Chapter 21
The creature leapt right over Edmond and Yulia, passing them by!
Thanks to that, only Edmond—who had grimly resolved himself for death and wrapped Yulia protectively in his arms—was left feeling a little awkward.
Ah! Because they’re of the same kind…!
Of course. Beings of the same race usually don’t attack one another. Monsters born of miasma and the familiars of dark mages shared a similar aura.
The creature must have mistaken Edmond and Yulia as kin and simply passed them by!
So that hesitation in front of me was for the same reason.
That made sense when put that way.
In any case, with the danger gone, Edmond released Yulia with his usual expressionless face. Others might not have noticed, but he was clearly embarrassed.
Yulia also looked dumbfounded.
“Berner!”
“Yes, I’ll buy us some time!”
Before the monster could reach the others, Berner blocked its way. Without a sword imbued with holy power, at best he could only stall for a while.
Squelch!
Soon after, Tristan arrived and severed the creature’s head from its body, ending the matter.
Soaked in the monster’s blood, Tristan lifted its head, and the tense atmosphere slightly loosened.
Parents hurried to find their children, and soon the area erupted in chaos as kids burst into sobs.
I, too, clutched my throbbing arm and forced my stiff, aching body to move. Every time I strengthened my flesh with miasma, it was always followed by extreme muscle pain.
“Andrea.”
As I called, Andrea—who had obediently hidden under the desk as I told her—looked up at me with teary eyes.
“It’s over now. Come here.”
“…Uwaaaahhh!”
Andrea threw herself into my arms, bawling. The child hugged my neck with all her strength.
“Nunaaa….”
“Yeah.”
“From now on I’ll listen to what big brother and big sisters tell me.”
As if his whole life had flashed before his eyes in that short moment, he began confessing tearfully.
“I won’t sneak into the kitchen at night to steal candy anymore, and I won’t play with the fountain and keep it secret from you guys anymore…”
…So you were doing that, huh.
“And I’ll give back the jewel I secretly took from Yuli nuna.”
Our youngest had gotten quite good with his hands without anyone realizing.
“And… I’m sorry I gave Rev meat without telling Emily nuna….”
Ah, no wonder Rev was getting chubbier lately.
“And also…”
Before Andrea’s heartfelt confessions were even done, his stomach made a loud announcement.
Grrrrumble!
Andrea’s face flushed bright red.
“Were you hungry? You haven’t been eating properly these days. Why was that?”
“Well…”
Andrea mumbled in a tiny voice.
“Because Isaac hyung hasn’t been hugging me much lately… I thought maybe I got too fat….”
Good heavens. Our youngest had actually been dieting. The reason was so unexpected it made my mind go blank.
“That’s not it. You look just perfect right now.”
“But these days, nuna and hyung don’t play ‘lift me up high’ like before! And when I ask for hugs after they come back, they just avoid me!”
“That’s…”
I couldn’t exactly say, Because your siblings have turned into zombies.
So I grabbed another excuse.
“When you get to our age, your wrists start hurting. It’s not because you’re heavy.”
And just like that, we siblings had been reduced to twenty-somethings worrying about joint pain. But that was fine.
“Really?”
“Of course~. You’ll understand when you’re older.”
But to a child, all adults were just old. Andrea took it very seriously.
“Then, are you okay, nuna?”
He was even worrying about me as I held him.
“Mm-hm. This is a secret, though…”
I leaned to whisper in his ear.
“The truth is, unlike the others, I eat everything without being picky. That’s why I’m fine.”
“Gasp.”
“Don’t tell your brothers and sisters. Only you can know, okay?”
“Yeah!”
Andrea covered his mouth with both hands and nodded.
Just then, I felt someone’s presence nearby. A long shadow fell across me, and when I turned my head, a vivid scarlet color filled my vision.
“Lady Walker.”
It was the eldest son of House Archmone, whom I’d seen earlier. If I recalled correctly, his name was Hereis Archmone.
“I came to express my thanks. You saved my younger sister.”
Behind him, little Jury peeked out timidly.
“It was only natural. Anyone would have done the same.”
“No. It was an act of true courage.”
“That’s too much praise….”
“I was uncertain before, but seeing you today gave me conviction.”
Hereis bent to one knee and lightly brushed my hand with a kiss.
I stared blankly, wondering what in the world is this, when he suddenly uttered nonsense.
“Please allow me to formally court you.”
…Eh?
I stammered, unable to find the right words. Did he just say—courtship?
As I stood frozen, hand still caught in his, another voice cut in.
