Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

I reassured Shaula, who was worried about me as an escort.

“Trust me, Shaula.”

“No. I don’t trust you.”

Well, should I take back my words?

Shaula’s eyes filled with disbelief. I guessed I must be less trustworthy than an unsupervised little child.

But in my eyes, you’re more worrying…….

Here I wondered if Shaula would be able to find the way back to Cyclamen Castle.

“Shaula, please take care of the Lord and Monica.”

“Are you even going alone?!”

Shaula groaned.

“Yes.”

“…… Your Grace, do you know that you are very reckless?”

“But I don’t have the confidence to protect you.”

“Who is who…… !”

No matter how reckless my actions may have seemed, I didn’t want to hear nagging from a feral escort knight, so I quickly ended the conversation.

“Don’t worry, I have faith. So be careful on your way back!”

I waved my hand to Shaula and turned around. The man had been resting his chin on his hand with a docile expression and widened his eyes when I returned to the house.

“Sister-in-law?”

I sighed exaggeratedly and sat across from him.

“You brainwashed Monica to stab me, so it left a deep scar? I also got affected by the poison. It’s unfair to just leave like this.”

“…….”

“I want Eleonora to continue to heal me.”

As if trying to gauge my meaning, the man fell into anguish. However, he only came into contact with the person named Maevia Kallakis through Gilbert’s biased memories.

Naturally, when I dealt with Gilbert, I was very different from my usual self. Just like everyone has different sides.

But can that man really understand that human aspect?

He has been stuck in the desert, and he’s been acting like trash, hasn’t he?

He was a fellow who doesn’t even treat his younger brother that he loves so much as a human being?

Yeah, it was impossible.

In the end, the man couldn’t keep his silence for a long time and said.

“That’s a bit difficult.”

I squeezed my eyes into half moons.

“Is it really difficult? Even a coincidental meeting is said to have meaning, are you confident that you won’t regret it if you let me die like this?”

As I recited what he had said, the eyes staring at me shook.

“Besides, don’t you want to know why I was with Eleonora?”

He reacted enthusiastically to what I said, not secretly, but openly.

“I’m curious. I am very curious.”

Suddenly, he was leaning toward me.

Don’t push your face in, will you.

I leaned back and crossed my legs.

“But what to do? I talked too much and my throat hurts.”

“Hurts?”

“Yes, it hurts. So I need to take a break, but if you don’t want to wait, will you forcefully open my mouth?”

“No. That’s no fun. I don’t want to be harassed by my younger brother for treatingSister-in-law negligently!”

“Then what you have to do is decided.”

“…….”

I smiled and pointed to the glass of water on the table.

“I am thirsty. Bring water.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Tolymann Elliott was in a bad mood.

On the other side of the palm-laden Ravenna Empire, he lamented his plight.

“I’m just taking care of the children at a time when it is not enough to worry about the Master.”

“Do– do you not like it?”

The boy with dark brown hair had been eating food in a hurry and asked in a slurred tone. His beady eyes and innocent appearance could have been very cute, but to Tolyman, who knew the boy’s true nature, he looked just abominable.

Looking only two or three years older than Regen, Raven pointed at Tolyman with a soft, brownish hand.

“I don’t, like you, too. Ugly, cats, keep bothering me…….”

A black feather fell softly from the boy’s sleeve.

“They are fairies.”

Tolyman emphasized each one, but ordered additional food for Raven.

He went to the desert and rescued Raven smoothly. Tolyman thought it was rather trivial.

‘I was excited when the Master personally delivered me to the Kingdom of Rivet. It was a pity that the king and queen passed out as soon as they saw the Master.’

A week had already passed. His master immediately seized Tolyman’s neck, who was working hard on the sightseeing under the pretext of acquiring a band from Kingdom of Rivet, and sent him to the desert.

Tolyman faithfully followed the Master’s insincere instructions and brought Raven to a nearby village. Now he was waiting for Raven to build his stamina and he just needed to go back…… that’s what he thought. Soon there was a problem.

Tolyman suddenly remembered his master, who had disappeared with an angry face.

Just before the Master disappeared as if it was urgent, he left a message saying that if he didn’t come back, he should leave with Raven first.

This was not a situation to be taken lightly, as the master that Tolyman knew was a strong-willed but terribly lazy master who even the emperor couldn’t help but notice. It was an emergency.

“I hope nothing happened to Her Grace.”

