CH 14

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“Hahahahahahaha!”

Clutching the newspaper, Murloc laughed heartily.

“Yes, yes! This is it! The heavens have helped this Murloc Noart!”

Feeling better than ever, Murloc once again skimmed the headlines.

Massive landslide hits Tepan

Caliburn’s last contact was from Solom. After that, the next city on the route to the empire was Tepan.

In the newspapers, the various tragedies of Tepan were described. It had been a long time since they could get in contact with anything, and it would take a long time to recover.

“Many people are trapped, roads are blocked, and communication lines are said to be cut off for a long time.”

One of Murloc’s subordinates reported.

“Seeing how there has been no contact yet, isn’t the count also caught up in that landslide? Maybe something really big happened…”

“Well. That would be great, but…”

Rubbing his chin, Murloc continued.

“My father is never a person who can easily die. He will come back, for sure. Though I’m sure it will take time.”

Murloc grinned at the calendar.

The monthly meeting was coming up real soon. For once, his father would not be able to attend the monthly meeting, and it was obvious even after that, he wouldn’t be around for quite some time.

“I want you to come as late as possible.”

Murloc murmured with a shady laugh.

“In the meantime, we can somehow get the apprentice and the butcher kicked out.”

Julian, who had lost his memory, was not frightening at all.

Rosie, although having a somewhat fierce face, was also not something to be concerned about.

“I have to get rid of them quickly before Father comes. Even if he returns to the empire, he should never find them again. Forever.”

That thought was probably the same for his other siblings.

“Until then, I should get along with Felide and Monica.”

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A few days later.

“Wow, really…”

Peter, the attending doctor, admired once he removed the bandage from Julian’s right leg.

“I have never seen such crazy resilience. You’re born with strong bones.”

Following Peter’s guidance, Julian walked a few steps on his crutches.

“Usually, you don’t even listen to what I say, but this time, you took all the medicine and did your rehabilitation diligently.”

“Hey, I worked hard. But isn’t your tone a bit strange?”

“Ah, it must be your imagination. Even though I thought of the old days when I saw your immature eyes, I didn’t become casual.”

“Hmm.”

“At this rate, everyday life will be possible soon. Of course, you have to be a bit careful.”

Happily, Peter looked at Julian and said,

“You’re already good at using the wheelchair. It’s amazing.”

“Ah, I see.”

Julian’s expression became strange at the word ‘wheelchair’.

In the end, he couldn’t show Rosie his ability to ride a wheelchair.

The night he went to Rossi’s room with curiosity…

At that time, he saw Rosie weeping through the slightly open door.

Holding on to the photo she took with him before he lost his memory, she was crying sadly.

He stopped the wheelchair, silently taking in the sight. Then he quietly turned around and returned to his room alone.

Anyway, the person Rosie was looking for that night wasn’t him, it was Schulva.

‘What is that little one really…? You only smile in front of me.’

He thought she always smiled so brightly like crazy. But did she always cry like that when she was back in her room?

‘You’re secretly crying because you don’t want me to see you like that. As expected, you’re crying because of me.’

So Julian couldn’t even comfort Rosie.

The next morning, Rosie came to see him casually, smiling and dressed in fancy clothes.

Nevertheless, the image of Rosie crying profusely could not be erased from his mind.

‘Why are you crying so sadly… so pitifully.’

Tears were falling drop by drop on her pale, chubby cheeks.

A small body that looked like a curled up cotton ball.

While Julian was thinking about this and that, Peter seriously warned him.

“Of course, it’s still not okay to pick Rosie up on your shoulder, or throw her, or other similar things. If you really must, just do it twice a day.”

“…Sitting on my shoulders? A big one?”

Julian asked, dumbfounded.

“What is she, a three-year-old child? How can a 12-year-old child sit on my shoulders? It’s crazy!”

“I mean… To be honest, it’s really crazy. We are finally on the same wavelength.”

“What?”

“Even though Lady Rosie hated it because she was all grown up, you would pick her up and hold her 12 times a day. Anyway, not for the time being.”

“…….”

Julian awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Um, anyway.”

