101CF 05

Chapter 5

As soon as the new year began, the children enjoyed three days of New Year’s celebrations to their hearts’ content.

On the first day of the celebration, they opened gifts, went out to the festivals held in the capital, and spent the whole day playing fun games.

After those days together, Lucia and Herwin’s bond grew even stronger. Even Lucas, who had initially been wary of Herwin, realized that he wasn’t such a bad kid after all, and they slowly grew closer.

And now, a week after the celebrations ended, the day had come for Peneus to depart.

Lucas, Lucia, and Herwin sat side by side on the windowsill, watching the snow steadily pile up outside. More snow than expected was falling, delaying the departure time.

“I don’t want to go.”

Herwin grumbled, wishing for even more snow to fall.

“Why? You’re going home, aren’t you?”

Lucas asked.

“……I don’t really like it.”

“Is there some reason you don’t want to go home?”

This time it was Lucia who asked. The Agnes siblings looked at him with the same clear-eyed expression, and Herwin hesitated, wondering if he should say it.

It would be the first time telling anyone besides his parents. After some thought, Herwin finally spoke.

“The truth is… I was bullied at home.”

“Really?”

“Who the hell would dare do something so crazy…?”

“At home I have older brothers and sisters, and they always said I looked like a girl, teased me that I wasn’t a real boy, and told me I should be wearing dresses instead of pants.”

Until the age of three, Herwin had never seen children his own age.

The retainers in the ducal household usually raised their children in the warmer southern climate.

One day, however, the Duke and Duchess began to wonder if Herwin, who was growing day by day, might need friends.

So they called the retainers’ children to the ducal castle. Being two to four years older than Herwin, they were expected to be good companions for him.

The intention was good, but the result for Herwin was far from it.

Back then, Herwin looked like a doll, even prettier than now.

Even adults often mistook him for a girl—so it was no wonder that children would too.

At first, the children followed their parents’ instructions and tried to get along with Herwin. But because he was younger, always put up with everything, and never fought back, they gradually forgot his noble status and began to treat him as someone easy to pick on.

Eventually, they turned Herwin’s delicate, beautiful looks into a target of ridicule.

The more they teased him, the more amusing his reactions became, and their bullying grew harsher over time.

Herwin, inexperienced with making friends, endured it as long as he could, but in the end, he told his parents everything.

The Duke and Duchess, who had thought he was getting along well with the others, were deeply shocked.

After hearing it all, they immediately took action.

No one knew whether they called in the retainers and spoke to them or scolded the children directly, but amazingly, from that day onward, the bullying stopped.

Now, the children even seemed afraid of him and avoided drawing attention to themselves.

But because of this incident, Herwin came to hate being called “girly” or “pretty” to the point of trauma.

He also became hypersensitive to others’ words—if teased even slightly, he reacted far more strongly than other children.

This was why he had exploded in anger when Lucia had once called him pretty.

Even though he knew those children would never bother him again, he no longer wished to face them.

The capital felt far more comfortable than home.

Because Lucas and Lucia are here.

He had sworn brotherhood with Lucas, despite their rocky start, and as for Lucia…

Herwin stole a glance at her. She met his eyes with her round, bright ones and didn’t look away.

After more than ten seconds of unbroken eye contact, Herwin’s face flushed hot.

Feeling the warmth rush to his cheeks, he abruptly turned his head away.

I can’t look her in the eyes.

At some point, just seeing Lucia made his heart pound wildly, and his cheeks grew hot for no reason.

“What’s wrong? Why’d you stop talking?”

“Brother, I think Herwin’s sick again.”

“Huh? Really? Herwin, are you sick?”

“No, I’m fine……”

Herwin shook his head quickly, trying to calm his racing heart. Lately, he found himself stopping mid-sentence or blushing more and more often. The siblings could only shrug at his odd behavior.

Boom—boom—

“Terrible news, my lord!”

“What is this commotion?”

Hearing the shouting, Heil shot a sharp glare at the knight who had rushed in.

“Forgive my rudeness, Count, but the matter is urgent.”

“I don’t mind. What’s going on?”

“A horde of monsters has appeared in the north.”

At the word monsters, the atmosphere instantly turned heavy. Heil’s face hardened as he leapt to his feet.

“Let’s discuss this elsewhere.”

Heil hurried out with the knight. Scarlett, watching him leave, muttered under her breath.

“Monsters… At this time of year? That’s unheard of.”

“Scarlett, are you all right?”

“I don’t know. We need to assess the damage first. It’s been quiet for years, but… no, I need to see for myself.”

Agitated, Scarlett finally followed after Heil.

