Chapter 91

Derek took Finn to Gideon and headed out into the woods.

Today was his chance.

When he looked at the letter he received from his master, it was said that Jaz was also dead. It was a lot of headache because of the enemy, who continued to cut off their traces. The good news, though, was that he had found Brielle’s aunt.

Standing in front of the red-roofed house, he glanced around. It was late in the evening, and soon the sun was going down. Although there would be no people in the forest, he was still vigilant.

He opened the sloppy window and entered the house.

It wasn’t the same as when he came in to tell Finn about Gideon.

Derek first looked around for a place where she could hide her correspondence. He glanced at the kitchen cabinets and even the cushions on the sofa. However, all that was found in the cupboard was a piece of biscuit and a piece of moldy bread that he didn’t know when it was from.

He widened his search and, this time, looked under the table and bed, though there was nothing suspicious. The house was small, and there was not much furniture, so it was quick to look around.

‘How did it happen? There isn’t a single little piece of evidence…’

At that moment, he saw a jewelry box placed on a small, unbalanced dressing table.

‘There would be no way there would be nothing in the jewelry box under this circumstance. Why did she take it out…?’

He tried to pass by and opened the very small jewelry box just in case. Then, Derek found one brooch.

‘It looks like they didn’t sell this among the things they brought from their family.’

He thought indifferently and put it in its place. Next to it was a small piece of ivory carving, and he couldn’t figure out why she didn’t put it in the jewelry box. In the end, he left the red-roofed house with no result.

* * *

Brielle and Ellie were depressed. As they took care of Dog yesterday, they felt the empty spot was too big.

“Hoo…”

Marie became perplexed when sighs came out of the mouths of the two children at the same time. While they would forget it as time went by, seeing how they miss it like this saddened her.

“I’ll tell Sir Taylor later and ask him to bring me Dog again.”

The two children nodded at her words, but they still looked weak.

“Let’s go for a walk together.”

In the end, holding the children’s hands on either side, she asked them to go see the flowers for a refreshment. Eventually, the three of them walked to the entrance where the front door of the mansion was.

“…Huh?”

However, there, the butler was welcoming someone.

“Sierra!”

The owner of the familiar voice was screaming through the front door.

“You can’t go first!”

It was Jayden who was huffing and puffing.

“Brother walked too slowly.”

Saying that, Sierra looked around the house as if it was her first time visiting the mansion.

“Huh…?”

She found Brielle, Ellie and Marie as the three of them hurried to the place to greet the guests.

“Brielle.”

“Jayden.”

Just then, Jayden, who entered the mansion, found Brielle and greeted him.

“She was crying and insisted on coming with me, so she came with me,” Saying so, Jadyen shook his head, complaining about what had happened this morning.

“Hello?”

Sierra, ignoring her brother lightly like that, gave a greeting to Brielle.

“Uh, hello.”

Passing Brielle, she turned to Marie and Ellie. Then, she held the two’s hands as if they had known each other for a long time.

“We saw each other last time, right?”

Because they remember seeing her at a banquet, the two answered yes. Apparently, her sociability was out of the ordinary.

“But, I didn’t see someone else I saw at that time?”

Seeing her bowing her head and speaking shyly, the two became puzzled.

“Sierra, you have to say hello to the Count first.”

“Alright.”

Sierra answered Jaden bluntly. However, in the turbulent situation, the butler was relieved that he could finally perform his role.

“Please, this way.”

“Yes.”

Sierra, who took bold steps, followed the butler, roughly pulling her long dress. Seeing that, Jayden followed and held her dress so it wouldn’t be dragged.

“I think she’s a lot more friendly than I thought.”

Looking at Jayden, Ellie recalled her brother’s actions, who used to huff and puff, and smiled.

* * *

At that time, Barry and Siege were in the training ground. The two of them, who had been training at the training ground, walked into the garden, puzzled by the familiar maid’s suggestion to go to the mansion’s garden.

There were children gathered there.

Siege saw Jayden, and he slowed his pace as he remembered that he had been ruthless to him before. Jaden, who saw the two, greeted them.

“Long time no see.”

Barry pretended to greet Jaden first. However, someone suddenly dug in between them.

“Me, too. Long time no see, right?”

It was only at that moment that he noticed that there was a girl who looked like Jayden.

‘I saw her at the banquet hall… What was her name?’

For a moment, Barry paused in embarrassment.

“Sierra.”

Sierra blushed, knowing what he was thinking.

“He… hello.”

Although he greeted her apologetically, Sierra’s eyes twinkled even more and she replied, “You seem to have grown taller during that time.”

“…What?”

“Ho-ho, nothing.”

