Illegius, returning home after three days, was excited to tell everyone what he had caught.

“Slow down, young master!”

“It’s fine, Jeremy!”

Jeremiah didn’t have the energy to stop Illegius who was running excitedly. But what problem could there be with him running like that?

In a place that was his world.

Illegius ran toward where his father and mother would be at this hour.

But for some reason, there was no one there.

“Where did they go?”

The corridor was soaked with water as Illegius ran around with the container of fish.
However, he didn’t care whether he was spilling water or not, focusing only on finding the two people.

“Where is Father?”

He asked a passing servant.

The servant gave an answer that was neither truth nor lie with a slightly troubled look.

“I’m not sure, but he must be somewhere in the castle.”

“Hmm.”

‘I want to show them quickly.’

Illegius muttered.

The servant knew that Illegius wouldn’t look for the bedroom. The bedroom had been a forbidden zone since he was much younger. Illegius had promised not to sleep in the same bed with them because he was no longer a child.

However, if he couldn’t find the two of them after searching everywhere else, Illegius would eventually have to go to the bedroom.

After an hour, Illegius realized that the two were nowhere except the bedroom.

Finally, even though he was no longer a child, the moment had come to knock on the bedroom door.

“Mother?”

Illegius called his mother first.

Then naturally, his father would open the door.

It would be the same if he called his father.

Illegius put down the container with the fishy smell on the floor. Somehow, now only half the water remained. The fish inside looked quite pitiful, but showing off came first. He planned to release it after receiving praise from his mother.

Just as he was about to knock again, the door opened. But only a little.

“…Illegius, you came back early.”

“Father, where’s Mother?”

Illegius asked. Then his father slipped out through the door just wide enough for his body and immediately closed it.

“Your mother isn’t feeling well.”

“What’s wrong?”

Illegius opened his eyes wide at the unexpected news.

“It’s just a cold, so don’t worry.”

“I want to see Mother too.”

“That’s not possible because the cold might be contagious.”

Illegius’s excited mood instantly became gloomy. Callius looked at the fish he had brought.

“You caught a big one.”

“Yes. I wanted to show it to Mother…”

Hearing Illegius’s dejected voice, Callius racked his brain.

“Then why don’t we make a delicious stew with this fish for your mother?”

“Will that help Mother get better quickly?”

“Of course.”

Illegius immediately lifted the container with the fish to put his plan into action. The fish, whose fate had suddenly changed, flapped around in the container. Illegius was still young.

He didn’t even notice that Callius was still in his nightclothes despite it being daytime. Three days was short. Callius thought that, although he felt sorry for Illegius, it would have been better if he had come back a day later.

“…Callius.”

Leticia’s languid voice was heard from inside.

Leticia, who had awakened at the sound of knocking, had her characteristic soft scent. His efforts over the past few days seemed futile.

“Illegius has returned.”

Leticia wanted to go meet her son right away, but her whole body felt truly languid.

He teased Leticia’s cheeks, nose, and lips with his teeth as if he still wasn’t satisfied.

“Did he catch any fish?”

“Yes. He’s planning to make a stew for his mother who has caught a cold.”

Only then did Leticia realize what lie he had told.

“There’s still some time until the stew is ready.”

“Mmm, Callius.”

She called his name with reproach, but he pretended not to understand. Her moist body welcomed the clinging skin.

Leticia met Illegius at noon the next day.

* * *

“So, when Jeremy pulled the fishing line, a big body appeared above the water!”

“It must have been a very large one.”

“It must have been extraordinary.”

While Illegius was telling his tale of valor, Nora served the stew made from the fish he had brought. Nora was an enthusiastic listener to his heroic tales.

“My goodness. Young master, weren’t you scared?”

“Not at all! My heart was pounding. But then the fishing line broke.”

“It’s a shame, but it would have been a problem even if you had caught that big one. How would you have dragged something so heavy back to the castle?”

“Well, Jeremy has a point.”

Leticia took a spoonful with an attitude as if she was recovering from an illness, though she had never been sick. The stew warmed her entire body.

“It’s more delicious because it’s made with fish caught by Illegius.”

“I can catch more for you anytime, Mother!”

Looking at Illegius, Leticia could imagine Callius’s childhood. He must have been just as gallant a boy when he was young.

“Ah, that’s right. Perhaps because of that, I had a very strange dream last night.”

“What was it?”

Callius had already emptied half of his stew. Illegius hadn’t properly taken even a spoonful yet because he was busy telling stories. After this story ended, Callius planned to tell him in a stern voice to be quiet and eat.

“It was a fish with very beautiful fins. A fish with opal-colored scales reflecting in the sunlight winked at me. While fluttering its fins…”

It should have been surprising that he knew what an opal was, but that wasn’t important right now.

Illegius’s dream story became increasingly bizarre.

“When I grabbed its fin, it seemed hurt, so I let it go. But the fish kept following me, so I showed it to Mother. Suddenly, that beautiful fish nestled into Mother’s arms.”

“Ahem, I see.”

Only Callius and Leticia knew what the strange dream meant.

“That’s… a fascinating dream.”

“Yes! It was amazing.”

“…Now you should start eating. The stew will get cold.”

Having satisfactorily shared his tale of valor, Illegius began to eat. A smile bloomed on Leticia’s lips.

It had only been a few days.

There was no way Illegius could have had a prophetic dream about his sibling.

…Right?

“That’s a really nice dream, Illegius.”

“Isn’t it, Mother?”

Callius secretly wanted to groan.

He absolutely didn’t regret the time spent losing his senses over the past few days, but part of him thought that Leticia might not get what she wanted.

“Illegius, how would you feel if you had a sibling?”

Leticia asked that when Callius was off guard.

Then Illegius’s face bloomed with a smile.

“I would love it, Mother!”

In the end, this was all a battle that Callius was destined to lose. He never intended to win in the first place, but strictly speaking, that’s what it was.

Leticia rose from her seat with a satisfied smile. Callius watched until Illegius finished his meal.
After finishing his meal, Illegius grinned.

“Thank you, Father.”

“For what?”

“For making me a sibling!”

“…What?”

When Callius gave a forced laugh, Illegius showed a smile resembling Leticia’s. It was a smile he could never refuse.

“I’ll get along well with my sibling.”

“…Yes, you should.”

In the end, he had made an implicit promise that a sibling would be born.

He didn’t know whether it was Leticia who had deceived him, or Illegius, or both.

Callius thought that being deceived wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Because he loved the two tricksters who had deceived him so much.

~~The End~~