~Chapter 11~
Clover, who had been muttering quietly, suddenly hopped down from her chair and ran over to stand behind Belze.
She clutched the hem of Belze’s robe and peeked her face out.
Damian and Arwin jumped in surprise and quickly backed up five whole steps.
It wasn’t that they didn’t know Clover’s body was way too weak to withstand the Storm’s divine power.
They knew.
But they figured it would still be fine for them—
Because unlike Clover, who had complete divine power as a Claudian, they only carried half each. They were incomplete Claudians.
The unconscious power that leaked out from them was about the same as Khalid’s summoned beast. So they thought Clover—who got along just fine with the North Wind Lion—would be okay.
But still, if she got too close, no one knew what could happen.
Damian, who had quickly stepped back, smiled and raised his hand.
“Hi there, are you happy to see your big brother?”
“Brother?”
“Yeah, I’m your brother. My name’s Damian Claudian, I’m your oldest brother, Clover.”
The one next to him spoke right after.
“My name’s Arwin, I’m your second brother.”
“Damian… Arwin?”
Clover repeated their names softly, taking a small step closer—
“!”
“!”
Both Damian and Arwin flinched hard and took another step back.
They were almost pressed against the hallway window now.
If Clover got even closer, they looked like they might jump right out the window.
Startled herself, Clover hurriedly stepped back two steps.
“Phew.”
Damian and Arwin also sighed in relief and stepped forward two steps again.
Watching this strange back-and-forth, Clover tilted her head and looked up at them.
“If you’re my brothers… does that mean you’re family?”
The two smiled softly and answered.
“Yeah, we’re your family.”
“You’re probably seeing us for the first time. But we’ve seen you before—when you were really little.”
Oh, so they’d seen her before when she was small.
That must mean they really were family.
Family… I really like that…!
Clover had been waiting for this day for four whole years the day she’d finally meet her family.
But then—
“Then why won’t you come closer…?”
“Hm?”
“Is it ‘cause you’re worried I’ll get sick? Like Dad?”
Clover added innocently.
“Are you worried?”
Her clear, ringing voice filled the space.
Damian hesitated, then nodded.
“Yeah, because we’re worried about you.”
He smiled brightly.
“That’s why we’re saying hi from here, Clover. If our little sister gets sick, it’ll hurt our hearts too.”
His voice was warm and gentle, like the morning sun.
Clover’s heart tingled strangely. She nodded.
“Okay.”
She clenched and opened her tiny palm.
He said he’s worried about me…!
Back at the Demper household, nobody had ever said that.
Sure, when she got sick, a maid would come take care of her—out of duty.
But no one had ever said, “I’m worried,” or “Don’t get sick.”
Only Lucky had ever told her things like that.
And now, without her even doing anything, she was being cared about.
My brothers are so kind.
They really seemed like good people.
Would they dote on her and love her, just like she’d imagined all these years?
Clover quietly hid behind Belze again and peeked at Damian and Arwin, as if trying to measure them.
“Clover, is that your summon?”
Arwin pointed at the golden four-leaf clover floating above Clover’s head—Lucky.
Clover looked up at Lucky and nodded.
“Yup, uh-huh. That’s my summon.”
When she held out her hand, Lucky shimmered with golden light and gently landed on her palm.
“You can say hi. His name’s Lucky.”
“Wow… he’s adorable.”
“Right? He even looks just like you. But that makes sense. Summons come from your divine power.”
Arwin and Damian exchanged a glance and spoke.
“Come… from?”
[It means you were born from it.]
Clover tilted her head at the hard word, and Lucky explained, swaying on her palm.
Thankfully, only Clover could hear Lucky’s voice.
She smiled and nodded.
“Yeah… Lucky was born from me.”
“Born from…?”
Damian repeated, confused.
Arwin elbowed him lightly.
“She means ‘from her power.’”
“Ah, so cute.”
“Totally.”
The brothers couldn’t take their eyes off Clover.
Clover felt the same way.
It had been four years since she last saw them.
Her first time meeting her brothers.
How could any of them not be fascinated?
The three of them kept staring at one another, carefully holding that “safe distance.”
If left alone, the siblings probably would’ve just kept staring like that until morning with poor Belze stuck awkwardly between them.
But that didn’t happen.
“Masters!”
A servant rushed over.
The Duke of Claudian had summoned his two sons after hearing they’d met Clover.
“The Duke is calling for you. Please hurry.”
***
The North Wind Lion was born from Khalid’s power—his summon.
Which meant everything the summon saw or heard could also be seen and heard by Khalid.
But earlier, when the North Wind Lion had met Clover, nothing came through.
As if all its senses had been cut off on that side.
Why…?
If only the summon could speak, Khalid would’ve asked for the reason.
But it couldn’t. Summons couldn’t talk.
The only way a power-holder and their summon communicated was through shared feelings.
There was no way to get detailed answers.
The only consolation was that the North Wind Lion had been unusually gentle with Clover.
I’ve never seen it act so tame before!
It was just like a kitten…
That’s what the attendants who had watched from afar all said.
So there wasn’t much to worry about.
Still… Khalid couldn’t help being curious.
He sat at his desk, staring blankly, unable to focus on work, lost in thoughts of Clover.
That’s when a maid entered.
“Sir, the young masters went to meet Lady Clover.”
Khalid’s eyes widened.
“Clover?”
Her body still wasn’t fully healed. And yet they went to see her?
“They said since she could already meet the North Wind Lion, she’d be fine meeting them too…”
The maid trailed off nervously under Khalid’s sharp gaze.
He thought for a moment, then gave his order.
“Not yet. Bring them here.”
“Yes, sir.”
She left quickly.
Before long—
“Father, you called us?”
“Dad! We were just saying hi to Clover!”
Damian and Arwin strode into the study, plopping themselves onto the sofa before Khalid even told them to sit.
“She’s seriously so cute…”
Before Khalid could speak, Arwin made a solemn face and muttered, clasping his hands under his chin.
Damian chimed in right away.
“Right? She’s adorable.”
“Are all babies that cute?”
“No way. She’s cute ‘cause she’s our little sister.”
“Hm?”
Khalid, listening to their back-and-forth, tapped the desk sharply with his knuckles.
At this rate, he was going to forget why he called them in the first place.
“That’s enough.”
At his firm voice, the two finally turned their attention to him.
“I told you Clover’s still sick. You weren’t supposed to meet her yet. Did you just ignore me, sons?”
At their father’s stern tone, Arwin jumped up in protest.
“But, Dad—!”
“Wait until you’re given permission to speak.”
Damian quickly raised his hand.
“Father.”
“Go on.”
Clearing his throat, Damian straightened up, still holding his hand up.
“But Clover was playing just fine with the North Wind Lion. If she can handle that, then meeting us won’t hurt her.”
“Exactly, that’s what I was saying,” Arwin agreed.
Damian paused, then continued carefully, slowly.
“Because… our powers aren’t whole.”
At those words, Khalid’s eyebrows shot up.
