* * *
“Wow, raw chicken. I never would’ve guessed.”
Wilhazelle muttered as she chased after Raphel, who had gone ahead first.
She originally didn’t want to tell him because she thought it would be pointless meddling, but in the end said something in case he might not be aware of the danger. People in this world might think it’s okay to eat raw food.
“But still… It’s not just raw food, it’s raw chicken.”
Even when she glanced at the plate the chef was holding, the chicken wasn’t even boneless. Surprised again by Chaser’s unusual appetite, she looked at Raphel running across the green grass. He’d ran around so much already, but still wasn’t tired.
There was one thing she learned while staying with Raphel recently. A 5-year-old boy’s physical stamina is limitless. Raphel’s stamina was not easily discharged, and even if he sat down for a while, exhausted, he quickly got up and started running again. He was so curious that when he discovered something new, he would rush over and ask about it. According to a friend who was a daycare teacher in her previous life, parents of boys said that every day was a battle. She didn’t fully understand it at the time, but now could understand it better than anyone else.
Why was it a battle?
“Lizelle! Hehehe.”
“Raphel, you could get hurt!”
At the moment, Raphel was lying on the grass, rolling around. She only looked away for a moment, and then this happened. She ran towards Raphel in a hurry. There were rocks on the lawn, so if he rolled onto one, he could get hurt.
“Hehehe! It’s fun!”
Raphel, who had already rolled over to Lizelle’s feet, stood up immediately.
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“No! I’m fine!”
Raphel was smiling brightly, not even aware of how worried she was. Lizelle sighed inwardly and looked at Raphel’s body. Fortunately, he was not injured, not even a small wound was visible. However, the clothes she had just changed him into this morning were a mess. He wore a white shirt and wide-legged black pants to make it easier to move around, but the grass stuck to him and turned him into a straw doll. The white clothes had even turned green, as if dyed.
“Was it fun?”
“Yes! Fun!”
Lizelle was worried that the grass would get onto her clothes, so she carefully removed all the grass from Raphel.
“I hope it was fun. Huh?”
“Mmm!”
The two looked at each other and smiled like always. As long as Raphel didn’t get hurt and had fun. She was worried, but that was enough. She’d change his dirty clothes, and make sure he grew up healthy. Because that was the only thing she wanted.
“Done?”
Raphel couldn’t hold still for the short time it took for her to shake off his clothes, so he wiggled his little legs, itching to get moving again. When Lizelle saw Raphel twisting his body as if he was going to jump out at any moment, she smiled and let go of the arm she was holding.
“That’s enough. It’s good to play, but you shouldn’t get hurt. Understand?”
“Ugh, it won’t hurt!”
After saying that, Raphel ran away again. Lizelle followed Raphel with her happy, motherly smile.
“Lizelle!”
Then, Raphel, who was running ahead, screamed.
“Raphel! What’s the matter!”
Lizelle, startled by the scream, hurriedly ran to Raphel.
“Li, Lizelle…”
“Growl.”
As soon as she arrived at Raphel’s location, she froze. This was because a dog, the size of a tiger, was slowly approaching Raphel, baring its teeth fiercely. Lizelle, who was so startled that she froze, soon came to her senses, lowered her posture as much as possible, and approached Raphel slowly.
“Don’t move the Raphel. You can’t move. Stay where you are.”
“Hmph, Lizelle…”
Raphel was so shocked that he’d fallen down onto the grass and landed on his butt.
“Ugh…”
The dog was growling so fiercely that the bridge of its nose was wrinkled, and its sharp fangs were exposed. It was constantly moving towards Raphel, slowly moving its four legs that supported its heavy body. Like a wild beast aiming for its target’s weak spot. The low posture was threatening, he could pounce at any moment.
“Raphel, everything will be okay. I’ll go over there. It’s okay.”
Lizelle approached Raphel, posture low, with her hands almost touching the ground. She wanted to quickly wrap her arms around Raphel and hug him to her, but the distance between Raphel and the dog was too close, so she couldn’t. Raphel could be seriously injured if they irritated the dog. In this frightening situation, Wilhazelle’s back was soaked with cold sweat.
