ¡®I¡¯ll have to tell the Miss that I bring this kind of thing when I go home.¡¯ The crimes that appear in the article aren¡¯t just things that happened yesterday and today, but to think that the Miss is already packing and checking the newspaper¡­ Shouldn¡¯t it also try not to become a problem for the Miss¡¯ growth? Soon the carriage stopped in front of a small house near the outskirts. Though small, it¡¯s a huge two-story house. A well-maintained but quite run-down house. Although he was from a commoner, he still had the title of baron named Parad, and the salary was as generous as a general butler. Even so, there was a reason he insisted on this old house. Because it is the last house his mother left behind. He achieved the goal after he succeeded in becoming a son who wouldn¡¯t disappoint her only after she passed away, but there was no other house like this. Instead of getting a better house, he came back every day off even though he was busy and took care of the house. ¡°You worked hard. See you the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Leto got off the carriage and gave the coachman the remaining candy. ¡°It¡¯s a drug that makes you feel good.¡± Then he sent the coachman away, took out the house key, and put it on the doorknob. Although he put the key in and turned it, the door was locked. ¡°Hmm?¡± Only after another turn will the door open. That means it was just open until now. Leto stepped back like lightning and looked around. He was more thorough than anyone else in locking down the door, always locking it and checking it several times, so there was no way he had forgotten to leave the door open before going to the mansion. No, like yesterday¡¯s document case, why on earth did this happen? The front and rear sights were wide open, so there was no place for suspicious people to hide. ¡°Am I really tired these days, I wonder¡± It was confusing because it was a series of mistakes. However, no matter how much he looked back, the memory of him locking the door remained. then. [They say that there are a lot of petty thieves these days, so they secretly chase people home and steal things from inside the house. And there were people who were injured. They say it¡¯s very, very dangerous!] Inside the house. There was no guarantee that the crime written in the newspapers wouldn¡¯t happen to him, so it was just in case. Although he doesn¡¯t like to leave valuables at home, so there¡¯s nothing to steal, it¡¯ll be safe after stealing anyway. But if that¡¯s not the case¡­ Leto¡¯s eyes widened. He reached for the dagger he had hidden inside his clothes and slowly opened the door. As soon as the door opened, Leto breathed a sigh of relief. The house was empty as usual. The upper floor was open, and only the really necessary furniture was placed on the second floor, so it was possible for quick confirmation. There was no sign of a mess from theft and no damage. ¡°I was worried for nothing.¡± Well, there¡¯s nothing wrong with being careful though. Leto went inside, closed the door, and hung the lock ring. Then he turned on the remaining lights, took off his jacket, hung it on a chair, and sighed. However, that reassurance didn¡¯t last long. Leto, who had unbuttoned the cuffs on both sleeves, stopped his hands and bent his waist. Something fell on the floor right next to the chair. It was a piece of yellow metal that seemed to have been broken somewhere. ¡°¡­Wait.¡± Leto walked quickly to the desk he used to work at home. He was meticulous in everything, so he was the one who put locks on all the drawers. Yet the drawer opened with a jolt without him putting the key in. Clack, clack, clack. He quickly opened all the drawers, yet all of them had broken locks. In addition, the drawers that were always tidy were a mess, unlike the neat house. As if someone was trying to figure out something. ¡°¡­¡± Leto headed back to the Marquis of Leguier. As soon as he arrived, he sent someone home and went straight to Kassel. Kassel, who was just about to go outside, leaned back on the desk with his arms crossed and listened to Leto¡¯s report. ¡°I mean¡­ What disappeared?¡± ¡°It looks like the culprits failed to find it because I didn¡¯t put anything important. I have instructed them to pursue it first.¡± ¡°Which one will come out soon, I wonder.¡± It happened every once in a while because there were not one or two families that made enemies of Valliot and Leguier. Usually, they tend to aim for the family head, but there is no law that says not to aim for subordinates who behave like a limb. It could have been the guys who attacked Seria. The enemy was in many ways. Not only do they risk one¡¯s life to protect it, even if they die and go to hell, they have a treasure in their arms to protect, making Cassel¡¯s nerves even sharper. ¡°If Leto had gone home yesterday, you would have been killed.¡± Even so, on the outside, he pretended to be calm and made jokes. Leto felt shame at the corner of Cassel¡¯s lips, which smirked. ¡°Your Lordship, what kind of bloody joke are you talking about?¡± CH 47 It wasn¡¯t until he checked that the drawer was open that he saw footprints left inside the house. Judging by the different sizes, there were at least three intruders. For Leto, who only knew how to use a little swordsmanship to protect himself, he could have been in big trouble. ¡°Take the escort with you for the time being.¡± Originally, Kassel had attached to him an escort. However, Leto stubbornly refused, saying that it was okay, and then this incident came. Kassel sarcastically said, you see that? yet Leto had nothing to say. ¡°Yes, I will.¡± ¡°Did they smell you leaving your spot? In any case, how diligent of them.¡± Kassel¡¯s chin was bulging, saying that he will feel better if he catches and grounds all of them. *** Leto finished his report and went back to the room he left in the morning. He thought that he would have to live in the mansion for the time being, even for safety, and was about to change into comfortable clothes when he noticed a glass bottle on the desk. Just as he was smiling at the thought of the Miss, someone knocked on the door. ¡°Sir Steward, this is Hemel.¡± ¡°Ah, hold on.¡± Leto unbuttoned his buttons, rearranged them, and opened the door. ¡°I apologize, knowing you were taking a break. I brought it because I thought it was nonoe other than Sir Steward¡¯s document.¡± ¡°Document?¡± Hemel bowed his head and held out a wad of paper to Leto. Leto wondered if His Lordship had even run an errand, so he handed it over without checking. ¡°Thank you.¡± Leto¡¯s eyes widened as he closed the door. ¡°Wait, Hemel!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Steward?¡± ¡°Stay there for a moment.¡± Why is this here? It¡¯s a report that he had finished and delivered this morning, though? He wrinkled his brow, wondering if he hadn¡¯t come back to his senses because he only experienced strange things yesterday and today, but a part he wrote down was subtly different. [I know this too. Uncle says he¡¯s losing his life because of me. That¡¯s why there are a lot of zeros, right?] He wrote a new one and raised the number by one more with his own authority, for he remembered the girl who puffed up her cheeks and grumbled as if it was unfair. It was easy for the Master to make up his mind because he would have added more to his niece, the Miss, but he wasn¡¯t a great person to do less. So obviously 2 should be 3, yet the written content was 2. The lost documents were returned. In addition, it was crumpled all over where it came from. ¡°Hemel, where did you get this?¡± Leto, who was looking at the document with Hemel standing outside the door, asked. ¡°Ah, the Miss just said that she picked up something that fell down the hallway over there. Seeing the number written down, I wondered if Sir Steward wrote it down. If I got it wrong¡­¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s really the document I should have. But you said the Miss picked it up?¡± ¡°Yes, the Miss gave it to me and asked me to find the owner.¡± ¡°¡­I-I understand. You may go first.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As Hemel went and closed the door, Leto¡¯s eyes were fixed on the papers. ¡°The Miss gave him this?¡± It¡¯s crumpled, but it doesn¡¯t have the slightest dirt or dust on it, considering it was picked up in the hallway. Leto¡¯s brow narrowed. By the way, how can coincidences overlap like this? Above all, why does it keep overlapping with the Miss? The Miss who stubbornly held him yesterday kept shimmering. She had never been so stubborn with him, it was strange. He thought it might be because they got to know each other better, and passed it on. How can coincidences overlap like this? Once doubts sprouted, everything seemed strangely put together. He needed to check it out. Leto searched Kassel again that way. *** ¡°¡­Do you love me?¡± Watching Leto visit him several times today, Kassel crumpled his face. Leto flinched at the look on his face, which was saying, I¡¯m busy to death but even you have to put more work on me? Somehow, after Peanut came to this house, everyone¡¯s actions changed like Aika. Even if he¡¯s busy to death. ¡°Am I crazy¡­ I searched for you because I had something to tell you.¡± ¡°You search for me shamelessly. Why, what else.¡± Leto held out the crumpled papers. ¡°This is the document I lost yesterday.¡± ¡°Well, since you found it, should I pat you on the butt? Peanut is cute, but why would a grown up guy keep fooling around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it. The Miss gave me this.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The Miss said she picked it up in the hallway¡­ That doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡± Kassel softened his anger a little, as if he had finally made up his mind to listen. Leto reported everything that happened yesterday to him. From what he kept himself from going to what happened today. Kassel listened silently to Leto¡¯s words. ¡°So, did Peanut know?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ I know that you¡¯re thinking it¡¯s weird. But even though the Miss is young, she deliberately doesn¡¯t ask for help because she fears that the servants will have a hard time, yet yesterday it was really strange.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But since this happened today¡­ Have you ever heard anything? Her turning inside out once¡­¡± He honestly doesn¡¯t know how to explain it. Also, is it just a joke? Is he the only one who thinks like this? Kassel stood still with his arms crossed, leaning back crookedly. ¡°Your Lordship?¡± ¡°I got it, so stop and just leave.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°I told you I got it, just go ahead.¡± ¡°Yes, then. Call me if necessary.¡± Leto, who put on a puzzled expression, greeted him and went back. Kassel, who had been quiet, opened the drawer of his desk, rummaged through it, and pulled out a bundle of newspaper fragments. They were things he skipped over even though Aika was screaming at him to look at them yesterday. He unfolded them again and examined them one by one. She had cut out and collected all the accidents similar to the one that happened today. ¡°¡­¡± Kassel, who was looking at them in turn, began to look at each piece of newspaper again. Some incidents are the same, others are different, but put together they resemble what Leto went through this morning. She didn¡¯t just collect newspaper articles. She scribbled articles with a writing instrument, whether it was a pencil or colored pencil, and then wrote other letters. For example, turning a thief into a gangster. Brown to black hair. Woman to man. One to three. All the crooked letters belonged to Aika. If one looks at the way Aika fixed it and the order in which she tied them together, they fit exactly as Leto said. Of course, not all were the same. Because Leto wasn¡¯t attacked. But¡­ ¡®If he had returned yesterday, he would have been attacked.¡¯ Peanut knew he was going to be attacked by three men? As far as brown hair? It¡¯s not like they¡¯re doing a play. Leto said it didn¡¯t look like someone broke into the house either. He said he thought at least two or three people were there. ¡°This bastard Leto is trying to make my mind go crazy.¡± Kassel scratched his head annoyedly, yet couldn¡¯t take his eyes off Aika¡¯s stack of newspapers. Aika grabbing Leto and begging him was something she did to him as well. Asking him not to go out today and just play with her. Even when I just came here, she got in trouble. All sorts of ridiculous manure that drive people crazy. It wasn¡¯t until after a full day had passed that she exclaimed triumphantly, as if relieved, ¡°Uncle, you can go out today! Safe day!¡± He was really dumbfounded. ¡°What does the kid know?¡± No matter how smart the kid is, does it make sense for her to read the future? Of course, his nephew has a cute appearance that might come out once in a thousand years and a smart mind, but it¡¯s not to that extent. Although her mother, Seria, was also a bit peculiar, she couldn¡¯t see the future. Where did she hear that? Sometimes people say they have precognitive dreams. However, Kassel didn¡¯t believe that either. He was sure they hit it off. Or maybe it happened because they felt uncomfortable with their dream, so they were being more sensitive for no reason. ¡°Hmm¡­ No matter how genius my baby is.¡± Kassel set the stack of newspapers down on the desk. ¡°It¡¯s nonsense.¡± CH 48 Two days later, Kassel, who could no longer delay the schedule, prepared to send Aika to the Duke¡¯s residence. ¡°Peanut.¡± ¡°Uncle, how many will you be gone?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll either come late or early, if you listen to my words carefully.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying. How can Uncle watch me from there? How far is it, you know?¡± ¡°Uncle can see you.¡± ¡°Where is there that kind of thing!¡± Aika¡¯s cheeks swelled up. Kassel pricked the white cheek as if he was pressing well-swollen dough. ¡°Here it is. So, listen to your grandpa. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°¡­Yep!¡± Today, Aika behaved obediently. It wasn¡¯t like he wanted her to hold on to her again like last time, but Kassel didn¡¯t put Aika down while holding her for a long time out of vain regret. ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°Why.¡± ¡°¡­Nothing.¡± It¡¯s not that it¡¯s not, but more than anything, the kid was a bit strange today. If he said she was going to her grandfather, she would have to go on a rampage, yet she clearly seemed to be struggling. Stop trying to say what she has to say, over and over again. Maybe she¡¯s doing this because she couldn¡¯t tell him that she secretly hid Leto¡¯s documents a while ago. Or because she wants to go somewhere he can¡¯t take her. However, the road was quite dangerous, so he couldn¡¯t take the child with him. This time too, he will get the job done before coming back. ¡°Get on.¡± Kassel eventually got Aika into the carriage first. ¡°Is Uncle also going to Grandpa¡¯s?¡± She climbed into the chair with her knees, and Kassell followed suit and slumped into the chair after seeing Aika nestled inside the carriage. Aika¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Uncle¡¯s going with you because I don¡¯t want you to cry over me again and turn into a soaked peanut.¡± ¡°Hihi.¡± Then Aika grinned. *** The whole time I rode in the carriage to Grandpa¡¯s house, my mind was filled with thoughts of going to the Imperial Palace. It reminded me of something I had to do while Uncle was gone. It was a golden opportunity. In fact, Serpens helped. [I have to go see Lepus.] [Just go-ing.] [Uncle would scold me, telling me I can¡¯t go to the Imperial Palace. He said he would hang me from the window.] [Then you can go without your uncle knowing-ing.] [Gasp. When I go to Grandpa¡¯s!] [Ding dong deng.] That¡¯s how it happened. Uncle growls and gets angry at the mere mention of the syllable ¡®Imp¡¯ in the Imperial Palace, so I have no choice but to follow Grandpa! I had a mountain of questions to ask Lepus, but I was sad that I couldn¡¯t keep looking for it. Uncle said it was up to me how long it would take, but Gerard hinted at a week or so. ¡°Uncle, can we come to my house when you come back?¡± ¡°Your house?¡± ¡°Yes, my house.¡± I had been waiting until now for the promise Uncle had made the other day to take me. I waited enough to ask Zenda to mark it on my calendar every day. Uncle was still as if thinking for a moment, then he nodded his head as he tousled my hair. The two pigtails that Zenda had tied up prettily at best were getting tangled. ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go, well.¡± ¡°Whoa! Really, can we?¡± ¡°So, listen to me carefully.¡± My gosh! Uncle had to come late for me to keep going to the Imperial Palace, and Uncle had to come early for us to go to my house. Then I should wish Uncle to come early, but I shouldn¡¯t wish him to come early. Unbelievable. ¡°Aika.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°¡­No.¡± Uncle kept calling me and talking to me repeatedly. He did the same over dinner yesterday. I thought he would get scolded for hiding Leto¡¯s document, but that wasn¡¯t the case either. Anyway, we should catch the bad culprit soon. The fact that the culprit who tried to harm Leto and Grandpa is the same means that that person knows Grandpa and Leto. Then Grandpa might know that guy too. I must find them. *** ¡°Our princess, my baby!¡± ¡°Grandpwa!¡± ¡°Your tongue got cut out again.¡± Uncle sneered at me from behind. Either way, I ran over and hugged Grandpa tightly. ¡°Uncle took me here!¡± ¡°Yeah, he should do it right. My princess, have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes, I ate this much! What about Grandpa?¡± ¡°This grandpa ate too. What shall we do while our princess is here? Shall we go to the toy store together?¡± ¡°Grandpa, then go¡­¡± ¡°Go what.¡± I shuddered at the eerie voice behind me. ¡°U-Uncle.¡± Unbeknownst to me, my head turned back, creak. ¡°Go what.¡± ¡°¡­No, that.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be going to the Imperial Palace.¡± Uncle asked, raising his eyebrows crookedly. He even crossed his arms with his eyes telling me to speak. I shook my head as my cheeks dropped. As expected, Uncle is too quick-witted. W-What should I say? As I turned my eyes, I could see Uncle¡¯s golden eyes. ¡°Go¡­ ooolden carriage!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Golden carriage! Grandpa¡¯s golden carriage!¡± I just answered casually. ¡°A golden carriage? Yes, the family carriage is a bit dark. This old man was careless. I¡¯ll prepare a golden carriage tomorrow. My princess, is there anything else you want?¡± It¡¯s not, though¡­ I don¡¯t want a golden carriage, though¡­ I hated the golden necklace, but I hated the golden carriage even more. But Uncle was glaring at me, so I had no choice but to shout that we must make a golden carriage. *** Uncle really left me for the March of Leguier. Actually, I also wanted to see Cartiers. But I had something to do here, so I decided to put up with it. Because Zenda is by my side too! And from today, the day after I slept at Grandpa¡¯s, I had to take classes with the teachers I greeted at Uncle¡¯s. I heard that the Imperial Language teacher, whom I hadn¡¯t seen before, was coming today. ¡°Hello, Madam Lemonica.¡± As I had learned from the first greeting, I held the dress in my hands, crossed one of my feet, and bowed my back to greet Viscountess Lemonica. ¡°Nice to meet you again, Lady Aika. I¡¯ve taught you once, and you¡¯re really good at it.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Viscountess Lemonica was a very nice person. As her name suggests, she always had her lemon blonde hair tied down and rolled up like an onion net. Viscountess Lemonica¡¯s light green eyes, with a hint of brown, were as warm as her voice. ¡°Then, shall we learn something else today?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Now, this time, it¡¯s a greeting method that can be used when meeting a friend. Just follow along slowly.¡± ¡°Yeeees!¡± She taught me each posture and if I said it was a little difficult, I was able to take a break right away. ¡°A little lighter.¡± ¡°L-Like this?¡± ¡°Great. The dress is over here.¡± ¡°Here¡­.¡± And she told me to always ask if there was anything difficult, and she even stood behind me, held my hand, and taught me how to posture. ¡°Good job. You learn really fast. Now then, shall we go at once?¡± The other teachers were all nice when I first greeted them, so soon I was sure that my Imperial Language teacher would be nice too. In the afternoon, the Imperial Language teacher really came. It was the new teacher, instead of Professor Boville, who was supposed to come, I heard. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Belfoy Logis, who will be in charge of the Miss¡¯ Imperial Language education from today. Feel free to call me Logis.¡± Teacher Logis had her hair styled with her bangs-less, middle-parted, wavy brown hair down to a bob. There was a small dot on the right side of her nose on her pointed chin. Every time Teacher Logis moved, her hair floated and it seemed as if it would fly away at any moment. ¡°Hello, Teacher Logis. I¡¯m Aika de Valliot!¡± I took out the book Teacher Logis had brought. ¡°First of all, today we will have time to find out how far you have learned.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Could you write the Imperial language, even a bit?¡± ¡°Yes! I know how to write a little bit!¡± ¡°Then, shall we use a word you know? It can be one letter.¡± ¡°Yeees!¡± I took out the notebook and pencil that Zenda had prepared in advance. I opened my notebook and started writing down the letters I knew on the white and clean paper. Write Mom¡¯s name, Grandpa¡¯s name, also Uncle¡¯s name. ¡°Hmm. What else?¡± ¡­I was about to write the name Russphe. It¡¯s because I forgot what the last letter of Russphe¡¯s name was. Russphe would be really sad if he found out. I guess I¡¯ll ask Grandpa as soon as today¡¯s class is over. Write Zenda, Gerard, Leto, and Grandma Sophie¡¯s names. I also wrote down the food I ate yesterday. ¡°Write my name too-ing.¡± I heard Ser¡¯s voice in my ears. I tried to ignore it, but then I felt like it would complain later that I didn¡¯t write it, so I only wrote ¡®Ser¡¯. And last! I was contemplating writing down the most difficult words as a stroke of conversion, but Ser tapped me on the cheek from the side. ¡°Look at him for a while-ing.¡± Hm? CH 49 You want me to look at Teacher Logis? I raised my head before I could write a word. Did it feel any strange energy? Could TeacherLogis be in danger too? ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Sensing my gaze, Teacher Logis asked me. ¡°N-No.¡± I can¡¯t see anything. But Ser kept urging me to look at her face as it bothered by my side. In the end, I only wrote words up to Ser and handed them out to the teacher. Then I stared at the teacher until class was over. ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t see anything, though?¡± Class was over. I returned to my room and grunted at Ser, sitting on the bed and dangling my legs. ¡°A strange smell¡­¡± ¡°A strange smell? Didn¡¯t you see anything dangerous?¡± ¡°Nope-ing. I keep glancing at you-ing.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen how well I write? W-Why are you glaring at me¡­¡± When Ser¡¯s one red eye flashed, my body shrank. ¡°I don¡¯t know-ing. It smells fishy-ing.¡± I still couldn¡¯t understand Ser¡¯s words. Still, Ser was quiet when I was with other teachers, so I decided to trust him. ¡°Got it. I will be careful with Teacher Logis.¡± Valliot with many enemies on all sides. I¡¯m a Valliot too! *** Grandpa was just as busy as Uncle. Even though I kissed him for 2 million gold as a morning greeting, he returned home at night. As soon as I heard that Grandpa¡¯s carriage had entered the garden, I ran out to the front door. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Grandpa, who had just entered and was about to lean his cane, threw away his cane, took off his gloves, and opened his arms to me. ¡°Oh my, our princess. Grandpa is too late.¡± I jumped up and gave Grandpa a hug. ¡°Very much!¡± Grandpa¡¯s eyebrows curved in the shape of eight. ¡°Grandpa was very busy today. I also bought a doll for Aika, so can you forgive Grandpa?¡± I inflated my cheeks and then laughed, hee. ¡°Hee, it¡¯s actually fine! Uncle is always busy and comes home late. I took class today and played with Zenda! I wasn¡¯t bored at all.¡± ¡°Oh my, you played well. Good job, good job. Instead, Grandpa will make sure to listen to everything Aika wants tomorrow.¡± ¡°Tomorrow? Really?¡± ¡°Of course. Let¡¯s buy a golden carriage and do it all.¡± Ah, no golden carriage. But if we don¡¯t buy the golden carriage, Uncle will ask what I did, won¡¯t he¡­? ¡°G-Grandpa. I like a small golden carriage.¡± Grandpa came into the hallway with me in his arms. ¡°A small one? What are you going to use the little carriage for?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ put a doll there! It¡¯s a very small doll.¡± A golden carriage the size of a palm would be fine. ¡°Come, come. Grandpa will do it all for you. Have you eaten dinner?¡± ¡°Yes! What about Grandpa?¡± ¡°Ahem , ahem. G-Grandpa has eaten too. I ate something very hearty and delicious.¡± I opened my eyes slackly. Grandpa was lying now. Regarding how do I know¡­ Because every time Mom didn¡¯t eat dinner, she was acting! ¡°Hmph. Grandpa, I hate you.¡± ¡°Aika? Y-You say you hate Grandpa?¡± Grandpa¡¯s eyes widened as if he had heard a taboo word that should never be heard. ¡°Mom always stuttered when she lied that she had dinner when she hadn¡¯t eaten. And she just laughed out loud. Just like Grandpa.¡± Beside him, one of Grandpa¡¯s aides, Benzel, burst into laughter. ¡°Your Grace, I think you should be honest with the Miss.¡± ¡°Ahem, Aika. I was actually going to eat, but I was too busy.¡± ¡°Not even once?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t forget to eat it tomorrow. Hmm? This Grandpa cannot live if Aika hates me.¡± Grandpa even rubbed my cheek against his. My cheek was pressed and a little rough, but I liked it because it was Grandpa. ¡°Then let¡¯s eat together now!¡± ¡°Now? Shall we?¡± ¡°Aika will be by Grandpa¡¯s side while you eat. Hurry up!¡± I reached out my hand toward the restaurant, saying let¡¯s go quickly. *** ¡°Aika.¡± In my sleep, I felt Ser¡¯s face patting my cheek. ¡°Mmm, sleepy¡­¡± After watching Grandpa eat a late dinner, I fell asleep listening to Grandpa read a story to me. I was traveling in the land of dreams, yet Ser kept waking me up. ¡°Hurry. There are strange noises outside-ing.¡± I stumbled, half-raised, and looked at Ser with only one eye open. ¡°Strange noises?¡± I endured heavy eyelids that seemed to spill at any moment and focused on the sounds outside. I can¡¯t hear anything. ¡°Ser, I can¡¯t hear anything.¡± ¡°Now!¡± As soon as I heard Ser¡¯s lowered voice, clank! And there was a faint but sharp sound. Knife¡­? A sound rang out again, clank! This sound¡­ [Aika, my princess. Just open your eyes for a second.] [Mmmm¡­?] [Shall we get up and play hide and seek with Mom?] [Mom, it¡¯s night now. We can¡¯t play hide and seek at night¡­] I jumped up from my bed feeling that I was waking up. Because now I know what sound that is. As soon as I came down barefoot, I gathered the dolls in the room. ¡°What are you doing. This isn¡¯t the time.¡± ¡°I know¡­ It¡¯s dangerous. I have to hide.¡± ¡°Call someone.¡± ¡°I know how.¡± Ser¡¯s voice was seriously low, like a voice that often comes out from time to time. But I didn¡¯t care and first gathered the dolls in the room and put them inside the blanket. [Mom has once told you, right? Sometimes scary shadows appear.] [Mmmm, shadows?] [Looks like it shows up today and hides. Let¡¯s play hide and seek with Mom. Do you remember what I taught you?] [¡­Under the closet?] [Yep. If you hide, your doll friends will protect Aika.] After making the same shape as my sleeping posture with the dolls, I covered them with a blanket. I put my slippers on and turned around. Still, I took the rabbit slippers given to me by Russphe, which were right next to me. This never happened when I was at Uncle¡¯s house. Or did I not hear? The day Mom told me about the shadow appearing, there was a terrifying sound like this. It was very occasional though. Mom woke me up then, but today Ser woke me up. I was very fortunate. I almost couldn¡¯t play hide and seek. ¡°Q-Quickly.¡± But it was my first time playing hide-and-seek without Mom, so I was very scared. Still, I held back and opened the closet. Because now I know I have to do it alone. There is a separate dressing room, but there is another large closet in this room. The house where Mom and I lived also had a closet like this in the room. [We made the same at Grandpa¡¯s, so if the shadow comes to Aika someday, you have to hide well, okay?] [Yeees, Aika can hide well.] [How pretty, my daughter.] But I really didn¡¯t know Grandpa could play hide and seek. I quietly opened the closet. ¡°¡­¡± The bottom of the closet full of dresses was made of flat wood. I pushed my fingertips in. Pushed. ¡°¡­There is.¡± There really is, as Mom said. Just like the one at my house! It just looks like a floor, but it¡¯s not. This is a door Clank! ¡°Gasp.¡± Suddenly, the sound came from outside again. I heard a moan of pain, ugh. The sound was still far away. I tossed my slippers through the half-open door and entered the closet. ¡°I have to get in here.¡± ¡°Here?¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± A space barely large enough for one person to fit in. Because Mom told me to stay here. Even as I sat down, it was getting noisy outside. I closed the closet door and got under a wooden board that was pushed in. Mom had to crumple her body, she said, but I was still not as big as Mom, so I lifted it easily. When the wooden board was removed, there was a fire on the inside, so there was no problem for me to see things. As soon as I hid under the board, I closed it again. Then I crouched down and held my breath. ¡°Ser, you can¡¯t talk to me anymore.¡± Ser¡¯s voice can¡¯t be heard by anyone else, but it seems that I must answer it. I just have to stay like this until the game of hide and seek is over. As the noise outside grew louder, my hands were sweaty. I wasn¡¯t so scared when I was with Mom. ¡®Scary. I¡¯m so scared.¡¯ Ser, who dangled from my neck, rubbed its face against my cheek without saying a word. ¡°Ser¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m here, it¡¯s okay.¡± I nodded and crouched down even more. I hope the dolls will protect me this time too. When I was hiding here, the game of hide-and-seek was over and Mom came to see me¡­ Wait. I raised my head. So who¡¯s coming this time? Does Grandpa know this too? What if he can¡¯t find me? It was strangely quiet outside. Until just now, I heard a noise. It was then. Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening. I held my breathing, hmp! CH 50 ¡°Damned bastards. Where did they come from.¡± While Kassel went down to the manor, there was an attack on the Duke¡¯s residence. Seeing that they came this way, they didn¡¯t seem to know anything, and the timing seemed right. Although fortunately, he took care of it before they even went inside, he was annoyed when he woke up. Illode hurriedly headed to Aika¡¯s room. He caught everyone outside, but still to make sure his granddaughter was okay. ¡°Your Grace, please give me the sword.¡± Illode, who was walking briskly with a bloodstained sword in his hand, stopped his feet. ¡°Goodness, that could¡¯ve been a big deal. When you get old, it gets worse from the brain first.¡± Illode held out the sword to Himed, his escort. ¡°I will clean the surroundings so that the Miss doesn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Obviously. Is there any bloody spots?¡± Then, the escort looked closely at Illode from head to toe. ¡°No, Sir.¡± ¡°If I get caught later, I¡¯ll start by taking off your neck, so be sure to check it out.¡± Himed looked again in dismay. ¡°¡­There really isn¡¯t any, Sir. You¡¯re clean.¡± Himed silently looked at Illode, who still had spirits in his eyes. Now that he is old, he complains that his knee hurts, yet his sword skills don¡¯t go anywhere. Since he¡¯s the duke who gave birth to Marquis Leguier, who holds the title of the Empire¡¯s best swordsman, where would his skills go? After checking again, Illode caught his breath in front of Aika¡¯s door and opened the door. ¡°¡­¡± He, who silenced the sound of his footsteps, immediately turned his eyes to Aika¡¯s bed. Aika was sleeping on the bed with cute slippers the size of his palm. Illode¡¯s fierce eyes quickly faded and melted down. The aura of a moment ago was permeated with warm light everywhere. His granddaughter, the apple of his eye, is safe and sound. ¡°Our little puppy.¡± It was fortunate that she was sleeping well. He wanted to keep her safer. It makes him won¡¯t be able to go this way again, but it seemed like he needed to organize the outside more. It was when he carefully lifted the blanket to see Aika sleeping while he was there. ¡°¡­!¡± As soon as the blanket was removed, the small human-shaped dolls piled up collapsed. All of them were dolls that Aika took turns playing with every day. He was told that Aika had a habit of holding a doll tightly in her arms since she was very young. Maybe that¡¯s why the house she originally lived in was full of dolls. There were so many dolls to the extent they could step their feet on them anywhere in the Marquis of Leguier¡¯s house and the Duke¡¯s residence. Illode¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Himed!¡± ¡°Yes, Your Grace!¡± ¡°We need to find Aika!¡± ¡°Pardon? Are you talking about the Miss? Here¡­!¡± As soon as Himed came in and saw the dolls on the bed, he was surprised for a moment, and his eyes changed sharply. ¡°Go find her!¡± It was when Himed ran away and Illode was about to go out the door again in a panic. There was a sudden thud from inside the closet. Illode, who was about to leave the door, stopped abruptly. Thump, thump. Illode turned slowly toward the closet at the noise. ¡°¡­pa!¡± Illode doubted his ears. ¡°Grandpa!¡± ¡°Aika?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Aika¡¯s voice, hidden behind the wooden closet, was a little muffled. Illode hurriedly opened the closet door. In the meantime, Aika appeared whining. Her hair, which had been undone from her sleep, was tangled and scattered all over. It was only after making sure that her face was intact without a single scar, that he felt his legs loosen up. ¡°Aika!¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± Illode lifted up Aika and hugged her. Before even checking what the hell was going on, he checked to see if Aika was okay. He embraced her as if she was about to be crushed. He just went back and forth between hell and heaven. He thought they hadn¡¯t come this way, but for a moment he thought Aika had been kidnapped. It wasn¡¯t entirely possible. As Aika was Valliot¡¯s treasure and his greatest weakness. His heart skipped a beat when he held his baby in his arms, who would never be hurt in front of his eyes. ¡°Goodness, my baby. Why were you hiding here, hm? Did you have a nightmare? You should¡¯ve told me. Grandpa¡¯s heart almost fell.¡± ¡°T-There are scary noises outside.¡± Illode was relieved and opened his eyes tightly. It seemed that Aika had listened to the sounds outside. ¡°Sorry to startle you. A flying fly came in, but Grandpa has cleaned it up. You don¡¯t have to worry anymore. Nothing happened.¡± Golden eyes shimmered even in the dark. He thought he should pay more attention to the soundproofing, yet Aika asked, her eyes wide open as she stared at the door. ¡°Grandpa, did the shadow go?¡± ¡°Hm? Shadow?¡± ¡°The scary people, are they gone now? Is the hide-and-seek game done?¡± Illode stiffened as it was. ¡°¡­Aika.¡± As if this wasn¡¯t the first time, this feeling. Illode¡¯s eyes narrowed. How on earth¡­ ¡°Mom told me to hide here when playing hide and seek. I have to hide in the same closet at Grandpa¡¯s house and mine.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Only then did Illode look around the room while holding Aika. All of these places were touched by Seria¡¯s hand. It was a place where Seria wanted to make a room for her daughter, so he asked her to come anytime. She didn¡¯t come into the Duke¡¯s house, and he wanted his daughter, who was staying outside, to come in like that. Although she didn¡¯t come even until the end. He even sternly told Aika not to throw anything away in this place so that he could feel Seria¡¯s warmth at least a little. ¡°¡­Mom told you to hide here?¡± ¡°Yes, of course the dolls will protect me. I¡¯m really good at hide and seek.¡± The dolls scattered on the bed came into view again. It was said that all of that was made by these little hands. Perhaps she was holding her breath in the closet, sweat dripping from her small forehead. Indeed, she must have been hiding in this closet. He thought it was a design with a particularly higher chin than a normal wardrobe, but he didn¡¯t think it was a big deal because Seria was so eccentric. Although not all of them, it¡¯s not unusual to put a closet in the bedroom. ¡°How on earth¡­¡± What were you doing outside, Seria? Yet no one was there to answer. A lot of thoughts filled his head, but Illode patted Aika on the back with a smile on his face. ¡°Right, now that the game of hide-and-seek is over, shall we sleep now, Princess? The shadow will never come.¡± ¡°Absolutely?¡± ¡°Of course. Even if they come, this old man will defeat them all, so don¡¯t worry and sleep. I will protect Aika no matter what.¡± Illode removed the dolls from the bed and set Aika down. As she was used to, Aika put away the dolls and got ready to go back to her bed. Illode sat down next to her. ¡°Shall Grandpa sing you a lullaby?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Aika, who pulled the blanket over her neck, nodded her head and her eyes twinkled. Illode patted Aika¡¯s chest with a disturbed heart and softly sang a lullaby. Until Aika once again fell asleep. ¡°¡­¡± Looking at her angelic face even while she was asleep, he became confused. This ignorant, happy child already knew how to hide from an attack. [Mom told me to hide here when playing hide and seek. I have to hide in the same closet at Grandpa¡¯s house and mine.] As long as she has the blood of Valliot, she can¡¯t avoid attacks anywhere. Still, he put many of the guards in the mansion where Seria lived. What he thought was safe was actually Seria trying to prevent them from reporting it to him. ¡®What the hell does this lump of blood know?¡¯ Since Seria was born, she hasn¡¯t been the type to upset Illode much, but whenever she had an accident, it would hit Illode hard. She was a daughter who was good at dealing with accidents on her own, and even so, he always believed in her. She had risen to the rank of prime minister with only her skills, then his daughter, who had endured all kinds of vicious rumors, had suddenly disappeared. Then, 2 years later, she showed up with this lump of blood. [¡­Father.] [Where have you been?] [I¡­ can¡¯t tell you.] With a weaker appearance than anyone else, with a stronger will than anyone else. CH 51 [That child¡­] [She¡¯s my daughter. Please let me keep my child here, Father.] With the Emperor¡¯s arrangement, she succeeded in finding her place again, yet Seria¡¯s life was different. The center of her world has turned into this lovely lump of blood. Although it¡¯s because her position as prime minister isn¡¯t as strong as this. [Come in. never leave again There is no second time.] Illode didn¡¯t ask Seria any more. Seria seemed to be doing well, raising a child who was the apple of her eye. However, his daughter left Aika behind. To a place she may never come back. It was an accident. Is it because of his words, saying there was no second time? Like that, Illode buried the daughter, whom he¡¯d never seen again, in his heart. Still, his daughter left a hole for him to breathe. ¡°Baby, no matter what happens, I will always protect you.¡± Illod lowered his head and kissed his granddaughter¡¯s forehead, who was like his heart, briefly. Then he carefully brushed the hair that clung to her small, thick forehead. ¡°¡­Please grow up healthy.¡± This grandpa will do all the bad things. It was a night full of thoughts. Illode protected his granddaughter¡¯s bed like that until morning. *** ¡°Grandpwaaa¡­¡± I slowly approached Grandpa. ¡°Come here, my baby. Let¡¯s really do everything Aika wants us to do today.¡± I¡¯ve been waiting for this day. The day Grandpa would ask me where I wanted to go! For today, I deliberately asked Zenda to get the key to the ancient library from Uncle in advance and keep it. Grandpa originally said he would take me where I wanted to go yesterday, but suddenly something urgent happened and he couldn¡¯t go. ¡°I want to go to the Imperial Palace with Grandpaaaa¡­¡± Grandpa raised his eyebrows. ¡°You want to go to the Imperial Palace?¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa. I want to go to the Imperial Palace. There, can¡¯t I just stay quietly? I only want to read books in the ancient library.¡± I must go today because I know that Uncle isn¡¯t going to come. ¡°The Imperial Palace¡­ Baby.