Chapter 38

“...You were awake?”

Embarrassed, Calypse hurriedly sat back down.

Whether Lucas had been asleep or awake, he had only said the things he wanted to say, but now that he thought about it, he seemed to have rambled on about overly dramatic things before even apologizing properly. An awkward cough escaped him.

“Ahem. I thought you were sleeping.”

“I woke up halfway through.”

“Since when?”

“Since Father opened the door and came in.”

“......”

So he had heard basically all of it.

Calypse let out a sigh and muttered,

“You’re a light sleeper.”

“I have to be if I want to protect myself.”

But Lucas answered like it was no big deal, and Calypse felt his heart sink all over again.

“...Mm.”

One of his brows lifted on its own.

It felt like he had to say it now.

After hesitating briefly, Calypse looked into his son’s eyes and finally spoke.

“About Marquis Lilith.”

“......”

“If you had told me beforehand, forget the heir selection trial—I would’ve smashed the marquis’s skull in first. Why didn’t you tell your father?”

“The marquis said five thousand gold was too expensive, so Father decided not to bring me back.”

“What?”

“The marquis. That bastard told me that.”

Just as Calypse was about to ask if he had really believed that nonsense, Lucas narrowed his eyes and murmured,

“I was three years old.”

Ah.

Right.

He could not blame a three-year-old child for believing such lies and resenting him for it.

Thinking about how much suffering such a tiny child must have endured made his chest ache.

I should’ve killed Marquis Lilith slowly over five years.

While cursing the marquis inwardly, Calypse lowered his head. The crushing self-loathing inside him still continued spilling over little by little.

The more pitiful truth was that Lucas, the one who had suffered through everything, looked far more stable than he did.

“But I’m okay now. Honestly, I already understood everything. I’m a young lord of the Kreutz family after all.”

“...You don’t need to force yourself to understand. You can hate your father as much as you want. I’ll accept all of it.”

“At the dinner table, I just got scared and reacted impulsively. Even if I’m a young lord of the Kreutz family, there are still things I’m afraid of, you know?”

Squirm, squirm.

Still lying on his stomach, Lucas pushed himself upright and raised his brows.

“Father. Speaking of that, how could you say something like that?”

At the sudden question, Calypse slowly raised his gaze.

“What are you talking about?”

“You said it doesn’t matter what happens to the world. Seriously, is that something a duke should say?”

“I got too involved in the affairs of the world and ended up losing all of you. I’m saying I won’t make that mistake again.”

“You’re saying that as the Duke of Kreutz?”

He only meant that he would focus on raising his children from now on, but for some reason his son kept interrogating him relentlessly.

“The Duke of Kreutz is still human.”

“But...”

“Right now, aside from you and Aisha, there’s no meaning left in life for me.”

At those words, Lucas deeply furrowed his brows.

“But I endured for five years thinking only about the Kreutz family.”

Beside them, sleeping Aisha flopped over onto her back and parted her lips slightly.

Haaa—

Making sure not to wake her, Lucas lowered his voice as much as possible, but frustration still filled his eyes.

“I survived by telling myself, I’m Kreutz. The direct line of the Kreutz family doesn’t lose to things like this. I endured inside that iron cage for five whole years...”

Calypse found himself speechless.

“If the head of the family says the Kreutz family means nothing, then what does that make me after enduring all that?”

“Lucas.”

“So protect both.”

Then a tiny fist rose into the air.

“Become stronger. Use our power to protect people and protect ourselves too.”

He was clenching his fist so tightly it had gone pale, and his pinky finger suddenly popped outward.

Not knowing what he should even say, Calypse narrowed his eyes—

“Seriously. Honestly.”

Unable to bear the frustration anymore, his son awkwardly shuffled closer and forcibly grabbed Calypse’s pinky finger to make a promise.

“Aisha and I are going to become stronger too.”

“......”

“We’ll become stronger little by little while staying in Father’s arms. Then we’ll protect people too. We’re not saying Father has to protect everyone alone.”

“......”

“So keep your promise.”

Only after hearing those determined words did Calypse finally begin to truly see his son.

Lucas was not simply a child.

Even after being hurt and exploited by people, he was still someone who understood the mission of the Kreutz family—to protect those weaker than himself.

Someone worthy of carrying the power said to be a fragment of a god.

“......”

Calypse could not take his eyes off his son for a long while.

This was the request of a son who had returned after enduring countless hardships.

