When Kael arrived, the meal began.

Having gone hungry the previous evening, Leciel’s stomach loudly demanded food, as if in rebellion.

Along with it, the sound of growling reverberated through the quiet restaurant.

“Uh.”

“Pfft.”

Kael chuckled at the uproar within the restaurant.

Carren, too, found it amusing, and he couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

“Of course, when you’re hungry, the growling sound is only natural!”

Feeling awkward, Leciel retorted defensively.

“Yeah, yeah, eat up.”

Still smiling, Kael responded.

Leciel, who had to reach for food with hands that trembled, struggled to pick up the food.

“Looks like you’re really hungry.”

Kael feigned sympathy as he observed Leciel’s trembling hands.

“This isn’t from hunger; it’s from muscle pain.”

After the exhausting night, she hadn’t slept properly, and it felt weird to be perfectly fine.

She had endured a great deal of effort moving that large body of his with her small form. It felt like she had exhausted all the strength she could muster.

But letting her starve was out of the question. She had to fill her stomach to calm the grumbling hunger.

If she made one more growling sound, the entire restaurant might burst into laughter.

‘No, why should I be embarrassed by their laughter?’

It wasn’t like they had never made a noise like that themselves.

Even so, her pride was slightly hurt by Kael, and even Carren laughed.

Despite her effort to eat, it was very difficult to put food in her mouth.

Her hand was so weak that she almost lost her fork.

Kael’s discreetly helped her by picking up food from her plate and feeding her himself.

“Thank you.”

She wasn’t helpless, but she appreciated the gesture.

Her appearance reminded Kael of a chirping chick, prompting him to smile again.

But Leciel still found it challenging to pick up food off her plate.

‘Man, this body of mine!’

Of course, Kael understood. She’d suffered so much yesterday and hadn’t slept well, so it wasn’t surprising her body felt weak.

But not being able to eat properly from a plate?

Even with her muscle pain from yesterday, this was a bit much.

Watching Leciel struggling, Kael got annoyed.

“Come to think of it, you said your wrist was swollen?”

Though there weren’t any visible bruises, Kael noticed her wrist was still puffy from him grabbing her in his sleep yesterday.

Whether she had weak wrists, or he was just too rough, Kael wasn’t sure.

Either way, the fork wasn’t working, so it was Kael’s job to help her.

So, Kael fed Leciel himself.

Leciel hated having someone feed her food at her age, but she had no choice.

She knew the old saying, one couldn’t eat their pride.

So, she ate, despite the embarrassment.

Kael kept feeding her afterward. He didn’t eat much himself, but he didn’t care.

He didn’t see any harm in missing one meal, and he found joy in helping Leciel.

Each time he held out a fork, it reminded him of a tiny baby bird, chirping and taking small bites.

Her chubby cheeks were like steamed buns, and he wanted to take a small bite.

Carren scowled as he watched them.

Strangely enough, he didn’t like it.

It wasn’t as if he minded Kael’s attention towards Leciel. He wasn’t envious either, but something about the situation rubbed him the wrong way.

He wanted to help feed Leciel himself, but the distance between them made it impossible.

‘Maybe I should switch seats next time.’

That way, he could help out and bridge the gap.

Kael, who was busy feeding Leciel noticed Carren’s irritation and glanced at him.

This was because Carren’s eyebrows were subtly twitching.

‘Hoo.’

Kael’s eyes sparkled as if he had found something fun.

Then, as if to confirm something, he gently fussed over Leciel, petting her head and wishing her a good meal.

Then Carren’s gaze followed Kael’s hand.

When he gently poked Leciel’s cheek, Carren’s expression quickly soured.

To Leciel’s dismay, she questioned Kael about his behavior during mealtime, but Kael’s attention was directed at Carren.

‘Is this jealousy?’

And it seemed he was the object of his jealousy.

‘Unexpected.’

He hadn’t expected his son to feel jealousy over such minor actions.

Still, before, Carren had feigned indifference even if he showed some interest. But today, he subtly revealed his feelings.

