Leciel simply nodded.

Carren was Kael’s son. Therefore, he had the right to know about his father’s condition. After all, it was a situation she couldn’t handle alone.

“… however, from what happened today, it doesn’t seem like it’s just sleepwalking.”

Of course, sleepwalking didn’t only mean wandering around at night.

From what she read in books, if you tried to stop or hinder someone who was sleepwalking, they could become aggressive.

So, it might be possible to think that what happened a little while ago was because of that, but Leciel somehow felt that it wasn’t.

Kael’s condition… didn’t seem normal for that reason.

His eyes were filled with madness like a madman, and his body was radiating an intense murderous intent.

Moreover, her strange feeling had been warning her that Kael’s symptoms were not due to sleepwalking but something else.

“We can’t jump to conclusions.”

Carren nodded in agreement with Leciel’s words.

Leciel had read quite a few books about sleepwalking.

Although they couldn’t make a definite judgment based on the information from those books alone, Carren trusted her.

That too, was a strange feeling.

“In that case, we need to investigate further.”

First, they had to talk to his father when he woke up about what happened last night.

If his father remembered the events of last night, it would be fortunate, but if not… it would be troublesome in its own way.

Because he himself wouldn’t know the cause.

“Yes, but I’m worried.”

Kael must have posted guards at the door as a measure, but considering what happened today, having guards posted seemed more dangerous.

If such an incident happened again, there would be more injuries just like today.

Moreover, others who didn’t understand the situation might start to question why there were injuries every night.

But they couldn’t just do nothing.

They couldn’t let others know about Kael’s condition, and even without guards at the door, they couldn’t guarantee that no one else would get hurt.

“… I suppose so. But how did you find out?”

“… well, I couldn’t sleep and was wandering around when I found out by chance. I saw it again today while wandering.”

In reality, she came out because she had a bad feeling and was anxious but saying that would sound suspicious.

“Why did father collapse?”

Even the knights couldn’t stop him, so if his father had attacked Leciel directly, she would have been seriously injured.

Carren, worried about that, asked Leciel for more details.

“… I really don’t know why either. But when I told him to stop, he really stopped.”

Of course, it was only effective after adding the title <Father> in front of it.

“Huh.”

Carren showed a somewhat incredulous expression.

It didn’t make sense.

No matter how much his father cared for her, would he stop just because she told him to, even in a state where he wasn’t in his right mind and was attacking the knights?

But Leciel didn’t seem to be lying.

She had no reason to lie, and she seemed unharmed, which lent some credibility to her story.

“I guess it’s a relief.”

Thanks to that, things ended as they did.

The most fortunate thing was that Leciel wasn’t hurt.

“… you believe me?”

Leciel, who was worried Carren wouldn’t believe her because even she found it hard to believe, asked with wide eyes when she saw Carren seeming to believe her.

“You’re precious to me. So, I believe you.”

It wasn’t just anyone, but someone precious who said it.

His tone was indifferent, but the meaning behind it wasn’t, which made Leciel show a peculiar expression.

Her heart fluttered again.

It was like spring had come to her heart, making her whole body feel warm and melting like marshmallows.

She was glad Carren believed her.

She was worried he might find her suspicious for saying such things.

“More than that, it’s concerning to leave uncle alone. What should we do?”

It was worrying in the future, but it was immediately concerning today.

Last time, after collapsing like that, fortunately he didn’t regain consciousness and ran around like a madman again, but there was no guarantee it would be the same today.

“It would be best to stay by his side until he wakes up.”

“Then I’ll stay too.”

It seemed better that way.

If Kael went mad again, someone needed to be there to stop him.

Since Carren was his only precious son, his words might have had some effect, but they hadn’t tested it yet, so they couldn’t be sure.

“I’d rather tell you to rest comfortably, but it seems better for you to stay as well.”

“Yes, it’s fine. Since brother is here too.”

Kael was her benefactor, so she could endure some fatigue for that.

“But there’s no need for you to stay up. You can sleep on the sofa over there.”

It was less comfortable than a bed, but it wouldn’t be too much for little Leciel to lie down and sleep.

The sofa in the Grand Duke mansion was quite soft.

“… are you not going to sleep, brother?”

“Wouldn’t it be better for at least one person to stay awake?”