And he quickly changed the subject.

“Is it possible to go somewhere, sit down, or something?”

“As I said, be careful.”

Peter answered, leaving the prescription pills on the table.

“Swordsmanship training or anything like that is definitely not allowed. Ah, you also can’t use equipment or crawl with Lady Rosie on your back.”

“…I even used equipment? I did so many things?”

“Yes. It was really varied.”

Julian sighed heavily. He was afraid Peter would keep talking. 

‘That must be why everyone accepted it when I handed over all my property to a 12-year-old…’

“It’s suspicious that you keep checking the possible range. It sounds like you have some crazy plan.”

Peter questioned, narrowing his eyes.

“What are you trying to do… Oh, you can’t hop on one foot with Lady Rosie on your back.”

“Why on earth will I jump on one foot? I’m not crazy?”

“It goes without saying that you can’t do it with two feet either.”

“…It’s not like that!”

Julian complained and tried walking with crutches once more.

“Anyway, Lady Rosie will be happy if she sees it later.”

Peter smiled lightly.

“She cares a lot about your recovery. Everyday, she asks me.”

Peter’s voice was filled with emotion.

“She said, ‘He doesn’t have to be as strong as he used to be, he just needs to be healthy.’ How could you have such a wonderful little sister when you’re such a hopeless idiot?”

“Hah, how noisy. Tell her to just take care of herself. That little one… Who says she’s 12-years-old? No matter how many times I look at her, she’s just nine-years-old.”

“Yes.”

Peter bowed very politely and left the room.

After carefully taking a few more steps, Julian cursed and scratched his head.

There was something Peter didn’t know.

Rosie was not coming today.

Earlier, she sent a note with snacks.

I can’t come because I’m preparing for the monthly meeting today. I’ll come tomorrow morning!

“Hah, who is waiting for her?”

There were even a few misspellings in the crooked handwriting.

To think that such a child would attend the meeting… 

‘Oh, it bothers me.’

‘It really bothers me.’

He cared about the way she smiled, and he was concerned about the way she cried.

It wasn’t like this when he first heard that he had a younger sister.

It was just a sense of responsibility.

“Brother!”

After he regained his senses, the little one came to visit him every day.

“Is this delicious? I’ll come again later!”

She came to visit every time he ate, and secretly pushed his favorite foods towards him… 

“Hah, little one! Are you a diamond today? Just by sitting here, I can see all the jewels in the world. If you give me at least one, will you get more?”

“Hmm… They were meticulously added to my whole body and mind. I’m really sorry I couldn’t give it to you.”

She visited twice a day, and her clothes and jewelry were different every time.

Later, he didn’t even ask ‘who bought it for you’. Anyway, the answer was always the past Julian. Like a rich man with 137 billion gold, he seemed to have poured in quite a bit.

At first, it was a bit awkward to see a child dressed in a splendid way, but after looking at it, everything suited her and was cute.

‘What, am I thinking about the little one again?’

Julian shook his head and looked away to stop thinking about Rosie.

However, while practicing walking, there was a shadow on Schulva’s face, which he glanced at.

“Schulva, why do you look so dead?”

“…He is not dead… I am just worried.”

Schulva replied with a pensive face.

“You don’t care much, but I can’t contact the count right now.”

“What?”

“And I heard that there was a big landslide in one of the cities he would pass. I am very worried he might be trapped there.”

Julian stumbled for a moment. Schulva quickly grabbed his arm.

“Landslide? The old man died there?”

“The count is not someone who will die easily… But it might be a little bit tough.”

Schulva let out a sigh and spoke frankly of his wish.

“I know it’s impossible, but I still hoped that a miracle would happen and that the count would arrive before the monthly meeting. If the count comes, at least Lady Rosie won’t have to deal with her relatives alone.”

Hearing those words, Julian slowly removed Schulva’s arm. And he started practicing walking with his crutches again.

Ame: Will gramps appear at the monthly meeting like a ghost? This is a Level C question, so no prizes even if you get it right! 

Tassie: Damn I wanted a prize Ame! Well it’s pretty obvious anyways XD