Chapter 57
“You and me? Don’t be ridiculous. Who’s family with who?”
“Oh my. For once, you’re saying exactly what I wanted to say. That was my line, you know?”
I flashed a bright smile at Dazar, who looked utterly dumbfounded. How could you and I possibly be family? That was simply impossible—
“W-we’re… not family…?”
At that moment, Vanilla muttered in a trembling voice. Hearing the exchange between Dazar and me seemed to have dealt her a huge shock; her face crumpled.
Oh no. This is bad.
Vanilla’s lips quivered as she spoke.
“B-but… Silia and Dazar are family!”
“V-Vanilla.”
Tears streamed from her big eyes as she bit her lip and cried out.
“You live together like this! That means you’re family! Say yes! Hurry, say yes! Hic.”
She looked like she was desperately holding back a sob. Seeing her reddened eyes made my chest ache. A child crying this bitterly was just too much.
My heart was already melting into a puddle—Dazar or not—but then Dazar tried to ruin the moment.
“Vanilla. Listen carefully. The reason we live together is because of work— mmph!”
No—what is wrong with this man?! Does he have no sense at all?! What was he trying to say right now?!
I hurriedly reached out and covered his mouth. My iron grip was more than enough to silence even Dazar.
“W-work…?”
Vanilla blinked once, tears still dripping from her eyes. She didn’t seem to understand what Dazar meant yet.
I put on an awkward smile, lowered my head, and met Vanilla’s gaze. Since I was holding onto Dazar, he had no choice but to bend down with me.
His eyes turned fierce, but I ignored him and spoke.
“Yes, Vanilla. We’re one family.”
“Mmgh?!”
I could feel someone in my grasp writhing like he was having a seizure, but I cleanly ignored that too.
Because Vanilla’s face suddenly lit up like sunshine.
“R-really? We’re one family?”
“Of course. We’re family. Vanilla, Shion, me—and this… Dazar too.”
“Right? Right?! We’re family!”
When Vanilla said that with sparkling eyes, my mood strangely softened too. Even though I’d told a lie. If it meant Vanilla could smile, then well… becoming family with Dazar for a moment wasn’t the worst thing.
‘In-laws count as family too, don’t they?’
Hm-hm. As I nodded to myself with that bit of rationalization, I noticed that Dazar—still caught in my hand—had gone quiet.
When I glanced at him, he was staring silently at Vanilla’s bright smile.
Warm light shimmered in his golden eyes.
I was just thinking, So he can look like that too, when the real problem—forgotten thanks to all the crying—burst back into view.
“Then that means we’re all going together! To the Fiel’ of Rest!”
“…Ah.”
Just like that, having unwillingly become one family, we decided to all attend the Field of Repose together.
“Oh—wow. It’s true. Axion’s grown a bit, hasn’t he?”
“He has, hasn’t he?”
I smiled back at Axion, who lay in his cradle beaming brightly.
Instead of his usual loose baby outfit, Axion was dressed in a neat little gentleman’s suit suited for the Field of Repose.
It was ready-made clothing. Normally, I would’ve had a custom suit tailored, but we’d decided to attend the Field of Repose so suddenly that there wasn’t time.
When we bought the suit, I was sure it would be a little big for him.
“And yet it fits him perfectly. There’s no doubt Lord Axion has grown in the meantime.”
Kal said brightly. He’d started packing my things in a hurry yesterday morning and had been bustling about nonstop up until today.
“Yeah. He really has grown.”
I should’ve felt happy like Kal did, but thinking about how the food shortage had worsened recently made my stomach feel uneasy.
That is…
‘Don’t tell me even the imperial grain supply has gone bad, and that’s why Axion’s grown?’
Like Ruben, who was said to grow by consuming misfortune.
That thought crossed my mind, and I couldn’t bring myself to rejoice wholeheartedly.
The possibility that Axion really was Ruben seemed to have increased. And with it, the possibility that he could one day stand opposed to Vanilla and Dazar.
