40.
“If you say it like that, it sounds very bleak, kid.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right, how could I forget. When Master gets bored, he throws me over there like he’s tossing a stick out of the way.”
Of course, it was just a joke between her and Master, Laiya was never really in any harm when she was thrown about, but as they were bantering, Stephen blankly stared at his younger sister.
“Hey, you… Was this your personality to begin with?”
“Personality?”
“Smiling so brightly even when—No, never mind.”
Stephen shook his head as he lowered his eyes.
Between his lowered face and half-eaten mumbles, Laiya couldn’t understand even half of his words.
What, was this place really that shocking? I know it was hidden until now, but…
In fact, it felt like gambling directed towards herself and not about the hidden room.
There were some regrets jumbled up in his grumbles, too.
Laiya wanted to tell her little black puppy brother about the space first, but circumstances did not allow it.
Ice, you should be the first to introduce yourself to Roy. You both are my precious persons after all. I will also tell him that I have great magical talent first, introducing you proves that.
[Agreed, the Guardian takes pleasure in what his master says!]
“So, brother, do you remember how I explained the whole situation when you came here, yes? Allowing you to see this cave means that the strategy that you and I will carry out requires the help of my teacher.”
“Uh, uh… Okay, I understand.”
Even if he was hesitant, her second brother quickly came to his senses proving his ability as someone who would later become a prominent figure in the BlackWinter dominion.
“Do you really want the plan to be carried out during the convention meal?”
“Yes. I mean, at most, you’ll have to miss that meal while everyone else is dining. Is that okay?”
“Hmpf, missing one meal doesn’t matter.”
Stephen would have been attending the conference dinner all along, had she not included him in her plans, but he seemed to have no regrets about missing out.
“…If I were any other position, you know, other than the second son, it wouldn’t be so noticeable if I missed this one.”
“Why?”
“Because the crown prince will attend.”
Ah, that unlucky child.
He might be a boy as old as Roy, but he is still a child in my eyes, heh.
“Okay, I—Oh, yes! I know what you want to say, it seems we’ve forgotten to give thanks to the one who is making this all possible. Thank you for helping my grandfather, Master.”
“I hope he doesn’t have a bad impression of me… Does he? I wasn’t too impolite.”
“…No. Actually, I think I should thank you.”
Stephen still looked dazed, as if he barely heard her voice above the worries that occupied his thoughts.
“Master said I had to cast a spell on the person accompanying me so that they could access this room. I was still very uneasy about using it, but it ended up working out well.”
In all actuality, I thought it would be difficult to persuade Stephen to join me. At first, I wanted Roy to be the first one to accompany me to meet my Master.
“And even if that’s not the case… I think Master would like to see at least one more person.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Black Winter’s bloodline. Since he can’t physically see our grandfather in person, I thought he might want to see me, and grandfather’s descendants, like this.”
“…”
Master silently glanced at the little girl who saw too deeply, then laughed.
Soon enough, small, harmless ice crystals splashed haphazardly onto her forehead.
“Ouch!”
“You’re cocky, kid. I’ll give you that, but it’s a thousand years too early to understand this teacher’s thought patterns.”
“I’ll be dead in a thousand years, right? Are you implying that I’ll never grow enough to understand your thoughts? Ugh, it hurts…”
“Hey, hey you, are you okay?”
“What, does your brother have a temper too?”
Laiya instinctively glanced up in time to witness Stephen glaring at the ghostly figure of her Master.
Feeling the need to extend her second brother’s life, Laiya BlackWinter quickly pulled on the hem of his clothes.
Hey, you should only glare at people you know you can beat.
“Hmm, I see he has fairy blood running through his veins and is a boy. There’s something that comes to mind when I think of those—”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
The little girl hastily cut off her teacher’s words before he could delve into any more secrets.
She knew exactly what he was talking about.
It is difficult for a boy with strong fairy blood to create offspring.
So, when I was annoyed by that guy, I secretly called him a ‘seedless watermelon’, heh—But! That doesn’t mean Master can say that to my egoistic brother’s face.
Stop him, Ice! Direct your attack at Master, cover his mouth right now!
[Task accepted! Casting the guardian magic [Freeze]!]
“Wah, Ice, what did you do?”
“Haha, Master… Since we’re short on time, shall we talk more about our operation? Now that everyone is gathered we can divulge into the finer details!”
Master graced his little disciple with a quick, knowing glance, before he pleasantly smiled, and went with the flow.
“It seems like you already know the ways of life, little one, but you’ll find out for sure when you become an adult.”
“Haha…”
Master swung his wand and floated into the air.
“Anyway, are you two the only individuals who will be carrying out the plan? I’m sure you’ll need one more for your operation to be conducted successfully, yes?”
“Well, we have an excellent knight… but as I mentioned, he can’t come in here. So I think it would be best to start with my second brother first.”
When I first decided to take Roy with me, I had a lot of concerns.
It wouldn’t be good for Roy’s position if he got caught, as it could diminish his standing as a son of BlackWinter.
I am already in a position that couldn’t get any lower, and Stephen is in a position where he could easily move on and regain his status, but that isn’t the case for Roy.
Nevertheless, Laiya BlackWinter thought it was impossible to persuade Stephen without giving him some hints, so asked Roy instead.
Since Roy is already in the same boat, we should take this opportunity to get through it together, even if he doesn’t meet Master right away, rather than face more difficulties in the future if I’m not around.
“What, who are you going with again? Could it be that gloomy guy? The third? Is it him?”
“Brother, if you decide to be my colleague, wouldn’t it be a good idea to change how you refer to my beloved third brother?”
