âLei, come on. Ahh.â
âA, aah.â
âOtou-sama, thereâs too much on that spoon for Lei. Scoop a little less so it would fit in her small mouth.â
âI, I see.â
Otou-sama awkwardly fixed the mashed potatoes. Next to him, Nii-sama fed me a spoonful of potatoes. Otou-sama watched and also tried to feed me, but I was already at my limit.
âHere, Lei. Iâve got it this time.â
âDonâth need pothathoesh anymore.â
âWhat?!â
Is it that disappointing not to feed a child? Otou-sama has been acting like this since the first night of my return.
Perhaps because it took so long to leave town on the first night since we stayed in an inn near the border and had dinner.
âNot just the feudal lord, but even a Four Marquis!â The inn owner nearly tumbled down, but it was an inn located between the fief and the royal capital. He immediately prepared a few rooms for us. However, food was served at the dining hall, so everyone ate together there.
âLuke, I have to leave Lei and get back to the royal capital soon. You can leave this to me, canât you?â
âWhen I get back to the royal capital, I have to stay in the dorms every day except for weekends. Otou-sama, youâll always get to eat with Lei, right?â
âBut, I came all the way to Frontier.â
âHonestly. You must have troubled the guards again,â Nii-sama said in amazement, and looked at the guards. Does Otou-sama travel that much? When I looked at the guards, most of them were smiling wryly like they were used to this, but I was curious about why they drew back their smiles and looked nervous when they noticed my gaze. Why? Iâm just a cute baby.
I had fruits for dessert and finally finished eating. I couldnât help but think that it would have been nice if Dory had been here. Iâm sure sheâd say, âLei-sama can eat by herself.â
âAt any rate, itâs spectacular to see all three of them together,â Earl Tucker couldnât seem to hold back his admiration. Actually, this person was with us at the capital the whole time, but his presence was thin because other people were around. Having said that, I donât know how remarkable he is.
Even so, Nii-sama and Otou-sama certainly look alike, but what about me? Otou-sama and Nii-sama were sitting side-by-side, and I was sitting on Otou-samaâs hard knees.
âYou all look alike, but itâs rare to see three of the Four Marquis colours together. The Four Marquises hardly leave the royal capital after all.â
I looked around and saw that the inn owner had put his hands together towards us, and the female servers were looking at Otou-sama and Gill in admiration. Nii-sama is also amazing, but he doesnât seem to be targeted by the servers, so I was a little relieved.
âFrontier is just around the corner. Weâre at the edge of the barrier, so I know how hard it is in Frontier. If the Four Marquises who maintain the barrier are here, then, of course, they would long for them and appreciate them.â Earl Tucker nodded on his own. Come to think of it, people canât enjoy food outside at night since they have to quickly rush back to their homes. Moreover, itâs unbelievable for women to work at an inn like this at night.
âWeshther ath nighth, aduwthsh and chiwdren donâth go outh.â (Wester at night, adults and children donât go out.)
âSome women have to work because of certain circumstances. Itâs a blessing to be able to work at night, Leila-sama.â
âAi,â I frankly agreed with Earl Tucker.
âNow, Lei, rest with Otou-sama tonight.â
âAi.â
âOf course, me too.â
âAi.â
It looks like weâll be sleeping in the same room. When we tried to withdraw to our room, the guards also left their seats.
âYou can keep on drinking,â Otou-sama said without turning around.
âNo, weâre in the middle of work,â the representative refused. Otou-sama had his back turned, so I, who was being held, could clearly see the guards. That person, who looked sincere and stubborn, distorted his face as if he was slightly apologetic when his eyes met mine.
âMm, I would like to apologise to Ojou-sama, to Leila-sama.â
âYou donât need to,â Otou-sama easily discarded the guardâs words. He said he had to apologise, but I donât know these people. What is he on about?
âHowever, my mistake led Leila-sama to live in Frontier for six months.â
I widened my eyes. Heâs one of the guards who was with Otou-sama when I got separated from him. He hit Otou-samaâs Rug Dragon, and Otou-sama fell down. I muttered, âOtou-syama, feww from dragon.â
âYou remember?! Oh my god.â
He said he wanted to apologise, but it doesnât matter. He was probably just looking for a place to dump his feelings. He was shocked when he found out that I remembered.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âGraces,â Otou-sama quietly called that personâs name without turning back.
âIf you find yourself in that situation again, would you make a different decision?â
â... No, no matter how many times I find myself in that situation, I will make the same decision.â
âIf so, then go through with that decision. Whatâs the point of apologising just to clear your conscious?â
The man named Graces looked down.
I understand now. At that time, the Rug Dragons had already recognised me as part of their group and saw me as someone they had to protect. Therefore, he saw the Rug Dragons with Otou-sama and the guards as enemies and sped up to protect me. They couldnât have anticipated this.
Even if that was all, Otou-sama probably still grieved. And when he saw our group today, he knew how big the person he had lost was, and couldnât bear with his feelings of guilt.
If this person had stopped our Rug Dragon, Hannah might not have died, and I might have been able to get back to Otou-sama right away.
But donât get me wrong. It wasnât this personâs fault that I got kidnapped.
âGracesh,â I called, surprising Otou-sama and Graces lifted his face.
âChu did nothhing wrong.â
Thatâs all there is to it.
âOtou-syama, importhanth. Lei wnowsh.â
I nodded at Graces. Otou-sama sighed inconspicuously and put me down. Graces kneeled before me. The guards behind him kneeled down as well.
Graces gently took my hand and pressed it against his forehead. Itâs somewhat embarrassing.
âLeila-sama, we will also protect you from now on.â
âAi. Pweashe.â I nearly told him that I would leave it to him, but was able to respond properly.
âThatâs enough, right? How long are you going to hold her hand for?â
Otou-sama picked me up from behind. He went up the stairs without looking back, and Nii-sama followed after him.
âSheâs still part of the Four Marquises even though sheâs small. Amazing.â
âEven people in Sebel donât think that she survived in Frontier by chance, sheâs a magnificent baby. Most importantly, sheâs that cute.â
âI know, right?â
She had no choice. Her body is small, she got kidnapped and was forced to live in Frontier. Just how fascinating is an Albans?
We, on the second floor, didnât know Gracesâs thoughts. Even if we knew, we probably would have pretended that we didnât. Because itâs troublesome.