Chapter 65…
“That butterfly… wasn’t it made by Elly?”
“Yeah, that’s right!”
Clearus asked quietly, but Elly answered confidently.
“You’re helping me find it… right?”
“Um… a hint?”
“Why?”
If she stayed silent, it would have been Elly’s victory.
It was her chance to play however she wanted—so why give it away?
Instead of revealing her true thoughts, Elly smiled.
It had been the same when playing hide-and-seek with her brother. When he seemed truly unable to find her, she would send a butterfly as a hint.
But she never revealed exactly where she was hiding—that would have been meaningless.
She only gave a clue that she was somewhere nearby. Her brother had to find her using his own effort for it to mean anything.
That’s what made the discovery real.
“There you are.”
Elly loved the moment Clearus pushed aside the grass, moved branches, and uncovered the obstacles to find her.
It felt like being rescued from a trapped world.
At that moment, she didn’t feel lonely.
Why? Even though she had shared every moment with her brother, Elly had often felt lonely.
Sometimes, she felt like a strange being, completely isolated from the world.
Now, she really was a being apart.
She didn’t belong to this world.
But if Clearus found her, like he had earlier, she wasn’t lonely.
“I was curious about what Clearus wanted to do!”
But that was Elly’s secret.
Her brother always found her, but Clearus was still a child—he might not.
Then he might feel sorry to Elly.
So she deliberately hid her reason.
“Even if you hadn’t done that, I would’ve told you if you asked…”
“But still!”
“You don’t have to ‘let me win’ like that. There’s no meaning if I can’t win on my own.”
Clearus’s competitive spirit came through in his insistence.
“Ah…”
She’d forgotten that.
Clearus was going to be a knight. He would have a strong competitive streak.
Knights were sensitive to unfair play!
“Th-then, should we make another bet?”
Elly urgently suggested a new wager.
“This time, let’s do whatever the winner really wants!”
“What kind of bet?”
“Anything! Running, jumping far, hanging… whatever.”
Clearus tilted his head, listening quietly to her suggestions.
“But of course, those are all things I’d win.”
“……”
She couldn’t even argue—he was too confident.
Of course, Clearus had designed them to be things he would win at—but that didn’t sit right either!
“Then…!”
“Just do what I want.”
“Eh? That’s okay?”
“Letting me win was your kindness. I’ll accept it this time.”
Clearus smiled.
But Elly somehow felt a chill in her stomach and couldn’t smile.
It felt ominous.
“Ahhhh!”
Elly screamed as she ran.
“A wolf is chasing from behind! Roar!”
“Ahhhh!”
“Ah. Got eaten again.”
“Ahhh…! Just eat me already!”
Elly collapsed onto the dirt.
She struck a perfect pose for prey.
Clearus, playing the wolf, didn’t actually attack her.
“If you lie there, the wolf might really eat you,” Clearus said, circling her with arms and legs like a wolf.
Still, Elly didn’t move.
“From now on, I’m wolf prey.”
“It would make me so sad if Your Majesty became wolf food.”
“But you’re the wolf, Clearus!”
“They said if I have the energy to scream, I have the energy to run too.”
“Clearus, you devil!”
“You just called me a wolf a moment ago.”
Clearus had even won over Elly with words.
Even speaking required stamina.
When stamina ran low, words didn’t come easily.
Elly was shocked to realize she had been overpowered by Clearus’s words.
“Cl-Clearus, you’re mean…”
If it were the real Clearus, he would have been shocked by those words and backed down.
He was always especially weak to seeing Elly upset or crying.
But the person circling in front of her now wasn’t like that.
He looked like Clearus, but he wasn’t.
How could he be fine while Elly struggled and panted so heavily?
“Not fun anymore?”
“Now it’s not fun!”
At first, it had been fun.
Every time the seeker changed, they played various animal games—wolf and sheep, lion and deer, leopard and rabbit, etc.
‘What should we play?’
