How much time had passed like that?

“Wow! I thought there was absolutely no way we would finish today!”

Jane stretched her stiff back and rejoiced.

The reason it had finished this quickly was because she had chased Charles out of the library the moment he had set the bookshelves back upright. Had she not, would his careless movements not have toppled the bookshelves again?

The chased-out teacher of Adele’s was whimpering outside the window like an abandoned puppy, continuously peering inside. Jane did her best to ignore that sight and focused on putting the books back in their proper places.

Jane patted her back and looked down at the children. Right now, chattering away, they looked just like ordinary children.

But that extraordinary strength was something that could absolutely never be called ordinary.

Strangely enough, it had been possible to finish quickly because the small red-haired child Adele knew the locations of the books well, and the child named Vincent listened carefully to what Adele said.

It was all thanks to their truly cat-like small hands.

Charles Theodore, having confirmed that the tidying was all done, attempted to make his way into the library. But Jane was not one to simply stand by and watch that.

She stopped patting her back and immediately ran to the door. She then made clear that he was absolutely not to enter the library until she gave her permission.

In the end, Charles had no choice but to trudge away.

Vincent and Adele also said their goodbyes to Jane and followed him out of the library. However, Charles was too preoccupied to pay attention to the children.

At the sight of the large man looking so dejected, Vincent whispered to Adele.

“That person must really love the library. Or maybe there is a book he treasures inside?”

So that is how it looks to a child’s eyes. Adele let out a small laugh.

“No. He is fond of the person inside the library.”

“Huh? Not the books but a person?”

Adele nodded and gestured toward Jane with her chin.

Vincent looked back and forth between Charles’s retreating figure and Jane stretching her back. He looked as though his mind had gone into a state of confusion.

“How do you know something like that?”

“Well, that is because……”

Adele, who had been about to explain naturally, clamped her mouth shut.

‘Because your eyes when you looked at Queen Layla were exactly the same. Even the way you turned and walked away powerlessly after being rejected.’

Those words would not come out.

Was it because it was a future she hoped would not come to pass this time?

When Adele said nothing, Vincent thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Then shall we bring them together?”

“What?”

Does this little one even know what that means? Adele asked back in disbelief, but Vincent’s eyes were sparkling in a way that was different from usual.

“It would be pitiful if that man just kept getting rejected.”

At that moment, the image of the pitiable adult Vincent who had truly kept getting rejected came to mind.

Could it be that he had instinctively sensed that the dejected figure of that rugged man was his own future?

“Hm? Adele. What do you think?”

“You should call me boss.”

Thinking of the pitiful adult Vincent made her feel strangely displeased. She had not felt this bothered back then, so why was she reacting this way now?

Adele was a little confused.

Vincent was still looking at her, waiting for an answer.

‘Right, I just need to make sure he does not end up that way.’

More than that, should she not be focusing on the present right now?

Come to think of it, if she brought her teacher and Jane together, perhaps they would stop bothering her.

“Hmm, I suppose we could.”

At Adele’s murmur, Vincent’s face lit up.

“Yes, yes! Let us absolutely bring them together!”

In order to bring Charles Theodore and the library’s Jane together, they first needed to know what she liked.

And Adele was also a woman.

In other words, Adele was the greatest possibility and the key to success in leading this plan to fruition.

Adele thought for a moment and then said.

“Listen carefully. Women are drawn to strong men.”

From wherever the notebook had come, Vincent nodded seriously and diligently took notes of Adele’s words in a small notebook.

“And what else?”

“That is all.”

Vincent’s eyes wavered with unease.

Was that truly all? Looking at his own body, he had become sturdier than before, but compared to Sir Theodore, he fell far short.

On top of that, no matter how much he ate and built up his body, he had no confidence he could become like that. It felt like they were of a different species altogether.

Seeing that Vincent seemed somewhat dissatisfied, Adele clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“It seems you do not trust me.”

“N, no. I just thought it might not be enough. Would it not be better if he could show his charm in various ways?”

At Vincent’s voice growing smaller and smaller, Adele felt puzzled.

“Sir Charles Theodore seems more than sufficient in terms of strength. He is not lacking at all.”

