CHAPTER 70……………………..
“Luca. Why are you upset?”
“…Luca’s not upset.”
So upset he bit his tongue trying to deny it.
“Luca. Just tell Linne. Why are you upset? Did someone make our Luca mad? Did someone bother you at the banquet hall?”
“…No.”
“Then what is it, hmm?”
I tickled Luca’s side to coax him. This little one always bottled things up whenever he was hurt, so I had to tease it out of him.
“Mmgh. Ngh…”
Luca twisted desperately, trying not to laugh, but in the end he raised his hands in surrender. What burst out of him, though, wasn’t laughter.
“Waaah! I hate you, Linne!”
“Eh? M-me?”
“I hate you, Linne! You said you liked that big brother more than Luca!”
As the most composed of the children, Luca breaking into tears was enough to trigger Hina’s waterworks too.
“Waaah! Linne abandoned us!”
“Waaah!”
By this point, Kinya was just crying because Hina and Luca were. But first, I had to calm them down, so I gathered all three into my arms and stroked their backs.
“No, no! When did I ever say that? Luca, Hina, Kinya—I like you more. Do you know how much Linne loves you?”
Sniffle. Sniffle. “Really?”
“Of course. Really. That older boy is just a friend!”
“A friend like family.”
“Shh.”
I gritted my teeth and muttered at Luce, who just had to add that in. But he wouldn’t stop, even mimicking a fake sob.
“I feel hurt. You say I’m like family, but you keep pushing me to second place.”
“Luce. Could you not start too…?”
Hina wriggled out of my arms and ran straight to Luce, pointing an accusatory finger.
“You said you don’t have any ‘friends like family’! If that was a lie, I’ll kick your shin!”
“I didn’t have one. But now I do.”
“Gasp! No way! Linne’s mine! Linne belongs to Hina!”
“No! You’re dumb, Hina. Linne belongs to Kinya!”
“Linne’s not an object.”
Even while sniffling, Luca pointed out the obvious problem.
“Okay, okay. Kids, quiet down now. Lady Letty is sleeping—we have to be quiet, right?”
“Eep!”
At that, Hina clapped her hands over her mouth, belatedly realizing, but she still glared daggers at Luce.
“I won’t give Linne up…! I bet this big brother doesn’t even know Linne’s name. He calls himself a friend, but he never says her pretty name!”
“Her name?”
Luce tilted his head, repeating her words.
Hina nodded firmly.
“Her name is Linnegrimm! Isn’t it pretty?”
“I know that. But what does a name have to do with being friends?”
“Wh-what? With… what?”
“Hina, he means, what’s the connection?”
“Ohh!”
Thanks to Luca’s explanation, Hina struck a proud pose, hands on hips.
“Linne is a nickname. Nicknames are only allowed for close people! If you don’t even know her real name, you’re not close. We’re close, because we call her by her nickname!”
Come to think of it—has Luce ever even called me by name?
I think he always just said “you.”
Luce rubbed his chin, then murmured, looking at me:
“…The Crown Prince called you Linne, didn’t he?”
“Hm? Ah, yes, Herry does.”
“Herry?”
“Prince Hellion, I mean.”
After many ups and downs, we had ended up on nickname terms—though only in private, when no one was watching.
“It doesn’t feel fair if I’m the only one not calling you by name.”
“But I call your name, don’t I? Luce.”
At that, he shook his head.
Now that I thought of it, Luce had once offered to tell me his real name. Did he actually have a different one?
“Then… what should I call you?”
The moment his lips parted, as if he had been waiting for me to ask—
Whoosh.
The candle flames lighting the room flickered out. Then the wind came, rattling the windows as if to shatter them. My hair whipped wildly, and a chill like a breath of death crept up from my toes.
Magic was vibrating in the air. Centered on him, it swirled like a storm.
“I-it’s cold…”
“Linne, Hina’s cold…”
The children curled up tight. With their sharp instincts, they bolted instinctively toward the door, away from Luce.
I rushed to him and clamped my hand over his mouth.
“Enough! Whatever you’re about to do—don’t. You don’t need to. ‘Luce’ is good enough! I’ll call you Luce. Please, let me!”
His amethyst eyes rolled toward me. Slowly, I pulled my hand away. His lips moved, awkwardly shaping the word.
“…Linne.”
“Hm?”
I’d heard my nickname countless times, but somehow, hearing it from Luce for the first time felt strange.
“…Linne.”
“What, what is it?”
Flustered, I answered a bit curtly, but he didn’t care. He kept saying my name, over and over, like a child learning to speak his first word.
After repeating it several times, he finally smiled—slow, satisfied, like a predator full after a hunt.