“Monsters? Like the terrifying beasts from storybooks?”

“Looks that way. Herwin, do you know anything about monsters?”

“…No. Not really.”

Lucas and Lucia wanted to ask him more, but his grim expression silenced them.

Herwin kept staring at the door through which his parents had disappeared.

“Looks like I need to go myself. The situation is more serious than we thought, so you should stay here with the children for now.”

“…My dear, please be careful.”

“I will.”

Heil prepared hastily to leave for the north.

The urgent telegram reported that a horde of monsters was ravaging the northern lands.

What shocked him most was the final line detailing the extent of the damage.

For nearly six years, there had been no monster sightings, and vigilance had slackened. But the number of monsters swarming the north far exceeded expectations, and the devastation was growing.

“Count, I leave my wife and children in your care for the time being. I will never forget this favor.”

“Don’t worry. I pray the situation will be brought under control swiftly.”

“Thank you.”

Heil expressed his gratitude to Johann, then gave his family a final farewell.

He kissed Scarlett and little Henry on the forehead, then pulled Herwin into a tight embrace.

“Father……”

“Herwin, in my absence, you must protect your mother and brother. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I’ll protect them both!”

“That’s my boy. I’m proud of you.”

Only after holding Herwin close did Heil set out on his long journey.

A year and a half passed since Heil’s departure.

What he thought would take only a month stretched into more than a year, as he hunted down the monsters scattered across the north.

The worst part was that the horde had struck in the dead of winter, when blizzards raged.

Heil had sent word that no one was to come north until every last monster was eradicated.

When Scarlett first received that letter, she wept through the night.

Realizing their stay in the capital would be indefinite, Scarlett decided to secure a home of their own.

Until then, she had been staying with the Agnes family, waiting for the right moment to return north. But with circumstances as they were, she could not continue to impose on them.

“Find a house? No, you can stay here until the Duke sends word.”

“No, I can’t trouble you any longer. My husband left funds here in the capital. I’ll use them to arrange a place for us.”

“Madam Peneus, please don’t. If you leave like this, how could I face the Duke? I beg you, reconsider.”

Both Johann and Julian opposed Scarlett’s decision to move out.

Though the Peneus family was wealthy enough to buy a mansion in the capital without trouble, every coin mattered in times like these.

Moreover, ever since hearing about the monster invasion, Scarlett had not slept properly a single night.

If they let her leave now, she would surely collapse under the strain. As a friend, Julian could not allow that.

After a long, serious discussion, Scarlett finally gave in.

“I’m truly grateful, Count. Thank you, Julian.”

With darkened eyes, she bowed her head. The Agnes couple could only comfort their weary friend.

This was how Scarlett, Herwin, and Henry came to rely on the Agnes household for such a long time.

“Lucia! What are you doing over there?”

Back in the present, Lucia had gone on an outing to the park with her family and the Peneus children.

Squatting in the grass, she looked up, her bobbed hair—once only at her chin—now reaching down her back.

“Lucia.”

“Herwin.”

Now able to call Herwin’s name properly, Lucia stared wide-eyed at him as he approached.

“What are you doing here alone?”

“Herwin, look! Ants!”

“…You’re obsessed with something weird again, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m just watching the ants.”

“Don’t lie. A week ago you caught grasshoppers, then crickets, and yesterday you brought back a cicada shell. I knew it—you’ve been poring over that insect book.”

After living together for more than a year, the two had grown far closer than when they first met.

In that time, Herwin had learned one thing about Lucia:

Once she got fixated on something, she dug into it until she lost interest.

Everyone has quirks, but Lucia’s obsession was especially intense.

When fascinated, she would collect and study endlessly, only to drop it coldly once she was done.

Over the past year and a half, she’d gone through phases of collecting teddy bears, observing flowers, and gathering different kinds of leaves. Now her interest was insects.

When she brought a grasshopper into the mansion last week, chaos had ensued—if she took home ants this time, it would be no different.

Before trouble started, Herwin took her by the hand and led her toward the rest of the group.

But the sunny outing had drawn many onlookers, who crowded around after recognizing the Count’s family and the Duchess.

Herwin froze at the sight of the crowd.

“Maybe we should wait a little before going back?”

“Okay!”

Excited at the thought of more ant-watching, Lucia quickly agreed and returned to her spot.

Herwin shook his head at her antics but stayed close beside her, watching her intently as she studied the ants.

For a while, everything was peaceful—until suddenly someone stomped on the ants.

Shocked, Lucia quickly looked up.

The culprit was a boy with a mischievous face, flanked by two companions.

“You’re Peneus, aren’t you?”