‘How about doing some training as play?’
Clearus’s suggestion froze her briefly.
Then he tempted her: ‘Let’s play fun training games.’
Even though Elly had given him victory, the winner was Clearus. He had to honor the agreement.
Rilchia had given up on training and switched to play.
But Clearus introduced a new concept: ‘playing while training.’
To Elly, it was no different from just playing.
The only difference was a new rule with animals added to tag.
‘But this is so exhausting!’
Playing and training were only a paper-thin difference.
It even felt a bit like being tricked.
“Shall we play something else fun?”
“I don’t want to run anymore!”
“Okay, no running.”
“!
She had been tricked once, but wanted to trust him again.
Elly rolled her eyes and looked at Clearus.
“…Can we play after eating snacks?”
“Oh. Shall we?”
Surprisingly, Clearus agreed to her suggestion.
She had expected him to roar, “You don’t get snacks unless you sweat more!”
Elly perked up instantly and sat up.
“Yes! Let’s eat and then play!”
Adults watching from afar started bustling, “Then let’s prepare a cool snack…”
But Clearus ran ahead and stopped them.
“Just snacks aren’t enough.”
“Huh? What do you mean, just snacks aren’t enough?”
“I brought a special snack from the House of Bernt.”
“Oh?”
“You must eat it during training!”
The adults nodded to each other in agreement at Clearus’s firm insistence.
After all, he had gone to the trouble of bringing it…
“What’s the special snack?”
Elly, seated at the table, looked at Clearus with eager eyes.
Normally, she had a few pieces of fruit, some cookies, maybe cake, a little soup—simple snacks.
But a special snack from House Bernt must be extraordinary.
A three-tier cake… a fresh cream fruit mousse tart, perhaps.
“I’ve prepared it.”
The steward placed the ‘special snack’ on the table, freshly prepared per Clearus’s request.
“?”
Elly looked at the food, then back at the steward.
The steward nodded knowingly.
Elly’s eyes shifted to Clearus.
“Looks delicious.”
Clearus smiled, pointing to plain boiled eggs, chicken breast, beans, oatmeal porridge, cheese, and yogurt—not exactly appetizing.
Elly’s smile vanished completely.
“…Clearus, you liar.”
Even a baby could tell it was tasteless.
It was clearly healthy but bland food.
“Ah, really. It’s delicious.”
Clearus was taken aback.
Making Elly strong was important, but so was feeding her tasty food.
Usually, people would see this and think it’s bland and run away.
“Liar! Rilchia said it was delicious, but it wasn’t!”
Elly shouted.
Rilchia flinched, shoulders trembling, looking into the distance.
“……”
Ah. Someone had already tried it.
Clearus felt a bond growing with Rilchia.
Those who practiced martial arts respected the captain of the guard, but in the House of Bernt, the captain was more of a rival.
Yet seeing her act with shared purpose… his heart was moved naturally.
“This is a special dish from the House of Bernt. Even with the same ingredients, the taste can differ.”
“Hmm….”
Clearus proudly offered the food to Elly.
Elly looked suspiciously at it.
As Clearus said, the ingredients were unusual, but the aroma and presentation looked appetizing.
“Shall I try it first?”
“…Okay.”
Clearus immediately picked up a dish, coated chicken breast in sauce, decorated it with beans, and brought it to his mouth.
Elly stared at him like a cat watching someone in a box, cautious.
“…Tasty?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re eating like it’s not.”
“…Oh. That’s just how I eat.”
She hadn’t thought about facial expressions while eating.
Clearus touched his mouth with his hand—but would it be strange to smile while eating?
“Mm…”
“With Your Majesty, it tastes better than eating alone.”
“Really?”
“Yes, would you like to try?”
Clearus fed some to Elly.
She hesitated, then opened her mouth with resolve.
Clearus placed it inside.
“Mm… hmm… oh?”
Elly’s eyes lit up as she chewed, making a gourmet-like expression.
