Delight was expected to wake up soon, but at the same time, there was tension over the possibility that news of his awakening would spread too quickly.
At that moment, Monia knocked urgently.
“His Majesty is about to wake up.”
Already?
Why is he waking up so soon?
“I think it would be fine if he just slept for a few more days.”
Before I realized it, my true feelings slipped out.
But it was just a small complaint.
‘Still, since he’s awake, I should go see him.’
With steps as heavy as if heading to the execution ground, I walked forward.
By the time I finally reached Delight’s bedroom—taking much longer than usual—
“…He’s not here?”
The room was empty. Even Zaire was nowhere to be seen.
“Didn’t they say he just woke up?”
Where could he have gone as soon as he woke up?
But more than anything else…
I felt relieved.
A deep sense of relief washed over me at the fact that I didn’t have to face him immediately.
***
Delight stormed into Luciel’s room.
“You knew all along!”
His sharp gaze turned toward Hiel as well, as if he were ready to tear him apart.
“Of course, you knew too.”
“Haha… W-well…”
Sensing danger, Hiel had already crept toward the door.
But out of the last bit of his conscience, he clung to the door as if it were his lifeline, unwilling to completely abandon Luciel.
“So that’s why.”
“…….”
“That’s why you suddenly started sticking so closely to Ollia.”
Feeling dizzy, Delight pressed a hand against his forehead.
“Why didn’t I notice it before?”
Now that everything was clear, there were too many things that hadn’t made sense before.
When Delight shot another fierce glare at Luciel—
“Did you really come here because you were angry?”
Luciel asked meaningfully, immediately noticing how Delight hesitated.
“Or is it because you don’t have the courage to face Ollia?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?!”
Delight strongly denied it.
But the more flustered he became and the louder he shouted, the more obvious his real feelings became.
“If that’s not the case, shouldn’t you talk to her face-to-face first?”
“T-That’s right.”
“Is that so?”
Luciel narrowed his eyes, persistently pressing Delight for a clear answer.
“…You should have told me before I embarrassed myself in front of Ollia.”
In the end, Delight admitted it, grumbling.
Everything was just too overwhelming for him right now.
“Is it really my teacher?”
The daughter he had raised was actually his teacher.
But he still couldn’t believe it.
“How did this even happen…?”
As he muttered weakly, Luciel, as if trying to gauge his feelings, spoke up.
“So, what about you, Delight?”
“What do you mean, ‘what about me’?”
Delight looked at Luciel with a puzzled expression.
***
After failing to reunite with Delight, I was about to return to my room but changed my mind and decided to visit Luciel and Hiel instead.
But just as I was approaching, I saw Delight leaving Luciel’s room.
‘So, he came here?’
As soon as I spotted him, I quietly hid behind the wall.
And as I watched…
‘Well, his legs seem fine, and he looks the same.’
His face was slightly sunken and he seemed a bit thinner, but…
For someone who had just woken up, he actually looked fine.
‘That’s a relief.’
Seeing his condition for myself reassured me.
After watching him walk away until he completely disappeared from sight, I finally moved again.
“Master?”
The moment I entered Luciel’s room, Hiel looked at me in surprise.
Then, glancing back and forth between me and the door, he asked—
“Did you meet Delight just now?”
“No.”
“So, you knew he was here?”
Ugh.
Luciel hit the nail on the head. His eyes were already curling mischievously.
“Wait, don’t tell me… were you hiding from Delight?”
“N-No way. We just missed each other, that’s all.”
That was such an obvious lie.
Feeling embarrassed, I blurted out another excuse without even pausing to breathe.
“Besides, I actually went to find Delight, but he wasn’t in his room.”
At first, I really had planned to meet him directly!
But running into him like this was a different story.
My body moved on its own!
Maybe I should just shift the focus to Luciel instead.
Before I knew it, my gaze landed on him.
“You’re not seriously thinking of diverting Delight’s attention onto me, are you?”
“How did you know?”
“It won’t work the way you want.”
Luciel smirked, raising one corner of his lips teasingly as he continued.
“When Delight showed up earlier, I honestly thought he’d demand to know what the hell happened to me.”
Luciel gave a dry chuckle.
“But instead, he got mad that I knew who you are and didn’t say anything? Seems like he’s not even curious how I ended up like this—basically human.”
He shook his head playfully, as if to say, ‘Unbelievable.’
“How heartless. He used to be so angry at me, but now I don’t even seem to matter to him.”
“……!”
“Well, I guess I should be relieved that all the anger meant for me is now directed at you, Teacher.”
“Ugh. No way.”
Before I knew it, my face twisted in frustration.
“Master, you shouldn’t keep avoiding Delight.”
Hiel offered his sincere advice.
“I know.”
Of course, I knew that.
I didn’t really not want to see Delight.
We had always been together, but as his teacher, the Archmage Sherina, it had been a long time since we last talked properly. There was so much to discuss.
Besides, once Delight fully recovered, we had to talk about Ilnord, so I needed to face him as soon as possible.
But still…
“It’s just so embarrassing…! Do you even realize how much I…”
I couldn’t even finish my sentence.
Just thinking about it made my face burn.
“He’s seen everything since I was a baby, the good, the bad, and the utterly embarrassing…”
“Hmm. Well, you’re not wrong.”
“Right?”
Both Hiel and Luciel nodded in agreement.
Their sympathy only made me feel worse.
I couldn’t keep going like this.
I had to come up with a plan on how to deal with Delight before facing him.
“……!”
But as soon as I stepped out of Luciel’s room and walked a short distance, I suddenly froze.
A few steps ahead, Delight was standing there.
Did he leave and come back?
Then… how long has he been standing there?
“…….”
“…….”
An indescribable, suffocating silence filled the air.
No, I had to speak first.
Just as I was about to open my mouth toward the frozen Delight—
“Ollia?”
“Delight.”
“…Teacher?”
“…Dad?”
For a split second—
Faster than the speed of light—
Our words completely clashed.
“Ahem.”
“…Ahem.”
Awkward coughs were exchanged.
Our eyes darted around.
Ha ha…
…I completely screwed up.
Moments later, Delight and I found ourselves sitting awkwardly across from each other.
The moment we met in the hallway, Luciel and Hiel immediately sensed the situation and vanished in an instant.
By the time we entered the room, they had disappeared without a trace.
They ran away on purpose!
And so, the two of us sat across from each other at a table in an empty room.
Since it had come to this, I had no choice but to speak first.
But before I could—
“What on earth happened? No, since when?”
Delight’s question was faster.
Tense and cautious, he carefully asked,
“Well, that’s how it turned out. I woke up one day as a baby. Then the emperor, who had been at war, returned and…”
“So from the beginning…”
Delight’s face suddenly turned pale.
“Please tell me it’s not what I think.”
“…….”
“You remember everything, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… I…”
“That you kept kissing my face?”
“…….”
“Or was it all those times you were hugging me and being a clingy nuisance?”
“Ugh.”
Delight tightly shut his eyes.
He covered his ears as if declaring that he didn’t want to hear anymore.
Then, suddenly, he hesitantly lowered his hands and—
“Wait a second.”
He raised his hand to stop me.
“So that means… Teacher, you did all that while being fully aware?”
Delight glared at me with accusing eyes.
“Ugh.”
So, there was no way to escape this after all.