When a child younger than Brielle covered her mouth and laughed, it was cute like imitating an adult. Sierra’s energy, fortunately, was filling the void that Dog had left.

* * *

The sound of crying rang out in the mansion.

Kentrail, who was working, jumped up, wondering what was going on.

“What’s going on?”

The butler answered with a puzzled look.

“That’s… Miss Sierra…”

He then looked to where the butler turned his head.

At the entrance to the mansion, peering down the stairs, he saw Sierra lying on her back and crying, saying she wouldn’t go home. Meanwhile, Jadyen tried to pull her with force though it seemed to be in vain.

“I’m going to sleep here!”

Kentrail, who had already heard about the stubborn girl, shook his head.

He was wondering if this was the matter that his friend was talking about. While he said that she had a lively and uplifting personality that was always lovely, sometimes, difficult situations arose because of her stubbornness.

“We’re going home. It’s embarrassing if you’re doing this.”

“It’s a lot more fun here. It’s fun to play with Ellie, and there’s brother Barry!”

As she became close with Ellie, this time, Sierra jumped up and hugged Ellie.

“I like sister a lo~t more than my brother.”

“I also don’t want to be your brother when you’re like this.”

Saddened by those words, Sierra started crying again. Jayden sighed as he saw it. It looked like he had to carry her. It was because he knew that once she cried like that, it would never end easily.

However, at that moment—

Sierra stopped crying. It was because of Barry. He handed a handkerchief to her and said.

“Your eyes are wet, so stop crying.”

From his point of view, he was trying to comfort her because she was crying and holding on to Ellie. Nonetheless, Sierra’s eyes lit up again, and she uttered.

“I’m so envious of sister Ellie, to live in the same house with Brother Barry! Let’s swap brothers—No, then I won’t be able to marry brother Barry.”

Sierra, who had talked to herself, was about to cry again.

But, at that moment, there was someone who took Ellie from Sierra’s embrace.

“Ellie and Barry are all going to live with me. Can you go now?”

It was Brielle.

Brielle quickly handed the embarrassed Sierra over to Jayden, holding Ellie and Barry’s hands as he walked away. It was a quick change of attitude for him, who said he could concede anything if he had a younger sibling.

* * *

“Oh! Did you get a proposal? Are you the first of us to get married?”

Seeing her brother, Ellie spoke. Meanwhile, Siege was smiling next to her.

“Haha… At that age, when they see a cool person, they usually say that.”

When Barry mentioned ‘a cool person,’ the two of them hardened their faces immediately and stared at each other.

“Huh…? Why? It’s true that Barry is cool.”

Only Brielle nodded his head in sympathy.

“As expected of Young Master, you have good eyes.”

The two of them shrugged their shoulders and boasted that the relationship between the master and the vassal was very different.

“Yes, yes~”

Hearing those words through her ear, Ellie grinned. She then asked when she gazed at Brielle.

“Young Master, who is the coolest among us?”

“…Yes?”

Brielle’s eyes began to tremble before he glanced at Ellie and Barry, puzzled.

“Hmm~ Then, among sister and brother.”

“Of course, Marie!”

Brielle exclaimed with a firm hand on Barry’s shoulder. While Ellie looked like she knew he would say that in an instant, Barry stared blankly at the warm feeling that had disappeared in an instant. Concurrently, Siege was smiling at this sight, but he was nervous inside.

…For some reason, this time felt like the eve of the storm.

* * *

The next day, Barry and Siege continued their sword practice at the training. They finally heard from the knight guarding the entrance to the County that someone had come.

The two children’s expressions changed dramatically.

“Let’s go.”

Siege nodded his head, and the two grabbed a bag of gold coins from their room before heading to the entrance. It was the money Barry had saved up from his childhood. They decided to replace the previously agreed bet with this.

Meanwhile, the story of the two of them meeting someone reached Taylor and Kentrail’s ears.

“Who’s here?”

“The knight said it was one child and one adult. He said they looked like homeless people because of their outfits.”

“Homeless…? But, why the children?”

“Shall we find out?”

“No, let them listen. Wait for the conversation to end, then bring it back.”

“Yes, Master.”

Taylor wondered if the two children had been secretly working again. On the other hand, Barry and Siege, still unaware of the situation, met the person who came to them. It was the father and child they saw at the time.

“Are you really going to give me gold coins?”

“Yes. If you know anything, tell me.”

The man and the child began the story they knew. Barry and Siege’s expressions hardened after hearing the story.

“Is that really true…?”

“Yes. Of course.”

They exchanged glances. This was something that Barry and Siege couldn’t solve with the power of just the two of them.