episode_0040

The morning arrived as promised, after a night had passed since I agreed to help the princess.

It was supposed to be a usual morning, but I rushed to the Duke of Lupentel’s mansion with a bewildered mind upon receiving an unexpected letter.

I thought it was all just a dream, an unbelievable situation unfolding. Could it be that someone actually came up with such a reckless plan and put it into action?

As I arrived at the Duke of Lupentel’s mansion, the princess seemed to be waiting at the main entrance. And Luca, scratching his nose beside her, added to the surreal feeling of the situation.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Sir Richard. And Serin.”

“Where is the child?”

“She’s playing in the playroom.”

“Playing? With whom, may I ask? And is it true that the contents of the letter are completely accurate?”

“Well… I understand your skepticism, but I discovered it myself.”

Luca added with an apologetic expression. Though it wasn’t his fault in any way, he looked at me with a guilty face.

As I came to terms with reality and accepted the situation, the princess gestured towards the stairs.

“Let me guide you to the playroom first.”

“… Alright.”

I followed the princess with anxious steps.

Step by step. Only the sound of footsteps echoed in the quiet hallway.

Serin, who would usually stick close to me, was unusually quiet. Was she being considerate of me and trying to read the atmosphere? I felt guilty for causing trouble on my own. This was why I was unfit to be her escort.

Finally, the princess came to a stop.

“Here is the playroom.”

After a brief introduction, she opened the door, revealing a scene inside filled with numerous dolls, game pieces, and storybooks.

In the center of the open playroom, two children were visible.

One was a boy who resembled the princess, and the other was unmistakably Estiel, with his distinct golden hair and blue eyes.

I called out her name in astonishment.

“Estiel.”

“Ah…”

Estiel, who was happily playing with dolls, froze at the sound of my voice.

“Richard, big brother…”

Then, Estiel turned his gaze to Serin.

“Serin, big sister…”

With eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, Estiel nervously fidgeted his fingers. It seemed he was aware of what he had done wrong, judging by the way his eyes darted around.

As I slowly approached him, Estiel flinched. Eventually, he struggled to speak with a more hesitant tone than usual.

“I’m sorry, big brother… I wanted to have fun… I didn’t mean to cause trouble…”

“…”

“Please come with me, big brother… I was having fun and it was nice…”

“…”

As I reached out to Estiel, he flinched. Then, the boy he was playing with hurriedly stepped in front of me and boldly shouted.

“Don’t bully him!”

“Arhan…?”

The princess seemed surprised by the boy’s sudden action.

Judging by the situation, the boy’s name was Arhan. He stared at me with eyes that seemed to emit seismic waves.

“I don’t care who you are, but if you bother my friend, I won’t stand by quietly…!!!”

It was a brave act, albeit a bit misguided. And with that misplaced courage, I couldn’t stop my steps.

Thud!

Luca snapped his fingers, and Arhan’s body floated towards the princess.

“Ah…! Luca, don’t you release…?! Estiel is in danger!”

“Just stay still… you clueless brat.”

The path of the troublemaker disappeared cleanly.

Now, the distance between Estiel and me was just a step away.

Esutiel looked at me with anxiety written all over her face.

“Oppa…”

I reached out my hand, and her eyes tightly shut.

Trembling Esutiel.

I embraced her tightly.

“What…? What were you thinking?”

I asked softly.

“If something had gone wrong midway, what were you planning to do…”

“Uh…”

“If you had encountered an enemy, had an accident, gotten lost, or been taken by bad people…! What were you going to do…”

“Well… I…”

Esutiel’s words trailed off.

It seemed like she had completely forgotten what she wanted to say. Or maybe it was because of how forcefully I was holding her.

I didn’t want this. I wanted to treat her like I used to, without any forced affection. But because of my unexpected actions and our reunion in an unexpected place, my rationality was clouded.

“How much… How much, did you scare me, worry me… Esutiel.”

“Uh, huu…”

“If something had happened to you… I would have searched for you even if it meant burning down the entire kingdom.”

Especially after learning about the evil group of black mages.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Oppa… Ugh…”

Esutiel’s cheeks puffed up. It wasn’t a tantrum, but she was holding back her sobs, making the air thick.

After a while, Esutiel’s suppressed tears finally burst out.

“Uwaaaah…! I’m sorry, Oppa… Lihaht Oppa, I won’t do this again…”

“I wish you had said something…”

“But… But… You told me to say everything I wanted to say, and then you didn’t listen… Ugh…”

“… That’s true.”

That was my mistake.

Leaving a child’s crying unattended in someone else’s mansion was also a mistake. I comforted Esutiel desperately, trying to calm her tears.

“Sigh…”

I exhaled a breath of relief and turned to the princess.

“… I apologize, but would you allow us to leave Esutiel in the care of the Duke while we stay in the kingdom.”

The mansion was suitable, and even though it was immature courage, there was a peer who wanted to protect Esutiel. It was better to entrust her to the Duke than to leave her alone in the mansion while on a mission.