“I swear it on my life.”

There was no reason for him to refuse.

***

“Mmmnngh—.”

The bed felt especially warm.

The Kreutz estate always kept the interior warm to withstand the cold northern winds, but...

Today it felt different somehow. Like even my heart felt warm.

Purr—

As I opened my eyes to the soft sound of Lucas snoring lightly, I noticed someone was holding my fist-clenched hand like a tiny curled-up caterpillar.

He didn’t let go even once while sleeping.

What a tsundere.

Last night he had angrily forced me to sleep here while shouting, “You think I’m doing this because I like you?! Even if Marquis Lilith is locked up, that still means he’s somewhere nearby! I’m worried, so I can’t let you leave!”

“...Anyone seeing this would think I’m older brother Lucas’s daughter.”

Haaam—

I yawned lazily while mumbling to myself, then suddenly froze.

There was another huge arm besides Lucas’s.

A long, lean arm wrapped in tight muscle.

A massive hand far bigger than mine.

The thick, long fingers were covered in calluses here and there like someone who constantly gripped sword sheaths.

...Who else is here besides Lucas and me? Don’t tell me it’s actually Marquis Lilith?

That was ridiculous, sure, but an adult man’s arm being in this bed was even more ridiculous.

Roll—

I tried turning over to see who it was, but the sleeping Lucas frowned and tightened his grip around my hand.

Darn.

Guess I’ll have to move once the maid sisters come in.

Feeling disappointed, I at least lifted my head to peek at the person’s face.

“Ung?”

Above Lucas’s curled-up head, I saw duke mister sleeping too.

“...The three of us slept in the same bed?”

Why?

When did this mister join us...?

Still, now I understood why the cold morning had felt unusually warm.

So waking up in Father’s and older brother’s arms feels this warm.

“Mmm.”

Hmm hmm—

After confirming both of them were there, I found myself humming unconsciously.

It felt like being a baby bat protected deep inside a safe cave, with another cave wrapped around that one too.

...Is that even the right comparison?

My chest felt all ticklish.

Not excited exactly, but more like the soft rumbling feeling of a cat purring.

It was an emotion I had never experienced before, so it felt awkward trying to put it into words.

How am I supposed to describe this situation?

I was lying there wrapped between the two men, lost in thought when—

Knock knock.

A maid sister entered the room, saw us, and her eyes widened.

“A harmonious family— no, my lords are still asleep. I’ll bring the meal later.”

The answer came from a surprisingly unexpected place.

Right.

This was family.

***

At that same time, inside the royal consort’s palace of the Frozen Kingdom.

“Did Knox not come?”

At Empress Grace’s question, the man shook his head.

“The entire north is in chaos right now, so he probably couldn’t leave. Apparently Marquis Lilith kidnapped a direct-line young lord of the Kreutz family.”

“What?”

Empress Grace’s eyes widened as she looked up from the paper decorated with intricate monster illustrations.

“Who kidnapped whom? What in the world happened?”

The latest news she had heard was only that Young Lord Lucas had been recovered.

“They’re saying the Lilith family is finished now. Apparently they even sold the kidnapped young lord as a slave. And they disguised it as a disappearance too.”

“...Good heavens. Don’t tell me he did all that just to make his own son the heir? That marquis has lost his mind.”

“Exactly.”

“A bastard like that would make perfect food for a Corrupted Raptor.”

Clicking her tongue, the empress collapsed back into her seat.

Corrupted Raptors were four-legged monster beasts that lived in enormous packs throughout the north.

“Perfect raptor food indeed.”

Then the woman beside the man added eagerly,

“Though apparently that’s not the only reason Sir Knox couldn’t come.”

“What now? How dare he skip the empress’s gathering.”

“They say he’s busy helping Lady Aisha complete her bucket list!”

“Aisha?”

That name...

Blinking her light green eyes, Empress Grace recalled something Knox had said during the last gathering.

“She’s a child whose footsteps sound like cheep cheep, whose head looks like an arrowhead stabbed into a sheep’s wool, and whose eyes are so big they cover half her face.”

At the time, Knox had been completely serious.

So serious, in fact, that the light reflecting off his raised monocle during the explanation had nearly blinded the other gathering members.

“...At that point, isn’t she less of a human and more of a fairy?”

Empress Grace murmured dreamily.

By now, a winged fairy with an arrowhead-shaped little head was already fluttering around inside her imagination.