Chapter 76 - I'm 100% a Child

Chapter 76: I'm 100% a Child

It's not possible for a one-year-old to talk about this even when asked. I couldn't do anything about being annoyed at not being able to speak.

I felt at ease when I thought that and looked around the room. As expected of the best room in the inn. The bedroom is probably in a different room, and this is perhaps called the living room. There's a coach and a dining table and chairs to eat at too.

The coach is fluffy and comfortable.

"Leila."

It would probably feel nice if I jump on this.

"Leila!"

"Prince, your voice is loud," Mill called out to the irritated Prince. No one else would say this except for Mill.

"But..."

"Lei may look like she knows everything at a glance, but she's not even two-years-old yet. She's still mostly a child."

What is mostly? I'm 100% a child.

"But..."

"Lei," Mill interrupted the Prince and called me.

"Ai."

"Lei, I wonder if we can tell the Prince what happened at Lentforce."

I looked at Bart. He nodded reluctantly. Then I looked at Alistair. He looked conflicted, but he didn't disagree. Then I guess it's okay.

"Ai."

"Then, we'll tell him. You can play."

"Ai!"

"Aite, Lei. Let's build blocks!"

"Ai!"

"Wait!"

Alistair went back to his room to get the blocks. The guards chased after him casually.

Actually, the mayor had said, "Advertise the blocks if you're going to the capital." So, he gave us a set. Of course, we can play with it on the way too.

*THUD* Alistair came back holding the box. The guard behind him was also holding a box and smiling wryly.

"Lei, I've brought it."

"Ai! Bwocwsh." (Blocks.)

We sat on the floor and turned the box over. The box that the guard brought was also turned over.

I grinned broadly. If Dory were here then she would probably say, "Oh my, don't sit directly on the floor!" Alistair saw me grin.

"Lei, what's up?"

"Dory."

"Dory?"

"No shiththing on fwoor, shhe shaysh." (No sitting on the floor, she says.)

"Guhaa." The guard burst into laughter instinctively. Alistair looked as if he got it and grinned like me. Dory is the kind of person you get fed up with, but can't hate.

I made a small building. It was big enough for my Rug Dragon to enter. Alistair used the two boxes of blocks and built a large building.

The people in the room continued talking while looking sideways.

"Then, Bart. I'll leave it to you."

"You want me to do it?!"

Mill passing the troublesome tasks to Bart was also something that usually happened.

"So, why did you save Lei?" The Prince urged briefly.

"Lei survived because she's smart. Are you not satisfied with this answer?" Bart said, and the Prince shrugged.

"It was good that Lei was saved. Honestly, we thought that she was already gone. However, how was a one-year-old able to take attackers and escape safely? It's unbelievable, isn't it?"

It really is. It was hard. I put my Rug Dragon neatly into the stack of square blocks. Yup. It's cute.

"But in the end, it was your blunder that got her kidnapped, and Leila did save herself in that situation. And yet, it's strange, you say it like she has some sort of responsibility."

Bart is harsh. The Prince looked at me as if to say, "You say something too," but I'm busy. I'm making more room for my dragon.

"And I don't want to say why because it will raise Lei's worth. In other words, I don't want you to use Lei for the sake of a country called Wester."

"Which means Leila has some secret after all." The Prince's face said, "I knew it."

"I can tell you if you promise that you will keep it between us and not tell this country." That was Bart's condition. The Prince folded his arms and looked up at the ceiling.

"Kingdom said to protect the child with the violet eyes. And I knew from the beginning that she was a toddler. As long as we use Leila as a trump card for our negotiations with Kingdom, Wester has no other choice but to return her there no matter how much she is worth." The Prince looked at me and answered Bart.

"So this is simply my personal interest. How did Leila survive?"

"Will you swear to keep what you hear in this room?"

"... I swear." The Prince swore to Bart's question even though he was reluctant to.

But that solemn moment ended with Alistair's voice, "Won't you join your house with mine, Lei?"

All the blocks were gone by the time I became aware of it, and Alistair not only completed his big building, but he was also aiming for my blocks.

"Nu!" I protected my house from Alistair.

"Hey, I'll make a room for the rug dragon."

"Meh!"

It won't be this small and nice house that I've just created. It will become something that Alistair built. Shouldn't Alistair be the one to give me his blocks?

"Awishthair hash heapsh. There'sh no more bwocwsh." (Alistair has heaps. There's no more blocks.)

"Tsk."

Alistair pouted. He destroyed his blocks and started making a new building. When I tried to take some of the blocks he'd destroyed, he said evilly, "You didn't give me any blocks, so I won't give you any." He wasn't mature when it came to blocks. I'm going to cry.

"A vow is a vow. But in this situation, with her nerves. Does the innocent playing baby really have a secret?" The Prince said in amazement.

"Well, isn't it fine for her to act like a kid?" Bart said, sounding a bit shocked. Well, it can't be helped.

"Lei, as you know, didn't just get kidnapped this one time. She also got kidnapped when she was in Lentforce. You guys also investigated this, didn't you?"

"Yeah. But we only chased after the criminals, we don't know what actually happened."

"Lei was, as you know, kidnapped right before the Hollows appeared. Along with the mayor's daughter."

"Is it because the criminals have barrier boxes?"

They certainly did use six or more barrier boxes this time. So it's possible.

"No, it's possible that they had someone with a barrier box nearby. But the criminals that kidnapped her didn't have any."

"How do you know?"

"They deserted Lei and the mayor's daughter in the middle of the Hollows at night."

The Prince and the guards gulped.

"Apparently not a lot of time passed. Everyone at the mayor's mansion had already given up by the time we came. But they were safe when we reached them."

"I thought Lei had a hidden barrier box. Just enough to fit one person."

"That would be nice if she had such a barrier box." Mill interrupted.

"Mill, don't interrupt right now. Lei doesn't have a barrier box."

"Then, why?"

The Prince looked at me.

"Lei can make her own barriers."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 77 - It's Not Difficult

Chapter 77: It's Not Difficult

"Ha, haha, no way."

"It's true. She probably made her own barrier this time as well and ran away. Isn't that right, Lei?"

So, I can't feign ignorance after all.

"Ai," I replied obediently. I stopped playing with the blocks.

"Lei."

"Awishthair."

"Here." Alistair pushed his blocks towards me.

"Thanwsh."

"Mm."

The Prince remained quiet because he couldn't believe it, and then he kept firing off questions, "Is it because she's part of the Four Marquises?! Is it her hidden power?! Can Alistair do it too?!"

"I can't. Not yet," Alistair answered the last question first.

"I don't know if this is connected to the Four Marquises. But, Lei said she looked at Alistair's barrier box and learnt how to produce a barrier," Bart answered the rest of the questions.

I also added, "Sneawed off."

"Buufuu."

This is a serious conversation. It was the guard who had laughed and not Kyaro. The Prince regained his composure probably because it was his guard who had laughed. Apparently, he thought he had gotten too excited.

"Lei was on the mountainside. Those who don't know about Lei's barrier would definitely search for her on the way to the hut. That's why she ran towards the mountains where there are a lot of Hollows. Isn't that right?"

"Ai. Howwowsh bounce off. Lei waithed for dawn," I answered to Bart's confirmation. My answer slowly sunk into everyone. Meanwhile, Alistair quietly began cleaning up the blocks. I also destroyed the Rug Dragon room and helped clean up.

"In other words," the Prince began, "she has the power to make barriers."

No one replied.

"Based on the fact that dawn was drawing, the enemies had no choice but to withdraw because they wouldn't be able to take advantage of their barrier boxes," his voice trembled as he said this.

"She determined that she would make the best use of her power to deceive the enemies and ran away toward the mountainside. And she dared to endure alone in the middle of a group of Hollows."

It sounds cool when it's put that way.

"And, she was determined to protect everyone in the hut."

The Prince looked at me as if he didn't know my character.

"Who are you?" These words probably leaked out. It certainly is gross. However, I also think that it would have been great if I could have had a childhood without displaying such powers.

"Huu," I called him quietly, and the Prince looked up as if he's just woken up.

"I'm Leiwa."

"Lei, la."

"Ai."

At that moment, I heard the sound of the last block going into the box. That sound brought everyone back to their senses.

"This time, I only thought about myself. I'm really childish," Alistair began as he closed the lid of the box.

"I hated it, so I want to grow up as quickly as possible. That's why I'm going to learn all I can from disgusting adults."

Alistair stood up and held his hand out to me. I took Alistair's hand, and he helped me up.

"But I give up. I don't understand adults at all. If adults aren't going to protect me, then I'll have to protect myself." The Prince and his guards looked uncomfortable at those words.

"Leila is Leila. I couldn't protect her, and the adults couldn't protect her. But, I'll at least protect her heart." Alistair looked at me gently. It wasn't the eyes you used to look at something disgusting.

"Now, let's go to the dining hall and play with everyone."

"Ai."

"Then, I'll come too," Mill said, and Bart and his crew stood up.

"Prince and all the guards, please keep your vows," Bart said as Clyde silently carried the two boxes of blocks. We left the Prince's room. However, the guard that accompanied Alistair and I followed us promptly.

"Lei, are you alright?"

"Ai. I'm fine."

Bart was worried, but Mill said, "Well, Lei's a bit weird." Rude. Kyaro and Clyde also laughed as if it were true.

Yes. Let's be honest.

"Lei, a withthwe, weird."

"Gubaa."

"Awishthair..."

Alistair was the one who burst out laughing. Even though he had said something amazing before. It got strange, and everyone laughed as they walked down the stairs. The people who were worried downstairs looked relieved.

A while later, the Prince and his guards also came downstairs.

I wasn't worried about what the Prince had said. I am a weird baby, and I do cause trouble even if I'm not the one at fault.

"Leila."

"Ai."

"Leila."

"Ai."

"Leil."

"Huu."

Stop it. You can just say sorry. It's troublesome when you keep calling my name because you don't know what to do. It can't be helped.

"Huu, Lei ish angry."

I'm not actually angry, but I put my hand on my waist and pretended to look angry. I'm an actress. Yes, you there, don't laugh. Kyaro was holding his stomach behind me.

"I, I see."

It's not, I see. Jeez, the Prince is a handful. I don't even know what to do with him after this.

"Say shorry."

"Ah, yes."

"Huu."

The Prince gulped.

"Leila."

"Ai."

"I'm sorry."

"Ai. Thath'sh awrighth."

That's all you had to do. "Hmph," I exhaled. The Prince crouched down gently and patted my head.

"Leila is this cute."

"... Ai," I did reply to him, but I was surprised. The Prince realised what he had said and quickly stood up.

"No, you're not! Well, you are, but that wasn't what I wanted to say!" He talked gibberish. "Well, I still have to arrange the search. Let's go!" He left somewhere.

"He fled."

"He did."

That was probably Kyaro and Clyde.

"Adults are hopeless."

Alistair shrugged. They are, gosh.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 78 - A Place with No Hollows

Chapter 78: A Place with No Hollows

The town near the rough spot was large. They had a self-governing organisation, and the royal family was much more influential here than in Lentforce. The Prince had said he still had some arrangements to make, but he had basically finished it by the time I woke up. Therefore, we only stayed in that town for two days.

"Apparently they escaped towards Kaylie..."

The investigation confirmed what they had expected; the enemies weren't from Wester. However, it wasn't possible to investigate this on a large scale even if they used the self-governing organisation and sent messengers everywhere. No matter if they were in Kaylie or another town, they couldn't pursue the enemy anymore if they entered Kingdom. The size of Frontier was deadly for criminal investigations.

Although, since there wasn't much to gain from Frontier, there was little merit in committing crime.

"That's why there are more bad guys in Kaylie and the fief capital than Lentforce," Kyaro told me this.

"If this were the capital, I would have mobilised the army, but I only enlisted a small number of people for mobility, and it backfired on me..." I heard the Prince mutter.

"Heapsh of peopwe can'th pashsh," I tried to say the thing that bothered me.

"Five onwy. Heapsh imposhshibwe." (Five only. Heaps impossible.)

There are only five huts, so 50 people won't be able to sleep in them. The Prince looked like he had been hit in a sore spot.

"Uoah. That's true, but I could have got them to stay in this town, or they could have gone ahead of us. There are many alternatives."

"Coshth money." (Cost money.)

"Uooaah. Leila, you, you know."

Well, I've said what I want to say, so I'll go build some blocks. Even so, I understand that the west part of Wester wouldn't last if Farland were to attack.

However, no matter what country they belong to, if they can only live in this town located in Frontier, they might not have any patriotic feelings towards their country.

"Why is a baby also worrying about money? Gosh."

That's true. Let's not say thoughtless things from now on.

The Prince moved energetically even though he was worried, and sent messengers to the fief capital as well as the border town, Kaylie, to get progress reports and request that the incident be investigated. Of course, he also conducted an investigation in this town and found out that people who are thought to be the enemies had stayed at the inn until a few days ago.

"Apparently they stayed in this inn."

The Prince was quite angry when he found out about this. There were five people. They stayed at this inn for about two weeks and had messengers coming and leaving daily.

"They had their meals in their room, and had hoods on even on hot days, so I don't know what they look like. I did think they looked suspicious, but a guest is a guest," the boss at the inn only said that as if he was troubled, but it seemed like he didn't think that they were residents of Wester.

After all the arrangements were made, we were able to relax a little in this town.

"From here, we've arranged an itinerary so that we can get to the capital in the shortest time possible. There aren't any seas or mountains, but there are a lot of big towns. Now, let's go!" The Prince said, and we finally headed to the capital. I think he made it lengthy so that I could hear it. He's unexpectedly kind.

We went through a prairie that had completely changed since it was autumn. It was far from Wellington Mountains, and I couldn't see the sea at all. The prairie which seemed to continue on forever looked like a golden sea.

Bart and his crew became restless when we travelled through here for a few days.

"What's wrong, Hunters?" This Prince doesn't call people by their names easily.

"Well, I can't feel any signs of people following us since the attack."

"I got that report."

The Prince thought Bart's words were strange.

"We've been to Kaylie before, but this is our first time in this prairie."

"So what?"

Bart was unusually vague.

"There's barely any Hollow presence here."

"Hollow presence?"

I also felt that. The Hollows were a common existence even before I went to Lentforce, and while I was living in Lentforce. The shocks and prickles on my skin have steadily faded a few days after we passed the rough spot.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is. Yeah, I guess hardly any Hollows show up in towns."

Every time we got to a new town, Bart and his crew would take a look around, and they would take me with them if they had leeway.

"Can you believe it? The new part of town and the places where poor people live don't use Rhodolite building materials."

"Really?"

"People don't mine for Rhodolite if they're not along Wellington Mountains, but isn't that too careless?"

Kyaro and Clyde are carpenters, so they were probably worried about things like that.

"I can't believe that there's a place like this in Frontier."

They also had a lot of farmland because they didn't have to worry about Hollows much. The residents seem to be living comfortable lives without any discomfort. But I saw the slums while I was being carried by Bart, and the gap between the rich and the poor was much more intense than at Lentforce.

"There are magicians too."

"I also felt that. I became a hunter. I've also been to Kaylie, and I wanted to become a competent hunter, but I didn't think that there would be this much of a difference just in Wester alone."

Bart began to say when we came to a town which was halfway to the royal capital, "Prince, can we stay outside of town today?"

"What are you saying? It's dangerous."

"Well, I haven't felt the enemies' presence in the past week. And, I'm curious about what's going on with the Hollows."

"I'm going too!"

"Lei thoo!"

Alistair and I spoke. Because I'm curious about what happens to the Hollows now that we're far from the mountains.

"You-! When you've just been kidnapped-!" The Prince pinched my cheeks with both his hands.

"Whath're chu doing?" (What're you doing?)

"It'll be fine if you come too, right, Prince? With your guards," Bart, who had been wary along the way, said lightly. Is he saying that we should feel secure about a hunter's intuition?

"We're taking Alistair since he wants to be a hunter. Lei also has the barrier box with her, so we'll be taking her."

"Yay!"

"Ai!"

Bart isn't someone who would say selfish things, so he must be bothered by something.

To fulfil Bart's wish, a large-scale search was carried out on the day to see if anyone was lurking near the town, and then we finally received permission to hunt.

"I'll be joining you."

"I really didn't think you would come, Prince."

Along with annoying people.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 79 - Prairie Hollows

Chapter 79: Prairie Hollows

Riding the Rug Dragons, we set up base near the vicinity of the town. This is for my sake. People don't usually use barrier boxes while hunting, so they leave their Rug Dragons in the vicinity while keeping watch and taking turns to hunt.

The Prince and his guards also made their base next to ours so that they would be protected by our barrier.

"This isn't about hunting efficiently. I want to see how the Hollows appear around here and how long they stay for," Bart said as he looked sideways at sunset.

"I want to know if this town with thin defence can really last," Bart muttered, and no one answered him. To be precise, the townspeople had said, "It's fine," but Bart didn't believe them until he saw it himself.

The sun set completely. Hollows would already appear at Lentforce around this time, but they haven't appeared here yet.

"Is it different away from the mountains...?" Kyaro muttered after a lot of time had passed and no Hollows appeared. Well, it's not like they hadn't appeared at all.

I suddenly raised my face and Alistair moved his body.

"They're coming from the sea!" Bart and everyone else also looked at the sea when they heard this.

*WHIRR* Right as we heard the sound, we saw hollows appearing along the horizon.

"They're far away, but where did they come from? Usually, it looks as if they spring up from near the mountains..."

The Hollows appear as if they were springing out from the ground.

"I'll have to check their appearances..." Kyaro stared at the place where everyone thought the Hollows had appeared from. *WHIRR, WHIRR* More Hollows appeared.

"This is odd. Hollows like this have never appeared before," the town representative muttered. A middle-aged man reluctantly followed us because he couldn't just let the Prince go out of town alone.

"Hmm, how are the damages from the Hollows?"

"Let's say about a few people a year. I don't know what happens to the travellers, though."

"Well then," Mill cut in carefreely while the townsman and Prince were talking.

"How many Hollows are being hunted near this town?"

"How can we? There are no hunters in town, so there's no way they'll be hunted."

Kyaro reacted to the townsman, "You didn't hunt Hollows even when they killed the people of this town?"

"Even if they're townspeople, they're people from the slums who can't even work. This is Frontier. The town won't look after those who live on the outer edge of town," the townsman said and I was shocked. But, the Prince and his guards weren't shocked at all. Bart and his crew returned their gazes to the Hollows. As for Alistair, he just held onto my hand tightly.

But, "That's what I thought," Kyaro muttered. The Hollows gradually approached us and finally arrived near the barrier.

