What? Theodore narrowed his eyes before holding the pill out to Ailette.
“This is your blood that the man from earlier sold? Ailette, can you look closely and double check?”
Ailette rubbed her sleepy eyes with both hands before opening them widely. After carefully looking at the pill in Theodore’s hand, Ailette nodded with a certain expression.
“Yes. I heard you can use it by either ripping the top layer or biting it… W-Why, what’s wrong?”
Ailette, who had been talking very seriously, got scared after seeing Theodore’s worsening expression.
“Wow.”
Theodore put the pill he had been holding away after calming down his expression. His ridicule-filled red eyes were aimed at the annex building.
“I was wondering where I could find a loose thread; to think it would roll into my way on its own.”
If that man had sold this poison, or Ailette’s blood, to the rebel forces, then there was definitely something he knew, whether that was a secret code when they contacted each other, a location they often gathered at, or a face or name. And if we were lucky and they had made the next appointment, then we could apprehend the rebel forces using that.
“Sercia. Leave this to me.”
“Tsk, oh well. Theo, I’m going to check how well you do your work, so do things properly.”
Sercia tutted her tongue as if she were disappointed.
‘But if that poison was Ailette’s blood… Then the poison I ate that time must have been the Lapileon family blood.’
No wonder. I had recovered and gotten up in a pretty refreshed and good condition, which was strange for a poison. And here I had been thinking I had gained some kind of immunity to poison.
“Then I think the urgent things have been concluded for now.”
Gloria scanned the family serenely.
“Finn, Ailette, and I will work on the adoption matters, so we’ll have to return to the grand duchy for now,” said Gloria with a low voice before standing. At Gloria’s words, Ailette startled before turning to stare at me.
“W-What about you, Sister? Will you come with us?” Ailette shouted desperately. She was not used to saying goodbye yet.
Instead of responding, I got up and approached Ailette, who was in Finneas’ arms. At that, Ailette outstretched her arms and jumped out of Finneas’ arms into my embrace. Perhaps it was because the temperature of children is much higher than that of adults. If I closed my eyes while holding her in my arms, I could feel her heartbeat and emotions.
“Y-You’re not coming, Sister?”
“Yup, I’m staying here.”
“B-But then…!”
“But don’t worry, Ailette.”
“Sister…”
“I’m here, so when you want, you can come to see me whenever you want.”
“Whenever… I want?”
I placed my forehead against hers and smiled widely.
“Of course! Come see me whenever you want!”
“But… What if I want to talk to you? I heard that taking the fastest carriage from the Grand Duchy to the Capital will still take one month… I can’t come right away.”
“Then you can just write a letter. Let’s record everything we want to say every day and write letters. Then it’ll be like we’re having a conversation.”
Mumbling “a letter?” quietly, Ailette suddenly startled with a panicked face.
“B-But I don’t know how to write yet! I-I can’t write a letter!”
It seemed her parents had never taught her properly. And it wasn’t like they would have sent her to an academy or hired a tutor.
“Then you should practice very hard every day so that you can write me a letter.”
Tears dripped from Ailette’s swollen eyes.
“Still… What happens if it takes too long for me to learn?”
I laughed heartily seeing Ailette worrying about all sorts of things. Then, I took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears.
“Then I’ll write to you first. I’ll keep writing letters to you until you can read and reply to them.”
Ailette whined while hugging her arms tightly around my neck. My shoulder got soaked with Ailette’s tears.
“Thanks, Sister.”
I could feel my entire body ringing all over, as if someone were hitting my heart with a drum. I hugged her tightly and nodded my head.
“I’m thankful too, Ailette. Thank you for trusting us and choosing us. I’m so happy to have met you. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, I’ll always hope you’re happy.”
Truly.
“Me too…”
Ailette sniffed.
“I’m truly happy to have met you too. It’s thanks to you that I could be here right now. If it wasn’t for you, I would definitely be at that house…”
Ailette couldn’t finish her sentence before tears streamed from her eyes once more. I could feel myself choking up too.
