~Chapter 09~
“Where is she?”
“Uh, upstairs, on the bed…”
While a flustered Shiz hesitated, Aska was already striding up the stairs. Shiz snapped out of it a second too late and ran after him.
“Y-you can’t just go in like that!”
Was he trying to hurt her while she wasn’t looking? Bad grown-up!
But when Shiz burst into the room, all angry and ready to yell, what she saw surprised her.
“…”
Aska was placing the back of his hand on Relshiz’s forehead. Shiz realized he looked just like the director from the orphanage when she checked sick kids for a fever.
Not long after, Aska sighed in relief.
“She’s just sleeping.”
“Yeah, we were having a nap race, but I lost.”
“She really does fall asleep fast.”
Aska let out a little laugh. Shiz, who almost dropped her guard because of that unexpected smile, quickly forced a pouty face.
“I didn’t open the door for you, you know.”
“Oh, I was in a rush. Should I go back out?”
“Hmm, but you can come in whether I open the door or not.”
“That’s true.”
“Then what’s the point of keeping the door closed?”
“You’re really smart.”
Aska knelt down in front of Shiz and put a finger to his lips.
“Let’s keep it a secret that I came in on my own. She probably wouldn’t like it.”
“…Hmph. Fine, just this once!”
Six-year-old Shiz didn’t understand every complicated word. But she did know what “rival” and “worst relationship ever” meant.
It means they’re not friends.
People who don’t get along and don’t play together.
But it felt strange.
Aska, whom Relshiz always complained about, didn’t seem like he hated her at all.
If anything…
“Did you eat lunch yet?”
Suddenly, Aska asked. Shiz, whose heart had just started to soften, tensed up again.
“…Not yet.”
“Perfect. I brought something tasty.”
“S-something tasty?”
Aska held up the bag he had with him, and a delicious smell floated out.
Grrrrrgle. Shiz’s stomach growled loudly.
“Want to eat this with me now, or wait until your mom wakes up and gives permission?”
“…”
“Just so you know, food tastes worse when it’s cold. I’ll give you ten seconds to decide. Ten, nine, eight…”
“Waaah, I’ll eat!”
Whatever little bit of caution Shiz had left totally collapsed.
As if he knew the house well, Aska opened the formal dining room and seated Shiz at the table, then began to prepare the meal.
Well, it was just taking out packaged food, but the smell was enough to make Shiz lose all control.
“Here you go.”
Aska even kindly pulled out the chair for her. Shiz sat down right away and eagerly picked up the utensils.
Grown-up Relshiz was great at everything—except cooking. Shiz remembered the taste of the food from her first day and automatically shook her head.
Not my fault. It’s unnie’s fault for being a cooking disaster.
Having justified it in her mind, little Shiz started tearing into the warm bread with excitement.
“How does it taste?”
While munching away, Shiz glanced suspiciously at Aska. She kept eating, but her eyes didn’t stop watching him.
She quickly finished a piece of bread and reached for the soup—but froze.
Looking carefully at the chunks in the creamy soup, Shiz frowned.
Aska noticed something and asked,
“You don’t eat mushrooms?”
“No…”
At her small reply, Aska chuckled.
“Just like your mom. Same picky taste. Let me see.”
He pulled the bowl toward him and began picking out all the big mushroom pieces. Shiz’s eyes grew wide.
“Wow…”
His hands moved fast—like he’d done this many times before. In no time, the soup was mushroom-free.
“Hey, do you not like mushrooms either?”
“Nope. Hate them.”
His casual answer shocked Shiz.
There’s a grown-up who doesn’t eat mushrooms?!
The orphanage director lied! She said if you don’t eat them, you’ll stay a baby forever!
Feeling betrayed, mushroom-hating Shiz shook her shoulders in frustration. Then a thought struck her and she looked up at Aska.
He was really handsome. He didn’t look like the type who’d be picky. It didn’t match.
“You look like someone who eats everything. Why don’t you like mushrooms?”
“Why?”
Aska blinked once, then answered simply.
“I caught it.”
“Caught it? Like a disease?”
“It’s not a disease, but it spreads.”
“Why? From who?”
Aska smiled and tapped her forehead with his finger.
“Ask your mom.”
Usually, “ask someone else” meant adults were dodging the question.
Shiz didn’t push it and went back to eating. The only sound in the quiet dining room was the clink of dishes.
Then Aska broke the silence.
“…Can I ask you something too?”
“Mmhm.”
Shiz nodded without thinking.
“What kind of person is your dad?”
At that moment, her little hands, which had been moving non stop, came to a complete stop.
The young Lord of the Dawn Tower has been extremely busy lately.
He was already swamped reviewing piles of research and managing tasks—then, an incident happened on top of that.
“The timeline has been disrupted.”
Magic didn’t always bring good things. Its power, when too strong, could also cause great chaos or even take lives.
That’s why the Mage Association was created.
They established strict rules to ban certain dangerous types of magic and made sure mages never crossed those lines.
One of the top forbidden acts was interfering with the timeline.
The moment they noticed the disturbance, the Association asked for help, and the Dawn Tower launched an investigation.
Urgent meetings were held, information was exchanged with the Association, materials were shared through the investigation bureau, suspects were narrowed down…
And finally, today was the first free moment he had.
So he visited Relshiz’s mansion. Since it was lunchtime, he brought food along.
A little tired, he rang the doorbell and waited.
He heard small footsteps approaching—not an adult’s.
So then…
“…Is it the kid?”
“Aska?”
Why is a kid answering the door alone? That was his first thought.
“Where’s Rel? Is she not home?”
“No, she is. But she just collapsed a little while ago.”
“…Collapsed?”
At the child’s words, Aska didn’t even stop to think—he opened the door without hesitation.
Back in their academy days, Relshiz had never known how to take care of herself. She often pushed herself too hard, studying late into the night, skipping sleep, and ending up with nosebleeds or even passing out.
Aska had always enjoyed how determined Relshiz was to compete with him, but he never liked seeing her suffer because of it.
He remembered it clearly—during their final semester midterms, she had stayed up all night trying to beat him and ended up collapsing with a high fever.
Seeing her lying silently in the infirmary bed, completely still as if dead, Aska felt an overwhelming emptiness.
The Relshiz who always glared at him like a fox and growled whenever they met was suddenly so quiet—even though she was right there, it felt like she had vanished from the world.
At that moment, Aska thought, It’s like I don’t exist anymore.
He never wanted to feel that again.
‘You’re not allowed to get sick on your own like that. You’re the only one who stands up to me.’
Aska went upstairs to the open door and immediately saw Relshiz lying on the bed.
The first thing he did was check if she had a fever. When he placed the back of his hand on her forehead, her skin was warm but not too hot.
Only after checking carefully and making sure she was fine did he finally feel at ease.
“She’s just asleep.”
“Yeah, we had a race to see who could nap first, and I lost.”
“She really is sleeping well.”
Aska turned his head toward the window, where bright sunlight was pouring in. He moved his fingers, and the curtains automatically closed with a soft swish, darkening the room.
“I didn’t open the door for you,” Relshiz’s daughter said, pouting in protest.
“Ah, I was in a hurry. Should I go back out?”
“Hmm, but Aska, you can come in whether I open the door or not.”
“That’s true.”
“Then what’s the point of closing the door?”
“You’re really smart.”
Relshiz’s little daughter was just like her mother.