"They're so vivid," the townsman said. The Hollows had more distinct appearances than the Hollows we've seen until now. They had adults, and children, and they were all wearing worn-out clothes.

"Hannah."

"Lei?"

I remembered that when I first saw the Hollows, Hannah had been expressionless, but the Hollows appeared before me with the appearance she had before she died.

Which means... I glanced at Bart.

"They wiwwed thhe thownshpeopwe." (They killed the townspeople.)

"They probably did. Disgusting."

The damage is probably small. However, the Hollows definitely got their hands on their prey. The Hollows turned to face the town since they were perhaps irritated at us who were observing them.

"Ah, the Hollows are heading towards the town!" The town's representative shrieked.

"Oh well, shall we do it? Mill!"

"Aite~."

Kyaro, Clyde and Alistair stayed within the barrier and kept an eye on the situation outside while Bart and Mill easily defeated the few Hollows. There weren't any Hollows around anymore.

Bart widened his eyes for a second when he picked up the magic stone, but then he immediately acted nonchalantly.

"Prince, that's it for today. Hey, Mr Town Representative." Bart told the Prince that he wanted to withdraw and spoke to the townsman.

"You saw it just now, didn't you? The nearby Hollows will come if they know there are people. I think you can hunt big Hollows."

"Ah, yes."

The townsman seemed frightened when he saw the Hollows.

"If you treat the people who you don't care about as you like, then the Hollows are going to come to your town."

Bart sighed at the townsman who didn't get it.

"The rest is the Prince's job."

"I know."

The Prince, who had a poker-face on this whole time, signalled his people and they began clearing up. Then, *WHIRR* there were faint presences of Hollows. The townsman creepily looked at us as Alistair and I stared off into the distance.

"I didn't think that Wester would have an area like this."

"At least it's not our job."

Bart and Kyaro said as they got on the Rug Dragons. I was naturally put into the basket first.

The next day, the Prince had an informal audience with the mayor, but I don't know what they talked about. Although, I'm sure that he conveyed that everyone should hunt the Hollows before a new type of Hollow appears.

When we got to the next town, Bart showed Alistair and I the magic stone. We couldn't help but gulp when we saw it.

"Big."

"What the hell is this?"

The biggest magic stone I have ever seen was the magic stone in the barrier box at the mayor's house. It was one size bigger than the magic stone in Alistair's barrier box. But, the magic stone in Bart's hand was bigger than that.

"This is the first time I've seen a magic stone this big even though I'm a hunter. Honestly, I never thought that we'd be able to get a magic stone this big in an area with few Hollows."

Bart looked depressed even though he had gotten his hands on a big magic stone.

"I'm worried over what to do with this."

"You can just sell it," Alistair said frankly and shrugged.

"They'll ask where we got this from. Even if I tell them it's a secret, they'll know the route we took. It's alright for hunters to flock around here. But, no, I'm overthinking."

Bart looked up for a moment.

"Big magic stones like this can only be used in barrier boxes. I don't know if it'll sell or not," He said, as he gripped the magic stone which couldn't fit into his palm and sparkled from the spaces between his fingers.

"Gib ith tho Huu." (Give it to Huu.)

"Is that your opinion, Lei?"

"Don'th need throubweshome thhingsh." (Don't need troublesome things.)

"Push it onto the Prince? Haha, that's great. Should I also get money from him at the same time?" Bart said, but he didn't give it to the Prince. Instead, he gave the seven magic stones he had to each of his crew members. Mill pulled a little bit of cotton out of the Rug Dragon stuffed animal and stuffed mine into the pocket. He's unexpectedly skillful.

The pocket became a little round, and it was heavy, but everyone knew I stuffed things into my Rug Dragon, so they just thought I did something again.

Afterwards, Bart and his crew didn't hunt any other Hollows in the other towns on the way, no matter how much they were asked.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 80 - The Town Before

Chapter 80: The Town Before

A week has passed since then, and the distance between the towns became shorter. There was a highway going through the prairie, and we saw more people and Rug Dragons. I saw mountains in the direction the capital was in before I saw towns, and found out that the capital was near the mountains.

In short, there were a lot of Hollows.

The capital is near the east end of Wester, and I don't think it's a convenient place to rule over the whole of Wester. If they're worried about safety, then the safest place to be would be that town where we hunted. I thought it was strange.

My thoughts aside, once the people who we passed knew that this was the Prince's party, they avoided us, got off their Rug Dragons, and some saw royalty for the first time. Of course, the inns in these towns became more luxurious.

"Leila."

"Ai?"

The Prince said something as he approached me. I'm going to behave myself. It's pretty fun to look everywhere as we pass people.

"Stop those eyes."

"They won'th wnow thhey're vioweth." (They won't know they're violet)

"They do. They definitely know who you are."

What is he on about?

"She's probably saying, 'Huu, they think you're the Prince so cover your face', Prince."

"Alistair."

"What is it?"

"Do you think this too?"

"Yeah."

"Guhaa."

Alistair turned to his side. I think the last person is disqualified as a guard.

"Jeez, I thought I'd finally be respected as a royal now that I've returned near the vicinity of the capital." Grumbling isn't Prince-like.

"Leila."

"Ai, Huu."

"We're nearly at the capital. Behave yourself properly, no, well you're always behaving yourself when you need to. In short..."

"In shhorth?"

"That part of you. Honestly, act like a baby, like a baby."

"Aai."

"Argh."

He looks dissatisfied even when I answer him. He's naggy. But, I could only have fun teasing him until the town before the capital.

"Leila-sama, this town is the town before the capital. We'll be there in a few hours if we rush, but we'll be staying here tonight."

"Ai."

Dory told me this. I wonder if we'll be staying in a luxurious room today too. The closer we got to the capital, more and more mayors and VIPs wanted to see someone from the Four Marquis, and the Prince granted their request. And Alistair and I agreed because there was nothing we could do.

Most people looked at Alistair and I as we stood next to each other, or they would look at us as I sat on Alistair's lap and they would smile and say, "Oh, so these are the summery and violet eyes."

"This is Kingdom's," there were also people who showed their sarcasm and dissatisfaction at Kingdom, and it was really tiring to meet those people.

If Otou-sama was with me, he probably wouldn't even take notice of those who want to meet us and say, "Why do we have to meet them?" Frontier royals have it tough. I found out later that the Frontier royals didn't have it tough, and Otou-sama was just weird.

If I stick close to Alistair and open my eyes wide, then I get a good bed and delicious food, so I didn't have a hard time when I thought of it as an easy job.

But, that wasn't the case for Alistair. He hates nobles and reluctantly came because he was told that he could continue being a hunter. He looked displeased with being praised just for the colour of his eyes even though he hadn't been taught the responsibilities of the Four Marquises and he hadn't enjoyed their abundant lifestyle.

"Say, Lei."

"Ai."

"Don't you hate it? They're just staring at us." We finished practising our magic and were practising how to make barriers when Alistair muttered this. I can easily feel the change in my magic, but it was difficult for Alistair.

Even so, he was practising hard because he said he would be invincible during hunts if he could do this.

"Lei doesh."

"So you do. But you're putting up with it. Lei, you're amazing."

Alistair patted my shoulders.

"I really hate it when people look at me like I'm an exhibition sometimes."

"Ai, I wnow."

"I wonder what I should do."

"Wubbishh," I said when I remembered Otou-sama. They're not rubbish. But, apparently, Otou-sama treats people who are noisy around him like they're rubbish.

"Rubbish?"

"Otousyama doeshn'th care abouth peopwe." (Otou-sama doesn't care about people)

"Otousyama? Lei's dad?"

"Peopwe aren'th wohthh wohwying abouth. Thath'sh why he doeshn'th cawe." (People aren't worth worrying about. That's why he doesn't care)

"It's not like they're not worth worrying about," Alistair said as if he was a little shocked.

"Mayowsh Awishthaih don'th wnow don'th chewhishh you. You don'th have tho wohwy abouth peopwe who don'th chehwishh you." (Mayors Alistair doesn't know don't cherish you. You don't have to worry about people who don't cherish you)

Whew. I was able to talk a lot. I feel like I've achieved something.

"People live to help each other, don't they?"

"The mayowsh don'th hewp you."

"Buufoo." The guard, who was standing quietly in the same room as us, burst out into laughter.

"Alistair-sama."

"What?"

"Hubert-sama is from the royal family of this country, so he thinks of the people's benefit even if they don't help him."

Alistair nodded meekly. He's not just a troublesome Prince. Alistair and I learnt throughout this journey that he is an excellent Prince who tries to hold back what he says all the time.

"But, your position as part of the Four Marquises is different."

"So I don't have to think about the people?"

"It's better if you think about them, but..."

The guard smiled.

"The Lisburns already have a heir and so do the Albans. So you'll have your freedom even if you live in Kingdom, right?"

"No way will I be free! Say, Lei."

I wondered how it would have been if I raised myself.

"Lei wiww pwobabwy be free." (Lei will probably be free)

"Lei." Alistair looked betrayed.

"Awishthaih."

"What?"

"Nothhing you can do shince you have poweh." (Nothing you can do since you have power)

"I know, but..."

"The reshth ish up tho you." (The rest is up to you)

Can't you just do what you like?

"So... the rest is up to me?"

"Lei ish fwee in Kingdom or in Weshthewh. I won'th do anythhing I don'th wiwe." (Lei is free in Kingdom or in Wester. I won't do anything I don't like)

Alistair asked a little maliciously, "Even if you become an exhibition?"

"I geth food and a good bed."

"Buufoo." The guard held his stomach as he laughed.

"Lei-sama is really good at explaining things."

"I don'th thhinw abouth hahd thhingsh." (I don't think of hard things)

I tapped Alistair's knees.

"I don'th do whath i don'th wanth tho do. If I can howd ith in, thhen I wiww." (I don't do what I don't want to do. If I can hold it in, then I will)

"It's okay to be selfish?"

"Ai. Otousyama ish shewfishh."

Alistair looked like he had mixed feelings, but he also looked relieved.

"A baby who says it's alright to be selfish. What the heck are the Four Marquises..." The guard was greatly perplexed. We couldn't be carefree. The next day, Alistair and I were surprised. A grand welcome had arrived from the capital of Wester.

"Don'th need."

"That's..."

"Buufoo." It's already the guard's signature move to laugh.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 81 - The Me in the Mirror

Chapter 81: The Me in the Mirror

Compared to the extravagant welcome, Huu, who is a Prince, wore a much simpler travel outfit which was suited for movement over fashion. Bart nonchalantly asked the prince, who was frowning in displeasure, "This doesn't have anything to do with us, but that's a bit... Prince, did you plan this from the beginning?"

"Nonsense! Alistair has already turned us down many times. They probably weren't sure if he was really going to be with me this time," Huu said as if he was spitting.

"Just picking us up in the town before the capital isn't going to be a big deal. What happened?"

A gorgeous carriage which seemed to have been sent by the royal family was at the centre, being pulled by a Rug Dragon covered with a decorated cloth. On both sides of the carriage were knights in beautiful outfits riding Rug Dragons who were also wearing decorated clothes.

"The dwagons woow wiwe thhey hathe ith." (The dragons look like they hate it)

"They do."

The dragons, who seemed down, also looked like they were annoyed.

"Your Highness!" From amongst the welcome group, a knight, who seemed skilled, got off his dragon and approached the Prince.

"Kurt, what's going on?"

"My apologies. It became like this because of some complicated matters. The Deputy Prime Minister has come as a representative of the welcome group."

"What did you say!? How annoying..."

A man got off the carriage from the opposite side of the two who were talking. The man was fat, but he was smiling and said while breathing heavily as he walked towards the prince, "Your Highness! This Herman has come to pick you up."

"Hmm. Good job. But, I didn't ask to be picked up," the Prince nodded, but he sounded sarcastic. Yet, the Deputy Prime Minister didn't falter, and he laughed while his stomach wobbled.

"There was a big uproar in the capital when we heard that you wouldn't just be bringing a Lisburn with you, but a violet-eyed child as well. But, that's not all."

The Prime Minister made a grand gesture and put his hand on his chest. Alistair and I were flabbergasted and stared at his gesture. What's with him? He's like a clown. Our thoughts were alike. On the other side of the Prime Minister, the knight named Kurt shook his head faintly.

"A messenger has arrived from Kingdom."

"What did you say?"

The Prince looked surprised, but I could tell that he was just pretending because I learned a lot about him since I've been travelling with him this whole time. I'm sure that Kurt had whispered this to the Prince.

"Honestly, I didn't expect a good reply from Kingdom no matter what we asked for, but the Albans child, who didn't seem to be cherished, is very important."

I was shocked. The Deputy Prime Minister had said that in the middle of the plaza, in a place where Alistair and I could hear him. Is Wester alright?

The Deputy Prime Minister didn't wait for the Prince's reply and looked around restlessly, "So, where are the children from Kingdom?" Us, the children who the Deputy Prime Minister was looking for were with Bart and his crew, only a few metres behind the Prince. Also, we were the only two children in the Prince's small group.

"Are they, perhaps, still at the inn?"

"Herman."

"Then, I'll go welcome them."

"Herman!"

The Deputy Prime Minister looked at the Prince blankly.

"Your Highness, is something wrong?"

"Nothing. They're behind me."

"What?"

The Deputy Prime Minister's gaze slipped past us. Then, returned. He looked at Alistair, who had turned away, for a bit and then finally looked down at me.

"Blonde hair and light purple eyes. Don't tell me..."

"I don't have to tell you anything. That's it."

"What?"

His glance went up again, and this time he fixed his eyes on Alistair.

"Ooh, I can see his summery-blue eyes if I look closely. But..." The Prime Minister shook his head as if saying this was wrong. The fat on his chin trembled.

"Why are they dressed like commoners? Speaking of which, Your Highness, you're dressed poorly too."

I have a feeling that the Prince's temple twitched.

"Herman, you can't dress up on long journeys. To begin with, you would have been able to meet them in formal clothing at the audience in the castle had you not come to this place. You came here on your own without giving us any time to prepare."

"No, this isn't good. The messenger is already here, and if they come to the capital dressed like this then it would look like we don't care about the Four Marquises. I didn't mind when I was young like you, Your Highness. I'm glad I came to get you. Now, everyone." The Deputy Prime Minister didn't listen to anyone at all, and spoke to the people who had come with him while clapping his hands. It really did make a nice sound.

"Get them ready!"

The attendants, who had already got off the wagon and were holding onto some luggage, quickly approached us. They were looking at Alistair and I as if they'd caught their prey. I'm sure they'll dress me up without listening to me. At times like this...

"Dory!" I called Dory.

"Leila-sama, what's wrong?" Dory, who was standing a bit further away, quickly approached us, looked at the people who were carrying the luggage, and knew what was happening.

"I also heard what you said, Herman-sama. I'm in charge of changing Leila-sama, so I'll take those."

"Dory-sama, this will be a problem. We'll lose our jobs." Those carrying the luggage protested. The fact that Dory is called Dory-sama means that she's important amongst the servants.

"Shut up! You don't even know what Ojou-sama likes, how are you going to take responsibility if you offend her by doing your job? Whatever, just carry those to the inn!" Dory said and the servants quickly carried the luggage to the inn.

"Alistair-sama, you too. Give up here and find a way to compromise somehow."

"Okay, Dory," Alistair obediently agreed. During the trip, Dory and I found a way to compromise with each other. Dory isn't a bad person. We just wanted to be comfortable and independent during the trip.

The dresses looked like they were the Deputy Prime Minister's taste, and I wore a dress which I could agree with, and a violet ribbon was tied to my head. It felt a little uncomfortable, but well it's not like I can't put up with it. Actually, it's a secret that the thing that surprised me the most was when I looked in the mirror. "How is it, Ojou-sama?" No one showed me a mirror when I was a baby, and Hannah didn't show me a mirror when she changed me because I was a baby.

No one cared about how cute I was when Alistair and the others took me in. Including me.

That was why this was the first time I had looked in a mirror. Standing there was a cute baby with fluffy light blonde hair which was tied with a ribbon. She wore a pale pink dress with white laces around the collar. My big violet eyes were droopy like Sebas had said, and my nose and mouth are slightly small. My white skin and chubby cheeks were slightly coloured.

"Niini. Otousyama."

Don't I look like my brother? Otousyama and brother have similar almond shaped eyes.

"You're so cute," Dory also muttered. All the attendants, who were surrounding the mirror, nodded as if they were admiring me.

"You really have the same colour as Onii-sama," one of the people said ecstatically. I looked at Dory in surprise and then looked at that person. Dory asked instead of me, "You said Onii-sama, didn't you?"

"I did. He's one of the messengers. There's a big uproar in the capital since two of the Four Marquis heirs are there."

"Two?"

"Yes, Ojou-sama's Onii-sama, and Alistair-sama's Onii-sama."

I'm sure that's brother and Gill. They rally came to pick me up in Wester.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 82 - Round-Table Conference 01 (Dean's POV)

Chapter 82: Round-Table Conference 01 (Dean's POV)

The participants of the round-table conference: the royal family, the Four Marquises, and the supervision department. Also, the Five Earls from Frontier and Four Earls from within Kingdom.

It took six days to get in contact with the Earls from Frontier and for them to get to Kingdom. Even if Wester had already sent a messenger to Lentforce, it took two months to make a roundtrip, and the round-table conference was set for 10 days later since it was concluded that it wasn't urgent.

"We've never had a round-table conference in the current reign, have we?"

"Stan, what are you saying? It was held once because of succession issues when we had just entered the academy, right?"

"Errmm, yeah?"

I couldn't help but sigh since it looked like Stan was unsure of this. Luke said that Stan is excellent, but what part of this bird-brain is excellent?

"Remington."

"Oh, that problem with their current head?"

At that time, only one person inherited the Remington eye colour. This wasn't rare for the Four Marquises Houses. However, apparently, there was an issue because that person is a woman.

But, there have been Queen Rulers in Kingdom's history, and we've also had a woman represent the Four Marquis before. Well, of course. The role of the Ruler and the role of the Four Marquises are the same. It's all about whether you have enough magic to maintain the barrier. What does this have to do with being a man or a woman?

But, the other nobles reacted sharply against it because the current Remington head at that time disagreed, and a round-table conference was assembled for a trifling matter.

"You, it's not worthless, is it? We can't maintain the barrier if the Remingtons don't channel their magic into the stones," Stan rebuked even though I hadn't said anything.

"I didn't say anything."

"Naah, you said it with your eyes, 'worthless'."

Unreasonable. However, even I, who was only just over 10 at that time, thought it was stupid. At the same time, I also felt that it was an opportunity.