“It’s late. Go home now. I need to sleep too!”
For some reason, my chest tingled strangely, so without waiting for a reply, I shoved him toward the balcony. Closing the glass door behind him, I caught one last glimpse of him watching the room before he melted into the dawn mist.
“Linne… Hina’s cold…”
“Kinya too…”
“Achoo!”
“O-oh? You’re cold?”
Funny. I felt hot.
* *
I bundled the shivering kids tightly in blankets and soothed them until, without realizing, I fell asleep too.
I had only closed my eyes for a moment, but dawn was already breaking when I opened them again.
“Mmm…”
Rubbing my stiff eyes, I sat up in bed. Pale morning light spilled through the window frame, casting the shadow of someone seated at the bed by the window.
I stared blankly at the shadow on the floor, then slowly lifted my gaze. When my eyes finally reached the figure sitting upright on the bed, my breath caught and tears stung at once.
Biting my lip, shoulders trembling, I tried not to cry—but she found me anyway in the dark. She turned her head and greeted me with gentle eyes.
“…Good morning, Miss Linnegrimm. A beautiful morning, isn’t it?”
That beloved voice again. Always calm, always elegant, though a little weak now. A voice I had longed to hear again.
“…I’m so glad to see you, Lady Letty.”
I ran to her bed and embraced her frail shoulders.
“Lady Letty. I rarely ever argue with you, but I have to say this. What were you thinking, trying to face them alone? Even Sir Rail collapsed!”
“But I had Sir Kiniax and Miss Linnegrimm behind me. There wasn’t much choice.”
She gently stroked my back as she soothed me in her soft voice.
“And you, Miss Linnegrimm—you protected Sir Kiniax splendidly. In that danger, no less.”
“I had Kinya in my arms. I had no choice either…”
“Exactly. We both did our best.”
So much for my scolding—it left no mark.
“Miss Linnegrimm, you’re wonderful. I’m glad someone like you has come to love the divine beasts.”
Her warm hand clasped mine, and I couldn’t stop the tears slipping down. Thank goodness the room was still dim, so she couldn’t see.
“M-me too. In this strange, daunting palace… I’m so glad I met someone as wonderful as you.”
Damn. As if she couldn’t tell from my trembling voice.
Hearing it, Letty chuckled softly.
“By the way, my lady. Perhaps it’s true—the brave win the beauty.”
“…Huh?”
I blinked, bewildered, and she looked at me with a teasing gleam in her eyes.
“I mean Mage Luce. To think you’d have a secret tryst at dawn. I suspected something even at the estate, but now it’s obvious.”
“…Pardon?”
“And climbing through the window no less, just to see you. Youth is youth, indeed. I tried desperately to sleep so as not to intrude. Should I have just left the room instead?”
Her cheeks tinged pink, and I waved frantically. This was a massive misunderstanding!
“N-no! It’s not like that! It wasn’t a tryst at all! The kids were there too—how could it be?”
“Oh my. Then what was it?”
“J-just… agreeing to be friends…”
“Mm~ And don’t all relationships start with friendship?”
“No, that’s not what I meant!”
Her bright laugh filled the dawn.
“Mmm… Letty… awake…?”
Kinya was the first to stir, rubbing his eyes as he searched for her. Still half-asleep, he staggered over and collapsed against her lap.
Her lips softened with fondness as she stroked his golden hair.
“Good morning, Lord Kiniaxis.”
“Letty… don’t be sick… If Letty hurts, Kinya hurts too…”
His mumbling trailed off into baby talk.
“What! Letty’s sick?!”
Hina, somehow understanding him, threw off her blanket and jumped down from the bed. She dashed over and skidded to a stop before Letty.
“Where? Letty, where does it hurt? Hina will make it better!”
“Hina, calm down. We can’t roast Lady Letty just when she’s barely recovered.”
“Who hurt Letty? I’ll kick their shins!”
“Hina, quiet…”
Finally, Luca shuffled up, hair tousled. Hina shrieked at him.
“Idiot! Who cares if you’re quiet when Letty’s sick?!”
“…Letty’s sick? W-where?”
Hina’s yell woke him instantly, and he rushed to Letty’s side, pale with worry. He didn’t dare touch her, just hovered anxiously.
“Letty, tell us! Who hurt you? Hina will punish them!”
“Violence is bad. But Luca will hit too.”
“Kinya too… mm…”
Looking at the three siblings gathered before her, Letty spread her arms and pulled them all into an embrace. Hina and Luca snuggled against her chest, while Kinya, squashed in the middle, giggled happily.
“It’s all right. I only did my duty as chamberlain to the divine beasts.”
The little ones wrapped their short arms around her with all their might.
