Chapter 44
When did he ever say something like that to Ellie…?
It had somehow become a foregone conclusion that Ailesia would be coming along, but honestly, that part didn’t matter much anymore. Even if he tried to delay his answer, it wasn’t as though he could easily bend her stubbornness anyway.
What lingered in his mind instead was the phrase Ailesia had used—
“I’ll protect your uncle.”
From childhood until now, Termion had always handled everything on his own.
His family treated him warmly, yes—but he had always believed that was the result of his own relentless efforts to avoid being disliked.
After awakening as an Aura Master, he had taken on the role of protector rather than one being protected. Now, as Grand Duke and Eleonora’s guardian, that was truer than ever.
This feels… unfamiliar.
Who would dare say so casually that they would protect him? If it weren’t Ailesia, it would’ve been unthinkable.
“Uncle! Aah—!”
“Ah.”
Swallowing a hollow chuckle, Termion obediently accepted the cake Eleonora offered him.
Perhaps because of the lingering sweetness in his mouth, his chest felt faintly ticklish.
* * *
Once her participation in the monster subjugation was settled, Ailesia found she had a few preparations of her own to make.
Her biggest concern was Eleonora’s necklace. While staying in the Grand Ducal Castle meant there was little immediate danger, she still wanted at least a minimum safeguard in place.
“Sweetie, can you show Teacher your necklace for a moment?”
“This one?”
Ever since returning from the Chernil Forest, Eleonora had worn the necklace constantly.
She never took it off—not during the day, not while bathing, not even when sleeping.
It’s more damaged than last time, isn’t it?
At a glance it looked fine, but the pendant’s tracking function had weakened considerably. In this condition, it wouldn’t even be able to pinpoint her direction properly the moment she left the castle.
“How about letting Teacher make it even prettier?”
“Huh…?”
“I think I’ll miss you a lot while I’m in the mountains. If Ellie agrees, we can talk and even see each other’s faces. How does that sound?”
“Really? Even if you’re far away?”
“Of course.”
“I love it!”
Beaming, Eleonora turned around. Ailesia unclasped the necklace and carefully examined the pendant.
The gemstone set at its center had lost nearly all its luster and even bore fine cracks. The surrounding metal decorations were slightly warped and scratched as well.
The design’s decent, but the materials are the limit. I should switch the chain to leather too.
She reinforced the frame with mithril powder, replaced the central gem with a mana-infused ruby, and braided a new cord using thinly twisted scales of Jormu and strands of Whitey’s fur she’d collected long ago.
“All done. Want to try it on?”
“Whoa…”
The vivid red ruby set in gleaming silver, paired with a delicately patterned cord, was more than enough to completely captivate a child’s eyes.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it! Uncle gave me the necklace, and Teacher fixed it! When I wear this, it’ll feel like Uncle and Teacher are always with me!”
“Who taught you to say such pretty things all the time?”
“My super-strong, pretty Teacher!”
Eleonora immediately wrapped her arms tightly around Ailesia’s waist. Sitting the child on her lap, Ailesia explained how to use the necklace.
“When you want to talk to Teacher, hold the pendant with both hands and call me. I’ll answer you. Now, try turning the gem in the middle once.”
“Like this?”
The gem embedded in the pendant had subtly different shapes on its top and bottom. As Eleonora turned it with her finger, a soft glow spread from the stone.
“This way, Teacher will know where Ellie is no matter what. And if you miss me really, really badly, do this—then Teacher will go ta-da! and appear right in front of you.”
“Yes!”
After returning the gem to its original position, Ailesia glanced around, then leaned in close to Eleonora’s face. As though sharing a secret, she deliberately lowered her voice.
“And don’t touch the necklace in front of other people. That’s a promise with Teacher.”
“Promise!”
Eleonora hooked her pinky around Ailesia’s and grinned brightly.
“But Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“This necklace… is it a secret from Uncle too…?”