This time, there has been some feud about Lei, but the Remingtons and Albans aren't particularly on bad terms. Just like how I interact with Stan, my parents also associated with the Remington House. Therefore, sometimes the Remington couple would visit my parents or my parents would visit them, and they would occasionally take their children with them. Thus, the servants also visited each other like Sebas did.

However, Angelique, who was seven years older than me, and we were close enough to exchange greetings with each other. Pale jade eyes and hair the colour of milk tea. Her eyes weren't as bright as the Albans or Lisburns, but they were gentle and beautiful.

There was a year left until she became an adult, and then she would go to the castle to help maintain the barrier with the current head. However, the current head didn't want Angelique to work. There was even a rumour at the Academy saying that he would select a few boys with strong magic from the Remingtons, and let them maintain the magic stone. Then, get one of those boys to marry Angie, and have the son they bear inherit the Remington House.

"Angie, are you alright with that?" I've asked her this directly. I was brought to the Remington House and left out in the garden because I got in the way of their social interactions. The Remington garden, which looked beautifully arranged, was actually quite neglected at the back. It was a fun place to climb trees and swing sticks around. I happened to meet Angie there while she was on her walk. Angie didn't look down on me because I was 10, and she didn't make fun of me for asking that rude question either.

"Oh my, you precocious kid. But it's no use. I can't go against Otou-sama," she answered softly.

"Hey, Angie. You'll be free if you don't have to take over, right?"

"Huh?"

"We, the Four Marquises, can't be free because of Kingdom's barrier. So, if you don't have to channel your magic into the magic stones, then you'll be free. Where would you go?"

"That's..." Angie widened her jade coloured eyes.

"If it were me, then I would happily turn over my duty, and travel around Kingdom. And I'll like to go Frontier someday too. Do you know? There's something called sea to the south of Wester, and people say that it's the same colour as your jade eyes. If you're free, then I wouldn't mind going with you someday."

"Oh my, Dean. That'll be nice if we could go. Even if you go by yourself." Angie, who laughed, seemed as if she had given up on everything.

"Hey, Dean."

Angie is...

"Dean!"

"What?"

"What're you spacing out for? We're heading to the conference."

"Ah, okay."

In the end, the head's request wasn't granted. Of course, it wouldn't be. Angie had more magic than anyone in her family as evident from her eye colour. Five young people of the Remington House would do the work of one Angie. Why should five people do the work when one person can finish it alone?

It wasn't just one family who had reacted sharply against this.

The Four Earls said that we wouldn't need the Four Marquises if we get a lot of people to fill the magic stones. The Four Earls govern the four fiefs that surround Kingdom. To be more precise, two of them brought this up.

"If the Remington House isn't confident in maintaining the barrier and want to use a lot of people to do it, then there's no reason why an Earl House can't do the same," this was their stance. I thought it was getting interesting. Isn't it fine? If someone else says that they want to take over this role, then we should just let them. For the 10-year-old me, and even now, the rights and profits we get from being part of the Four Marquises are meaningless. I didn't understand the feelings of the Earls who wanted to bind themselves to Kingdom.

Remington didn't pull back. The Earls kept pressuring. It was assumed that the situation would get out of hand if it carried on, so the supervision department opened the round-table conference. It was a trifling round-table conference that even made a 10-year-old feel sorry about this country's state of emergency. It was a mere interest struggle.

Apparently, there was an ugly quarrel at the conference, but the result ended with a phrase from the King, "Try it." He wanted them to channel their magic into the magic stones. The Earls happily gathered strong magic users, but it just ended with them understanding that they had made light of the Four Marquis' magic power. The Earl Houses had chosen 10 of their best magic users, but they couldn't fill the magic stones. They could only watch as one of the Four Marquises calmly filled the magic stone, crumbling their ambitions.

The only problem left was Remington. The royal family, supervision department and the other Three Marquises thought the same thing: Let Angelique succeed. She has enough power, but you wouldn't let her succeed; that's why this troublesome thing happened.

As a result, the King said, "Let her decide." Remington was delighted that the choice was left to his calm and obedient daughter. But, Angelique's answer was, "I'll do it." I couldn't understand why she had chosen to take over something troublesome at that time. Remington was the same, and they argued for a while.

It was Diana who had cynically told me how Angie felt at that time, "Between getting married to an unwanted partner and fulfilling a bitter duty. Do you not know which is tougher on a woman?"

"That's why you're a quiet, unsociable person who doesn't understand a woman's heart. I also hate that part of you."

I even remembered some unnecessary things. Was the love Remington felt for his daughter wrong?

However, it would have been nice if this had ended between the Remingtons, but there was no doubt that this ignited the ambitions of the Earls who seemed to have been set in their place. I don't really care if they replace us, though.

"Now, let's go."

"Yeah."

My first round-table conference began.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 83 - Round-Table Conference 02 (Dean's POV

Chapter 83: Round-Table Conference 02 (Dean's POV

Even though it was called a round-table, we were actually gathered around a large rectangular table. The King sat with his back to the wall, while the two princes sat on both sides of him, the Four Marquises sat to the King's right, the nine Earls to his left, and there were also two old men from the supervision department.

"Dean."

"I didn't say anything."

Stan rebuked me again. Remington smiled a little when he looked at me and Molesey raised his eyebrow. Angie is almost 40, but her milk tea-coloured hair is as beautiful as ever.

"Dean."

"Fine. What's wrong with wanting to see something beautiful?"

"Just about everything."

We planned on talking in hushed whispers.

"I've heard that we were summoned because of something closely related to Albans and Lisburn. I can tell this meeting is going to be hard from their attitudes."

"Look, I got involved because of you."

"Shut up, Stan. Blaze, this is bullshyt that has nothing to do with the meeting. You don't have to worry about it."

Blaze is Diana's family. They are located on the south side of the capital, Gardestar. In other words, the fief that calmly overlooked Lei's kidnappers. He snarled at me straight away. 1)

It's a waste of time to compete with each other. Besides, their eyes tend to land on me, but it's Stan who's making fun of me in such a serious place. And, His Highness, the First Prince Lambert, quickly ignored everyone and began to speak, "Now, I know this is sudden but..."

"The agenda for this meeting, as we have told you in advance, is about the request from the Wester royal family. They want to reactivate the old barrier box, so they want us to dispatch people to make up for the magic they are lacking."

"We don't need to do that, do we?" The person who shot it down was Blaze from earlier. The Four Marquises were only listening quietly. One's status didn't matter at the round-table. Everyone had the right to express their opinion. Moreover, power can't be measured simply with court title because the role allotment is different.

We, the Four Marquises, and the royal family are unique because we maintain the barrier. However, Earls and those with lower rank are given fiefs to rule. It was pointless to fight for power.

"There are currently no problems with Kingdom, itself. It doesn't matter to us if Wester activates their barrier box or not."

Several people agreed.

"We have no reason to stop them if they want to active it. They're free to do so."

"I wonder about that," it was Tucker who objected. Tucker is one of the Five Earls whose fief borders Frontier. Also, his fief is located closest to Wester's capital, where the barrier box will be used. He was in a position where he couldn't help but be concerned.

"You might not know this because your fief doesn't touch Frontier, Lord Blaze, but we are located in a place where we're always in conflict with people from Frontier who are trying to enter Kingdom's barrier. Of course, we also communicate with them a lot. Blackley and I will be the ones who are directly affected if Wester is offended. Don't shoot it down lightly when it doesn't involve you."

He is right.

"What bothers me is that if we accept once, then other areas might also ask for our help. I haven't heard about this from Farland, but as a Neville, our territory is in contact with Farland, so I can't easily agree to this."

"Me too," Dutton, whose fief also bordered Farland, agreed with Earl Neville. Everyone's gaze went to Ruddock. He is the only one whose fief borders Easter.

"I don't care either way. I will follow the royal family's decision," Ruddock shrugged and said. It was evident that he thought it had nothing to do with him. It's true that Easter had few Hollows and was considered Kingdom's grain-producing area. Easter probably wouldn't bring up talks about old barrier boxes.

"Those in favour: Tucker and Blackley, and those who oppose: Blaze, Neville, Dutton, and the other fiefs holders are neutral?" The First Prince summarised.

"Fief holders you say, Your Highness? What about the Four Marquises. They haven't said anything at all. Do they think it doesn't matter because they can't leave Kingdom?" It was Tucker who raised his voice.

The Prince nodded, placidly, "I'll make it clear now since the letters didn't go to this in detail. Apparently, the lost child of the Lisburns and the Albans baby is there." Everyone fell into silence in surprise. Earl Neville looked at me in confirmation, and I nodded lightly.

"The Albans baby. The one that went missing a few months ago. That one?" Blackley confirmed unpleasantly. Blackley has Kaylie. In short, the fief that Lei went through to get to Wester.

"That's right. She didn't go missing, she was abducted."

I'll be troubled if they think of it as an unfortunate accident.

"You found her alive?" This rude man is Blaze.

"And the lost child of the Lisburns?"

"As you know, my father loved women. He dropped his seeds everywhere, but only my younger brother, who inherited the summery-blue eyes, hasn't been found. Apparently, he's in Wester."

"Summer-blue, you say..."

They didn't hide their surprise at Stan's words.

"Apparently, they were both at Lentforce in Wester. Wester's royal family is going to pick them up, so they want us to send people with magic in exchange for those two," Prince Lambert spoke indifferently.

"Is that a threat?"

"If we yield, then Kingdom's dignity..."

"But, if we leave someone of the Four Marquises' blood out of Kingdom..."

The round-table suddenly got noisy.

"What is the supervision department's plan?" Blaze asked the two old men. Of course, the supervision department also had an equal right to speak.

"The supervision department's only concern is returning those of the Four Marquis lines back to Kingdom."

"What do you think about dispatching magic users?"

"We don't mind if magic users who aren't needed to maintain the barrier are sent."

"In short, the supervision department agrees...?"

For better or for worse, the supervision department thinks about maintaining the barrier.

"But, isn't Wester being cowardly? In short, they're holding young children from the Four Marquis lines as ransom and are asking us to send magic users in exchange for them. Comprise once, and it will happen again and again. Accepting their request easily won't do for the future of Kingdom," Earl Neville said. I know. Claire's father, Neville, thinks of the big picture. Family is important to him, but so are the fief's people, and the citizens of Kingdom. He is someone who will say what he has to say, even if he sympathises with me and feels pained over it.

Coulter, who had been silent until now, spoke. He governs the fief to the northwest of the capital, a fief bordering a lake and the Wellington Mountains. "And even if you send magic users, who are you going to send? Did you forget what happened 20 years ago? The Remington head would know since she was the one this incident concerned, but young heads, there aren't many nobles who can channel their magic into barrier magic stones."

I folded my arms and agreed with him in my head. There aren't that many in the Albans family either. Instead, magic tool artisans had more magic powers.

"We don't want anyone from the Four Marquises going out of Kingdom, no matter who they are," a person from the supervision department said something unnecessary.

"In other words, to protect the Four Marquis lines, you want to send some other nobles who have magic?" Tucker muttered with anger.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 84 - Round-Table Conference 3 (Dean's POV)

Chapter 84: Round-Table Conference 3 (Dean's POV)

"This is why it's called problems caused by the elderly. Isn't that a statement that the Supervision Department can't help but say?" My quiet voice resounded surprisingly well.

"Pr-problems caused by the elderly, you say?!"

"My apologies, I've always thought this and it just accidentally slipped out. However, that doesn't matter."

"Do-doesn't matter, you say..."

"You'll faint if you get angry like that. Old people should stay calm."

"Who do you think is making me angry?"

"Well-..." I said a single word, and the person from the Supervision Department immediately quietened down.

"Lord Rouge, you may think that way, but you should realise that no one else said that except for the Supervision Department."

"But-..."

"No buts. We got a request from Wester. They want us to dispatch magic users. They happen to find people of the Four Marquis lines and are protecting them in the capital. That's all there is to it," I pointed out indifferently to Earl Rouge.

"By the way, we, Albans, already know that my daughter is in Lentforce, and I was arranging a rescue party for her. As an Albans, I thank Wester, but there's no reason for me to feel indebted to them," I said calmly, and the excitement at the round-table calmed down. Then, Stan quietly spoke, "We Lisburns are happy to discover my brother who had disappeared two years ago. But, I hadn't brought him back because we don't need him. So there's no reason for us to be indebted to Wester."

"That's..."

"I know what the Supervision Department wants to say. Then, shouldn't people of the Supervision Department go to take them back?" The two old men fell silent again at Stan's words. The Supervision Department supervises and gives advice, but they easily forget that that is only if the Four Marquises obediently obey.

"No matter what decision Kingdom makes, I will go to Wester to pick up my daughter."

"That's..." It's the Supervision Department again.

"I know I can't leave Kingdom. I'm saying that my Albans House will surely go to pick her up."

"The Lisburns will also go. But my brother is 11. We will follow his wishes."

Stan and I declared.

"In short, no matter what decision we make as a country, the Albans and the Lisburns will make their move. So, I want you to think about what decision we should make as a country," Prince Lambert suggested again. Blaze answered as if he was annoyed, "If so, then why didn't they say so at the beginning?"

"Whatever Albans and Lisburn say, I'm sure I said that this has nothing to do with my fief."

There were a few words that made the Prince's eyes wander. I calmly observed this.

"Kingdom is protected by the barrier, and the citizens live safely inside. Frontier has measures in place for when Hollows appear, but there's no doubt that their actions and movements are restricted, and they're at a disadvantage. Even so, it's impossible to gather everyone into Kingdom. This has been a dilemma since the founding of Kingdom," the Prince said quietly.

"Given that this country was founded to protect the people, I would like you to reconsider whether it is right to abandon Wester's desire to protect the people of the capital just because it has nothing to do with Kingdom." Even the royal family is a speaker at the round-table. He is also the chairman. Even so, it was clear that a member of the royal family was positive about Wester's request, which had a small impact on the participants.

Silence reigned the round-table for a while, and finally, Earl Neville eventually spoke, "I basically think that Kingdom shouldn't easily extend our hands to other countries. But, if Albans is going to take some sort of action, then I will give him guards from my Neville House. Neville is a militant fief. And if necessary, we will also recruit magic users, but to be honest, there's not much of them in the north."

Earl Neville, who had originally opposed, made it clear that he was still against this, but he also declared that he was on Albans' side and that he would support him.

"Earl Neville, you're-... I see, the Albans baby is your granddaughter. I see." Dutton, who reached an understanding, was also from the north.

"Then, we Coulters will also provide some sort of help," Coulter, who had been neutral, also shifted. The Supervision Department looked grim because the Four Marquises were acting on their own. But, many of the Earls also approved because they understood that their own load wouldn't be much.

"It wouldn't be realistic to send magic users from Kingdom at fixed intervals like the worried people have been saying. This time, they used having people of the Four Marquis lines against us as ransom, so for the time being, I want Albans and Lisburn to help them. This is how our country will support them," the King, who had been silent until now, spoke slowly. Stan and I nodded. The royal family and Four Marquises have already discussed this.

"However, it's not preferable for that burden to lean only on two Marquises. On the other hand, it wouldn't be preferable for Wester to befriend only two Marquises."

On the contrary, the Earls were taken aback since he had spoken in a tone that indicated this had nothing to do with the royal family. Because they realised that not announcing their cooperation now would be a disadvantage when trading with Wester, which might flourish soon.

In the end, Kingdom didn't publicly respond to Wester's request, but the Albans and Lisburns will be cooperating with them as individuals, and each fief settled with some form of support.

"However, even if we say we will cooperate with them, as Lord Coulter said earlier, there isn't anyone with a lot of magic power apart from the Four Marquis heads. Just how are you planning on cooperating with them?" Earl Rouge was puzzled over this. If this conversation could end without bringing it up, then I won't talk about it.

I glanced at Prince Lambert.

He shrugged. He was telling me I could do what I want.

"With Luke. I intend to send my son."

"Of course, us Lisburns will send Gilbert."

The round-table instantly fell silent.

"You can't!"

"What do you mean?!"

"Aren't they your heirs?!"

"The Four Marquises shouldn't go out of Kingdom!"

Screams flew from all directions, and Earl Neville widened his eyes in surprise and nodded quietly.

Blaze spoke after the fuss was over, "The heir of the Four Marquises are the ones to support the next generation. They're like shared property of Kingdom that should never be lost. What the heck are you thinking about letting them go out of the barrier?"

He is right.

"There are two people in Wester who are like shared property that should never be lost. It's obvious that it's not safe in Kingdom." However, no further opposition went against my words.

"If anything happens after they get to Wester, or even before they leave, then it'll be a big problem. I'm sending them because I believe that they would return without any problems."

Luke is 11 and Gill is 14. They're still young, surprisingly young. But, nothing is more safe than letting them bring Lei home. I believe this.

Thus, messengers are sent to Wester with Luke and Gill at the center.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 85 - To Wester (Luke's POV)

Chapter 85: To Wester (Luke's POV)

"I didn't want to send you two like this because you're both still students," Otou-sama said anxiously. Perhaps, he might look expressionless to others. He's a damaged person even though he's my Otou-sama. However, he didn't care about how anyone thought of him.

I'm wearing simple black trousers and a long white, shiny, silvery jacket that looks silver embroidered with violet threads. It's the Albans uniform. I probably look a little like an Albans even if I'm only 11.

"Otou-sama, that's what we've been saying. Lei won't be convinced if I didn't go. It probably wouldn't do even if Jude goes. She won't return easily if she's not convinced. That's how Lei is."

"But..."

"It's Wester's capital, so I can go. The Supervision Department won't let me go if she was in Lentforce, this is actually good," I smiled to reassure Otou-sama.

"And you know, you're getting Jude to come with us. And I'll be with Gill." I looked at Gill. He's wearing the same simple black trousers as me, and a black jacket with blue embroidery. The 14-year-old Gill is thin, but he's almost as tall as an adult.

I'm really grateful because there should be few elements that look down on us because we're children.

"I think we've taken all the measures conceivable together, but we don't know what will happen. Nevertheless, please take care of yourself and not just Lei and come back safely."

The things Lei has given me.

Not only lovely Lei herself, but also the free love that she gives.

And, Otou-sama.

I don't think Otou-sama is a cold father at all. According to what I heard at the academy, noble parents aren't very affectionate. After Okaa-sama passed away, I was lonely, but I thought it was natural.

But, Lei gave me Otou-sama. She taught him that it was alright to love his daughter and son like he had loved Okaa-sama. It was very warm to receive love from someone like I had from Okaa-sama. Not only that, Lei taught me the joy of showing love.

So even if Lei is gone, Otou-sama will still love me, and I can love him. I reached out to Otou-sama without hesitation.