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°How about a place other than the Imperial Palace? There are too many people there and it¡¯s complicated, we can¡¯t do that. There are a lot of books here at Grandpa¡¯s house too. There will also be books that our princess likes.¡± Unbelievable. I thought Grandpa would listen to me right away! ¡°I-I want to see the books in the ancient library other than those books. Can¡¯t I go to see just a little bit¡­?¡± I dozed off clinging to Grandpa¡¯s arm. ¡°The ancient library¡¯s books?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll really, really, really see only a little bit! Grandpa, please?¡± I exhaled my longing for the ancient library toward Grandpa with my eyes. ¡°Do you want to go that much?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I nodded my head to the extent my neck was sore. Grandpa grunted. After a while, Grandpa¡¯s mouth opened again. ¡°¡­Then you must promise Grandpa to play only in the ancient library, mm?¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa!¡± I finally managed to change Grandpa¡¯s mind. Instead, it was on the condition that I only play in the ancient library. Actually, I did that last time too, but well. I made a promise with Grandpa that I would never disappear like the last time, so I decided to keep it. Now that I know how to go back and forth, I can just go to Lepus and come back soon, can¡¯t I! As expected, my grandpa is the best. As soon as Grandpa¡¯s permission was given, I jumped out at Zenda. I don¡¯t want Grandpa to suddenly change his mind just in case. ¡°Zenda, we have to go to the Imperial Palace! Grandpa will take me there!¡± As soon as I entered the room, I shouted loudly. ¡°Are you really going to go there?¡± ¡°Yep! Zenda, pick out pretty clothes.¡± ¡°If the Master finds out, I think there will be an uproar¡­¡± Zenda¡¯s face was full of worry. ¡°Y-You have to keep it a secret from my uncle. Even Grandpa will keep it a secret.¡± ¡°Even the Duke¡­? Whew, Miss. You¡¯re really unstoppable.¡± ¡°Hihi.¡± ¡°Instead, you have to be where I can see you today, alright? You can¡¯t hide secretly like last time, you know?¡± ¡°Mmhm, I¡¯ll just read the books! I won¡¯t hide at all.¡± After several more promises, Zenda brought out a yellow dress. It was the dress I picked out the other day. ¡°Now, how about this? These are the clothes the Miss said you would wear the next time you go to the Imperial Palace.¡± ¡°Nice! Zenda is the best!¡± ¡°Do you like anything with the thought of going to the Imperial Palace in mind?¡± ¡°Hihi, yep. But this one is so nice.¡± However, after putting on the clothes, I couldn¡¯t hide my disappointment when I saw the necklace hanging around my neck without fail. Why did the golden necklace come here¡­ ¡°¡­Do we have to do this again?¡± ¡°Of course. Even though I don¡¯t know anything else, we must do this.¡± ¡°Uncle isn¡¯t even here.. Even if we keep it a secret from Uncle?¡± ¡°If he ever found out, he would be really upset. And also for safety. The difference between others knowing the name of the Marquis and not is huge.¡± I¡¯m not sure what she means, but if that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t help it. I quietly put the necklace around my neck. Even though I hadn¡¯t even gone out yet, it seemed like flashes of light were emanating from my neck. ¡°It¡¯s too blinding-ing.¡± Beside me, Ser muttered an ironic murmur. *** ¡°Now that Grandpa will spend a lot of time, let us go to a nice place to play.¡± Grandpa said that he continued to work at the Imperial Palace while taking care of the rest of Mom¡¯s work. I think Uncle also said that Grandpa was taking over the prime minister¡¯s business for a while. He said that once a new prime minister is appointed, Grandpa will no longer have to come to the Imperial Palace often. So, there was no place for Mom here anymore. ¡°Yes, Grandpa!¡± It¡¯s fine, though. I have Grandpa and Uncle. ¡°Grandpa.¡± ¡°Hmm? What is it, Aika?¡± ¡°You¡­ can never, ever, tell Uncle, yeah?¡± Before arriving at the Imperial Palace, I made several promises with Grandpa in the carriage. He will never tell Uncle! But I was still worried. ¡°Yeah. I will never, ever say it. Instead, you really should only read books here, hmm? You can¡¯t make this old man worry again.¡± ¡°Yes, I will!¡± When I stood in front of the ancient library door, where I wanted to come, my heart skipped a beat. As I entered the Imperial Palace, I ran into people and stopped several times, but I was able to come here quickly with a few words from Grandpa. I can finally meet Lepus again! I had a lot to ask about the hunter, and I had a lot to say about what happened with Ser. I snorted and handed the key to Grandpa. Grandpa chuckled as I stamped my feet waiting for the locked door to open. ¡°Do you like it that much?¡± ¡°Yes, very, very much!¡± ¡°Come on, let¡¯s take a look. Grandpa will be watching here too¡­¡± ¡°Your Grace the Duke.¡± I was about to enter the open door when I heard a man¡¯s voice from behind. ¡°Count Heilo, long time no see,¡± I just heard, ¡°damn it,¡± out of Grandpa¡¯s mouth, though¡­ ¡°I get to see Your Grace when I visit at the right time. How have you been? This one is¡­¡± ¡°My granddaughter. Baby, come in first. This grandpa will come back soon. Zenda.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Grace the Duke. Miss, would you like to go inside?¡± ¡°Mm. Yes, Grandpa.¡± I waved goodbye to Grandpa and went inside first. As expected, Grandpa is busy too. As soon as I entered, I turned to the stand. ¡°Miss, you should never go out secretly or something like that. You know that, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I will never go out.¡± Zenda and everyone else thought I had sneaked out of the ancient library. That¡¯s why no matter how much they searched, they couldn¡¯t find me. It¡¯s not wrong, but¡­ But I couldn¡¯t help it, even if it was unfair. I immediately walked towards the bookshelf where there was a hole where I could meet Lepus. Feeling something strange, I turned around and saw Zenda standing there watching me. ¡°Hee?¡± I let Zenda smile reassuringly, and then hurried back inside. ¡°Is Zenda still watching?¡± ¡°Now not anymore-ing.¡± When I turned my head again at Ser¡¯s words, it was really after Zenda had gone back to the table. ¡°Nice, now it is.¡± CH 52 As soon as I turned the corner, I ducked and found the space where I first met Lepus. Today, as expected, it was empty, and I could see the other side. First, let¡¯s say hello to Lepus. I crumpled and pushed myself inside. Then, having come fully inside, I got up and looked around. It¡¯s the same scenery as before, but¡­ ¡°Lepus?¡± Did I fail¡­? Lepus could come anytime now, though. ¡°Aika.¡± I turned my head around at the clear voice, and Lepus jumped out from the right. I sat down on my knees and greeted Lepus. ¡°Lepus!¡± ¡°Long time no see.¡± Lepus jumped, came up on my lap. ¡°But I have to go out again soon.¡± ¡°Again? As soon as you arrive?¡± ¡°Mmhm. But I will come back. I can¡¯t let Grandpa and Zenda find out. I can keep going back and forth?¡± ¡°Ah, then it¡¯s fine. Yes, you can come and go.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Grandpa might have arrived in that short moment. Busy, how busy. ¡°Did you finally meet Serpens?¡± I was about to squeeze myself back into the hole, but Lepus was right next to me, staring at me. Ser hissed and shook its body. ¡°Mm. We¡¯ve had a lot going ooon.¡± ¡°Right-ing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡± I nodded and came out of the hole. As soon as I came out of the hole, Lepus was nowhere to be found. The moment I turned the corner, I saw Grandpa who had returned before I knew it. It seemed that he was snooping between bookshelves looking for me. ¡°Grandpa.¡± Grandpa¡¯s gaze turned toward me at once. ¡°You¡¯re here, are you going to read it there?¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa. I¡¯ll stay here!¡± As I waved my hand, Grandpa nodded and went away. ¡°Phew¡­¡± I was relieved and wiped my forehead. Today is going to be a very busy day. *** ¡°Are you able to see the future better now?¡± ¡°Yep! I also blocked the danger with Ser. Right, Ser?¡± ¡°Right-ing.¡± As soon as Ser and I met Lepus again, we poured out all our stories. Lepus perked up its ears and listened to all of our stories. ¡°Lepus, you know.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Actually, I missed you, but I came to see you because I wanted to hear more about the hunter. The ¡®Predator¡¯ you mentioned.¡± Lepus only told me about my enemy and theirs, the hunter, the Predator, but it didn¡¯t tell me how to recognize or deal with them. I came today to find out. I need to know something so I can recognize them and avoid them. ¡°Um, wait.¡± Lepus ran somewhere. Then it came back with a thin book in its mouth. Thud. ¡°Look at this.¡± ¡°You want me to read this?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± It was a dark green book with a durable leather cover. The letters inlaid with gold weren¡¯t in the Imperial language. ¡°What¡¯s written on it?¡± ¡°Ancient language. Look closely again.¡± At Lepus¡¯ words, I carefully read the book. It¡¯s a word I¡¯ve never seen before, but what¡¯s the difference if I look closely¡­ ¡°¡­Predator.¡± I muttered to myself and raised my head in surprise. ¡°Since you inherited the seeker¡¯s ability, you can read things like this.¡± ¡°Even if I haven¡¯t learned?¡± ¡°You just read it, you know.¡± Lepus was right. Strangely, I was able to read the ancient language as if I were possessed. Even though I still can¡¯t use the Imperial language perfectly. ¡°That was a really cool ability!¡± ¡°I know right-ing.¡± ¡°Because it is.¡± Ser and Lepus replied proudly at the same time. I carefully opened the book. The faded paper was filled with the same ancient words as the title. But shouldn¡¯t such an important book be in the ancient library where others can see it? They say that only those who have the key or permission can enter here, but not all of them are seekers. I stopped reading and looked up. ¡°What if someone else finds out about this?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°They can just see it in the old library. Zenda and Grandpa are still outside.¡± ¡°This can only be seen from inside. It¡¯s different from the book over there.¡± ¡°Is it different from the outside one?¡± ¡°Of course. Because this is the place Seria made. The books over there are all here, but the books here aren¡¯t there.¡± ¡°Ah, I see! That¡¯s a relief.¡± I turned my gaze to the book again. ¡°The reckless marauder, Predator. They¡­¡± In the front, the background and purpose of their birth were written. I turned the pages one by one, pointing with my hands, and finally the part I wanted came out. ¡°¡­The seeker who encounters the hunter¡¯s traps will recognize them and it at once. Don¡¯t miss the biting chill when you face them¡­ Chill?¡± I flashed my head up. I met Lepus¡¯ eyes, who was staring. ¡°Seria says that when you see them or traps, all your senses come together in one place. It was painful, hot, and cold. Wouldn¡¯t you too?¡± I opened my mouth and recalled the memory for a moment. ¡°I¡­ think I¡¯ve felt something similar.¡± ¡°Already? When?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know for sure.¡± However, on the first day I met Russphe, here in the garden, I felt the chill described here. It was a feeling of fear covering my entire body. I couldn¡¯t bear that, that¡¯s why I hurried away to Uncle. When I conveyed those words to Lepus, Lepus said with its hands together. ¡°Were there hunters nearby? Serpens, did you see it?¡± ¡°I was asleep-ing.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you get over that tone?¡± Lepus was annoyed at Ser. ¡°It¡¯s my heart-ing.¡± ¡°Because you have a strange stubbornness. Did you feel it anyway?¡± ¡°Yep. What if someone saw me?¡± At the time, I had no idea that someone was watching me, but according to this book, I might have seen a hunter or a trap. All I remember is that there was a big tree there. But the next time, when I measured my height with the tree and Lepus, I was fine. ¡°Then I guess someone passed by then.¡± ¡°A hunter?¡± ¡°Maybe. But you couldn¡¯t use any abilities at that time, right?¡± ¡°Ability? Ah, yeah. I couldn¡¯t see anything.¡± I don¡¯t even have the power of any other relic yet, only Serpens¡¯ ability to see the future. Besides, I didn¡¯t even see anything that day. Since Serpens hadn¡¯t woken up in the first place, I couldn¡¯t even see my own ability at my disposal. ¡°Then you wouldn¡¯t have been caught. If you don¡¯t use your powers, no one will find you. I doubt it.¡± I¡¯m relieved to hear that, but one thing is for sure. ¡°¡­T-Then that means there is a hunter in the Imperial Palace.¡± ¡°They are everywhere in the Empire, Aika.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. Still, now that Serpens is awake, you should be able to react much more sensitively than now.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Just trust me.¡± ¡°Ah, wait!¡± While I was concentrating, I forgot to go outside once and come back. I got up straight away and went into the hole. *** I had a conversation with Lepus, going back and forth from time to time to the inner and outer ancient library. ¡°¡­I¡¯m tired.¡± Doing that five times, now I¡¯m really out of breath. As soon as I entered, I lay down on my bed. ¡°I want to rest a little now.¡± ¡°You did a lot today, so you can rest more.¡± ¡°Lepus.¡± I asked while lying down looking at the ceiling. ¡°But Ser has two voices. You know?¡± ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really amazing.¡± Ser hissed from the side. ¡°I know why.¡± It knows? I jerked my head away. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Shut up-ing.¡± Before Lepus could speak, Ser blocked Lepus¡¯ mouth. ¡°I¡¯m annoyed too, you know? I¡¯ll say it, yeah?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°A long, really long time ago, when it was a representative of God, people were very afraid of it.¡± ¡°Ser?¡± ¡°Yep. It was incredibly tall, its eyes were blood red, and its voice was scary! That¡¯s why. It thinks you¡¯ll be afraid. When Seria first discovered the relic, she said that it would be scary because it was shaped like a snake. It must have heard of it.¡± I searched for Ser with my eyes wide open. CH 53 I had no idea it meant anything like that. I thought it was just joking on purpose. I know it¡¯s dangling near my neck, but it¡¯s hidden behind or I can¡¯t see it. ¡°Ser, where are you? Come out. But how did you know about Lepus?¡± ¡°When Seria found the artifact I was sleeping in, I listened by her side. Seria used to look for information on the agents of the ancient gods before looking for artifacts. Not all could be found.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I quietly put my hand behind my shoulder. Although still invisible, Ser¡¯s cold tail was caught. ¡°Ser, is it because of me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of Ser at all. I think your other voice is cool too!¡± If you were forced to do this for my sake, you didn¡¯t have to. ¡°¡­Well, it wasn¡¯t really for you. I thought it would be nice to speak roundly.¡± Ser¡¯s low voice sounded in my ears. I laughed bashfully. Why would I think it did it for me. Well, that seemed like a good thing. Lepus giggled beside me. Refreshed, I quickly got up. ¡°Let¡¯s study more!¡± I held out my hand to Lepus. Then Lepus put its hand on top of mine as if doing a high five. ¡°Alright.¡± *** ¡°Then Lepus, I¡¯ll come back next time!¡± ¡°Are you going to stay longer again?¡± It was time to go. Even after taking a break earlier, I went back and forth twice more. As I was about to go out through the hole, Lepus asked with its ears perked up. ¡°I want to come soon too¡­ Uncle keeps stopping me from coming. I¡¯ll come back as soon as possible though.¡± Lepus didn¡¯t hold me any longer and showed me its right hand all the way. ¡°Got it. Then be careful.¡± That was just like a greeting, so I waved to Lepus and came out. ¡°Phew.¡± Still, I had a good time with Lepus today! It was at that moment that I had to go home, and brushed off my clothes. The dull sound of heels echoed through the ancient library. I instinctively felt my body stiffen. Because it wasn¡¯t the sound of Grandpa¡¯s footsteps. This¡­! As I slowly turned my head to the side with a creak, the legs of a tall man came into view. Then, as I raised my head more slowly, I saw Uncle¡¯s face, who should have been in Cartiers. He seems to be someone who looks a lot like Uncle. Someone who resembles Uncle in the Imperial Palace¡­ there¡¯s none. ¡°It¡¯s your uncle.¡± Serga muttered next to me. No! Ser¡¯s words brought me to my senses. When on earth did he come? Clack, Uncle came one step closer to me. He tilted his head and began to let out an evil aura. ¡°Dang. I¡¯m seeing my lovely niece here, am I not?¡± ¡°W-Why, are you here already?¡± ¡°Aika de Valliot.¡± ¡°¡­Yes? U-Uncle.¡± Why is he calling me by name? I staggered back. ¡°Come.¡± Uncle snapped his fingers with a fearful look on his face. ¡°I-I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why. Come quickly.¡± Uncle¡¯s lips are shaking. I think that sounds like anger¡­? Also a terrible anger at that. He was smiling, yet his face was like a ghost. ¡°N-No. Uncle. I can just stay here¡­¡± ?can¡¯t I? I laughed awkwardly, shook my head, and took a step back. That hideous smile seemed to tell me my future. I¡¯m in big trouble now. However, Uncle, who strode forward and narrowed the distance between us in an instant, suddenly lifted me up. I got off my feet to get away, but Uncle was much faster. Then he slung me over one shoulder as if he were carrying a sack on his shoulder. ¡°Aaakh!¡± Uncle caught me so easily! I vowed to practice more on how to notice and run fast. ¡°I told you not to come to the Imperial Palace.¡± ¡°Hngg, but I came with Grandpa today, you knooow¡­¡± ¡°You wanna hang from the window?¡± ¡°No, no!¡± ¡°What did I say if you don¡¯t listen?¡± I said resignedly, dangling from Uncle¡¯s shoulder. ¡°¡­You¡¯ll spank me.¡± ¡°You know it well¡± ¡°Okay, buuut!¡± ¡°What but? This little one doesn¡¯t listen to my words dirtily.¡± Uncle carried me on his back and went out the door of the ancient library. ¡°I only read books! I did nothing!¡± I struggled to get down. ¡°Why don¡¯t you listen to me like this?¡± ¡°I-I was just trying to read the book. I never went anywhere else, I only read books inside!¡± However, Uncle didn¡¯t even listen to me. I stretched out my hand as far as I could, but the ancient library was getting farther and farther away. Still, although I was glad I could say hello to Lepus before coming out, I didn¡¯t expect to be caught like this. The place where I arrived after hanging on for a long time was a carriage. ¡°Get on.¡± Uncle put me in the carriage. ¡°¡­Uncle was just here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been away for a few days and then you made trouble.¡± Uncle got on and closed the door, blocking the escape route. ¡°I didn¡¯t make any trouble, Uncle!¡± ¡°Is it a good thing that you came to the Imperial Palace?¡± At that, I kept my mouth shut. Originally, sinners had nothing to say. ¡°G-Grandpa is still there! Zenda hasn¡¯t even gotten on yet.¡± Uncle¡¯s eyebrows raised crookedly again. Eventually, I gave up and sat quietly in my chair. I could have dreamed of a perfect crime, but it¡¯s a pity. The carriage started rolling without even waiting for Grandpa. I wiggled my hands and picked up the heavy atmosphere inside the carriage. Ser was quiet as if it also had noticed Uncle¡¯s viciousness. Uncle must have come in a hurry, his hair was a little messy. I started to worry about the sight of his long legs crossed and arms folded while he was looking out the window. I carefully reached out and caught Uncle¡¯s fingertips. ¡°¡­Uncle, are you mad?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Uncle¡¯s fierce eyes turned to me. As he stretched out his arm, my body floated. ¡°Uaaakh!¡± Uncle was right in front of me. Sensing that I was going to get scolded, I closed my eyes tightly. ¡°¡­¡± Isn¡¯t he scolding me? The moment I opened my eyes again, he grabbed my cheeks. Swish?to the right?swish?to the left?my head turned wildly. ¡°Uncle, my neck¡­ hic.¡± All the hiccups came out of the hideous eyes. As if checking something, Uncle lifted my arms all the way up, checked my back, and finally set me down next to him. Then he looked at me intently and sighed as if the ground would collapse. ¡°What should I do about you.¡± ¡°Hee.¡± I couldn¡¯t help it. At times like this, I have no choice but to fill it with laughter. ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± I quietly sat down next to Uncle. ¡°Uncle, why are you here so early?¡± ¡°There are rumors all over the neighborhood that Peanut isn¡¯t listening.¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Uncle pressed my head with his big hand. Feeling my neck disappear, I twisted my body to avoid it. ¡°What nonsense. Anyway, if I take my eyes off of you, you¡¯ll make trouble.¡± ¡°No¡­ I really stayed in the ancient library today.¡± How busy I was to come and go. My knees were worn out. I kept looking for Grandpa first, talking to him, and then coming back! Of course, it was something I would never tell Uncle. Uncle continued to make a disapproving face. Is he really mad¡­ As I raised my head and stared at him, his eyebrows went up. ¡°So.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Have you been fine without Uncle?¡± ¡°Mmhm! ¡­No, a little!¡± ¡°What do you mean.¡± ¡°It was nice to see Grandpa, but I also missed Uncle a lot.¡± ¡°That snout of yours.¡± But before I knew it, Uncle¡¯s face was relaxed. ¡°Uncle, then are you not going again? To Cartiers?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going for a while.¡± ¡°Then are we going home?¡± ¡°Why, you want me to drop you off here?¡± I was startled and shook my head. ¡°No! I left all the dolls at Grandpa¡¯s.¡± Although I only brought a few. ¡°You have a lot at home.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± That¡¯s right. Well, I can go play at Grandpa¡¯s again! Then I guess I¡¯ll go home again like this. I leaned my head on Uncle¡¯s arm and looked out the window, then glanced back at him. ¡°What.¡± Even at Uncle¡¯s hoarse voice, I laughed bashfully. ¡°I like it, Uncle is here.¡± I want to tell him something like this. CH 54 I came home. I thought Zenda wasn¡¯t there, but I saw her getting out of another carriage behind mine with Gerard. ¡°Zenda!¡± I waved my arm as hard as I could at Zenda. Then I got off the carriage and came into the front door, held by Uncle. However, as soon as I entered the house, Uncle¡¯s mood began to deteriorate rapidly. ¡°What are you bringing in?¡± ¡°¡­Well, they said they would sincerely apologize to the Master and the Miss. They have been waiting outside since yesterday.¡± ¡°So.¡± ¡°I apologize. Why don¡¯t you just listen to them before sending them off for today? It doesn¡¯t look good to keep kicking them out in front of the front door. The same goes for the education of the Miss.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It seems that Uncle¡¯s guest came while he was away. But it¡¯s an unwelcome guest. ¡°They came here to apologize properly, so you can meet them for once and solve it.¡± Leto, who greeted us, said in a serious voice different from usual. What¡¯s going on. Originally, Leto was the type to say that he understood right away when Uncle told him. Uncle, who hadn¡¯t spoken for a while, dropped me off. ¡°Peanut.¡± ¡°H?¡± ¡°First, go and change your clothes.¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± In this case, it¡¯s best to withdraw. Holding Zenda¡¯s hand, I went inside to wash and change. When I returned to my room after washing and changing my clothes, Leto was waiting for me at the door. ¡°Leto.¡± ¡°Miss, you¡¯re wearing cute clothes.¡± ¡°Zenda picked this for me.¡± ¡°The Master told me to ask the Miss.¡± I looked at Leto and asked. ¡°Because of those people?¡± ¡°Yes. They want to apologize to you for making a mistake.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°He said it¡¯s okay not to come if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Even though he said that, I seemed to know what Leto meant. Also, he might come and bother Uncle someday. I heard that they had come to apologize and do nothing else, so I decided to go. ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Are you going there?¡± ¡°Yep, let¡¯s go. Leto.¡± I reached out to Leto. I took Leto¡¯s hand and went inside to see Uncle sitting cross-legged on the sofa. And I saw four people sitting in front of him with their heads bowed like sinners. I was confused about what was going on earlier, but as soon as I saw the four of them, I knew who they were. They were the people I had seen at the banquet I went to for the first time in my life. Who called me an illegitimate child. I knew one in particular because she had blocked our carriage the other day. ¡°Leto¡­¡± I held Leto¡¯s hand tighter. I thought they¡¯d never come again I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because they can¡¯t buy a dress like I heard from Zenda. I wasn¡¯t a welcome guest at all, so I clung to Leto¡¯s side. Leto sat down on one knee and looked at me. A friendly eye smile was visible through the thin-rimmed glasses. ¡°Miss, it¡¯s fine. They said they came to apologize to you.¡± ¡°Apologize?¡± ¡°Aika, come here.¡± Uncle reached out to me. I nodded to Leto, let go of his hand, and ran to Uncle. Uncle hugged me and sat me on his lap. Then, among the people who were looking at each other, one of the brown-haired men suddenly knelt on the floor and bowed his head. ¡°I¡¯m James Bolden. I apologize, Princess Valliot. I¡¯m really sorry for hurting you at the banquet hall.¡± ¡°Gasp.¡± I was startled and clung to Uncle. ¡°I will never make fun of you again. I¡¯m sincerely sorry for hurting you. If you forgive me this time, I¡¯ll make sure I don¡¯t cause trouble again.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when someone older than me bowed his head and apologized to me. I was frightened, amazed, and even curious what had happened in the meantime. Uncle hadn¡¯t said anything since then, so I completely forgot about it. I hurriedly looked at Uncle, yet he only hugged me tighter and chinned me to look at them. Soon after, the woman right next to that man also bowed her head to me. ¡°Princess, I apologize I can¡¯t take back what I¡¯ve already said, but if you¡¯re generous this time, I¡¯ll make sure this doesn¡¯t happen again. This is what I prepared, and I hope you will be relieved.¡± The woman put one of the boxes on the table. When I opened the lid, there were all kinds of jewels and brooches inside. Each of them was dazzling, as if it was a shining light. ¡®Jewel!¡¯ Even the man with his head bowed next to her took out a scroll from the inside pocket of his jacket and held it out. ¡°Please accept this too. I didn¡¯t know what you would like, so I brought a check, but please accept it as it¡¯s my sincere gift.¡± Uncle didn¡¯t like it, but my eyes were wide open. All you had to do was apologize, why did you bring so much? Even to me. The other two also said they were sorry over and over again, saying that they had come to apologize to me. In particular, the woman who introduced herself as Rosina Green bit her lip and apologized to me, which made her tear drop. She also had the most memorable voice. The table was full of presents they had prepared. Jewelry, checks, a guarantee of a small shop, a box of all sorts of cookies, another jewelry, and accessories. It¡¯s true that I was hurt by their words, but I wasn¡¯t hurt this much. I trusted Mom, and I knew it wasn¡¯t all true. ¡°Peanut.¡± Uncle tapped me on the cheek. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter not to accept it if you don¡¯t like it.¡± Then, I saw the man on his stomach, terrified and shaking his body. ¡°Um, but¡­¡± They apologized like that, but if I don¡¯t accept it again. Of course! I didn¡¯t think so because of the gifts piled on the table. It¡¯s a little, a little nerve-wracking though! Earlier, Leto seemed to have asked to accept and deal with it quickly, so I decided to accept the apology as well. Because they¡¯ll never do that again ¡°I will accept your apologies. Please don¡¯t do that next time.¡± I spoke out as clearly as possible. Would this be enough? Mom once taught me that forgiving is a way, as long as it doesn¡¯t hurt my loved ones. So I decided to forgive them just this time. Even though Uncle, next to me, clicked his tongue saying I was too soft. After they left, all sorts of things were left like rubble on the table in my room. These were all presents they left behind. ¡°Zenda, look at that.¡± ¡°I know, right. They must have regretted it very much. How much is all that?¡± ¡°Should they do something wrong again?¡± Then Zenda burst into laughter. ¡°Next time, the Master will never let them go.¡± ¡°Then are these really all mine?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re all presents for the Miss. Because you accepted their apologies. If today¡¯s apologies are sincere, they will deeply engrave the Miss¡¯ forgiveness in their hearts and never make that mistake again.¡± ¡°Yeah, it will be nice if that happens.¡± Anyone who hears such words will be offended. ¡°You did really well today.¡± It felt good to receive a compliment. I opened the jewelry box with a big smile, looked around, and took out the largest brooch and jewelry. ¡°Zenda.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°This is Zenda¡¯s!¡± Zenda¡¯s eyes widened as if they would pop out. ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°This is Zenda¡¯s. Huh? I think this will be pretty too, Zenda.¡± ¡°Are you giving these to me?¡± ¡°Yeah, I should take care of Gerard too. Leto too!¡± I was flipping through and choosing the prettiest ones, but Zenda blocked my hand. Even that wasn¡¯t enough, so she grabbed the brooch she had already put out and put it back in the jewelry box. ¡°Miss.¡± Then Zenda stared at me gently holding my hands. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I know that you always love us and take care of us, but if you do this, it will be a big problem.¡± CH 55 I came home. I thought Zenda wasn¡¯t there, but I saw her getting out of another carriage behind mine with Gerard. ¡°Zenda!¡± I waved my arm as hard as I could at Zenda. Then I got off the carriage and came into the front door, held by Uncle. However, as soon as I entered the house, Uncle¡¯s mood began to deteriorate rapidly. ¡°What are you bringing in?¡± ¡°¡­Well, they said they would sincerely apologize to the Master and the Miss. They have been waiting outside since yesterday.¡± ¡°So.¡± ¡°I apologize. Why don¡¯t you just listen to them before sending them off for today? It doesn¡¯t look good to keep kicking them out in front of the front door. The same goes for the education of the Miss.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It seems that Uncle¡¯s guest came while he was away. But it¡¯s an unwelcome guest. ¡°They came here to apologize properly, so you can meet them for once and solve it.¡± Leto, who greeted us, said in a serious voice different from usual. What¡¯s going on. Originally, Leto was the type to say that he understood right away when Uncle told him. Uncle, who hadn¡¯t spoken for a while, dropped me off. ¡°Peanut.¡± ¡°H?¡± ¡°First, go and change your clothes.¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± In this case, it¡¯s best to withdraw. Holding Zenda¡¯s hand, I went inside to wash and change. When I returned to my room after washing and changing my clothes, Leto was waiting for me at the door. ¡°Leto.¡± ¡°Miss, you¡¯re wearing cute clothes.¡± ¡°Zenda picked this for me.¡± ¡°The Master told me to ask the Miss.¡± I looked at Leto and asked. ¡°Because of those people?¡± ¡°Yes. They want to apologize to you for making a mistake.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°He said it¡¯s okay not to come if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Even though he said that, I seemed to know what Leto meant. Also, he might come and bother Uncle someday. I heard that they had come to apologize and do nothing else, so I decided to go. ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Are you going there?¡± ¡°Yep, let¡¯s go. Leto.¡± I reached out to Leto. I took Leto¡¯s hand and went inside to see Uncle sitting cross-legged on the sofa. And I saw four people sitting in front of him with their heads bowed like sinners. I was confused about what was going on earlier, but as soon as I saw the four of them, I knew who they were. They were the people I had seen at the banquet I went to for the first time in my life. Who called me an illegitimate child. I knew one in particular because she had blocked our carriage the other day. ¡°Leto¡­¡± I held Leto¡¯s hand tighter. I thought they¡¯d never come again I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because they can¡¯t buy a dress like I heard from Zenda. I wasn¡¯t a welcome guest at all, so I clung to Leto¡¯s side. Leto sat down on one knee and looked at me. A friendly eye smile was visible through the thin-rimmed glasses. ¡°Miss, it¡¯s fine. They said they came to apologize to you.¡± ¡°Apologize?¡± ¡°Aika, come here.¡± Uncle reached out to me. I nodded to Leto, let go of his hand, and ran to Uncle. Uncle hugged me and sat me on his lap. Then, among the people who were looking at each other, one of the brown-haired men suddenly knelt on the floor and bowed his head. ¡°I¡¯m James Bolden. I apologize, Princess Valliot. I¡¯m really sorry for hurting you at the banquet hall.¡± ¡°Gasp.¡± I was startled and clung to Uncle. ¡°I will never make fun of you again. I¡¯m sincerely sorry for hurting you. If you forgive me this time, I¡¯ll make sure I don¡¯t cause trouble again.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when someone older than me bowed his head and apologized to me. I was frightened, amazed, and even curious what had happened in the meantime. Uncle hadn¡¯t said anything since then, so I completely forgot about it. I hurriedly looked at Uncle, yet he only hugged me tighter and chinned me to look at them. Soon after, the woman right next to that man also bowed her head to me. ¡°Princess, I apologize I can¡¯t take back what I¡¯ve already said, but if you¡¯re generous this time, I¡¯ll make sure this doesn¡¯t happen again. This is what I prepared, and I hope you will be relieved.¡± The woman put one of the boxes on the table. When I opened the lid, there were all kinds of jewels and brooches inside. Each of them was dazzling, as if it was a shining light. ¡®Jewel!¡¯ Even the man with his head bowed next to her took out a scroll from the inside pocket of his jacket and held it out. ¡°Please accept this too. I didn¡¯t know what you would like, so I brought a check, but please accept it as it¡¯s my sincere gift.¡± Uncle didn¡¯t like it, but my eyes were wide open. All you had to do was apologize, why did you bring so much? Even to me. The other two also said they were sorry over and over again, saying that they had come to apologize to me. In particular, the woman who introduced herself as Rosina Green bit her lip and apologized to me, which made her tear drop. She also had the most memorable voice. The table was full of presents they had prepared. Jewelry, checks, a guarantee of a small shop, a box of all sorts of cookies, another jewelry, and accessories. It¡¯s true that I was hurt by their words, but I wasn¡¯t hurt this much. I trusted Mom, and I knew it wasn¡¯t all true. ¡°Peanut.¡± Uncle tapped me on the cheek. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter not to accept it if you don¡¯t like it.¡± Then, I saw the man on his stomach, terrified and shaking his body. ¡°Um, but¡­¡± They apologized like that, but if I don¡¯t accept it again. Of course! I didn¡¯t think so because of the gifts piled on the table. It¡¯s a little, a little nerve-wracking though! Earlier, Leto seemed to have asked to accept and deal with it quickly, so I decided to accept the apology as well. Because they¡¯ll never do that again ¡°I will accept your apologies. Please don¡¯t do that next time.¡± I spoke out as clearly as possible. Would this be enough? Mom once taught me that forgiving is a way, as long as it doesn¡¯t hurt my loved ones. So I decided to forgive them just this time. Even though Uncle, next to me, clicked his tongue saying I was too soft. After they left, all sorts of things were left like rubble on the table in my room. These were all presents they left behind. ¡°Zenda, look at that.¡± ¡°I know, right. They must have regretted it very much. How much is all that?¡± ¡°Should they do something wrong again?¡± Then Zenda burst into laughter. ¡°Next time, the Master will never let them go.¡± ¡°Then are these really all mine?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re all presents for the Miss. Because you accepted their apologies. If today¡¯s apologies are sincere, they will deeply engrave the Miss¡¯ forgiveness in their hearts and never make that mistake again.¡± ¡°Yeah, it will be nice if that happens.¡± Anyone who hears such words will be offended. ¡°You did really well today.¡± It felt good to receive a compliment. I opened the jewelry box with a big smile, looked around, and took out the largest brooch and jewelry. ¡°Zenda.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°This is Zenda¡¯s!¡± Zenda¡¯s eyes widened as if they would pop out. ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°This is Zenda¡¯s. Huh? I think this will be pretty too, Zenda.¡± ¡°Are you giving these to me?¡± ¡°Yeah, I should take care of Gerard too. Leto too!¡± I was flipping through and choosing the prettiest ones, but Zenda blocked my hand. Even that wasn¡¯t enough, so she grabbed the brooch she had already put out and put it back in the jewelry box. ¡°Miss.¡± Then Zenda stared at me gently holding my hands. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I know that you always love us and take care of us, but if you do this, it will be a big problem.¡± CH 56 2 million gold? At the sound of Uncle¡¯s voice, I raised my head like lightning. ¡°Uncle!¡± Then I ran straight up to Uncle and kissed him twice on the cheek. ¡°We¡¯ll be right back if you make trouble.¡± ¡°Yep, yep! Then can Russphe go too?¡± ¡°Send him a letter.¡± ¡°Mmhm. I will write it today!¡± First thing after eating in the morning! I put my hand around Uncle¡¯s neck and excitedly headed to the dining room. As soon as I went to the dining room, I was surprised to see a grandfather. ¡°Huh?¡± My voice drew the eyes of the people in the dining room to me. ¡°Why.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Grandpa Cake!¡± The one who brought a cake at Grandpa¡¯s banquet hall wearing a very big hat! Why is that grandfather here? ¡°What is Grandpa Cake, though.¡± I stepped down from Uncle and pointed from the floor to my height. ¡°The other day at the banquet hall, he made a cake this big and delicious. Isn¡¯t that right, Grandpa!¡± Then the grandpa chuckled. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a cake I made. I didn¡¯t know the Young Miss was there then.¡± I didn¡¯t know it at the time because he was wearing a hat, but he had very wavy blonde hair. ¡°But why are you here? Did you come to make a delicious cake again?¡± ¡°Ahaha! Similar. I¡¯m also a member of the Valliot family. I¡¯ve been here several times, but this is the first time I¡¯ve greeted you. Greetings. My name is Rodrigo, Miss.¡± At that, I put my hands together and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m Aika de Valliot!¡± ¡°Did the cake I made taste so good?¡± ¡°Yes! The cake was very tasty. The cream had a fruity taste and the chocolate was delicious. I liked it because it tasted similar to the cake Grandma Sophie made!¡± ¡°Yes? Is that true?¡± The grandpa made a surprised face. Soon, his mouth was torn left and right, and the grandpa suddenly turned around. ¡°Honey! Did you hear? The Miss said it tasted just like the cake you made, Honey!¡± H-Honey? I opened my eyes wide again. Grandma Sophie herself brought out the trolley with the breakfast menu on it. ¡°Please don¡¯t make any loud noise in the morning. The Master and the Miss are also here.¡± ¡°Ahem! Alright. But did you hear that. Hmm? Didn¡¯t she tell us that the cake tastes just like the one Honey made? We must have become soul mates now.¡± ¡°Obviously, using the same recipe, wouldn¡¯t it taste the same? Get out of the way. Miss, today there are many dishes with lots of cream that you like. You can look forward to it.¡± Grandma Sophie began to place the food on the table, using both yelling and sweet voice. The grandpa kept talking to Grandma Sophie, while he was helping her to put the food. Everyone¡¯s gaze looked familiar. Except for me! Even Uncle, who hates noise, stayed still today. ¡°So, Grandma Sophie¡¯s husband is Grandpa Cake?¡± ¡°Yes, the two are married.