Chapter 53
Aine quickly hid behind me at the sudden glance, but when I told her it was okay, she peeked her face out. The elderly butler smiled warmly at the sight of her big, round eyes and guided her to a seat. Somehow, a small chair, just the right size for her, had been prepared.
Aine hesitated, then climbed onto the chair with a bit of struggle. She bowed her head and fidgeted with her hands, seemingly overwhelmed by all the attention.
Soon, the maids brought in food and placed a piece of white bread in front of her. It was probably the first time she had eaten in front of so many adults. Aine glanced around nervously. Seeing this, the duchess spoke gently.
“You may eat.”
Aine looked at me, and when I nodded, she picked up the bread with her small hands and took a bite. Her eyes widened, and soon she began eating quickly, almost greedily.
“Were you very hungry? There’s more food, so eat slowly and as much as you like,” said the duchess kindly.
“Try the milk too,” I added.
When I handed her a cup, she hesitated a moment, then drank it eagerly. White traces of milk remained around her mouth. Watching her eat, chewing delicately with those big, round eyes, was unbearably cute.
It seemed everyone in the room was as focused on her as I was.
“So… who is this child?”
The duke asked. He and the duchess had realized that the child before them was not the one born to me and Lloyd, and his expression showed disappointment.
Lloyd replied, “I found her being abused at the Terina Church and brought her here.”
The duke clicked his tongue.
“Those hypocrites… they put on a show for donations, but then abuse the children?”
Davien, who had been silently listening, ground his teeth.
“And that so-called ambassador filed a lawsuit for 500 billion gold, claiming his sacred power was taken. Ridiculous. This is the perfect chance to cut off support to the Terina Church entirely!”
He muttered to himself, still in disbelief as he tore off a piece of bread.
“500 billion gold? Has that old man lost his mind? Claiming his sacred power was stolen… must’ve watched too many creation myths. Tsk tsk.”
Davien shook his head.
The serious atmosphere made Aine tremble with fear. Seeing this, Davien forced a smile and said, “Ahaha, sorry, Aine.”
“How old is Aine this year?” the duchess asked me.
“She’s very small, so she might be older, but I’d say around five,” I answered. Aine shook her head, playing with my sleeve, then spread her hands to the duchess.
“Ten? Aine, you’re ten?”
My goodness. Ten years old, and still so tiny. Everyone in the dining room looked touched.
“Aine, there’s plenty of food here, so eat as much as you like!” Davien encouraged. Aine nodded in response.
Over the next day or two, Aine slowly began adapting to Helderios. She became comfortable with the duke and duchess, even laughing while riding the rocking horse the duke gave her.
When the elderly butler performed magic, she would widen her eyes, fascinated, and sometimes she even approached him, tugging at his trousers and gesturing for him to show her magic.
Davien took Aine to a children’s clothing boutique, saying he really wanted to buy her nice clothes. It looked expensive even at a glance. The shopkeeper flattered her, calling her adorable, and Davien, feeling proud like she was his own child, pointed at all the outfits.
“I’ll buy everything from here to there!”
Thanks to him, Aine had no worries about clothes.
Though she seemed to adapt well, bedtime was still difficult. She would twist and cry when sleeping alone or with others, only sleeping peacefully with me. So she began staying in my room.
This caused a problem with Rova.
I had never shown Rova to Aine. No matter how gentle Rova was, she was a Hellhound, and Aine was a tiny ten-year-old who couldn’t speak well yet. Seeing a calf-sized Rova might frighten her, so I decided to keep them separate until she fully adjusted.
In Helderios, besides me, only one person could handle Rova: Davien. Lloyd hated the name and strongly disliked her, and the other staff feared her. Davien willingly agreed to take care of Rova until Aine adapted. But…
“Kae! Rova won’t sleep in my bed!”
“Kae! Why does she lower her tail and sit down only when she sees me?”
“Kae! Rova won’t eat!”
“Kae! Rova…!”
“Kae! Enough! Stoooop!”
Davien came to me almost every day, whining about how hard it was to take care of Rova. I finally shouted in frustration, tired of her constant complaints.
Even before work at dawn and after returning home, her complaints were always about Rova.
“But now she pees only when she sees me,” Davien said, pouting.
“How did you treat her that made a Hellhound tremble like that?” I asked. I had already trained her perfectly to go outside and sit.
Davien scratched her head.
“Well, I took her on early morning walks, to knight training, and to dungeon runs. Her condition started getting bad then, and it never improved.”
I finally understood. Davien had taken Rova, a monster, to places where she had to smash rocks with her fists or fight captured dungeon monsters. No wonder Rova was shaken.
I sighed.
“Okay, let’s talk to Aine and fix this.”
How should I explain it to her? Our dog is big, about the size of a calf, sometimes breathes fire, but is gentle…
As I approached Aine’s room, I heard barking inside.
“Huh?”
I imagined Aine trembling at the sight of Rova, but when I opened the door, the situation was completely opposite. The large Rova was trembling with her tail down, while Aine tilted her head, watching her.
Rova hid behind me, looking for protection. She was big, yet pressed herself against me, trembling.
“Why is Rova like this?” I thought. It should be the other way around.
Aine looked between me and Rova casually, then stepped forward. Rova whimpered as Aine approached. When Aine petted her head, Rova’s trembling calmed, and she lay down submissively in front of Aine.
“Davien, how did you handle Rova to make her so scared?” I said. Ten-year-old Aine had managed to calm a Hellhound.
“Good. She can live with her now,” I added.
Aine treated Rova like a small puppy, gently patting her head. From then on, Rova stayed in my room with Aine. The only change was that she no longer climbed onto my bed, instead curling up below it.
After I left for work, Aine took care of Rova. She would lead the large Hellhound on walks in the garden and cut raw meat for her to eat. Strangely, while Rova would run and jump, breathing fire when walking with me, she only walked calmly with Aine.
“A ten-year-old is far better than Davien at this,” Lloyd muttered, watching Aine and Rova from the window.
“What?”
Davien’s forehead veins bulged.
“You’ve been whining about how hard it is to raise a dog since morning, haven’t you?”
“Why should I help? You were the one who brought the Hellhound here!”
“Exactly…!”
The twins’ eyes seemed to crackle with tension.
Great, they’re about to fight again.
These two always argued over the smallest things. At first, I was afraid, but after seeing it so often, I had grown used to it.
Hmm… today, it looks like a serious fight is brewing. A red aura began to emanate from both of them as they glared at each other.
Damn it. I’m already busy helping with these piled-up papers in the office. I took a deep breath and shouted:
“Enough!”
Their shoulders jumped, and the red aura disappeared.
Yes. Time to focus on work.
I slammed the papers down and shouted at the twins:
“You haven’t finished organizing the documents! Fight only after you’re done!”
Finally, they calmed down and sat at their desks, picking up their quills to work.
Thus, another day in Helderios came to an end.