He hugged me tightly. People around us looked at us in surprise. Are you embarrassed even though you're old enough to attend school? Don't do anything you're embarrassed about. I'll do it as much as I can. And, I'll get the courage to move on, Lei and Otou-sama.

After the departure ceremony in front of the royal castle, Gill and I rode the Rug Dragons and headed towards Wester's capital. I improved so much that I could ride Rug Dragons by myself if we weren't in a hurry. It's unusual for people to ride Rug Dragons from when they're children, and I think that's why the Rug Dragons became emotionally attached to me. So much so that it surprised the breeders. "Your Otou-sama was the same," an old breeder had told me, but Otou-sama was the same as always, "I've never compared it to others," so I don't know if it's true or not.

Wester's capital, Sebel, is a little southwest from Kingdom's capital. So, we weren't taking the path that Lei's kidnappers took. We were passing through Earl Rouge's fief, then Earl Tucker's.

Therefore, Earl Rouge and Earl Tucker, who stayed at the royal capital, will be accompanying us.

"Annoying," Gill said, but whether it be Gill or his father, why are the Lisburns so straightforward even though they're part of the same Four Marquises?

"Gill, I know how you feel, but keep that in your mind."

"Well, I'm anxious about my uncle, but it's annoying that I have to care about other guys until we get there."

"I'm also anxious about Lei. I don't know why she's with a Lisburn or why she ended up in Lentforce..."

"Yeah. What's the likelihood that she'd be with someone else who has the Four Marquis blood when Frontier is so big?"

Of course, even though Lei is alive and healthy, I couldn't help but worry about the other things. However, the Lisburn child is said to be 11-years-old. Gill is Gill, and he seems to be worried about having to call someone younger than him uncle, but I was probably anxious that myself and memories of me have been replaced because the Lisburn child is the same age as me. Because it's been more than six months since Lei was kidnapped. What if she calls someone else 'Niini'?

It would take a long time for Lei to return from Lentforce. She would barely reach Sebel even though a round-table conference was held, the messengers were adjusted, and even if we prepare slowly. We weren't overdoing it and are heading to Wester on a slow schedule.

Earl Blaze and Earl Blackley enthusiastically said, "You have time anyways, so how about going through Kaylie?" However, Otou-sama knew that they only wanted to appeal to the citizens that they were acquainted with the Four Marquises, so he refused courteously, and a bit rudely.

"When Lei comes back, and you're able to go wherever you like, then you're free to travel until you become an adult. But at least for now, I won't give them anything that will benefit them," Otou-sama whispered to me secretly. Apparently, he still held a grudge against them because the kidnappers had passed through their fiefs and they hadn't cooperated in the investigation afterwards. I think it's interesting that he could actually hold grudges when he wasn't interested in anything.

On the other hand, Earl Rouge and Earl Tucker are delightful people. Earl Rouge's fief is an agricultural area that doesn't connect with Frontier and is far from the mountain range. He didn't seem obsessed with the Four Marquises and the barrier probably because his fief wouldn't receive much damage from the Hollows even if the barrier didn't exist.

Earl Tucker took the current matter most seriously, because his fief is located very close to Wester's capital. As one of the messengers from Kingdom, he will also accompany us to Wester.

"We originally traded a lot with Wester, especially Sebel. We imported half of their magic stones, and Blackley imported the other half, no, Blackley imported more than us?"

Apparently their current situation. The Albans, who handle magic stones in Kingdom, mainly traded with Blaze and Blackley. That's why my birth mother is also a member of the Blaze House.

However, I interacted with Earl Neville throughout the summer holidays, and Otou-sama also turned his attention to Farland. And through this, he also turned his attention to Sebel, and not the country, Wester, nor the town, Kaylie.

People around me put their guard down around me because I'm only 11. Of course, I wasn't told to confirm anything. Still, I decided that I would do as much as I can so that Lei wouldn't be kidnapped and used again in the future.

"You're too stiff."

"Gill, you're too honest."

"Lei's going to hate you if you're too rigid."

"Hey, that's not true. Lei will hug me and call me 'Niini' no matter how I am. I'm sure of it. I'm sure she'll forget about you since you're just brother's friend who comes to see me once in a while."

"Sh-she won't. I'm sure she'll call me 『Giww』in her cute voice."

Lisburn men are optimistic. I feel like I could understand how Otou-sama feels a little.

"Oh yeah, the First Prince of Wester is also Gilbert."

"Y-you don't think she calls him Gill too?"

"She might not be able to tell."

"No. It's fine. It's alright," Gill muttered while looking sideways, and the Rug Dragons slowly advanced through the deep autumn prairie. A little more. Just a little more.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 86 - Tanukis Don't Listen

Chapter 86: Tanukis Don't Listen

"Awishthaih!" When I finished changing, I got someone to bring me to where Alistair was. Alistair was also wearing a jacket that had delicate embroidery on it, but it wasn't as flashy because it was black.

"Lei! Look how cute you are!" Alistair picked me up and spun me around.

"Aite, my turn next." Clyde lifted me up high, which was unusual for him to do and spun me around.

"See, you're up high!"

I was lifted up by Clyde, who was the tallest in the group, and I couldn't help but shriek. It's fun. No, no, focus. Unfortunately, I had to get him to put me down.

"Awishthaih, Niini, heye."

"What did you say? Your Nii-san is here?"

"Ai! Awishthaih's Niinii heye thoo."

"Mine? Nii-san?" Alistair repeated my words and looked at the welcome group to see who I was talking about. The people who came to help us dress were probably of low-rank, so no one took the initiative to speak, but luckily, Dory started the conversation, "According to this person, two of the Four Marquis heirs are at the capital, and one of them looks just like Lei-sama. Hey, you."

"Y-yes!"

"Tell us more," Dory asked the person, and he started speaking as his eyes sparkled, "It happened just the other day. Messengers arrived from Kingdom, and they were the Albans and Lisburn heirs, so the capital is in an uproar."

Albans and Lisburn. He'd certainly said that.

"We usually work in the castle, but they go out quite a lot, so even we have the chance to see them.

I see. Alistair and I were listening with excitement.

"The younger of the two is apparently called Luke-sama, and he really looks like Leila-sama. The older one is as big as an adult, but he's only 14. He looks just like Alistair-sama over there, but just bigger."

"Is that so?"

"Don't know. I've never met him before."

Alistair turned away at Mill's words. I remembered Gill. I think he looks sweeter and gentler than Alistair. I feel like only the colour of their eyes is the same, so they probably look alike if you just see him at a glance.

"Niini! Wheye?"

If the capital is close, then they might have come here.

"That's-..." The person who helped me change looked away awkwardly.

"Luke-sama insisted on coming, but Herman-sama..."

Herman? That Tanuki Oji-san? I patted my stomach.

"Well, Leila-sama. Th-that's right."

The servants put a hand to their mouth, and I could hear giggling.

"That Herman-sama said that it was unbecoming for someone who is a part of the Four Marquises to stagger and be restless, so he told them to wait at the castle while he goes to pick you up."

Wait. Why do the servants know this? Dory also looked suspicious and asked, "Why do you..."

"Because he made a big deal out of it while everyone was getting ready to leave. Even we know that Luke-sama understood that it wouldn't be good to make a fuss right then, and backed away. We were right there."

If that Tanuki Jii-san wasn't here then would I have been able to meet Nii-sama right now? I was sad and hung my head down.

"Lei-sama..." Dory crouched down and tapped me on the back.

"How annoying," Bart muttered. That's right. This isn't the place for me to be sad. I can see him soon. I lifted my face, nodded at Dory, and looked at Alistair and Bart. Oh my, Bart and his crew also changed.

"Barth and Miww, coow." (Bart and Mill, cool.)

"R-really? It was annoying, but well it's fine if you like it, Lei."

"Yeah."

"What? Lei, what about us?"

Of course.

"Kyaro, Cwyde and Awishthaih, coow!"

Everyone scratched their noses in embarrassment and smiled.

"Come on. Let's go."

"Ai."

"Yeah."

We answered Bart and went down to the first floor of the inn. I could tell that the Prince was irritated even though I was only half-way down the stairs. The Prince looked up, and got off his chair, "You..." he muttered.

That's right. I'm cute, aren't I? I smiled and the room filled with sighs. Babies are cute.

"Oh, people of high statuses should be like this. You can't even compare this to the shabby clothes you were wearing." Flabby Tanuki Herman also got up at the same time and made an exaggerated gesture while opening both his hands in front of him.

"Now, let's ride the Rug Dragons with this old man."

"Nyai." Those words came out reflexively. What's he saying? This tanuki. I can't ride in the basket with a stranger, now can I? Dory immediately went out in front of me, "Herman-sama, Leila-sama will ride in the basket by herself."

"What?! Are you saying that you've been letting Leila-sama ride on the Rug Dragon by herself even though you're supposed to be looking after her?!"

Dory bit her lip, and Herman shook his head in an exaggerated way. I looked at the Prince and signalled that we should leave straight away. The Prince nodded lightly and said, "Now, Herman. Leila has always done this. It's a waste of time to argue about this. Let's go."

"Your Highness..."

"Now."

Herman reluctantly agreed. I'm sure he wants to put me on his lap as we enter the capital and brag about coming to pick us up. So annoying.

When it was time for us to ride our Rug Dragons, I waited for Clyde to put me in the basket. Something was holding up Bart and his crew, and they weren't here yet. Then, thick hands scooped me up from behind.

"Well, Leila-sama, it looks like none of the people who are with you aren't coming. Come ride with this Herman in the basket.

"Nyai!"

"What does that mean? Hey, don't struggle. Alright, okay. Hey, close the door."

"Y-yes."

What's the meaning of this? While Bart and his crew were busy, I was kidnapped by the fatty tanuki, and forced to ride with him. The people around us were looking at us in shock as this happened. I didn't think that the tanuki was this quick to act.

"Huu!"

"Leila, it's no use. Rather than struggling, think about getting to the capital quickly.

"Now, Leila-sama. Onto this old man's legs."

"Nyai!"

I couldn't count on the Prince and ended up riding unstably in the basket with this lump of meat.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 87 - I am Me

Chapter 87: I am Me

"Hmph, baskets are a hassle, but it's much better than riding a dragon. Leila-sama, do you like Wester?"

I didn't feel the need to answer, so I pretended that I couldn't understand him.

"At any rate, whether it be Luke-sama, or Leila-sama, the Four Marquises are clad in gorgeous colours. How about it, Leila-sama? I have a grandson around your age."

I didn't feel the need to answer. It's bothersome for you to talk about boys to a one-year-old infant. I took a whistle out from the pocket of the Rug Dragon on my shoulders.

"What is that dirty stuffed animal? Well, I still have five grandchildren."

"Puu."

"They look like me and are handsome."

"Puu, puu."

"Kyee," the Rug Dragon matched his voice with my whistle. They also sped up.

"Smart."

"Puu, puu."

"Kyee."

"Ah."

The tanuki took my whistle.

"Gib bacw." (Give back.)

"Ill-bred children don't listen to what others say."

I wanted to say that taking a child's things makes you a lousy adult, but I didn't want to talk to him much. I turned away and took another whistle out from the Rug Dragon's pocket.

"Puu."

"What?! You still had more?!"

I didn't feel the need to answer. I turned my back to him.

"Puu, puu."

"Kyee."

"Leila-sama!"

"Puu."

Dance, Rug Dragon, dance. Be happy and speed up.

"Kyee!"

"Puu, puu."

"Kyee!"

"Kyee!"

"Why are the Rug Dragons running so fast!? Because of this whistle?! Leila-sama, stop it."

"Puu."

"Kyee!"

"Ah."

He took my whistle again. What's with this adult? I took out another whistle.

"Ah!"

"It's this stuffed animal, isn't it? Jeez."

Herman didn't just take my whistles, but my Rug Dragon as well.

"Gib bacw!"

"You don't need a stuffed animal with bad stuff inside. Such a dirty item doesn't look good with those pretty clothes," Herman said as he quickly opened the side of the basket and threw my Rug Dragon away. He chucked my Rug Dragon.

"Jeez, listen. People of high-status..."

I interrupted the tanuki and screamed, "Dragwon!"

"Kyee?"

"Sthop!"

"Kyee."

The Rug Dragon was puzzled for a moment and quietly stopped.

"Leila, what's wrong?" Huu immediately came. I'm sure he should have seen what had happened.

"Down."

"But..."

"Picw up dragwon."

The Prince looked at my face, and looked at Herman in amazement.

"You... What did you do, Herman?"

"What? I just threw away a dirty stuffed animal."

"So it was Lei's bag that fell?!"

"Huu. Down."

The Prince got off his dragon and took me out of the basket.

"Even if she's from the Four Marquises, to use a Prince..." I heard a voice from behind me, but I didn't feel the need to answer.

We hadn't proceeded that much since the stuffed animal was thrown away. I slowly returned in the direction that we came from and looked for my stuffed animal. It's been with me ever since Lentforce. I was able to get along with everyone because I had it. Sometimes, it even saved my life. It's not dirty. It's important.

"Here."

A pink Rug Dragon entered my sight as I was looking down.

"Awishthair."

"I picked it up right away, so it's not dirty."

"Ai."

I hugged the stuffed animal tightly.

"Ai. Thanwsh."

I looked up at Alistair. The stuffed animal was certainly not dirty. But, Alistair's glittery embroidered clothes were dirty behind his thighs, and his hands were dirty. He must have rubbed his face with those hands, since his face also had a little mud on it.

He probably got off the Rug Dragon quickly so that he could pick up the stuffed animal immediately after it was thrown. That's why he slipped and fell and got dirty.

Weren't you happy about meeting your Nii-sama? Didn't you want to look as cute as possible when meeting him, even though you were saying you didn't like it and that it was troublesome?

But, I spent the last six months in Wester. I wore normal clothes with my Wester associates and worked properly. Well, I also built blocks. The Albans Leila is also the Wester Leila.

Isn't it fine to show Nii-sama this? I was confused by the tanuki who had suddenly appeared and said I had to be like a Four Marquis.

I looked at Alistair, took the ribbon off my hair and threw it away. It blew in the prairie, and my blonde hair immediately got messy.

"Lei, you..."

Next, I have to take off my clothes. I couldn't. I couldn't remove the buttons.

"Unbuththon buththon, Awishthair." (Unbutton button, Alistair.)

"Lei."

"Unbuththon."

Alistair reluctantly unbuttoned my buttons. I took off my clothes, sat down, and took off my frilly socks. And I was finally in my underwear. I wore my stuffed animal again, turned around and crossed my arms.

"Thish ish fine. Lei ride on dragwon by hershewf." (This is fine. Lei ride on dragon by herself.)

"Bufo."

"Kyaro!"

"So-sorry. You can't cross your arms properly."

It's not funny. I heard a rustling noise behind me, and Alistair stood next to me. He had taken off his jacket and shirt and was only wearing his singlet. He folded his arms.

"I can't take off my pants."

"Thath'sh importhanth."

"Right?"

"Bufo." I heard this from the guards.

"How savage..." The tanuki was shivering.

"It's more barbaric to suddenly throw away a baby's toy, right? Jeez." Bart shrugged. Dory quickly rushed over with her luggage.

"Now, this is the clothing you have worn up until now," she said, and dressed me in my usual clothes. Alistair was also given clothes, and he wore them.

When I got dressed, I briskly walked to where Herman was. The servants who were riding in the imperial carriage peeked out to look.

"Oh my, it's so cute how you're tottering."

"Noth thoththering!" It's important, so I corrected him.

"Yes, you're right. You're walking briskly."

"Ai." I nodded and stopped.

"Hewman."

"Wh-what is it, Leila-sama?"

"Dragwon importhanth."

"But it's dirty."

"Importhanth."

"Hah."

He might have given up because it was useless for him to say anything else. I pushed once more, "Lei ish Lei. Niini wiww undershthand eithher way." (Lei is Lei. Niini will understand either way.)

"Hah."

"Don'th need beauthifuw cwothhesh." (Don't need beautiful clothes.)

"But."

"Don'th need."

"... Okay."

I turned to the Prince.

"Huu."

"What?"

"Ride dragwon. Leave shthraighth away."

"Understood."

Clyde came straight away and put me into a Rug Dragon basket alone.

"Well done. You did well."

"Ai."

I am me. I won't lose to a tanuki.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 88 - Reunion

Chapter 88: Reunion

The group began advancing by smoothly avoiding the grumbling Herman. Was the dragon's basket always this big? I let out a heavy sigh.

I won't blow the whistle and make the dragons excited. I will behave myself from here on and get taken to the capital. Hm hmm. Hm hm hmm.

"Kyee."

"Kyee.

Oops. My excitement flowed out. I pretended not to notice the Prince's cold gaze towards me, and sat properly.

The autumn sun warms the prairie. I, who was tired from my confrontation with the tanuki, seemed to have fallen asleep before noticing.

"Lei!" Alistair said. I'm sure Mill is preparing breakfast on the first floor, but I was still sleepy.

"Lei. Lei. We're nearly in town!"

I suddenly woke up. Oh yeah, I'm not in Lentforce anymore. We're nearly at the capital. In front of me, I saw a big town, which the town of Lentforce couldn't compare to, with a big castle at the back and mountains towering behind the castle as if they were protecting the castle.

The town was next to the mountains, the same as Lentforce, but this town didn't have a barrier. In other words, it was vulnerable to the threat of Hollows at night. However, I could see that the mountains were actually quite far away as we got closer. They looked close because of their height.

Even so, why is the capital near such a mountain range? It would be safer if they just made it at the prairie.

My doubts didn't matter as we approached the town. The town wasn't surrounded by walls; instead, each and every house was built robustly.

A lot of people were gathered at the entrance of the town, cheering loudly.

"Prince Hubert!"

"Welcome back!"

Many voices resonated to welcome the Prince. The Prince sometimes waved his hands at the people and looked quite like a Prince. He glanced at me and narrowed his eyes as if he was saying something.

"It's because you're looking at me with those eyes, Lei."

"Lei awwaysh woowsh wiwe thhish." (Lei always looks like this.)

"No, you definitely thought, Huu looks like a Prince."

"... Gufo."

Alistair, who was next to me, said, and I think the knight couldn't hold in his laughter. You're not qualified to be a guard, are you?

The people must have noticed our interaction because their cheers got quieter and they soon went silent.

"Awishthair'sh fauwth." (Alistair's fault.)

"It's because you made a weird face."

"I didn'th."

They paid more attention to us when we talked in whispers.

"It's a Lisburn."

"He really has summery-blue eyes."

"I never thought I'd get to see two of them in such a short time."

