I faced the scene before me and froze.

The girl was holding Cardien tightly.

She had even shared her coat with Cardien.

“My Dad said this. When it’s cold, sharing body heat makes you warmer.”

“……”

“So don’t worry. You’ll be warm soon.”

“……”

Cardien didn’t say anything.

He just lay in the girl’s arms with a face as pale as a corpse.

Seeing this, I bit my lip.

‘Did I do something unnecessary?’

Did I lure that girl to Cardien and needlessly make an innocent child suffer?

Regret began to surface, but I shook my head.

I approached the girl and said, “I found a house where you can escape the cold.”

“Huh…… that voice again……”

“Follow me, okay?”

I became anxious, wondering if suddenly she couldn’t hear my voice, or if she would ignore me, or if the worst-case scenario would happen.

But…..

“Okay……”

That didn’t happen.

“Heave-ho.”

The child, carrying Cardien again, looked ahead and asked, “Which way should I go?”

“This way. Come this way.”

Step, step.

The child followed my voice, treading on the snow that had accumulated.

A question suddenly occurred to me.

‘How can that child hear my voice?’

And how can she follow me without any doubt?

Above all…..

‘Who exactly is that child?’

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see the child’s appearance clearly.

This was the first time I’d experienced something like this, so I was full of questions.

Meanwhile, the house I had spotted earlier came into view.

“Oh?”

The child seemed to have spotted the house too, as her steps quickened.

The cramped interior was just big enough for two children.

“Excuse me.”

The child, speaking in a small voice, entered the house.

“Wow……”

Fortunately, the inside was quite warm.

Plus, there was even an old blanket nearby, suggesting someone had left it behind.

“We can last until morning here.”

The child, murmuring in a happy voice, carefully put Cardien down.

Then she sat right next to him and shared the blanket.

“By now, my Dad must be looking for me. So don’t worry too much.”

That’s when it happened.

Cardien’s lips, which had been closed all along, began to move slightly.

“……Fool?”

“Huh?”

“……You, are you a fool?”

“Wha?”

At Cardien’s shocking words, the child couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

I was surprised too, but I quickly accepted it, thinking ‘Even as a child, Cardien is still Cardien.’

However, the girl, who didn’t know Cardien, quickly objected.

“I’m not a fool!”

“Yes, you are a fool.”

“I’m not! I got a perfect score on the academy entrance exam. Dad said I was the top student!”

The girl rebutted, trembling, but Cardien didn’t listen.

“Why am I a fool?”

“……You’re acting like a fool, and now you might die with me.”

“What?”

“If I were you…… I wouldn’t have helped me.”

Young Cardien was unusually cold and cynical for his age.

The girl looked at him with an incredulous expression, but young Cardien continued speaking precariously, paying no attention.

“There’s nothing good for you in helping someone like me. No one will appreciate it, and I have nothing to give you. Instead, you’ll just get caught up in trouble.”

“……”

“You’re already regretting helping me. Only fools do things they regret. So you’re a fool.”

How could he talk about himself so detachedly, like a stranger?

But because this cold-speaking Cardien was so small and young, I felt even more heartache, wondering what difficult experiences he must have gone through to speak like that.

“You……”

The girl, who had been staring blankly at Cardien, moved her lips.

“You have a bad personality.”

“……”

Cardien looked at the girl with cold eyes, but she didn’t waver.

“Even if I could turn back time and go to the past, I would help you again!”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying! I don’t tell lies.”

The girl thrust her face toward Cardien.

“No matter how many times I go back, I would help you.”

“……Really?”

“Really! If you don’t believe me, shall we make a promise?”

“Promise?”

When young Cardien made an expression asking what that was, the girl extended her pinky finger toward Cardien’s face and said.

“A promise is when you hook fingers and make an oath. That you will absolutely not break it.”

“……”

“A promise must be kept.”

“What if you don’t keep it?”

“You’ll receive punishment from the Goddess!”

“Punishment……?”

“Yes, that’s why promises must be kept.”

“……”

Young Cardien pressed his lips together and stared at the small, white finger extended before him.

“No matter what happens, I will help you again. I promise.”

“……”

“So, apologize for treating me like a liar and calling me a fool!”

“……I never called you a liar.”

“Yes, you did. You definitely said I was lying.”

“……”

As Cardien, at a loss for words, glared at the finger, the girl thrust both her finger and face forward and said.

“If you apologize, I’ll make a promise too.”

Then Cardien’s lips moved, and he soon bowed his head deeply and let out a small voice.

“……Sor……”

“What did you say?”

“……I’m sorry…… for calling you a liar and a fool.”

“Hmm.”

At Cardien’s apology, the girl crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes, seemingly measuring him.

Cardien turned his head away with a slightly reddened face.

Then the girl grinned and said, “Alright, since you apologized, I’ll make a promise too.”

And she extended her pinky finger again.

As young Cardien stared blankly at the finger, the girl grabbed Cardien’s hand.

“……!!”

Cardien, with eyes wide open, struggled, but his already weakened struggles had no effect.

“Like this, we hook our pinky fingers and make an oath.”

“……”

Cardien, whose pinky finger was suddenly intertwined with hers, stopped resisting and looked at their fingers.

“I, …… no matter what happens, oh. By the way, what’s your name?”

“……I don’t have one.”

“You don’t have a name?”

Nod.

Cardien’s face turned bright red with apparent embarrassment.

‘It’s Cardien.’

I wanted to tell her his name, but I felt I shouldn’t interfere at this moment, so I kept quiet.

After pondering for a while, the girl spoke.

“Then, how about this?”

As Cardien looked up with a puzzled face, the girl grinned and said.

“……”

The girl moved her lips, but the pronunciation was muffled, as if she had fallen into water, and I couldn’t hear it clearly.

“Do you like it?”

At the girl’s question, Cardien nodded slightly.

“Good. Then I, ……, hereby swear to help …… no matter what happens. How about that? Do you trust me now?”

“……”

Instead of answering, Cardien shook his head slightly.

With a bright smile, the girl soon rested her head on Cardien’s shoulder.

“I’m sleepy……”

“……Sleep.”

“You sleep too. It’s still a long time until morning.”

“……”

“When morning comes…… my Dad will come looking for me. Then I’ll ask him to take you with us too. My Dad is kind.”

“……Your Dad will despise me.”

“That’s not true. My Dad is so kind. Dad said we should help those who are weak. You’re small and weak, so Dad will definitely help you. So with me……”

Before finishing her sentence, the girl fell asleep.

Cardien stared at her for a while and then closed his eyes, resting his head against hers.

Small, wheezing breaths intersected.

I stood blankly, watching the two soundly sleeping children.

Apart from the warmth in my heart, I felt something off.

‘Cardien had a past like this?’

No, could this even be considered his past?

I was the one who called that girl.

‘This is strange.’

It’s different from the dreams I’ve had so far.

At that moment, the surrounding background began to collapse.

Startled, I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘Is the dream ending?’

But when I opened my eyes again, I was still inside the hut.

The only difference was that night had passed in an instant, and dim sunlight was seeping in.

Half a day had passed in the blink of an eye.

This was the first time this had happened.

I stared blankly at the rising sun and then quickly turned my head.

Perhaps I could see the girl’s face now.

But…..

‘I can’t see it.’

While Cardien’s appearance was clear, the girl’s appearance remained dark.

Why? For what reason?

That’s when it happened.

“Found you!!”

With an urgent cry, a man entered the hut.

He looked at the two soundly sleeping children and then took only the girl and left.

Young Cardien’s head, which had been resting on the girl, dropped down with a thud.

“W-wait! There’s another child there!”

I shouted urgently, but the man glanced at the dirty Cardien and coldly turned away.

T/n: If this girl isn’t Livia, I’ll eat a broom with ketchup on top.（・⊝・∞）