‘It’s a good thing.’

The fact that Carren was jealous of the close bond between Leciel and himself implied that Carren’s feelings were no longer just curiosity or mere interest.

Though he was curious about the cause, it wasn’t crucial. The result before his eyes was more important.

Kael wished for their bond to grow closer, and eventually, for them to become lovers.

Then, when the time came, they would marry naturally.

For that to happen, Leciel had to open her heart to Carren. But Kael trusted his son.

If he was as shrewd and capable as Kael, he would win over Leciel’s heart.

As a father, Kael was ready to help and support them.

“So, Carren, is your injury okay?”

Pretending to be uninterested, Kael asked.

“It wasn’t a serious injury.”

“Worrying about the level of injury is natural when your child gets hurt as a parent.”

“… lately, have you been trying to be a kinder father?”

“You say that as if I wasn’t always a kind father.”

“Do you have a conscience?”

Kind father? Far from it.

Carren acknowledged that his father cared for and loved his son. But he was no kind father.

“My conscience is overflowing to the point of being problematic.”

Therefore, Kael danced around thinking it would be easier instead to kill the Emperor.

“You seem tired, Father.”

He seemed to be talking nonsense.

“The heart of a father worrying about his son is dismissed as nonsense?”

Kael feigned a hurt expression.

“I remember you didn’t worry that much about me when I was injured.”

“Back then, it was in training.”

Engaging in combat training without getting injured was impossible.

Kael himself had been injured during his training.

But that didn’t mean he hadn’t worried. He just didn’t show it.

If he did, it might hinder Carren’s progress in his training since his teacher would be self-conscious and tried not to get him hurt, and he might not be able to learn properly.

Carren was Kael’s only child and the sole heir.

That meant Carren would eventually take over the Grand Duke House’s role in hunting monsters.

Fighting monsters was risky and arduous.

To avoid getting injured, Carren had to master combat skills with utmost precision and thoroughness.

So, Kael often refrained from commenting even when Carren pushed himself and got hurt.

It was better for him to get injured during training than in a battle with a monster.

And training at the same level as others wouldn’t benefit Carren.

“… in any case, I’m fine.”

With his indifferent tone, Kael’s concern and sincerity were evident to Carren, who awkwardly responded more gruffly.

“Then that’s a relief. Oh, and we’re leaving for the capital the day after tomorrow.”

He had planned to leave the next day, but after yesterday’s incident, he had to delay it for another day.

“I understand.”

Considering the extended stay, Carren had been contemplating if it was time to return to the capital.

“So, kid, what’s with that expression?”

“What’s wrong with my face?”

“Looks like a weird, angry dumpling sitting there.”

“An angry dumpling?”

Even if she was momentarily lost in thought and made a strange expression, it wasn’t weird, and that shouldn’t make her an angry dumpling.

Leciel frowned at the remark.

“Oh, now you’re an angry dumpling.”

Even if she scowled, it didn’t make her scarier.

Kael found Leciel’s expression amusing and chuckled for a moment.

“Even if we go back to the capital, there’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Not that I’m worried…”

Leciel hesitated in her response.

Life in the capital itself wasn’t concerning.

Here, she wouldn’t meet anyone other than the Grand Duchy’s employees, but that wouldn’t be the case if she went to the capital.

Unless she was confined to the Grand Duke’s mansion and would not go anywhere, she would inevitably encounter other people.

Even if she was stuck in the mansion, there would be guests who came, so she would eventually encounter someone else somehow.

Therefore, rumor would spread that Kael has a little child with him.

The problem wasn’t the rumor.

No matter what was said about the rumor, as long as there was no direct damage to her, she wasn’t interested.

But what troubled her was the potential encounters with other characters from the original story.

If she went to the capital, there was almost a certainty she’d meet them.

She didn’t know whether she’d meet them at the same time as the original story or sooner.

But these thoughts had been on her mind since she arrived here.

Returning to the capital only made her realize that this was no longer the monster forest, that she was living in a reality where she’d be affected by the story.