“Must have been quite a surprise.”

Kael said while gently stroking Leciel’s hair.

In the affectionate touch, Leciel felt her still unsettled heartbeat finally quieting down.

It was a truly gentle and soft touch, warm and soothing.

Leciel’s face, which had been pale, regained its color, and her trembling body began to calm.

“I… think Carren must have been more surprised.”

Leciel said, looking at Carren with a concerned expression, now that she was somewhat composed.

Carren wore his usual indifferent expression, but Leciel could read the emotions hidden beneath.

Unlike his unchanged face, Carren’s hands were tightly clenched, with blue veins bulging out.

“Carren, are you alright?”

Despite his usual indifferent tone, there was a lot of concern in Kael’s voice towards his son.

“…I’m fine.”

Carren said dully, as if nothing was wrong.

But no one believed his words.

“Let’s go inside for now. You need treatment.”

There was nothing good about continuing to stay in a place filled with monster corpses.

“There’s no need.”

“You have to!”

Leciel quickly interjected before Kael could say anything else in response to Carren’s answer.

Her expression as she looked at Carren was stern, like a mother scolding a child.

In fact, it resembled the expression when the late Grand Duchess got angry.

Carren unusually flinched.

“Just earlier, I saw you twist your wrist while blocking the monsters. It’s still swollen now. And you’re bleeding from your side.”

If blood was flowing freely, that meant the wound was quite deep.

On such a subject, why was he refusing treatment by pretending to be okay?

“… it’ll get better soon.”

Carren, too, inherited the Grand Duke’s bloodline.

Although the wounds were not shallow, there was no need for treatment to that extent.

A little cleaning and bandaging would suffice, and in a day or two, he would be fine.

“If you want me to bite you, then don’t get treatment and suffer.”

“For your information, as someone who has been bitten by the little kid, I can tell you that the little thing is different from what she looks like, it quite hurts.”

Kael spoke quietly as he wanted Carren to be treated.

“Ha, I understand.”

Carren nodded as if there was nothing he could do at the sight of Leciel, who gave him a harsh warning that she would bite her if he didn’t go, and his father’s gaze, which was filled with worry.

Soon, the three people headed to the infirmary in the mansion side by side.

Fortunately, Carren’s injuries were not serious.

The swollen wrist was just a muscle strain, and the wound on the side didn’t need stitches, just applied ointment.

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s not something that needs treatment…”

“No, you need it. They say to apply ointment and apply compresses, but what do you mean by treatment necessary? And you heard it, right? It means not to overdo it for the time being. I’ll be watching you with my eyes wide open, so don’t try to ignore it.”

Leciel gritted her teeth as if she was growling.

“… fine.”

Carren nodded obediently, despite his expression suggesting he didn’t understand why the treatment was necessary.

Normally not one to easily heed others, Carren felt like he had to listen to Leciel’s words this time. Otherwise, it would be very tiring.

And… hadn’t she become the savior of his life now?

If she had gone to ask for help from people as she was, he couldn’t predict what would have happened to him due to the monsters.

He might have been injured severely or even in danger of losing his life, compared to such injuries.

On the other hand, seeing Carren like this, Kael couldn’t help but smile contentedly.

The guy who had rejected treatment even if he were to die soon if he had been asked, now obediently accepted treatment. Also, it was quite pleasing to see Carren become meek at Leciel’s words.

If their relationship grew closer in the future, what would happen then was something to look forward to.

At least there wouldn’t be any trouble because of the foal-like Carren.

“I’ll go take care of things now.”

Although he had ordered the knights he had met on his way to retrieve the bodies of the monsters, there were other things to check.

‘It’s quite daring.’

To dare release monsters into the Grand Duke’s mansion.

Even though this place was on the outskirts of the village, it wasn’t a place where monsters would set foot easily.

But the fact that those monsters had set foot in the Grand Duke’s mansion, even in the deeper part of the garden, meant that someone intentionally released monsters into the mansion.

Whatever means they used, it was something that could not be overlooked, especially since his precious children could have been injured because of it.

‘So, I’ll have to revise my plans.’

Originally, he had intended to simply warn the family that had been targeted as the mastermind behind this incident, but now he couldn’t.

Not only would he exterminate that family, but he would also ensure that those involved in that family could never set foot on the capital soil again.

Especially, the head of that family would become a feast for the monsters.

After Kael left, only Leciel and Carren remained in the infirmary.