“You’re my fairy.”
Amidst our endless thank-you battle, Gloria let out a low sigh.
“After we finish the adoption process, we’ll return to the capital, so how long are you going to be doing that for?”
“Pardon?”
“…Pardon?”
At Gloria’s words, we both lifted our heads in confusion. Gloria approached us. Then, she gently wiped Ailette’s tears with her left hand and swept back my messy hair with her right hand.
“Although Ailette’s awareness of her curse is strong, her socialization with peers her age is basically nonexistent. As a result, I’m planning on enrolling her in the six-year-old class at Delfanil Academy along with Selphi.”
“I-I’m going to go to an academy?”
Ailette’s eyes widened with a bright face.
“Of course. Wouldn’t it be better to be with friends than alone? Or if you don’t like it, do you want to learn alone at the Grand Duchy?”
“N-No!”
“But that means you have to be careful not to bleed, okay? If someone finds out about your curse, we might have to make inevitable decisions to hide it.”
“Y-Yes! I was careful not to bleed when I was at home, so I can do it! I’ll be careful not to bleed! Even Selphi can do it!”
“Hey, Ailette. Why are you bringing me up here? I’m good at it!”
Compared to her casual tone and rough voice, Gloria’s hands were gentle and kind.
“Yes, yes, good for you. If Ailette goes to the academy, Finneas will stay at the Lapileon villa by the capital. And I’m old and aching, so I have to stay by Finneas. There was no farewell in the first place.”
“T-Then I won’t be apart from Sister?”
“At most, it’ll be three to four hours by carriage. If you make up your mind, you can see her whenever. So hurry and wipe your tears.”
“Then can’t I just attend from here? With you and Finneas here as well…!”
“Ailette, it’s not good to bother newlyweds.”
We’re not n-newlyweds.
“And that place has Finneas’ lab, so you’ll be able to learn a lot of new things too, Ailette.”
I-I see. I didn’t even know that, and I was on the verge of tears. Embarrassed, I sniffed. Ailette must have been embarrassed too, for she looked at my reddened nose and eyes and giggled. Seeing her laughing face made me feel happy, and I laughed alongside her. Seeing the two of us looking at each other while laughing, Gloria comforted me.
“I will never forget what happened today.”
Gloria looked at me somberly with a tender expression.
“I’m indebted to you, and I’m so thankful, so if you ever need me, regardless of what that may be, I’ll completely support you.”
“It’s okay; I didn’t act with something like that in mind.”
“But I still want to, child.”
Was she referring to me as ‘child’? It was the first time I’d heard that term of endearment, and I felt strange. It felt nice, but strangely sad, as I smiled.
“This offer will stand for whenever, so even if you need to kill someone, speak without hesitation.”
Pardon? Surprised, I widened my eyes. I’d heard something like this somewhere before… Let me cancel my smile. I don’t murder.
Gloria grabbed the cane with the Lapileon family’s crest engraved on it and turned. Finneas lifted Ailette into his arms and followed her. Gloria, who began to walk, turned her head slightly and smiled at me.
“Oh yeah, I heard rumors that the princess is after Theo, so if you’re ever troubled because of that and need help, let me know.”
“Pardon?”
“Even if the person you want to kill is the Emperor of this Empire, I’ll do everything I can to help you. Killing a sapling like that is nothing.”
‘That sapling’ must be referring to the Emperor. Killing the Emperor… Excuse me, that’s treason. Was she saying she would commit treason for me?
“And when you have time, come see me. There’s a lot I have to say to you.”
After saying such enormous and fearsome words like it was nothing, Gloria, Finneas, and Ailette left the garden together.
“Theo.” Sercia smiled bewitchingly while watching the three of them disappear into the distance.
“You better be good to Sasha from now on. Since Miss Gloria put her in the ‘my child’ category, if you treat her recklessly, something bad might happen to you.”
