The two approached Leonhard.
As Hestia hugged Leonhard, Luciard patted his head and gently rubbed his back.
“Waaah! Hestia, don’t go! Don’t leave meee! Stay with meee!”
Leonhard tightly clung to Hestia’s clothes, crying his eyes out, afraid she might leave.
“I’m not going anywhere. See, I’m right here with you.”
“B-but… hic Uncle said if he became my guardian, you’d have to leave….”
“That’s….”
“H-Hestia was the only one who stayed with me when I was at my lowest. N-no one else cried when my parents died, but Hestia cried with me.”
Luciard, who had only heard the facts from Hestia, looked surprised as he realized how Hestia and Leonhard had met.
“And she protected me from bad people. Hestia’s not a bad person.”
“Young master….”
Hestia looked at Leonhard with tearful eyes. Luciard, too, seemed lost in thought, unable to speak after hearing Leonhard’s words.
Before long, Leonhard’s sobbing slowly subsided. He caught his breath and looked up at Luciard this time.
“Uncle, you too. You’re the only family I have left now.”
Luciard looked at Leonhard with trembling eyes.
“I was a bit mad when you didn’t come to the funeral, but I kept believing you’d show up. You’ve always remembered my birthdays, even when you were away.”
Even when Luciard had abruptly left and cut off contact for two years, he’d always sent gifts for Leonhard, Icarus, and Flora’s birthdays.
Not only that but during Leonhard’s academy days, Luciard had stayed at the mansion during breaks, playing with him every day instead of hanging out with friends.
“I’ve always thought you really liked me, Uncle.”
“…Leon….”
“So can’t you two get along? I like both of you.”
Now that all the threats in the mansion were gone and Luciard was back, he figured that the once-lonely estate would be filled with happiness from now on.
Leonhard liked the people who came with Luciard, too. The once lonely mansion was now full of life, and he thought only happiness would follow from here on.
“But when you two fight, I don’t know whose side I should choose….”
Leonhard was only eight years old.
Having lost his parents and been left alone, there were few people left for him to rely on.
Yet the two people he trusted the most were bickering from the moment they met, leaving Leonhard utterly confused about what to do.
He was suddenly overwhelmed with the fear that this fragile peace and happiness could break at any moment.
His sniffles echoed through the vast dining hall.
Just a moment ago, the mood had been lively, but it now sank into awkward silence, with the Blaze mercenaries glancing nervously at one another.
After listening to Leonhard’s words, Hestia and Luciard finally spoke.
“We’re sorry, young master. Your feelings are the most important, and we didn’t consider that.”
“We acted foolishly and made you uneasy, Leon. I’m sorry.”
“*Sniff* So… you two have made up?”
Hestia and Luciard glanced at each other, frowning slightly before forcing wide smiles.
“We weren’t really fighting in the first place.”
“Sometimes adults raise their voices when they disagree. It’s not that serious, so don’t worry too much.”
“But I was sure….”
“If we fight, we’ll just make up afterward. Right, Sir Luciard?”
“…Yeah, sure. We’ll make up and get along.”
Luciard shook Hestia’s outstretched hand.
Squeeze—
They both gripped each other’s hands tightly, but Leonhard, satisfied with their reconciliation, finally smiled.
“Don’t fight anymore. It’ll make me really, really sad.”
“We’ll be careful.”
‘I won’t fight in front of you.’
Both of them were thinking the same thing: as long as they avoided fighting in front of Leonhard, it’d be fine.
“But we still need to figure out the whole guardian situation, don’t we…?”
A third voice chimed in. It was Neville again.
Brina quickly shoved a chicken leg into his mouth. Neville, ever the oblivious one, had a knack for ruining the mood.
Tears welled up in Leonhard’s eyes again. Before he could start crying, Hestia and Luciard spoke up.
“I’ll follow Leon’s wishes. We’ve got plenty of time, so think it over slowly!”
“Y-yeah! Even if the guardian changes, it won’t happen overnight. There’s a lot of procedures and paperwork, so it’ll take a while.”
Leonhard sniffled and wiped his nose as he fought back the tears.
As everyone watched him with bated breath, Leonhard rubbed his eyes and finally spoke.
“Okay… I’ll think about it.”
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━
“*Yaaawn*….”
Leonhard, who had spent the evening chatting and laughing with everyone at dinner, soon dozed off as night fell.
Luciard gently carried the sleeping Leonhard to his new room, with Hestia following close behind.
This room had once belonged to Icarus.
Luciard stood silently for a moment, looking at the room that had been remodeled with furniture suited to Leonhard’s taste and size.
“If you could lay him here.”
Hestia prepared the bed, and Luciard carefully placed Leonhard onto it.
Tucking him in under the blanket.
“Mm… Uncle, Hestia….”
Leonhard murmured in his sleep, reaching out to grab both of their hands.
Even in his dreams, a soft smile spread across his face, causing the two of them to smile fondly in return as they stroked his cheek.
But as their eyes met, their smiles vanished, and their faces hardened.
Hestia was the first to stand up.
“We promised the young master we’d get along, but that doesn’t mean I trust you completely.”
“Same goes for me.”
They clicked their tongues at the same time, a brief silence hanging in the air until Luciard spoke again.
“You’re surprisingly compliant for someone who has a problem with me. Letting my group stay and all.”
Unlike earlier, when they were bickering like fools in front of Leonhard, Hestia was being quite friendly to the mercenaries.
“I can separate business from personal feelings. No need to take it out on innocent people. And it’s not like I dislike you. I just don’t fully trust you yet.”
She kept referring to him as “you” or “Sir Luciard,” which rubbed him the wrong way.
It was as if she was saying, “I have no intention of getting close to you.”