¡± Zenda said, putting a napkin around my neck. My goodness. The grandpa who makes delicious cakes and Grandma Sophie who makes delicious food are a couple! Not only that. Grandpa Rodrigo is also a disciple of Grandma Sophie. Originally, the two of them were running the Evosophie Bakery together, but it was so difficult that only Grandma Sophie came to the Marquis of Leguier. Although the Imperial Palace tried casting the grandpa over and over again at the imperial palace, he also said that the reason he couldn¡¯t go wasn¡¯t because he was cocky. I heard that he always had to run whenever Grandma Sophie called, but he couldn¡¯t do that when he was in the Imperial Palace, so he couldn¡¯t go there. But the grandpa told me that he ended up at Valliot Street because he was given a lot of money even after all the support. ¡°Awesome!¡± Grandpa Rodrigo laughed out loud. ¡°The Miss¡¯ eyesight is nice. We met when we were both 17 and celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary this year. Right, Honey?¡± ¡°¡­If you don¡¯t want to be kicked out, please be quiet and bring me some more food from inside.¡± At Grandma Sophie¡¯s words, Grandpa Rodrigo headed toward the kitchen. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss. You¡¯ve been so distracted since morning.¡± ¡°No! It¡¯s so nice to see Grandpa Cake again.¡± Then Grandma Sophie smiled brightly. When the grandpa was here, she kept frowning, though. ¡°Still, that old man makes a good cake. Since the Miss likes it, I will make sure he makes another one before he goes.¡± ¡°Wow, thank you. Grandma Sophie¡¯s cake is also delicious! And food.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an honor, Miss.¡± Yet as soon as the grandpa came out, Grandma Sophie¡¯s face became coy again. *** As soon as I got back to my room, I started writing a letter to Russphe. Since Russphe said I could come hang out anytime, he wouldn¡¯t mind going anywhere together. ¡°Ser. I hope every day will be like yesterday and today, right?¡± ¡°A day without danger?¡± ¡°Yep. I ate a lot of delicious things. It would be nice for you to eat too.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter because I share your feelings to some extent.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I stared blankly at Ser. Ser, who had been hanging on to me all the time, got out of the way and was hanging on the table. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Your voice is very low. How did you do that all this time?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ser suddenly twisted its body and covered its face. In the book I read this time, I heard that those who have awakened from ancient relics don¡¯t usually appear, only appearing when necessary. Ser was almost always showing up. Of course, only in front of me. And he always dangles from me too. ¡°Ser.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Do you remember the past now?¡± After getting close to Ser, many questions arose. Since I couldn¡¯t go to Lepus every time, I wanted to find out more through conversation with Ser. ¡°Well, to some extent? It¡¯s getting clearer. I didn¡¯t think about anything when you were asleep.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Still, when I tried to think of it, it seemed that something vaguely came to my mind. Now, it feels like my memories are vividly reviving every day.¡± I leaned closer to Ser. ¡°Really? How were you in the past?¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t know it at the time, but it was a pretty boring life. I had a colleague who was always with me. Always wearing the same clothes, always moving at the same times, always doing the same things.¡± ¡°Colleague?¡± ¡°A representative of God. Like me.¡± Ser¡¯s gaze was aiming somewhere in the air. As if it was looking into the very distant past it was talking about. I mean, a certain period of time when it didn¡¯t have the look it has now. ¡°Ser.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°Do you ever feel like you want to be free?¡± Actually, it¡¯s been quite a while since we met, but it¡¯s not that long when you measure it from waking up. But I wanted to ask Ser for once. ¡°Me?¡± They said that if the seekers, called Indagator or Indagatrix, let them go, they would become free. If the seeker dies, that may happen, but if Ser wants it first, shouldn¡¯t I let him go? Even if I can¡¯t see the future. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t see the future without me.¡± ¡°Regardless of that.¡± ¡°No, not really.¡± I blinked in surprise. I didn¡¯t expect it to say no right away. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Do you want to let me go already?¡± ¡°N-No. It¡¯s not that.¡± ¡°I like it now. It feels different every day.¡± ¡°You like it?¡± ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re still young, so you won¡¯t know well, but if I say I feel resurrected, you will know. When I get free, I can get out of this body, but I feel like dying again. I want to stay like this for a long time.¡± There was no lie at all in its low voice. It felt good to hear that it wanted to stay with me for a long time. ¡°I want to stay with you for a long time too.¡± ¡°Then why did you ask that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just! Since we¡¯re friends, I want to know everything.¡± ¡°Friends¡­¡± Having said that, I focused on the letter again. ¡°We go to the moo-seum¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s mu, not moo.¡± ¡°I wrote it like that, though?¡± ¡°Look closely.¡± CH 57 ¡°Mmm.¡± I think I wrote it right, but what is wrong? When I couldn¡¯t find it, Ser waggled its tail as if it were drawing something written on ¡®museum¡¯. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re very smart. I didn¡¯t even know I was wrong!¡± I quickly rewrote it. I was going to send it to Russphe, but I couldn¡¯t send it with the wrong word. ¡°You read the ancient language well, yet you¡¯re wrong in the Imperial language.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t read ancient language because I learned it.¡± As I muttered, it wrote another line, but Ser slammed its tail into the letter. ¡°Draw another stick here.¡± ¡°Here too? Mmm.¡± This way, I don¡¯t even know if all the dictations I wrote in the Imperial language class were wrong. There is an Imperial language class the day after tomorrow. ¡°Ser.¡± I stopped writing again and put the pen down. ¡°Mmhm.¡± ¡°Then you don¡¯t remember when you fell asleep. You can¡¯t hear, you can¡¯t see.¡± ¡°Well, kinda like that.¡± ¡°Uhm, okay.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I picked up the pen again and hesitated at Ser¡¯s question. ¡°The day I ate the jewel. I want you to remember that.¡± Actually, this is what I really wanted to ask. In the hope that it might know the memories that I haven¡¯t found yet. I think about it every day, yet the memory still hasn¡¯t come to mind. I need to remember¡­ I hope I can find the person who hurt Mom. [You must find it and return.] Apparently I heard scary people¡¯s voices, but why was I found in the nearby woods? Did I even walk alone? Or else, what happened? Even if I looked for it right now, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it, but I still wanted to find out. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°While I was asleep, I felt like I was vaguely reminded of the past, but wouldn¡¯t I be able to know that if I try? I can¡¯t say for sure, but I mean. It seems like I heard your voice in the middle. Of course, it could be my mistake.¡± ¡°Ser¡­¡± ¡°What is that, that emotionally wet face?¡± ¡°Your tone was kinder before, but I think your heart is kinder now.¡± Ser turned back and covered its face. I finished writing the rest of the letter with a bashful smile. ¡°¡­I wrote it all! I¡¯ll go see Zenda.¡± Now I have to ask Zenda to send it to Russphe. I hurriedly got up from my seat to ask Zenda for the letter. *** ¡°I have all my socks on! Zenda, now I just need to put on my bag!¡± Today, I chose a white dress with lots of frills. There were blue ribbons hanging here and there, so I thought it would be pretty to wear on a sunny day like today. Zenda also matched the hair ribbon with the same blue ribbon as the dress. I wanted to wear green socks today, but Zenda said that white would suit me, so I changed them again. ¡°Miss, here.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± I immediately took a step back. Zenda never forgot to bring the golden necklace. ¡°You know it, right? You have to.¡± ¡°¡­It seems to be getting bigger.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because of your mood. It hasn¡¯t grown at all.¡± To think I had to wear that ugly golden name tag on a day like today. It couldn¡¯t have been more sad. In the end, I had to dress up nicely and put another golden necklace around my neck. ¡°Oops, lady.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Say, aah.¡± ¡°Aah?¡° Zenda studied my front teeth carefully. Seeing what she was about to touch, I freaked out and backed away. Zenda was checking my front teeth again. She checked it the day before yesterday too! ¡°It shakes a lot, but I¡¯m just doing it to check.¡± I covered my mouth with both hands and shook my head. ¡°No. It doesn¡¯t shake at all.¡± Zenda¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s natural, Miss. Stronger teeth come out only when the loose teeth are removed.¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s right but I like it like this¡­¡± I can¡¯t even eat with my front teeth these days because it gives me a strange feeling every time it shakes. It felt like something was shaking and pulling, and it felt really strange. I only spoke to Russphe in particular, but my lower teeth seemed to move just a little bit more than when I said that. The front teeth were really at stake now. ¡°I¡¯ll check a bit, Miss. It won¡¯t hurt at all.¡± ¡°Uugh¡­¡± Finally, I lowered my hand and opened my mouth slowly. Zenda really did as promised and took her hand away after checking a little. I shuddered at a strange feeling. ¡°I think it will fall soon. I¡¯ll have to tell the Master too.¡± ¡°Y-You can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± Zenda widened her eyes. ¡°Uncle, if Uncle sees my front teeth, he will make fun of me, you know? You can¡¯t! What if I¡¯m Falling-Tooth Peanut by then.¡± ¡°Pfft,¡­ Ah, I¡¯m sorry. Miss, absolutely not. This is something to celebrate. It¡¯s proof that you are growing up properly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it though¡­¡± On top of that, Zenda added the terrifying word that it might fall out this week. ¡°If you lose a tooth without knowing, you have to hold onto it, understand? I heard that you need to bring it to the tooth fairy to grow stronger teeth.¡± ¡°The tooth fairy¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. They said if you put it by the bedside and sleep, the fairy will take it and give you stronger teeth.¡± Nonsense. A tooth-craving fairy. Is there no fairy to catch the shaking one? After the golden necklace, I came out with a more depressed heart. It¡¯s nice to go to the museum with Russphe, but¡­ ¡°Why are you a dark cloud again?¡± As I trudged toward the carriage, I saw Uncle standing in front of me with one hand roughly crumpled in his trousers pocket. I shook my head and ran to Uncle. ¡°Uncle!¡± ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes. Is Russphe ready? Has he left?¡± ¡°He will.¡± Uncle reached out to me. My body floated as I opened my arms accustomed to it. Even while riding in the carriage, I filled my mouth with air, fearing that my front teeth would be shocked. ¡°Your mouth¡­¡± ¡°No! It doesn¡¯t shake at all!¡± ¡°What?¡± Gasp. I said it without even knowing. It came out spontaneously because I thought I had to keep defending my front teeth. ¡°N-Nothing.¡± The moment Uncle finds out, my front teeth will be blown away. Uncle can never leave this alone! He will never. If my front teeth were gone, he might be teasing me twice as much as he was teasing me now. This means that I may not be Wet Peanut or Short-Legged Peanut, but Front-Teeth-Missing-Peanut. I was curious about what it would be like if my front teeth fell out, so I purposely painted the paper with black crayons and held it up to look in the mirror. It was a truly shocking sight. I can¡¯t show that to Uncle! Thinking that I had to defend my front teeth against him, I darted into the carriage. Phew, luckily he didn¡¯t notice. Eventually Uncle got on and the carriage door closed. *** ¡°Aika, hello.¡± As soon as I got off the carriage, I saw Russphe in front of me. ¡°Russphe!¡± Russphe was wearing a white robe-like outfit today, and he really matched the silver-haired Russphe. In particular, it seemed to brighten up his purple eyes. ¡°Russphe, your clothes are so cool.¡± ¡°Aika is much prettier.¡± ¡°Hehe, thanks!¡± In fact, I sent a letter to Russphe yesterday, and his reply arrived as soon as I sent it. Like, let¡¯s go together, it¡¯s going to be fun. But today, he even arrived early in front of the museum ahead of me. ¡°Your Lordship, hello.¡± Kamaye nodded from behind Russphe. ¡°¡­You also suffer a lot.¡± ¡°No. Have you been well, Miss?¡± ¡°Yes! Kamaye too? Ah, this!¡± I rummaged through my bag and handed the candies to Russphe. I also held out one to Kamaye. ¡°Of course. Thank you, Miss.¡± Today¡¯s were more special candies than usual. Yesterday, Grandma Sophia made it for us to eat together while going to the museum. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Is that strawberry flavor?¡± Russphe laughed bashfully. ¡°It looks delicious.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go in quickly.¡± ¡°Two Peanuts. Go in and stay where I can see.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes, Marquis.¡± I took Russphe¡¯s hand as he nodded at Uncle and led him to the main entrance of the museum. Fortunately, it was just opening time, so there weren¡¯t many people. ¡°Wow.¡± As soon as I entered, the gray-white walls on both sides were filled with three-dimensional frames. There was a large picture frame as tall as me, and a small picture frame the size of my palm. Instead of paintings, insects and strange objects that seemed to be really alive were displayed in frames. ¡°Is that real?¡± CH 58 I whispered softly to Russphe. ¡°Yeah. They stuffed real insects 100 years ago.¡± ¡°100 years ago? How did you know?¡± I looked around intently, yet nothing was written on the wall. Russphe cleared his throat. ¡°Hm? Ah, while I was looking for the museum for a while¡­ I saw it.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s amazing. We can see things from 100 years ago. Butterflies must have looked the same 100 years ago.¡± Ser from the side muttered, ¡°It¡¯s only been 100 years. If I count it, it must have been hundreds of years.¡± Following dozens of picture frames into the hallway, a large space appeared. There was no one in the hallway, but inside there were about 20 people watching. Inside the clear, square glass were objects I had seen in the newspaper. There was also a rusty helmet, and a chain necklace that was metallic but green. There was also an object like a stone tablet that Lepus had shown. ¡°Russphe, look at this. It was a farmer.¡± I kept my eyes on the slate, probably because of Lepus. It wasn¡¯t something that attracted me because it was an ancient relic. It was simply interest and curiosity. As I went further inside and looked around, more and more people began to appear. Uncle, who had been a little far away, was also by my side before I knew it. Kamaye and Gerrard were by our side from the moment we entered. ¡°Uncle, look at this. Awesome¡­¡± Flinch! All of a sudden, a chill broke out. Without realizing it, I was frozen like ice on the spot. This feeling? It was very similar to the feeling I felt the other day in the Imperial Palace. No way¡­? ¡°Peanut, what?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah¡­ T-This.¡± I pointed at random. This is because my nerves have already branched out elsewhere. My body was thumping again. ¡°Don¡¯t turn your head.¡± I was about to turn my head, but Ser warned me. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Looks like a hunter came in here. If you can¡¯t see the ability, even a hunter won¡¯t be able to find you right away. You can still only use me, so it¡¯s okay as long as you don¡¯t act suspicious. Don¡¯t look at anyone.¡± Without answering, I only listened to Ser¡¯s words and nodded slightly. ¡°You¡¯re still too young and weak to face them. I¡¯ll kill your aura too.¡± And after that, Ser¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t heard. However, the tingling feeling continued. I stared at the objects on display in the museum while holding Russphe¡¯s hand tightly. Was it the person I felt in the Imperial Palace? Or is it a new hunter? Unlike the seekers, who hide their presence and move stealthily and fight alone, the hunters inform their families of their existence. It¡¯s used to gain wealth and honor by extorting the power of ancient relics, so they¡¯re often supported by the family. It was said that only one hunter could find the seeker, but there could be several to dozens of supporters for that one hunter. As Ser said, I felt a chill that was incomparable to what I felt in the Imperial Palace. My teeth chattered and my whole body felt like it was in pain. I shouldn¡¯t have clenched my teeth, yet it kept getting stronger. Tingle, tingle. But I have to put up with it. Even if we couldn¡¯t face each other right away, I wanted to check the appearance. ¡°Aika, are you okay?¡± Russphe¡¯s warm voice penetrated my ears. ¡°Hm?¡± When I turned my head, Russphe was staring at the hand he was holding. I squeezed Russphe¡¯s hand tightly until his hand turned white. ¡°Ah, sorry. I-It¡¯s a little cold.¡± I was about to let go of his hand as I spoke softly, yet Russphe took my hand again. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s keep holding on. Originally, they say temperature is important in museums. That¡¯s why I said it might be a little cold.¡± Earlier, when I held his hand, he made an embarrassing face, but now Russphe held my hand again first. That alone seemed to give me an incredible boost. ¡°Thanks, Russphe.¡± I can¡¯t say why, but I really wanted to thank him. I held Russphe¡¯s hand and followed him closely, almost with my back to him. Little by little, the deeper I went inside, the more the cold weakened, but the moment I felt relieved, it suddenly became stronger. It felt like a sign that a hunter was coming this way. I couldn¡¯t even ask Ser. Only me alone. It was a moment when I felt my heart pounding and exceptionally cold. One, two, three! I can do it. I wasn¡¯t intimidated. I chanted a spell and closed my eyes tightly. Then, naturally, I tried to look around. Because if I don¡¯t reveal my ability, they won¡¯t be able to recognize me anyway. It wasn¡¯t that they set a trap here, so I decided to be a little more courageous. A lady in a purple dress, a gentleman in black horn-rimmed spectacles, and people who looked like they came with their family. A lady in a green dress and a man in a brown suit were also seen. Then I saw a man with dark green wavy hair and green eyes in a neat navy blue suit. The moment I saw the man, I felt a strong cold that cut through my flesh. Somewhere between young and middle-aged. At least he seemed ten years older than Uncle. I thought it would look very scary in my imagination, but it wasn¡¯t at all. Rather, he was looking at the exhibited works with a soft smile on his face. Hunter. Predator. Like instinct, I recognized the hunter at once and for the first time in my life. Just checking his face, I immediately turned my head as if I had never done so. Our eyes never met. Just in time, we were looking at the last piece in the museum. I came in through the front door of the museum and I saw the door that went around the circle. I held Uncle¡¯s fingers with the other hand, not the hand I held with Russphe, and shouted softly. ¡°Uncle, this is the last one! It¡¯s very pretty.¡± It was a stone with a mysterious rainbow color, and it was written that it was the only mineral found in the Empire. Mysteriously, when I looked at it from the right, I felt a red light, and when I looked at it from the left, I felt a blue light. And when viewed from below, it was a mysterious stone that glowed brightly in gold. It was as if they deliberately put the nicest stuff last. ¡°It¡¯s black, though.¡± I said it was pretty, yet Uncle¡¯s reaction was dour. ¡°It¡¯s the color of a rainbow, you know?¡± ¡°This?¡± ¡°It also looks black to me.¡± ¡°Me too¡­¡± Gerard and Kamaye also said the same. I asked Russphe. ¡°Russphe, do you see it black too?¡± Russphe then shook his head. ¡°No, rainbow colors. I see more blue here, and more red here.¡± ¡°I see it like that too!¡± Could it be that each viewer sees the color differently? Then Gerard lowered his body to my level. ¡°Ah.¡± Gerard exclaimed as if he had realized something. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Looking in the Miss¡¯ gaze, I see that too. It looks different depending on height and angle. Miss, wait a minute.