The Extra Guardian Missed the Right Time to Leave

“Then the date is…”

Albury was coordinating the schedule with Enrique with a serious look on his face.

And then…

Knock.

A knock was heard outside the room.

Albury raised his head, his ears pricked, like a hunting dog that had heard the footsteps of its master on his way home.

“Uh! It looks like you’re here!”

Exactly 30 minutes had passed.

He got up and walked towards the door.

When he opened the door, Eugenia was standing there, as expected.

“You came sooner than I thought.”

“Ah yes. Because my luggage is light. However…”

She laughed as if she was embarrassed because the corners of her eyes drooped.

“Excuse me… orry. Joshua and Selmia came together because they wanted to be together…”

She blurted her words and dropped her gaze.

Albery’s gaze followed where her eyes were directed.

Selmia has a smile on her face, and Joshua has a sullen expression.

The two children were clinging to Eugenia as if they did not want to be separated from her.

‘I don’t think this will go smoothly even if it doesn’t work out.’

Albery thought to himself with an embarrassed smile.

But then Joshua added sullenly, with a look on his face that seemed to indicate that his thoughts were clearly being read.

“They said we should cooperate with that role play or something.”

Joshua, who had been casually speaking as he always did, trembled.

When I looked next to her, I saw Eugenia glaring at me with her eyes open.

“Knight… kni… ah?”

A voice that can be described as gloomy.

The boy, who sensed what kind of warning she was trying to give him, cleared his throat a few times as if to distract her.

Joshua avoided Eugenia’s eyes, as if running away from her, and added an omitted remark in a low voice:

“…yo. This… Then we are qualified to attend this meeting… yo. This…”

Joshua was pouting his lips, as if using polite language was extremely unpleasant and awkward.

Eugenia looked at Albery in embarrassment.

“Anyway, that’s why I keep wanting to be with you… I want to hear Enrique’s intentions.”

Albery glanced back.

Seeing Enrique nod his head in permission, he opened the door wide.

“Oh, of course. Your younger siblings are coming in too.”

Eugenia’s face, which could not hide her hardness even though she was smiling, slowly relaxed.

“Thank you.”

Eugenia let her children in first, and then I followed them.

“Sit down.”

Enrique’s room was much brighter than when he first entered.

But perhaps he thought that wasn’t enough, Albery quickly closed the door and lit more candles.

Even after that, Albury moved around busily.

They found two more empty chairs that the children could sit on and set them up in front of Enrique.

The shapes of the chairs were all different, but there was no difficulty in sitting on them.

Joshua was the first to take one, as if he had been entrusted with his seat, and Selmia sat next.

The only empty seats were between children.

The twins, who had always been close to each other, at some point made Eugenia’s place between them as if it was natural.

Eugenia also took her place without any hesitation.

Anyway, it was only after she had each taken a seat that Enrique opened her mouth.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s sort out the names.”

He leaned lazily in his chair, legs crossed, and opened his mouth.

“The roles each person will play are simple. Me and Eugenia are the husband and wife, and Eugenia’s two younger siblings are our children.”

Albery, who was listening quietly, tapped the left side of my heart with his hand and spoke vigorously.

“No one asked, no one was wondering, but let me just say it! I plan to be your valet and driver.”

He smiled brightly and spoke amiably to the children.

“Master, and young lady. From now on, I will call you this. It may be very awkward, but it would be a good idea to get used to this title by the time you cross the border.”

Albury may have been considerate, but Eugenia didn’t think such a title would be a problem for her children.

‘In the first place, they were the antelopes of a golden spoon, a marquis.’

As expected, Selmia answered brightly, looking very comfortable.

“Yes, you can!”

Joshua nodded as well, crossing his arms and trying to cross his legs to one side.

The boy looked more focused on crossing his legs than answering.

“I don’t have a problem either… yo. This…”

However, it seemed like something wasn’t as cool as Enrique’s, so the boy quickly relaxed his legs with a look of disapproval on his face.

It was Albery who was embarrassed by the children’s attitude.

“Haha. Yes… It looks like that.”

Eugenia glanced at him, who was fluttering her face with her hand fan, and added softly.

“Because we are latecomers, we grew up a bit differently.”

From that brief comment that Eugenia added, Albury could clearly see how her twins had grown up.