“Lady Silia? Is something wrong?”
“Huh? Ah—no. It’s nothing. I’m just glad we bought him clothes a little bigger. Otherwise they wouldn’t have fit.”
“Indeed.”
Axion only giggled innocently, his face pure and carefree.
I gently poked his cute little nose.
“Everyone’s going to find our Axion absolutely adorable.”
“Heehee.”
It must just be a coincidence.
I shook my head.
The thought that Axion might be Ruben and the thought that there was no way he could be alternated several times a day. Letting out a long sigh, I tried to clear my head.
At that moment, Kal wiped the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief. He looked like he couldn’t quite believe reality.
“My goodness. To think Lady Silia would attend the Field of Repose for Lord Axion’s sake… This old man has no regrets left in life.”
Sob, sniff.
He kept dabbing at his eyes.
All I said was that I’d be taking Axion to the Field of Repose. Somehow, Kal had misunderstood it as me attending for Axion’s sake.
It was probably because he was the only one who knew Axion wasn’t truly my blood.
“Ever since Lord Axion came into your life, Lady Silia, you’ve changed so much. This must surely be Lord Axion’s blessing.”
Kal said that with a deeply moved expression.
Given that I’d cut myself off from the world and holed up farming for so long, I understood his reaction—but still…
‘Isn’t this getting old?’
Every little thing I did earned that kind of response now, and it was starting to feel tiresome.
I nodded vaguely and picked up the small bag beside him. It was almost time to leave.
“Yes, yes. That’s right. It’s all thanks to Axion. That’s why I can’t leave him behind at an event like that.”
“Exactly! Opportunities like this for young heirs— ah.”
Suddenly, Kal’s eyes widened.
He looked genuinely shocked, as if he’d only just realized something.
“But Lady Silia, isn’t the adoption of Lord Axion still a secret?”
If word got out that someone with my already-poor reputation had adopted a child, it would stir up all kinds of strange rumors.
It was still secret.
I rubbed my chin and shrugged.
“Well, Axion can’t talk yet, so it’s not like he’ll reveal who he is. And I heard there’s a separate area just for babies.”
“Yes, that’s right. Ahem. When you were young, Lady Silia, you stayed there often as well—while the former head of the house handled his affairs. I was always by your side back then too.”
This time as well, Kal would stay by Axion’s side.
“The others who served as stewards with me back then are all spending their old age now. There’s no one who would recognize me, so don’t worry.”
It was because Kal had insisted on going despite my attempts to stop him.
With him saying that, I couldn’t very well leave him behind. There was no one else I trusted enough to leave Axion with.
I nodded lightly.
Completely unaware of what would soon unfold at the Field of Repose.
Elston looked down at the note placed in front of him.
Written in crooked handwriting, it read:
[Our family is going. Fiel’ of Rest. Silia and Dazar and Shion! Elston is not family, so stay here.]
He set down the teaching materials he’d prepared to tutor Vanilla.
He’d been focusing on research to speed up rice growth and had paused Vanilla’s lessons for a while; this was his first visit in some time.
Elston pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Hm. You could have told me in advance. Did you think I’d just keep taking time off?”
Letting out a deep sigh, he shook his head and picked up the materials again, snapping his fingers.
In the blink of an eye, he was standing in the center of his room—walls and floor entirely white.
“So Lady Evanroir and Axion went to the Field of Repose together… Then I’ll need to adjust the plan slightly.”
The dutiful teacher’s face vanished, replaced by a calculating expression as he sat at his desk and picked up a pen.
“They said it was time to start moving. Then the Field of Repose will be a suitable starting point.”
He placed the completed letter into the white, sacred-looking envelope he’d used before and sent it off by pigeon.
“First, I’ll tie up the legs of the knight assigned to protect them.”
Then he pulled out another sheet of paper and began writing swiftly.
“…I should report to them and seek the believers’ assistance.”
Elston’s pen began to move rapidly.
