“No one will dare to treat you poorly. And no one will dare to disregard you, a precious guest of the family. I swear on the honor of the Grand Duchy, I will make sure of it.”

Although he temporarily referred to Leciel as a precious guest of the Grand Duke’s family, since there was no clear way to explain their relationship at the moment, Leciel was by no means a mere guest.

She was a child who would become part of his family and a child he had decided to protect.

So. no one, nothing could dare to harm or trouble his child.

“Yes, I believe you.”

Even though the complexity of her feelings was not due to that, Leciel nodded with a smile, happy at Kael’s attempt to comfort her.

No one she met in the future would ever become more precious or special than Kael.

Kael was the first person she met after being reincarnated into this world, and the first person to make her feel human warmth.

At this moment, he was her most reliable protector and ally.

Kael was also the one who turned what could have been a fleeting encounter into a definite bond by extending his hand.

With that conversation, the meal ended, and they each retired to their rooms.

 

* * *

 

Back in his office, Kael was lost in thought while working.

He was recalling the conversation he had with Leciel that morning.

He had dismissed it lightly at the time, not wanting her to worry, but it wasn’t a trivial matter.

Wandering the hallways like a madman in the middle of the night was not something he could easily understand.

If he could at least remember, he might be able to figure out the cause, but regrettably, Kael had no memory of the previous night’s events.

It was very strange.

Moreover, this had never happened before. Otherwise, someone would have informed him by now.

While it was a sensitive matter, there was no benefit in hiding it.

The suddenness of his strange behavior left him feeling uneasy.

‘Why…’

The inability to find a reason was frustrating for Kael.

‘I should be cautious for now.’

There might be more to it than just wandering the halls.

So, to be safe, it seemed prudent to station knights outside his door for the time being.

This way, if it happened again, he could stop it before anyone else found out.

He needed to place trustworthy knights there to ensure no one talked about this.

However, this was only a temporary solution; he needed to find a way to resolve it.

‘Tsk.’

The situation was already becoming annoying with the emperor’s increasing scrutiny, and now this.

His head throbbed.

‘I hope it’s nothing serious.’

A vague sense of unease crept up his fingertips, darkening Kael’s expression.

He had a feeling that if this unease turned into a real problem, it might engulf not only him but the entire Grand Duchy.

At that time, Leciel, who had taken a short nap after returning to her room, headed to the library as soon as she woke up.

Though she had passed it off as sleepwalking in front of Kael, she felt uneasy about leaving it at that.

She needed to confirm if it was really sleepwalking.

Upon arriving at the library, she found Carren already there, engrossed in a book.

Not wanting to disturb him, Leciel quietly searched for the book she wanted.

Fortunately, the library had a wide variety of books, and she was able to find one that seemed relevant.

However, the book was placed higher than she could reach.

There was a small step ladder nearby, but even with it, her short height wasn’t quite enough.

‘I don’t want to bother my brother.’

It would be annoying to interrupt his concentration.

With that thought, Leciel decided to give it her best try.

As expected, even after climbing the step ladder, she couldn’t quite reach the book.

If it had been completely out of reach, she would have given up and asked Carren for help, but the fact that it was just barely within reach spurred her determination.

She stood on tiptoe and stretched her body as much as she could.

‘… got it!’

Her joy at finally reaching the book was short-lived as she lost her balance while trying to pull it out and fell to the floor along with the book.

Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as she expected.

Even though the step ladder wasn’t very high, falling from it should have hurt.

Moreover, she felt something soft yet firm beneath her.

“Tsk, be careful.”

“Brother?”

Turning around at the voice from behind her, Leciel saw Carren.

He had been reading at the desk just a moment ago.

When did he get here? Carren was now beneath her, having cushioned her fall.

It was a movement as silent as a cat’s.

To move so quietly and stealthily!

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“That’s a relief.”

Carren sighed in relief.

He had been reading when he heard a faint noise and turned to see Leciel in a precarious position on the step ladder, struggling to reach a book.

Afraid she might fall, he quickly approached just as she lost her balance.

Luckily, he managed to catch her. Had he been even a moment late, she would have been hurt.

“What about you, brother?”

She was fine because she landed on Carren, but she wasn’t sure if he was okay.

