“Huff, huff… My lord, could we please talk for a moment…?”
“Waaah! We defeated the enemy! Let’s go defeat the next one!”
“Waaah!”
While Hestia and Luciard caught their breath, exhausted from playing with the children, Leonhard had somehow become the leader of the vanguard, leading Eric and Annie out of the playroom.
Gallian, who was just about to enter, jumped in surprise as the three kids dashed past him into the hallway.
“Hestia, Sir Luciard, are you both alright…?”
Gallian cautiously asked the two people lying on the floor.
“…In the end, we didn’t say a word.”
“Seeing him like this, he really is just a kid, huh?”
Forget everything I said about him being well-behaved.
Just putting Eric next to him seemed to have awakened the little devil inside him (Leonhard).
Over the past week, as the mercenaries played with him, he slowly got used to playing like this.
“What were you going to say to the young lord, anyway?”
At that moment, Elvin approached and asked.
He had been quietly reading a book in the corner of the playroom.
This was the same guy who didn’t even look up when they were busy entertaining the kids.
“You… You ignored me when I was calling for help, and now you’re curious?”
“I had enough of being tortured during the two-day carriage ride here. Can’t I get a break?”
“Ugh, that mouth of yours…”
Watching the Frost siblings growling at each other with bared teeth, Luciard was at a loss for words.
“So, what exactly were you trying to tell him? Don’t tell me you’re going to stop being his guardian or something.”
“How’d you know?”
“Well, Sir Luciard’s here too, so what else could it be besides that? So, you’re coming back home then?”
“Not right away.”
“So when?”
“Well, I’ll stay as his guardian for now, but I plan to hand things over slowly. Luciard doesn’t know much about managing things, so I need to teach him bit by bit. I probably won’t head back to Byron for at least another year.”
“Hmmm…”
Elvin didn’t seem too interested, causing Hestia to smirk.
“What? You’re going to miss your big sister, huh?”
Elvin flinched, his shoulder twitching. Seeing his sister grinning at him from the floor, he let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Miss you? It’s been so peaceful without you! Honestly, these past two months have been great. No one around to nag at me all the time.”
“Huh?”
“It’s been so nice and quiet at home without you. I don’t get scolded, and aside from Annie and Elvin fighting sometimes, the house is way calmer. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if you stayed here for three years, not just one.”
Basically, what he was saying was—
“‘It’s paradise without you.’”
Feeling strangely annoyed, Hestia’s eyebrow twitched as she stood up.
“You little brat, how dare you talk to your sister like that!”
“Hey, hey! We’re at the Duke’s estate! If you mess with me here…!”
Elvin, who had been teasing her relentlessly, suddenly felt the danger and bolted the moment Hestia approached him.
Just like how Annie and Eric would fight with each other, Hestia and Elvin were famously known as enemies within the Frost family.
As the two siblings raced around, Luciard, who was stuck in the middle of their chase, looked like he had resigned to his fate.
“Aaah!”
“Well, that’s what you get for messing with your sister.”
In the end, Elvin got smacked by Hestia.
Watching this scene unfold, Luciard spoke up.
“…This is the first time you’ve actually looked like your age.”
“Huh?”
Hestia was only 18 years old.
Even though she had just reached adulthood, she was still at an age where she could be immature.
She had been leading the Duke’s household with charisma and even captured those who betrayed the family, but…
‘She’s still just a kid, after all.’
In front of her family, she was nothing more than an energetic 18-year-old girl.
“Anyway, we still need to talk to Leon.”
Hestia, who had been messing with Elvin, raised her head at Luciard’s words.
“Maybe we can talk to him after dinner? The kids will be tired by then and settle down.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s just let them play for now…”
As Hestia and Luciard discussed their plan, Elvin remembered something from earlier about Leonhard.
“If you ask me, it seemed like he was avoiding the conversation on purpose.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I told him you might be coming back to Byron with us, his expression was… well, kind of shocked. I don’t think he looked too happy about it. Of course, he went right back to playing with the other kids, but still…”
“…”
Luciard and Hestia suddenly recalled what happened at dinner a week ago.
‘Maybe Leonhard doesn’t want to hear about me leaving?’
No one could be sure what Leonhard was thinking at the moment, but for some reason, that explanation seemed to make the most sense.
***
At dinner that evening.
The dining hall was already lively with the mercenaries staying at the estate, but today it was even busier with the Frost family’s visit.
The long dining table was filled with people.
Leonhart, who had spent the day having fun with Eric and Annie, was quickly eating his meal, his stomach growling from all the running around.
Maybe it was because he’d been running around so much, but today, he wasn’t picky at all and ate everything cleanly.
“Mmm, so good!”
As he happily looked at his friends and everyone gathered around the table, he heard a voice next to him.
“My lord, could we have a word with you after dinner?”
Leonhard froze.