They whispered amongst themselves, but in a good way. Some grasped their chests and looked at Alistair with longing eyes. Even though there weren't really any benefits from being part of the Four Marquises. Were the Four Marquises respected this much? Or did the Nii-samas do something?

"Lei, those eyes."

"Lei awwaysh woowsh wiwe thhish."

Alistair, who must have been nervous when he showed his big eyes, laughed, and the people got noisy. They paid attention to him to see was laughing at. Ah, dammit.

"Oh, she's so cute."

"I wonder who she is."

"Oh, perhaps..."

Apparently, they couldn't see the colour of my eyes over the basket. The Prince slowed down his dragon.

"Leila, it turned into a show, but I have to show you to the people in this mood, or else they won't be satisfied."

"Ith can'th be hewped."

"Is that what you're supposed to say?!"

Huu smiled wryly and nimbly got off his dragon. The people also got noisy when they saw the Prince's wryly smile. The Prince is popular, after all.

"Hubert-sama smiled."

Come to think of it, he had a poker-face on when I met him. In fact, he is called the Ice Prince. I smiled.

The Prince opened the basket, and held me while I was smiling.

The Prince has dark blonde hair and dark purple eyes. In short, he looks like me if they just see our hair and eye colours. A chubby baby, who had lighter hair and eye colour than the prince, tilted her head while smiling. No, I just lost my balance when I was held and my face tilted to the side.

"Ooh," a roar echoed through town. The Prince smiled wryly and said, "You're really popular. I'm not used to holding you. Bart!"

"Yo."

"Can you ride your dragon while holding Lei?"

"I can."

Bart's Rug Dragon sniffed me and turned to the front as if saying it was fine. Bart held out his arms, held me and I was on top of the dragon. A crackling cheer.

"Amazing, Lei. Do you want to wave?"

"I don'th wanna. Niini mushth have done shomethhing."

"Your Nii-san? That surely explains your popularity if he did. Now, let's go."

"Ai."

To be honest, I was feeling mischievous, so I waved, but the crowd cheered even louder, which scared me, so I stopped. I can't be an idol.

We ended up parading through town and finally approached the castle. Is Nii-sama there? I grabbed Bart's clothes in anxiety, and he patted my back.

"It's alright. Just a little more. Just a bit more."

"Ai."

A space opened up at the end of the street and became a large plaza with bright cobblestones paved neatly on the ground. The townspeople only followed us until here. The castle was on the other side of the plaza. It had white castle walls, a large gate, knights, lots of guards at the gate, probably some civil officials, and some small nostalgic figures.

"Niini."

"He's the real one this time?"

"Ai."

And he's probably gotten bigger. Isn't he a bit skinny? The person standing coldly in proper noble clothes is certainly Nii-sama. He was looking straight over here.

"Down."

"But isn't the Prince supposed to get off first or something?"

"Barth, down."

"Lei, okay. Clyde!" Bart called Clyde and Clyde got me off the dragon. Alistair nimbly got off his dragon and came up next to me.

"Should I hold you or hold your hand?"

"Ith'sh oway. I'ww waww." (It's okay. I'll walk.)

I walked when I was with Nii-sama. Alistair took a step backward and followed me from behind. Onii-sama had been looking straight at me for a while now, but he hasn't moved.

I know. I know. Even when I first met him, he didn't move from behind the door. The next time we met, he was as expressionless as Otou-sama. There's a lot of love inside him, and it's always shouting to be let out.

But it won't come out. That's Onii-sama.

So, I'll go. I began walking briskly with confidence. Six months have passed, and the tottering Lei has gotten this big, Onii-sama. No one moved or talked. I was the only one moving forward briskly. Then, I stood in front of Onii-sama.

"Oh, oh, you're tottering like always."

"Noth thoththering!"

"Oh, oh. Just what I expect from you, Lei."

Honestly, nothing about Gill has changed except for his height. Nii-sama's pale violet eyes stared at me. Jeez, both Otou-sama and Nii-sama are cowards. Still, I'll never forget about them.

"Ai! Niini!" I stretched both my arms.

"Lei... Lei!" Onii-sama finally moved and hugged me.

"Lei! Lei!"

"Niini!"

"Lei..."

I patted Nii-sama's back as he hugged me tightly. It's going to come out. Something's going to come out!

"Luke, Lei looks like she's in pain."

"Eh, oh."

Nii-sama finally loosened his arms. Then, he hugged me again.

"Niini, I'm bacw."

"Welcome back, Lei."

Nii-sama looked as if he would cry and tried his best not to cry. Then finally, a tear fell from his eyes. Finally. We finally meet.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 89 - There Are Too Many Big Brothers

Chapter 89: There Are Too Many Big Brothers

When Nii-sama hugged me and swayed gently, I noticed that the people around us were just watching our reunion. I wiped my tears with my sleeves, and Nii-sama said gently, "Thanks, Lei. Now, let's say hello to everyone who is worried." Even though he looked gentle, he immediately returned to a face that the Four Marquises would make.

I looked up at Nii-sama, put my hands around his neck, hugged him tightly, then released one hand and looked at everyone. Thus, the two children with bright blonde hair and violet eyes stared at the crowd, and the group caused a commotion as if they were sighing.

Nii-sama and I looked at each other again and waved together. The plaza was filled with applause and cheers.

"Otou-syama won'th wab." (Otou-sama won't wave.)

"Otou-sama would pick Lei up and go straight back to Kingdom without saying anything."

"Ai."

We both laughed, and Nii-sama hugged me again.

"Lei, you remember Otou-sama. Ah, I want to let him know quickly. We were so worried that you would forget about us."

"Niini, lub. Otou-syama, lub. Won'th forgeth." (Niinii, love. Otou-sama, love. Won't forget)

"Lei!" A shocked voice interrupted our moving scene.

"Hey, Lei. What about me? Hey, what about me?" It was Gill. I pushed Nii-sama away as he rubbed his face against mine and looked at Gill. He doesn't look like Alistair.

"Sthwanger." (Stranger)

"Eh, no way!" Gill was in shock. Such a hopeless person.

"Remember Giww."

"Right?! Jeez, I can't believe that Lei teased me..."

"Giww woow." (Gill look)

"Mm. What?"

"Niini, down."

Nii-sama resisted for a moment, but he let me down. When I got down, I looked at Alistair who had been staring at us this whole time. His face was saying, "I'm glad."

"Awishthair. Giww."

"Eh."

Alistair had been watching as if it was someone else's business, but it's time to face reality.

"Giww. Awishthair."

"So you're Alistair?"

Gill stopped looking playful and stood properly in front of Alistair. The noisy crowd gradually quietened down again. Then, Gill spoke, "Nice to meet you, Uncle."

I was surprised by the word Uncle and looked at Gill in shock. He's older and a noble. His position was a lot better than Alistair's, but he launched a pre-emptive strike. Alistair also widened his eyes at the word Uncle and froze.

"I'm Gilbert Lisburn. You are not my brother, but my father's brother. I'm sorry, but my grandfather, your father, has passed away, and my father has always been looking for you. I'm sorry we were late in finding you." Gill accepted this situation and explained smoothly. He held out his hand to Alistair. The usual Alistair would refuse to shake hands. Even I, an infant, was amazed at Gill's childish behaviour, and it was annoying that he only apologised with words.

Alistair, however, didn't smile, held out his hand, and firmly gripped Gill's.

"I'm Alistair." He said simply to claim that he wasn't a Lisburn and had nothing to do with Gill. At a glance, they looked as if they were smiling at each other, but they were actually glaring at each other without letting their hands go. Scary.

However, the crowd, who were watching, cheered again. Can't you see the chill between them?

Nii-sama put his hand on top of the two gripped hands.

"Congratulations on reuniting. We'll talk about it more in the castle."

Gill is definitely glaring. But he reluctantly let go, and Nii-sama looked at Alistair. The edge of his lips was up, but his eyes weren't smiling.

"You're Alistair? I'm Luke Albans. Lei's brother. Thank you for taking care of my precious... of my precious Lei this whole time."

"No, I just..."

"Just?"

"I just helped her choose how she wanted to live. There's no reason to thank me. Right, Lei?" Alistair looked at me gently. Yes, Alistair had me choose how I wanted to live at the beginning.

"We were just together the whole time. Always."

"A-ai."

Stop it! Stop throwing sparks at each other with a baby in the middle!

"Yo, it's an emotional reunion, isn't it Lei? I'm so glad. Thank goodness! Haha." A voice cut in. The owner of the voice patted Alistair's back, then he crouched down and played with my cheeks.

It's obvious who would do something like this.

"Mill, you, don't disregard the Prince and move forward!"

"'Cause it's gonna take a long time. It's okay since they've already met, right?"

"Well, yeah."

Is it, Bart?! Behind them, Kyaro and Clyde were laughing with their arms crossed. I did my best to explain to Nii-sama, "Niini, everyone shaved Lei. Awwaysh hewped." (Niinii, everyone saved Lei. Always helped.)

"I see, Lei. These people did?" Nii-sama slowly bowed at the four people when the childish rivalry was extinguished.

"Thank you for helping Lei, my sister. Thank you very much." Nii-sama said with his head still down, and I think his voice was trembling. I clung to Nii-sama's leg.

"We said it's fine. We also had a great time."

"Mill!" Despite Bart's attempt to restrain him from talking casually, Mill continued, "Lei always acts like she's fine, and she always does her best without crying. But when she had a fever, she cried out Niini, Otou-syama and Hannah in her sleep."

I can't believe I sleep talk. That's embarrassing. I clung tighter to Nii-sama's leg, looked up at him and tears started falling from his closed eyes.

"You guys... Even though I was doing my best to hold it in."

Nii-sama roughly wiped his eyes, and slowly raised his head. His eyes were red, but he wasn't crying anymore.

"Well, my existence seems to have been completely forgotten."

"Your Highness."

When Gill and Nii-sama saw Huu, they knew that he was the Prince straight away. They corrected their posture and bowed.

"It's still noon. The playing innocent child, no, pardon me, Leila isn't that tired. Why don't we have a light meal with the people who took care of Leila?"

Food!

"Food."

"Yeah, Leila. The castle's chefs make delicious food."

"Ai!"

The emotional and heated reunion finished peacefully.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 90 - The Person in the Mansion

Chapter 90: The Person in the Mansion

"Lei, hand."

"Ai."

I held Nii-sama's hand and headed to the castle. The guards at the gate, who shouldn't have changed their expression, smiled. I occasionally looked up at Nii-sama. He looked down at me and smiled. I also smiled. We walked gallantly, and a heavy voice called out from behind us, "How long are you planning on taking? Now, Luke-sama, you're blocking the people behind you. It'll get dark if you match your pace to Leila-sama's. Her tottering is slow."

At that instant, everyone's thirst for blood definitely turned to Herman. I usually don't let people say that I'm tottering, but I don't want to say a single word to him. I gripped the Rug Dragon on my shoulders and turned away.

"Then, Lei. Can Nii-sama hold you as we walk?"

"Ai."

"No, I'll hold her." Bart quickly stepped forward and scooped me up.

"No, me."

"I understand your feelings, but you've had a long journey. Lei has been quarrelling with that tanuki since morning, and she's probably tired."

"With Herman?" Nii-sama's eyes quickly narrowed.

"I'm sure you also want to know what's been happening with Lei since she's been kidnapped. Let's hurry first."

"Alright."

I leaned against Bart. I was a little surprised because Mill can't read between the lines, so I thought he was going to say something.

"You seem used to it. Lei also looked like she's used to it."

"No matter how much Alistair looks after her and how much she can walk on her own. We're hunters in Frontier, so there are a lot of times when we have to be quick."

"Hunters. I see. I've heard of hunters."

"Lei's also like a hunter's spawn."

"Ai."

"Lei too."

Nii-sama looked like he couldn't believe it.

"It took a month to get to Lentforce, so we camped. We got Lei to hold the barrier box, and she did her best."

"Ai, Lei preshsh shwithch." (Lei press switch)

"Are you saying that you turned the switch on the barrier box in a field?"

"As expected of the elder brother. You understand what Lei says." Bart laughed as if he was impressed. However, I felt a chill. The cold air seemed to have been transmitted from Nii-sama. You got my precious Lei to hold a barrier box in a place where there were Hollows. He didn't say that.

In Bart's crew, only Mill couldn't read the mood and says and acts in a way that isn't considerate towards others. So, I finally realised that the other three may look like straightforward men, but they were actually fearless.

Which means Alistair might be like that too. In fact, he was walking in the front garden of the castle with Mill and Kyaro without any hesitation.

"He's also gotten stronger during this trip. He's been working hard ever since Lei came to us."

"Ai. Awishthair did hish beshth." (Alistair did his best)

"Lei, I also worked really hard." Nii-sama heard Alistair's name and said that.

"Ai. Niini thried bery hard." (Niini tried very hard)

"I feel so much better now." Nii-sama seemed satisfied.

Even if it was a castle, the entrance wasn't far enough to require a carriage to reach it. I could see the distance between the gate and the castle, and I feel like the garden at Otou-sama's mansion was a lot bigger.

Somehow Nii sama noticed my thoughts and said, "They want to get to the castle or gate as fast as they can if they have to move at night, so the garden isn't that big. So people can take refuge at the gate."

I see. That's what it means not to have a barrier. We talked and reached the castle. The big castle door opened automatically. Of course, someone timed when they had to open the door.

I never had a good look at Otou-sama's mansion. Even if this is a castle in Frontier, it was the country's castle and looked gorgeous. There were a lot of things to see on the way such as pictures, tapestries and complicated chandeliers. I looked around restlessly, and we were guided to a dining room which could fit dozens of people even though it was small for a castle.

"What? Isn't this room for personal gatherings? Even if the Four Marquises are children, there's four of them. It isn't appropriate to welcome them in a room like this."

"Herman."

"And why are the hunters also here? Wester's dignity..."

"Herman, it's fine. The King wanted them to enjoy their reunion," Huu rebuked, and the tanuki reluctantly went quiet. No one said you have to eat with us in the first place.

I was about to be put on Nii-sama's lap, but thankfully, they had prepared a child's chair for me.

I controlled myself so that I wouldn't bang on the table, and even though they had said this would be a light meal, they had properly brought out soup first. They had placed mine in a child-size cup.

"Lei, I'll..." Nii-sama tried to feed me. That's right. Nii-sama used to feed me a lot like this.

"Pardon me, but Lei-sama can eat by herself," a voice called out from behind. It was Dory. It was meddlesome for a servant to speak. However, I was moved by Dory because she understood me well from this trip.

"Niini, Lei eath by hershewf." (Lei eat by herself)

"Lei. Okay."

Don't look disappointed. Next time, I'll let you feed me if it's just the two of us. No, children should become independent. Don't spoil me.

Then, they brought out boiled vegetables boiled in the gentle soup, and soft meat. They also brought out meat with mashed potatoes.

"Pothatho!"

"Lei really likes potatoes."

"Liwe."

The potatoes, which were served with soft meat sauce, were utterly delicious.

After eating the fruits, we moved to a smaller room. Those who weren't related were kicked out, including Herman, and only the Prince, his guards, Nii-sama, Gill, Alistair, Bart and his crew, and I remained. Dory was waiting quietly in the corner of the room.

There was a knock at the door, and another person entered. When he looked at me, he looked relieved, and his eyes were gentle. I've seen him before. He lives in the mansion, and I saw him sometimes. He talked with Sebas a lot. Sebas.

"Jude, it's better if you also listened to this. Come."

"Pershon in thhe manshion. Lei wnowsh." (Person in the mansion. Lei knows)

"Ojou-sama! You remember me." The person was moved to tears. But, that wasn't what worried me. If people from the mansion came, then Sebas should be here.

"Sebash. Where'sh Sebash?"

Jude looked like he wanted to hide.

"Niini?"

"Lei, Sebas didn't come. Now, I want to hear about you first."

"... Ai."

Something's wrong. But, I have to talk about what happened to me first, as well as about Hannah.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 91 - Cold Sweat

Chapter 91: Cold Sweat

This was the first time the Prince, Nii-sama and Gill were meeting, but they had already greeted each other while we were eating, so everyone more or less knew each other.

"Lei, I'm sure it's painful, but can you talk about when you got kidnapped?"

"Ai."

If Herman were here, I'm sure he would say, "What are you saying to an infant? How stupid," but the people here were all those whom I trust. No one thought it was strange when I agreed.

"If you don't mind, Luke-san."

Bart interrupted, "We've heard about it from Lei. I'm surprised that she remembered since she's still a baby. It might be faster for us to talk and then get Lei's confirmation."

"Lei?" Nii-sama looked at me for what to do.

"Thath ow."

"I see. Then, Bart and Your Highness, please."

"Alright."

Bart put his hand on his forehead for a moment as if he recalled something. "From when we met at the border, no, from the beginning."

Was the situation when we met too painful? Or did he want to start with what Nii-sama wanted to hear?

"According to Lei, she was woken up in the middle of the night by a maid named Hannah and was put into a dragon basket by the time she noticed."

"So, it was Hannah, after all." Nii-sama looked bitter, and Jude closed his eyes for a moment.

"They kept running and..."

"Bread and wather. No pothatho or shweethsh." (Bread and water. No potato or sweets.)

"Ah, Lei."

Nii-sama stood up and hugged me. He put me on his lap and changed his sitting position.

"Hannah shaid why me. Maththhew medishon. Remingthon, Owaa-shan quith." (Hannah said why me. Matthew medicine. Remington, Okaa-san quit) I rapidly said what I remembered. "Hannah misherabwe." (Hannah miserable)

Nii-sama nodded and made eye contact with Jude. Perhaps, it was just like they had investigated.

"Do you remember the criminal's face?"

"Ai. If Lei sheesh, Lei wnowsh." (If Lei sees, Lei knows)

After that, they asked me about it in detail, and I answered where I could.

"Otou-sama told me about when he saw Lei at the border. The Rug Dragon concluded that Otou-sama and the guards were his enemy, and ran away."

"I can explain that," Bart raised his hand.

"Rug Dragons have the trait of being adopted parents. They raise individuals who have strayed from their parents as members of their group. The Rug Dragons concluded that Lei was their child, and treat her precious, pfft, treat her preciously."

The Wester group, including Alistair and the Prince, laughed slightly. How rude.

"It got really impatient when it looked like it was being taken to the pasture. It wouldn't give Lei back."

"It went that far? Rug Dragons also like me too, but they don't do that."

"Rug Dragons also like Alistair."

Gill looked surprised when he heard that. He might know about this. But, he didn't say anything and listened silently.

