CHAPTER 64…………………….
Lexine was waiting for me in the garden. The plan had been to share a cup of tea and a light chat.
…But how on earth had this turned into this?
What was supposed to be a private tea time with just Lexine had somehow grown into six people sitting around a round table with teacups in hand.
“Ahem…”
The first intruders had been none other than Leonil and his younger brother, Risian.
It was my first time meeting Risian. I had heard he had already taken a couple of lessons with Lexine.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Regent.”
“May I call you Risian?”
“Of course.”
He was the spitting image of his older brother Leonil. It seemed the two brothers had inherited their looks almost entirely from the Marchioness.
Even in the way he drank tea and spoke, Risian carried himself with a surprising maturity.
Unlike Lexine, who had indeed matured suddenly in recent days but still carried the unavoidable air of a child, Risian was the complete opposite.
“Are your lessons enjoyable?”
“With the finest tutors you’ve arranged for me, I’ve been enjoying them greatly. His Majesty is also a great source of inspiration to me.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
I glanced at Lexine, and he too nodded.
“Yes, Aunt. Thanks to Risian, I’ve been learning a lot as well.”
“That’s good to hear.”
As I said that, I accidentally locked eyes with Leonil. He shrugged as if to say, See? I was right.
‘Show-off…’
I narrowed my eyes and gave a slight shake of my head, warning him to drop it.
It was during this casual chatter that Mileta came to inform me that Axxion and Sheryl had arrived.
I told her to bring them in, and soon Sheryl entered, looking as lovely as ever, and greeted me politely.
“Sheryl, come in.”
“You’re all gathered here.”
Axxion walked up, glancing between me and Leonil as he spoke.
I hadn’t done anything wrong, but somehow I felt guilty and turned to glare at Leonil. He, in turn, frowned at me as though I were the one at fault.
‘Seriously?’
Just as I was about to retort, Axxion cut between us and sat down.
“If you keep looking at each other like that, how could I not misunderstand?”
His lips smiled, but there was steel in his words.
Feigning ignorance, I sipped my tea.
“Here, Sion, try this.”
I shoved a cookie into his hand to change the subject.
And thus began this absurd gathering.
At first, the atmosphere was pleasant. Three adults and three children. Conversations branched off and intertwined naturally, and sometimes the kids’ laughter was contagious enough to make us adults chuckle too.
But it only took something trivial to shatter that peace.
The trigger was this:
I had been paying close attention whenever Sheryl, Lexine, and Risian spoke.
The others didn’t know, but I was aware of their futures. I needed to be sure my choices hadn’t altered them in ways I hadn’t intended.
“Are you still doing sword lessons these days? I heard you’re training under Leonil—no, under Sir Rockstein.”
Sheryl almost slipped and called him by his first name.
“That’s right. His skills are amazing. I’ve been learning a lot.”
“My brother’s swordsmanship is unmatched, as far as I know,” Risian added proudly.
That was the start of the problem.
Sheryl, who had been sipping tea absentmindedly, set her cup down.
“What do you mean by that, Risi? My brother’s sword skills are just as incredible.”
“Of course, His Grace is formidable too, but…”
Risian trailed off.
That half-finished thought was worse than leaving it unsaid.
“Why stop mid-sentence? Are you saying my brother isn’t skilled?”
“…Sheryl, Risian didn’t mean—”
“Please, Your Majesty, step aside. It’s clear Risian has other thoughts.”
“How dare you speak like that to His Majesty?”
“Manners? His Majesty and I are like close friends. Since he’s not offended, why are you making a fuss?”
And just like that, their talk spiraled into a fight.
Of course, the three adults turned their attention to them.
Sheryl and Risian glared at each other.
‘This isn’t what I wanted at all…’
While I was still reeling, Leonil jumped in first.
“Risian, watch your tongue.”
“So you’re saying I’m the one at fault, Brother?”
“Well, that is…”
Leonil stumbled, unable to give a proper answer.
Pathetic. Just pathetic.
As if he’d heard my thoughts, Leonil grimaced. He opened his mouth again, but this time Axxion cut in.
“Sheryl, I don’t think Risian meant it that way.”
“And how would you know, Brother? Can you read his heart?”
“That’s…”
Another win for the children. Two grown men silenced by a single girl.