“Do you want it to be a secret?”
“If Teacher says it should be a secret, I’ll keep it secret.”
There was no real need for the child to worry about things like this. Eleonora fiddled with the pendant a few times, then bowed her head slightly.
“You can tell Uncle anything. If another adult tells you to keep a secret, you should always tell Uncle.”
“Even secrets with Teacher?”
“Of course. But Teacher doesn’t have anything to hide from Uncle, right?”
If something needed to be hidden from Termion, then it shouldn’t be said to Eleonora in the first place. It wasn’t a matter of distrust—carelessness could easily cause friction between uncle and niece.
“Then shall we go see Uncle together for a moment?”
“Uncle? Teacher, are you going on a date with Uncle?”
“…That’s not it.”
Where on earth did she pick up this obsession with dating? She thought she was just teasing Termion—but now she was doing it to me too.
* * *
Ailesia went to the study with Eleonora. Termion was buried beneath piles of documents, reviewing plans for the monster subjugation.
“Hilda?”
“Yeah. We’ll need someone to look after Ellie during the day while I’m gone, and isn’t it about time she had a dedicated personal maid?”
“That’s true… but there should be plenty of capable maids in the castle.”
“Ellie likes Hilda best. Right, sweetheart?”
“Yeah! I like Hilda!”
Seeing Eleonora nod vigorously, Termion smiled faintly. He lifted her onto his lap and asked in a slightly playful tone.
“You like her that much? Why?”
“Hilda’s the nicest and prettiest! And she doesn’t talk about Uncle!”
“What? What do you mean?”
Termion’s expression stiffened without him realizing it. Ailesia beside him also failed to hide her surprise.
“The other sisters say Uncle’s handsome, and that he’s cold, and then um…”
After hesitating for a moment, Eleonora blurted out something utterly unexpected.
“They said ‘illegitimate child’? They said Uncle is an illegitimate child. What does that mean?”
“…This is unbelievable.”
Unable to answer his niece’s question, Termion muttered bitterly to himself.
Idle gossip among maids was one thing—he could overlook that.
But speaking carelessly in front of Eleonora was another matter entirely. It meant they lacked the basic qualifications of servants.
Or someone put them up to it. It must’ve been before Baron Beighton was expelled.
Letting out a deep sigh, Termion calmed himself. It wasn’t as though he could summon and reprimand them right now, and he didn’t want to lose his temper over this either.
“You’re right. It would be best to bring Hilda. Will you go in person?”
“Yes. We leave in two days, don’t we?”
“Then I should contact Madam Herman in advance. I’ll write a short letter for you as well.”
“That makes things easier for me. I’ll head out briefly after lunch.”
“What about Ellie?”
“It’d be hard for you to watch her, wouldn’t it?”
The mountain of paperwork on his desk alone made it obvious—Termion already had more than enough on his plate. Even with Eleonora being well-behaved, this wasn’t the situation to take on childcare as well.
“How long will the trip take?”
“About two to three hours, to be safe? She’ll need some time to prepare too.”
“True. She can’t just come with nothing. Understood. I’ll ask the Dowager Duchess to watch Ellie.”
“Isn’t she busy?”
“For her granddaughter, she wouldn’t mind staying up late for a day.”
A day? She’d gladly stay up all week if needed. She worried about Eleonora day and night.
“I’ll tell the chief steward to prepare Hilda’s room. Anything else you need?”
“Not really. Oh—Ellie, want to show Uncle your necklace?”
“My necklace?”
“Look, Uncle! Teacher made it really pretty!”
When Eleonora held up the pendant around her neck, a strange glint appeared in Termion’s eyes.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah! The gem sparkles, and it’s much lighter!”
Looking closer, he noticed the gem had been replaced with a red ruby, and the chain was now leather instead of metal. All the edges of the decorations had been smoothly rounded so they wouldn’t leave marks on her skin.