Just what did “my child category” entail…
“Of course, if I hear that you fought, I won’t just watch either. In that case, I will definitely hold you responsible. Especially if I hear that Sasha feels upset… You know, right? If that damned princess causes Sasha any grief…” Sasha bared her teeth like a growling beast and stared coldly at Theodore. To think that someone could treat the man referred to as the killer of the battlefield in this manner. No matter how much I saw it, I couldn’t get used to it.
“You’re still here?”
However, Theodore frowned as if annoyed and waved his hand through the air.
“I was about to go anyway.”
As she was about to stand, Sercia must have been reminded of something, for she clapped her hands together.
“Oh yeah.”
“…?”
“Just as Miss Gloria said, it’s fine that things heat up regardless of the time or place, but can you be gentle? Make sure Sasha isn’t in pain and be considerate, and don’t be rushed…”
W-What? What was I listening to?
“Leave peacefully on both feet while I give you the chance. Before I call someone to drag you out.”
My face was in flames. However, Theodore remained without the slightest change in expression, frowning.
At Theodore’s remarks, Sercia hid her mouth with her fan and laughed. “Oh my. There’s no need to be embarrassed since you’re now a couple. You’re still a child.” Then she turned to me and sent a wink my way.
“Take care of your body so that it doesn’t hurt, Sasha.”
Even those words telling me to take care of my body sounded weird! Unable to say anything in reply, I pressed my hands into my burning cheeks and dropped my face. Sercia must have been amused at our reactions, for she smiled widely. Then she cutely waved her hands and left the garden. An awkward silence filled the garden. A cute voice broke the silence.
“…It’ll heat up?”
Oh right. Selphius was still here! I rapidly turned my head. Selphius must not have been able to follow the conversation, for he tilted his head in confusion.
“S-Selphi. That…”
“Your Highness, are you hurt somewhere? Do you have a fever?”
Seeing his pure eyes filled with worry for me, I couldn’t open my mouth. I turned to Theodore looking for help, but it seemed he couldn’t think of anything to say either.
“U-Um yeah… I think so.”
In the end, I couldn’t help but nod at his question about whether I had a fever or not. In shock, Selphius ran towards me and stamped his feet.
“So that’s why she said! To eat a gentle stew! I’ll go tell them to bring a gentle stew immediately!”
Seeing such a passionate Selphius, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him there was no need. Letting out a light sigh, I massaged my forehead.
“Yeah, okay… Thanks.”
As I let out a difficult smile, Selphius quickly ran out of the garden. I could hear Selphius’ voice from afar yelling, “Prepare a stew immediately! Make it gentle!”
“Keuk.”
In the garden, where only the two of us remained, I could hear Theodore’s suppressed laughter. He must have been trying to hold in his laughter, for his two eyes were closed.
“Don’t laugh. I feel bad enough for lying to Selphi.”
“Considering that, you did it quite calmly and well. Lying, that is.”
“That’s…!”
That’s because I couldn’t honestly tell a young child what it meant! Holding in the rest of my words, I huffed, to which Theodore stretched out his big hand. With his rough hand, he gently stroked my hair.
“You were cool today.”
“…”
“The more I see you, the more you surprise me.”
“I think anyone would have acted as I did.”
“No.” Theodore shook his head firmly.
“Nobody would have acted like you did.”
For a second, I had the illusion of seeing his soft smile. As soon as I blinked in surprise, that expression disappeared. Theodore’s hand stroking my hair made me feel strange. Feeling awkward, I turned my gaze away and swallowed dry saliva. I heard a pleasant low-pitched laugh, and Theodore rose from his seat. In an instant, murderous intent overflowed from Theodore’s face, so much so that I thought I had imagined seeing his soft smile.
“Then should I go find the lead on the bastards who poisoned my wife?”
Theodore’s gaze turned to the annex building.
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