So that he could respond immediately if there was any suspicious movement from his father.

“But you must be tired…”

She already felt sorry for waking him up, and now he was planning to stay up all night.

“One day is fine.”

Thanks to inheriting the blood of the Grand Duke family, he was confident in his stamina more than anyone else.

“Still, you need to sleep well to grow taller.”

“You should be more worried about that than me.”

“Of course! I’m a bit shorter than you, but!”

“It’s not just a bit, it’s a lot.”

Despite only being two years apart, Carren and Leciel had a height difference of more than a head.

“Tsk.”

Feeling more aggrieved because it was true, Leciel pouted.

“Hurry up and sleep. If you don’t, your already short height might get even shorter.”

Carren teased, urging Leciel to sleep.

At those words, Leciel puffed out her cheeks.

She had thought Carren wasn’t mean before, but she took that back.

Like father, like son; his words were annoyingly sharp.

Thinking that at least for now he seemed a bit mean, Leciel pouted and headed to the sofa.

Carren secretly laughed at the sight.

Really, seeing this made him understand his father so well.

Before, he thought his father’s actions of teasing a child were childish, but now, trying it himself, he found Leciel’s reactions were quite amusing.

She was very cute too.

For a moment, Carren, who was watching Leciel settle on the sofa, snatched the blanket from Kael on the bed and covered her with it.

The pillow was a bonus.

“Good night.”

“… yes, you sleep if you get sleepy too.”

Wondering where the blanket and pillow had come from, Leciel soon fell asleep as she lay on the sofa.

What did it matter where the blanket came from? It was warm, so she didn’t want to refuse.

After Leciel fell asleep, Carren just sat quietly and watched her.

When she was sleeping, she really looked like a baby animal.

Her unusually small build and her soft, white cheeks were just like a baby’s.

‘… this isn’t so bad.’

At first, he couldn’t understand why his father brought her here, but now he was quite happy with his decision.

If his father hadn’t brought her, he wouldn’t have been able to get close to such a cute child, like now.

He would have lived not knowing Leciel’s existence.

Thinking about it made him feel regretful just imagining it.

Leciel made Carren feel many emotions and made him think that spending time together was fun, which was rare.

If she weren’t there, he wouldn’t have felt such joy.

‘I kind of wish we had met earlier.’

If they had, he could have felt this joy earlier and more often.

The next day.

Kael woke up feeling uncomfortable.

Moreover, it felt strangely chilly…

“Are you awake?”

Sensing Kael’s movement, Carren spoke in a low, calm voice.

“Why are you here?”

Feeling both happy and puzzled to see his son’s face as soon as he woke up, Kael looked perplexed.

His son wouldn’t have come to see him without a reason.

Moreover, he had never come into his room without knocking before.

“I’m not here because I want to be.”

Carren, who hadn’t slept a wink since being woken by Leciel’s visit, spoke with a slightly tired tone.

“… it seems you didn’t sleep well.”

“Thanks to someone.”

Carren openly stared at Kael, hinting that the <someone> was him.

“… did something happen last night?”

“Yes, something did.”

“… by any chance…”

Feeling uneasy, Kael trailed off.

“It seems you have an idea.”

“Well…”

Kael refrained from giving a clear answer.

He had a feeling it was related to what happened last time, but he wasn’t certain yet.

He didn’t want to mention it in front of his son prematurely.

“There’s no need to hide it. Though I didn’t witness the exact situation, I’ve already heard about it from someone else.”

“From someone else…”

At Kael’s question, Carren glanced at Leciel, who was sleeping on the sofa.

Realizing that Carren wasn’t alone in the room, Kael’s expression grew complicated.

“Lessie came to me in the middle of the night asking for help.”

“What on earth happened…?”

Leciel wouldn’t have asked Carren for help for a trivial reason. It seemed something different from last time had occurred.

“Three knights were seriously injured. Thanks to Lessie, one of them healed without a scratch, but the other two didn’t.”

“… the knights were injured?”

“Yes. From what Lessie said, it seems they got hurt trying to stop you.”

“Ha…”

Kael’s expression became serious.

Wandering around at night without memory was already a serious issue, and now even the knights were injured.

This was very problematic.

“Fortunately, it seems Lessie somehow managed to stop you, but what will you do now?”