A knock came at the door as if it was tearing the tense aura in the room. Then, the door opened, and the person who showed up was... âOtou-syama!â
âLei! Luke!â
Otou-sama crouched down and opened his eyes wide as I ran up to him.
âI heard you were practising magic, so I came because I was worried. Was everything alright?â
âAi. Nico ish greath.â It was a suitable answer. Though, I could see that he clearly didnât care about Nico. Honestly.
âSo, Luke, did you have any trouble?â
âThatâs...â Onii-sama looked at Nicoâs father, then looked down.
âOh, Your Highness. Iâm sorry, I didnât notice you.â
I almost laughed at Otou-sama who really didnât notice the Prince. That was close.
âYou wnow, you wnow, Nicoâsh Otou-syama...â
âOh, His Highness?â
I thought Iâll tell Otou-sama now.
âHe wanthsh Nii-syama channew magic outh.â
âOh.â
I felt the temperature in the room rapidly drop. Otou-sama hugged me tightly, then put me down and faced Nicoâs father, who looked stiff.
âHave you ever heard of people exchanging magic, Your Highness?â
âN-no. Thatâs why I want to try it once.â Nico said something unnecessary to Otou-sama. I thought this the other day, but Nicoâs father might be a little, just a little dim-witted. I looked at him again. Hmm. Isnât he still too naïve for someone in his twenties?
Otou-sama shrugged.
âWe donât know what would happen if we absorb other peopleâs magic, thatâs why only Lei can do it since she did it accidentally.â
âOh, is that so? B-but, Luke said he could do it.â I think Nicoâs father said something even worse.
âOnly the theory. Even I know the theory of it. But rational adults wouldnât dare do it even if they know they can.â
Heâs right. I looked at Otou-sama in admiration. When I think about it, Iâve only seen him act indifferently, gentle, and loving towards me. This is the first time Iâve ever seen him give reasonable arguments like a capable adult.
âOtou-syama, coow...â
âLei!â
Otou-sama immediately hugged me and rubbed his face against mine.
âOtou-syama, Youâre wiwe a capabwe pershon!â
âThatâs right! Otou-sama is capable, isnât he?â
âCoow!â
âHahaha.â
We made a racket and someone quietly spoke to us, âOtou-sama and Lei.â It was Nii-sama. We stopped moving.
âOh, sorry.â
âAi...â
Nii-sama got mad because we were too loud.
âThatâs enough. I think Iâve already taught Prince Nicholas how to handle his magic today, so handle this matter between you adults. Now, Lei and Your Highness, Nicolas.â
Nico and I quietly walked to where Nii-sama and Gill were.
âNow, what shall we do now?â
âPlay outside!â
âPway!â
He wasnât angry, he proposed a good idea!
âThen, letâs go outside. Go get your jackets.â
âOk!â
âAai.â
Weâre going to play outside now.
However, I fell asleep in less than 30 minutes while playing hide-and-seek and was carried to the bed in the library. Too bad. Letâs play indoors next time.
ââ¦ââ¦ââ¦â
Lei and His Highness (Lukeâs Perspective)
âDoesnât Lei sleep too much?â
âYour Highness. Iâm not too sure about this, but I think this is normal.â
âReally?â His Highness replied as he watched Lei, who was sleeping soundly on the small bed.
âWhat do you do when Lei sleeps like this?â
âHmm. I wonder if she would get bigger and watch her.â
âI, Iâm jealous.â
âWhy?â His Highness looked up at me curiously.
âIâm usually at the academy dormitories. Iâm jealous that you get to see her every day.â
âBut, we have to study in the morning, then have lunch separately. We only get to play a little after lunch, then she falls asleep. Albans takes her home after she wakes up.â
âBut donât you have fun while studying?â
âHmm. Lei is good at persuading Odds-sensei, so we spend less time studying, and we get to play more.â
When I thought that would be something she would do, I couldnât help but smile. She definitely fooled the tutor with her cuteness.
âBut, Lei doesnât grow bigger even though I watch her a lot.â
Well, yeah. While watching Lei sleep cutely, I looked at the unsatisfied Prince Nicholas and found it funny.
âNow then, itâs my turn.â Gill, who hadnât done much until now, was enthusiastic.
âLei is a good girl, but sheâs smaller and weaker than Your Highness. She can only be your playmate. We finally get to skip school, so letâs train our bodies together.â
âTrain our bodies?â
âYeah, train with swords. Weâll move around using our bodies.â
âLetâs do it!â
His Highnessâs eyes sparkled, and he no longer had Lei in his eyes. Playing with Gill, the training maniac, will be proper training for him.
âThen, letâs start with tree climbing.â
ââI can climb trees?!â
His Highness hadnât been allowed to climb trees because it was dangerous.
âItâs alright since Iâm there.â
Yes, itâll be alright since Gill is there. I turned back to Lei. I thought I could only watch her nap during my days off. I gently brushed her curly hair, and it went back to its position once my hand brushed over it.
âOi.â
My cute sister.
âOi.â
âWhat Gill?â
I turned back because he was annoying.
âYouâre coming too.â
âI donât want to.â
âOur job starts from when we get here until we leave. Watching Lei is a side benefit. And, youâve been slacking off on your training because youâre relieved that Lei is back.â
Even though no one could win against me at the academy. I thought he wouldnât find out since weâre in different grades.
âWhen the time comes, weâll be facing adults. If you keep slacking off, then you wonât be able to protect Lei when the time comes.â
âWhat the hell are you talking about?â
âYou canât say it wonât happen again, right?â Gill said sternly, and I reluctantly stood up.
âNatalie, donât let Lei feel lonely when she wakes up.â
âI understand. Iâll call you straight away.â
âHans.â
âIâm keeping watch.â
I lifted my eyebrows at His Highness who looked excited, then looked at Leiâs sleeping face again, before going outside with Gill and His Highness.
âLei wonât wake up even if you stare at her or shake her.â
âDid you shake her?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âA little.â
I looked at His Highness in shock. Did you do that? I might have to cut Hansâs pay.
I had a more pleasant afternoon than I thought.