¡± Gerard put his hand on my armpit and lifted it up. It quickly became an appearance of looking down at a mysterious stone. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s real.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Seen from above, it was just a black stone. The black stone was also mysterious, but not as mysterious as the rainbow colored stone. When Gerard lowered it again, the stone glowed softly in five colors again. ¡°It¡¯s not even a magic stone, how amazing.¡± While concentrating on the stone, the chill in my body had eased considerably. I turned my head and saw the man¡¯s back from farther away than before. I thought it would be safe to leave like this. ¡°Let¡¯s go out and buy something delicious.¡± I pulled Russphe¡¯s hand. ¡°Mmhm. I like anything that Aika wants to do.¡± As soon as I came out through the back door, just opposite the main entrance, there appeared a shop selling souvenirs for the reopening of the museum. ¡°I think they give souvenirs too. Why don¡¯t you choose, too, Miss?¡± ¡°Souvenir?¡± CH 59 Although we came out of the exhibition hall, I still felt tingly because I was close to the hunter. Still, I felt relieved at the thought of being far away from him. As Ser said, he didn¡¯t look at me, so he didn¡¯t seem to notice me at all. Afterward, I seemed to know now how to deal with it, should we ever meet again. Until someday I gain greater power. The souvenir stalls were filled with items that looked pretty even from a distance. ¡°Welcome. Did you enjoy watching? You can pick up a souvenir one by one to commemorate the reopening.¡± It was prepared so that you could choose one as a commemoration of visiting the museum. I walked as if possessed and picked out a souvenir. Still, it was my first museum trip, so I wanted to keep something, and it was a complete surprise. Except for meeting the hunter, I saw a lot of really strange things. The expectation that I would be able to see the ancient relics ended with just expectation, but the museum tour was really fun. ¡°Which one does Aika like?¡± Russphe, who had been choosing beside me for a while, asked. ¡°Me? Mmm.¡± The colorful bracelets were pretty, and the toy made in the shape of the rainbow stone I saw last time was also pretty. I also liked the house-shaped sculptures. There were also a few horseshoe-shaped decorations on one side. I groaned as I carefully inspected over 10 souvenirs. ¡°I¡¯ll have this. What about Russphe?¡± After a while, I picked up a souvenir. Among the horseshoe-shaped decorations, I chose the one with the most turbid color. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was old or if it was the original color, but I kept looking at it standing alone on one side. ¡°Did Aika pick that one?¡± Russphe made a face asking if I would really choose that. There were many pretty things, but this one caught my eye the most. ¡°Yes! I want to choose this one.¡± ¡°Your taste is really unusual, our Peanut.¡± A sneering voice came from behind. I turned my head and glared at Uncle. ¡°Whyyyy! It¡¯s pretty, though. Isn¡¯t Uncle picking any?¡± ¡°Choose as you please.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll pick Uncle¡¯s!¡± ¡°Miss, please choose mine too.¡± At the same time as Uncle¡¯s, even Gerard too. Russphe chose the horseshoe ornament right next to the one I picked. ¡°I¡¯ll choose this too.¡± Look! I wasn¡¯t unusual. I chose a rainbow-colored stone for Uncle, and a house-shaped decoration for Gerard. Kamaye picked up the sword holder decoration that Russphe had chosen. ¡°Did you pick them all?¡± As soon as I picked all of them, the museum staff kindly asked. ¡°Yes! I picked them all.¡± ¡°I hope you had a good time. Please visit us again next time. This is a gift only for children.¡± And an employee held out something to us wearing white gloves. It was a cookie shaped like a sign at the entrance of a museum. ¡°Thank you!¡± We ate the cookies we received one by one and came out the back door. As our distance from the hunter increased, the cold became much less now. ¡°It was fun, right!¡± ¡°Yeah, there were a lot of strange things.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s come back to this place next time.¡± Russphe and I showed the same commemorative plaques and made a promise. Then I begged Uncle to go to the Evosophie Bakery with Russphe. Because the day I saw Grandpa Rodrigo, I knew that Evosophie Bakery was his. I wanted to tell Russphe about the delicious cakes. As soon as I got on, the carriage started to leave the museum. The hunter, who hadn¡¯t come out within my whole conversation with Russphe in front of the carriage, came out at the same time we got in the carriage and left. And in a very fleeting moment, the hunter¡¯s eyes met mine in the carriage. The carriage quickly passed the hunter. *** Next day. I spent time with Ser before Imperial language class. Holding the doll in my arms, I tinkered with the horseshoe ornament I received as a souvenir yesterday. Yesterday, I picked it because it was far from one side, but I liked it more and more. Maybe it was because the fact that it looked especially old might have been a special one. ¡°It will wear out.¡± Ser looked at the horseshoe ornament with pity. ¡°No, it¡¯s very strong.¡± ¡°As you please.¡± I rolled my eyes at Ser and put down the horseshoe ornament. ¡°Ser. I thought a hunter would look very scary.¡± ¡°After all, they¡¯re people too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Yesterday, he was just like an old man.¡± Yesterday, after leaving the museum, Russphe and I went to the Evosophie Bakery to eat a cake and then to a toy store before parting ways. Excluding the day I disappeared from the Imperial Palace, it was also the longest outing of my life. It was also a historic day when I met my friend outside the Imperial Palace and at home! It was even the first day I met a hunter. Anyway, although I was very happy and delighted yesterday, I was also extremely scared. ¡°Good job. You coped better than any other adult.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°If Lepus had seen you, it would have said that.¡± Hearing Ser¡¯s praise gave me more courage. ¡°But Ser, our eyes met at the end, is it okay? It¡¯s only for a short while.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll count that much as a coincidence. Hunters are less agile than seekers. All he can feel instinctively is a seeker. You need to actively use this advantage. At least until you grow up.¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± ¡°You will do well.¡± Ser stroked my cheek with its tail. ¡°You know a lot like Lepus.¡± ¡°Just as you learned the ancient language yourself, I learned it naturally as I woke up. Basic things. Of course, there are many things I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ But the hunters can¡¯t find the ancient relics, can they?¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± It should be. I buried my head in the doll I was holding. There was a knock on the door, and when I looked up again, Zenda was coming in. ¡°Miss.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Teacher Belfoy Logis has just arrived.¡± Huh, already? *** ¡°Hello.¡± As soon as I heard from Zenda that Teacher Logis was here, I ran to the class room and waited patiently. Not long after, Teacher Logis entered with a smile. Teachers called me by different names. They called me ¡®Miss¡¯ or ¡®Princess¡¯. Or, sometimes, both were called together. I jumped out of my seat as soon as Teacher entered. ¡°Hello, Teacher!¡± This was my second class after Teacher Logis greeted me and gave me a test at Grandpa¡¯s. Today, her hair that seemed to be floating was impressive. ¡°I prepared educational materials based on what we tested in the last class today.¡± Teacher hurriedly pulled out papers from a dark brown rectangular bag. ¡°You¡¯ve spelled much more difficult things than this in the previous test, so it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Despite her friendly tone, I was slightly wary of Mr. Logis. It¡¯s because Ser said she was suspicious. Although she¡¯s not a hunter, and I think she¡¯s no different from the other teachers¡­ First of all, since Ser said so, I decided to be a little careful. ¡°Now, you can practice by writing down the words you see on the paper I gave you according to the notebook.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I prepared mainly for the words that were wrong in the last test, but if you master them perfectly, you will learn about the origin and structure of the Imperial language.¡± ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± I put the paper given by the teacher next to me and started writing down one by one from the first page. Actually, Mom taught me letters, but it didn¡¯t take that long compared to other things. Because she said that it¡¯s okay to learn letters later, and that there are many more important things. I was confident, but I was a little upset that I was wrong. I need to learn properly this time. ¡°Chair, body¡­¡± It was time to focus on the first word and write the second word ten times. Teacher Logis, who had been looking at my notebook, came a little closer. ¡°You write difficult letters well. As expected of the daughter of the late Prime Minister.¡± I paused while writing. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever received such a compliment. ¡­It¡¯s a compliment, right? CH 60 ¡°Thank you!¡± I nodded and focused on writing down the words again. I¡¯ll get 100 on the next test. ¡°Come to think of it, they say that the late Prime Minister rose to the position at the youngest age ever. I really admire her.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yes! That¡¯s right.¡± That¡¯s right, because my mom is the most wonderful person. As I answered, I nearly misspelled a letter. I put the squiggly letters together with a pencil, and then wrote the words down again. ¡°It¡¯s an honor for my family to be able to teach such a person¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Well, what kind of person was your mother?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I heard that the late Prime Minister also had a close relationship with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± That¡¯s because Mom and His Imperial Majesty were friends. ¡°Then, has the Miss ever had an audience with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor in the Palace?¡± ¡°Yeees?¡± Why is she asking such a thing all of a sudden? ¡°Ah! It¡¯s just a question out of respect.¡± ¡°Ah, yeees.¡± ¡°Because the late Prime Minister was a very wise person, and the Miss is so intelligent that you almost learned the letters before you even get a proper education.¡± I only wrote one more word between the words of Teacher. I had to write it quickly so I could move on to the next class, but it seemed like I wouldn¡¯t be able to write it all within today at this rate. ¡°Let¡¯s you haven¡¯t.¡± Ser, who had been quiet until now, whispered in my ear as if warning me. I slowly raised my face and shook my head. Then Teacher Logis showed a startled look to the point of stepping back a little. ¡°No? I¡¯m surprised¡­ Hasn¡¯t he told you to visit him?¡± ¡°Say there¡¯s none.¡± Ser told me that, but since he had never really told me to visit him officially, I could say this with more confidence. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s none. Teacher.¡± I also felt the question was strange. Things regarding Mom must have nothing to do with class. Moreover, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor?of course, we decided to be friends, but still?was even more irrelevant. ¡°Ahem, he doesn¡¯t care about you more than I thought¡­¡± Teacher Logis turned around and muttered to herself, but I heard it very clearly. After Teacher¡¯s question disappeared for a moment, I quickly moved on to the next word. My eyes narrowed at the difficult words. Gwieer¡­ Oh, this sounds like Uncle¡¯s name, though? ¡°Then, Miss.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve never had an audience with His Imperial Majesty, I¡¯m sure the late Prime Minister never talked about the Emperor, right?¡± In response to the continued question, Ser told me to say that there was no such thing, but I tilted my head. ¡°Teacher.¡± ¡°Yes, please speak.¡± ¡°Why do you ask that?¡± ¡°Pardon? Ah, do you perhaps feel offended? Because of the respect I have for the Prime Minister, I have many questions without knowing it. If it was rude, I apologize.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I thought it was related to the class Teacher was telling me!¡± Logis clenched her fists and cleared her throat. ¡°It¡¯s not related to today¡¯s class, but exchanging conversations can be said to be part of studying. Don¡¯t you have small gatherings now, Miss?¡± ¡°Gathering?¡± Then, Teacher¡¯s face became even more surprised than before. ¡°Ah! Haven¡¯t you had that kind of experience yet, Miss?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been to a gathering¡­¡± ¡°Not even once?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I¡¯ve played with Russphe, but I know that hanging out with Russphe isn¡¯t a gathering. ¡°Oops. I thought you were thorough in education¡­¡± Teacher murmured again and turned to me. ¡°Girls around your age hold gatherings to build friendships, such as poetry recitals and singing groups. Of course, I thought the Miss was also attending. Really firm¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Ahem! It¡¯s nothing. To think that you¡¯ve never been to a gathering¡­¡± I¡¯ve never done anything like that. Does Russphe do that too? I know he takes a lot of classes, but I¡¯ll ask if he goes to gatherings later. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve never had a gathering before.¡± When I was still, Teacher Logis spoke flustered words as if to calm me down. ¡°That¡¯s right! Well, sometimes there are people who start late, so you don¡¯t have to worry at all. My niece didn¡¯t start her first gathering until she was over 10 years old. Really.¡± I nodded eagerly despite Teacher¡¯s long words. Uncle told me to listen to the teachers, soI have to listen carefully! ¡°So you don¡¯t have to be ashamed of something you haven¡¯t experienced.¡± ¡°Yes, Teacher. I¡¯m not ashamed¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m in charge of the Miss¡¯ Imperial language education, but I¡¯m ready to teach you anything from what I know if you¡¯re curious.¡± Teacher suddenly cut off my words. ¡°Really?¡± I was a little upset, but I answered eagerly. ¡°Sure. Whether it¡¯s a gathering or whatever, if you have even a small concern, please let me know anytime. As an educator, I will try to think about my student¡¯s concerns together.¡± She told me to tell her if I had any concerns. ¡°Thank you!¡± Then Teacher came close to me and sat down on her knees. ¡°As an educator, it¡¯s a natural thing to do. Then, shall we pretend to have a poetry recital gathering in the next class?¡± ¡°A poetry recital?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve never had a gathering before, but shouldn¡¯t you do it in the future? It¡¯s much later than the others, so you¡¯ll need some practice. A stupid mistake will soon become a flaw. I will teach you myself.¡± I heard Ser¡¯s voice in my ear. ¡°I think this teacher is talking too much nonsense. She doesn¡¯t even teach you the Imperial language.¡± I was thinking the same thing, but I couldn¡¯t answer because Teacher was so close. I heard that she was the person Professor Boville recommended because she couldn¡¯t come, but when is the class going to be held? Even after that, Teacher Logis asked me questions from time to time. However, the problem was that most of the questions weren¡¯t related to the Imperial language, yet almost all about Mom. In the end, I couldn¡¯t write the words Teacher gave me to the end, and she organized the class, saying that it was okay even though I couldn¡¯t write all the words. ¡°Then see you in the next class. I will bring something that can be useful for meeting practice.¡± ¡°Thank you for teaching me today!¡± Teacher Logis left and Ser hissed beside me. ¡°Oh, she was really loud. I want to shoot poison in her mouth.¡± ¡°You can shoot poison?¡± ¡°I only say that.¡± ¡°What¡­ But just like you said¡­¡± ¡°You said she smelled suspicious, right?¡± I nodded and closed the door. ¡°Tell the adults to just give her attention first.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see more. Mom told me not to move hastily when I suspect anything.¡± First of all, we need to find out why she¡¯s so interested in my mom! *** Purr? ¡°¡­Huh?¡± I raised my head at the sudden sound of words. I was sitting in a chair, dangling my legs, writing words I couldn¡¯t write in today¡¯s Imperial language class. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear something just now?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s not?¡± Purr? But again a sound was heard. It¡¯s like the sound of a horse gurgling. Although it wasn¡¯t loud, it sounded pretty clear. ¡°See, it sounds like a horse. Uncle must be here!¡± Otherwise, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to hear the horse from here. I jumped up from my seat. Apparently, the carriage carrying Uncle had entered the garden. Originally, I couldn¡¯t hear it here when I closed the window, yet today I heard it clearly. ¡°Looks like Uncle came home early.¡± The window was high, so I stepped on the stepping board, opened the window halfway, and stuck my head out. Then, right under the window, I followed the path to the entrance to the front door. ¡°¡­Huh? Is it not? I can¡¯t see Uncle¡¯s carriage.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he has come home. And I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡± ¡°No. I really heard a horse¡¯ noise, though? It sounded like, purr.¡± Although it disappeared as soon as I opened the window. The stables were so far away from here that I could never hear them. However, as Ser said, there really was no carriage in the garden. Only a few gardeners were visible. ¡°It¡¯s not, though¡­¡± I heard it clearly. I shook my head and closed the window again. Maybe I heard hallucinations because I missed Uncle. ¡°Ugh, I thought it was nice that Uncle was coming home, though.¡± I put my regret behind and returned to my study spot. CH 61 ¡°Zenda.¡± ¡°Yes, Miss.¡± ¡°What is a gathering like?¡± Zenda, who was brushing my hair for bed, stopped touching it. I decided to tell Zenda a little bit first. ¡°A gathering?¡± ¡°Yeah! I heard it today after talking with Teacher Logis. Friends like me have poetry recital and singing gatherings.¡± Zenda continued brushing. My eyes closed involuntarily at the softness that ran through my hair. It was one of the best times for me. I love the feeling of Zenda brushing and I know my cozy bed is waiting! ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­ The gathering of ladies who are a little older than your peers is more active. It¡¯s also not fixed.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, I know that gatherings are usually actively held at the age of 10. Because there are far more cases where you have to have a guardian before that.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Teacher Logis apparently spoke as if it were too late that her own niece started at the age of 10. ¡°There are many cases in which girls your age invite their close friends to their homes and play. Like the Miss and Ruspe-sama.¡± ¡°Will Russphe have a gathering?¡± ¡°Sir Russphe is much more¡­¡± ¡°Much more?¡± ¡°I understand that he doesn¡¯t have gatherings at all because it¡¯s filled up with his classes. By any chance, Miss, would you like to attend the meeting?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Hmm, I hadn¡¯t thought about that, but Teacher Logis told me she¡¯ll help me adjust to the gathering later. She said that if I make a mistake, they will find fault.¡± Zenda set the comb down and gently tucked the neatly combed hair behind my ears. I squinted one eye because it tickled me. ¡°I see. Miss, let me look into that part.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I understand that the Master hired them each for only one subject in the first place, but as the educator changed, it seems that the explanation wasn¡¯t properly explained.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Teacher Logis is an Imperial language teacher. She just needs to take responsibility for teaching you the Imperial language.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re confused, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s my fault for not checking in advance.