He swallowed the last spoonful of food that was already in his mouth. Coincidentally, it was the last bite of his meal.
“I… um, I was going to play with Eric and Annie after dinner. You grown-ups can keep eating. I’ll just… go somewhere else…”
As he tried to sneak away from the table, Hestia’s eyes narrowed. Leonhard, trying to escape her gaze, was about to slip away when—
“Ah!”
“Got you.”
“U-Uncle!”
Luciard caught him before he could make his escape. As Leonhard struggled, Luciard pulled him onto his lap.
“Leon, this won’t take long. Just give us a minute, alright? Besides, didn’t you play enough this afternoon?”
“But if I don’t play now, when will I?! I promised Eric and Annie we’d play together…!”
“I’m sorry, but those two are already passed out.”
Hestia pointed toward the two kids, who were both dozing off without even finishing their meals.
Annie, who was 10 years old, wasn’t the type to fall asleep at the table, so they must’ve played really hard today.
Lavio was holding Eric, who had almost dropped his face into his plate.
The two kids were already so exhausted that there was no chance of playing any further tonight.
Losing his last excuse, Leonhard stomped his feet in frustration.
“My lord, the thing is…”
“B-but I don’t want to hear it! Just tell me later! Can’t it wait until Eric leaves?”
Before Hestia could even finish her sentence, Leonhard suddenly shouted.
The bustling dining hall fell silent.
Feeling all eyes on him, Leonhard realized he had made a mistake.
“I-I didn’t mean…”
“Leonhard Winston.”
At the sound of his full name, Leonhard reflexively flinched.
He turned to see Luciard looking down at him with a rare stern expression.
“That’s it. We’re having a talk, now.”
“Ah, ah…! I-I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”
Luciard picked up Leonhard and strode out of the dining room. Realizing he was about to get scolded, Leonhard’s face crumpled into tears.
Hestia, a bit flustered, quickly followed after them.
The moment they left, a brief silence filled the room.
“The boss actually scolds the young master, huh?”
“Yeah, I figured he’d just spoil him since he’s his nephew.”
“Haha, well, when a child does something wrong, you’ve got to be strict. Looks like he’ll do a good job teaching the young lord his manners.”
Some of the mercenaries and Melvin chuckled softly.
“Wait, what? The young master’s getting scolded? Why? Did he get caught hiding his veggies?”
“That’s not it. Just shut up and finish your food. And when are you going to fix that habit of falling asleep at the table? We’re not at home, you know.”
Eric, who had briefly woken up from all the commotion, glanced around, confused, only to get scolded by Elvin.
After that, Elvin squinted a little and stared at the door where the three had exited.
‘Come to think of it… those two seem oddly close, don’t they?’
The way they called each other and talked so casually—it stood out.
Elvin knew his sister. Unless the other person was a commoner, she used polite speech with pretty much to everyone. But whenever she talked to Luciard, it was as if she was talking to an old friend. And it wasn’t just Hestia—Luciard acted the same way.
Elvin didn’t really know Luciard well, but…
‘…It’s not common for guys and girls their age to be that close.’
Not to mention, when Luciad took Leonhardt outside, it felt strangely familiar. Like something he’d seen many times at home.
Almost like when parents take their kids out for a scolding.
***
“Waaahhh…!”
“Stop it. I haven’t even said anything yet.”
Luciard brought Leonhard to his room, and despite the boy bursting into tears along the way, Luciad didn’t soften. If anything, his voice got sharper.
And the more Luciard held firm, the more Leonhard’s sobbing escalated. Hestia, who had followed them, anxiously paced behind Luciard.
“S-sniff… I won’t do it again… I swear…!” Leonhard clung to Luciard, but Luciard peeled him off and made him sit by himself.
“You could at least give him a hug…” Hestia murmured.
“Ssshhh. Stay still.”
Hestia, about to comfort the boy herself, was stopped by Luciard’s stern glance. In the end, Leonhard sat on the bed alone, sniffling pitifully.
“Your uncle will talk to you once you’ve calmed down.”
“H-hic, hic… Waaahhhh!”
Leonhard burst into tears again, louder this time.
Watching him cry like that was too much for Hestia.
‘What if… the young master holds this against us forever?’
Hestia, who had promised herself not to let Leonhard turn into a villain, understood that disciplining him was necessary, but it didn’t stop her from feeling uneasy.
And truth be told, she wasn’t exactly the strict type when it came to discipline.
In her past life, she hadn’t been able to give her siblings what they wanted, so in this life, That left her wanting to give them everything they desired in this life.
Because of that, she struggled to properly scold them, even when they misbehaved.
As Hestia kept fidgeting, unable to stand still, Luciard reached out and pressed down on her hand.
‘Don’t interfere.’
‘…Okay.’
In the end, Hestia had no choice but to sit quietly with her hand held down by Luciard’s, waiting for Leonhard to calm down.