‘Not that I should care,’ Luciard thought.
Neither of them liked each other, so if she wanted to keep her distance, he’d do the same.
“Fine. I’ll accept your hospitality, kid.”
“Kid…?”
For a moment, Hestia was caught off guard by the unexpected nickname, but then, seeing Luciard towering over her, she felt a rush of anger.
“You call this grown-up a kid?”
“You’re still a kid. Ten years ago, and even now, you’re way shorter than me.”
“Hah! So you *do* remember what happened ten years ago?”
“Of course, I remember. How could I forget?”
And yet, with that memory, he still acted like this?
“I’m the one who helped you make up with the Duke.”
“I’m grateful for that, which is why I’m not kicking you out right now. If someone else had been Leon’s guardian, They’d have been thrown out by now.”
“Sounds like you’re ready to throw me out anytime.”
“If you tried to take advantage of Leon, maybe I would.”
Neither of them backed down, exchanging sharp words as they glared at each other.
“So, you wanna go?”
“You’re getting pretty informal, huh?”
“I don’t see any reason to be polite to you anymore.”
“Getting riled up over a little teasing? You might be good at your job, but deep down, you’re still a kid.”
As the conversation went on, the tension in the air grew, their voices rising with it.
“Quit calling me a kid…!”
“Mm….”
But as soon as they heard Leonhard stir, both of them immediately fell silent.
Lowering their voices, they continued.
“Phew, we’re just making each other feel worse; let’s stop.”
“I don’t really mind either way.”
“It doesn’t matter, huh? The way you keep provoking me makes me think you’ve got some issues. If you’ve got something to say, just say it straight up.”
“…”
Luciard, who had been wearing an arrogant expression the whole time, clicked his tongue. He eventually returned to his usual poker face.
“…Are you really not interested in Winston?”
“If you keep digging into that, it’ll never end. Just like you’re suspicious of me, I’m suspicious of you too.”
Luciard fell silent, seemingly out of words.
“Even if we don’t get along, we both want to protect the Young Master, right? So let’s at least avoid fighting in front of him. It’s not good for his feelings.”
“I was already thinking of that. Just don’t get on my nerves.”
“Who’s the one saying that?”
As their eyes met, they both scoffed and quickly turned away. Hestia took the lead and started walking away.
“Let’s be careful around the Young Master starting tomorrow.”
“Yeah, Kid.”
As Hestia was about to head outside, she shot an annoyed glance at Luciard. He waved at her with a teasing smile.
Once in the hallway, Hestia felt boiling anger rising inside her.
“It’s like he’s gathered five Elvins together.”
How does he manage to annoy people like that? Or is he doing it on purpose?
Next time, I’ll just ignore it when he calls me ‘Kid’…
“…What do you mean!”
It wasn’t just about the title; it was the person who was saying it that was the problem.
Every time he calls her ‘kid,’ Luciard’s expression shows he looks down on her. That drives her crazy.
How can I get back at him?
It feels like only seeing Luciard’s annoyed expression will calm me down.
After thinking for a while, Hestia suddenly had a brilliant idea.
“Heh, let’s see if you can keep your cool.”
A mischievous laugh echoed in the hallway.
━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━
“Hmm…”
Leonhard woke up and slowly opened his eyes.
“Leon, did you sleep well?”
Along with the slightly husky but soft voice, a familiar face brought back memories.
“…Dad?”
Leonhart rubbed his eyes vigorously and sat up. Then he saw someone facing him, backlit by the window.
The person’s red hair was long enough to touch the nape of his neck, and instead of red eyes, he had silver ones.
Leonhard quickly realized the person in front of him wasn’t his dad but his uncle.
A mix of inexplicable sadness and happiness churned inside him, but when Luciard sat on the bed and patted Leonhard’s head, he wriggled into his uncle’s arms.
Sniff.
As Luciard’s big hand patted his back, Leonhard wiped his nose and smiled up at him.
“Hehe, I’m so happy to be with you in the morning, Uncle!”
“…I’m happy to be with you too, Leon.”
Luciard’s smiling face felt a bit unfamiliar.
He usually smiled at him, but he knew he mostly kept a straight face.
“Uncle, when did you get here?”
“Just a little while ago. I came to see if you wanted to have breakfast together.”
“That’s awesome!”
“Okay, shall we do a little stretching to help you grow taller?”
As Luciard grabbed Leonhard’s feet and stretched, the room filled with the sound of the child’s bright laughter.
The two started their morning filled with smiles.
After a quick wash-up, they held hands and headed out together.
At first, Leonhard felt a little disappointed that it was his uncle and not his dad, but just being with someone was a refreshing change, and he couldn’t hide his excitement as he hopped around.
“Are you feeling good about something?”
“Not really, but I just feel good being with you, Uncle!”
He felt like today was going to be fun.
Unable to hide his excitement as he bounced, Leonhard burst through the dining room door.
“Good morning, Young Master!”
“Hi, Hestia!”
And there was Hestia, just as happy as his uncle.
But that thought didn’t last long; remembering the awkwardness between Hestia and Luciard from yesterday made Leonhardt a bit nervous as he looked between them.
Luciard narrowed his eyes slightly and stayed quiet. But Hestia’s serious expression quickly turned into a smile.
“Good morning, Luciard.”
Then Hestia’s next words made both Luciard and Leonhardt’s eyes widen.
With a beaming smile, Hestia said, “What are you doing? Hurry up and sit down.”
‘Hestia is calling Uncle by his name.’
Just yesterday, she was definitely using honorifics like ‘Sir Luciard.’ For her to suddenly change how she addressed him after just one day…
‘They must’ve gotten closer!’
Leonhard made a huge misunderstanding that would freak Luciard out if he heard it.
