Rodi’s eyes widened.
“Uncle?”
The boss is Lexiard´s Uncle?
Her mind was racing.

Then he’s not a new recruit like her?
Curiosity and disappointment flooded her at the same time.

Earlier, she had praised Eclise but also said he kicked off his own shoes and had a terrible personality.
She had spoken freely, thinking they were both new recruits and friends, but that wasn’t the case.
But really, an uncle?
Unable to contain her curiosity, Rodi looked back and forth between the two.
Now that she looked closely, they did resemble each other.
If you crumpled and squished the boss down, he would look like Lexiard.
She wished someone would explain it to her.
But no one was paying attention to Rodi.
“Why are you crawling out again after I put you away at home?”
“You said to come whenever I wanted.”
“You really don’t listen.”
“Since when did you like kids?”
“Not at all.”
“Are you raising one?”
“Should I tell you why I came?”
Rodi squeezed between the two, who were talking without acknowledging her.
“Are you two family?”
At that, Eclise and Lexiard looked down at Rodi simultaneously.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Eclise and Lexiard answered at the same time, but their answers were very different.
So, does that mean they are family or not?
“Just now, Lexiard called you uncle.”
“Probably not.”
At Eclise’s rebuttal, Lexiard smiled at Rodi.
“It’s true, Rodi. It seems I’m not liked by my uncle.”
Rodi was surprised because she had seen him smile with just the corners of his mouth three times today, but this was the first time she saw him smile with his eyes too.
It was incredibly, incredibly beautiful.
With that smile, her disappointment vanished in an instant!
If she got caught cursing, she would be scolded, of course!
Feeling a slight distance, Rodi quickly sided with Lexiard, standing protectively behind him.
“Boss, then Lexiard is sad!”
“Ugh.”
Eclise’s eyes narrowed even further.
“Who did you know first?”
“Uh, the boss…?”
Rodi’s confident voice gradually diminished.
“Then who should you side with?”
This wasn’t right.

“Um, um, so… but the boss is his uncle. Family shouldn’t fight. That would be sad.”

While at the orphanage, Rodi had seen many children abandoned after their parents fought and separated.
Those without parents adapted well, but the abandoned ones often cried for days, struggling.
Family is truly precious.
Those who have had a family from the start probably wouldn’t understand.
Those without a family know how much they want one.
As Rodi looked back and forth at Lexiard and Eclise with a worried expression, both lost their words.
While they were indeed uncle and nephew, their relationship wasn’t particularly close.

The conversation they were having was just a typical greeting, but Rodi’s serious reaction left both of them bewildered.
Until now, no one in Cheiles had noticed anything strange between the two, so they wouldn’t have expressed it this way.
Before long, Lexiard, who had been standing behind Rodi as a shield, smiled again.
“Did you hear that? Uncle.”
Pretending to be weak.
Emphasizing the word “uncle,” Eclise ran his hand through his hair with a bewildered expression.
“Ha… what a sly kid.”
While his words were still rough, Rodi could definitely feel the atmosphere around them softening.
Having learned to read the mood quickly while hiding her younger siblings at the orphanage, she was more perceptive than anyone else.
“What, why?”
“I don’t see any bread today.”
“Am I a bakery? If you’re hungry, go eat at a restaurant. Don’t make noise here.”
“That bread was delicious.”
Just then.
“Lord Eclise.”
A slender man with a bright wheat-colored bob approached Eclise.
His eyes were a beautiful blue, like the sky.
“Jin.”
“I just returned a little while ago. I came right away since I was told you were looking for me. Do you have any orders?”
At those words, Eclise placed a hand on Rodi’s head.
“Hmm?”
Rodi leaned slightly under the heavy hand.
As she raised her head, Eclise turned her towards the man called Jin while still holding her head.
“Ugh.”
Rodi’s body spun around without any strength.
“Take care of this kid.”
Boom! Rodi and Jin locked eyes.
‘A new person.’
Both had questions in their sparkling eyes.
Rodi recalled Gemvil saying that a new person would come to take care of her starting tomorrow.
‘That must be him.’
Jin’s gaze, which had been examining Rodi, turned back to Eclise.
“Is it work? Or is it a request outside of work?”
“It’s work. Just let her wander around, and if she needs anything, teach her. She’s a new recruit who just joined yesterday.”
“This is the child that Lord Padrid mentioned. Yes, understood.”
“Then that’s settled. Will my cursed nephew come see me?”
“Rodi.”
Lexiard placed a hand on Rodi’s shoulder.

Rodi jerked her head back.
“I’ll tell you the rest next time. I should get going for today.”
Rodi’s big eyes blinked twice.
“Can I see you again? Even if you’re not a new recruit?”
“Sure.”
“Then can we still be friends…?”
“Would you like that?”
Lexiard asked with a slightly apologetic expression.
Then he bent down to Rodi’s height and whispered in her ear.
“Let’s keep today’s conversation a secret between friends.”
At those words, Rodi’s face lit up.
It seemed she wouldn’t get caught cursing Eclise.
“Okay!”
“Then let’s meet again.”
“Will you follow me?”
Thinking they had finished their greetings, Jin asked Rodi.
Rodi nodded and waved goodbye to Lexiard.
“See you next time!”
It was time to part, though it was regrettable.

***

After reaching the third floor, Eclise instinctively reached for a cigar.
Seeing this, Lexiard took the cigar and tossed it straight into the trash can.
“I’ll have the carriage ready, so go home.”
Eclise rubbed his eyes, already looking tired.
“Uncle, can I stay here?”
“Why are you being such a fool again?”
“If I’m here, it won’t be easy for you to take revenge?”
Eclise, who had been relatively accommodating, suddenly shot him a sharp look.
“Go back.”
Usually, if Eclise looked this angry, those around would gradually distance themselves.
No, it was common not to create such situations at all.
But Lexiard actually enjoyed it.
He felt a slight hesitation at the palpable anger.
But it seemed that the underlying belief was that he wouldn’t harm him.
“Ha…”
In the end, Eclise half-gave in and rubbed his forehead.
Lexiard, the last remaining link between Eclise and the Hikkerman family.
The only heir left by the half-brother he considered family.
The name of the family he had abandoned—without even getting permission—was the first and last plea from his brother, Kateron, who had asked him to save his son during a kidnapping incident involving the Hikkerman family, which held significant influence next to the imperial family.
Eclise was only seventeen at the time.
After leaving the family, he had just created Cheiles and risen to the position of leader.

Back then, Eclise didn’t even know of Lexiard’s existence, and Kateron had risked his life to save him.
After his mother passed away, he turned fifteen, abandoned everything, and lived like a dog, only to meet Kateron again years later, who had died then.
After that, learning that Kateron, the heir of Hikkerman, had died and that Lexiard, who would follow him, was in danger, he found himself unable to completely sever ties with Lexiard.
Turning a blind eye would mean that a mere ten-year-old child could die at any moment due to strange occurrences.
Acknowledging him meant dredging up the past and the unpleasantness of having to get entangled again with Hikkerman, which he never wanted.
So, for Eclise, Lexiard was like a thorn deeply embedded in his fingertips.
It was a thorn that couldn’t be completely removed as it clung to his skin, yet it was a thorn that caused him constant concern if left alone.
“Uncle, isn’t there a room left?”
“No.”
“I’ll use the second floor. Where is that kid’s room?”
“I told you there isn’t one.”
“I guess I’ll have to tell them to leave the next room empty.”