¡± ¡°No! I guess Teacher doesn¡¯t even know that well.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, should I be an observer from now on? I didn¡¯t tell you because I thought it would be a nuisance to your studying, but I will if you need it.¡± ¡°Mmhm. Then I¡¯ll tell Zenda!¡± ¡°Are there any other inconveniences? Please tell me if you have any.¡± ¡°Not now! I studied a lot, you know.¡± I deliberately didn¡¯t say that Teacher Logis had asked about Mom and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. Because if she was a bad person, she would keep asking, and if not, she wouldn¡¯t ask anymore because Zenda cautioned her. I simply asked Zenda for help because I wasn¡¯t confident enough to judge a person by myself. Zenda kissed my forehead lightly. ¡°It¡¯s done, lady. Come on, lie down in bed. I¡¯ll take care of the blanket.¡± I jumped right into bed and lay down. ¡°Laid down! Will Uncle come home late again today?¡± ¡°Yes, maybe¡­I think he will be late, but when he comes, I will tell him that the Miss has been waiting for a long time. Don¡¯t worry and go to sleep.¡± ¡°Mmm, good night Zenda!¡± ¡°Yes, Miss. Have a nice dream.¡± *** ¡°The teacher was put in.¡± Ragia bit the pipe and laughed, as if it was funny. The smoke dissipated as soon as laughter erupted. ¡°I was very sweaty because I heard they were so picky about recruiting.¡± ¡°You managed to do it,though.¡± ¡°Boville or Burville, they didn¡¯t listen to me even if I gave them money. In the end, I even paid for a carriage accident to change that person, but how much money did I give to the guy who changed.¡± Jamiel shuddered disgustingly. Jamiel De Rondo. From before, he put all his efforts into constantly planting spies in the houses of the Duke of Valliot, the Marquis of Leguier, and the Prime Minister, though she was gone now. However, he only tasted failure every time. The longest he endured was a month. That¡¯s why Kassel de Leguier was a gross and terrible guy. The reason Jamiel didn¡¯t give up was simple. He wants to bring down the snobbery of the Valliot and Leguier, and to disintegrate the power of the Imperial faction. This was the wish of not only Jamiel but also the nobles. ¡°Your Lordship the Marquis. Then she should¡¯ve gone to the classes by now?¡± Margie asked impatiently. ¡°Yes, they went in both places.¡± The small weakness that they had endured like an iron fortress eventually became a hole through which they could penetrate. ¡°Now that we¡¯re in, dig out as much as we can.¡± Jamiel chuckled. He was about to do that. Taking out the girl, the Prime Minister¡¯s hidden daughter, is the surest way to bring them down. Since the risk was so high, he was only watching for a while. ¡°Well, even if it doesn¡¯t work, let¡¯s see. Are they going to hide her for the rest of their lives? Seeing how busy they are these days, it looks like they¡¯re about to leave soon.¡± Jamiel was also on the side of agreeing with Ragia¡¯s words. They just want to push for that date. ¡°It seems so. Even if he¡¯s Leguier, he¡¯s not going to follow his niece while escorting her for the rest of his life like now. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we cut down the time though?¡± Ragia slammed the pipe into the ashtray. ¡°You can do it yourself.¡± ¡°Ah, goodness.¡± Margie made an interesting face as if he had suddenly remembered something. ¡°What are you thinking about with such a smile?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing else, I heard there¡¯s another famous person these days.¡± ¡°Anything other than the Mad Dog? I haven¡¯t even heard of it, but it¡¯s already a headache.¡± Jamiel frowned and groaned. ¡°One of the new nobles, he¡¯s a billionaire. He¡¯s a pretty young guy.¡± ¡°A billionaire? Was he struck by mine lightning bolt?¡± Fiante Menibera, who had been smoking the pipe ever since, showed curiosity and asked. ¡°Not a mine. He seems to have quite a lot of skills, but I was wondering what it would be like to recruit him this time.¡± ¡°No matter how delicious it looks, you have to know what it is. What if after eating it, it¡¯s another mad dog?¡± Everyone burst into laughter at Margie¡¯s words. ¡°Ouch, just thinking about it is awful.¡± Jamiel groaned again. Even so, he was interested in a man called the rising noble who became a hot topic. ¡°Let¡¯s make a seat for him for once.¡± The same was true of Jamiel. *** Purr? It was late at night. I ended up falling asleep while waiting for Uncle, but the sound in my ears woke me up again. I had the illusion that I could hear the clatter of hooves along with the sound of galloping horses somewhere else. ¡°Um¡­ Another horse sound?¡± Isn¡¯t it an illusion? Is Uncle here now? I stood up with half-open eyes as if possessed. Ah, what is that? ¡°Light¡­?¡± The moment I saw it, the remaining sleepiness flew away. I got out of bed and dug through the mountain of dolls. ¡°Huh?¡± What was shining was the decoration I received from the museum. An old hoof half the size of my palm. As soon as I held it in my hand, the purr-like sound I had heard so far came to my ears clearly. ¡°This is it.¡± The cause of the suspicious sound! ¡°Ser.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ser!¡± Ser didn¡¯t respond at once, so when I shouted a little louder, Ser responded belatedly. ¡°Uh, why? ¡± ¡°Look at this. There was a noise here. Light also comes out from this.¡± The head of a black snake appeared from the side. ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°This, this, this!¡± I was so excited that I couldn¡¯t speak. ¡°It must have reacted to your energy. The light gets brighter as you hold it in your hand.¡± ¡°I thought it was just a souvenir.¡± Unlike me who was excited and surprised, Ser was calm. Although Serpens is an ancient relic, it didn¡¯t have the ability to judge and search for other relics. It¡¯s only up to the seeker. CH 62 It was so surprising that a small ornament in one corner of the souvenir shop not the many mysterious exhibits I had seen in the museum, was an ancient relic. Besides, this is too light, thin, and old. At first glance, Lepus was a stone slab that looked like an ancient relic, and Serpens was a gem, so I never thought of it. Even though they are different colors, I share the same with Russphe! Also, there wouldn¡¯t be such luck with relics appearing, but I wanted to check the decorations Russphe brought. ¡°Can I wake it up?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know yet. You need to know its name.¡± I looked carefully at the ornament on the hoof. It¡¯s to check whether the name isn¡¯t written between the small and uneven shapes. Because calling by name is the simplest and surest way. If I can¡¯t find it, I have to search for it among the ancient languages for a long time. I saw it in the book Lepus gave me, and most of the names of ancient relics that have been discovered, destroyed, or freed so far are related to ancient languages. It was the same with Serpens and Lepus. Both Serpens and Lepus originally had different names, but they were naturally renamed as the spirits dwelled in them. It¡¯s God who gave them strength. It was as if God had given them new names. So this must have had something to do with its name. Right now is¡­ difficult. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the study tomorrow. There must be at least one ancient language book there.¡± It¡¯s unfortunate, but it was clear that if I went out now and said I was going to the study, Zenda would scold me. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s your first collection, so it¡¯d be better if it wakes up. No seekers could have collected it so quickly, right?¡± Ser cheered from the side. ¡°You¡¯re the first, you know. Even though Mom fed me, I still woke you up by calling your name.¡± From the side, I heard its snort, hmm. ¡°Then you mean I¡¯m the most precious, right?¡± I tried to answer yes, but hesitated. ¡°You and Lepus!¡± ¡°Assume it just doesn¡¯t exist. It¡¯s not even your power.¡± ¡°We decided to be friends anyway. Lepus will also be angry. Alright, it doesn¡¯t matter, but you¡¯re the first one.¡± ¡°Geez. I still like that. Don¡¯t change that.¡± Creak. Then, the door that had been tightly closed opened. A large figure who was about to enter saw me and hesitated. I kept sitting down in the shape of an M between the dolls from earlier, raising my head and widening my eyes. With one hand tucked roughly into his pocket, he held the doorknob in a slightly crooked posture. Hair neatly brushed back. And to an enormous height. I couldn¡¯t see his face well in the light coming from the hallway, but I knew better than anyone who that person was. ¡°¡­Uncle!¡± Uncle, at this hour? ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping?¡± Asking in a lower-than-usual voice, Uncle approached. The hallway light came in brightly, then faded again at the half-closed door. ¡°I woke up. Uncle, you just came back?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t sleep?¡± Uncle reached out to me. When I opened my arms out of habit, his hands slipped between my armpits and my body floated. ¡°Hehe, I thought I would sleep without being able to see Uncle.¡± Uncle hugged me and sat down on the bed. ¡°I said that if you keep sleeping late, you¡¯ll have short legs even before the peanuts sprout.¡± ¡°No. Zenda said I¡¯m tall. And I¡¯m taller than Russphe. Uakh.¡± Uncle tousled my hair with his big hand. ¡°Alright, now sleep, quick. It¡¯s late.¡± ¡°Are you tired Uncle?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°You can only do a little work.¡± Then you don¡¯t have to stay this late. Uncle, Mom, and Grandpa seem to be buried in work. ¡°Who told you to worry like that.¡± ¡°I know how to worry, too.¡± I deliberately puffed my cheeks. Uncle laughed as if it were ridiculous. ¡°Got it, now sleep.¡± Uncle dropped me off as if I was being released into a fence. ¡°But why are you here, Uncle?¡± I tucked my hoof ornament under the pillow and lay down. Didn¡¯t he come here because he had something to say? Uncle only visits me when he has something to say or goes somewhere. ¡°I came here because you cried and looked for me before going to bed, why.¡± What do you mean crying and looking for you! I haven¡¯t shed a single tear, you know! I was about to say no, but Uncle pulled the blanket over my neck. ¡°Sleep.¡± ¡°Mm, good night, Uncle!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Uncle got out of bed. Still, I¡¯m glad to see he¡¯s here. I watched until Uncle went outside and closed the door, then closed my eyes. *** ¡°That¡­ one!¡± I stretched out my hand and pointed to an ancient language book. ¡°You want to read¡­ this?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± As soon as I ate breakfast, I came to the study with the excuse of studying. Except for the bottom row where my hands could reach, everything was on a high place, so I had to get help from Zenda. When I asked to take out the ancient language book because it looked interesting, Zenda¡¯s face was filled with wonder. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to read this at all. Even if it¡¯s here, this is just for decoration.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay! That handwriting is interesting.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re trying to look at it like a picture. Then, the book next to it is also an ancient language book. Shall we take it out together?¡± ¡°Mmhm, thanks!¡± The book Zenda brought out wasn¡¯t a book containing the information I had seen with Lepus, but an ancient dictionary with only words listed. I came here to find words, so I thought this would be better. ¡°Please give it to me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s pretty heavy¡­ I¡¯ll bring it to your room.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll read it here.¡± I accepted the book Zenda gave me. ¡°Is that so? Then I¡¯ll bring you some snacks.¡± ¡°Yeah, thank you! Zenda!¡± As soon as Zenda came out, I opened the first chapter. ¡°It must be the same ancient language as the one I read, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe¡­? I don¡¯t know because I can¡¯t read. They look similar, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I think so too. We will find it soon.¡± However, unlike I thought, it was difficult from the first chapter. It wasn¡¯t in the order of the Imperial alphabet, but it was a book arranged randomly. It seems that the order is probably based on the ancient language, but I only knew how to read it, not the order, so I had to read it from the beginning. I couldn¡¯t read the ancient language if my concentration was scattered even a little bit, so it took quite a while to read each one. ¡°You¡¯ll get better as you do it. No way it¡¯ll be like now.¡± ¡°¡­Does that mean I¡¯m late?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I will read it alone.¡± I read the ancient language again. Carriage, earthworm, love, light¡­ It¡¯s going to be hard today because of this. I glanced at the hoof ornament I had placed right next to me. The ornament that was shining yesterday and making such a gurgling sound is quiet today. As if to find out. ¡°Miss, eat this while you¡¯re at it.¡± Zenda, who had left before I knew it, came back. ¡°Thanks, Zenda!¡± ¡°If you need anything more, let me know.¡± ¡°Yes! Zenda, you can go to work. I¡¯ll be here.¡± ¡°I can do it a little later.¡± ¡°Then Zenda will have to work late like last time. I will go after looking at all of this.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Then shall we? If you need anything, please pull that string.¡± ¡°Mmhm!¡± It¡¯s also for Zenda¡¯s sake, but with Zenda, I can¡¯t imprint this ancient relic. After Zenda left, I concentrated on the spot and continued to search for words. And how long has it been, I wonder. ¡°This is it!¡± When I turned the pages to the point where my eyes hurt, I finally came up with a few words I wanted. They were all words related to horse and carriage, so I didn¡¯t know if it would react to at least one of them. In anticipation, I held the hoof in my hand and slowly recited the name. How should I call this? ¡°E, e¡­ quus?¡± Gulp. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m nervous. Is this right?¡± ¡°Try it.¡± ¡°Mm, Equus!¡± I squeezed the hoof with both hands, hoping the ancient relic would respond to my voice. ¡°¡­I guess not.¡± No reaction. I thought this was the most accurate. I¡¯ve tried other words too. But even after saying all five words, there was no response. Among the words related to horse, there¡¯s no hoof, though¡­ ¡°Can¡¯t you find it here?¡± ¡°Looking at it, I think the words you said are correct. It might be shy like me.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± But. I had to call Serpens again and again to be able to do it. I remembered it waking up late and having a hard time. ¡°Huh, then when it wakes up, will it make me feel cold and hot like you did?¡± I don¡¯t know anything else, but I don¡¯t want to go through that again. ¡°Are you cursing at me?¡± CH 63 ¡°No, not thaaat.¡± That¡¯s what I say. ¡°Can you read a little more?¡± ¡°Mm! I can do it.¡± As Ser said, as I continued to read, the speed increased. Later on, my eyes were able to slurp it with just a little concentration. It would be nice if the Imperial language increased like this! But I couldn¡¯t find more words besides what I found. *** ¡°Equ, Equus¡­¡± After that, whenever I was alone, I muttered words while holding the hoof. Other words were also called alternately. ¡°Is there a lack of earnestness?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more desperate than ever, though?¡± ¡°More than when it was me?¡± ¡°Not that, but still. Shall we change the way?¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you.¡± I put the hoof in my pocket and jumped up. Then I headed to the dining room. ¡°Grandma Sophie!¡± ¡°Our lovely princess has arrived. Dinner is still not yet, but are you hungry?¡± ¡°No! Not that¡­¡± As I hesitated, Grandma Sophie came a little closer. ¡°What does our princess need?¡± ¡°That¡­ carrot.¡± ¡°Carrot?¡± I stretched out my hands. ¡°Please give me carrot!¡± Then everyone in the dining room turned their eyes to me. ¡°The Miss wants carrots?¡± ¡°Did you just say carrots?¡± ¡°You mentioned a vegetable?¡± ¡°What? You¡¯re eating carrots?¡± Suddenly, questions poured in. Gasp, this isn¡¯t it. They almost misunderstood that I was looking for carrots because I wanted to eat one. ¡°Ah¡­ I-I¡¯m not going to eat it right now! I just need a whole carrot. Grandma Sophie opened her eyes wide. ¡°You want a whole carrot?¡± ¡°Yes. Please give me one.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ Can you wait a bit?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I sat down on a chair in the dining room and waited for Grandma Sophie. A little while later, Grandma brought a basket. Fill with cleanly washed carrots. ¡°Gasp.¡± So many. It was an amount that the stable horses could eat to their stomachs even if they ate all of them. Half were green long-leaved carrots, and half were sliced carrots on top. Washed clean without any dust. ¡°Do you want it with leaves? Or would you like this one?¡± I looked at the carrots and deliberately chose one. ¡°Uh ¡­ This one!¡± It was the carrot with the most leaves. ¡°You don¡¯t need anything more?¡± ¡°Yes, this is enough! thank you!¡± I nodded and left the dining room holding a carrot. I want to know what kind of abilities it has, and what it looks like. Since it¡¯s a hoof, it must have taken the form of a horse. Will it be as tall as Gunther? Or is it cute like a pony? Or it might look like a toy horse. If anything, it would have been better if it was small. ¡°What will you do with the carrot?¡± Beside me, Ser¡¯s head dangled. ¡°Horses like this. I¡¯m going to call it with this. I thought if I pray hard, it will come out.¡± As soon as I got to the study, I closed the door, put the dolls together neatly, and placed a carrot and hoof side by side in the middle of the floor. The carrot even stood up with a few small dolls. There weren¡¯t many people on this side of the study, so it was safer here than in the room. I knelt down and put my hands together and prayed earnestly. ¡°Equus, come out!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Equus! Soniphea! Bes¡­!¡± Pluck, the carrot that had been standing upright fell to the side. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think this is it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not this too? I don¡¯t have to go to the ancient library to find it again, right?¡± It would be nice if I could even teleport there. ¡°Geez, I¡¯ve done this far!¡± To think that it doesn¡¯t come out easily. I heard that previous seekers have found at most three ancient relics in their lifetime. As it turned out, wouldn¡¯t there have been many cases where they couldn¡¯t wake it up after finding an ancient relic? ¡°I¡¯m going to rest for today¡­¡± I did too much today. The only thing I did all day was to wake up the thing stuck inside the hoof. I just lay down on my back. ¡°Let¡¯s do it tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± *** From that day on, I called Equus in my spare time while studying. Even after dinner and after playing with Uncle. Also, when writing a letter to Russphe, I fiddled with the hoof in my spare time. As I began to properly learn the Imperial language, I began writing letters in order to master the Imperial language more perfectly. And since we can¡¯t see each other every day, let¡¯s talk through letters! ¡°Hi, Russphe. I ate more vegetables today than yesterday, you know? And¡­¡± The next day too. Also on the next day. One day I was annoyed, another day I was full of anticipation. Today, while practicing the Imperial language on the floor, I was talking about Ser and the hoof. ¡°Still, I think it would be cool. When it came out, I¡¯d would call it a very cool Equus. You can¡¯t even ride a big horse yourself, can you? I¡¯ve never ridden a horse before.¡± It was then. Suddenly, the hoof glowed white, and something huge rose in front of my eyes. ¡°Aaaya!¡± I collided with a large, rapidly growing body and fell backwards. Hihiing! It was the moment when I saw a huge white horse right in front of me with a thunderous cry. The black eyes, the translucent body, the plentiful tail and mane, and the shiny fur radiated on their own, making it look whiter. It felt like the same size as Gunther I saw in the stable. This feeling, filling the room¡­ ¡°¡­Equus?¡± ¡°To think that you woke this body.¡± A calm, low voice rang out. I was so surprised that I didn¡¯t know it, but my mouth hurt belatedly. It was because I bumped my face directly into Equus¡¯s torso. ¡°Uuugh.