"We didn't hear much from then, so it's just a guess. First, we found bodies which probably belonged to the criminal and a Rug Dragon. They were killed by the Hollows."

Nii-sama's hands which were holding me twitched.

"At times like that, we report it if they have IDs, but if not, then we take things of monetary value and leave them as they are. Therefore, we didn't know what to do when we saw that the Rug Dragon had died as if it was protecting something and that something was a girl. The girl had already died. Apparently that was Hannah. And when we turned the girl over, Lei was there."

"That's..."

Nii-sama buried his face in my hair.

"At first, we thought the baby was also dead, but then we turned the Rug Dragon over and knew that she was still alive."

"Thanks. Honestly, thanks." Nii-sama's voice trembled.

"What? It was just a coincidence. It was Alistair who decided to help and take care of her."

"Alistair."

Nii-sama held me tighter as if he wouldn't let me go.

"Thanks, Alistair. Thanks."

"No, it's fine." Alistair looked embarrassed and nodded.

"She can'th shee thhe wighth of day. Sowwy, Hannah shaid." (She can't see the light of day. Sorry, Hannah said) The room fell silent at my words.

"She shaid be quieth. And thhath shhe wash happy by my shide." (She said be quiet. And that she was happy by my side) My voice trembled.

"Howwowsh come. Hannah hugged me. Then ith wash morning." (Hollows come. Hannah hugged me. Then it was morning)

I did my best.

"Hannah didn'th do anythhing wrong. Hannah'sh bwue eyesh are preththy. She waughed withh me. She wovesh lei. Hannah, Hannah ish..." (Hannah didn't do anything wrong. Hannah's blue eyes are pretty. She laughed with me. She loves Lei. Hannah, Hannah is...) I don't know what I wanted to say anymore.

"Waah. Wwwaaaah. Hannah. Hannah."

Who can stop a baby when they suddenly burst into tears? Mill gently lifted me up from my surprised Nii-sama who had frozen.

"Lei!"

"Luke-san, I'm not going to take her. I'm just going to sooth her a little. See, Lei."

"Uoah, waah."

"You can cry. You can cry."

"Waah."

Mill always hugged me whenever I was sleepy. I clung to him and cried.

"It was right after that. The Hollows appeared again," Bart began.

"It had the appearance of the dead girl. We told her to hide, but she didn't. She saw us cut through the Hollow with the girl's appearance with a Rhodolite."

"No way..."

"Then when she had a fever. She cried. That was the fourth time she'd cried in half a year.

She was an important person. Even if she was paying for her mistakes, I thought many times that she wouldn't have died if she hadn't been by my side. There's nothing I can do even if I went back to the past. Still, the pain in my heart didn't disappear.

The tears that flow down will never dry whenever I think that she's gone forever.

◊♦◊♦◊♦◊ (Bart's POV)

"She fell asleep."

"Let her sleep here." Dory immediately replied to Mill. Lei was laid down comfortably on the sofa, and a towel was put over her.

"This is the first time I've heard about what happened from Lei. I thought that it was no use listening to it. But, I can't believe she kept it in without forgetting about it," I whispered as I looked back at Lei. Everyone also looked at her. It's heart-breaking. The Prince was holding it in, but his eyes turned red.

"I always thought she was playing innocent. I can't believe she was holding onto something like this," his whisper was actually rude to say in front of her brother.

"Luke-san, Lei might have been holding back since she joined us, but she had a lot of fun and is healthy. It's no use regretting it."

".... Yes."

"And I'm sorry, but the real troublesome story starts from here."

"... What?"

I pondered about all the things I have to talk about from now. Should I start from when she used the barrier box? Dammit. He's not the Prince. We'll make Luke-san angry.

It might have been good that Lei fell asleep. Cold sweat ran through my body as I began to talk, "Then, I'll start with when Lei activated the barrier box."

"Hah?" Luke-san got up from his chair. I knew it. I wonder if I'll still have my life before this conversation is over.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 92 - Lei's Sebas

Chapter 92: Lei's Sebas

I had a nap, and when I woke up, everyone looked exhausted. What's wrong? I felt that my eyes were a little swollen, probably because I fell asleep while crying.

"Leila-sama put this on your eyes."

"Ai."

Dory put a warm towel on my face.

"Lei, come here."

"Ai, Niini."

I toddled towards Onii-sama.

"Yosh," Nii-sama said and lifted me on his knees.

"You really love her a lot," Bart said in admiration as he looked at us.

"Yes, because Lei is our light."

"That. It must have been hard on your dad." It was Mill who said this carelessly.

"Otou-syama."

I want to see him. I looked up at Nii-sama with those feelings in my eyes, and Nii-sama nodded gently.

"Yes, Lei. Otou-sama grieved, and it was hard on him. He's even prepared to end life in this country if Wester makes the wrong move."

"A-ai."

He said something scary so smoothly. How do you want an infant to react?

"Oh no, look what I've said. I was astounded by what Lei had to go through, that I said something trifling."

Honestly, that's not a follow-up.

"Let's leave it at that. You're seething, Luke."

"I'm sorry for acting childish."

Nii-sama looked sulky when Gill warned him. On the other side, Huu looked a little grim. If I had chosen not to follow him when we were in Trentforce, then Wester would probably be in a lot of trouble right now.

"Lei, we heard a lot of things from Bart and his crew while you were resting. To be honest, I can't believe that they took a toddler out hunting. However, I also heard that you might have been kidnapped had you not been with them."

"Ai. Dere were bad peopwe."

Nii-sama gently patted my head.

"But you were too reckless. I'll tell Otou-sama about how hard you tried and how reckless you were. He'll probably get angry at you."

"Ai."

It's unavoidable. I sighed.

"Then, shall we talk about Sebas, Lei?"

"Ai!"

Nii-sama held me as he stood up, then he gently sat me down on the sofa, kneeled down and met my eyes. Nii-sama's violet eyes were shaking a little.

"Sebas isn't in the mansion any more."

"Wear?" (Where)

Why? Sebas certainly took good care of me, and he worked as a butler at the mansion.

"He went missing as soon as you were kidnapped. Apparently, he took Hannah's family and fled somewhere."

"Hannah."

My chest hurt a little, but I'm worried that Sebas is missing. The room fell silent.

Why did Sebas disappear? I looked down and thought.

Hannah. Matthew. Medicine.

Okaa-san. Job. Remington.

"Niini. Whath'sh Remingthon? Bad?" I said, and Nii-sama shook his head.

"Remington is part of the Four Marquises. And, well, there's no evidence that they're directly involved at the moment."

Which means Hannah's Okaa-san didn't have to quit her job. Yet, Hannah committed a crime because of that. She had to atone for her crimes. What will happen to the family of a criminal? And what kind of person is Sebas?

"Sebash did for Lei."

I looked straight into Nii-sama's eyes.

"He dishappeared for Lei."

At the back of the room, Jude looked up at the ceiling. Nii-sama put his hands on both of mine, quietly touched his forehead and closed his eyes.

"You also don't doubt Sebas."

"Otousyama awnd Lei importhanth tho Sebash. Niini importhanth." (Otou-sama and Lei important to Sebas. Nini important.)

It's obvious. He held me when no one cared about me.

"Sebash wash thhe firshth pershon tho caww me Leiwa." (Sebas was the first person to call me Leila.)

"Lei, I made you think of something sad!" Nii-sama buried his face in my lap as if asking for forgiveness. I gently stroked Nii-sama's pretty blonde hair.

"It's oway. It's oway."

Then, I looked at Jude.

"Hewp Sebash."

Jude nodded.

"Luke-sama, may I talk to Leila-sama?"

"Okay."

Jude kneeled next to Nii-sama.

"Leila-sama, I'm glad you're safe."

"Ai."

"Sebas avoided the direction that Master took to save you. Instead, he went east from the royal capital, and it seems like he entered this Wester town."

"Here."

"Yes."

Sebas is coming.

"Regardless of his reasons, I think he must have heard rumours that Sebel was collecting magicians. Even if a magician's magic power is mundane in Kingdom, it becomes quite a lot in Frontier."

Sebas and Hannah certainly had magic power that was inferior to Otou-sama's.

"We're secretly looking for him with the help of Wester's royal family. We can't take him back to Kingdom, but Master ordered me to at least give him his severance payment so he could live with ease."

"Ai," I replied, but when I go back to the mansion, Sebas and Hannah won't be there anymore. My small world didn't stay as it was. And...

I glanced at Alistair and Bart. I have to separate from these people. At that time, Nii-sama got up, moved and obstructed my sight.

"Then, we'll have the audience tomorrow as scheduled, and spend time with family today. Lei must be tired too."

"I heard that was the plan. A room has also been prepared for the hunters. I'll have you shown to your rooms," Prince Huu said, and everyone got up. Bart and his crew approached me, and each of them patted my head. They didn't care that Nii-sama is here. Finally, Alistair reached out towards me. He tried to hold my hand, but then he suddenly pulled back and awkwardly patted my head.

Speaking of which, Alistair always held my hand probably because he is a little older than me, but he hardly patted my head.

"I'm happy for you Lei," he said and turned his back as if he was shaking off something and chased after Bart and his crew who were waiting at the entrance.

"Wait, Uncle." However, Gill called to his back. You're calling him uncle, but isn't it rude to say wait?

"Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, Uncle."

"I'm Alistair."

"Then, Alistair," Gill called his name without hesitation.

"You heard what Luke said before, right? That we're spending time with family today."

"That's why Lei's with her brother."

"Are you an idiot? You and I are family. You're in the same room as me."

"Hah?" Alistair had his mouth opened. Gill walked up to him.

"Come."

"No, I don't want to." He objected reflectively. Gill sighed and looked at Bart.

"Bart and you guys. Help."

"Eh, me? Do I persuade him?" Bart stepped back a little and scratched his head, "Hey, Alistair. He's right. Go with him for a bit."

"Bart!"

"We won't disappear without saying anything. Why do you think we came to the capital for?"

Alistair widened his eyes and nodded reluctantly.

"Alright, follow me!"

"Don't give me orders!"

The two quarrelled and left before us.

"Awishthair."

"Don't worry. Gill's a nice guy."

"Ai."

Nii-sama took me off the sofa and held my hand.

"I still have a lot to tell you."

"Lei two."

"Then, let's go."

"Ai."

The hand holding mine was warm.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 93 - To Wester's Capital (Luke's POV)

Chapter 93: To Wester's Capital (Luke's POV)

(Rewind time a little)

We arrived safely at Sebel as I held back my feelings. I was surprised that they had come to greet us at Earl Tucker's fief, but it's rare for a guest to go to Frontier from Kingdom. So they probably wanted to express their greatest gratitude. Though, it's a shame that we didn't get the chance to relax at Earl Tucker's fief because of that, but it isn't bad to get to Sebel ahead of time and see what it looks like.

However, what's with this welcome crew?

"Hoho, so the Four Marquises are this lovely. The violet eyes which are more transparent than jewels and his blue eyes look like the early summer sky. Amazing. Impressive!"

I can't believe that this noisy, fat man is here to welcome us. Even if people say things about the Four Marquises in the royal capital, they wouldn't say that much about our eyes. He's honestly noisy.

I wondered what we should do when he insisted that we ride with him in the imperial carriage, but Gill refused, "Are you trying to say that we can't ride the Rug Dragons by ourselves?" He straightened his back after saying this. As expected of someone older. But then, he looked at me as if he wanted me to compliment him afterwards, so I ignored him. I'm thrilled that I practiced riding even though I was told that it was still too early.

Sebel may be Wester's capital, but it couldn't be compared to Kingdom's capital, and the city was small and well-organised. The endless prairie on the south side of the city was something I had never seen before, and I wanted to stare at the magnificent scenery forever.

To the north, even though it looked as if the mountain range was close, it actually wasn't that close. There was a lake to the west, and this was also a rare scenery compared to the flat royal capital. However, the mountain range gives birth to Hollows. The houses were built robustly like in Farland, where I visited last summer. The windows were small, and the gaps between the houses were narrow.

I was particularly surprised by the castle. I didn't think the castle itself, was particularly small, but the garden is small. No, it was spacious compared to the town, but isn't the Albans' garden bigger?

"No, no, if you want to see something big then you can go to the prairie during the day. Sebel is close to the mountains in the north, so Hollows appear at night. The castle's no different. That's why it's designed for people to take refuge in times of emergency." The fat Deputy Prime Minister explained while wiping his sweat because I was looking around curiously. Apparently, he wasn't incompetent.

They were probably introducing us to the citizens because the troops were strolling along the main street. The citizens didn't know why we came to Sebel. However, they would probably be moved to tears if they found out a young Four Marquis heir came here to pick up his little sister who had gone missing.

Not only that, but another member of the Four Marquis was looking for their family, and the second Prince of Wester was involved in this search. Were the citizens crazy about drama? I happened to see a mother holding a baby and was reminded of Lei. I couldn't help but smile.

The mother had her hand over her mouth, and she was sobbing for some reason. Is the baby alright? The young people around her wept and started waving their hands.

"Hey, Luke. Don't smile carelessly."

"I'm not. My mouth just loosened on its own."

"You know you were really popular in the academy, right? Be more aware of this."

"What? What other people think doesn't matter to me."

"That part of you is just like the head Albans."

That's unexpected. I respect Otou-sama, but I don't agree with all of his behaviours. There are even some that I don't want to imitate.

However, if Gill tells me that I need to be more aware, then I'll do that.

"Be aware? Then, Gill, please take responsibility."

"Responsibility? For what?"

"Now, match my actions."

"What?"

The people also seemed to love that Gill and I were talking on top of the dragon. I turned away from Gill and faced the citizens. I smiled and waved.

"Kyaa!" They exploded in cheers.

"Luke, you!"

"Come on, Gill. Take responsibility. I know what I'm doing. Now, smile."

"Shyt. I'll remember this."

Gill twitched as he smiled and waved his hand. The cheers got louder, and it was Gill's fault that we had to continue to wave until we entered the castle.

"Jeez, that was awful."

"It's your fault since you told me to be aware. You're reaping what you sowed, right?"

"Horrible... You're a horrible guy Luke."

"Hmm."

We talked, and it grew dark. We had an audience as soon as we entered the castle. That was a request from us. It will probably take a while for Lei to get here, but I want to take her back to Kingdom as soon as she does. And it wasn't desirable for us, the Four Marquis heirs, to stay away from Kingdom for too long.

I want to finish all that I can right now first.

I saw a row of nobles when I entered the audience room. We were led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Herman, to the front where the King of Wester and the Prince were standing. The King and Prince had dark blonde hair and dark purple eyes like I had heard. Otou-sama said that they might have had the same ancestors as us, and their aura was similar to the Albans family.

In Kingdom, the King and the Four Marquises are equal, and even if the Four Marquises were called retainers, there was no need for them to kneel. We put our right hand on our chest and bowed lightly. It probably looked like disrespect because the nobles started getting noisy. However, the King controlled them with his hand and greeted us. Once we finished our greetings, the King spoke in a friendly tone, "I'm surprised that people from Kingdom came, even though it was a request from us. How was your journey? Your families are definitely headed this way. They'll be here in about five or six days. Relax until then."

"Thank you very much. However, we didn't come here to play. I want to start doing the things I need to do today," Gill answered simply to the King. He probably wanted to make it clear that we hadn't come here to socialise. I can tell from the nobles and the royal family that they wanted to take full advantage of our visit since it was rare for someone of the Four Marquis to come here. I want to keep this annoying relationship to a minimum.

Securing Lei and Gill's uncle. Neither one is more important than the other. Emotionally, of course, Lei is more important, but to others their value is the same because we're securing the Four Marquis line. Therefore, Gill will be taking the lead. I'm okay with accompanying him since it's easier. This time, it was the Prince who answered Gill, "Oh, I'm grateful that you're here, but it'll be more fun for you to look around since you're finally here in Wester. We'll talk more tomorrow."

"Then, we'll see you tomorrow. We want to finish our tasks straight away."

The Prince who is telling us to enjoy our time, and Gill who insists on finishing our tasks. There were sparks that couldn't be seen. I'd like to see Lei as soon as possible. Five more days. I sighed softly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 94 - Unexpected Encounter (Luke's POV)

Chapter 94: Unexpected Encounter (Luke's POV)

Even though we were told to rest, we had a dinner party that night and then another party afterwards. They probably couldn't let that many nobles go without meeting the Four Marquises.

Gill and I haven't had our debut yet, so we weren't invited to dance, but it was annoying that influential people kept coming up to us one after the other with a drink in hand. Earl Tucker stood next to us and dealt with the annoying people, but I had no interest in being told about their daughters without Otou-sama present.

Gill is older than me, so they talked to him about various things, and I could see that he was getting fed up.

There was another surprising thing at the dinner party. The Easter royal family was here.

Neither Gill nor I meet with the royal family of our country that much. This was the first time we had met the Wester royal family, and we've never met Farland's or Easter's.

"Gilbert-dono and Luke-dono, this is the Third Prince of Easter, Cyrus-dono." I lightly gulped when he was introduced, because his blonde hair and yellow eyes were similar to those of our royal family's.

Looking closely, even though those colours are rare, his hair was dark and was closer to Wester's royalty, and his eyes were a pancake colour rather than gold, and the differences were apparent. It was like the difference between Albans and Wester, and perhaps Kingdom's royal family have the same roots as Easter's.

Taking away his features, he was a young man who looked fearless and like a warrior. In short, he was a man who I want to grow up to be like. There aren't many royalties in Kingdom with his aura.

"He's a reliable young man who grew up two years ago, just like my brother. He went to Kaylie on business, then he came to Sebel for sightseeing. He happened to hear that the Four Marquises were visiting, so he dropped by. It's a rare opportunity, so he revealed his status and will be staying here," Wester's First Prince introduced him to us. He's 25. Of course, he's married, and he has two children. I could tell that he liked Prince Cyrus because he is the same age as his brother.

I met Gill's eyes for a moment.

It's a surprising situation.

I felt this yesterday, but Wester's royal family is extremely unpleasant and aren't they naïve? I feel like they trust a foreign Prince, who suddenly visited, a bit too much. Easter's Prince was travelling incognito and on business. In other words, he had entered Wester without permission to conduct business.

There aren't any quarrels between countries right now. However, isn't that too careless?

I could tell that Gill was thinking the same thing as me, but we shouldn't make matters worse here. Still, I feel like he's been looking at me for a while now instead of Gill. I wonder why.

I reluctantly met his eyes. His slightly lifted almond eyes were opened a little as if he was looking at something interesting, and the corner of his thin lips was somewhat raised. I'll be honest. It's disgusting. It's more cruel than fearless. That's my impression of him.