“Who gave you permissionnnn!”
Yulia pushed herself between me and Hereis, shouting.
“That statement sounds highly problematic, Lord Archmone.”
Edmond also stepped in front of me, his face like ice. In an instant, Hereis was being treated like some ruffian who had threatened me.
“I assure you, I did not speak lightly, Lord Walker. I’ve thought about this countless times.”
“You mean to say, who gave you permission? And how exactly? You met our girl for the first time today!”
…Who exactly is this “our girl”? Don’t tell me they mean me?
“True, I only met her today, but even in chaos she showed such courage—it moved me deeply.”
“Are you trying to propose marriage right now?”
“Marriage may be premature, but isn’t it proper for courtship to have both families’ blessing?”
“You would dare insult a noble young lady of marriageable age with such presumption?”
Edmond’s voice was razor-sharp.
“That was not my intent…! Wait, hold on.”
Hereis seemed struck by a sudden realization.
“…A noble young lady of marriageable age? What do you mean by that?”
“You just asked our Emily for permission to court her!!”
“What? No, no, that’s not what I meant…!”
He waved his arms in panic.
“I was asking permission for my sister Jury and your fifth son, Andrea Walker, to formally court each other!”
Ah. So that’s what this was about.
“I never dreamed you would misunderstand…! O-of course, Lady, you are very charming, but you’re not quite my type.”
…Was that supposed to be a rejection disguised as flattery?
“What do you mean our Emily isn’t good enough?!”
Yulia exploded again.
“She’s beautiful, kind, gentle! Way better than the stuck-up Archmone family, who only care about themselves!”
Her insults were going too far. At this rate, she might start a feud with House Archmone. I gave Edmond a signal to rein her in.
He nodded.
“I fail to see how my sister has any shortcomings whatsoever.”
I nearly smacked my forehead in front of everyone.
With Hereis looking flustered, I had no choice but to step in.
“I’m sorry, my siblings are… overly protective. It seems there was some misunderstanding.”
“N-not at all.”
“I already knew about their little friendship, but I didn’t think it was something for the adults to intervene in.”
I smiled gently, steering the conversation. With Hereis still stunned, it was easy to seize control of the dialogue.
“Of course, I understand your desire to look after them. But children are easily influenced by those around them. We can’t micromanage every relationship they have.”
Jury, behind him, nodded fervently as if to say I was right.
Hereis looked shocked.
“Friendships and partings are natural. Families should keep their interference to a minimum. There’s no need to formally request permission to let children play together.”
They were only eleven years old, after all—hardly more than make-believe play.
“…I see. You’ve taught me much.”
He nodded gravely. Raised under strict supervision since childhood, my words must have sounded novel to him.
Our parents were the unusual ones.
And after they passed, Edmond took their place. But he was always too busy to fuss over trivial matters, which was why we grew up more freely than other noble families.
Hereis crouched to meet Andrea’s eyes where he lay in my arms.
“Thank you for protecting my sister.”
Andrea blinked wide-eyed as Hereis extended his hand. They exchanged a firm handshake.
“Well then, until we meet again.”
He bowed politely and departed with Jury. On the way, Jury kicked him in the shin, so he was probably in for some scolding.
“Hmph. So full of himself,” Yulia muttered, clearly unimpressed.
Well, maybe he didn’t leave a good impression, but…
The children were safe, and Andrea and Jury got along—that was enough for me.
“Ed-hyung, Yuli-nuna. Are you two okay?”
Andrea belatedly asked after them. Edmond and Yulia glanced at each other, then turned away again.
“I’m fine.”
“Just a little embarrassed.”
Yeah, that sounded about right.
For all that grim resolve of self-sacrifice…
The monster had simply jumped over them. It was hilarious in hindsight.
“Thank goodness….”
Andrea sighed in relief, then slowly blinked himself to sleep. After all the chaos, fatigue hit him hard, and he soon dozed off in my arms.
We quietly watched the sleeping Andrea, then whispered among ourselves.
“Honestly, what a mess. A monster, in the middle of the Academy….” Yulia muttered blankly. The sudden incident still felt unreal.
“Even in lands once tainted by dark mages, monsters can appear anywhere. But here? Near the capital? The barriers have never once fallen.”
She was right. For a monster to appear here was more than strange—it was nearly impossible.
“Yes. Unnatural indeed.”
A voice cut in from behind. Tristan, wiping blood from his sleeve, was approaching.
I wanted to shout, Don’t come any closer!