“Hic! Wah, waaah!”
Raphel ended up crying when a dog that was twice as big as him approached, drooling.
“Grrrrr!”
“Raphel!”
As Raphel raised his arms to wipe away his tears, the dog rushed towards him. With his fearsome teeth bared. Wilhazelle jumped forward and hugged Raphel shielding his whole body. She didn’t know where that superhuman strength came from, but it was the fastest she’d ever moved in her life. She hugged Raphel and fell onto the grass. The whole time she was falling, her two slender arms were holding onto and protecting Raphel’s head and body.
“Woof! Woof!”
“Warden!”
The dog, which was barking fiercely and rushing to attack Lizelle, stopped moving at the sound of a voice coming from the distance. From far away, Chaser was running, carrying Warden’s special meal. It was a chaotic moment. If he had come just a little bit later, it was clear that Warden’s teeth would have bitten Lizelle.
Chaser immediately pulled on Warden’s leash.
“Get back.”
“Kkiiing…”
“Stay back!”
Warden, who was happy at the appearance of his master, lowered his tail and wined at the deep voice. Warden’s eyes were pitiful as he watched closely, but Chaser was resolute. He quickly tied Warden’s leash around the base of a tree., tightly, so that he wouldn’t be able to approach Lizelle and Raphel. And then he headed straight towards the two people.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
A voice full of worry reached the them.
“LIZELLE! Wahhhh!”
Raphel burst into tears again in Lizelle’s arms. It was a very sad cry. At the sound of that cry, Lizelle, lying down as low as possible and hugging Raphel, opened her tightly closed eyes. Her precious little child was looking at her with big teardrops falling.
“Raphel, are you okay?”
“Huh! Lizelle, Lizelle!”
Raphel must have been so scared, he cried into Lizelle’s arms.
“Are you okay? You’re safe now.”
As Lizelle stroked the back of Raphel’s head, the crying gradually subsided. At the same time, relief spread throughout her body. She felt relieved that Raphel was safe. At that moment, the tension that had stiffened her entire body was relieved.
“Ugh…”
Wilhazelle groaned. Her strained muscles ached all over. Chaser, watching the two, immediately took Raphel out of Lizelle’s arms and held him away from her.
“Huh! I’m going to Lizelle! Lizelle!”
Raphel struggled to get out of Chaser’s arms and back to Lizelle, but there was no way he could escape the arms that were like steel.
“Sir, Is there a problem?”
At that moment, Rohan the butler came to their side after hearing a loud noise coming from the garden.
“Bring the doctor right away.”
“A doctor? Where did you get hurt? What the…!”
Rohan was surprised to see Lizelle lying in a disheveled state and Raphel crying in Chaser’s arms.
“Hurry.”
“Ah, yes!”
At the master’s command, Rohan urged the servant nearby to bring a doctor as quickly as possible. Chaser confirmed that Raphel was unharmed, and ordered Rohan to take him.
“Let go! I’m going to Lizelle!”
Raphel struggled to get to Lizelle even in Rohan’s arms.
“Hold on tightly so that he doesn’t get to the lady.”
Chaser instructed Rohan and knelt down in front of Lizelle.
“Are you okay?”
And then he immediately looked at Lizelle’s condition. The reason the two were separated was because Lizelle had made a groaning noise. It’s possible she might have broken a bone. Holding Raphel could have intensified the pain or worsened the condition.
“Sure. Raphel is safe.”
Lizelle said, turning her back to the sunlight and staring at Chaser, who was looking down at her. She was quite embarrassed to look up at him while lying down, so she wanted to get up, but her weak legs would not listen. There were no injuries, but she was so tense that she didn’t feel like herself. It felt like all her strength had been drained away, along with her warm blood, so it was difficult to even lift a finger.
“That is…”
Chaser frowned sharply at her words.
“What?”
Lizelle, who couldn’t understand properly, stared at Chaser.
Then, before long, his lips moved once again.
“I asked if you were okay.”