I sighed.
Both men avoided my eyes, while Sheryl and Risian continued to glare daggers at each other.
From what I could tell, this wasn’t really about swordsmanship. Sheryl had deliberately picked on Risian’s words.
And the Sheryl I knew wouldn’t do that without a deeper reason. She clearly had another grievance against him.
“Well then…”
I had just opened my mouth to step in when—
Lexine, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up.
All five pairs of eyes turned to him.
“I can’t stand this any longer. Sorry, but I’ll be leaving first.”
“…Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty!”
Sheryl and Risian called after him in unison, but Lexine didn’t even look back. He strode off, disappearing in seconds.
“This is your fault!”
“No, it’s your fault! If you hadn’t nitpicked—”
Their complaints exploded at the same time, both aimed squarely at each other.
Like Lexine, they too shot up from their seats and raced after him.
Which left behind… three bewildered adults.
“…That was exhausting.”
“…Hah…”
“Where’s Sir Eriksen?”
That was me, Leonil, and Axxion, in that order.
Axxion suspected Eriksen might have known something. I agreed.
“He stepped out for a bit. I’m not sure when he’ll return.”
Suddenly, I remembered Eriksen’s expression when he had excused himself earlier. He’d seemed… in a rush.
‘Wait. Did he foresee all of this and sneak out on purpose?!’
It was a perfectly reasonable suspicion—until Mileta appeared to clear away the children’s teacups. Gabriella was with her, helping.
“Shall I clear the cups, Your Grace?”
“Yes, please.”
At my nod, Mileta moved deftly, with Gabriella assisting smoothly by her side—as if she had already picked up a thing or two.
“A maid I haven’t seen before,” Leonil remarked, tilting his head and staring at her.
Of course, this was bound to happen eventually. Better here under my eyes than elsewhere.
“Sir Rockstein, don’t you dare make advances on my maid.”
“…I’ve only said one word to her…”
“You’re notorious enough that I have to warn you in advance.”
“…Tch.”
Everyone knew how much I despised his womanizing, so my sharpness wasn’t unexpected.
When I growled, Leonil raised his hands and shook his head.
“Fine, fine. Just stop glaring like that.”
“Hmph.”
But I didn’t lower my gaze.
“If Leonil had any sense, he wouldn’t, anyway,” Axxion interjected, cutting him off neatly.
Leonil clicked his tongue.
“Unbelievable… Am I supposed to live lonely forever?”
I patted Axxion’s back approvingly, my expression clearly showing my distaste for Leonil. As expected, Leonil grimaced as though he’d seen something foul.
I felt smug for a moment—until I looked away. That was my mistake.
Leonil wasn’t so easily dismissed. I failed to notice his eyes lingering on Gabriella.
My own focus was entirely on the children.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the direction they’d gone.
This won’t do. I’m going after them.
Jen, wait—
It’ll just be for a moment!
I shook off Axxion’s attempt to stop me and strode away quickly.
I had tried to hold back, to act like a proper adult. But I couldn’t.
After all, by changing fate to save Axxion, I had effectively used not just him but also Sheryl, Lexine, and Risian.
As a responsible adult, wasn’t it only right that I bear the consequences?
By the time I moved, a good deal of time had passed, and I had no idea where they’d gone. So I simply searched everywhere I could.
No matter how vast the Penetry Hall was, there weren’t endless places children could go.
Sure enough, I soon heard their voices. But Lexine was nowhere to be found—only Risian and Sheryl.
I had thought I’d followed quickly, but Lexine was already gone.
Sheryl and Risian, having lost him, were busy blaming each other.
“You were the one who started picking at my words.”
“And who was the one bragging about sword skills when my brother was right there?”
Just as another round was about to begin, Risian sighed deeply.
“I already said I was sorry. How many times do you want me to apologize?”
“…”
Sheryl met his gaze with cold eyes. Risian was the tallest of the three children, while Sheryl and Lexine were closer in height.
Looking up at him slightly, Sheryl curled just one corner of her lips.
The expression was far too cynical to belong to a child.
“When you disappeared without a word… and even now, this very moment… all you really want is for me to understand you, isn’t it?”
“…I told you I had no choice.”
“Then I’ll say the same. I have no choice either.”
There was no compromise to be found in their words.