"This is the first time we've met. How lucky am I to meet the Four Marquises when I just happen to be in Wester."

Gill stepped forward as if to block Prince Cyrus's gaze.

"I'm Gilbert Lisburn. I never thought that I would meet Easter royalty in Wester. I'm still inexperienced, but pleased to meet you."

"I'm Luke Albans," I greeted reservedly after Gill. I lowered my head lightly, and when I raised my head, there was a big hand in front of me. The moment it tried to touch my cheek, I stepped back inconspicuously.

Prince Cyrus looked at his own extended arm with a strange face and whispered, "It felt like something I let go once." Disgusting. Gill gently stood in front of me, protectively and said, "I'm thirsty. Shall we go get a drink? Then, please excuse us." We quickly left, but not too fast so that we wouldn't seem rude. We grabbed drinks and hung around the wall for a while.

"What the hell was that?! The Prince of Easter was a little too surprising!"

"Did he come because he knew that Wester made a request for the barrier box?"

"I'm sure they're keeping it a secret from the citizens until they succeed. This time, we're here to pick up our family. Other royal families shouldn't know this, but if the Wester royal family is that casual..."

"I'm certain. Even if Prince Cyrus came out of curiosity without knowing that we would be here, there's a possibility that they told him 'They're finally here, so you should come too'. Just because they're royalty doesn't mean they could be reckless.'

"No matter how you look at it, you have to remain alert around him."

Why does the Wester royal family not understand the danger when we, children, can? We glanced over and saw the fat Deputy Prime Minister talking with the princes.

"They're the kind of royal family who trusts that person to come pick us up."

"You're right."

It was inevitable that I smiled wryly.

The dinner party ended without anything happening.

Before I left as a messenger, Otou-sama said, "Don't hold back." Gill and I were taken to a room by Otou-sama. Of course, Gill's Otou-sama was also with us.

"I've never seen this room before."

"Hmm, it's not something I would show you on purpose."

It was a room with various magic tools. It was also my first time in this room. There were new magic tools that the Albans Company was selling, and there were also ancient magic tools which were beginning to decay. I wanted to look around if I had time, but I can do that later.

"Otou-sama?"

"Hmm, was it around here?"

Otou-sama took a big box that I could barely fit my arms around down from the shelf. Although adults could easily hold it. He put it on the table and opened the lid with a click.

"Oh, this is also..." Gill's Otou-sama said. It was a magic tool with three magic stones arranged beautifully in a triangle.

"This is probably the same as the barrier box that Wester is trying to activate."

Gill and I gulped. Next to us, Gill's Otou-sama shrugged and smiled wryly.

"Should I say as expected of the Albans since you own something like this?"

Otou-sama looked up at the shelf.

"Don't tell me you have more?" Gill's Otou-sama said, and Otou-sama shrugged. I feel like I can hear Otou-sama say, "It's no use even if you nitpick."

"How is it? You rarely see magic stones this big, right?"

""Yes."" Gill and my voice overlapped. My magic training had processed considerably, and I can easily fill a magic stone big enough to fit into an individual barrier box, but I've never seen magic stones this big.

"Then, try channelling your magic into these empty magic stones now."

He suddenly presented us with a difficult challenge. That's just like Otou-sama.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 95 - The Albans' Power (Luke's POV)

Chapter 95: The Albans' Power (Luke's POV)

Will I collapse if I channel my magic into this many magic stones?

I hesitated a little. But, what will be solved if I collapse? If I can't do this then there is no point in the Four Marquises visiting Wester. I have enough power, and I have trained enough.

I reached for the magic stone.

"Hey, Luke," Gill's Otou-sama called out to me worriedly. It's okay. I lifted my face, which said, "You should be worried about Gill," and Gill's Otou-sama gulped and said, "No, nothing. You really are Dean's son."

I wondered what he was talking about, so I asked Gill about it later, and it seemed that I was smiling. My courage is quite something he had said.

I reached for the magic stone again, and it was quite heavy in my palm. I slowly channelled my magic into the magic stone which had been empty for a long time. The magic stone swallowed my magic just like dry sponge sucking in water. I channelled at a constant, slow flow so that I wouldn't lose to the magic stone.

After an unknown amount of time, I suddenly felt it repel. I quietly put the magic stone back into the box and looked next to me. Gill was sweating a little and struggling with the magic stone. But, he also put the magic stone back at the same time as me. Gill's Otou-sama sighed in relief.

"So, how was it?"

"Well..."

Otou-sama asked quietly, and I checked the amount of magic left in me.

"I guess I can barely fill three of them."

"Hmm, that's an exceptional amount of magic for someone at the age of 11. I feel like you can still do more. How about you, Gill?"

"Well, I feel like I was going to collapse in the middle of the third one."

"Good judgement. Gill has an accurate grasp on his magic," Otou-sama whispered in satisfaction. Then, he went to another shelf and brought a small box down from it. Is that a small barrier box? When I looked at Otou-sama's hand, he opened the box and showed it to us. There were three magic stones in the box. They were about the same size as the one in barrier box from before, and they didn't have any magic in them.

"Is that also a barrier box?"

"Haha, no, this isn't. These are just spare magic stones and a box to keep them in."

"You said they were spares so nonchalantly, but I've never seen magic stones this big," Gill's Otou-sama said in shock. Otou-sama grinned. Though, it might look like he was only lifting his lips a little bit to those who aren't close to him.

"Bring this with you. This is, in short, a reward to Wester for finding Lei."

"That's too much! Do you know how much this is worth!?" This time, Gill's Otou-sama shouted.

"Shut up, you."

"But..."

"No buts. It's a useless treasure if you give these to royalty who can't even fill three magic stones."

"Then all the more so."

"Gill and Luke." Otou-sama ignored Gill's Otou-sama, who was saying a lot of things and turned towards us.

""Yes.""

"Listen, fill these empty magic stones in front of the Wester royal family. I think only Luke has to do this. It's more effective if the younger one does it. Those who don't have that much power can probably understand how hard it is to maintain a barrier box with this. If they can't...."

Otou-sama closed the box with the magic stones with a click.

"The Wester royal family will forever be slaves to the barrier box."

He gave the box to Gill.

"The first time is free for each magic stone. But, after that, it's impossible to fill them for free. How do they expect to summon us each time? Whichever way this matter ends, it's no concern of the Albans."

In short, Otou-sama was saying that we didn't mind giving them the magic stones and filling it once as thanks. But, after that, they have to pay.

"Frontier should be functioning well until now. There's no reason to support those who want to become slaves to the barrier. Don't hold back, Luke and Gill."

I felt a little sorry for Wester. The events in the magic tools room confirmed that Otou-sama hadn't forgiven Wester for trying to use Lei.

But, Gill seemed bothered by something. He thought a little before he slowly spoke to Otou-sama, "We'll definitely bring Lei back, so that won't be a problem. But, father's brother, in short, my uncle apparently escaped from Kingdom into Frontier. So, I don't think he wants to come back."

"I heard about that."

"Father said I don't have to force him to come back. But, what if an 11-year-old kid has as much magic power as us?" Gill looked serious.

"Then wouldn't he be used by Wester? I don't know if the rule to wait until 18 in Kingdom is respected in Frontier. But, when I think about him being completely tied to Wester when he turns 18..."

I didn't know that he was that considerate towards a relative he hadn't met yet. But, my close friend Gill is generous, so it might be natural for him to worry about his relative, who is a child.

But, I was worried about that person for a more selfish reason.

"It's a difficult situation for me because I wonder what I should do if that person is indispensable to Lei," I spoke my feelings honestly.

"They took her in at a difficult time and stayed with her. And it's been six months since then. If Lei says that she doesn't want to part with them..."

Both Gill and I looked down. The exchange between Wester's royal family will work out, but it's challenging to know what to do about people's feelings.

"You can do as you like." That was Otou-sama's answer. I wonder if it's naïve to think of that answer as a little cold.

"If you're worried and don't want to leave him in Wester, then you can drag him back. You can bring him along if Lei doesn't want to separate from him. And if he wants to become a slave to Wester, then let him," Otou-sama's answer is straightforward.

"The point is you have to come back home safely with Lei."

"You're a really selfish guy, Dean." Gill's Otou-sama shrugged his shoulders in amazement and looked at Gill gently.

"Gill, he maybe 11, but he's the same age as Luke. And think about what you were like when you were 11. Did you do what others told you to?"

"I didn't."

"Right? We're like that."

Gill's Otou-sama laughed strangely.

"Luke should continue to cherish Lei, and Gill, you can behave as you like. I'm sure that even that Lisburn child will act as he pleases."

"That's all there is to it."

"Hey, don't steal the best part!"

Yes, it's no use worrying. I don't have to hold back. Gill brightened up and looked at me. We bumped our fists together. We'll do what we want.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 96 - Go Without Holding Back (Luke's POV)

Chapter 96: Go Without Holding Back (Luke's POV)

The morning after the tiring party, we decided to get Wester to show us the barrier box while fending off the Wester's side of sightseeing and socialising. Of course, this included filling the magic stones.

As I thought, they cheerfully approved because the Easter Prince also wanted to observe. We completely forgot that the ones approving should be us, who were showing our abilities, and not Wester.

Well, Otou-sama said that filling magic stones was the same regardless of whether they were big or small, and the method that the Four Marquises used wasn't exactly a secret. However, the barrier box was in the castle, so the citizens couldn't see it.

Gill and I were shown to a room in the castle after lunch. There were two soldiers at the front door, and I understood that they were firmly guarding it.

When we were guided inside, there was a large barrier box on top of a table in the middle of the large carpeted room. It was the same size as the one Otou-sama had shown us; it was big enough that it could barely be held by an adult.

Prince Gilbert proudly opened the lid of the box. "Oh," a faint voice said. That came from the nobles of Wester who were also here. This was what Gill and I had expected, and Easter's Prince Cyrus didn't even move a single eyebrow.

It was a barrier box with three magic stones arranged beautifully into a triangle like the one Otou-sama had shown.

"Two and a half?" I couldn't help but say. They had summoned us to help them fill the magic stones, so I thought they would place magic stones which hadn't been filled yet. Gill and I looked up from the barrier box, and Prince Gilbert looked proud of himself. The same could be said for the Wester nobles too.

"My brother and I can fill two of the magic stones by ourselves. The rest is the problem. However, we tried to get someone with magic to fill it, but they couldn't fill it all."

The other half seemed to be the problem.

"How many days before the magic stones have to be filled again?"

"According to legend, once every 10 days."

According to legend? Gill and I looked at each other. Gill spoke nervously, "Does that mean that you haven't activated it yet?"

"Of course not. If we suddenly activate it, then the people of Sebel will panic."

Easter's Prince changed his expression for the first time. No one seemed to have noticed it except for me, but I can sympathise with his shocked expression.

"Well, I heard that Sebel is directly north of Julius Mountains, which is Easter's boundary, and that there are a lot of Hollows there and no one can approach it except for Hunters."

"That's right."

"Instead of suddenly experimenting at Sebel, wouldn't it be better if you did it as a military training camp there instead?" The room fell silent at Gill's words. Gill was surprised that his words had that much of an impact, and quickly changed the topic.

"Pardon me. So the rest of the magic stones..."

"Yes, we wanted Kingdom to send someone who could fill it. Although, I didn't expect someone from the Four Marquises to come, but I'm thankful." The Prince honestly expressed his gratitude, making Gill to pull back a little. However, he wasn't able to hide his amazement at the royal family who was more haphazard than he thought. Gill looked towards me.

"Luke."

"Okay," I replied, and slowly put the small box I had onto the table.

"Luke-dono, what's that?" Prince Gilbert, who thought that we would channel magic into the rest of the magic stones, was curious. I opened the box without saying anything.

"Oh!" There was a stir in the room. Even Easter's Prince had his eyes wide opened.

"Th-this is..."

"This is a reward from my father for discovering and bringing back our beloved Leila of the Albans House."

"What?! Not from the royal family of Kingdom, but from a Four Marquis?!" The person who yelled was Herman, the Deputy Prime Minister. This fat person's remarks are always subtly rude.

"Like we said from the beginning, Kingdom has nothing to do with this visit. This is a personal visit from the Lisburns and Albans. Don't get this wrong," Gill firmly controlled the situation.

"Then, let's start, Luke."

"Okay."

"But Luke-dono is only 11-years-old..." I raised a hand to stop Prince Gilbert from speaking and took out a magic stone from the small box. I slowly began to fill it with magic so that everyone can see. They all watched carefully and gulped as the stone gradually changed from pale violet to dark purple.

Before long, I felt the stone repelling back.

"This is the first one." I showed everyone the magic stone and put it back into the box. I took out another magic stone.

"Impossible. You're going to...?!" I slowly began to fill the second magic stone regardless of the Prince's voice. And by the time I picked up the third stone, no one had anything to say. Like Otou-sama had said, I could fill the third one while only feeling somewhat tired.

I didn't show that I was tired, and put the last magic stone, which had turned a dark purple, into the box, closed the lid and handed it to Prince Gilbert.

"You can activate the barrier box right now with these magic stones."

"Oh! Thank you!" The Prince was deeply moved and blushed.

"However..." The room fell silent when Gill spoke.

"We can't leave Kingdom. Even if we can come here now, we won't be able to anymore once we become adults. And, if you seriously think of filling the magic stones once every 10 days, then it wouldn't make any sense if you can't fill it with the people you have in Wester."

"That's..."

"If you count on my family, then he and Luke are both 11. This time, Luke filled the magic stones, but it isn't something he should be doing until he reaches the age of 18. Even if he, my uncle, agrees, I can't approve," Gill's words upset the retainers. The First Prince was calm.

"Of course. We have been considering this project for many years. It's not a problem if it's delayed for a few years. I heard from my brother that Alistair wants to continue being a hunter. He's going to train here while we educate him as a noble, and get him to cooperate with us when he turns 18."

In the meantime, he would receive good treatment and eventually belong to Wester. Unlike the noisy retainers, Easter's Prince was quiet. He probably lost interest because they don't intend on activating the barrier now.

But unlike his noble appearance, Easter's Prince had hardly any magic. He might have even less than the citizens of Kingdom.

What surprised me since I came to Wester was that the citizens and the nobles mostly had no magic. Even if this was said in Kingdom, I understood for the first time that this meant that they had little magic.

I heard that Easter receives little to no damage from Hollows, and so they use their vast land for agriculture. I'd like to go to Easter someday.

"Do you want us to fill the last magic stone?" The Prince shook his head when Gill said this.

"We wanted you to do that, but we got three magic stones from you. We'll do something about the last magic stone with the people we have in Wester."

"Your Highness!" The Deputy Prime Minister said something. He probably wanted us to fill the magic stone now. He's disgusting.

Will they activate the barrier box or not in the end?

That answer was surprisingly brought about by Lei.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 97 - Something to Amplify

Chapter 97: Something to Amplify

I was full of energy the morning after I met Nii-sama.

"We're spending time with family this evening," even if I was told this, an infant can't speak fluently. Nii-sama sat next to me on the sofa, smiled when our eyes met, placed me on his lap, and told me about what had happened when I wasn't in the royal capital. We went to bed early, talked a little and fell asleep before we knew it. When we came to, it was morning.

When I woke up, I saw a blonde head that was different from my own next to me. Alistair gets up before me, and Nii-sama sleeps in a separate room at the mansion, so it felt like it has been a long time since I've seen someone sleep.

His bright violet eyes were hidden under his eyelids, and Nii-sama, who is usually reliable, looked young and appropriate for his age. He was only 11, but he came to Frontier to pick me up. Troublesome things happened, but he always worried about me, who was living happily.

I gently brushed away the hair on Nii-sama's forehead with my small hands. I must have woken him up because his eyes twitched and he silently opened his eyes. He looked at me, gently grasped my hands, pressed them against his forehead and closed his eyes again.

"Niini, gowd mornwing."

"Good morning, Lei. What a wonderful morning it is to wake up by Lei's hand." I'm a little embarrassed when you say such a thing. I smiled, Nii-sama smiled, and we woke up to a warm morning.

"Oh yeah, I couldn't ask you yesterday, but can you make barriers now, Lei?" Nii-sama went back to looking serious and asked seriously, so I answered honestly, "Ai."

"After you were gone, I researched as much as I could on magic and barriers, but there's nothing on anyone making their own barriers."

"Reawwy?"

I've never heard about it before either, but I'm an infant, so there's a lot of things I haven't heard.

"If you're fine with it, could you make a barrier here?"

"Ai. Oway."

I haven't used it for a while, but I have been training my magic so it should be okay. Both Nii-sama and I were misbehaving, but we sat face to face on the bed in our pyjamas.

"Mawe shmaww barrier." (Make small barrier) I declared to Nii-sama and changed my magic. I put up a barrier that covered Nii-sama and I.

"Oh," he raised a small voice, reached out for the barrier and tried to put his hand out of it. A barrier that isn't that big doesn't take much power to maintain. Nii-sama observed the barrier, and I observed him. Time passed.

To be honest, even Alistair can't make a barrier yet. I think it's because he can't see magic like I can. I can't see the barrier with my own eyes, but apparently, I can feel magic strongly, so I can understand how barriers are developed and how magic needs to be altered.

And, I could tell that Nii-sama could perceive the barrier as I watched him confirm the barrier with sparkling eyes like a child.

"You altered your magic, didn't you Lei? I wonder if Nii-sama can do it too."

Ah, just now. Nii-sama talked to me like how he did when we'd first met. Since when did he start speaking politely to everyone? He spoke like that to Otou-sama from the start. But was it after I was kidnapped? I feel like he does this normally.

"Keep pushhing magic outh."

"I can do it, Lei. I went to Farland and trained."

"Farwand."

"Yes. I also attacked Hollows and was told that I would be an excellent Hunter."

Nii-sama seems to think of Alistair as a rival. In that case, I feel a little relieved.

"Awishthair can'th mawe barriersh." (Alistair can't make barriers)

"Really? Then, Lei, can you keep it up a little longer?"

"Ai."

After laughing happily, Nii-sama reached for the barrier with his eyes half closed.

"Let magic out. Alter the magic according to Lei's barrier. Remember the barrier box. How does the magic in the magic stones change? Bend the magic quality. Get close to Lei," he muttered as he altered the magic power within him. Even though it took me weeks to do this. Nii-sama's magic gradually changed to match the barrier's.

And his magic became the same as my barrier's as if something had clicked together.

"I did it! Eh?" Nii-sama raised his voice in joy. He had certainly put up a barrier. However...

"Whath?"

His barrier resonated with mine and exploded.

"Niini, sthop."

"Lei, I know! You too!"

"Ai!"

