CH 76

“What do you mean, lady? There’s nothing like that. I’ll bring you water to wash.” 

Betty smiled as if she was in trouble and left the room.

But I knew.

‘That’s a smile adults make when they hide difficulties from children….’

There is a problem with the lunch, isn’t there?

Then.

“Ung… Linsy?” 

“Ah, Leon. Did you wake up?

Leona slowly opened her eyes as she tossed and turned. Leona jumped up and looked around, blinking her eyes.

“What time is it now…?” 

“I don’t know…wouldn’t it have been past twelve o’clock?”

I said, looking up at the sun high in the sky.

Leona said as she lay on the blanket in the same posture as when she got up.

“I have to go to the festival….” 

“You’re going home instead of the festival, Leon….”

Today was the day Leona went back to her house.

In the first place, Leona was supposed to sleep only for one day, so today, Leona was going to return to the Lion family’s mansion with the Lion family’s Knights.

But Leona shook her head.

“I don’t want to go… Dad would love it if I were here….” 

“Huh? His daughter’s out there. Which father would like it, Leon?”

“My Dad…” 

Leona mumbled, and then she closed her eyes again.

Just then, Betty came in with washing water.

“Lady, let me wash your face.”

“Ung, Leon is getting up, too. Please take care of her, too.”

“Oh, did Lady Leon wake up too?”

At Betty’s words, Leona pulled the blanket over herself to express her desire to sleep more.

But Betty had already called her maid to attend Leona’s morning.

Betty thoroughly cleaned my face with warm water.

And after combing my messy hair hard, she gathered it together and tied it up.

“Pajamas… I need to change my pajamas, too.”

“You can just wear your pajamas. After all, you will only be in the mansion today.”

“Ung.”

Soon another maid came in and gently woke Leona.

After washing my face, Leona and I went to play in the next room with Arsene and Cain.

“You know, are they still sleeping?”

“No~. They just woke up.”

Betty knocked and opened Arsene’s door.

Arsene and Cain sat side by side on the bed, staring blankly into the air.

Leona ran into the middle of the bed with a shout, ‘Whoa!’

“Why are you both doing this?”

“Because I’m tired….”

“What are you doing in the morning with no dignity—hmph!”

“Phew, you’ve been saying shameless things since this morning again.”

Leona closed Cain’s mouth.

Hmph! Cain’s mouth is blocked all of a sudden. He struggled as if he was suffocating and soon took Leona’s hand off. 

And he gasped for breath.

“You, you… huh? Don’t keep doing this… I’m the heir to the snake clan. My Dad said I should act dignified…”

Cain, who said so, seemed almost crying now.

I sat down on the bed and separated between Leona and Cain so that she could no longer bother Cain.

And. 

“Arsene, are you feeling well?”

Today, I looked at Arsene’s condition, who was sitting with a particularly tired face.

“Ung. I’m okay.”

Fortunately, Arsene’s health didn’t seem to have a problem.

‘So he’s just more tired than usual because of Leon and Cain.’

That’s understandable.

I nodded and looked at Cain and Leona, who was still fighting. 

But. 

“Huh? Cain, did you sleep with gloves on?”

Cain had been wearing small purple gloves since I first met him. 

It was a pretty glove made of leather, studded with jewels.

When I point to the glove, Cain blushes in embarrassment and hides his hand behind his back.

“I, I slept with it on…”

“Why? Aren’t you uncomfortable?”

“He always wears gloves.”

Leona looked at Cain as if she were fed up. Cain screamed in anger when he saw the gaze. 

“It can’t be helped! They said I should be careful if I want to control my abilities! Because my abilities are different from yours—” 

Ah. 

It was only then that I remembered that Cain’s ability is a deadly poison.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve heard before that Hezeth makes rigorous training for children’s abilities.’ 

Except for Raniero, the ability of the snake clan, Hezeth, is fatal to all other clans.

Deborah was worried yesterday too.

I remembered Hezeth’s aide, who hurriedly came to pick up Cain yesterday and immediately asked Cain whether or not he was using his power. 

So, it seems that he sleeps with gloves on every day.

“Still, I don’t have to wear it when I become an adult.  That’s what Dad said.” 

Cain said, fiddling with his gloves.

I nodded.

“Yes, when you become an adult, you will be able to use your ability wonderfully without gloves.” 