“…Ugh, any–anyway! Is that third guy going too?”
“That’s right.”
For some reason, Stephen started to growl in frustration, to which his younger sibling half-ignored and continued her briefing with her Master.
Master chuckled as if amused and gave various advice.
“Hey, hey, are you really not even pretending to listen to your older brother?”
Stephen squealed, sounding quite frustrated.
“Brother, I do listen to what people say, heh.”
Laiya replied calmly.
“You’re acting as if I’m talking nonsense…! No, forget it. We might need to discuss this because we might not be able to take that third guy.”
Stephen paused, suddenly serious.
“What? Why?”
Laiya questioned, surprised.
“He might be invited to the grand conference.”
Our black puppy? Invited?
Laiya blinked in confusion.
Why?
Stephen seemed to notice her distracted expression and continued.
“I don’t know either. At the meal yesterday… the Crown Prince suddenly asked our brother about the third child’s skills.”
Laiya didn’t know what had happened, but Stephen’s expression wasn’t very good.
She could easily guess how that conversation had played out.
A conversation between Kyle and the Crown Prince… It must have been very unfortunate.
“No, they won’t invite our third brother to the grand meeting. He has no proven skills at all. Probably, all the vassals are ignoring him, too.”
The little girl muttered, trying to reassure Stephen.
Of course, that was only for now.
“The meeting is in two days. So today, Master will cast a spell on you, and tomorrow… Hmm, let’s go see the building in advance. You know this place well, so we can get an idea of how we will move about.”
“Well, I agree.”
Stephen agreed with a firm nod.
Master, finding the situation amusing, chuckled and cast the necessary magic on Stephen for the infiltration.
These were spells that could probably be used effectively on the day of the competition two days later.
“Ah, looking at you two little kids reminds me of him and I when we were your age.”
Master remarked, watching them with a faint expression on his face.
“A wizard and a swordsman are the best combination, so do your best, kids.”
***
“Are you saying you don’t need me today?”
“Hmm?”
The next day, as soon as the morning dawned, Stephen arrived unannounced outside her room.
Laiya had remained calm about the sudden visit that had already been scheduled yesterday, but Yuri, Lipe, and Rainante reacted in surprise.
Nonchalantly, the little girl briefly spoke to Yuri and Lipe and then closed the door.
“Hey, when are we leaving? Are we going right away?”
“Yes. Let me just explain to my knight for a moment.”
Stephen looked very uncomfortable as she easily dismissed him.
He probably remembered what Rainante had said the day prior.
“…Do you think I will bring up what happened yesterday?”
“Hmm? No.”
“Then maybe you want me to threaten him…”
“What kind of rude person do you think I am?”
“Brother, be patient. Let’s be patient, okay. Let’s remain calm, brother.”
“Are you treating me like some kind of idiot?”
“When did I… Why do you always take my words in a twisted way?”
“…”
Stephen gritted his teeth and turned his head.
Uh huh, do you really want me to coax you like a little doggie? It’s not that I didn’t think about it.
I told you yesterday that if you don’t cooperate, you will be excluded, but I’ve made it a point that I will not be associated with anything that is not human.
Still, you’re a lot quieter than I thought, huh?
This is a bit surprising.
I know this second child’s temper all too well. I was already expecting an outburst.
Laiya turned her head to face Rainante.
“My lady, of course, there was no threat. Do you think I’m the kind of person who would tolerate something like that?”
Well, if I just ignore it, it’s difficult to be threatened.
They’re the ones who will be in trouble if they lie down in shock because of a threat.
Laiya smiled to myself and raised her gaze.
“I have a place to go with my second brother today. Since I have my older brother with me, I think I don’t need an escort just for today. You know how skilled my second brother is, yes?”
“I don’t know, my lady…”
“What, are you saying he’s untrustworthy? Do you think he won’t be able to protect me?”
“…No.”
The little girl boldly continued, slipping between the two people.
“Oh! Don’t tell Roy that I’m with his second brother, but just watch over Roy’s sword—o,N watch Roy with Ruben just for today.”
“I fully understand your command, my lady, but can we go together?”
“No. Heheh, I’m going to a secret place today.”
Stephen stared at the giggling girl with a half-horrified look on his face.
Is he questioning how I could even say something like that when we need to hide it?
His expression clearly questioned her judgment.
So, do you think Rainante can guess where we’re going?
“…Even if I keep it a secret?”
He must be thinking that us kids have built a secret base somewhere.
In fact, doesn’t this person see me as a really weak child?
That’s not bad, but… No, it actually felt good, but… Hmm, I don’t know how I should feel, being compared to an actual child.
“Why? Why are you being so protective right now? You’re not even my real bodyguard.”
“… ”
Rainante paused, abruptly withholding his next words of concern.
I didn’t mean to be this blunt with this sincere knight who only wants to keep me safe, but… I can’t have him secretly following us either.
“Oh, I’m not trying to draw a line between you and I. Um, no, right? In fact, that doesn’t mean we can stay together again when I return.”
“Princess…”
“I’m young, but I know that much. I don’t think my father will keep a great knight like Sir for long if he knows that you are diligently protecting the greatest stain of the BlackWinter family.”
To be exact, I don’t think it’s worth that much of a risk.
“It’s okay. As I have already told you, Sir Rainante did a very good job protecting me so far.”
Laiya hesitated whether to say this or not, but decided to do it after a quick glance at her knight’s downcast expression.
“So, among the adults I will meet in the future… You gave me hope that someone might be nice to me even if I don’t amount to anything. For that, Sir Rainante, I thank you. Just your honest concern for me is enough.”