“That…… is true, isn’t it?”

Vincent laughed awkwardly.

“Trust me. He has been showing nothing but a weak side until now, so the time has come to show off his manliness.”

“Manliness……”

When had Sir Theodore ever acted weak? Adele’s standards seemed to be quite demanding.

Then how had he himself appeared until now?

Thinking back, he had fainted at their first meeting, and the next time he had been picked a fight with by some ruffians.

There had also been the time she had caught him being scolded by his father, and the time he had been carried along like a piece of luggage. On top of that, his training results were not yet clearly showing.

For some reason, he felt gloomy.

“Oh, how convenient, there he goes.”

Was there not a saying that speak of the devil and he shall appear? The devil of a man, Charles Theodore, had come back to the library again.

He had been soundly chased away by Jane, yet it seemed he could not bring himself to turn his feet away just like that. Even so, all he could do was loiter in front of the library, and yet he was remarkably persistent.

Adele waved her hand toward Charles and called him over. He spotted the two little ones and changed direction to approach.

Vincent, feeling overwhelmed by his enormous build, hid behind Adele and peeked out.

Upon arriving in front of the little ones, Charles gave a small bow of his head.

“Come to think of it, I never properly thanked you. You were excellent cat’s paws.”

“Rescuing someone in a crisis is the virtue of a knight.”

At Adele’s words, Charles’s eyes went wide and round. He looked Adele over sharply, then burst out laughing with amusement.

“Hahaha! Little one, do you want to become a knight?”

Only then did Vincent, who had been hiding behind her, poke his head out and say.

“Adele is going to become a fine knight.”

“Hmm?”

Upon receiving Charles’s gaze, Vincent hid again. He was still frightening after all. Especially that face.

They said he was the strongest in the kingdom, and indeed it seemed there was truly no one anywhere who could take him on.

It struck him anew how remarkable it was that Adele could talk to someone that rugged without any trouble at all.

“And what about you? Do you want to become a knight too?”

Vincent, having received Charles’s question, hesitated for a moment. Then, still hiding behind Adele, he murmured quietly.

“I, I want to follow Adele.”

“So you will become a knight to follow her?”

“Is that not allowed?”

At the small question, Charles showed a warm smile and patted Vincent’s head.

“There is nothing wrong with that. As long as you have the desire to protect someone. That is what a knight is, at its core.”

Charles, despite his frightening face, might actually be a better person than expected. Vincent smiled shyly and nodded.

Vincent had thought all adults were either frightening like his father, or the type who did nothing but lie like the servants.

If something displeased them, they would reach for a switch right away. And they would torment the weak in order to look good to those with power. Lying was just an added bonus.

This was the world Vincent had seen up until now.

But Charles was different.

To look so genuinely frightening and yet not be frightening at all. He was a strange adult.

Adele, who had been quietly listening to the two of them talk, shook her head.

“That is not what is important right now.”

Oh, right! Vincent recalled what he had forgotten and immediately asked Charles.

“Mister. You like that librarian lady over there, don’t you?”

At Vincent’s blunt question, Charles was startled and took a step back.

“How did you know?”

Could it be that these cat-like children had some mysterious ability to see through people’s hearts? Sweat trickled down Charles’s back.

Until now, there had been no one anywhere who had read him this perfectly.

He had thought from the beginning that they were no ordinary children, but to think they had this kind of ability. Charles was greatly impressed by the two children.

“Before that, just a moment.”

Adele suddenly stepped forward. With the attention of both of them focused on her, she opened her mouth with a solemn expression.

“What is the age difference between you and the librarian?”

She had nearly forgotten something important. A large age gap would be a problem. Pairing a woman in the bloom of her youth with an older man would be……

“We are the same age.”

“What? Really?”

“Wh, what did you say?”

How had he ended up bearing all the ravages of time on his own? Thinking back, it seemed that appearance had continued on into the future as well.

“Why do you react that way? Well, Jane does look younger than people her age.”

That was not the only reason for the surprise.

Whether it was simply a case of premature aging, or whether the author had created too rough a character. Whatever the reason, Adele inwardly offered her condolences for Charles’s appearance.

“Ahem. Well then, that settles it. No, wait.”