“…Really?” 

“That’s right.” 

We sat on the bed and waited a long time for the maids to pick us up.

But we didn’t go out of the room.

I stopped Leona from wanting to leave the room.

“Why?”

“That’s—” 

When I peeked through the window earlier, there were a lot of Yeckhart’s knights in the garden.

When they first started out, there were definitely fewer knights. It looks like Kendrick summoned Yeckhart’s knights last night.

‘Well, it’s an important matter.’

Someone spread Giles’s pollen in the mansion where the head of the wolf clan lives.

‘But… what is the Giles flower?’

Kendrick said it’s a flower that just eats a little and puts you to sleep, and a lot of it makes you lose your mind. 

‘But it’s the first time I’ve heard of it.’

If it’s something like that, they would have told me about it when I was training at Raniero.

‘Maybe I was young and didn’t hear it?’

But I had never heard of such a thing in my previous life.

‘Maybe I forgot.’

I felt uncomfortable, but I let it go.

Then, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Betty opened the door slightly and said with a smile.

“Lady, Young Master, let’s have a meal~” 

We moved to the dining room side by side with Betty.

It took a long time to get Arsene to eat because he said he didn’t want to because he had no appetite.

“Are you not going to eat? Then I’ll have to eat your share!”

With Leona’s words, Arsene’s rebellion was neatly put together.

They prepared four small chairs around the table.

“What about Dad?”

Betty answered Arsene’s question while placing a napkin on my lap.

“The Lord is busy, so he’ll eat later. Eat first!”

And soon after, the dishes came out one after another.

But.

“…Ung?” 

I tilted my head.

It wasn’t the taste I had ever eaten.

Arsene also tilted his head. Because Arsene’s soup was full of carrots.

‘There’s no way that Akim doesn’t know Arsene doesn’t like carrots, right?’

The mansion was chaotic today, so it must have been a mistake. 

Fortunately, Leona and Cain grabbed a spoon and ate it deliciously.

After I finished eating, I patted my stomach and led the children back to the room.

It was a fact that I found out late that Akim had disappeared.

* * *

“Kiiik—!” 

The peregrine falcon flapped its wings and struggled on its legs.

And.

Pong–! 

“Ugh…Damn it…” 

Soon, the transformation was released, and a man with brown hair and a ferocious appearance collapsed on the floor. 

Kendrick said, trampling his fingers on his shoes.

“Ah, it’s finally released. Then let’s talk, shall we?” 

“Ha, talking about bringing the knights of a bird clan to this point without any justification? I have nothing to say! Arthur will not forgive you!”

The knight, who still looked young, fought back with a scream.

Kendrick stared down at the knight, then opened his mouth in trouble.

“I caught a flying animal floating in Yeckhart’s airspace without permission, but there is no justification?” 

“Sounds funny, it’s obviously outside Yeckhart’s airspace—” 

“Is there any way to prove it?”

Kiik—.

There was a scratching sound from the chair Kendrick was sitting on. The candle fluttered, and a short shadow cast over Kendrick’s face. 

“There would be no way to prove it. Besides, I guess you guys don’t know— if you kill it like this, ask him and take him away pretending not to know, that’s enough.” 

“….” 

“So please speak obediently. Did Arthur tell you to kidnap Linsy?” 

As the knights of the bird clan squirmed and flinched, the knights who had been standing behind Kendrick the whole time shuddered as if they were about to jump out at any moment.

Kendrick stopped them single-handedly.

“Stay still.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Kendrick sat with his legs crossed and stared at the chained, struggling bird clan.

“Why didn’t you take Linsy with you?”

They could have taken Linsy if they had wanted to.

Kendrick had also eaten a small amount of Giles’ pollen, and he was sleeping lightly.

So it must have been a great opportunity.

“U, ugh…” 

Raniero’s knight laughed. Then, he bit his tongue.

“….?” 

The other knight also bit his tongue and slammed his head on the ground.

The other knights quickly raised their heads but in vain. Blood was already flowing.

“…Mr Hern, no, should I call Lady Linsy…” 

Kendrick narrowed his brow.

“…Enough. I’ll find out. They don’t seem to want to talk anyway, so just let them die.”

Linsy had used a considerable amount of her ability yesterday.

But he can’t make Linsy suffer one more time just to save those things.

Kendrick left the dungeon disinterestedly.