The princess nodded willingly.

“Of course. I’ll make sure Arhan takes good care of her.”

“Thank you.”

After the conversation, Esutiel, with swollen eyes from crying, asked in a trembling voice.

“Can I stay here…?”

“Yes.”

“Are you mad at me…?”

“I’m not. Not at all.”

If I had lost Esutiel forever, I would have been.

“Thank goodness…”

Perhaps due to the exhaustion from crying, Esutiel’s eyes slowly closed.

I laid Esutiel on the soft bed in the playroom and quietly left.

◇

I glanced at Rahilt, who was walking with a stiff but slouched posture in the Duke’s garden. No, to be precise… I was referring to Rahilt, who appeared just now with such a strange and surprising expression.

‘Could Rahilt show such a side…?’

I was well aware that the current him was somewhat different from the original or the founding myth. I had been observing him closely since our first meeting, which made it even more apparent.

But I never expected Rahilt to show such intense emotions. The concept of family seemed to weigh heavily on his heart.

‘If Tei had suffered such a fate, would it have been a crisis for the world?’

In the past, I couldn’t even dare to imagine spreading the wings of imagination. However, now that I’ve heard about the original ending of “Sadosamang” from Narin unni, it was difficult to dismiss it as a simple assumption.

“Well… it seems like Ro Eunyoung’s master has almost elevated Rahilt to the realm of normalcy.”

Perhaps it wasn’t like this.

Rather than saying that Rahilt doesn’t feel negative emotions, it seemed more like the threshold for experiencing negative emotions was incredibly high.

Before meeting the master, Rahilt might have been completely emotionally numb, but the current Rahilt would inevitably be different from the past.

“Well, Tiel seems to be sulking because of something…”

This kind of Rahilt is not cute.

I was a woman who wanted my man to smile at me.

So, I approached him quietly and cautiously, speaking softly.

“Excuse me, Rian.”

“Did you call me?”

“Yes, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m not injured anywhere.”

“Do people only get physically hurt? Hearts can get hurt too.”

Rahilt turned to me at my statement. The summer sky reflected in his blue eyes, shimmering like the beach. Without a second thought, captivated by its beauty, I continued speaking.

“It’s not like… I’m the one crying.”

“But Rian, your heart is crying, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Hearts can cry for the sake of others too.”

Just as Rahilt was worried about Estiel and felt melancholic,

Just as I couldn’t help but cry for the young Rahilt who ran away and I couldn’t help him.

That was an emotion that any human would naturally have.

It was the budding emotions of human Rahilt, not the child of the dragon.

I purposely chuckled and opened my arms towards Rahilt.

“Come here quickly and let me hug you, our crybaby Rian. I’ll pat your head and comfort you.”

“W-what are you saying? Your eyes are so sharp.”

“Doesn’t that mean you’d hug me if there were no one around?”

“Please don’t… Serin. I’m terribly embarrassed.”

Oh, I’m terribly embarrassed that you’re the second best in the world.

“Stop it?”

“Please.”

“Then smile.”

“Serin?”

“If you laugh and smile, I’ll stop.”

I didn’t expect Rahilt, who was usually devoid of laughter, to respond.

But what can I do? I’ve never seen…

The bright smile of you being the first best in the world.

“I’m sorry…”

“Of course you are.”

Wearing a mask, I can only step back and insist on lies even if I insist.

But whether I do this or that, he was truly a sincere husband.

That’s when Narin unni, who was walking ahead, suddenly covered her mouth with her hand and spoke.

“Serin is… quite… open-minded in many ways.”

“Cheer up, Rihart.”

The two princes added, raising their thumbs. Rahilt couldn’t lift his head and lay his face on the ground.

I couldn’t bear to see my man falter any longer, so I struck a strong blow.

“Alright, both of you, enough. Let’s start talking about work, Rian.”

“Shall we?”

Narin unni agreed cheerfully. As if deliberately provoking me to get to the point…

“We’re going to visit the magician’s mansion using Serin’s diplomatic status. We’ll explore the differences between the magician’s mansion located in the empire and others.”

“Narin unni and the two princes will help guide me.”

“Yes. But Luca has one more role. The magician’s mansion is protected by spatial magic, so without the magician’s guidance, we’ll get lost. So, Luca will intentionally disrupt the spatial magic to scatter us.”

“Then we’ll pretend to find our way while thoroughly searching the mansion.”

“Exactly!”

“If anyone interferes, we’ll beat them up.”

“Sure, if it’s a dark magician, there’s no limit.”

Narin, with a perplexed look, was not someone who saw everyone as indiscriminate beasts, you know.

Soon, she glanced at Rahilt.

“Lord Lihart, you shouldn’t destroy the entire mansion, right…? We’ll get caught in it too.”

“…? Understood.”

“Kanarin is really worried. How are you going to bring down that sturdy magician’s mansion?”

Luka’s clueless question drew the attention of me and Narin all at once.

Being clueless about how to get along with Rahilt without any reservations, he was truly clueless.