Chapter 51

“Come on, don’t fight, you two. Do you want a doll?”

The man waved a dragon doll and a squirrel doll in each hand, enchanting the children.

I looked at it from the window on the second floor, and burst out laughing. Then I jumped out of the window.

“Oh, my Lady…… ! The stairs aren’t just for decoration!”

Laura, who had been with me for four years and still couldn’t get used to my behavior, was screaming from behind.

“Derek, I told you not to bring useless gifts to the kids.”

After landing softly on the green grass, I glared at the man and said.

“Oh, Yves! My angel! Did you descend from heaven today!”

The man put his hands together in prayer and began to praise me.

Derek was the second son of the Lord of Arbella, and despite the vicious rumors surrounding me, he persistently came and courted me.

Although I was a bit wealthy and even had servants in a large mansion, it seemed strange that the son of a lord would court a commoner woman.

However, Kaligor was such a small kingdom that the boundaries between nobles and commoners were blurred.

Even the Prince of the kingdom, who would become the next king, was secretly dating a commoner woman.

Moreover, Arbella was a small rural estate, so there was no distinction between the classes.

“I’m a witch, not an angel. Haven’t you heard what people say?”

“I don’t care if you are a witch! I will give you my soul!”

He was unnecessarily sincere and industrious, and he came to me diligently, not succumbing to my fearful gaze.

“I don’t need your soul.”

What should I do with a guy’s soul?

“Then what about Erwin and Odelia’s guardians?”

“I’m their guardian, why do I need another guardian?”

“Erwin and Odelia will grow up more and more, so won’t they feel the absence of their father?”

“Why?”

“With a male guardian, there are so many more things we can do, such as being able to play squirrel warrior together…….”

As Derek emphasized why the children need a father.

“There’s a bug attached, Yves.”

A low voice came from over Derek’s shoulder.

Derek, who had turned his head involuntarily, found the man who appeared without a sound and was contemplated.

A man with blue eyes and short, disheveled white hair was looking at Derek with an expressionless face.

It was Benjamin.

“Hey! Hey, Yves! I’ll come back later!”

Derek, who met Benjamin’s cold eyes, shouted loudly and rushed outside.

Derek, oddly enough, just saw Benjamin and ran away with a face that looked like he’d seen a ghost.

It was strange because Benjamin didn’t have a particularly menacing look or an ugly appearance.

“Thanks for rescuing me.”

I smiled at Benjamin and waved my hand.

But instead of smiling, Benjamin frowned and asked.

“Are you still letting a guy like that come around?”

“He’s nice to the kids. And he doesn’t care if I’m a witch.”

I answered, looking at the spot where Derek had disappeared.

“If he’s sincere like that, I think he will do well if he becomes the father of Erwin and Odelia.”

“Do the children need a father?”

Benjamin tilted his head and squinted his eyes.

“It’s not like that, but if they have a male guardian, they can do a lot more.”

For example, the squirrel warrior game…

“Then I can be their father.”

“You can’t.”

“Why?”

“You’re from Albrecht. Ferdinand’s master.”

“Then if I’m not Ferdinand’s headmaster, then it doesn’t matter?”

The voice that asked without a smile was very serious, and the blue eyes that looked at me had a cool light.

If I answered yes, he would throw away his position just like that.

“Don’t ask me seriously.”

I turned my head away, passing his words as a joke.

“Uncle Benjamin!”

Just then, Odelia sprinted towards Benjamin with the dragon doll.

“Hello, Odelia.”

Benjamin greeted her, and Odelia wrapped her little arms around Benjamin’s neck and hugged him.

“Uncle, Uncle! Er (Erwin) keeps insisting that Daramjjiga (squirrel) is stronger than my Tturaego (Dragon)!”

Odelia exclaimed with her face reddened.

Then Erwin, who slowly followed her, snorted.

“This is not a normal (ordinary) squirrel. It’s called Yonza (hero) Jelriko.”

“It’s a Daramjjiga!” (It’s a squirrel!)

“It’s not a squirrel, it’s a Yonza (hero/warrior). Their teeth will slash with a single stroke.”

Erwin pointed his finger at the pink dragon doll in Odelia’s arms and laughed.

“It’s going to cut your Tturaego (Dragon)!”

“Uh!”

Odelia’s eyes trembled as if in disbelief.

“Because it’s a Yonza, Jelriko is much stronger than Tturaego (Dragon)!”

“No way!”

Eventually, Odelia turned to Benjamin and started crying.

“Uncle Benjamin! Uncle says it! The squirrel can’t beat Tturaego (Dragon)!”

“A squirrel can’t beat a dragon, Erwin.”

Benjamin spoke seriously to Erwin.

“Jelriko is not a squirrel. It’s a Yonza (hero/warrior).”

“….?”

Benjamin blinked and looked at the squirrel doll in Erwin’s hand.

Then Erwin’s eyes narrowed.

“Uncle…don’t you know Yonza Jelriko?” (Jericho the squirrel warrior)

“….”

Benjamin did not answer.

“Uncle Benjamin is no fun. I can’t play the game with you.”

Erwin mumbled in a slightly disappointed voice.

I looked at the scene and thought.

….Aside from that Benjamin was Ferdinand’s headmaster, he didn’t seem fit enough to be the protector of the children.

Erwin lost interest in Benjamin and took Odelia to the room to teach her how to play the squirrel warrior.

“Did you think you could be a father of the children without even knowing the squirrel warrior Jericho?”

“Who the hell is Jericho?”

Benjamin asked, frowning.

The expression on his face was somehow funny, and I smiled and led him to the parlor.

“Let’s go inside first. It’s been a long time since you came. Has it been a month?”

“It’s been a month and ten days.”

Benjamin occasionally visited Arbela to check on Odelia’s condition.

It was because Odelia’s hair color was being maintained by his magic.

He used to come more often, but lately he’s been very busy.

It was because of the monsters that suddenly flooded the world four years ago.

“Monsters, is the situation still bad?”

I asked cautiously, examining his somewhat tired face.

Then Benjamin answered, leaning his forehead on my shoulder and grumbled.

“I’m really annoyed. Because of the monsters, I can’t come here often…”

Ferdinand was one of the three great families that protected the world from monsters in the past. Benjamin, being the head of Ferdinand, had to move quickly to fulfill his duty.

‘Originally, Chernicia should have helped him, but…’

Eventually we arrived at the reception room. On the table lay a dessert tray and teapot set by Laura.

To hide the somewhat bitter feeling, he grabbed a sweet macaron and sat down on a chair.

“You too, Yves.”

Benjamin said as he sat across from me.

“The power of the monsters is getting stronger.”

“But the monsters haven’t appeared in Arbela yet?”

“But you don’t know when it will show up.”

“Yeah, well… I’ll be careful.”

I listened intently to his advice and answered.

I had hidden my true name while staying in Ferdinand for a long time.

Because of this, Benjamin did not know that I was a member of Chernicia, nor did he know that I could use magic.

So that was why he was so worried.

‘Even if the monsters appear… … … Shouldn’t my magic be enough to kill them?’

I’ve never encountered a monster directly, but I’ve heard that even ordinary knights who couldn’t use magic could defeat it if they gathered in a group of five or six.

It didn’t seem like much of a threat.

The time when the monsters overflowed and the time when Theodore went crazy 4 years ago coincided.

As a result, the old rumor that Emperor of Albrecht was the embodiment of ancient darkness surfaced again.

I tried not to care as much as possible about rumors circulating all the way to the far western continent.

Raising two children required a lot of physical and mental energy.

It was a waste of time for me to pay attention to a human like Theodore.