Before they knew it, Carren and Leciel had arrived at the door.

“Here’s your room.”

“Oh, thank you for taking me here. It made the journey much less boring.”

Carren hadn’t engaged in much conversation with Leciel, but having someone to talk to made the walk to the room less dull and quite alright.

“So, when will you fulfill the deal?”

Carren grabbed Leciel’s arm, fearing she might just open the door and go in.

“I’ll explain inside. It’s a bit awkward to talk standing out here.”

“… tsk.”

Why were there so many people who made life difficult?

Carren, who had just wanted to return to his room after a simple answer, didn’t seem pleased.

He thought that his father would now be less of a bother because of Leciel’s presence, but instead, it felt like he had gained another bothersome thing.

Still… it didn’t seem all that bad.

Annoying as it was, what should he say… it wasn’t to the point of being sick of it.

At least, he didn’t feel as annoyed as he did with others.

In the first place, most of them approached him with expectations, but he didn’t feel that from Leciel.

With that thought, as if to say he would listen just this time, Carren entered the room with Leciel.

“Okay, speak.”

As soon as Carren sat down, he cut straight to the point without catching his breath.

“Um, what should I say?”

It would have been easier if Carren had asked first, but he was also leaving the choice to her.

It must be a choice to take control of the situation.

He might not want to reveal what he was interested in.

‘He’s not like a kid.’

At 12 years old, he acted like no child of that age, but an old person.

No, he wasn’t even fighting for political power, but he was so anxious that he was not even hiding his hand.

It was understandable given his position as a grand duke, but it was exhausting.

‘Well, that’s that…’

Even without Carren asking first, Leciel had a rough idea of what he might be interested in.

However, it was a matter of deciding which answer would be better first.

‘Wouldn’t it be too much to tell him everything at once?’

Despite showing reluctance, he accepted her offer when told that she would answer his curiosity, he seemed to be the type of person who couldn’t hold back his questions.

If she told him everything at once, his interest in herself would disappear.

That wouldn’t be good for Leciel.

He seemed uninterested in others, if even that small interest in her disappeared, it would be difficult to get closer to Carren.

And it would be a useful card to get closer to Carren as a friend, so she should use it in the future.

So, she decided to answer the smallest curiosity enough to keep his interest from disappearing.

“I don’t know which one to tell you because there’s so much, but I’ve decided.”

Deliberately emphasizing that there was so much, Leciel smiled innocently.

At Leciel’s words, Carren looked at her as if to say, ‘Go ahead.’

“I’ll tell you about the contract between me and your father.”

“…”

Carren looked somewhat disappointed.

Of course, he was curious about the contract between Leciel and Kael, but there was something else he was more curious about.

But it hurt his pride to speak first to get what he wanted.

Moreover, the condition Leciel set at the beginning didn’t contain the point to tell him exactly what he wanted to know.

‘… she’s clever.’

She said she was 10 years old.

He had heard that he was adult-like for a 12-year-old, but the child in front of him didn’t seem much different.

“… so be it.”

Carren said indifferently, hiding his regretful feelings.

“In fact, the contents of the contract aren’t that special. It’s about your father being my guardian until I become an adult.”

“Is it because you saved my father’s life?”

If so, he understood his father’s decision, but it was a bit strange.

Even if she was his lifesaver, to be a guardian until she became an adult.

Carren felt it was somewhat an overwhelming kindness.

It was natural to repay the favor you received, but it wasn’t usually that far.

Moreover, for his father, the head of the family, to be the guardian of the child meant to keep the child under the protection of the family.

It meant that if there was a problem with the child, the family would step in and directly resolve it, and it also meant that any damage or danger caused by the child would be borne by the family.

It was not a matter that his father, who had a stronger sense of responsibility towards the family than anyone else, would easily decide.

“Well, I’ve decided to answer one thing. But since I like you, I’ll give you a hint. It’s that, and it’s not.”

“What does that mean?”

If it was that, it was that, and if it was not, it was not.

Carren gave a questioning look.

“Hey, I decided to answer only one question. So, if you want to hear the answer to the previous question, shouldn’t you give me one more thing I want?”

“… if it’s a wink, it’s a refusal.”

Carren said firmly, as if it wasn’t worth considering.

“That’s not bad either, but what I want is something else.”

“What is it?”