¡± It¡¯s nice that it came out, but it didn¡¯t have to come out so drastically! I raised my body, but suddenly the clothes pulled tight behind my back and my body floated in the air. ¡°Huh, huh?¡± The white horse had bitten my clothes and lifted me up. Then, all of a sudden, it started running around. ¡°Huwaaaaaaaa!¡± What the hell is this! It ran like lightning between the bookshelves, and my eyes went round and round. I-It¡¯s a crazy horse! I thought it was a cool horse, but it was a crazy one. ¡°Get me down! Please!¡± Its bite was so firm that I didn¡¯t even fall to the floor. I screamed in terror to please get me off. Even after hearing my scream, the white horse ran ten more laps and slowly slowed down. Even then, it turned around once more and put it down where I first rolled. My head was spinning and my heart was pounding. What the hell did I bring? ¡°I¡¯m really awake. It wasn¡¯t a dream.¡± I was going to die of my mind, yet the horse in front of me was making that kind of noise. ¡°What¡­ on earth is that? Why did you bite me and run?¡± It was so absurd that I asked the horse. ¡°It was a rush of joy.¡± It was smirking, and I was speechless. Then I stood tall. It was belatedly that I had the feeling that something in my mouth was empty. I think something came out of my mouth when I bumped into it a while ago and fell backwards. The moment I cautiously stuck my tongue out, I was shocked. One of the spaces between my front teeth was empty, and when I looked around, something pure white fell in front of my eyes. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Impossible. With my hands trembling, I picked up the white thing that had fallen on the floor. My front tooth! ¡°No way. My front tooth¡­¡± The front tooth that I had been defending so much fell out. And without spilling a single drop of blood. I started shaking seriously, but I thought I would hold on. ¡°Uah¡­¡± My heart ached as much as one of my front teeth had been pierced. Despite the joy of meeting Equus, I briefly glared at the giant horse. Equus was looking down at me with a big body and black eyes. In the center of Equus¡¯s forehead, there was a mysterious silver pattern engraved as if it were a seal. I should thank it for waking up, though. Before that, there was something I had to say. I thrust the small front tooth that had chipped from my gums in front of the Equus. I was furious. ¡°My front tooth fell out because of you!¡± It also fell out before the lower tooth. Zenda said I was definitely going to lose my lower tooth. ¡­I¡¯m doomed. CH 64 ¡°Pfft.¡± An obvious sneer sounded in my ears. It was Serpens. Geez, I lost my pronunciation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The horse that ran as fast as it could belatedly apologized. ¡°¡­Ziiing.¡± What should I do now? I got up from my seat clenching my front tooth. Even though I raised my body, Equus was so big that it had to lower its head to make eye contact with me. ¡°Equus¡­¡± Anyway, I succeeded in summoning it. It¡¯s too big and a little scary. I was more scared because of the memory of Gunther raising its front paws when it was surprised by me. It was a shame that the study was so spacious, but there was a horse as big as Uncle¡¯s horse, Gunther, in the room, so it seemed that even the slightest movement would destroy everything around it. But fortunately, it was a translucent body, so it only bumped into me, and even if it touched chairs and tables, it missed like a ghost. ¡°You¡­ really came out from hewe?¡± ¡°Right. This body is Equus.¡± Purr? Why didn¡¯t it come out until now? ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Aika.¡± ¡°Aika. That¡¯s cute. Can you repeat what you said earlier?¡± ¡°What did I shay?¡± Every time I spoke, my pronunciation leaked and my gums kept getting cold. Whether it hurts or not, my tongue touched and I got goosebumps. I think I need to go see Zenda, but first I felt like I had to deal with the Equus in front of me. ¡°You said handsome Equus.¡± ¡°¡­I shaid a cool Equus, though.¡± ¡°Anyway.¡± Me too, anyway. If you want to come out, come out early. And come out plainly. It seemed that this was the only ancient relic that would bite people and run for joy after it came out. Ser was too shy, so it wasn¡¯t easy to deal with. I was upset because my tooth was falling out, but I decided to endure it for a little while to achieve my goal. I slowly extended my other hand to Equus. Equus pursed its lips and placed the bridge of its nose in my hand. At that moment, I felt the wind and smelled the thick grass. Mysteriously, the moment I came into contact with Equus, all my fear disappeared. When I woke Serpens up, it was like I was facing the rainy season. ¡°What is your ability?¡± I still don¡¯t know what Equus is capable of. I have no choice but to ask directly. ¡°I just showed you.¡± ¡°Just when?¡± All it did was bring the bridge of its nose, though? ¡°I showed you some time ago.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just say it with words?¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s not cool.¡± Equus seemed to put a lot of importance on external things such as fashion and good looks. Even though I got the name right, it didn¡¯t appear until I said cool Equus. Somehow, in a different way from Ser, I felt that the future would be difficult. Suddenly Serpens felt like an angel. ¡°Saying it ish also cool.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Equus¡¯ ears perked up. ¡°Mmhm! So can you tell me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fast.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I can get you where you want to go faster than any other horse.¡± ¡­ So you¡¯re talking about how you just bit me and ran like lightning. It was good that I didn¡¯t ask the horse to show it. Still, the ability Equus said was very tempting. ¡°Me? anywhere?¡± ¡°If there is a road and it¡¯s not blocked.¡± That¡¯s great! I can ride Equus anywhere! Then, even if I was a little upset, I thought it would be okay to lose my front tooth. Serpens who sees the future, and Equus, who can take me the fastest. I wanted to tell Lepus too. ¡°Can we go to the Imperial Palace too?¡± ¡°The Imperial Palace? Of course we can. Do you know the direction?¡± ¡°Ah¡­, I-I don¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°You have to tell me which direction to go. A map?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t have that either. I¡¯ll tell you later!¡± And there was another problem. No matter how invisible it is to other people¡¯s eyes, I don¡¯t think such a large Equus can continue to appear. ¡°Can¡¯t you be smaller?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unacceptable.¡± R-Right. Because it¡¯s not cool when it¡¯s small. ¡°Then what should I do¡­¡± ¡°Instead, I will come when you need me. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Mmhm, good!¡± ¡°Then we exchanged greetings, so call me when needed.¡± As soon as it said that, Equus disappeared in a pure white light. The hoof ornament that fell to the floor rattled and swayed. I blinked my eyes, looking only at the place where Equus disappeared in an instant. W-What¡­ ¡°It¡¯s gone.¡± Very exhausting. It seems that my clothes stretched because Equus ran around holding on to it. ¡°Ser, is my clothes weird from behind?¡± ¡°It has expanded.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Zenda will be surprised again. Although it was to the point of feeling empty because it left so coolly, it was still important that I woke Equus up. As for the hoof ornament, I should probably make a necklace out of it and wear it. To summon Equus when needed. I said to Ser while holding the small hoof. Although I¡¯m a bit out of my mind. ¡°I think I¡¯m kind of cool.¡± It was already the second success. Ser laughed again. *** ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Jamiel, who was about to get on the carriage heading home, hesitated while climbing the stairs. It was already a dark night. Even today, at the noble meeting, Leguier wasn¡¯t seen. It seems that he¡¯s too busy taking care of a child. Now was the perfect opportunity to cut off Leguier¡¯s limbs. Leguier, who doesn¡¯t even know the topic, was spurring the construction of the building after obtaining the right to establish an academy a while ago. He tried to stop it somehow, yet he couldn¡¯t stop it and his mouth was bitter. That said, he couldn¡¯t see one of the important institutions and the center of the Empire¡¯s education fall into the hands of Leguier and Valliot. Any more. ¡°The academy that Leguier is building, stop it no matter what. Either set it on fire or pour water on it. Whatever you do, never let it stand. Just make sure your tail doesn¡¯t get stepped on, just like a few days ago.¡± He will definitely defeat Valliot and find the glory of the past with Deslin. ¡°Yes, Master.¡± His shadow disappeared with the answer. Jamiel climbed into the carriage and leaned back contentedly. ¡°How would I like to use that kid¡­¡± How long do you think you can only keep her in your arms, Leguier? It reminded him of the little child who clung to her uncle with worldly innocent eyes. Soon, a sly smile crept across his lips. Upon arriving at the house, Jamiel passed through the garden and entered the mansion as usual. The butler, Rom, greeted him politely. ¡°You have arrived.¡± ¡°There must be no problem, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Master. Ah! Something came for Master today.¡± ¡°Something?¡± Jamiel stopped before coming inside. ¡°On the top of it is the Cheshire Merchant¡¯s mark. It looks like they sent a thank-you gift for the last transaction.¡± Cheshire. The Cheshire Merchant was a business he had been in a steady relationship with for several years. It was also a place where he was investing quite a lot of money because it was trustworthy and always delivered things he requested. But what gift? Jamiel smiled contentedly. ¡°Aah, I see. Where is it?¡± ¡°Ah, yes! I will bring it right away.¡± The butler soon brought a box. The box was only as wide as the butler¡¯s shoulder, probably because it contained quite a lot. Rom showed the entrance part to make it easy for Jamiel to open. Jamiel opened the lid, imagining it would be whether jewelry or money inside. ¡°W-What is this!¡± The moment he saw the contents inside, Jamiel jumped backwards and screamed. Frightened, he backed away. ¡°Why is that? What gift¡­ Aaakhh!¡± The butler was startled and missed the box. The box fell and the contents spilled out as if it were protruding. Pitter, patter. Jamiel¡¯s face was greatly distorted. What was in the box was corpses with only the snakes¡¯ heads cut off. It seems like there could be dozens of them. All were white. Cough, he was nauseous. ¡°Check again who brought this! Call Gale!¡± Jamiel called out the name of one of his elite men. Damn this. Jamiel headed straight to his office. However, even after a long time, Gale didn¡¯t come. ¡°Master.¡± Instead, Rom came in. ¡°Why did you come when I told you to call Gail?¡± ¡°¡­That, he¡¯s not answering the call.¡± ¡°What? Where has hebeen? Call another guy.¡± ¡°Yes, I will!¡± Yet even after that, it was Rom, not an elite subordinate, who returned after a long time. ¡°Master.¡± ¡°What else!¡± ¡°That, that. They were attacked as if promised at dawn, and I heard that they¡¯re now lying in hospital beds with serious injuries.¡± And that¡¯s half of his elite subordinates. ¡°What, what¡­¡± It was thunderbolt-like news. Jamiel grabbed the back of his neck and slid into the chair. ¡°Leguier you son of a bitch?!¡± Jamiel¡¯s angry voice echoed throughout the mansion. CH 65 Gerard was in a very good mood. It was because he took care of his master¡¯s orders well, neatly, and perfectly. Although he stayed up for several nights, his heart pounded at the thought of the rewards and vacations awaiting him. Gerard¡¯s eyes sparkled. Zenda was walking in front of him. Zenda recognized Gerard and raised the corners of her lips. ¡°You just came back now?¡± ¡°Siiiisteeeer.¡± Gerard went over to Zenda acting cute, then buried his face in her shoulder as if he had never pretended to be tough. ¡°Where are you fooling around?¡± Still, Zenda patted Gerard on the shoulder. He¡¯s much taller than she is now, but at times like this, it always reminds her of their childhood. ¡°I cleaned up the trash before coming back, so give me a compliment.¡± ¡°Good job. you always do well Even if I don¡¯t say it.¡± ¡°What about the Miss?¡± ¡°She¡¯s in her room now. She has to go to bed soon.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s night. Just one touch on the Miss¡¯ cheek will alleviate my fatigue.¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even touch it because I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll die in Master¡¯s hands. You too, Sister. Even though the Miss likes me so much. But you look like you¡¯re in a good mood today?¡± Zenda chuckled. ¡°Today, the Miss lost her first tooth. The front one.¡± Gerard was very surprised. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, it was shaking a while ago, but it must have suddenly fallen off earlier. She was so lovely, showing me that little thing.¡± Zenda smiled as she pressed her chest with both of her hands to see the remaining cuteness. It was a pleasant smile that even spread to Gerard. ¡°Did you tell the Master?¡± ¡°No. Don¡¯t tell him yet either.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The Miss has asked me desperately. So you too, don¡¯t pretend to know first. She¡¯s extremely heartbroken right now.¡± Gerard laughed thinking about Aika, who had lost her tooth, then looked down the hallway in the direction Zenda was coming from, then down the hallway on the other side. Zenda wasn¡¯t heading to her own room. ¡°But where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to make a tooth fairy card after she sleeps. She¡¯s sullen right now, so I want to make a memory for her.¡± ¡°Oh, that will be fun. I¡¯ll do it too. Then it¡¯s a great opportunity to see the Miss¡¯ front teeth!¡± Zenda sighed as if she couldn¡¯t stop him. ¡°Anyway.¡± Then Gerard began to follow Zenda. It was such an innocent look that it was impossible to find even the sight of him removing Jamiel de Rondo¡¯s limbs until dawn. *** ¡°A tooth fairy really visited.¡± As soon as I woke up, I checked the nightstand. Zenda told me that if I sleep with my front tooth, the tooth fairy would sneak up and give me presents and cards. But my front tooth was really missing, and cards and a gift were placed instead. I was worried because my upper tooth fell out first, but Zenda said I didn¡¯t have to worry too much about that. There were two cards. Hello? I¡¯m the tooth fairy I¡¯ll exchange your front tooth for a present. Congratulations on your growth, Aika! We¡¯ll take your front tooth. -Tooth Fairy- ¡°Whoa.¡± The gift was a handkerchief embroidered with pretty flowers. It wasn¡¯t long before Zenda came in with a glass of water and a tray of towels. ¡°Zenda!¡± I held the handkerchief and card in both hands then waved them around. ¡°Miss, how are you? You got up early.¡± ¡°Zenda, look at this! There are two cards.¡± ¡°Oh my! I suppose so. Two fairies must have visited.¡± ¡°They also gave me a handkewchief. As Zenda said yesterday, I asked for a pretty front tooth.¡± Zenda sat down on the bed and set the tray down. ¡°Good job. It will grow soon.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t tell Uncwe, right?¡± ¡°Yes. The Miss told me not to tell him, so I kept it hidden.¡± ¡°If Uncwe finds out, he will definitely make fun of me.¡± Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps. I asked Zenda to keep the secret even as she wiped my face with a warm washcloth. While Zenda was gone for a moment, I lowered my head and examined my body. ¡°Not cold and hot at all.¡± Amazingly, when I woke Equus up, I didn¡¯t get chills or anything hard like when I woke Serpens up. It was very fortunate. Today is a day without classes, so I should practice with Ser again. Until I can detect danger anytime, anywhere! Of course, even on days with classes, I practiced with Ser. So now, without Ser¡¯s help, I was able to vaguely read aura. I also knew that even in the face of danger, if the person in question isn¡¯t hurt, the aura can¡¯t be read. And, little by little, I had to admit that no matter how much I wanted to prevent danger, there were people who didn¡¯t believe me. [It¡¯s impossible to protect everyone. That¡¯s never easy even for God.] On the other hand, there was also a good fact that danger could be prevented with just a word. For example, if there¡¯s a maid who has an accident where a part of her body is burned by boiling oil. [Grandma Sophie. I want to eat steak for lunch tomorrow! Potatoes!] [Oh, Miss. You want steak? I was going to cook fried food, but then I¡¯ll change the menu.] [Thank you!] In this way, Ser taught me how to ease the burden of my ability while developing my ability to see the future. If I care too much about others, I might not see the future, so it warned me to be absolutely careful almost every day. ¡°Miss, shall we go to breakfast now?¡± Zenda came back. ¡°Mmhm!¡± I got out of bed in a hurry. *** Today I met Uncle in the dining room without waking him up first. ¡°Uncw¡­ Hap.¡± Unknowingly, I raised my hands and tried to greet Uncle, but I kept my mouth shut. The place where my front tooth was missing was literally empty, so I kept putting my tongue in it without realizing it. Even though Zenda told me not to, I couldn¡¯t help it. It was because, strangely enough, I felt something sticking out very little hard. Although yesterday I told Zenda it was weird and checked it in the mirror, she said it was because the new front tooth was already coming out little by little. So I prayed and prayed for the new front tooth to grow before the remaining front teeth fell out. Uncle sat down in front of me. Instead of saying hello, I waved at Uncle. ¡°Why are you quiet today.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Did you make any trouble?¡± ¡°Mmm!¡± I answered without opening my mouth, shaking my head. And waited patiently for food. ¡°Now, here comes the omelet. I also added the cream you like.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll enjoy it weww!¡± My pronunciation became more muffled as I defended my front tooth with my upper lip. I bowed my head to Grandma Sophie and raised the fork and spoon. I cut the steaming omelet in half with excitement, then colorful chopped vegetables appeared pouring from the inside. ¡°¡­¡± It was so tightly packed between the fluffy soft eggs that I couldn¡¯t pick it out and eat them. It was shocking, but I decided not to talk as much as possible today, so I took a spoonful and took a bite with a solemn heart. Hap, I put it in my mouth and mumbled, yet it didn¡¯t taste like vegetables because it was mixed with eggs. Uncle still only drank water today, and I eagerly finished a plate of omelets. I ate and patted my stomach, then Uncle and I made eye contact. I swallowed a gulp and shut my mouth. It feels like he has been watching me for some reason. ¡°Peanut.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You ate it all?¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± Uncle got up soon after. I unknowingly sat down and stuck my butt slightly behind. Why is he suddenly doing this? Uncle, who came up to my nose, knelt in front of me and sat down. ¡°Open your mouth.¡± ¡°W-Why¡­¡± I answered with my head lowered while defending my front tooth with my upper lip as much as possible. ¡°Say, aah.¡± Uncle urged me persistently. I opened my mouth slowly, reluctantly, with tears in my eyes. After checking the inside of my mouth, Uncle¡¯s eyes widened for a moment, and then his tall nose twitched. Grin, his lips twisted. ¡°You lost a front tooth somewhere.¡± A smile appeared on his face, and he asked me in a voice full of laughter. My face suddenly turned red. Geez, I was trying not to get caught because of this. ¡°¡­ell.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It fell.¡± Uncle found out in a day. The reward of hard work has gone to waste. Unaware of my feelings, Uncle kept looking at me curiously and asking me to open my mouth. ¡°Aah.¡± Uncle laughed again. ¡°A millet fell out of our Peanut, what should we do. It¡¯s a big problem.¡± ¡°Zinggg, I heard it grew up quickly. The tooth gairy took it, you know!¡± I turned my eyes and Uncle messed up my hair. ¡°That little thing too.¡± ¡°Geez.¡± After laughing for a while, Uncle patted my cheek and stood up. ¡°Know that some people from outside are going around today.¡± ¡°Mm. From outside? Are they gueshts?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± What guests, I wonder? Until now, there were no guests at Uncle¡¯s house except for the teachers.