â⦠If you do wrong, you can dieâ¦â
âWonât die⦠returnâ¦â
âNow that⦠I meanâ¦â
âAnyway⦠Video stoneâ¦â
Mmm.
I turned around, frowning at the noise around me.
⦠Hmm. Itâs noisy.
Itâs been a long time since Iâve been sleeping without any worries.
Who wakes me up?
âDid I fall asleep anyway?â
â?â
It was then.
The slowly returning consciousness came into focus.
Come to think of it, I wondered when I had returned to the bedroom.
The last thing that I remember was sparring with Lynn.
While wielding a dagger.
I lost strength in my wrist for a moment and fell down.
Ah. So I fell down.
I fell and right now, Iâm lying down.
â¦Eh? Did I pass out?
I donât have time for this, though?
Whopã ¡
âDust?â
âBillie?â
âMiss Baby?â
ââ¦Princeeeess!â
Raising my upper body like a spring, I blinked.
This was the treatment room.
And countless eyes were watching me.
Kai and Bian. Agasa.
And even Lisa, whose eyes were red.
âDid I pass out?â
Nodã ¡
Agasa, nodding his head in confusion, approached me.
All of them looked bewildered at my actions that happened like Superman.
âYour body. How is your body?â
âItâs fine, though?â
âReally?â
âYes.â
I-Iâll bring the soup.
I heard Lisaâs voice, who hastily suppressed her emotions, wiping away her tears and leaving the treatment room.
âWhat kind of situation is this?â
âBy the way, I got hit by Rin andã ¡â
Winceã ¡
âUgh.â
âDust!â
âBillie!â
When Iâm trying to get out of bed.
The pain as if stabbed by a needle made my upper body bend like a slug.
Come to think of it, my whole body was covered in bandages.
ââ¦Please donât move. You wouldnât have healed yet.â
Agasa gently pressed my shoulder and laid me down.
Unlike his calm voice.
He had a dark complexion.
Concern seeped in his quivering eyes.
âDust, are you okay?â
Before I knew it, the older brothers at the door also gathered near my bed.
Kneeling like that, Kai suddenly stopped trying to grab my hand.
ââ¦Y-Youâre okay, arenât you?â
Did he realize that it was still before reconciliation, I wonder.
He was restless, couldnât bear to hold my hand and sat down on a simple chair.
âI will be okay.â
It was then.
A warm palm covered my forehead.
Bian, who was checking the heat naturally, smiled as if to reassure me.
âI asked the doctor, but he said it wouldnât matter as long as you took a break. So donât worry, Billie.â
A trustworthy pretty voice.
ââ¦Mm.â
Letâs nod my head unconsciously.
Agasa sighed behind him.
It was a happy expression.
âBy the way, Billie. If you wanted to know the tracking technique, you should have told your older brothers.â
And so naturally, Bian bent his knees and made eye contact with me.
We fought, didnât we?
I was angry with my brothers, right?
âRight?â
For some reason, honey was dripping from his gaze, which was looking at me.
âThis seems a bit like camaraderie.â
I tilted my head.
It seems that if they go through a war together, they can give each other their lives.
â¦But why, to me?
âYou guys can do tracking technique?â
I was confused whether I should be angry or not.
I asked while I was wiping my palms with the blanket while pretending to be indifferent for no reason.
âOf course.â
âDust, look at this!â
Before I knew it, Kai, who had snuggled up next to Bian to get my attention, disappeared.
He disappeared exactly under the bed.
âWoof! Woof!â
âWhoa!â
My mouth fell open.
At my reaction, Kaiâs tail, which had turned into a dog, flapped like a helicopter.
âIs the dog Brother Kai?â
âWoof! Not this. If I smell it in this state, it means I can track whatever it is.â
Kai, who had returned to being a human, raised one corner of his lips.
Did he feel good about the reaction, I wonder.
Unlike before, when he was restless, he changed into a triumphant attitude.
âBian can teleport.â
âWhaaat?!â
This time, Bian, who was next to him with rabbit eyes, smiled silently.
It was the same for Agasa, who was watching us from behind.
âThatâs why you shouldnât carry it alone.â
It was then.
âWeâre also Vallois, Billie. So letâs solve it together.â
Bian, who was being handed the soup by Lisa, held out the spoon with a loud blow.
âWill you accept our apology?â
And another spoon held out.
It was Kai.
He blinked his eyes in fear as if he had become anxious again because of my repeated rejections from the last time.
âPuppy trick, a dagger, cakes.â
I was wondering how fresh an apology would be.
Iâll give it to the puppy trick.
âOf course!â
With a bashful smile, I announced the end of the war.
â¦Grin.
Chuckle.
The twin brothers, who had been laughing together, burst into laughter in a different style.
âThen letâs eat soup as an apologyâ¦â
Aaaaã ¡
âOh?â
As I opened my mouth to the empty air, I blinked my eyes.
There was a spoon in front of me, though.
Itâs not here.
â?â
Perhaps, these brats.
Are they trying to make fun of me in this situation?!
âJeez. Hey! Dust was going to eat, you know!â
It was none other than Bian who hid the spoon.
âSince I was the one who brought out the spoon first, wouldnât it be right for Billie to eat mine?â
He smiled kindly as he pushed Kaiâs spoon away with his finger.