“… thank you.”

Carren said, looking at Leciel quietly.

“What for?”

“If it weren’t for you today, it wouldn’t have ended like this.”

“It’s only natural, Carren. You’re my brother.”

“… is that so?”

Carren made a strange expression.

Although Leciel had always called him brother, this time, the meaning behind that brother was different from before.

‘It’s strange.’

Why had she rushed to block his way without any hesitation?

Although Leciel had said it was only natural, it wasn’t the case for Carren.

They weren’t family connected by blood, nor did they share any strong bond.

They had only spent a few days together at most.

Still, despite everything, Leciel set out to save him.

Fortunately, the monsters didn’t attack her, but Leciel wasn’t convinced of that fact and blocked the path.

If she had, she wouldn’t have trembled in fear with such an anxious expression.

But Leciel, holding onto a small possibility, stood in his way.

In a situation where she didn’t know if the monsters would attack her.

For some, even that small possibility might not have been worth attempting.

Especially considering it wasn’t just a matter of risking one’s life. So Leciel’s actions were incomprehensible to him.

Just because he was Kael’s son?

Of course, that could be it.

But no matter how much one was a benefactor’s son, risking one’s life wasn’t easy.

Especially considering Leciel was still a child.

‘… still, it feels good.’

His heart thumped, and there was a strange warmth spreading on his face.

Whatever the reason she saved him for didn’t matter. What mattered was that she had saved him.

And that fact weighed heavily and especially on Carren.

Now Leciel was no longer just an intriguing presence. His curiosity about her was no longer important compared to the emotions he harbored towards her.

So even if the questions disappeared, it didn’t seem like this interest and favor towards Leciel would vanish.

Of course, even if that were the case, Carren was curious, so he spoke up to dispel the questions he had harbored from earlier.

“So how did you do it?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Leciel blinked as if pretending not to know what Carren was talking about, but she knew what he was asking.

“Earlier, you said you’d explain later.”

“… did I say that?”

Leciel deliberately played dumb.

“Yeah, you did.”

“I see.”

“If you’re worried that I’ll lose interest if I don’t have any more questions, you don’t have to.”

Just… because Leciel appealed to him now.

At Carren’s words, Leciel’s eyes widened.

‘I thought if it were Carren, he’d already know.’

He really did know.

The reason she didn’t give a proper answer and kept raising new questions was to pique his interest.

“But why wouldn’t I need to do that?”

“… well, because I’m… interested in you.”

Perhaps it was because he felt awkward saying such words himself, Carren murmured softly. His face was slightly flushed.

Leciel chuckled at his expression.

Seeing him now, he was definitely twelve.

There was a subtly innocent aspect to him that was quite cute.

‘Well, that’s a good thing.’

She hadn’t risked herself just to win Carren’s favor.

She just couldn’t ignore him. How could she turn away when she didn’t even know if she could save him?

That was all.

But it seemed to have won Carren’s favor.

Otherwise, Carren wouldn’t suddenly say such things to her.

‘But isn’t that a bit funny?’

In the first place, wasn’t it Carren who risked himself for someone who might have been nothing to him?

Therefore, she couldn’t turn away from him either.

‘Well, it’s better like this.’

If she could get closer to Carren because of this, then it was welcomed.

The longer she spent with Kael and Carren, the more she wanted to prevent the worst ending they might face together.

“So, when will you tell me the answer to my question?”

“Oh, I don’t know either.”

“… what?”

Carren frowned when Leciel said she didn’t know.

“I really don’t know. It’s just that there was a time before when something like this happened.”

“What?”

“The time when the monsters didn’t attack me. So, I thought, maybe this time too.”

“How foolish.”

Disappointed by Leciel’s response, Carren replied curtly.

“What?”

“In the end, you stood in my way without knowing if the same thing would happen again.”

“… true?”

“Even if it was just luck or coincidence.”

“I didn’t think that was the case. And that was the only thing worth trying at that time.”

Carren, not knowing that she had lived in the monster forest, probably thought that the monsters not attacking her was simply luck or coincidence, but that couldn’t be true.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have survived there for two years.

Nevertheless, Leciel couldn’t be sure whether it was just the monsters in the forest who didn’t attack her or all monsters, and that thought was because she lived in the monster forest.

But now, after today, Leciel was sure.

Not just the monsters in the forest, but the monsters themselves didn’t attack her.