Chapter 07 

…He’s right, damn it.

Thermion’s anger vanished as quickly as it came.
He pressed a bitter hand to his forehead.

He might be Duke of Retis.
he might be Eleanor’s uncle.
but he still had many shortcomings.

Overflowing love didn’t automatically make someone good at raising a child.

He had left the territory, and during that time Eleanor went missing.
He had essentially failed to protect his own household.

“Uncle, I don’t like you. You pointed a sword at Teacher. You yelled. You made a scary face.”

“E-Ellie.”

“I like Teacher. I want to live with her.”

And then his niece drove a dagger straight into his heart again.
Thermion was too stunned to speak.

…This one hurts.

Aylesia’s teasing had been nothing compared to this.
His eyes were almost shaking like earthquake tremors.

“Haa…”

He collapsed into his chair with a defeated sigh.

Aylesia hadn’t meant to crush him this badly, and she felt a tiny bit guilty.
If she left him like this, he really might cry.

Sure, a beautiful man crying would be… quite a sight—
But still, she felt a little bad.

So she leaned in, intentionally loud enough for Thermion to hear, and whispered into Eleanor’s ear:

“What if Teacher goes home with you?
You still have to go home, right? ”

“Come… together? ”

Eleanor, who’d been pouting seconds ago, instantly brightened.

She fiddled with Aylesia’s hand and turned to Thermion.

“Uncle, can Teacher come home with us? ”

“…What?”

Their eyes met.
And a chilly silence settled between them.

This is fun.

Aylesia watched the eye battle with full enjoyment.
Surprisingly, they were evenly matched.

We all know who’s going to win. Of course Ellie will.

At this point, he should really just surrender.

“…There’s something I’ve wanted to ask.”

Thermion finally turned his head away, as if stalling for time.

“What is it? ” Aylesia asked.

“Why do you keep speaking informally to me? ”

…That’s the best counterattack you could come up with?
She had been expecting something dramatic, but—wow.

Aylesia opened her mouth in disbelief.

“Ohhh. So that’s why you swung your sword at me the moment we met?
You were holding a grudge about honorifics? ”

“…”

“I don’t use polite speech with kids.”

“You talk as if you’re some grand adult.”

“I’m definitely way older than you.”

“Way older? What, are you hundreds of years old? Because you’re a witch? ”

“…Wait—how did you know? ”

Oh no.
He actually guessed it.

She accidentally blurted out the truth.

“…Are you joking? ”

Thankfully, Thermion took it as sarcasm, not a confession.

Honestly, I wouldn’t believe it either.

Who’d believe a face like hers belonged to someone 1200 years old?

But since it came up—

She might as well settle the hierarchy now so she wouldn’t have to deal with this nonsense later.

“Anyway, the only certain thing is I’m the grown-up, and you’re the kid.”

Thermion’s face twisted.

“I’m not a kid.”

“If you’re under twenty, you’re a kid. You’re still seventeen.”

“…How do you know my age? ”

His eyes widened with real surprise.

Of course she knew—it was in the original novel.
But she couldn’t say that.

So she simply shrugged.

“Because I’m a witch. Duh.”

“…That—ugh.”

He didn’t even have the energy to be angry anymore.
Thermion let out a long, exhausted sigh.

Clearly, she was teasing him on purpose.
But he had been rude earlier, so he couldn’t complain.

“What should we do, sweetie? ”

“What?”

The voice interrupting his thoughts came from the two sitting across from him.

Aylesia looked heartbroken on purpose as she spoke dramatically.

“I think your uncle doesn’t like Teacher.
He probably doesn’t want to go home with me…”

“He doesn’t like Teacher? ”

“He says I’m a witch, so he doesn’t want to be friends with me. He said even looking at me makes him mad.”

“WhAAAAAT?!”

“When did I say any of that?! ”

Thermion shot up, horrified.

He had been sitting right there listening to the whole conversation.
But Eleanor reacted as if she had heard everything through a wall.

Was she on his side or the witch’s side?

He needed to fix this—fast.

“Ellie, that’s not what I meant—”

“Uncle! Are you not taking Teacher with us?! ”

Eleanor slammed her tiny fist on the table.

Thermion flinched.

“What if you hurt yourself again?! ”

She’d already hurt her forehead earlier;
Why was she so reckless?

He didn’t dare move or raise his voice—
If he did, she might do something even more dangerous.

“If Teacher doesn’t go, Ellie won’t go either!
Ellie will stay here with Teacher!
I’ll play with Wolfie and Bear and Deer and Snakey! ”

“Ellie, you really…”

What was he supposed to do?
Thermion closed his eyes and held his head in both hands.

Decide, decide, decide…

Aylesia watched him silently and chanted inside:

Hurry up and choose. We all know the answer anyway.

That niece-crazy uncle would never win against Eleanor’s stubbornness.

“So, Lady Millenoff—”

“Just call me by my name. Titles feel weird.”

She was still speaking casually.
But Thermion decided he would no longer waste energy on such details.

Whether she was a witch or not…
Fighting her was pointless.

He had come here for one goal:
to take Eleanor home safely.

…Maybe I was the one acting hostile.

From the very beginning, Aylesia had been kind.

If she hadn’t stopped that giant lake serpent,
Something terrible might have happened.

He had even pointed a sword at her—
Yet she fed him and his knights lunch.

She’s unbelievably generous.

She didn’t even get angry when he kept calling her a witch.

And the way she cared for Eleanor…
especially how pale she became when Eleanor hurt her forehead—

She really does care for her.

Thermion took a deep breath, stood, and bowed deeply.

“Aylesia.
Including my earlier behavior… I sincerely apologize for my rudeness.”

“Really? Even though I’m a suspicious witch? ”

…His fist shook for a moment.
But he reminded himself:

This is for Eleanor.

“I said it was a mistake,” he replied, voice slightly trembling with pride and humiliation.

He really is just a 17-year-old boy, after all…

Aylesia found herself genuinely impressed.

She had teased him mercilessly.
Yet he was showing patience, manners, and sincerity.

His devotion to Eleanor,
his honest character—
He reminded her of her old masters and mentors.

“Teacher… why is Uncle acting weird? “Eleanor,” she whispered, tugging Aylesia’s sleeve.

“He’s being scolded by Teacher.”

“That’s right! Uncle did bad things, so he NEEDS to get scolded! ”

…That was a bit harsh.

Aylesia felt she should defend him at least once.

“Your uncle apologized, so Ellie shouldn’t be mad anymore, okay? ”

“Okay!”

With a bright answer, Eleanor hopped off Aylesia’s lap.

Aylesia wondered what she was going to do as Eleanor walked around the table toward Thermion.

“Uncle, didn’t you miss Ellie? ”

“…Huh?”

“Didn’t you miss Ellie?! ”

“Of course I did.”

“Then why didn’t you greet me properly?! ”

Eleanor placed her hands on her hips, looking bossy.
Thermion stared at her… then slowly stood up.

Aylesia gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.

Thermion went down on both knees.
Both.

It wasn’t in the original story.
This was new.

I’m going to cry…

Aylesia held her breath.

Thermion matched Eleanor’s eye level and opened his arms.

“Have you been well, Ellie? ”

His voice was soft, full of warmth.

“Uncle missed you more than you can imagine.”