âBillie. Eat my soup first.â
âThe child is hungry. Why does it matter, yours and mine? Hey, donât eat that sly bastardâs soup. Itâs dirty. My soupâ¦â
âNo. You have to eat mine before it gets cold.â
âMy soup more.â
Swishã ¡
âMine is going to get cold too, you know?â
Swishã ¡
âSo what?â
Swishã ¡
âHey. Youâre going to do it now?â
Swish, swish.
ââ¦Iâm hungry, though.â
I wanted to eat anything.
The moment I tried to open my mouth, the spoon kept slipping and I was blown away.
âJeez!â
ââ¦Kai, what are you doing!â
while grumbling like that.
The second war began when Kai took Bianâs spoon.
âI said Iâm hungry.â
I watched them with cloudy eyes as I grabbed my growling belly.
âMiss Baby. I will feed you. Please donât move.â
It was then.
Agasa, who was quietly sitting on a simple chair, held out a spoon.
âMunch, munch.â
With Agasaâs help, I finished a satisfying meal.
***
In the morning that day.
âYour Grace.â
The shadowy castle of Vallois was darker than the night sky.
The carriage arrived in front of Agasa, who was waiting, sliding through the still air.
Soon, the head of the house wearing a robe appeared.
âA little late.â
After putting off an answer for a while, Cassis quietly took off his hood.
Violet eyes shining brightly through the tousled black hair stood out as if they were predatorsâ.
The atmosphere around Cassis was colder than ever.
As if he was angry.
âCrazy jerks. Anyone can see that itâs the Law Kingdom, so hurry up and prove itâ¦â
âYour Grace.â
A purple orb was revealed in front of Cassis, who was grinding his teeth.
It was a video stone.
âGo in at once.â
After looking at the video stone for a while, he accepted without asking what it was.
Because Agasa wouldnât give anything strange in this situation.
They quickly entered the castle.
The sound of shoe heels echoed quietly as they walked down the hallway.
âA rough summary.â
Agasa, who silently followed him at the command of the family head, reported.
âThe slave named Sian is indeed a spy sent by the Law Kingdom. This is the proof video.â
âWhere did you get it?â
ââ¦The twin princes saved us.â
It was then.
Cassis, who was striding somewhere, stopped his shoulder.
âYour Grace?â
Agasa looked at him standing tall.
His purple eyes trembled slightly.
It was understandable.
For the time being, they only exchanged matters related to the kingdom as it was urgent.
It was the first time Cassis had heard the news of the princes.
âI thought the Academy will be on vacation after a year.â
Cassis made no reply, not sure if he dared to call his sons he hadnât seen since they were 5 years old.
ââ¦That.â
Perhaps the twins had closed their hearts to him.
Having failed as their father, he deserved it.
He stood there for a moment as if he was out of order, then turned around.
And he went up the stairs.
âYour Grace?â
âIâll first look at my daughterâs face. Andâ¦â
After hesitating for a moment, Cassis muttered in a low voice.
âThe childrenâs too.â
Heâll probably have to leave here again in an hour or less.
Though unfortunate, he wanted to check at least the faces of the children.
Soon after, he was standing in front of his daughterâs bedroom door and was about to grab the doorknob.
Cassis, who seemed to have remembered it belatedly, turned his head.
âWait. The twin princes got the video stone, you said?â
ââ¦Yes. While surprised, I will report more. Another physical evidence, the dagger of the Law Kingdom, was found by the Princess.â
ââ¦?â
It was then that Cassis broke down for the second time.
âWhat?â
Perhaps he was really surprised, but he, who had been silent for a while, asked back.
They were 5 and 10 years old.
âDo you want me to believe that?â
âYou will be more surprised when you go in.â
Agasa shrugged his shoulders as if it was okay for him to look forward to it.
Cassis stared at him and opened the door without hesitation.
âWhat on earth,â
Agasa saying he would be surprised was true.
Billishia pulled the blanket up to her chin.
The twins who had been guarding their sister were sleeping uncomfortably in a simple chair.
The young Vallois gathered.
Their bodies were uncomfortable, yet their faces were more comfortable than anyone else.
Huff, huffã ¡
The sound of children breathing filled the silence.
After remaining silent for a while, the two stared at each other.
ââ¦What kind of combination is this?â
âBecause itâs Vallois.â
Agasa, who predicted that he would be surprised, also blinked unexpectedly.
He looked as if he would never get tired looking at them.
âThe twin princes said so. Vallois must unite.â
âThe twins did?â
âYes.â
His complexion darkened as he laughed.
Those newbies were saying what he was supposed to say as the head of Vallois.
âTheyâre better than me.â
âYou can learn from your children.â
ââ¦I have no shame in learning.â
âI apologize, but Your Grace doesnât seem to have any options.â
âWhat?â
âBecause Vallois needs to come together.â
Is it a joke or for real, he wonders.
Agasa, whose face was wriggling as if laughing, couldnât hide her smile.
Cassis, as he was silent for a moment, raised the corner of his lips.
It was a self-deprecating smile.
âThatâs right.â
His gaze, looking at the children once again, looked somewhat sad.
Billishia, who resembles me.
The twins who look like Vivian.
The combination of the two reminded him of Vivian and him, who were together in life.
â⦠Agasa.â
Maybe thatâs why, his purple eyes staring at his children sank more coolly.
âYes.â
âPut an urgent message in the Imperial Palace right now.â
As a bad father, all he could do was get rid of the danger in front of Vallois.
ââ¦Until tomorrow afternoon. Put it in, that the death penalty authority of the Law Kingdom to be delegated to Vallois.â