“I’m fine.”

He had been startled, but that was all.

“But you’re a patient, brother.”

Even if he was almost recovered, he was probably not completely better yet.

She was worried that if he supported her, his injury might get worse again.

“With an injury like that, treating me like a patient…”

“But you are a patient because you’re hurt.”

Leciel said with a deliberately stern expression.

“Rather than that, if you’re okay, how about getting up now?”

Carren, feeling increasingly uncomfortable from the prolonged situation, spoke with a detached expression.

“Oh, yes!”

Having crushed Carren with her heavy body, Leciel hurried to get up, thinking about how heavy he must have felt.

However, in her rush, Leciel lost her balance again and stumbled.

She tried not to fall, but it was no use.

“Ugh.”

As she fell, Leciel hit her forehead directly against Carren’s, groaning in pain.

“… you really are something else.”

Carren sighed, seemingly exasperated.

But what lingered on his face was concern for Leciel.

“I’m sorry.”

Leciel said, looking apologetically at Carren’s reddened forehead.

“It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean to. How’s your wrist?”

Although his forehead hurt a little, it wasn’t enough to be considered a serious injury. He had experienced worse during sword training.

“Huh? My wrist?”

Leciel tilted her head in confusion.

“You couldn’t even hold a fork properly this morning, and now you’re putting all your weight on it.”

So, her wrist might have taken all the shock and gotten hurt again.

“Oh, now that you mention it, it does feel a bit sore. Haha.”

She thought she had avoided injury, but now she ended up getting hurt in a different way.

“Tsk, we’ll have to compress it.”

Carren frowned as he examined Leciel’s wrist, which he held in his hand.

At most, it was likely a minor ligament injury, but Carren wasn’t pleased with that fact.

Given her small frame, there wasn’t much room for injury anyway.

But perhaps it was fortunate. With such a thin wrist, it wouldn’t have been surprising if a bone had broken, but it hadn’t.

“If I just leave it, it’ll heal on its own, right?”

Leciel said indifferently, as her wrist was only slightly aching and not unbearably painful.

“It might heal on its own, sure. But didn’t you say you should get treated if you’re hurt?”

When he was injured during a monster attack, she had insisted on treatment with a strict expression, even for minor wounds.

“That’s true, but…”

“Get treated.”

Carren’s tone was very firm, leaving no room for refusal.

“But there’s something more urgent than that.”

At Leciel’s small rebellion, Carren’s eyebrow twitched.

“I came here to read a book.”

“You can read after you get treated.”

It was not like the book would grow legs and run away, so what was so urgent about it?

Carren then abruptly lifted Leciel in his arms. Since she was reluctant to get treated willingly, he had no choice but to forcibly take her for treatment.

“Whoa, you’re really strong.”

Only two years older than her, yet he could lift her so easily.

Although the ride wasn’t as smooth as Kael’s, it was stable enough.

“But are you worried about me?”

Leciel, who had squirmed awkwardly at first, soon calmed down and asked.

“… yes.”

Admitting it himself made Carren feel oddly itchy all over, but he nodded with a deliberately indifferent expression.

“Hehe.”

Leciel, feeling a bit happy from Carren’s concern, smiled broadly.

“With an injury, what’s there to be happy about?”

Feeling somewhat irritated for no reason; Carren spoke curtly.

“It’s just, it’s nice to know someone cares about me.”

“… that’s a given.”

Because it was Leciel.

Not one of the countless people in the world, not a stranger with no connection to him, but her.

“But other than my uncle, you’re the first person to worry about me.”

“… is that so.”

Carren looked at Leciel with a curious expression.

Anyone could worry about someone. If someone had a lot of affection, they would even worry about strangers.

So, he was a bit puzzled.

What kind of life had Leciel lived to have never met anyone who worried about her until now?

Even if she was an orphan on the street, there should have been at least one person who worried about her.

This thought darkened Carren’s expression a bit.

Leciel, noticing this, spoke in a bright voice.

“I’m lucky. I have both my uncle and you to worry about me!”

“Only two people.”

Carren, feeling sorry for Leciel, spoke indifferently without showing it.

“Those two are the most important people to me.”

Leciel said, smiling more brightly and cheerfully than ever.