He nodded slightly to show understanding, then smiled a little awkwardly.

“Your parents raised you with great care.”

“…yes. Very much. They are truly precious children.”

“I can’t believe I grew up being loved so much by my family. When you grow up, it will definitely be a good source of nourishment for you.”

“…It will have to be that way.”

After that, small talk was exchanged several times.

Enrique, who had been listening quietly, looked at the twins sitting across from me as if observing them, and then opened his mouth in a calm tone.

“They are actually twins, but it would be nice to disguise them properly. So, it would be better for the boy to be the older brother and the girl to be the younger brother.”

“Ah! Yes, I don’t think there will be any problem.”

Considering they were twins, the two children were already quite different in height and physique.

In fact, some people saw Joshua as being about 2 years older than him.

The roles of taking care of and receiving care were almost fixed, so there probably wouldn’t be much of a problem.

“I don’t mind as long as you don’t call me brother.”

Selmia didn’t seem to have any complaints, so Enrique’s suggestion was immediately accepted.

“Did you say the children’s names were Selmia and Joshua?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Do they have a nickname or something? I thought it would be better to change their names.”

“Well, that would really be a good idea.”

I need to respond naturally when called, so I think it would be good to use something I already use.”

At that time, Selmia intervened.

“It’s Sherry! I told you this earlier, but I guess you forgot!”

Enrique paused for a moment at this very clear statement.

The change in facial expression was slight, but it was a face that anyone could see afterward.

Enrique nodded his head.

“Sorry.”

She apologized obediently, and Selmia forgave her with a smile on her face.

“It’s okay!”

Enrique’s gaze shifted as if it was Joshua’s turn next.

“I am…”

But, unlike Selmia, Joshua hesitated.

He seemed reluctant to mention her nickname, which was much cuter than Selmia’s ‘Sherry’, even if she was about to die.

Selmia suddenly raised her voice, as if she didn’t care about the inner thoughts of her own flesh and blood.

“This is Shushu!”

Joshua’s face turned pale.

‘Ah, he doesn’t like being called by that name.’

Eugenia already felt dizzy at the thought of her second nervous battle.

“Hmm, Shushu.”

Sure enough, Joshua’s face frowned.

His expression was one in which he absolutely hated hearing his nickname called from Enrique’s mouth.

He even seemed quite angry because, considering his age, appearance, and everything else, the nickname ‘Shushu’ seemed to make him look younger.

“Shushu. Shushu…”

On the other hand, this was also a problem.

Enrique called it a cute nickname, Shushu, over and over again with his serious expression and voice.

He didn’t seem particularly malicious or mischievous towards him, but as the behavior was repeated, Joshua’s face became pale.

‘Oh my gosh, there is no separate hell.’

In the meantime, Enrique said, “Shushu, Shushu…” He was repeating it endlessly to make sure it would stick to his mouth.

‘Now I think Schestalt will come too.’

Eugenia tried to open Joshua’s mouth to stop Enrique before he really exploded.

Enrique spoke first.

“Hmm, it seems too obvious that Shushu is a nickname.”

Joshua, who was quietly and secretly shuddering with shame, looked somewhat liberated.

The boy muttered in a low voice, like an ant crawling.

“Okay… I think it would be better to just buy it with foreign funds.”

Then, when she realized that she had inadvertently used informal language again, she hastily added the character ‘yo’.

It seemed like the compromise proposed by Joshua wasn’t a bad one.

Enrique nodded his head coolly.

“Well, I guess it’s okay since everyone uses it.”

Now there is only one person left.

As if he had read Enrique’s inner thoughts, Albery got lucky first.

“Then what should Miss Eugenia do?”

Albury sought her opinion.

“Do you have a name in mind or a nickname you usually call yourself?”

She naturally followed Enrique’s gaze.

Everyone seemed to be unanimous in saying that changing Eugenia’s name was the most important thing.

“I don’t have a nickname, um…”

Eugenia, who had chosen her words carefully, opened her mouth hesitantly, in an uncertain tone.

“The most acceptable one would be Eugene… I think anything will be okay. I think Xenia or Jenny would be good too.”

Then, a name suddenly popped into her head.

“Ah…!”

At the same time, Eugenia’s lips opened again, and half-impulsively the name escaped her.

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note: