It couldn’t be more awkward than this.
Only the air sank heavily in silence.
As Liria was about to pretend to be sleepy, Classid looked at the scenery before his eyes.
It was hard to know what he was thinking.
Liria looked up at Classid’s picture-like profile and said.
“…I’ll get down now.”
At Liria’s request, Classid slowly put the child down.
Like someone who had been waiting, Liria moved away from his arms.
Flutter, like a baby bird flying away.
“I’ll go now. Good night.”
Liria bowed deeply from her waist, but somehow, Classid stood completely motionless, rooted to the spot.
“……”
In his red eyes that gazed endlessly, there seemed to be some story hidden that couldn’t be fully expressed in words.
Like the stars in that night sky.
“…Um, aren’t you going?”
Classid, with a bitter expression, nodded his head.
“Go in and sleep first.”
He seemed determined not to leave right away.
Liria suddenly looked around. The palace garden had a small fountain and waterways beautifully arranged.
The white marble bridge especially looked like a suitable place for even a small child to dip their feet and play.
“Shall we sit here for a moment? The breeze is cool, the stars are pretty… and also…”
In the fresh night.
‘Even if Father’s heart is still closed, I want to open it.’
Liria was planning to approach him little by little with courage.
Liria sat on the bridge first and dangled her two feet.
The wind blew, gently swaying Liria’s hair, tied like an apple stem.
“…Let’s do that.”
Classid, who answered, also tried to sit on the bridge following Liria, but his long legs looked like they would be submerged in water if stretched out.
He had no choice but to sit with his legs folded. Although the position seemed very uncomfortable, he endured it.
“People say you’re very smart… Unlike children your age.”
“N-no way.”
Liria had a perfectly ordinary level of intelligence.
Just a little bit smarter than other normal children because of her past life memories.
Being exceptional compared to peers was highly valued within the Roberg family.
It meant a high probability of standing out among many successors.
But Classid seemed to be thinking something else now, which made her somehow anxious.
‘Could he be thinking of sending me off to someplace like the Imperial Magic Academy for Gifted Children?’
She had heard that each student there was assigned a secretary to manage their daily life and studies.
She needed to stay in this household to protect the male protagonist and the Robergs…!
Liria clutched her skirt tightly.
“Whoever said that must be m-mistaken.”
“Emmett or Superintendent Suleiman wouldn’t misjudge people. Even your grandfather said you’re not an ordinary child.”
“They’re j-just being nice.”
“Emmett said you might be a genius…”
Children Liria’s age would only know banks as places where money is kept.
A password idea that even adults couldn’t think of.
Hearing Emmett’s name, Liria recalled sharing her idea with him when they met recently.
“Ah, because of that idea? W-well, I had a dream about the distant future where everyone used passwords. That’s all. Liria is not a genius.”
Liria shook her head, but Classid continued his persuasion.
“…That remains to be seen. Liria, if you want, I could send you to a foreign study institute or the Imperial Academy for Gifted Children.”
“…I d-don’t want that.”
So he was indeed planning to send her away?
Liria shook her head vigorously.
“Why not?”
“I will stay at the Robergs. By Father’s side.”
Saying so, Liria carefully gripped Classid’s collar with her maple leaf-like hands and her eyes sparkled brightly.
***
Having arrived at the cabin beyond the hill and firmly closed the door, Noah’s startled heart still hadn’t calmed down.
‘That girl wasn’t a maid.’
The aura emanating from the man who suddenly appeared was extraordinary.
Black hair and red eyes. Elegant attire.
An intimidating presence that possessed both ferocity and charisma.
The thick coldness crushed even the surrounding air and a limitless presence.
It seemed like a warning to him.
‘Stay away from my daughter.’
So he couldn’t help but flinch.
Above all, a high-ranking magician with black hair and red eyes must be the owner of that huge castle and a nobleman from a family that has long reigned as a power.
The magical noble house of Roberg.
He knew that the dark attribute magician whom Humbletine served as master, the person targeting him, was also a Roberg.
Therefore, Noah instinctively had fear and inexplicable hostility toward the Roberg family.
But.
But that child who he thought might become his only friend… Liria.
‘She’s a child of the Roberg family? No way.’
Noah couldn’t believe it and slid down against the door until he was sitting.
Then the junk at his feet collapsed with a crash.
“!”
When Noah looked up, Humbletine was already looking down at him from the second-floor railing with bulging eyes.
“Finally crawled back in, you little rat! You’ll never roam outside again!”
He was holding shining restraints in his hand.
Noah shook his head and began to back away.
***
“I will stay at the Robergs. By Father’s side.”
“Liria…”
At his daughter’s answer, Classid’s thoughts deepened.
In a few months, his wife Serna was supposed to come for Liria as promised.
But he was still conflicted.
He couldn’t fully trust her who had left him and Liria behind.
Moreover, he couldn’t know what consequences bringing Liria into the imperial family would bring in the future.
But he couldn’t keep her by his side like this, either.
‘… Roberg is not safe for a child.’
Snake-like siblings who would bite at even the slightest weakness.
The first gift Classid received from his siblings after leaving the hospital room was tea leaves laced with poison and an assassin.
This was the third time.
It was safer when he was in the hospital room.
Because only his father’s people, including the attending physician and servants, entered and left the hospital room.
Fierce succession competition and a father who was nearing his death.
If she remained by the Robergs, it was clear that Liria would only get hurt.
It would be best to send her away while she was still young and knew nothing.
In a way that would cause the child as little pain as possible.
But would this child really know nothing?
“…Liria, aren’t you curious about what kind of person your mother is?”
Classid asked.
“I’m a little curious, but since I’ve lived without seeing her from the beginning, I’m not sure. But suddenly… why talk about Mom?”
It was an unexpected response.
For a six-year-old baby, it was very rational and calm.
Serna’s whereabouts were already being tracked after a request to the information guild.
He had only heard that she had long left her family home, the Lumont Marquis residence.
If she continued not to reach his ears, there were two possibilities.
Either she had gone to a foreign country.
Or the imperial family was hiding her.
Either way, it meant she had moved beyond his reach.
However, he was waiting for her contact. She had said with her own mouth that she would come for Liria.
‘Because she’s a woman who keeps her promises…’
Still, if he was convinced that she would be a safer guardian than himself, then it would be right to let her meet Liria at that time.
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VeeQuo
Oh man. So like I’m super into this story, but man is her father a short sighted blockhead, can’t wait for him to come to his senses 😩 like stop being afraid and just live your daughter, you know you want to