The moment when his master would show emotions meaningfully was only a certain fixed instance.

When the Grand Duchess was nearby. Or he was thinking of the Grand Duchess.

When the Master announced that he would marry the heir of Morgana, there was an ugly atmosphere inside the castle. Everyone had assumed that Morgana’s heir would not last a moment in the north.

Certainly, in Tolyman’s eyes, his master was special. So he was hesitant to openly deny his master, even though he knew his master wasn’t the cold-blooded ruthless man as people believed. But people’s concerns were only a whim. Now, they could not have imagined that the master would hang out with anyone other than Maevia Morgana, no, Maevia Kallakis.

At that moment, a loaf of bread spread amply with jam made from sweet and sour tropical fruits fell.

“What, what’s wrong Eve?”

“I told you to call her Her Grace, brat.”

Raven glared.

“Eve, Eve, say that I can call her by her nickname? We were together in the capital.”

Busily moving his tongue, which felt unfamiliar, Raven showed off his friendship with the Grand Duchess.

“Move your tongue slower. You’re spitting everywhere.”

Raven couldn’t help but cry. But the waitress came running, so Raven had to shut his mouth with a sullen face.

“Here is the map you asked for earlier!”

Tolyman looked better with the scenery here than in the North and smiled softly at the employee.

“Thank you, Lady. How should I respond to this kindness?”

“Oooh, flirt.”

“Where did you learn that…… no. Just eat.”

Tolyman sighed and unfolded his map.

“Let’s see. The direction in which the Master disappeared…….”

Examining the map, Tolyman stiffened.

“Un, cle, what’s, wrong?”

Tolyman could not even hear Raven calling him ‘uncle.’ At the end of the direction that the Master was headed, there was the quarry. The owner was the Grand Duchess.

Tolyman folded the map.

“I don’t think it’s our business. We have to leave first, following the Master’s instructions.”

“Eve, would she…… ,be okay?”

“I hope she is all right.”

“…….”

As if his appetite had disappeared, Raven put down the food he was holding in his hands.

* * *

Aedis’ eyes gleamed.

He sensed that the barrier had been broken “inside” and headed for the quarry.

There was a person who welcomed him as his head was only full of worry for Maevia.

But it wasn’t just a greeting.

“…… So you blew up a mountain.”

A few days had already passed.

Aedis couldn’t escape from the quarry. Even though all of the beasts that had used the quarry as their habitat had disappeared somewhere, only Aedis was stranded.

And the aftermath was too great.

Only the very old being spoke calmly in a space that had turned into a living hell where the sky and the earth howled.

“Don’t be in such a hurry. Didn’t I say I would let you go when my story was over?”

“The sun has risen and set many times already.”

“The story of ten thousand years of life cannot be short.”

“…….”

“If you want to attack me, stop. I am dead, only connected with the girl. Neither you nor I want the girl to get hurt.”

In the darkness where not even a single light shone, Aedis faced the being.

The only reason he barely kept his mind was because he didn’t want to hurt Maevia.

“…… Please, tell me why.”

“…….”

“Why did you stop me?”

Hell, supposedly deep underground, had been lifted to the surface, but the very old being only smiled softly.

“I was waiting to see the girl again. But I don’t think it would be bad if you were my last conversation partner.”

“You broke the barrier, guessing that I would come alone.”

“I didn’t know you would be so polite.”

“Because my wife did get your help.”

What the hell is he?

Neither a demon nor a spirit. The being wasn’t human either, and yet Aedis didn’t feel any resentment.

Even if the man was a god, he wouldn’t be this friendly.

Aedis slowly lifted his hand.

The barrier was connected to that being, so if he directly harmed the being, a crack would appear. But he didn’t even want to try. As long as there was even the slightest chance that Maevia would get hurt, there was absolutely nothing he could do.

In the end, the being apologized to Aedis, who had softened his pressure.

“I’m sorry I misunderstood you that day.”

“When it comes to putting a taboo on me and my brother, I never asked for an apology. The same goes for understanding.”

Aedis was more than happy. Even if it meant that other people would not be able to call his name like this forever, if he had Maevia, he would always be as satisfied as he was in that moment.

As if reading Aedis’ stubborn mind, the old being finally got to the main point.

“There is one thing I want to ask you.”

“…….”

His blue, ice-like eyes moved lukewarmly. In them, there was a madness that was barely controlled.

“What will you do if the girl dies in the not-too-distant future?”