Chapter 28
“Miss.”
Mehen looked down at the small master clinging tightly to him.
He had gone through this a few times now, so he was starting to get used to it.
“Miss?”
At first, it had been awkward and worrying when she would bury her face into his leg or shoulder and stay still for a long time, making him wonder if something was wrong. But now, he roughly understood when Arelrin acted like this.
‘She’s drained, that’s why.’
He had just received a report that the Crown Prince had been especially clingy today.
“Miss, are you alright?”
Without a word, Arelrin pressed her face deeply into Mehen’s leg.
Whenever she showed a new behavior he hadn’t seen before, it surprised and flustered him—but learning new sides of her didn’t feel bad.
“Mom.”
“….”
Of course, moments like this were troublesome.
While Mehen froze—
“Mom.”
“….”
“Mom?”
Arelrin urged for a response. With no choice, Mehen forced his stiff lips to move, hiding his embarrassment.
“Yes.”
At the awkward reply, Arelrin smiled. The brief smile was quite cute.
Even though she seemed to know he was uncomfortable, she still deliberately called him “Mom.” There was a slightly mischievous intent behind it—but even that felt cute, which made it more troubling.
‘At least she restrains herself when others are around… should I be thankful for that?’
As he stood there with a complicated expression, Arelrin, now refreshed, lifted her head.
“I behaved well and stayed quiet, so grant me a wish.”
“Shouldn’t I be the one making a wish after receiving so many praise stickers?”
“So, my wish.”
Arelrin made a pitiful face.
“You won’t grant it?”
Mehen let out a small chuckle.
“No.”
At times like this, she really did seem like a ‘child.’
“Please tell me what you want.”
Mehen gently touched Arelrin’s chubby cheek. The soft, squishy feeling was quite pleasant.
“Anything is fine, so feel free to say whatever you want.”
He spoke with the resolve to grant any ‘wish.’
Arelrin, still clutching his clothes stubbornly, lowered her head and spoke.
“…Read me a fairy tale.”
For a moment, Mehen was speechless.
“When I sleep.”
Arelrin carefully raised her head.
“…Is that not okay?”
“….”
He needed to answer, but no voice came out for a moment. He hadn’t expected such a request, so Mehen briefly froze.
‘I thought she’d want something more grand.’
Something worthy of being called a wish—
Like wanting to buy something, or have something, or go somewhere.
But instead, such a simple wish.
“Yes… of course.”
He barely managed to answer, and the child’s face immediately brightened.
“Yay!”
As the tense child smiled, it felt like watching a flower in full bloom, and Mehen’s heart grew heavy.
“I thought you’d be too busy and it would be hard.”
“…I have enough time to read you a fairy tale.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then will you read it every day?”
Her eyes sparkled with expectation.
“Every day… might be difficult.”
A hint of disappointment filled her eyes.
“But I will try.”
That answer seemed to satisfy her, and Arelrin smiled.
“Okay!”
As he carried her small body toward the bedroom, Mehen felt the weight of the child’s complete trust in him.
‘Was I still lacking?’
He thought he had more or less fulfilled the role of a guardian—but perhaps not.
A bitter smile rose to his lips.
Seeing Arelrin so happy over something so small, Mehen reflected on himself.
“It’s time for you to sleep, so I’ll read to you right away.”
“You just came in, Mehen. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Don’t you have more work to do?”
“I have time to read for you.”
“Wow.”
As if she hadn’t expected it at all, her rose-colored eyes sparkled like jewels.
Taking the opportunity, Mehen asked about Arelrin’s recent life.
He received reports both in writing and verbally, and he visited her from time to time—but hearing it directly from her was different.
“Are you getting along well with His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“No.”
“….”
At the unexpected answer, Mehen frowned slightly.
“Can’t you oppose him coming to Peshion?”
What did she mean by that? As Mehen gently brushed her hair back, he decided to ask directly.
“Do you dislike His Highness?”
“I don’t dislike him.”
“Then?”
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“….”
Not dislike, but discomfort?
Before he could fully process that, Arelrin continued.
“He’s kind.”
“….”
“So I feel like the bad one.”
By the time they reached her room, Mehen paused. Arelrin jumped down from his arms and spoke clearly.
“I don’t want to hurt him. And I don’t want to get hurt either.”
“…I see.”
It sounded like something a child would say, yet also not.
As Mehen hesitated, unsure what to say, Arelrin added,
“I won’t live long anyway. If he gets close to me, he’ll just suffer.”
“Please don’t say such things. No one knows what the future holds.”
“Really?”
Arelrin smiled.
As if she knew nothing.
“Read me the fairy tale.”
As if she had already decided, she brought the book and climbed into bed. Watching her waiting, Mehen let out a heavy sigh.
* * *
A gathering for collecting dues.
The Crown Prince’s childhood friends, and the empire’s future elites handpicked by Empress Azeni, were scattered around, freely enjoying themselves.
The most noticeable, of course, was Peshion—the center of the gathering.
“Your Highness, today—!”
Next, as always, was Harun by his side. Around them clustered a group of children.
“Ugh, His Highness is too far.”
“I wanted to talk to him too…”
Some children succeeded in approaching Peshion, others failed—and those who failed naturally grouped together.
“It can’t be helped. Let’s just play among ourselves.”
“Yeah.”
Girls with girls, children holding books together—
In this gathering, where everyone formed their own groups, there were two figures who stood out as completely separate.
“Hmph.”
They were the little devils of Sperom—
The twins, Ciel and Noel.
“Huu…”
“Hee…”
Normally, they would be the ones making the place noisy, but today they were unusually drooped like wilted vegetables.
“Look over there, the twins.”
“Why are they so quiet today?”
Since they were usually running around causing chaos and turning everything upside down, this calm behavior was a rare sight. Everyone stared in surprise.
“It’s rare to see those little devils so quiet.”
“Indeed. What’s going on with the young masters?”
“Thanks to that, it’s peaceful and comfortable… I’m very satisfied.”
The servants, who were always tense because of the twins’ antics, felt a brief moment of relief.
But after some time, they began to feel uneasy.
“Could this be… the calm before the storm?”
“How big of a disaster are they planning to cause?”
“I almost wish they’d just cause a small one already…”
Ignoring the servants’ anxiety, the twins were lost in their own thoughts.
“I’m bored.”
“This is no fun.”
There were people who felt like they would die if they were bored—and those people were the twins.
Why were they so bored?
“Ciel, what do you think?”
“Noel, could it be because of that?”
“Ciel, I think so too.”
“Noel, same here.”
They exchanged meaningful glances.
After thinking it over, they reached a conclusion.
“It’s because Arelrin isn’t here!”
“It’s because Arelrin isn’t here!”
That was it.
The reason for everything.
“It was fun!”
“It was exciting!”
“Teasing His Highness like that was thrilling!”
“And Harun too!”
As they grumbled, they finally realized.
The reason things hadn’t been fun lately—
Was because they had been separated from Arelrin while enjoying themselves by messing with her!
“Ah.”
Having their favorite toy taken away in the middle of playing—how upsetting that must have been.
“Noel, I heard some intel. Apparently, His Highness has been secretly meeting Arelrin without us.”
“What?! That’s betrayal!”
“Exactly!”
Flames sparked in the twins’ eyes.
“We should get revenge, right?”
“Of course!”
“Let’s follow His Highness!”
“Good!”
“And then—”
Whisper, whisper.
The little devil twins giggled as they began to plot a sinister plan.