We looked at each other in surprise, talked and stopped our barriers. What? What was that just now?

"Lei, do you know how big the barrier is?"

"Yesh."

"I also... roughly"

"Ai."

Let's be honest. It may cover the whole of Sebel. And perhaps because of the state of emergency, Nii-sama went back to speaking politely.

"This is bad. Someone with strong magic powers might have noticed that the barrier inflated."

"Deceive."

Nii-sama looked shocked at my words.

"Did you only learn strange words at Frontier?"

"Nope."

"Jeez. But, yes. There's no other way."

Nii-sama shrugged as if he'd given up on something.

"Alright, let's deceive them."

"Ai."

"So..."

"Ai?"

He rolled and crawled under the blankets.

"Pretend to sleep. Pretend to sleep. Let's pretend we stayed up late and we're still sleeping."

"Lei two."

I slipped under the blankets, and we whispered to each other while giggling until there was a knock on the door.

Because if we hadn't done so, then both Nii-sama and I probably wouldn't be able to stop trembling. Nii-sama seemed to have noticed it straight away, but I didn't know that the number of magic stones increased as the range of the barrier box increases. However, this was a good trade off since two magic stones didn't mean the range doubled, but instead, it amplified the range by many times.

And we unintentionally proved that it was the same with barriers made directly by people.

"Let's pretend that we know nothing until we get back to Kingdom."

"Ai."

That's how it was.

"We really are Otou-sama's children, after all."

"No doubth."

"Yes. Let's be stubborn."

"Ai."

It's okay, Otou-sama. I'll deceive them and properly come home.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 98 - That's an Albans (Alistair's POV)

Chapter 98: That's an Albans (Alistair's POV)

*KEE* A familiar feeling passed through my body. I energetically rose up, and next to me, Gilbert, who seems to hate me and calls me uncle, also jumped to his feet.

We looked at each other. Right now, it didn't matter why we were sleeping in the same bed.

"Al, the feeling just now."

"Don't call me Al! Yeah, I think it's a barrier. A barrier spread for a moment and disappeared straight away. It felt like that."

"I see, so it is indeed a barrier. I've experienced passing through the barrier in Farland, so I understand it a little, but I wasn't sure," Gill said as he got up and combed his bed-hair. I ended up calling Gilbert, Gill. I didn't want to because it felt like the distance between us was closing, but I was forced to. Furthermore, he said he would call me Al. Even though no one has ever called me that.

I stared blankly at Gill, who was combing his hair. Even though I woke up to soft golden hair and plump cheeks when I was in Lentforce...

"What? Am I that handsome?"

"No."

"At least think about it a little," Gill immediately joked. Unlike Bart and his crew, he was somewhat creepy, and I wasn't used to him.

"I thought that you were Lei since I've been with her until the other day."

"You two were in the same room? You shouldn't tell Luke that."

"What the hell is with him? It's like he's competing with me."

"He probably is. Lei's important to him."

Even if he says that they received the best treatment and education as heirs to the Four Marquises. I don't understand why he would compete with me. No, wrong.

"This isn't the time for this. Is the barrier being activated every morning in Sebel or something?"

"No way. They said that they haven't actually activated the barrier box before. Actually, nothing like this has happened since I've been here."

"Then it's a small barrier box? No, the barrier won't reach this room unless it was activated really close to us. That means... it was Lei!"

I jumped off the bed and tried to rush out of the room.

"Gah." But my clothes were grabbed from behind which constricted my neck and I let out a strange voice.

"What are you doing?! Lei puts up barriers when it's dangerous! I have to go help her!"

"Shh, be quiet." I stopped reflectively when Gill spoke.

"Why?"

"Calm down. Listen, what do barriers work against?"

"That's... Hollows."

"The chances of Hollows appearing in the castle?"

"... None."

"Do you think Lei would put up a barrier when there aren't any Hollows around?'

"... No."

"So, I think Lei's probably safe."

Contrary to the calm Gill, I was slightly irritated.

"Then, why?"

Gill probably had an idea of what was going on and looked away awkwardly.

"Oh, Lei can make barriers, can't she?"

"Yeah."

"If you knew that, wouldn't you want to activate it, Al?"

"... No. Oh, him?"

"Probably."

Gill continued to grab my clothes as he looked out the door.

"They probably got carried away," he spoke kindly as if he was worried about his real brother. For some reason, my heart felt chilled.

"But, even I haven't been able to activate a barrier yet. Are you saying that he learnt how to do it in one night? I could believe it if you said Lei was the one who did it."

"Because wouldn't your Lei get carried away and make a big barrier?"

"She would. But, she would be careful and not go crazy."

"Then, it's Luke. They're a little special. You know this too, right, Al?"

I know that Lei is special. But, even if he says they're... I don't know anything about Luke.

"Aren't the Four Marquises all the same?"

"They're not. The Lisburns and Albans have more magic than the other two Marquises. And the royal family has even more magic. And apparently, the Albans have the power to feel magic."

"Lei does certainly seem like she can see magic."

"I knew it. Luke and his father are like that too. And it's irritating how they think it's nothing." Even though he said that, he didn't look irritated at all.

"He probably heard how to make the barrier from Lei and achieved it in one shot. How long would it take me to make a barrier like that...?"

Gill pondered. I was a little surprised by what he had said, but also a little happy. Gill was going to try it like it was natural. In other ways, it felt like he was saying that he would do his best to achieve this even if he couldn't do it like Lei.

"Well, I can do that later. Listen, the Wester royal family should have noticed this. And magic users should have felt something too. However, Prince Hubert agreed to keep Lei's secret, so he won't say anything. What I mean is..."

Gill looked down on me as he grabbed my clothes and said, "Something seems to have happened, but we don't know about it. We're going to pretend to know nothing."

"Then we have to tell Lei and Luke."

"What do you think they're going to do about this?" Gill asked as if he was spacing each word. I don't know about Luke. What about Lei?

"She'll pretend nothing happened."

"Right? That's an Albans."

Why do you look proud?

"Now then, nothing happened. We didn't notice anything. Let's go back to sleep."

Gill quickly crawled back into bed. I went into the other bed.

"What? Come here."

"No."

"It would seem like we overslept because we stayed up late talking if you sleep here." It can't be helped if he puts it that way. We decided to talk about many things until a person from the castle came to wake us up.

The royal family seemed to have noticed the barrier, and the magic users sensed something. Some noticed that it had spread outside the castle, and they asked us in a roundabout way if we knew what it was.

"I'm sensitive to those kinds of things, but I didn't realise anything because I was sound asleep. I was busy talking with Lei."

I looked at Luke, who was holding his sister with great care, and they didn't get questioned any further. Lei shrieked happily as she was being held and looked like a normal infant. No one tried to ask Lei anything.

The same goes for Bart and his crew.

"I felt something strange, did something happen in the castle?" Bart asked suspiciously, and the people in the castle could do nothing else.

It was the same with us.

"We were talking and fell asleep on the same bed before we noticed," no one doubted what Gill said.

I thought a little. Will Wester be alright, Prince Huu? Is it really alright since this country called Wester is so easy to deceive?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 99 - You Can Just Visit

Chapter 99: You Can Just Visit

As Nii-sama said, or rather, told me, "You were the one who told us to trick them." Nevertheless, everyone played the fool splendidly. I'm sure Bart and the others felt something, but they dealt with it by asking Wester what had happened. Alistair was prone to worrying, so I thought he was going to burst into the room straight away, but apparently Gill had stopped him.

"Al should calm down a little."

"You're the one who should calm down a little, right Gill?" They said to each other. Even so, they became friends overnight. They're already calling each other by their nicknames. I'll try it too.

"Aw."

"Lei."

Alistair pitifully stared at me.

"It feels strange when you call me that, Lei. Won't you call me as you always have?"

"Awishthair."

"Yup, that's good."

Alistair looked at me, smiled and took my hand like he always did and started walking. We had to attend our audience with the King now.

"Wait."

"Huh?"

Nii-sama quietly separated our linked hands.

"I'll take her."

Honestly, I didn't care who took me, but sparks were flying above me. How troublesome, I thought, and Mill came and lifted me up.

"Stop dawdling. Now, let's go."

This person really doesn't care about social status or the situation. But, we were finally able to move thanks to him.

"Now, we've already finished our job at Wester, so let's go back to Kingdom after we greet the King. We can't go back today, so let's go tomorrow," Nii-sama muttered next to me. I can meet Otou-sama if we return quickly. But...

"Whath abouth Awishthair?"

"Me? I..."

Alistair looked down.

"Oh, yes. We took a lot of time to try to get along, that we didn't really talk about Al's future."

Gill put his hand to his forehead as if he'd made a blunder.

"I...!"

Alistair looked up at Gill and then looked at me in surprise.

"Awishthair, Lei'sh oway. Chu can do whath you wanth."

"I... don't want to go to Kingdom. But, Lei..." Alistair said before looking down again, and I felt like I heard him mutter, "I don't want to be separated."

I don't either. With Alistair, nor Bart and his crew. But, Bart and his crew live as hunters, and Alistair doesn't want to come to Kingdom. Even if he does come, Alistair will be in the Lisburn House, and I would only see him from time to time because he would need to attend the Academy.

"Vishith Kingdom."

That's the best option.

"I want to visit."

"Miww come."

"Haha. But, we can't stay in Kingdom even if we visit. Right, Bart?"

"Yeah," Bart said as he scratched his head.

"Lei, you might not know this, but you need a permit to stay in Kingdom."

"Didn'th wnow."

Is that why they don't interact much? Then, they can't even visit?

"Then, Lei wiww come vishith."

"Eh, you will?" Alistair was surprised, and he looked up at me, who was being held by Mill.

"Ai. Withh Niini."

"Me too?" Nii-sama, who was suddenly dragged into the conversation, looked at me in surprise. I want to visit on my own, but I definitely won't be allowed. So, I'll rely on people.

"Geth awong withh Awishthair, Barth, Miww, Cwyde and Kyaro. Don'th wanth tho sheparathe."

"Lei, you..." Bart's voice trembled. Mill gently lifted me higher.

"That's right. We had a lot of fun together."

The mood became solemn.

"Dear me, it's like we're the bad guys because we didn't talk about this first."

Nii-sama shrugged.

"It's still too early for Lei to talk about the future."

Gill shrugged.

"It's not appropriate to say this out in the corridor, but I prepared a Kingdom stay permit for the Hunters and Alistair."

"Eh, we're going to Kingdom?" As I thought, it was Mill who had said that.

"Yes. This is a formal permit for entering and exiting Kingdom. This is one of the thank you gifts for looking after Lei."

"Then, Bart, we've saved enough money so let's go if we have time."

"Mill, we'll talk about that later. We have to discuss this with everyone."

Alistair looked up at me in happiness.

"Me too. Then I'll go see you too."

"Ai!"

But, it's much better than not being able to meet even though we feel lonely.

"Now, it's time to meet the King."

"We haven't seen him since we arrived. And the nobles were all lined up."

"No way. All we have to do is show him Lei and bid him farewell."

Yes way. Beyond the widely opened door, the King, Queen, and Princes were at the back in a slightly elevated position, and dressed up nobles were lined up in the room.

"Wait, didn't we say that we didn't need this?"

Bart stepped back.

"They told you guys to come with us, so it's fine," Nii-sama said as if he'd given up. I motioned for Mill to put me down.

"Now, Lei and Alistair. I'm sure you don't want to do this, but you have to lead. I'll walk next to you two, but you have to step forward first."

I looked at Alistair and nodded. If this situation is sorted by us becoming exhibitions and getting food then it's fine, isn't it? We stood next to each other and took a step forward. Nii-sama came up next to me, and Gill stood next to Alistair.

"Ooh," the nobles roared and applauded. I don't know what they were told, but it sounds as if they're impressed that the Wester's royal family helped the Four Marquis find their missing relatives.

I walked as much as I could and stopped near the King. Huu was there too, and he looked at me gently. He raised his eyebrow a little when our eyes met. I felt a bit relieved.

However, I felt an uncomfortable feeling near where the nobles were standing for some reason. He was a noble, but he looked different. I suddenly looked at him and gulped.

He was watching us silently with his sly narrow yellow eyes, while everyone was clapping and sharing their excitement with the people next to them.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.Chapter 100 - Revenge

Chapter 100: Revenge

I only remember those yellow eyes that were staring back at me in the dim light. The man who threatened me and took me away. The person who threw me violently. The person who coldly said, "Find her even if she's weak or dead!"

The edge of that person's mouth was slightly raised. I'm certain. He's a bad person.

"Lei, what's wrong?" Without replying to Bart's voice, I unfastened the Rug Dragon's pocket, scavenged through and walked to the man holding the short string I had scavenged. The man with yellow eyes raised his eyebrows as he watched me walk towards him.

I stopped in front of the man and looked up at him. We made eye contact for a while. People around us got noisy wondering what was going on. I measured the distance between us, turned sideways and dangled the pocket.

"Lei, what are you doing?" Nii-sama said hastily, and I twisted my body with all my strength.

*WHACK* The Rug Dragon made a heavy sound and hit the man in the shin.

"Argh!" The man's voice leaked out, and he crouched down to hold his shin.

How is it? A Rug Dragon with a magic stone in it is pretty heavy.

I made sure to maintain eye contact with him as I stared at him closely.

"You..."

"Bad pershon. Lei didn'th forgeth."

I glared at him. He frowned and reached out towards me, but I was quickly pulled into a hug from behind. It was Bart. And Nii-sama stepped out in front before Bart lifted me up.

"How can this happen? Even though it's something a baby did, my sister was rude to you. I'm sorry." He opened his arms and shouted so that everyone could hear.

"Are you alright?

"What? It's just a stuffed animal. Your sister seems to be in a bad mood. Hahaha," the man laughed emptily.

"Leila, apologise," Nii-sama said, and I turned to the side. You should apologise for kidnapping me first.

"Lei."

"Ai. Sowwy." But, I can't be stubborn after being told twice. I apologised straight away. I was a little selfish, but I'm sure everybody recognises me as a normal, cute baby.

And, he can't do anything to me in front of everyone. I turned away from the bad guy and faced the King.

"Down."

"Don't be naughty anymore," Bart reminded me as he put me down. Nii-sama took me to stand next to Alistair.

"I'm Alistair Lisburn."

"I'm Leiwa Awbansh."

We can't say formal greetings. This is fine. Still, I didn't think that Alistair would name himself as a Lisburn.

The King, who had heard our greeting, nodded placidly and spoke to Alistair first, "I heard that you had a hard time after you lost your mother. You can live freely under the protection of the capital, Sebel."

"Yes. Thank you very much."

Then, he looked at me with stern eyes. They were eyes that people used to look at naughty children.

"You..."

"Oh my, how adorable," The Queen, who was next to the King, interrupted him, stood up and went down the steps. She had wavy brown hair and gentle brown eyes. I reached out to her reflexively. The Queen quickly lifted me up, put me on the left side of her waist like she was used to it and looked at my face.

"You're still so small, but you worked hard. Honey, honestly men. It makes me want to protect her if big people with scary faces look down at her. You have to be gentler." It was a rash order. However, my rudeness faded with this. The audience ended, we were taken to a different room and had a meal with the nobles.

We slipped out of the meeting place for a little and met up with Prince Huu.

"Lei, don't tell me..."

"Threathened Lei and thhe othhersh. Bad pershon."

"No way! I'm sure their eyes were yellow, but that's Easter's Third Prince! Why would someone in that position do such a reckless thing?!"

"Noth jushth Lei. Threathened Huu thoo."

"But..."

Huu couldn't believe this. Neither could I. Why did another country's Prince attack me?

"Niini, do you wnow shomethhing abouth Eashther and Wingdom?"

"Nope. The relationship between the two countries is very good. I can't believe this either."

Nii-sama immediately denied it when I asked him if the relationship between Easter and Kingdom was bad. However, it seemed like he thought of something.

"However, I don't like his attitude. Your Highness, and Bart and the others, can you investigate Prince Cyrus as the culprit who attacked you guys?"

"We can't. Lei is the only one who saw his face and confirmed his eye colour. I will send a messenger to Kaylie to see if he was really there on business, but the testimony is weak if we just go by Lei's words."

"Regardless of it being weak, it can be labelled as an international incident."

Huu and Nii-sama looked conflicted.

"We don't know if they're the culprits behind Lei's first kidnapping, or if they just took advantage of that incident. It won't be good to cause a fuss now. But if what Lei said is true, then that means he could stay at Wester castle while looking as if nothing had happened after he'd attacked us."

If that really is the case, then I'm going to get dizzy by how wicked he is.

"No one would attack the Four Marquises in public at Kingdom, so we should return quickly. More importantly, Your Highness, Wester has it rather hard."

"Yeah, it's bad to get stirred up by royalty from other countries. I'll talk to him properly and be more vigilant."

"That's good. This may be rude, but Wester is in Frontier, but you're more idealistic than Kingdom." Huu made an indescribable face at Nii-sama's words. He probably knows his father's and brother's personalities.

"At any rate, I was really surprised, Lei. Why did you do that?"

"He widnapped and thhrew Lei. Bad pershon. Hith."

"Lei."

Brother and everyone dropped their shoulders.

"Lei, if it's a bad person who kidnapped you, then you should be scared and run away. I can't believe you would counterattack as soon as you see him."

"Bufo." Kyaro burst into laughter. I thought he was going to do that soon. Honestly.

"You hit him with a stuffed animal, no, he wouldn't respond at all from being hit by a one-year-old infant. It's pointless."

I laughed.

"Well, or it's not, right, Lei?"

"Ai."

I agreed with Mill's words and handed Kyaro my stuffed animal.

"You... this is rugged. Oh!"

Kyaro handed the stuffed animal to my puzzled Nii-sama.

"What is this fluffy thing? Huh?"

Nii-sama squashed the Rug Dragon. "Oh, take care of it, alright?"

"Is there something inside?"

"A magic stone."

Mill grinned.

"It made a great sound, Lei."

"Ai. Whacw."

"This, this hurts. Lei knew this, argh, whatever."

I wonder if I got my revenge a little. Afterwards, Nii-sama hugged me.

When we returned to the room, Easter's Prince wasn't there anymore, and we were told that he left quickly because he had received a message from home. I'm sure he ran away because the situation wasn't good for him.

"He probably didn't think that an infant would remember him. What would happen even if she did remember him?"

Who would believe a one-year-old? But that one-year-old is me. There are a lot of people who I can trust. Anyway, he probably won't do anything but flee for now.

"There are still some problems, but we'll be returning tomorrow. The border is close by."

"Ai."

Then, I'll be able to see Otou-sama soon.