“You’ve been calling me <you> or <hey> since earlier, but isn’t that a bit too harsh?”

“Not at all.”

Carren replied without hesitation.

“Of course, I understand. He’s been calling me <kid> or <you> all the time. You’re his son, so it’s natural that you resemble him.”

In fact, it wasn’t strange to call her <you> or <hey>, but Leciel deliberately pushed him in that direction.

Along with saying that Carren looked like Kael, which she knew that he hated to be called so.

“… who resembles who?”

“Brother and Uncle?”

“… ha.”

Carren openly showed dissatisfaction because he seemed to be ignoring his father if he was offended and admitting it didn’t sit well with him either.

“Anyway, what I wanted was for you to call me by my name.”

“… fine. If that’s what you want.”

Although it didn’t sit quite right with him, Carren indifferently nodded as if calling her by her name was no big deal.

“Alright, then give it a try.”

“There wasn’t a condition that said I have to do it right now.”

“Come on, you should practice now so that when you need to call me by name in the future, you can do it properly. Surely you haven’t forgotten my name in the meantime?”

“Of course not. I remember.”

“Then go ahead.”

Leciel looked at Carren with sparkling eyes, full of anticipation.

“… Leci.. el.”

As he attempted to call her, Carren’s expression seemed awkward.

Come to think of it, this might have been the first time he had ever called someone by their name.

There was a young man from a different family with whom he interacted, but he deliberately kept his distance and called him by his last name.

In that sense, Leciel was the first person Carren had called by name and currently the only one addressed by name.

Whether it was intended or not, this made Carren feel strangely special.

“Oh, that’s okay. So, from now on, you’ll call me Lessie. Got it.”

“… your name is Leciel, not Lessie.”

“True, but Lessie feels more friendly and comfortable, don’t you think?”

“Not at all.”

“Come on, it’s just two letters less from my name, and besides, you’re the one who called me that first.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you called me Leci and El earlier. You clearly wanted to call me Lessie, but since my name has four letters, you reluctantly added <El> afterwards. I see through it all.”

Although she knew this was far from the truth, Leciel confidently asserted.

When making an absurd claim, confidence was key.

“Huh?”

“I know, I’m adorable.”

Once again interpreting Carren’s reaction as she pleased, Leciel pretended to be bashful and spoke.

“… that’s nonsense.”

“Oh, so you don’t think I’m cute? Really? Seriously?”

Leciel looked shocked and repeatedly asked, deliberately adding a cute expression to appear even more adorable.

“Do you really think you’re cute?”

Instead of answering Leciel’s question, Carren threw one back.

Well… he didn’t want to admit it, for whatever reason, Leciel objectively fell into the cute category because of her appearance.

“Some people might think so. Not sure if I’m really cute, though.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. I’ve lived a somewhat <special> life, so I lack the usual standards for cuteness.”

Leciel dropped this bombshell casually.

And it had the desired effect.

Carren’s interest piqued immediately.

However, Leciel didn’t bring up this topic to provide an answer, only to stir Carren’s curiosity, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

Perhaps hoping to get a small clue to his question.

Anyway, describing it as a <special life> implied it wasn’t a normal case.

What could it be?

Carren was dissatisfied, as he tried to satisfy his curiosity but ended up getting one more question.

“Since you’ve agreed to call me <Lessie> from now on, I’ll respond. It’s about the question you asked earlier.”

Redirecting the conversation back to its original topic, Leciel spoke.

Only then did Carren recall the initial question he had posed and awaited her response.

“The reason he agreed to be my guardian was not only because I saved his life, but also because there’s something else special about me.”

“Something special?”

“Yes.”

Seemingly indicating that was all she would say, Leciel nodded without further elaboration.

Carren’s expression soured.

Whether intentional or not, Leciel had been responding by continually posing new questions to him since earlier.

Rather than diminishing Carren’s interest and curiosity, Leciel’s behavior only increased them.

‘Tsk.’

Probably it was just a coincidence that the child picked up seemed to resemble his father so much.

However, Carren didn’t ask further questions.

Anyway, he didn’t think Leciel would willingly provide answers, and he didn’t want to spend more time on her.

With that thought, Carren suppressed his burgeoning curiosity and got up.

It was then.

Something caught Karen’s eye.

A white, round body. Long, drooping ears atop its head.

It was a rabbit.

Or rather, something resembling a rabbit.